SCRIBE NOTES



Volume 4, Number 2



Editorial

Unto all known Scribes in the Principality of Lochac

Richard de la Croix sends greetings.

Well my fellow Scribes, it looks as if my second edition of Scribe Notes has made it to print, and even a bit before the two month deadline. I have been extremely busy over the last 6-8 weeks as you'll find out later.

First things first though, if you are receiving this as an Arts and/or Sciences Officer for your local branch, and you have not asked to be permanently put on the Mailing list, this is your last courtesy issue. If you want further issues, contact me in the next month (there are no subscription fees).



Files Received

The files were received by me about 4-5 weeks ago. Thanks go out to Master Del and his good wife Viscountess Éibhleann for allowing the boxes to hitch a ride with their moving truck. Thanks also to Rhiannwen for arranging to get the files to Del and Dawn. Although the delay was unfortunate, the office did not incur any freight expense for which I was most relieved. Revenue for the office leaves very little margin for anything but producing pre-printed blanks and a few other sundry expenses.

It has taken me several weeks just to place things in order. As you will appreciate, everyone has their own ideas on how an office should be run, and I am no exception. I can safely say though, that at this stage, I am quite happy with the administrative procedures I now have in place. This means that you can expect good service with any enquiries you have. I can now also issue assignments to any that need them.



Thank you Sir Haos

As I said in my intro, I have been very occupied in the last three weeks. About a fortnight after the files arrived, Sir Haos provided me with the Access database used for the "Gentry of Lochac" report he produces as Canon Pursuivant. It far exceeded my expectations from the point of view of usefulness and adaptability. I was able within a week or so to modify it for my own use as Provost of Scribes, incorporating quite a few new Reports, Queries and Tables while preserving most of the structure of the original database.

It is at this point that I would like to thank Sir Haos for what has obviously taken him hours of time to maintain . It has pointed the way to what I'm sure will be an excellent avenue for maintaining info on work done for the College of Scribes. It will also be harder than ever for award scrolls to slip through the cracks.



State of the Office

After the Database was received and altered to fit our needs, it took around two weeks to enter in all the historical data on assignments collected by past holders of the office. It is here that I had the greatest task. Two books (from Rowan and Alarice), a 4 yr old print-out (from William the Lucky), a Card file system (from Rhiannwen) and the last 6 years of correspondence had to be cross referenced and the resulting data entered into the system.

It is also here that I came across several ominous trends. The most disturbing was the rise in the frequency of double-ups. The next and also very worrying was the extent of the increase in the back log. Included with this posting is a report on the assignments that each of you have according to the latest info held by the College.

Do not work on any assignments that are not on the list. If you have been issued with assignments that do not appear on the list, chances are they have been re-issued at some other time to another Scribe.

If you have started work on scrolls not on your list, contact me urgently and I'll see if the Scribe who now has the assignment has commenced work, and if possible re-assign it to you. This is a regrettable occurrence, brought about no doubt by the use of up until now, a manual recording system. I can only assure you that these circumstances will rarely if ever be repeated in the future. It is not possible under the new system to issue an assignment to more than one scribe (although I do allow for joint efforts).

Now for the really good news. There is enough work out there for years to come!!! As I mentioned, the extent of the backlog was greater than originally expected. As of the time of writing there are some 250 Award Scrolls that are outstanding. Of these around 150 are pre-printed AA's, while the rest are fairly evenly distributed through Grants, Leaves and Peerage Scrolls. I have included a report on the state of assigned and unassigned work with the Lochac College of Scribes.

Another report is also included that I would like everyone to carefully check. In it are listed all scrolls for Lochac recipients ever produced by the College of Scribes here or Overseas. The only work included is work that theoretically should be in the recipient's hands at this time. Scrolls which are with the Heralds or Royalty are not included (and there are quite a few).

Again, please check this list thoroughly and report any discrepancies to me urgently. I am particularly interested in cases where you know a scroll has been done, but record of the work seems to be non corpus. If you do not tell me, the award will be re-assigned.

Obviously, I am also interested in a scroll that I have listed as having been done which has not been received by the award holder. However, since I will be publishing this list in Pegasus as well, the onus will here be more on recipients to let me know. If they haven't received a scroll that I have said was delivered then it won't be found or should it be lost, re- assigned unless they contact me.

Finally, just now for your interest, I have had my database total by Scribe, all completed work for Lochac Award Recipients from the mists of time when Viceroys ruled the Land to the present day. This in itself may be slightly inaccurate, since where more than one scroll was done for an individual, it was not possible to record both. This is a feature of the system which is intentional since it also eliminates the assignment of work to more than one scribe. I make no apologies here.



Project for a Provost

As far as the current State of the Office allows, 3-4 years seems to be the given turn around from Award to Scroll. As far as I am concerned this is totally unacceptable. The goal while I am in office is to get this figure down around the 1½ - 2 year mark. Obviously, this will require some effort from everyone. For my part though, I have just assigned myself 40 odd pre-printed AA's and 10 or so Grants and Leaves. Over the next 6-12 months my goal will be to have these completed, signed, and at least with the Heralds for sealing.

These assignments cover all AA scrolls that are 2+ years due from the date of the award or the date of a device being passed. It also includes a great many of the overdue Grants and Leaves. Your mission, should you chose to accept it, will be to:
  1. Make it a point to clear away those horribly overdue scrolls, or if you can't, give them back to me to re-assign. You all know of the scrolls I'm talking about, I have them too.
  2. Recruit as many people in your local group to at least produce pre-printed AA's. If no one feels confident with the calligraphy, I can send you as many as you like with the calligraphy done.

  3. Set a goal for yourself to likewise at least do a few pre-printed AA's. Where you are confident with working on an original, then obviously preference should be given to these over the pre-printeds. By far the longest wait is for original work.
On one final note, if you need assignments, please get in touch. You will have the work as soon as I can reply. For pre-printed scrolls where you already have the blanks, or for original work, the delay is only a couple of days. It will take longer though if you require blank AA's. More on the completion of pre-printed AA's in this issue's feature article.



Mail Box

Not much mail arrived in the last two months. I have assumed this arose because everyone was busily working at the back log

Cristoval Gitano

On the subject of the wording you gave me, some research of my own has uncovered the original source from which most, if not all of the text was originally taken. It is well and truly within the SCA's time period. I am thus quite happy for you to go ahead as planned. If you'd like a B& W photocopy of the Grant of Arms , I can get you one.

Muirghein ni Ghrainne

There are several groups that operate only through a contact. This is fine as far as I am concerned. I also see no problem with yourself operating as the contact person for the Anealan group. By the same token though, I would like individual names and addresses for the people working on scrolls within the group. Also when a scroll is done, please ensure they sign the back (in pencil) before it gets to me. I will also send assignments (and pre-printed blanks) to anyone that wants to work for the College and would rather I deal with them individually.

Thank you for the names and addresses of those in your group in Aneala. They should each receive this issue of Notes, so please let me know if there are any problems. Thank you also for the scrolls. Unfortunately, one of them (Suzanah van Houten AA) was a double up, which just goes to highlight my earlier point. The original was completed according to my records by Master Thorfinn. (Steve, can you confirm this is true if you remember the particular scroll next time you see me?) The others will be given to Tancred when he stands up as Crux Australis Herald.

I will top up your supply of pre-printed AA's at Anealan Twelfth Night Investiture. (If not personally, by messenger). I will also supply you with some assignments. What would you like?



Roll of Arms

Mistress Rowan has suggested that she would like to update the Roll of Arms for the third edition. As such, it seems that the issue of who would volunteer is now resolved. I look forward to the new update with much enthusiasm.

Rowan is also compiling a Scribe's Manual, which promises to be very beneficial to both novice and expert alike. More on this as time goes on. I am hoping to at least get a few articles that I can reproduce here to wet your appetite.

On a related subject, my superior in the West, Branwen, is also putting together a similar work. If there is enough interest, I will order some copies in bulk to be distributed from here when the finished article finally goes to print. If you'd like to place a tentative order drop me a line (no money at this stage though)



Mailing List

I am still compiling my mailing list for Scribe Notes. If you are a scribe known to me and you have received this issue, then I have already put your name on the list. No further action on your part is required. Obviously though, if you don't want to hear from me you should let me know.

If on the other hand, this did not get sent directly to you, but you would like to receive future issues, I require a letter, phone call or e-mail with your Mundane Name, SCA Name and address.

Additionally, in an attempt to reach as many people with interest in the College as possible, I have also sent copies to all Arts and Sciences officers within the Principality. I'm sure you know if this situation applies to you., and the scenario is much the same. If you want to be put permanently on the mailing list, I will need your details as mentioned above. This is your last courtesy issue, so unless I am contacted no further issues will be sent.

I do need to exercise some restraint on the side of postage, so these conditions will apply for the remainder of my term I am perfectly prepared to mail out to all interested people, but the interest has to extend as far as at least contacting me to say you want to hear from me. Sound fair? (this is rhetorical).

On a related issue, I may be contacted in several ways, to wit;
  1. Telephone (02) 740 6020 (home) or (02) 956 4357 (work)

  2. Post 2/34 Benaroon Rd, Lakemba, NSW, 2195 or

  3. e-mail richie@ozemail.com.au or richie@rowany.DIALix.oz.au
While on the subject of e-mail, I will also be posting relevant info and bulletins to a scribes list. I do prefer this form of communication because it is cheap, fast and very effective for keeping records. If you want to receive electronic updates, send a message to scribes@rowany.DIALix.oz.au and I'll put your name on my e-mail list.

Feature Article

This month's Feature Article is really not much of an article. However, as a lot of my Scribes are working on pre-printed scrolls I though I'd set down some guidelines on how they should be completed. These are meant to be nothing more than guidelines, so please don't follow everything I say as Gospel (not that anyone would). Only in some cases should the "rules" be followed with some rigour.

In Service

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Written by my hand this Tuesday, 22nd November in the year nineteen hundred and ninety-four of the Common Era