What Makes SCA Heraldry “Wrong”?
Actually, there is nothing wrong with SCA heraldry, in that the heraldry that people use give them pleasure and attempt to revive the values of the Middle Ages. If your goal is to create a pretty picture that inspired by heraldic motifs, put it on a shield, and call it heraldry, that’s fine. One of the central values of the SCA is that people should be allowed to find their own level of authenticity. If your goal is to design authentic heraldry then you should be aware of the ways in which SCA heraldry is inauthentic. Here are some common pitfalls: 1) Trying to do too much – The most inauthentic sort of SCA heraldry is what I call “merit badge” heraldry. For example, a client must have a sword because he (or his persona) fights, a quill because he hopes to take up calligraphy, a shamrock because his persona is Irish, and so on. As one cynical herald remarked, “He couldn’t barcode his Security Number on his arms, so he put his life story on them instead.” By contrast medieval heraldry r
