Heraldry is both a science and an art form. Developing out of the emblems and insignia born upon shields and banners during battle, heraldry as a profession encompasses not only the devising, granting, and blazoning of arms, but also …. determining and ruling on questions of rank or protocol.
(University of Notre Dame)
The study and practice of blazonry is Science, its arrangement and construction is Art.
Technically, the general term for what we study and practice is "Armory", and "Heraldry" is the term for the heralds’ duties. In practice Heraldry is used as the general term both in the SCA and mundanely. And please keep in mind that we are SCA heralds :
"....any armory submitted for registration by the College of Arms must be judged by SCA standards …. .... We are the Society for Creative Anachronism, and what we register is SCA heraldry, what we use and display is SCA heraldry, and what we have to use to determine appropriateness are SCA standards. (LoAR 2/91 p. 21)
The Herald’s Office requires more knowledge than any of the other Offices. One cannot be a competent Court Herald without knowing a modicum of Protocol, Precedence, Customs, and Courtesies. This is even more the case when consulting with a client about their name and/or device submission, for one must be familiar with the Rules of Blazon, the various fields, charges, lines, arrangements, etc. Therefore, agreeing to be a ‘herald’ commits one to study a great deal of information before one can be competent in the Office.
It also commits one to a certain level of comportment. A herald in a Tabard is not, essentially, an individual. She is a herald: the Voice of the King, Baron, Seneschal, or Autocrat. Meaning that she is Voicing the words of another: if in a Tabard of the Kingdom Arms, then the King or Queen; if in a Tabard of Baronial Arms, then the Baron or Baroness; If in a Tabard of the Shire arms, then the Seneschal; or in a Tabard of green with crossed gold trumpets, then an autocrat or other functionary at an Event. When in Tabard one has no personal opinions. One says what one is told to say.
Heralds also deal with the most central facet of everyone’s SCA life: their name and their device. Never underestimate the importance or sensitivity of these two items. And treat them accordingly. If we expect folke to listen when we speak, and trust us with their personal symbology (names and devices), then we must demonstrate that we act as ‘heralds’ and not with subjective agendas.
Historically, heralds were the first diplomatic couriers who often spoke rather than read their dispatches. They had to be a trustworthy Voice in conveying others’ words. And for this reason they were inviolate. We are the inheritors of this Tradition. As such, speak the Truth, and let your comportment always reflect your trustworthiness.
Heralds are responsible for the Tradition and Ceremony and Panoply which are vitally central to our SCA experience. We are the heart of the ambience. We are truly the Masters and Mistresses of Ceremony. These are the things that make it "Living" History.
This is what you are committing to upon becoming a herald.
Baron Taliesynne Nychymwrh yr Anghyfannedd Llanrhyddlad
SeaPanther and Argonaut Heraulde At Arms