Heraldry

Heraldry is an important part of creating a medieval feeling environment within the SCA. Banners waving in the wind or hanging on walls, heraldic devices decorating clothing and other personal possessions, and shields and tabards used to identify armed combatants provide a colorful setting for our events. Heraldry is also used to identify a particular person's role in the SCA, whether as royalty or simply as an officer. Heraldry also involves choosing and registering unique names that could have (but didn't) exist in the Middle ages or Renaissance. The Laurel Sovereign Arms coordinates the registration of names and devices for all the kingdoms, to make sure everyone adheres to the same standards and that there are not conflicts. Lady Rohese de Dinan, our local herald, is our resource for deciding upon and registering names and devices.

Heralds also generally maintain the Order of Precedence, a listing of all the awards individuals have received by date. They keep track of appropriate protocol, including what titles should be used and what types of restrictions there are on clothing and jewelry (called sumptuary laws). (Some items are restricted to certain individuals, particularly crowns and wide metal circlets, as well as gold chains). In lieu of specially designated individuals, Heralds are also responsible for keeping track of the history of the groups.

Shire Armorial
Awards Received by Shire Inhabitants

Names:
Medieval naming guides
Online Catasto of 1427 -- Searchable tax data for the city of Florence,  1427-9.

Arms/Devices in the SCA:
About SCA heraldry
Educational Guide to Heraldry and Blazoning in our Current Middle Ages
Search the SCA armorial

Badges in the SCA
Armorial for the Shire of Shadowdale

General SCA Heraldry Sites
Kingdom of Calontir College of Heralds
SCA Inc Heraldry links
Laurel Sovereign of Arms Education Page
Academy of St. Gabriel's

Non-SCA Heraldry sources:
The Zurich Roll of Arms -- Die Wappenrolle von Zürich - the oldest surviving original of a roll of arms, dated to ca. 1340

Awards:
Explanation of awards in Calontir by Mistress Jessa d'Avondale
Living in the SCA (Why awards exist) by Herzog Thoman Shadan Secarius
Calontir Law on Awards
Calontir Order of Precedence
Calontir Law on the Order of Precedence
Awards received by Shadowdale members

Sumptuary laws:
Kingdom laws

History:
Calontir History Pages by Master Crag Duggan

 

Disclaimer: This is the recognized Web Site for the Shire of Shadowdale of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and is maintained by Aimee Hanson. This site may contain electronic versions of the groups governing documents. Any discrepancies between the electronic version of any information on this site and the printed version that is available from the originating office will be decided in favor of the printed version. It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and does not delineate SCA policies.

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