Who I Am

I'm Lady Marie de Blois. I'm currently Palimpsest Herald (Laurel's Rules Changes deputy), and am the primary author of the new Standards for Evaluation. I'm also Clarion Herald (Laurel's Education Deputy), and so I"m doing a lot of education and encouraging others to educate.

Availability

In general, I'm probably available to teach at your kingdom heraldic event, if you give me enough notice (help with crash space and stuff would, er, help, too), and possibly at smaller events if you're within 6-10 hours driving from eastern Pennsylvania.

The most common thing I've been teaching lately is about the new Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory (aka The New Rules), but I'm also available to teach classes about armory conflict (including the advanced tool - the Complex Search Form), the commentary process, the general process of submissions, and really basic intro classes.

I'm also available to run some Heraldic Games, if you have people who like heraldry and being silly.

The New Standards for Evaluation Classes

On The New Standards for Evaluation, basically, I'm willing to use up as much class time as you can get me.  How far I can break down The Rules will depend on how many class slots I have. :)  For armory, I can do either one 2-hour class or two 1-hour classes.

For these classes, it helps a lot to have a projector that can connect to a laptop.

• The New Rules for the Knowledgeable Herald:
  1 hour, no class limits, no class fees
  This class is aimed at those who are already quite familiar with the old Rules for Submission and want to know about the new Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory.  In this class, Palimpsest Herald will give you the rundown on all the changes between the current rules and the proposed new ones.  This class will be presented in terms of the changes - attendees should know what terms like 'X.2 simple' and 'Documented Exceptions' mean already - and aimed at getting current heralds up to speed quickly.
   
• The New Rules on Names
  1 hour, no class limits, no class fees
  As you have probably heard, there's a new set of rules for submissons called the Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory. In this class, Palimpsest Herald will give you the rundown on all the changes for you and name submissions.  We'll talk about the overall organization of the rules, regional name groups, conflict, presumption, and non-personal names.  This class will be aimed at heralds who may or may not be familiar with the old Rules for Submission, approaching the new Standards for Evaluation as a whole.

• The New Rules on Armory
  2 hours, no class limits, no class fees
  As you have probably heard,  there's a new set of rules for submissons called the Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory. In this class, Palimpsest Herald will give you the rundown on all the changes in store for you and armory submissions.   We'll talk about the overall organization of the rules, Core Style and Individually Attested Patterns, conflict, presumption, and more.  This class will be aimed at heralds who may or may not be familiar with the old Rules for Submission, approaching the new Standards for Evaluationas a whole.
  
  OR this combination of two classes:

• The New Rules on Armory Style
  1 hour, no class limits, no class fees
  As you have probably heard,  there's a new set of rules for submissons called the Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory. In this class, Palimpsest Herald will give you the rundown on all the changes in store for you and armory submissions in terms of armory style.   We'll talk about the overall organization of the rules and then focus on Core Style and Individually Attested Patterns.  This class will be aimed at heralds who may or may not be familiar with the old Rules for Submission, approaching the new Standards for Evaluation as a whole.
  
  and

• The New Rules on Armory Conflict
  1 hour, no class limits, no class fees
  As you have probably heard,  there's a new set of rules for submissons called the Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory. In this class, Palimpsest Herald will give you the rundown on all the changes in store for you and armory submissions in terms of conflict (and presumption).   We'll talk about the overall organization of the rules and then focus on conflict and presumption.  This class will be aimed at heralds who may or may not be familiar with the old Rules for Submission, approaching the new Standards for Evaluation as a whole.

Armory Conflict Classes

• How to Conflict Check Armory
  1 hour
  newer heralds through intermediate heralds
  This class will cover the basics of conflict checking. We'll talk about the types of charge groups and how to identify them.  We'll talk about some approaches to conflict checking, and how to define the possible set of conflicts by working backwards from the Rules.  By the end of this class, you should have an idea how to break a piece of armory into charge groups and how to find and evaluate possible items that a submission could conflict with.
   
• How to Conflict Check using the Complex Search Form
  1 hour
  intermediate heralds through advanced heralds
  This class will cover the uses of the Complex Search Form for the online O&A. We'll talk about categories, features, where to find them, and how to apply them for the fastest conflict checking ever.  By the end of this class, you should have an idea how to use the complex search form to find conflicts quickly.
  
  Note to class coordinators: internet access is helpful for this class, but not required

Commenting Class

• How to Comment on Heraldic Submissions
  1 hour
  newer heralds through intermediate heralds
  This class will cover commenting on heraldic submissions at the kingdom level. We'll talk about how to comment, what makes good commentary (and bad commentary), and the ways commenters can contribute even when they don't know a lot about names or armory. By the end of this class, you should have an idea how you can help your kingdom submissions herald evaluate submissions.

Submissons Process Class

• The Life of a Submission
  1 hour
  non-heralds, heralds of all levels, especially for branch heralds
  This class will track the progress of a submission from your hot little hands through the local, kingdom, and society heralds and back. We'll pry open the Black Box of submissions processing and let you see some of the workings inside. We'll also talk about the nitty gritty bits of filling out the forms, including the Boxes of Death and some "forms" you may have never seen before!

Basic Intro Classes

• Introduction to Names
  1 hour
  non-heralds, newer heralds
  This class will cover the basics of picking a historically plausible name in the SCA, including an overview of the types of name parts, finding parts for names, and an overview of putting the parts together. By the end of this class, you should have an idea how to research and document your name for registration with the College of Arms. If there is time, we'll touch on the style rules for names set out in the New Rules.


• Introduction to Armory
  1 hour
  non-heralds, newer heralds
  This class will cover the basics of picking a device or arms in the SCA based on medieval heraldic practice, including an overview of tinctures, field divisions, the rule of tincture, and more. We'll also talk about what not to do (like marshalling). By the end of this class, you should have an idea how to design your arms for registration with the College of Arms. If there is time, we'll touch on the style rules for armory set out in the New Rules.