What local SCA heralds (pursuivants) do in their local group and at events.

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Duties of local SCA heralds

Updated: Feb 9, 2003 

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This article on what local group heralds (pursuivants) do in the SCA based on the author's experience in the Kingdom of Meridies.

Local heralds for shires and cantons can be called on to do many things.

Local heralds for baronies: even more things — as baronies have many more people in the local group, much larger events, Baronial Courts to run, and canton officers under them.

Pursuivants handle simple tasks like basic announcements and may be asked to be the herald-in-charge at an event.

It is hoped that this article gives you a better idea of what your local herald might do — and you aspiring heralds a better idea of what you could do.

At local gatherings

For meetings, fighter practices, and classes the pursuivant might be called on to:

What a messenger really does

Basically, carry deliver messages from one person to another. In practice, this can also include small items and people. Superior messengers (couriers, envoys, etc.) act with discretion. The superior pursuivant keeps secrets and confidence and makes sure deliveries arrive safely and on time.

What is heraldic consultation?

Just a fancy term for making informed suggestions on names, devices, badges and other stuff about heraldry to clients (the person doing the asking).

Is doing heraldic consultation a necessity?

Technically, no. However, a local herald has to know enough to process the submission paperwork. Ideally, this includes knowing what documentation is acceptable, and what is not.

I believe the more you know and teach about SCA heraldry (especially heraldic display), the better you can look and the better your group can look. Check out the heraldry rules for the SCA.

Notekeeping

It's good for the pursuivant to keep regular notes on what happened (especially in the local group) every week, if not every month. Especially the items of relevance to the official report to the kingdom.

Other things as needed

The pursuivant is called upon for other tasks as well:

Process heraldic submissions
It's good to send out the local packet at least once a month. There might be a month, or many months, when the local herald receives no submissions.
Serve at Court
For an officer in a canton or barony, this can include serving at those baronial courts that do not happen at events.
Serve at events
When it's someone else's event, the pursuivant could volunteer to be a site herald, a field herald, a list herald, run a consultation table, teach a class on some aspect of heraldry, assist at Court, or otherwise help the herald(s) in charge at the event.

Event herald-in-charge

The pursuivant as herald-in-charge at an event is responsible for all of the heraldic parts of the event — doing certain things and making sure certain things happen, which may or may not include any number of the following:

1. Check in with event staff and Hats   
2. Wake up calls
3. Site heraldry
4. Book heraldry 		5. List heraldry
6. Field heraldry
7. Pre-court preparation
8. Service at Court


* The Hats refer to those people wearing the Pointy Hats who hold Court.

1. Check in with event staff and Hats
The superior pursuivant checks in with the event steward (autocrat). It's also good to check in with the Hats (if appropriate) to make sure their heraldic needs are taken care of. Maybe their court herald or their favorite scribe couldn't make the event. The pursuivant can offer recommendations on people to fill in.
2. Wake up calls
Enough said. It's good to know whether or not the morning kitchen crew wants a wake up call!
3. Site heraldry
This is making sure that certain announcements are heard by most everyone on site. These general announcements do not include advertisements for merchants. This also includes being a WALKING INFORMATION BOOTH. The perfect site herald knows when everything is scheduled to happen, when it's likely to actually happen, where everyone is, where everyone is staying, the location and description of everyone's vehicle, and everyone's personal schedule for that day.
4. Book heraldry
The herald-in-charge might not be at a consultation table, but they could make sure that the consulting heralds have what they need.
5. List heraldry
This is support at the field: running or helping run the list.
* Writing fighter's names on index cards
* Making the list chart/matrix/table/tree
* Organizing the index cards during the list
* Scheduling and re-scheduling bouts in the list
* Organizing and hanging list tree shields
* Finding and teaching helpers
6. Field heraldry
This is doing announcements on the field.
* Opening and closing the tourney
* Calling fighters to the field
* Leading salutes
* Announcing bouts
* Finding/coaching more heralds for a pas d'armes

Note: not all tourneys require field heralds ... or even list heralds!
7. Pre-court preparation
A herald-in-charge involved in Baronial, Principality or Royal Court might be called on to be a messenger, provide information on potential award recipients, or make a list of Court business.
8. Serve at court
Court is Theatre. A herald-in-charge might have a walk-on silent part as a retainer, a speaking role as a court herald, or be in the audience and taking notes. At the VERY LEAST the local herald should be a diligent scribe and note, for people in their local group, who got what award at what event. After all, it's part of the regular reports that are due every one to three months to the kingdom (at least in Meridies).

Note: members of a local group sometimes forget to tell their local herald when they get an award. Sometimes the pursuivant only learns of it from the SCA Web site or from the kingdom newsletter.

After Court, the herald-in-charge sometimes has nothing else that needs to be done — at least before Sunday morning for a weekend event...

Annual report

Using the notes and reports from the year, the superior pursuivant has the annual report almost finished on December 31, puts the final touches on it in early January, mails it early, and puts the copy in the office archives. Enough said!

Closing

So, that's my take on what local heralds do. I hope you enjoyed this article.

I'd love to know how things are different in your kingdom.

If you're interested, I have more articles on this site where you can learn more about what field heralds do, what list heralds do, what book heralds do, and what court heralds do.

 

Your feedback is most welcome!

 

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Original page posted: April 30, 1999. Links tested: September 2, 2007. Last tweaked: July 1, 2006.

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