[MR] Greetings, thanks, and notice: a heraldic question

[Gorm of Berra]

A couple of things that need to be clarified before this turns into
another "Let's burn all the heralds" flamewar thread...

The Heralds did not change Taras' device "after 20 years".  They
changed the words used to describe that device.  The image did not
change.  The image was what was registered.  The image on file at
Laurel is *precisely* the same image that was drawn 20some years ago. 
The form is in a filing cabinet in the Laurel staff, and it hasn't
been altered.

Why was the change in wording done?  Because, the learning that the
Heraldic community has done over the intervening 20 years resulted in
a realization that the image you submitted back in 19mumbledymumbledy
could be more accurately described using different words.

Odds are this happened because the old wording caused a confusion
somewhere, and that confusion made it impossible to accurately judge
someone else's submission.  Clarifying the words made it possible to
judge the new submission, and changed what you carry on your shield
*not one bit at all* (assuming what you carry on your shield is
similar to what was put on the Heraldic submission form originally,
which it should be)

The entire purpose of the Blazon (the word description) of a piece of
armory is to enable someone who hasn't seen your Emblazon (the
picture) to be able to have a reasonable chance at drawing an accurate
rendition of it, whether it be for a scroll (or shield, or other
public display item) or to compare it to another submission (to make
sure they do not conflict).  The language needs to be fairly precise
to accomplish that, and sometimes the understanding of that language
needs to change.

Consider, for a moment, the state of armor 20 years ago vs the state
today...then realize the improvement in the knowledge of Heraldry has
been equal.  Do you still fight in a freon can helm and carpet armor? 
Why expect the Heralds to not progress beyond their understanding of
the language of Blazon from 1980?

On to the original poster's point.  There are no regulations regarding
the display or use of Heraldic Devices in Atlantian law.  Technically,
you do not have to even *begin* the registration process before
creating that spiff banner, tabard, or shield.  However, you must
realize that by doing so you run the risk of infringing on someone
else's already registered item, and they would be within their rights
to ask you to remove said banner, pack away said tabard, or not use
said shield.

You also run the risk of having to recreate the banner, tabard, or
shield when you learn that your design is not registerable for
whatever reason.  It happens, a lot.

My recommendation would be to *at the very least* wait until you
receive notification from Kingdom that your submission has passed
Kingdom review.  Our Golden Dolphin Herald gets it right a large
percentage of the time (I ran the stats at the end of my tenure and it
was over 80%, I'll bet Mistress Alisoun's numbers are even higher), so
you can be reasonably confident that if it passes Atlantia it will
pass.  For the ultimate in security, wait until you get the decision
from Laurel.

There is no requirement to receive an AoA or other award before
bearing a Heraldic Device either, at least not in this Kingdom (I
believe some others *may* have such a rule, but I am not certain).

I hope this clears things up a bit.

Gorm of Berra
former Golden Dolphin Herald
(in other words, I've seen this issue before...several times)

On 5/11/05, Terry Buyers <sirknight at mindspring.com> wrote:
 
> Especially after having a registered device for over 20 years and then
> having the heralds change said device for some paper-shuffling reason.