Regalia Miscellany

A collection of designs for various items of SCA regalia.

In addition from the larger pieces of SCA regalia (such as Crowns, Fealty collars, Chains of Estate and Cloaks), I have a designed a number of random items for use by the SCA Kingdom of Lochac, including badges, seals and award tokens.

They are detailed here, in reverse date order.

2008 – Royal tunic plaque

In preparation for their coronation, HRH Siridean and Siban asked me to design a plaque for their investiture garb. They wanted a ring design, with a cross (for Lochac) and knotwork on the plaques, with many small holes, so they can be sewn on.

The tokens were commercially cast in lead-free pewter, and then sewn onto their tunics.

2004 – Prometheus award token

King Ædward and Queen Yolande created the Order of Prometheus to recognise excellence in teaching within the Kingdom of Lochac. According to Greek legend, Prometheus defied the gods to aid man – stealing fire from the gods and storing it in the hollow stem of the fennel plant, then giving it to humanity in the form of knowledge.

The request was for a simple design, referencing the Promethean flame. The medieval imagery I could find (such as this woodcut) showed Promethus holding a fistful of fire that looks more like lightening bolts, with no reference to the fennel.

In the end, I designed the token as a pendant showing a flaming branch of fennel, with the top branches forming a loop for hanging. The tokens were commercially cast in lead-free pewter.

2004 – Rowany Festival event token

I was asked to design a token for Rowany Festival, depicting a lion’s head. I based the design on this one, but made it more aggressive. I overlaid the shield on the ring with the top cutout providing an easy way to hang the the token.

Having learned my lesson with the Lochac Fealty links, I made this design simple with heavy lines – much better for casting. The tokens were commercially cast in lead-free pewter.

2003 – Lochac Herald’s badge

As part of the preparation for the SCA Principality of Lochac becoming a Kingdom, I created designs for the officers’ chains of estate. The Lochac heralds requested a custom badge, to be used on the collar and given out to local heralds.

The device of the SCA Heralds is: Vert, two straight trumpets in saltire, bells in chief, Or. I combined this with the device of the Kingdom of Lochac: Quarterly azure and argent, on a cross gules a crown between four mullets of six points, in canton a laurel wreath argent, but kept to the green and gold colouring.

The tokens were commercially cast in lead-free pewter, plated in gold and filled with resin ‘enamel’.

1996 – Roman Lilies award token

The Roman Lily was given for achievement in the arts and sciences in the Crown Principality of Lochac. The award was instigated by Princess Merewyn degli Fiore and relates to her own device: Per pale Or and sable, three lilies, stems conjoined, and in base two elm leaves, stems in saltire, counterchanged.

The token of the order is a black pendant bearing the order’s badge: Three lily blossoms in triquetra Or. I created a couple of designs, before the final design was agreed. The tokens were commercially cast in lead-free pewter, plated in gold and filled with resin ‘enamel’.

1987 – Principality Seal

When the Crown Principality of Lochac became a Principality in its own right, we needed a Royal Seal for awards and other significant documents.

Although some medieval seal matrices were mandala (almond) shaped, most were round, with the name of the authority around the edge in Latin, and a symbol in the middle. They were often cast in bronze, as is this 13th century example.

I designed this seal in the round, with the device of Lochac and a Laurel wreath for the society. The final seal was commercially cast in bronze, but much larger than I had anticipated, so it took a lot of wax! I should have specified the final size more explicitly…