Heraldry
From MiddleWiki
Heraldry as a thing; this usually means coats of arms, devices, flags, symbols, etc. which are recorded and sent for registration by a Herald, see below.
Heraldry as an action; usually done by a Herald, see below.
Heraldry, or Herald, as a person, see below.
The Heralds of the Midrealm are organized under the Middle Kingdom College of Heralds, headed up by the Kingdom Principal Herald, the Dragon Herald, who oversees the heraldic activities of the Middle Kingdom. Those Activities are:
- Field Heraldry: This concerns making announcements at events and demos, or "Crying the Field."
- Silent Heraldry: A Silent Herald translates for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. They are volunteers with varying degrees of skill, and are not professional Sign Language Interpreters while acting in their capacity in the SCA.
- List Heraldry: For more formal tournaments, especially Crown Tourney, Heralds are employed to help run the lists by calling for combatants to "Prepare to Arm," "Be Arming," and to "Report to the List." For the benefit of spectators, they will announce combatants, recite the "litany," and announce winners and losers to the spectators and to the List Table.
- Book Heraldry: This is the most well known branch of Heraldry, and concerns devices and coats of arms. Individual Heralds often act as points of consultation for branches or members of the populace in devising arms, and then the College of Heralds conducts a review of them before sending them to the Laurel College of Arms for registration. This branch of Heraldic practice also concerns itself with onomastics, or names, and the registration thereof.
- Court Heraldry: As a warranted herald is required to be present to report the doings of a Royal Court, the training, organization, and provision of such heralds falls under the College of Heralds.
While not directly managed by the Dragon Herald or College of Heralds, the Kingdom Signets are overseen by them and the College of Heralds co-ordinates with them for the delivery of award scrolls to Courts for the recipients of honors.
Heralds are easily recognized when acting in an official capacity; usually one will wear a green garment or sash with the symbol of the heralds, Crossed Gold Trumpets, readily visible, pictured right and above.
