Heraldry

What is Heraldry in the SCA?

When most people hear about heraldry, they think of coats of arms and colorful shields with fancy designs on them. Registering your own unique coat of arms (also called a device) or badges are part of heraldic activities in the SCA. Heralds also help you with researching and registering unique names, make announcements to participants at events, run courts for our nobility, or provide sign language translation during court.

To get more information about heraldry in the SCA, contact the Malagentia Herald at herald@malagentia.eastkingdom.org

How do I register my very own name and arms?

Anyone participating in the SCA can register up to 10 names and 10 armorial designs with the College of Arms. Names must be composed of documentable elements used by real people in history. Heraldic designs must follow a set of rules based on historical practices. Malagentia’s herald can be reached at herald@malagentia.eastkingdom.org to start the process. You can also choose to work with any other SCA herald you prefer. Though your local herald being kept in the loop is never a bad thing!

Rules, helpful articles, and lists of pre-documented names for many languages and time periods are available at http://heraldry.sca.org/ . Submission instructions for the East Kingdom are available at http://bth.eastkingdom.org/ . There’s a very active consultation group on Facebook called “SCA (Unofficial) Heraldic Consultation” that has dozens of heralds able to help with all manner of questions.

The rules for names and designs can be a lot to deal with, so working with a herald is highly recommended to make the process easier.

Who gets to be a herald?

Anyone who wants to! The heraldic community is very welcoming. Some heralds specialize in only one area, others like to dabble in multiple. Whatever your interest, there are lots of places to learn, and more help is always appreciated.

Resources