In Ealdormere, group officers are pursuivants, and Kingdom Staff Heralds are Heralds. You can find more information on this here. But first, the basics that you will need to know…

Your First Duty

The very first duty of any local officer, and that includes the local herald, is to report to your superiors. You need to write the Trillium Herald (and, if applicable, your Baronial pursuivant), introducing yourself and providing your SCA name, your real name, address, telephone number, and any other important information (including your membership # and expiry date).

If you do not contact the Trillium Herald, you will not be warranted and cannot serve your group. Also, as a group officer you must include a letter from your Seneschal stating you have been chosen to represent the group. A letter from the outgoing herald is appropriate but not necessary. These can be replaced by submitting the "Change of Officer" form (your seneschal should have copies of these)

Also, to be an officer of the Crown, you must be a paid member of the Society. If you don’t have a membership, you will need one. Without one, you will not receive The Tidings, the Kingdom’s newsletter, and you will not be informed of changes to the running of the kingdom by the Trillium Herald, Kingdom Seneschal or the Crown.

What's A Warrant?

In Ealdormere, the Trillium Herald maintains a roster of all the active heralds in the kingdom. They provide this list to Their Majesties' every Coronation. This list is signed by the King, Queen, and the Trillium Herald, authorizing (or warranting) these officers to act in the Crown's name as heralds.

Only warranted heralds may serve a group acting as Their Majesties official voice to the people, and as the people's official voice to Their Majesties. This means that only warranted heralds can serve Their Majesties in court.

When an officer writes a letter of introduction to Trillium, they are asking to be warranted by the Crown. If Trillium places your name on the warrant roster, you are accepted. Rarely does the Crown or Trillium refuse a request to warrant someone, but remember that it is their right to do so.

Assisting With Names and Devices

You are responsible for assisting your local members of your shire or canton come up with a name and/or coat of arms. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an expert or the final authority. You just have to make the process of submitting understandable (and hopefully enjoyable). When in doubt, contact the Senior Herald in charge of Submissions (the Green Mantle Herald) for information.

Your Group's Name and Heraldry

If you are a group pursuivant, it is your responsibility to educate your group on what your shire or canton’s heraldry is.

Every group must have a name. It must be registerable as a medieval-style name to a place. To become a incipient status group, you must have a name that has a fair chance of passing. The Shire of Washerwomen’s Crossing would likely pass. The Shire of the Castle of Inescapable and Complete Dread likely won’t. Do some research at the library, and come up with something appropriate to your group. A petition of support by the members of the group must accompany the name submission.

Next, make sure your shire or canton has a coat of arms. If you are a new group, you will have to submit a group coat of arms, along with a petition signed by the members of your group showing overall support for that particular submission. Remember that every group coat of arms must include a prominent laurel wreath of any colour. Every group that wants to become a full status group must have

If your group already has a coat of arms, it is your responsibility to make sure everyone knows what it is.

If people in your group want to wear something indicating they are members of your group, they cannot wear the group arms – that is reserved. However, they can wear a badge registered to the group, which can be a simplification of the group arms (less the laurel wreath), or something completely different. If your group wants a badge, you have to submit one, along with a letter of petition.

If you are a canton, the only people who can wear your group arms are your King and Queen (who ‘own’ your canton), your Baron and Baroness (who ‘hold’ the canton from the Crown), and you, the local herald (who represent the king and baron in their canton).

If you are a shire, only the King, Queen, and the local herald may wear the arms.

The reason for this restriction is whoever wears the group’s arms is indicating ownership of the group, and the seneschal, the officers, and the populace of your group do not individually own the canton, they merely members of it. The herald may wear the arms as the representative of the group only.

Serving as an Event Herald

Odds are, your group will hold an event at some point. Every event needs an event herald, and odds are it’ll be the local herald.

Your duties at the event are to make sure that announcements (or heraldic ‘cries’) are made announcing the beginning of the tournament, feast, introducing entertainers, finding parents for lost children, and anything else that the general attending populace might need to know.

You don’t have to be the feast herald (announcing removes and entertainers) or the court herald (assisting the Baron and Baroness or King and Queen during their court by reading scrolls and announcements), but these things will need to be done at the event. If you are not doing them, make sure someone is.

Other Duties

Some groups have other duties for their local heralds. Some have the herald call the group to order for business meetings, or have them act as an impartial party to count ballot votes for officer selections and the like. Other groups might have the herald act as their ambassador or spokesperson to represent the group in court when making presentations in court. What other duties you undertake are up to your group’s inclination, traditions, and what you want to do.

Reporting

Finally, a serious note. Whatever your local duties, your most important duty is to report to Kingdom on a regular basis every four months stating what heraldic activities are occurring in your group.

Many see this duty as onerous, but it is necessary. A report doesn’t have to be long or involved, but it needs to be in on time.

Stepping Down

Your office can be as much or as little as you make it, but have fun doing it, and if you find it tiring or uninteresting, tell your group, pass on the office, and go on to something else that you enjoy. If your regular reports consist of ‘nothing happened in the last six months’, that’s a good sign to get out. After all, if you are interested in being a herald again, you can become your group herald at a later time, volunteer to become Baronial Pursuivant, or even put your name in to take a staff position at kingdom.

Remember …

This is a hobby. If it’s fun, do it. If it’s not fun, don’t. If you don’t understand something, call your Baronial or Kingdom Herald. They’d love to talk to you. Congratulations on becoming your local pursuivant. This could be the start of a very happy career in the SCA.

Enjoy!