Greetings from the new Blawhorn!
Most of you are probably wondering, “What is a Blawhorn?”
It’s a deputy of the Kingdom Herald, Polaris. The job description (and I quote) is “In charge of field heraldry especially tournaments such as Crown.” So first off, I’d like to thank the wonderful Katerinka Lvovicha for her recurring years in this position!
Back when I first joined the Society (not as long ago as Caradoc, but longer ago than most), every tournament had field heralds. To me, it was part of the “magic.” Somewhere over the years, we seem to have gotten away from regular usage of field heralds. I want to expand the current use, and visibility, of field heralds.
Having a herald on the field can help in multiple ways:
• Make a tournament run smoother and more enjoyable to watch.
• Tell combatants who will be fighting and when.
• Remind combatants of the philosophies behind fighting.
• Serve as assistant to the List Minister and liaison to the Marshal.
• Provide a central point for general announcements.
To that end, I am putting out two requests:
1. Let me know if you’d like to try field heraldry. It’s not hard, but you do need to be loud and understandable. You don’t need to be warranted. You don’t need to prepare anything ahead of time (although it’s cool if you do). I have cards to use, so you don’t even need to remember what to say! AND ... I am not above bribery. My contact info is available at http://www.northshield.org/Populace/Persona.aspx?ID=2287
2. Marshals!! If your event has a tourney, please tell me if you would like actual field heralds at it. I will do my best to try to make that happen. PLEASE — do not just assume that someone will show up to do it! I suspect this may be one reason field heraldry has almost died out in Northshield.
I currently plan to attend the following events: Bardic Blades, St. Radegunde’s Faire, Coronation, Crown, and SUN. Others may be added.
Yours in Service –
Bridget ni Cathasaigh