Difference between revisions of "Registration of Arms"

Revision as of 18:28, 22 June 2019

One of the primary activities of The Augustan Society, Inc., is the Registration of Arms. Responsibility for reviewing the petitions submitted has been assigned to the Heraldry Committee, who make recommendations to the Board, which makes final determinations.

Procedure

1. The petition, payment, and any supporting materials are received at Headquarters. Headquarters Staff will confirm receipt of payment and that there are no obvious defects in the petition. [1] They will confirm the recognition of, or refer for confirmation, any claimed titles or postnominals. [2] They will then forward all to the Arms Chancellor [3] and notify the Justiciar General [4].
2. The Justiciar General will examine the documents for completeness and consistency. He will resolve conflicts between multiple blazons and illustrations, and with the assistance of specific Vice-Justiciars or outside consultants, will obtain any needed translations, and creates a definitive English blazon from which an Heraldic Artist might work. [5] The Justiciar General will forward any amended files to the Arms Chancellor for recording. [6]
3. The Justiciar General will assign the English blazon to an Heraldic Artist to emblazon an illustration that is in full compliance with the blazon and with the needs of The Augustan Society Roll of Arms and Online Armorial. [7] The Heraldic Artist will be in possession of the standards and requirements for artwork for the Roll of Arms and will be in direct consultation with the Rolls Editor.
4. The artwork will be returned to the Justiciar General (or Arms Chancellor, if so directed). The Justiciar General will either grant temporary approval, or remand the artwork to the Heraldic Artist for amendment. Upon tentative approval, the Justiciar General will forward (directly or otherwise) the blazon and emblazonment to Headquarters Staff, with a copy to the Arms Chancellor if he hasn't already been copied.
5. Headquarters Staff will then create a draft certificate and forward it to the Arms Chancellor, notifying the Justiciar General of same. [8]
6. The Justiciar General may approve the draft certificate, or remand it to Headquarters Staff for amendment. The Justiciar General will then cause the draft certificate to be sent to all members of the Heraldry Committee and the Roll Editor. [9] The Justiciar General will direct those receiving a copy to review the blazon, translation [if any], and illustration. The Roll Editor will also participate in this review.
7. Any discussion among members of the Committee occurs, and a vote for approval or disapproval is taken. Approval by the Heraldry Committee shall be understood to be an affirmative vote by the majority of members, not counting ex officio members. [10]
8. Upon Board approval, Headquarters Staff will circulate the final certificate for the reviews and signatures of the Justiciar General and the President. This may be done electronically at the discretion of each officer. That done, they will affix the Seal of the Corporation and send the signed certificate to the petitioner. A copy of the final certificate is forwarded (normally electronically) to the Arms Chancellor, Justiciar General, and Heraldic Artist.

Notes:

1. One such defect would be if the petitioner resides in a country with a legitimate national heraldic authority, and who has not previously obtained a grant (by whatever name) from said agency.
2. If the petition contains chivalric postnominals or titles, or if additaments are requested which are contingent on a noble title, these must first be approved by either the Chivalry Committee or Royalty & Nobility Committee as appropriate before the heraldic matters are considered. Headquarters Staff will generally evaluate requests for academic, learned society, and military postnominals. If the petition contains a claim for inherited arms, the genealogical evidence for such a right must first be evaluated by the Genealogy Committee. Additional fees may apply to these evaluations. If the petitioner elects not to have such titles, postnominals, or other honors mentioned on his Certificate of Arms Registration, these approvals are not required.
3. It is expected that the Arms Chancellor will make such data available to all members of the Heraldry Committee, including ex officio members, Heraldic Artists, and the chairmen of the Royalty & Nobility, Chivalry, Genealogy, Roll of Arms, and Online Armorial Committees.
4. The Arms Chancellor shall maintain a list within the file repository of all petitions in progress and their current status.
5. English-language blazons received from official governmental heraldic jurisdictions (England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and South Africa) will be given priority in cases of any conflict between various written blazons or between written blazons and submitted illustrations. In other cases of a conflict between blazons or between blazons and submitted illustrations, or as needed, the Justiciar General or one of his Vice-Justiciars will contact the petitioner to resolve such conflicts. This priority treatment does not extend to official or governmental registrations which are not in English because of the issues created by the need for translation.
6. The Heraldry Committee as a whole is not informed of or assigned work on the petition until the emblazonment and translation have been obtained.
7. The Heraldic Artist should be assigned the English blazon and should not be assigned work until the blazon and translation are complete and approved.
8. Minor revisions to the blazon, the illustration, or the certificate may be approved by the Justiciar General alone without formal Committee reconsideration or Board approval.
9. Although it need not be done on a routine basis, at any point in the process, the Justiciar General may correspond with the petitioner regarding the blazon or illustration submitted. This is more likely to be required if discrepancies or problem are encountered.
10. Heraldic Artists who are volunteers seated on the Heraldry Committee will normally recuse himself from a vote on artwork he has himself created.

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