From Wreath: Tabard Design and the Use of Trumpets
There has been some discussion lately on whether and how one may display the badge for the College of Arms of the Society for Creative Anachronism: “Vert, two straight trumpets in saltire, bells in chief, Or.”
Like any officer’s badge, use of the herald’s badge as a personal accessory such as a medallion or baldric marks the bearer as an officer of the Society for Creative Anachronism, and specifically a representative of the College of Arms. Determination for who may wear the badge is delegated by Laurel to the Principal Heralds of each kingdom, but if a person is a branch herald, a member of the kingdom heraldic staff, or is acting by appointment of any of the people named above, they may wear the trumpets as an indicator of their role and authority as a herald. Appropriate situations for wearing the herald’s badge include duty shifts as field or cry heralds, consultation tables, and official correspondence.
Unlike the anachronistic use of officer’s badges, heralds’ tabards are a historical garment with a long and proud tradition. When wearing a tabard, a herald is not a representative of the College of Arms, but is instead an officer of the person whose arms appear on the tabard. As such, the tabard should only bear the arms of the noble for whom the herald is speaking, and should only be used in contexts when the herald speaks for their Noble (e.g., court, important ceremonial moments such as the final round of Crown Tournament, etc.) The crossed trumpets badge should not appear on any herald’s tabard, nor should any badge; tabards should bear one set of arms alone, and they should be consistent on the front, back, and sides of the tabard.
For more information on the proper design and construction of a herald’s tabard, please see the class handout made by Bruce Batonvert and Magistra Astra Christiana Benedict: http://mistholme.com/miscellany/heraldic-tabard-construction-2014/
And a clarifying quote from Wreath:
To clarify: the ruling is not to discard or modify existing regalia, but instead to provide guidance in creating new regalia. If you have ancient and venerable tabards with trumpets on them, by all means keep using them until they are no longer serviceable. But if you’re commissioning new regalia, this policy should help you and the artisan decide the form of the regalia and the appropriate armory.
From Wreath: No, You Can’t Have A Badge For Your Particular Heraldic Office
This month, we received a submission for a badge for the office of silent herald for a principality. The badge had previously been returned administratively in November 2018, due to the long-standing prohibition on registration for subsidiary officer positions under the auspices of a Society-level officer by anyone except said Society-level officer. The badge was resubmitted with no statement addressing the previous return, and it’s clear that there’s still some confusion on the issue.
To reiterate: Badges already exist for both the office of Herald and the office of Silent Herald. With the exception of a tinctureless seal for the principal herald of a kingdom, no territory may register a badge for a heraldic office. Existing badges for subsidiary heraldic offices, especially ones registered without association after the ban was put in place, should be either repurposed for other use by the territory or quietly released.