[MR] Greetings, thanks, and notice.

[Michael Houghton]

Howdy!

On Wed, May 11, 2005 at 10:58:19AM -0400, Michael Houghton wrote:
> Howdy!
> 
> On Wed, May 11, 2005 at 07:41:29AM -0400, Prince Janos wrote:
> [snip]
> > 
> >     Speaking of the Shield Tree, one thing that distresses us every time is
> > seeing the spike shields on the tree.  Those are used for those combatants
> > who do not have personal heraldry or it has not passed Laurel yet.  We wish
> > it known, that in six months, at Fall Crown Tourney, We will only accept
> > Letters of Intent from those who have Heraldry (i.e. passed Laurel or by our
> > minds, have made a reasonable attempt).  This is not meant to discourage any
> > from entering, but to greatly encourage everyone to submit personal heraldry
> > as We feel this greatly enhances many aspects of what is great about the
> > SCA.  This pertains only to the combatants, not their consorts, though it
> > would please us to see the consorts displaying their heraldry as well.  So
> > if you have thoughts of entering Crown, we urge you to submit your chosen
> > device to the College of Heralds as soon as possible.
> 
> If someone submits armory right now, it it not assured that it will have been
> ruled on by Laurel by the time letters are due. I applaud the intent behind
> this condition, but I fear that it may have unintended side effects. 
> 
> I don't have much time right this moment to speak more fully; I will expand
> on my remarks in the near future unless someone else speaks my mind before
> I get a chance to do so.
> 
..but to continue... (and, Gerlach, I did note the parenthetical remark;
I simply did not have the time to say more earlier)

The key is "made a reasonable attempt". In some kingdoms, it is a standing
requirement that entrants in Crown Tourneys either have registered arms or
arms in submission. This leads to a flurry of submissions, often of regrettable
quality, at the last minute in order to meet this requirement. Sometimes it
takes a while to settle on a design that is acceptable to the client and is
at the same time likely to be registerable. 

Encouraging people to have arms at least in submission is not, per se, a bad
thing. I would hope that entrants who have not passed this milestone are at
least actively working with a herald to devise suitable arms. It may be that
they have submitted something that was returned in kingdom or by Laurel. 

Let me say that I am confident that Janos and Rachel are inclined to be
reasonable in their application of this condition, but it will be incumbent
on prospective entrants without arms to demonstrate that they are moving
positively in the direction of registering suitable armory.

A strict interpretation could leave local heralds and Golden Dolphin in the
role of gatekeepers, potentially causing prospective entrants to be denied
a place in the list. I don't think that is the intent of their highnesses,
but it could be the worst of those unintended side effects I spoke of.

If you are considering entering Crown, and you don't yet have arms at least
in process, it is not too soon to start working towards that end. There are
many skilled heralds who would be glad to be of assistance. I consider
myself one of those, so y'all can consider this to be an offer of my 
services if you feel the need.

yours,
Herveus
-- 
Michael and MJ Houghton   | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly
herveus at radix.net         | White Wolf and the Phoenix
Bowie, MD, USA            | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff
                          | http://www.radix.net/~herveus/wwap/