Alys’ Simple Guide to Naming Awards and Orders
With the proposed changes to Corpora clearly requiring that all awards given by SCA groups be registered by the College of Heralds, some groups may find themselves having to change their existing award names in order to meet the current heraldic standards and comply with the mandate of Corpora. Special Heraldic Contributor to the Gazette, Mistress Alys Mackyntoich has put together this helpful guide to understanding the basics of how Award and Order names are constructed as a primer to help understand period and SCA practices. Individuals are encouraged to consult a herald who specializes in names with any detailed questions.
What’s The Difference Between An Award And An Order?
Administratively, there isn’t one. Heralds call them Order Names for our administrative purposes and I will do the same in this Guide because typing “award or order” gets annoying. There may be a difference in a particular Kingdom’s culture, but that is not official. For example, some people think that an award can be given multiple times, but an order only once, but that is neither period practice nor written anywhere in law.
How To Build An Order Name
Each order name must have two things:
- A designator from the list of designators approved by the College of Arms
- A substantive element that matches the way orders were named in period.
[SENA NPN.1] A designator is necessary so that we can identify the item as an order name rather than as some other kind of name.
In the name “Order of the Silver Crescent,” Order is the designator and Silver Crescent is the substantive element. (more…)