From: atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Montgomery J. Moose)
Subject: A belated welcome to rec.heraldry
Reply-To: atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Montgomery J. Moose)
Organization: Oakland University, Rochester MI.
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 01:35:13 GMT

  This is the "official" welcome to rec.heraldry.  My apologies for the
delay in getting this message out.

  The charter of this group is as follows:

  rec.heraldry will be a forum for the discussion of heraldry.  Heraldry
is the science of designing coats of arms for nobility, and has been
practiced since the Middle Ages in all European countries.  
  Heraldry has a number of different aspects, all of which can be discussed in
the forum.  Each coat of arms is the hereditary symbol of a noble family, so 
knowledge of heraldry can be helpful in geneology.  As a craft which is
rooted in medieval feudalism, it can be an aid to historians and
medievalists.  And, as a living art form used in every country of the world,
it is practiced by amateur and professional heralds in the modern world.

  This charter was written to avoid "micro-management."  Rather than listing
topics such as "ecclesiastical heraldry," "municipal heraldry," and so on,  I
was simply trying to give a broad outline.  This seems to be adequate for the
purposes of limiting discussion (there hasn't been anything that I felt was
inappropriate, at least,) but I do feel the need to make a couple of comments.

  First, about 25% of the people who voted for the list were familiar to me
as members of the Society for Creative Anachronism.  As a medieval living
history group, the SCA maintains a large and active College of Arms.  There
is an Internet mailing list for SCA heralds where discussion specific to SCA
heraldry goes on.
  This group is NOT intended to discuss SCA heraldry.  Many of the
discussions of in the SCA heralds mailing list (such as arguments over
details of rules, reviews of events, and administrative discussions) are not
within what I feel to be the scope of this newsgroup.  Discussions of
heraldry proper (such as, "was this charge used in medieval heraldry?" or "is
this device currently in use?" as well as questions about research), do
belong in my conception this newsgroup.
  Since 75% of the people who voted are NOT in the SCA, it would seem
inappropriate to assume that everyone is familiar with the way that the SCA
works, and that SCA members should be careful about using SCA-specific
terms. It would be possible to include questions about the SCA in an FAQ
list, as
long as that would not seem to be gratutitous advertising about the SCA.
 Everyone in the SCA has an alternate name, and many also have armory. Whether
the use of these is appropriate is a decision I would rather leave up to
the individual.  However, SCA terms (such as RfS, which stands for "Rules for
Submission") should probably be avoided for the sake of clarity.

  Second, this newsgroup was not intended for discussions of geneology,
although these will come into play.  My newsreader records a newsgroup called
"soc.roots" that, I believe, deals with these questions.  If there are other
electronic fora for geneological discussion, we would do well to mention them
in an FAQ.
  As far as an FAQ goes, I see a need also for a UAQ (short for "unasked
questions.")  In the search for the McDonald crest, noone mentioned the
difference between the crest and arms.  The family in which everyone displays
the family coat of arms is also laboring under an unquestioned misconception
in that the coat of arms is supposed to belong to a _head_ of a family,
not every single member.  These questions should be addressed so that we can
hopefully reduce some of the basic misconceptions about heraldry.
  I would like to see proposals for FAQ and UAQ entries.  The list proposed
by Tom Barnes is a start:

}   a) Basic Heraldic Books
}   b) I saw an ad/shop/person selling "my family's crest".  Is this a sham?
}   c) How do I find out if my family's armigerous.
}   d) How do I register a device (SCA and non-SCA heraldic jurisdictions)
}   e) How do I go about doing geneological research (g alt.geneology)

 	I would add

	How do I verify a coat of arms?
	What sources for arms are there?

 As far as UAQs go, how about

	What is the difference between arms and a crest?
	Who can bear a coat of arms?
	If I'm "Fred Smith," can I use the "Smith coat of arms?"
	What is the legitimacy of the use of the bend sinister?

  I'm sure other people have more questions.

Alan Terlep				        "Please don't shoot us--
Oakland University, Rochester, MI	         we're trying to help."
atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu		     --Real public service announcement
Rushing in where angels fear to tread.		    for the Serbian Red Cross

	known in the Society for Creative Anachronism as

		Alan Fairfax Aluricson, Fenris Herald
		Canton of the Riding of Hawkland Moor
		Barony of Northwoods, Midrealm
		atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu		**Magnitudo Vocis**