Greetings unto the esteemed Calontir College of Heralds from Konstantia Kaloethina, Gold Falcon Principal Herald

Complete the identifying information except the Date of Birth which is going to be deleted from the forms.

Commentary

• 
  Check the forms: Are all the required blanks filled? Has the submitter marked “culture most important” but failed to specify which culture? See the section above on Submission Forms.
  

• 
  Confirm the documentation:
  

• 
  For names: Is every element of the name documented with a period spelling and date? Is the combination of elements documented? Have copies of the documentation been provided or are they on the “No Copy List” (Appendix H of the Administrative Handbook)? If you have access to the source, does it say what they claim it does?
  
• 
  For armory: Have all the charges been registered in the last 10 years or so? Is documentation provided for charges that have not?
  

• 
  Check for “fatal flaws” with the submission: It’s helpful to develop a checklist of critical requirements for names and heraldry submissions. You can use the checklists in this handbook or make your own. "See A Submissions Checklist for the New Rules Draft" - http://heraldry.sca.org/sena_checklist.html.

  Some of the items on these checklists are nice and simple, but others can quickly get complicated. Just do what you can. The rest will come with time.

  
  

• 
  Check for conflicts: Don’t feel like you have to find every conflicting item or know categorically whether not something is “clear” or not. Even if all you say is “No conflicts found under ,” then others can focus on looking under , for example.
  

• 
  Document your comments!
  

• 
  Don’t say “Widgets are a step from period practice.” Say “According to the May 2009 LoAR regarding , widgets are a Step From Period Practice (SFPP) .”
  
  
  
• 
  And don’t say, ‘I think widgets might be a SFPP,” without checking. If you honestly can’t find the answer, it’s okay, though. Just say so. “I thought widgets were a SFPP, but I can’t seem to find the relevant precedent.”
  

• 
  “Documentation confirmed.”
  
• 
  “The name phrase combines two different languages, X and Y, in a single name phrase in violation of SENA PN.1.B. Personal Names Content: Single Time and Place.”
  
• 
  “The use of a double given name in is not listed in SENA Appendix A, and so needs to be documented.”
  
• 
  “Combining an X given name with a Y byname is an allowable combination of languages per SENA Appendix C: Regional Naming Groups.”
  
• 
  “ and are not in the same regional naming group, and are separated by more than 300 years, in violation of SENA PN.2.C.2.b. Style: Culturally Mixed Names violating temporal compatibility.”
  
• 
  “No conflicts found.”
  
• 
  “ clear of by PN.3.C.3. Substantial Change of Single-Syllable Name Phrase.”
  
• 
  “conflicts with with a only a DC for changing the tincture of the field by A.5.G.1, but nothing for the change of the position of the head.”
  

• 
  Commenting Heralds page on the Laurel website: http://heraldry.sca.org/commenters.html.
  
• 
  “Introduction to Commentary” by Bruce Draconarius (pre-OSCAR, but useful principles): http://heraldry.sca.org/commenting.html.
  
• 
  “The Art of Effective Commentary” by Mistress Allison MacDermot in the Calontir Herald's Companion
  
• 
  “Heraldry FAQ” appendix in this handbook (page 60).
  

OSCAR is the acronym for the On­line System of Commentary And Response, the website where heralds comment on name and device submissions.

Step 1: