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Baronial Court
To honor those individuals who perform great deeds of daring, service and pluck, the representatives of the Crown would hold courts to reward the efforts of the members of the populace.Come witness the pageantry and majesty of a medieval court. Come watch as Lords and Ladies receive accolades for their services and talents that enhance the Barony of Dragon's Laire.
Feudal Trade
Each Lord and Lady in the SCA portrays a person who owes fealty to a land owner, such as a Baron or Baroness, Knight or Don, or even a King or Queen, and in their daily living they would interact with their neighbors and peers for trade and useful life purposes. We seek to portray a small portion of that concept through our depictions of the Arts and Sciences practiced at the time, the trades in which people were employed, as well as the chivalric ideals of the times.
Heraldry
Heraldry. When you hear that word, what comes to mind? Is it the tabarded individual calling people to the King’s presence? The colorful display of armorial bearings on flags and shields as knights went into battle? It can be both, and in the S.C.A., it is.
The workings of Royal courts in the S.C.A. are managed by Heralds, who use their vocal skills to announce what is happening, summon individuals into Royal presence, and read documents and decrees, working from memorized ceremonies and guides for such called “Ceremonials”. Heralds are the “Voice of the King”. A Herald is easily identified by the tabard they wear; the arms of the Kingdom or Barony they serve alternated with the crossed golden trumpets that signify the office of Herald.
Heralds also control the happenings on the tourney-field, announcing the combatant’s names and guiding them through the ritual honorifics before combat begins. Once combat ends, the Herald announces the victor.
The displays of arms you see, the shields and banners, those are also the work of Heralds. Since each individual’s arms and name must be sufficiently different from all others, a herald must check through rolls of arms, reading the arcane-sounding descriptions and interpreting them, and ruling on the correctness and allowability of what is desired. Heraldry has its own language, one that dates back to the early middle-ages, what might be called “Latinate Franglish”, the language of Blazon, that describes, in words, the design of an individuals Arms. To learn that arcane-sounding language is part of a Herald’s education.
Becoming a Herald often starts when a person starts designing their arms, the subject fascinates, the study intrigues, and a person becomes a Herald. Another route is the doing of voice-heraldry on the tourney-field, the use of one’s singing-voice to announce to the world what is happening. You learn the verbal patterns of the rituals and ceremonies, gain proficiency and ability, and a voice-herald is born.
All one needs to become a Herald is the interest and willingness to learn. The Heralds will happily train you in whatever areas you are interested in, and the rest is up to you.
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