Oyez! Oyez! -- Welcome All!

Please check our calendar for the most up-to-date information on our current in-person and online activities. 

Heralds' Night

When in-person activities can fully resume: Cynnabar Heralds' Nights are held on the first Thursday of each month from 6:30 until 8:30 pm at People's Presbyterian Church, 210 Smith St, Milan, MI. Heralds will be on hand to assist you with selecting and registering names and designing devices (coat of arms) and to help with any other heraldry-related topics. For further information, check the Barony's Arts & Sciences calendar (www.cynnabar.org/moas ) or contact either the Cynnabar Pursuivant at: herald@cynnabar.org or Dame Ursula Georges at: ursula@yarntheory.net .

Functions of the Office

The office of the Herald has many different areas of specialty which can generally be divided into two main branches: Vocal Heraldry and Book Heraldry. Below is a list describing the herald's primary functions:

Event and List Field Heraldry

The person who makes official announcements at events (and will often use the words "Oyez! Oyez!" to get people's attention) and calls the names of fighters at a tournament. We welcome people interested in learning and assisting in this vitally important role, which helps make our events run smoothly and more period accurate; so if you plan to be at an upcoming event and would like to help out, please contact the herald.

 

Court Heraldry

Along with Field Heraldry, this is the most visible aspect of the Herald’s Office. The court herald is the person who, along with royalty, plans and coordinates the agenda for court and acts as the “master of ceremonies” during it – calling people forward, reading award scrolls, and making proclamations, etc. In this role, the herald is truly "the voice of the nobles" and speaks on Their behalf. To view a list describing the Baronial Awards given by Cynnabar, please visit our webpage.

 

Book Heraldry

This includes the study of period names and devices (“coat of arms”, "armory", and "badges"); advising the populace on their creation, development, and use within the Society as part of their own personas; and the SCA rules and requirements regarding submission and registration. More experienced heralds lend their expertise and knowledge in the 'commentary period' of new name and device submissions by discussing their design or construction with other heralds and conflict checking them against those already registered in the Roll of Arms (Armorial). [A device (coat of arms) acts as your own personal logo, so to avoid confusion it must be easily distinguished from everyone else's; and your SCA name must be unique, too.]

 

For help creating a SCA persona and selecting a period-appropriate name you may want to read the online articles: (1.) Choosing a Society Name: Hints for Newcomers, (2.) Choosing a Name and Creating a Persona, and (3.) What is an S.C.A. Name? For an extensive list of names categorized by regions and cultures and general advice on name construction this SCA College of Arms website is a very good place to start. Additionally, the Medieval Names Archive created by the Academy of Saint Gabriel is another excellent online resource. 

 

To learn more about the colorful art of heraldry, there are countless resources, both online and offline; but for a brief online history see the Wikipedia articles on the history of heraldry and the role of heralds. The article, What is Heraldry? found on Medievalists.net includes two longer videos describing the development of heraldry.  The book A Complete Guide to Heraldry, written by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies and first published in 1909, is a comprehensive resource that is still useful today. -- For more information about heraldry within the SCA visit here and here and to take a short online tutorial start here: Heraldry for Non-Heralds. Finally, a handy, six page PDF guide, Creating a Heraldic Device may be found here.

 

Help with Submissions

If you have (or don’t have) an idea that you’d like to develop into a full-fledged, registerable SCA name and/or device; or if you just need help with all the paperwork required for submitting them – contact the Herald and set up a meeting; or plan to bring your ideas and/or conundrums to the next Heralds' Night. It is true that many questions may be answered by email or phone, but sometimes sitting down with a few books and brainstorming with others can be extremely rewarding, a lot of fun, and infinitely more successful.

 

Visit the Midrealm's Escutcheon [Submissions] Herald's webpage to learn more about how to submit a name and device for registration.

 

Courtesy and Precedence

The Herald’s Office is the go-to place for etiquette and assistance with recognition of different nobles and awards.

The Order of Precedence for the Barony of Cynnabar is maintained by the Office of the Herald. For an alphabetical list of Awards given by the SCA, Middle Kingdom, and the Barony please visit this webpage. (Click on each award's name for a list of Cynnabar recipients.)

 

Sumptuary Customs of the Barony of Cynnabar

Visit this webpage to learn how and when to properly display the arms of the Barony.

The Heralds of Cynnabar look forward to assisting you with all your name and device questions.

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Standard Disclaimer: I, [Legal Name], known within the Society for Creative Anachronism as [Registered Name - so we can double-check our records], understand that by submitting my device and/or badge that I automatically give permission for the Society for Creative Anachronism to use my artwork and armory for any and all internal heraldic and scribal purposes.