Wes Hál!

Greetings! I am Lord Hubert de Stockleye (aka Wulfhere of Eofeshamme), a Herald at Large in the Kingdom of Calontir which is part of the medieval research and re-creation group the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). My legal name is Berry Canote. Let me tell you about this blog. When I returned to the SCA a couple of years ago I did something I had not done my previous times as a member. I designed and submitted a device (called a coat of arms by those not in the SCA). In the process of coming up with different designs, seeing what could be done, and what could not be done I developed an interest in heraldry. This blog highlights many of my designs as well as gives tips on name research. For more information please read the About this Blog Page. There if you are a SCA member you can learn how to register one of these designs as your own device as well as get acquainted with what I do. Finally, feel free to browse the links list. A note of caution, I am still very new to this so you are encouraged to consult another herald. In the time since I have started this blog I have begun writing on other topics of interest to me so expect to see other topics on the Middle Ages. Note: This is not an official Society for Creative Anachronism site. The views expressed here are my own.

About this Blog

Heraldry is defined by the Oxford Dictionaries as "the system by which coats of arms and other armorial bearings are devised, described, and regulated." In the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) in addition to handling devices or coats of arms heralds also make sure every SCA member has a name unique to him or her based on naming practices from medieval times. Having been a writer and a bit of a scholarly type documenting names was no problem for me. If anything I over document (I sent our kingdom submissions herald nineteen pages of documentation for my name only to find out later two or three would have been enough). However, designing an emblazon, and then blazoning it was something new to me. For those not familiar with heraldry an emblazon is the picture of the coat of arms, and to blazon it is to describe it in heraldic language.

With this new interest I began designing devices or arms just for fun. Part of this was to learn how to blazon a device (to describe it in heraldic language), but another part was simply to see what kind of designs I could come up with. After some thought, I thought it would be a shame for all these designs of devices to go to waste thus this blog. When I come up with a new design of a device I will post it to this blog for all to see.

If a SCA member takes a liking to one of my device designs and wishes to use it for his or her device all she or he has to do is email me and let me know that he or she plans to submit it.These device designs are totally free. Knowing someone is getting use of them is reward enough. If an SCA member decides to submit one of my designs as his or her device. I will then mark it as being submitted in the device's post. A word of warning though, I am new to heraldry. Some of these device designs may be too similar to existing ones in the SCA to be registered or I may have unknowingly violated some rule or blazoned the device wrong. While I do check for conflicts with devices and badges already registered as I am so new there may have been a device or badge I did not see that the device I designed may conflict with. And while I am fairly acquainted with the rules for an emblazon I am new at this, and the same goes for my blazon of a device (though generally if I am uncertain about how to blazon a device I ask someone more experienced). I therefore ask that you find an experienced herald and consult him or her about the device as well as  have him or her conflict check the emblazon for you. A great place to do this if you do not have access to a herald is the SCA Heraldry Chat group on Facebook. Simply post the device's image file to the group and ask them about the blazon as well as to conflict check it for you. They are more than happy to help. If there is a conflict they can advise you on how to change so it will not conflict with another device. Sometimes this means changing the colors (tinctures), adding charges (pictures of beast, plants, objects, etc.), changing the number of charges on the device, or adding a border.

If you wish to use one of my device designs you may email me at berrycanote@gmail.com. I am also willing to design simple devices for people. Just keep in mind I am no artist and that I will be using existing heraldic artwork. There are plenty of sites that distribute period heraldic art and I have links to these so you can get ideas for what you may want your device to look like. Too, if you have an artist handy that is not good at using graphics software I am more than happy to create image files of scans, and correct colors so they are can be submitted if you are using a computer printout for submission. Many kingdoms now accept computer printouts for submissions, but you have to be careful with your colors. If you like one of my devices but not the art used in it feel free to have an artist redraw the device to suit your tastes.

Since I created this bog, I have begun to post on interests other than heraldry. This is likely to continue so please stay tuned for a wider variety of topics.

By the way if you live in Central Missouri and are looking for a SCA group to join you are welcome to join the Shire of Amlesmore (Amleth Moor). The Shire of Amlesmore covers the towns and villages in Missouri of Brunswick, Cairo, Centralia, Clark, Clifton Hill, Hallsville, Higbee, Holiday, Huntsville, Keytesville, Madison, Mexico, Moberly, Musselfork, Paris, Renick, Salisbury, and Sturgeon.  Here is a zip code map to see if you are in our area:




 If you live in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, or Nebraska and are interested in the SCA here is a link to a map of the Kingdom of Calontir http://seneschal.calontir.org/calontir-map.php


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