Summarised Policies

SUMMARISED LOCHAC HERALDIC POLICY

Last revised 11 August 2006

This document is a summary of the larger document 'Lochac Heraldic Policy'; a selection of extracts from The CAMeL first compiled by Decion ap Dyfrwr Trefriw for Master Gereint Scholar during his tenure as Crux Australis Herald and amended by several holders of the office since.

The large size of that document, as well as changes to rules and procedures since many of the articles were written, has prompted the production this summary. NOTE: there is no guarantee that the policies here reflect current practice. The latest version of this document may be obtained from the Crux Australis Herald, whose address can be found in Pegasus.

Please feel free to contact the Crux Australis Herald for clarification or explanation of any of these policies.(remove brackets around @ before sending)

General Policies

Date all correspondence with the mundane date. Use of the SCA date as well (eg 'Anno Societatis') is optional.
Make all cheques sent to the Crux Australis office payable to 'SCA Inc College of Heralds'.
All requests to be added to the Roster of the Lochac College of Heralds must be in writing and must contain the requestor's legal and SCA names and postal address. Telephone number(s) and email address(es) are optional but appreciated, as is a summary of heraldic knowledge and experience.
Anyone rostered as an "ExtraOrdinary" herald may be removed from the roster at any time by the Crux Australis Herald for any just reason.
There are two personal ranks within the College of Heralds, the lower being Pursuivant and the higher being Herald. Those without a personal rank performing heraldry or acting as an heraldic officer have an unoffifcal rank of herald-in-training, sometimes called Macer.

Policies for Group Heralds

Must be subscribed to the Lochac Heralds Discussion email list Blazons.
Are encouraged to subsrcibe to the Lochac internal commentary list the Bonacon
Have access to The CAMeL (The Crux Australis Monthly Letter) online or to subscribe to the papaer version , and keep them in a file. Subscriptions to The CAMeL are $20 per annum.
Baronial reports are required quarterly (February, May, August, and November), Shire reports are required Bi-Annually (May and November) . The due dates are the 15th of the month due. Baronial and Shire heralds report directly to the Crux Australis Herald. Canton heralds report to their parent group's herald, at least two weeks before the due date published. College heralds may do either. A copy of every report should be sent to the group's seneschal.
A letter of introduction is required from those wishing to be rostered as a group's herald, as well as a note from their seneschal (and Baron and Baroness if for a Barony). A letter of resignation from their predecessor (if any) naming them as their successor is also appreciated.
Only the Crown, Crux Australis Herald or the Seneschal of Lochac may remove or suspend an heraldic officer. The officer so removed or suspended must be notified in writing, including an explanation of the reason(s) for removal or suspension.
Only Baronies and Provinces are required to fill the office of Herald. All other groups are encouraged to do so.
In Lochac, only heraldic offices for groups with landed nobles/royalty are able to have heraldic titles for the use of that office. These titles should be register within a reasonable time of their creation. Groups without landed nobles/royalty, may title themselves using the group name.
Baronial heralds must maintain lists of recipients of local awards, to be forwarded to Canon Pursuivant twice a year.

Policies on Names and Armory

The cost of a submission is $20 per item. This includes a new name, device or badge, or a change to an already registered item (ie a new Name and Device = $40). All branch submissions are free.
All resubmissions are currently free. However, resubmissions must be within three years od the date of return or will be considered withdrawn. Any subsequent resubmission, will attract a fee as though it were a new submission.
Submission requirements:
- Names: two (2) copies of the form and all documentation used, including titles pages of works cited.
- Devices and Badges: four (4) coloured copies and one outline copy (a line drawing, used for scanning).
- The submittor and local herald should also retain a copy each, in case things go missing.
No paid heraldic submission or resubmission may stay at any level for more than 30 days. It must be either forwarded or returned.
If a paid submission is returned at the local level, all monies accompanying that submission must also be returned accompanied by a formal written 'Letter of Return' giving the reasons for return. A copy of this letter should be sent to Crux Australis and the local herald should also have a copy for their files.
A resubmission may be 'converted' into a 'new' or 'change of' submission, so long as the returned submission is voluntarily withdrawn - eg after a new badge submission is returned for conflict, the submittor may decide instead to change their name, using the fee originally intended for the badge submission.
The current submission forms are dated '18 Jul 2006'. Submissions on older forms, or forms not from Lochac, will not be accepted after 28th of October 2006.
Do not modify the submission forms in any way (such as replacing the heater-shaped shield with a lozenge).
Documentation for names should provide evidence that the name could have been used by a person living in pre-17th century Europe or somewhere known to Europeans of this period. Books that list names without citing dates of usage are (such as 'Baby Name' books) are generally not acceptable as documentation.
Encourage people to submit. That's 'encourage', not 'brow-beat', 'pester' or otherwise annoy them.
Resubmissions should never be sent directly to Laurel Sovereign of Arms. They must always be processed at the Crux Australis level first. This includes appeals of decisions made by Crux or Laurel.
Submitted (but not yet registered) armory may be displayed publicly. Unregistered or returned armory should not. Note: no herald can order (but should advise) the removal of armory from public display unless under direct instruction from Royalty or written instruction from the Crux Australis Herald. Persistent use of unregistered armory should be brought to the attention of the Crux Australis Herald.
Badges need only be registered if they will be displayed prominently at events.
Submittors may include on the device submission forms notes to the scribes on how they want their arms drawn on any scroll the College of Scribes may subsequently produce for them.
Anyone within Lochac receiving a Patent of Arms is entitled to a free Change of Name within one year of their elevation. All other requirements of a name submission must still be met (ie forms and documentation).
Submittors assigned a 'holding name' by Laurel Sovereign of Arms are entitled to a free name resubmission. Until then, their holding name is their official SCA name.
Order Names and Heralds' Titles must have the approval of the populace and ruling nobles of the group wishing to register them.
It is not necessary (nor possible) to register a Herald's Title when there is an existing order of the same name - eg the Barony of Innilgard could have a 'Fretted Goblet Pursuivant Extraordinary' as deputy to Frette Rouge Pursuivant as they already have the 'Order of the Fretted Goblet' registered. However, no such unregistered title may be used without the written permission of the group's ruling nobles and the Crux Australis Herald.

Policies on Court and Field Heraldry

Rostered heralds are expected to bring pen or pencil, paper, timepiece and regalia (herald's tabard, baldric or cloak) to every event they attend, and be prepared and willing to use them.
Heraldic regalia must be worn when making any official announcement. Unofficial or paid announcements must not be made whilst wearing regalia.
A green tabard or baldric with crossed gold trumpets front and back may be worn by anyone on duty as a herald. Sleeved tabards are more authentic than unsleeved tabards. A Pursuivant (Extraordinary) wearing a sleeved tabard should have the sleeves front and back (ie rotated 90 degrees).
Baronial pursuivants may wear a sleeved tabard with their Barony's arms front and back and the Barony's arms or the herald's badge (green with crossed gold trumpets) on the sleeves. Quartering the group's arms with the herald's badge, though customary in the SCA, is not authentic and should be avoided.
Pursuivants are entitled to wear a green cloak with crossed gold trumpets on the back and over the left breast. However, sleeved tabards are more authentic.
In Lochac, it is customary for the marshals to call 'Lay On' to signal the start of combat. The herald's litany should end with a prompt to them, such as 'and at the marshals' command...'. Some time ago it was the heralds who would call 'Lay On'. Ultimately, it is up to the marshals and heralds present on the day to decide who does what - safety and theatre are the prime objectives.
After every court at which a Kingdom award is given, a Court Herald's Award Form must be completed, signed by the Royalty who gave the award(s), and copied and forwarded within six months to Canon Pursuivant and the Pegasus Chronicler.
Standard tassel colours for tourneys:
- Gold: winner of a Crown Tourney
- Silver/white: winner of a Coronet Tourney
- Silver/white and black: second place in Coronet Tourney
- Red, white and blue: Viceregal Tourney (now disused)
- All others: deregulated, but records must be kept by group heralds of the system in use locally.