The Academy of Saint Gabriel

We're on vacation for a few months.

The Academy is a group of around 50 volunteers who research medieval names and armory. Our primary purpose is to assist members of medieval re-enactment groups like the Society for Creative Anachronism to find historically accurate medieval names and coats of arms. For more information, read the Academy Charter.

Unfortunately, our success sometimes overwhelms us and we get far more questions than we can handle. We'd like to help you all, but we can't always do that; so we sometimes limit the number of questions we accept. For those questions we do accept, it generally takes us two or three months to complete our report.

In the past, we've taken a three month break each summer. This year, we're trying a new schedule.

Disclaimer

We are not official SCA heralds. We use different (and generally stricter) criteria than the SCA when we look at names and armory. If you tell us you are interested in submitting your name or arms to the SCA College of Arms, then we will warn you of any registration problems that we notice. However, even if we say that your idea isn't historical, you might still be able to pass it. For more information, check out our longer disclaimer.

If you submit your name or arms in the SCA, you can include Academy reports in lieu of photocopies of the sources that we've cited. Send the entire letter (including headers). This has been approved by the current Laurel Sovereign of Arms. As a courtesy to the heralds who receive the letter, please highlight our references to the specific form of the name that you are submitting. Also, be aware that our opinions are not binding, and we cannot guarantee that your name will be passed by the College of Arms.

Need Help?

We offer a variety of services. We're oriented primarily to answering questions from medieval recreationists but we can answer some questions from other people. Please note that we do not answer questions about tracing your family arms or finding your ancestors. Follow the links for information on those subjects.

The Medieval Names Archive has over 100 documents on medieval names. The answer to your question might be right here.
The Medieval Heraldry Archive has articles on medieval armorial practices from various parts of Europe and the Far East.
Past Academy Reports contain answers to other people's questions. The information you need may be there.
The Academy Client's Guide will help you. Read it before you send in a request.
The Academy's FAQ for Heralds provides information specifically for heralds looking for help for their own clients.
Send a Request to the Academy and we'll send you back a report.

Where's My Letter?

If you would like to know whether we received your letter, you can look it up below:

Search our Past Work

Use this form to search an archive of our past reports, or browse through it. The search is pretty slow; we're working on a faster version.

Text to Search For:
Boolean:	Case

We also have an advanced search tool with more options.

Joining the Academy

Membership in the Academy is completely open to anyone who's interested in medieval names and armory. There are no requirements, but you'll get at least 100 email messages a week. If you're interested in joining, or if you have any questions about the Academy, see our Members' Guide or send mail to the list administrator. To date we have about 60 members; you can look at our roster.

Linking to the Academy

If you'd like to link to the Academy's website, please read this suggestion.

This page maintained by Jim Trigg (known in the SCA as Blaise de Cormeilles), blaise@s-gabriel.org

Last updated 14 May 2007.