What Can the Wyewood Herald, Blak Shepe Pursuivant, Do For You?
In the SCA, heralds perform three functions:
- Assist participants in developing an authentic medieval name to use at SCA functions and registering it with the SCA College of Heralds.
- Assist participants in designing and registering a device (known as a “coat-of-arms” in the modern world) and badge that are in good medieval style.
- Make announcements in various forms at SCA events and gatherings, including court, tournament field announcements, and town cry.
If you would like assistance in creating a name, device, and/or badge, please feel free to contact Wyewood’s current Blak Shepe Pursuivant (a pursuivant is the title for a local branch herald) via the Contact link on this site. The pursuivant or one of the heraldic deputies is often available for consultation at the FCS . Look for the person with a table with books, and there’s a good chance you’ve found a herald!
If you are new to the SCA, it is good to know some basics about what constitutes a good medieval name.
See this article for an introduction on SCA names: A Few Words on Selecting and Registering an SCA Name.
Heraldry Resources
If you would like to learn more about names, and devices, and SCA heraldry in general, here are some great links:
An Tir College of Heralds
This site specializes in the heraldry of An Tir.
Here is the place to look for Kingdom Heraldic Officers, the Kingdom Order of Precedence, as well as articles on heraldry.
The Laurel Home Page
This is the Home Page of Laurel Sovereign of Arms, the head Herald of the SCA.
Laurel Website Articles on Names
This page holds links to a wide variety of articles on names.
Learn about general period and SCA naming practices, or read articles about names from a specific place or culture.
It’s a perfect place to begin if you’re just getting started on a name.
http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names.html
The Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory: Rules for Submission
These are the guiding principles of what names and devices are acceptable in SCA heraldry.
They are based on medieval heraldic and naming practices.
http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/sena.html
The Academy of St. Gabriel Name Articles
This organization researches period names. On this site you can find a number of articles on medieval names from a wide variety of cultures.
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/index.shtml
Search the Academy of St. Gabriel
If you are looking to see if a particular name is period, go to this site and then scroll down to “Search Our Past Work.”
Type in the name to search for information.
Lessons on Heraldic Design for Devices and Badges
This page has a number of lessons that are helpful to know when designing a device or badge.
http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/lessons/index.html
An Tir Roll of Arms
Trying to get ideas for a device?
The An Tir Roll of Arms depicts practically all the devices registered by residents of An Tir.
However, when browsing this site, please make note of when a device was registered.
The SCA registration rules have changed over time to more accurately reflect period practice.
Just because a design was registered in the past doesn’t mean that its charges and style are acceptable by the current rules.
http://rollofarms.antirheralds.org/
An Tir Website Heraldry Section