To enhance the medieval ambiance of SCA events, participants typically
adopt pseudonyms and heraldic insignia with a medieval flavor, which they
use on a long-term basis. Thus a person whose legal name is "John Doe"
might choose to be known as "Hrolf Einarsson" to his SCA friends.
And at SCA tournaments and wars he might bear a device on
his shield consisting of six black lions on a gold background.
An SCA device is a heraldic insignia which used to indicate
that the owner of the device is present. The SCA uses the word
armory to refer to heraldic insignia in general.
Participants generally select their own SCA name.
It is considered bad form to assume a name too
reminiscent of another participant or any famous person, be they
modern, historical, or fictitious. Also, intrusively modern names
should be avoided. Armory, too, must be
chosen with care to avoid modern-style designs and designs that
make inappropriate claims.
Every chapter of the SCA has an officer, called a herald
or pursuivant to assist participants in choosing appropriate
names and armory.
To reduce the chances of confusion or offense caused by inappropriate
names and armory, the SCA has organized a registration
service, to which participants may submit their proposed names
and armory for approval. In addition, the SCA registers names
and armory for SCA chapters (or branches), their officers
and titled nobility, and the honors they may bestow on participants.
The registration process is administered by the SCA's own
"College of Arms".
An armorial is a reference book containing coats of arms, arranged
alphabetically by their bearer's names.
The SCA Armorial is an armorial of insignia registered with the
College of Arms. It also lists registered names for individuals and groups
that have no registered insignia. It is available as a 670-page loose-leaf
document or as a 6 MB text-file.
Search forms
for the SCA Armorial enable access via the World Wide Web.
An ordinary is a reference book containing coats of arms,
arranged in descriptive categories.
The SCA Ordinary is an ordinary of insignia registered with the
College of Arms. It is available as a 1000-page loose-leaf
document and as
a World Wide Web document.
SCA events may feature courts, tournaments, and other activities.
A court is a general audience granted by a high-ranking SCA
noble for the purpose of doing official business. The organization
of courts is the resposibility of court heralds.
SCA heralds also assist the running of events by making public
announcements, especially at tournaments. For instance, a herald
is typically employed to announce the combattants before each bout
of a tournament.
Since amplification is not used at SCA events, vocal training is very
helpful for court and tournament work, which is called voice
heraldry.
Registration
The SCA Armorial
The SCA Ordinary
Court and Voice Heraldry
Related web pages:
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