Our Barony, and every branch, needs to have a person in the office of Herald. In Madrone, the herald has the job title “Red Tree Pursuivant.” (Pursuivant means “an officer of the College of Arms”) The word “arms” refers to the shield- shaped heraldic device that identifies a person – it’s their personal “logo.”
Geographic localities also have “arms,” such as the Barony of Madrone’s device of “Sable, on a pile argent a madrone tree erased proper, in base a laurel wreath Or.” When you know the special secret language of heraldry, you know that in ordinary English, that bold text says: “On a black shield, a white triangle shape with the point downward and in the middle of it a natural-looking leafy tree with bare roots, while in the remaining black section at the bottom a gold laurel wreath is laid out symmetrically.”
You can learn that ancient heraldic language and learn other secrets from other Heralds!
The Red Tree Pursuivant also makes sure there is someone – yourself or a person who wants to be the Ceremony Herald at an event – who will attend the event and speak for the Coronets when they hold ceremonies, to communicate awards and other activities to the populace. There’s a ceremony book to use as a script.
The other part of being a Herald is to be a resource for people who want to create a new “logo” device for themselves because they don’t have one, advising them on the basics of heraldry to help them apply to the SCA College of Heralds to get their application approved. You get to work with other heralds for help and advice to learn how the device application process works.
Please volunteer for the job of Red Tree Pursuivant Herald of Madrone. It’s a great job and it has been done by some notable Madronans of the past. And you get to wear a nifty tabard when you’re on duty.
The Baronial Herald (or their designate) is expected to serve at all Madrone events (usually about 5 per year), some neighboring Baronial events (2-3 per year), and some Kingdom events (1-2). This office reports at the monthly Baronial Business meeting and quarterly to their Kingdom officer.
If you would like to discuss the position in more detail, HL Simon Fisc, the current herald can be reached at Madrone.herald@antir.org or you can contact the Barun and Barunin of Madrone. You can also learn more by visiting the College of Heralds website at About Heralds and Heraldry in the SCA – An Tir College of Heralds (antirheralds.org).