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Having done the SCA thing before, I knew that I wanted to get my arms designed and submitted so that I could officially start using them. The design was done in August and the paperwork was completed and submitted in September. Just this last week I received word from my local herald that my name and arms had passed the final hurdle.
I encourage everyone to decide on arms and go through the process of getting them registered. First, it's pretty cool to have a "logo" you can stick on your stuff that identifies it as yours. Second, nothing helps hide that the rather modern room you're feasting in faster than heraldic banners. Third, it adds to the pageantry of The Game. Ever see those pictures of encampments at Pennsic with pennants and painted pavilions and sheetwalls bearing the arms of everyone in the encampment? It's really stunning.
If you have a background in the arts, go ahead and start sketching ideas for your heraldry. While there are many rules in heraldry about what you can and can't do, these five will get you started:
1. There are rules for which colors (heraldic-ly called "tinctures") can go next to each other. Colors - red, purple, blue, black, and green - can never touch other colors. Likewise, Metals - gold (yellow) and silver (white) - cannot touch other metals.
2. The purpose of your heraldry is to make you easily identifiable across the tourney field. If you're having trouble identifying your heraldry at arms length while you squint at it, it probably needs to be trimmed of some of the fiddly details.
3. The "Rule of Eight" says basically that no device should have more than eight elements to it. Elements include charges and tinctures. If your design is red, gold, blue, silver, and green and had a dragon, a wolf, a lion and a stag, you'll need to lose some things to get it to pass.
4. Keep your resume for your future boss. Your heraldry is a representation of you, but it shouldn't read like your unabridged autobiography. Better to pick out one or two things to represent you than to try and cram all your interests into one small space.
5. You can't have arms that make you something you are not. Arms that already belong to someone and certain heraldic symbols, like crowns, are off limits. So unless you are the King of the East (or his appointed representative) or Edward III, you will have to choose something else to represent you.
For my own arms, I knew I wanted a crane to play off my byname of Crane. The blue and ermine are a nod to the arms and persona I had the first time I was in the SCA and the whole thing has an asymmetrical quality, because I'm partial to what asymmetry does to a design. If you're feeling overwhelmed, or don't think you're artistic enough to do this, never fear! Your friendly local herald is there to help. They will probably ask you for one or two things that you like and what your favorite colors are and can help you come up with a design that you're going to love.
And once you have that beloved design, the hard part begins.
The cost to register a device is $8. If you're registering your name and device at the same time, your total cost is $16. Your local herald will fill the paperwork out for you and you'll need to send multiple copies along with your check to your kingdom heralds. Most heralds are pretty good about telling you when your device has made it to the various stages, but if you can't wait, you can track it online. The East Kingdom LoI (or Letter of Intent) archive posts submissions on a monthly basis. It took me a bit to figure out that the submission process on the archive reads right to left for submissions. The first row, marked ILoI is where submissions first show up. When the kingdom heralds are done, their response shows up in the LoR/LoD (Letter of Response/Letter of Decision) column. The xLoI column is where the Laurel Sovereign of Arms and crew get ahold of it and the last column, LoAR, is the prize. When your device shows up in this last row as passed, your wait is over. Break out the fabric and the scissors, it's banner time!
Some good sources for designing your arms:
Creating a Heraldic Device by Master Modar Neznanich, Volk Herald is a great PDF primer with pretty much everything you need to create your device.
Fleur-de-lis Designs is a company that creates modern crests. While I'm not advocating for their services, they do have an interesting page on symbolism. Now, keep in mind that this symbolism most likely stems from Victorian ideals. Medieval arms had symbols that meant something to the bearer and were by no means universal. Should you have need of inspiration however, it might help you design your perfect blazon.
The Online SCA Ordinary is a useful tool for checking for conflicts, but it is not the easiest thing in the world to use. For one thing, you need a passing familiarity with heraldic jargon. Things like the color "red" is called "gules" and what the heck "rampant" and "sinister" mean. Heraldy is it's own language which makes perfect sense... if you speak it.
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