Unto the members of the Imperial College of Arms does Sir Nigel the Byzantine, Fleur-de-Lis King of Arms and Baronet, send Greetings and Salutations!

Fellow Heralds:

There is a lot of business in the Cover Letter; if you wish to go right to the Registrations and Returns, click here.

Semi-Annual Report of the Imperial Sovereign of Arms to the Imperial Estates General

The following report will be read to the assembled Imperial Estates at their meeting in July:

My Lords and Ladies of the Imperial Estates:

I am here to report on the state of my Office for the past six months.

Registrations.

I have registered 114 items and returned 32, an overall pass rate of about 78%. The breakdown by region is as follows:

Region Name	Registrations	Returns
Adria	18	0
Aragon	19	6
Chesapeake	1	2
Esperance	36	8
Sangrael	9	4
TerreNeuve	3	0
Thatuna	7	0
Umbria	8	7
Valley of Kings	3	0
York	10	5

Reports.

It takes a great deal of my time and effort to get reports from the subdivisions. I should not have to beg for reports; like any other ministry position, timely reports are essential to the workings of this Office.

I implore the Crowns of the Geographic Chartered Subdivisions to encourage their Ministers of Arms to send in reports. Kingdoms and Archduchies should report monthly, Duchies and Shires should report at least quarterly. Reports are due by the 15th of each month. If there is nothing to report, the report is still due - it just has to say "I have nothing to report".

As of this writing, all subdivisions that have a Minister of Arms are in compliance.

Education.

The "Basic Heraldry" online manual is still in the works. There is not yet an estimated time of completion. Work has commenced on the Book of Ceremonies in conjunction with the Patriarch of the Church, with an estimated time of completion set for Imperial Coronation.

Finances.

Since this Office publishes everything on the Internet, we have no operating costs at the Imperial level. I do not wish to request any funds at this time.

Thus ends the report.

Policy on Domains

The Lord Chancellor has asked me to draft a policy on the armigerosity of Imperial Domains so as to help clarify the issue that is somewhat vague in the Law:

Official Policy of the Imperial College of Arms on the Armigerosity of Domains

Imperially Chartered Domains are considered to be armigerous, and may bear arms ensigned with the same coronet of rank as prescribed for the rank of Lord or Lady. The Domain Coronet is of gold or silver and is composed of a circlet with four plain points, of which three are visible, as illustrated below:

A Domain has the same rights to register armory with the Imperial College of Arms as if it was an entity unto itself, subject to the Rules for Heraldic Registrations.

All members of a Domain may bear the arms and badges of the Domain as if they themselves were armigerous at the rank of Lord or Lady, but may not wear circlets or coronets unless they are entitled to them by virtue of personal rank (such as a Baronet).

All members of a Domain have all other armigerous rights as prescribed in the Estates Writ on Armigerous Rights with regard to the Arms of the Domain at the rank of Lord or Lady.

Members of a Domain individually hold no additional precedence by virtue of their membership in the Domain, but may walk with precedence as a group in procession at an event with the consent of and by the pleasure of the ranking Crown.

Imperial Sovereign of Arms Opinion on Selected Agenda Items

The following letter is my opinion on three agenda items that I believe have ramifications that fall under the jurisdiction of this Office. Feel free to share them with your Crowns and Estate Holders.

My Lords and Ladies of the Imperial Estates and the Citizens of the Empire:

I, Sir Nigel the Byzantine, Imperial Sovereign of Arms, would like to offer up the following opinions on three items on the Agenda that is before you. This is my opinion as Imperial Sovereign of Arms that I have drafted after researching the issues and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the rest of the members of the Imperial College of Arms, the Imperial Crown, or any other Imperial Minister or Ministry.

Please note: I use the male gender for titles not out of chauvinism but for brevity’s sake.

On the items NB 5 and NB 42, I wish to give some commentary that is common to both of those items.

Adria currently has three classes of titles: Landed (Temporal), Non-Landed (Court), and Chivalric (Knightly). This paper does not concern itself with the Chivalric titles as there is nothing on the Agenda regarding them.

The Landed titles are Emperor, King, Crown Prince, Archduke, Duke, Marquess, Viceroy, Count, Baron, and Sire. The Non-Landed titles are Prince, Count Royal, Founding Viscount, Viscount, Baronet, and Lord. "Crown Prince" counts as a Temporal title because it is reserved for the Heir to a Kingdom or the Empire.

The progression of titles in our Period follows this general path (from top to bottom): Emperor, King, Prince, Archduke, Duke, Marquess, Count, Viscount, Baron, Lord. If you take this list and compare it to the two categories above, and you will see that there are gaps in the list of Court titles: Duke and Baron.

What NB 5 and NB 42 jointly propose is to fill in those gaps and regularize our system.

NB 5 is worded thus:

Earls and Comtessas that have served as King or Queen twice or more and have been voted two successful reigns may style themselves Duke or Duchess of the Blood, and shall hold precedence above all other Earls and Comtessas.

NB 42 is worded thus:

Article IX. D.

14. delete "BARONET" (created by King James I in 1611) insert "BARON/BARONESS OF THE COURT OR OF THE EMPIRE"

16. delete "SIRE" (more a form of address with no acceptable feminine form) insert "LORD/LADY" after "LORD/LADY" add "OF THE COURT OR OF THE EMPIRE"

Together, what these two proposals create is a regularity among the Court titles of the Empire. Should these two titles pass, it would make the class of Court Titles progress logically up the ranks following Period practice, which is what we’re supposed to be doing here, anyway (following Period practice, that is).

These proposals do not create any new members of the Estates, nor do they radically change anything.

I would like to offer some specific commentary.

On the title of Duke:

The Imperial Sovereign of Arms has strong objections to the wording of "Duke and Duchess of the Blood" because we in Adria do not claim our titles by inheritance; rather, we earn them on our own merits.

The Imperial Sovereign of Arms would like to suggest that this title be styled "Duke Royal", which would make it consistent with the existing title "Count Royal". This use of "Count Royal" already makes the rank distinguished enough from the Landed Count which is an Estate Minor, so the transition is quite easy.

The sumptuary rights of this new title would remain unchanged from that of Count Royal: a black-and-gold Chain of State, a coronet, and the right to be addressed as "Your Grace".

Since, in order to qualify to be a Duke Royal, one must have already attained the rank of Count Royal, this does not create any additional members of the Estates, but instead recognizes the contribution of those who have served their Kingdoms as the Crown for two or more years.

On the title of Baronet:

This is what the Hereditary Titles website says about this title:

The hereditary Order of Baronets in England was erected by Letters Patent by King James I on May 22, 1611, for the settlement of Ireland. He offered the dignity to 200 gentlemen of good birth, with a clear estate of £1,000 a year, on condition that each should pay into the King's Exchequer in three equal installments a sum equivalent to three years' pay to 30 soldiers at 8d per day per man (£1,095 total). The first installment was to be paid on the delivery of the patent.

This is quite obviously (a) out of our Period and (b) quite contrary to the reasons for which the title of Baronet is given in our Empire. The title of Baronet is also a hereditary Knighthood, as indicated by the following excerpt from the Encyclopedia Brittanica:

Baronet. British hereditary dignity, first created by King James I in May 1611. The baronetage is not part of the peerage, nor is it an order of knighthood. A baronet ranks below barons but above all knights except a knight of the Garter. The baronetcy is inherited by the male heirs of a baronet.

James I, desperate for funds like all the Stuarts, decided to institute by letter patent "a new dignitie between Barons and Knights." Because the money was ostensibly for support of the troops in Ulster, candidates for the baronetage were required to pay the king £1,095 (the sum required to maintain 30 soldiers for three years), but such requirements were soon abandoned.

Basically, the proper form of address for a Baronet is "Sir", something that in Adria is restricted solely to members of the Chivalric Classes.

As stated above, the concept of "titles of the Court" is already present in Adria as it was in our Period; changing the designation from "Baronet" to "Baron of the Court" brings this title into closer line with actual Period practice.

I would suggest that should this item pass, current practice be kept regarding the titles of Lord/Lady and Baronet, that one is sytled "Baron of the Imperial Court" if the title is bestowed by the Empire, or "Baron of the Court of Esperance" if the title is bestowed by a Kingdom (in this case the Great Nation of Esperance).

There are two options open to the Estates regarding the sumptuary for this rank, Option one is to keep it the same: a simple circlet as opposed to the coronet used by Barons Temporal (Landed Barons and Baronesses). Option two is to bring it in line with the rest of the Court titles: allow a coronet, but no Chain of State since this title does not convey landeness nor a vote on the Estates. This is the Imperial Sovereign of Arms’ preferred option. In any case, the form of address for this title would change from "Your Lordship" or "Your Ladyship" to "Your Excellency", unless the bearer of the title prefers the older form.

Keeping in mind the Grandfather Clause, those who wish to use Baronet as either their own title or for addressing one of this rank would not be incorrect in continuing that usage, since it has a long and venerable history in the Empire. However, some areas currently use the form "Lord Baronet" or "Lady Baronet", and while this usage is not the best, to use "Lord Baron" or "Lady Baroness" would be highly incorrect and undesirable.

On the title of Sire:

I have heard from some of the long-time members of the Empire that the title "Sire" has as its origins the story of the Sieurs de Coucy. It is my opinion after much research that the transliteration of "sieur" into "sire" is incorrect, and that a better transliteration would be "lord".

The Sieurs de Coucy were indeed very powerful lords in France, whom even the Crown ignored at its own peril. However, their title is a form of the French word "seigneur", itself cognate with "signore" from Italian and "señor" from Spanish, all of which mean "Lord" not "sire".

The word "sire" is itself a form of address, not a title. It comes from a word meaning "father", not "lord". You addressed the Sovereign as "sire" because he was considered to be the father (or father-figure) of the Kingdom. Contrary to current Adrian practice, it is actually only proper to address someone as "sire" if they are the person to whom you have the highest fealty.

What this means (in English for the non-Nigels out there) is that your Sovereign Lord is the one you should be addressing as "sire": your King or your Emperor (and maybe your Archduke, depending on how much sovereignity he has).

What the Adrian rank of Sire is intended to convey is that one is the head of a House. In our Period, as well as today, the proper title for addressing such a person is "Lord", as in "Lord of the Manor".

As I have stated above under "Baronet", we already have a current acceptable tradition in place to differentiate those who would be "Lord" (temporal) and "Lord" (court). For those with Court titles, they would then be "Lord of <region name>". Already, you hear people being called "Lord of Esperance" or "Lord of the Empire". Temporal Lords would use "Lord of House <name>", or simply "Lord".

The form of address would not change; Lords of Houses would still be addressed as "Your Lordship". Those who are more comfortable with using Sire should still be permitted to do so, since this title also has a long and venerable history in the Empire.

There is one further item which I would like to discuss, NB 41.

This proposal is worded thus:

Article IX. C. 1. e. delete "BANNERETTE" insert "BANNERET" here and in all other references (both the rank and the banner according to A Dictionary of Heraldry, Edited by Stephen Friar, New York, 1987).

Everywhere I have looked in my extensive searches through both the Internet and my heraldic library, the title appears as "Banneret", not "Bannerette", even for female Knights of that Order. In fact, I could only find the word "Bannerette" in articles written by SCA members, never by serious scholars. Historians all consistenty use "Banneret"

The Imperial Sovereign of Arms has indeed been trying to encourage those of this rank to use the spelling "Banneret" in favour of the incorrect spelling "Bannerette" found in the Bylaws. (To my ears, it sounds too much like "luncheonette" or "majorette".)

The Imperial Sovereign of Arms has no opinion on the following Agenda items:

Old Business: 1

New Business: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50

Please contact me with any questions or comments. I can be reached by email at nigelbyz@yahoo.com, or my telephone information, which is available in the Adrian Herald.

Respectfully submitted,

Sir Nigel the Byzantine
Knight Minister
Baronet of the Empire
Lord of the Empire
Adrian Imperial Sovereign of Arms

Should the above Agenda items pass, the Imperial Estates Writ on Armigerous Rights &c. from November 1999 will have to be re-written. You can view the re-written Writ here.

New Addition to the College

I am pleased to introduce to you all Teceangl Bach, an SCA herald who has volunteered to be a resource for answering questions about heraldry and helping design arms. She is very experienced and comes with the finest references. I have given her the title of Bezant Herald. She can be reached at tierna@agora.rdrop.com.

As a courtesy, Fleur-de-Lis is registering her arms below.

Miscellanea

Some heraldic tidbits from Their Noble Lordships by Simon Winchester:

(On the the family of Viscount Brookeborough) ... When the family shield was devised the artists decided on including a "Brock," or a badger, as a recondite pun on the word "Brooke." The practice is known as "canting heraldry," and is the sort of in-joke that keeps heralds content in their curious task....

Gee, it doesn't take much to keep a herald happy, does it?

(On Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, Lyon King of Arms 1945 to 1969) ... Lyon in those days was a much respected, if slightly eccentric man ... but he had a tiny voice like a mouse, and when, as he usually did, he answered the telephone by squeaking into it "Lyon!" most callers just collapsed in a heap, it sounded so very peculiar.

I guess if you can have a Mouse that roars, you can have a Lyon that squeaks!

As always, please feel free to contact either Nigel, Maud, or Aerindane with any comments, questions, or concerns you may have.

In service to the Empire and the Art of Heraldry,

Sir Nigel the Byzantine, Baronet
Fleur-de-Lis King of Arms

REGISTRATIONS AND RETURNS

If you have any questions about anything on the LoRR, please feel free to ask. Also, if you disagree with any of my rulings, please feel free to comment. I am not infallible.

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS HAVE BEEN REGISTERED:

Adria, Empire of

Bezant Herald (Badge) (Fieldless) A bezant within and conjoined to a mascle argent, enfiled in chief of a crown or.

No conflicts found.

Teceangl Bach (Device) Sable, seven mascles conjoined three, three, and one argent.

No conflicts found.

Note: The following arms have been registered so that those who do not have the right to bear arms on their own may have something to bear in tournament. They are the Nine Worthies and the Nine Worthy Women. Watch for a forthcoming article on this subject.

Alexander the Great (Mundane) Sable, a griffin or. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

Arthur (Mundane) Azure, three crowns or. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

Boadicea (Mundane) Vert, an equal-armed Celtic cross argent. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

St Brigita of Sweden (Mundane) Per bend gules and azure, a lion argent. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

Caesar (Mundane) Gules, a double-headed eagle or. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

Charlemagne (Mundane) Or, a double-headed eagle sable. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

David (Mundane) Argent, a mullet of six points voided and interlaced azure. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

Deborah (Mundane) Vert, a standing scale argent. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

St. Elisabeth of Hungary (Mundane) Azure, a lion barry argent and gules. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

Esther (Mundane) Azure, a crowned portcullis or. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

Godfrey of Bouillon (Mundane) Argent, a Cross of Jerusalem gules. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

Hector (Mundane) Or, a lion gules. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

St. Helena (Mundane) Gules, a cross between four furisons or. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

Hippolyta (Mundane) Or, a horce forcene gules. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

Joshua (Mundane) Azure, three bull's heads caboshed argent. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

Judah Maccabee (Mundane) Argent, a dragon gules. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthies)

Judith (Mundane) Gules, a wild man's head transfixed by a sword argent. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

Lucretia (Mundane) Argent, a wolf statant sable. (Attributed arms - one of the Nine Worthy Women)

Note: None of the armory registered below were checked for conflict against these 18 devices. All future presentations will be checked against them.

Esperance, Kingdom of

de Monet, County (Badge) Vert, a bezant.

No conflicts found.

Esperance, Kingdom of (Badge) Purpure, a mullet of sixteen points or. (for Constables)

This, like all mullets of eight or more points, is being checked against suns. Clear against Aragon, Kingdom of (Estate: Aragon, Jul 1998) Gules, in pale a crown and a sun in splendor or. 1 CD for change of tincture of the field (XI.C.1.), 2nd CD for removal of the crown (XI.C.2.). Clear of Aurore of Byzantium (Device: TerreNeuve, Jan 1998) Sable, a sun or eclipsed gules. 1 CD for change of tincture of the field (XI.C.1.), 2nd CD for change of tincture to the primary charge (changing the centre of a sun counts as changing at least 1/2 of the charge) (XI.C.4.).

No conflicts found.

Esperance, Kingdom of (Badge) Purpure, a mullet of sixteen points argent. (for Deputy Constables)

No conflicts found.

Greymon Winchester (Device) Or, a martlet volant sable within a bordure azure.

Clear of Holy Roman Empire (Device: Dec 1998) Or, a double-headed eagle displayed sable crowned and nimbed or. 1 CD for change of posture of the bird (XI.C.8.), 2nd CD for addition of the bordure (XI.C.2.). Also clear of Russia, Germany, and Charlemagne for the same reasons (all have the basic formula Or, an eagle sable with some variants). No conflicts found.

Guinevere Morone Lococo de San Filippo (Device) Argent, a chevron between three bugles vert.

Clear of Violet Schaffron (Device: Esperance, Jan 2000) Argent, a chevron vert between three roses purpure barbed vert and seeded or. 1 CD for change of type of secondaries (XI.C.5.), 2nd for change of tincture of secondaries (XI.C.4.).

Clear of Maedeva Myrona nan Raven (Badge: Pembroke, Jun 1995) Azure, a chevron vert. 1 CD for change of tincture of the field (XI.C.1.), 2nd CD for addition of secondaries (XI.C.2.).

No conflicts found.

Guinevere Morone Lococo de San Filippo (Badge) Argent, a bugle vert.

No conflicts found.

Hedgehog, HMS (House) (Estate Resub) Sable, a hedgehog or and on a chief argent, a length of chain sable.

Their previous presentation, Sable, a hedgehog sejant erect (?) maintaining a belaying pin and on a chief argent a length of chain sable, was returned last month for style and for violation of the Rule of Tincture.

This is the text of the decision:

The hedgehog is not in a recognizable posture and as such was difficult to blazon. In our Period existed the concept of the creature being known by its posture: a bird displayed is almost invariably an eagle, an owl is recognizable only when close guardant, etc. Hedgehogs, as small spiny ground-dwelling creatures, are (to the best of Fleur-de-Lis' knowledge) always depicted in Period armory as statant, probably since they are rather dome-shaped with short legs, and any other posture would still tend to produce a dome-shaped mass. (It is interesting to note that hedgehogs are often depicted in Period armory as being stuck all over with grapes, although this fact is not always specifically blazoned.) Fleur-de-Lis would suggest that the hedgehog be drawn simply as statant.

Also, given its short legs, drawing a hedgehog maintaining anything is difficult at best. The belaying pin in the emblazon given looks for all the world like a dagger. Evidence of belaying pins in Period armory is required before such a charge could be registered in its own right.

Secondly, the hedgehog is a more-or-less brown animal, and placing an animal tinctured so on a Colour field violates RfHR I. Blazoning a charge as "proper" does not obviate the need to conform to the Rule of Tincture.

Subsequent research on Fleur-de-Lis' part has shown no instances of hedgehogs in Period armory in any other posture but statant.

This new presentation fixes both problems: the hedgehog is in its default posture and not carrying anything, and its tincture complies with RfHR I. No conflicts are found.

Fleur-de-Lis would still like to suggest that the hedgehog be drawn with grapes stuck to its back, if only for the humour factor.

Sangrael, Archduchy of

Isabeau Dionne (Device Resub) Sable, a pale gules, overall a wyvern displayed, tail nowed within a bordure rayonny or.

Her previous presentation, Gules, a wyvern displayed, tail nowed, within a bordure rayonny or, was returned for conflict. This fixes the conflict and provides for an even more striking design than previous.

Isabeau Dionne (Badge) (Fieldless) A sword inverted argent enfiling an annulet or. (For alternate persona Xuxa)

Clear of Vox Coronis Herald (Badge: Adria, Dec 1998) (Fieldless) A straight trumpet palewise, bell to chief, enfiled of a crown or. 1 CD for fieldlessness (XI.C.1.a.), 2nd CD for change of type from trumpet to sword (XI.C.5.). No difference is counted between the crown and the annulet for the purposes of enfiling.

Clear of Joan of Arc (Device: Mundane, Dec 1998) Azure, a sword proper enfiling in chief a coronet between in fess two fleurs-de-lis or. 1 CD for fieldlessness (XI.C.1.a.), 2nd CD for removal of the secondaries (XI.C.2.). No difference is counted under XI.C.8. for change of posture because inverting a sword does not significantly change its appearance.

Clear of Dagr MacGuiness (Badge: Esperance, Feb 2000) Gules, a sword inverted argent. 1 CD for fieldlessness (XI.C.1.a.), 2nd CD for addition of the annulet (XI.C.2.).

No conflicts found.

TerreNeuve, Kingdom of

Corbin Lambert (Device) Vert, on a chevron argent three eggplants purpure.

This gentleman's arms, originally registered in November 1996, were released last year due to an abated membership. Now that he has returned to us, he is presenting his arms here for consideration. Fortunately for him, not only do his arms conform to today's rules, but there are no conflicts.

Thatuna, Shire of

Solstice, House (Badge) (Fieldless) An acorn slipped and leaved or.

Clear of Killian Oakesblood (Badge: York, Jun 1995) Per pale gules and sable, an acorn inverted slipped and leaved in chief of three oak leaves or. 1 CD for fieldlessness (XI.C.1.a.), 2nd CD for change of posture (XI.C.8.).

No conflicts found.

Umbria, Kingdom of

Keara Craig (Device) Sable, a canton or.

Clear of America, United States of (Badge: Mundane, Dec 1998) Barry gules and argent, a canton azure mullety argent. 1 CD for change of tincture of the field (XI.C.1.), 2nd CD for change of tincture of the canton (XI.C.4.). "Barry" is a field division and therefore counts for conflict as a tincture; Sable is one clear difference from barry Gules and Argent. In case anyone hasn't recognized it, it's the American Flag. Fleur-de-Lis finds it interesting to note that he has had to check conflict against the American Flag on the 4th of July.

No conflicts found.

Serene, Guardian of the Circle of Power (Device) Purpure, on a bend sinister argent, a bear's paw print sable.

No conflicts found.

Since the registrant has not informed this office of her wishes, we are retaining her previously registered arms, Per pale argent and sable, a pair of dragon's wings conjoined counterchanged, a base purpure, as a badge.

Valley of Kings, Shire of

Conall O'Cearnaigh (Badge) Sable, on a plate a wolf's head caboshed sable, all within a bordure embattled argent.

Clear of Aifa Rowan (Device: Valley of Kings, Apr 2000) Argent, a pellet charged with a wolf's head caboshed argent, all within a bordure embattled sable. This is a photonegative of the presented armory, but all of the CDs fall under XI.C.4., for a total of 4.

Fleur-de-Lis would like to point out that having similar armory is an indication of blood relationship, even if the arms are technically clear.

York, Kingdom of

Luidheag Taigh, House (Estate) Argent, a marionette courant contourny dependent by strings from a chief embattled sable.

Clear of Leonora Dominica Scott Greyphis (Device: Esperance, Apr 1999) Argent, a domestic cat sejant sable, a chief vert. 1 CD for change of type of primary (XI.C.5.), 2nd CD for change of tincture of the chief (XI.C.4.).

No conflicts found.

Malcom of York (Device) Gules, a boar statant contourny or.

Clear of Morgan MacCanna (Device: Esperance, Apr 1999) Per pale sable and vert, a boar statant contourny argent. 1 CD for change of tincture of the field (XI.C.1.), 2nd CD for change of tincture of the primary (XI.C.4.).

No conflicts found.

Wright Bentwood (Device) Vert, in saltire two axes or.

No conflicts found.

THE FOLLOWING ARE BEING RETURNED FOR FURTHER WORK:

Esperance, Kingdom of

Aileen O'Kelly (Device) Sable, a plate and overall a sword inverted vert.

This is being returned for violation of the Rule of Tincture (RfHR I.). A Vert charge may not be placed on a Sable field. While previous precedent does allow for the practice of placing an overall charge that has poor contrast with the background over an ordinary with good contrast, this does not extend to subordinaries such as roundels. Changing the tincture of the sword to Or would fix this problem.

If this change is made, the device would be clear of Pangea, Barony of (Estate: TerreNeuve, Jun 1996) Sable, a plate fracted per pale. 1 CD for addition of the sword (XI.C.3.), 2nd CD for type change under XI.C.5.

Connor O'Riordain (Device) Gyronny gules and argent, a wolf rampant sable.

Conflict with William de Gardner (Device: TerreNeuve, May 1992) Per fess or and gules, a wolf rampant reguardant sable maintaining in its mouth a heart sable. 1 CD for change of tincture of the field, but no CD granted for head position or for the maintained charge (which a look at the emblazon shows is very small indeed). Head position is not significant enough to count for a difference under XI.C.8.

York, Kingdom of

Netherwoods, House (Estate) Per bend azure and sable, a catamount rampant incensed argent.

This appears to be an  English panther, which is the only heraldic beast characteristically displayed as having fire coming out of its ears and mouth ("incensed"). However, English panthers are always shown as argent spotted of roundels of all tinctures, not as being all argent. The reasoning given for the incensing of the panther is its "sweet breath", which according to medieval beastiaries purportedly delights all creatures save its enemy the dragon, which flees in fear at the scent. English panthers are also typically depicted as guardant, but this is not always the case.

Therefore, this is being returned for style. If this is indeed intended to represent an English panther (German panthers being rather freakish critters bearing no relation to the benevolent English beast), it should be powdered with roundels of different colors (all tinctures except Argent). If this is not a panther but instead a lion, it would be returned for conflict with Aerindane McLorie and David von Albrecht. Adding the spots would remove the conflicts and permit registration of this armory. There would be no conflict with the one German Panther registered since the two monsters are heraldically distinct (one is a glorified Lion, the other is a cousin to the Tyger (the monster not the cat)).

Specific fixes:

Powder the creature with roundels of each tincture other than Argent (mandatory).
Turn the creature's head so it faces outward instead of to the side (optional).
Make the flames tongues of Gules and Or instead of Argent (optional).

Fleur-de-Lis would like to see all of the above fixes in the re-presentation, but only the first is mandatory for registration (barring any conflicts that may arise in the meantime - so hurry!).

York, Kingdom of (Badge) Quarterly 1, azure, in saltire a sword and an axe or, 2 and 3 or, 4 azure, a grenade or. (for the Guild of the Bentwood Raiders)

This is being returned for violation of RfHR VI, since this is marshalled armory. Fleur-de-Lis would suggest that the members of the Guild work with White Rose and the other experienced heralds in their area (one of whom is the King and the other is the retired King) to create a unified design. Bezant would also be available to help create a good design.