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- Organization: Information Networking Institute, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
- Path: sparky!uunet!cis.ohio-state.edu!news.sei.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!ag1v+
- Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
- Message-ID: <kfBRdZa00iV2M16K9t@andrew.cmu.edu>
- Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 09:53:25 -0500
- From: "Andrea B. Gansley-Ortiz" <ag1v+@andrew.cmu.edu>
- Subject: Re: Heraldic questions...
- In-Reply-To: <0Nw1VB2w165w@sys6626.bison.mb.ca>
- References: <a7510c93@nudity.UUCP>
- <0Nw1VB2w165w@sys6626.bison.mb.ca>
- Lines: 59
-
- Worshipful sir, I recommend me to you. In your recent missive you write:
- > I find heralry great fun and If I was
- >ever to get involved formally with a group that professes anacronism and
- >at the same time beats on people for being OOP, I'd certainly ignore
- >their CoA. I consider it quite "in Period" to play the 'black Knight'
- >and ignore authorities I felt had no claim to my respect and/OR
- >obediance.
-
- The second part of your statement makes sense to me. However, the first
- does not. The CoA has no power to beat on people. Therefore, why rail
- against it? Also, the CoA has been given the task of encouraging medieval
- and Renaissance European heraldry. It falls short on many occasions, however,
- it doesn't make sense to condemn the CoA for their non-support of 20th
- century heraldry just because it's 'good heraldry.' It doesn't bear a
- resemblance to
- medieval heraldry.
-
- > I have a gorgeous set of arms with an astronauts helmet for a helm and
- >a nova in a starfield, set in a hexagonal shield. Nothing 'bad' about
- >that. Coa would hate it though.
- >
- > As far as I'm concerned a peice of good heraldic art is one that serves
- >the function to which it was designed for; namely to identify the bearer
-
- Are you actually speaking of heraldic art or heraldry? Do you see a difference
- between the two?
-
- It seems to me, from the few examples I've seen, that modern heraldry is more
- picturesque than medieval heraldry (to the modern eye). Is this what
- your talking about when you say heraldic art?
-
- I have no doubt that the arms you've designed are beautiful. What do they
- have to do with the Middle Ages? When a person writes a freeform poem with
- no meter, rhyme or alliteration, what does it have to do with the middle
- ages? It may be a lovely little poem, just as your device is lovely, but
- what does it add to the SCA.
-
- It seems to me, from your few comments, that you feel any anachronism should
- be acceptable in an anachronistic organization. If this is your position, I
- disagree. It took me a while to enjoy doing research. And some people never
- do enjoy research. But not doing research, and actively doing things which
- you know to be WAY out of period are different. Many people join the SCA to
- remove themselves from the 20th century. I think the least we can all do is
- try to not be obtrusively modern.
-
- This does not mean that I don't think the device you've designed is 'good
- heraldry.' I don't know enough about modern heraldry to even attempt to make
- any judgement of it. Is it your intent is to display it at an SCA event? If
- so, why? What makes you feel that it is appropriate?
-
- Written Monday before the celebration of the birth of Our Lord, from my home
- in the Debatable Lands.
-
- Su segura servidora,
- Esmeralda
-
- P.S. I can see it now, people coming up to me with *plenty* of examples
- of freeform period poetry. 8-) *Oh* the shame.
-
-