April 2021 – Techniques of Digital Heraldry

How the East Kingdom got its Blue Tyger

The Blue Tyger (sometimes informally known as “Sparky”) serves as a sort of mascot for the East Kingdom, appearing in its populace badge as well as many of its award insignia.

Earlier this year I got curious about why this was, and asked some Eastern heralds, who provided a bunch of the context: the blue tyger had been selected by Alfgar the Sententious, first Brigantia Herald, as a figure from East-Asian mythology and a riff on the dragon of the Middle Kingdom.

[People’s Democratic Republic of the East, Returned, Apr 1996 LoAR]

I recently stumbled across this gem in the Archive of Laurel Letters:

Laurelin Hardy Letter of Intent of 1 April 1996

East, People’s Democratic Kingdom of the. Name and device. Purpure, in saltire a hammer and sickle within a laurel wreath, in chief a crown Or.

An Unsubmitted Badge for the “Vicar-General” of Østgarðr

For the first eight or nine years of Society activity on the East Coast, the Kings and Queens of the East lived within driving distance of New York City, and the Crown Province of Østgarðr was governed directly by the royalty.

However, in the winter of AS X the Crown Tourney was won by Sir Alaric of the Southern Region (now Atlantia) and this situation became untenable — in the spring, rule would pass to a king who lived too far away to visit the city regularly.

To prepare for this situation, at Twelfth Night in January 1976, King Aonghais (yes, that Aonghais) named Count Vardak Mirceavitch Basarabov of Iloi (yes, the only Court Count) to be a royal representative, tasked with overseeing the province on behalf of the Crown. Continue reading “An Unsubmitted Badge for the “Vicar-General” of Østgarðr”

April Additions to the Traceable Art

Over the last six weeks, another 230 new illustrations have been added to the Traceable Heraldic Art collection.

This steady pace is made possible by the contributors who send in art to share with the community, and so I would like to welcome the newest illustrators to join the project, Forveleth Dunde and Séamus Uí Chonchobhair.

For their ongoing efforts, my thanks also go to returning artists Saewynn aet Cnolle, Owen Tegg, Jessimond of Emerickeskepe, Iago ab Adam, Gunnvôr silfrahárr, Elionora inghean Ui Cheallaigh, and Vémundr Syvursson. Continue reading “April Additions to the Traceable Art”

A Roadmap to Morsulus’s Monthly Updates

Last year I wrote up a summary of Morsulus’s process for applying updates from the monthly LoARs to the Society’s O&A database, and then more recently I put together a high-level visual overview of the context in which the Morsulus herald does his work.

More recently, I thought it might be useful to use a similar visual style to summarize the monthly update process, as a way of giving people a graphical roadmap to the data flow before they dive into the step-by-step technical nitty-gritty. Continue reading “A Roadmap to Morsulus’s Monthly Updates”

The Refrigerator Test

At the conclusion of an armorial design process, whether self-guided or in consultation with a herald, when you’ve found a device that appears to follow all of the rules and is free of conflicts, there can be an urge to rush it off to your kingdom’s submissions herald ASAP — after all, it’s perfect — and registration takes so long, you better get started now — and worst of all, what if someone else registers it first?

At this point, savvy practitioners will urge you to pause for a moment and catch your breath.

Continue reading “The Refrigerator Test”

April First Letters of Misintent

Once again it is time for the College of Arms’ annual April First Letters of Misintent. Last year I put together a bunch of submissions but I didn’t have time to do so this year, and will have to settle for laughing in appreciation of this very nerdy form of humor.