This Dictionary is Constantly Being Updated!

If you see this list and would like anything added to it or would like to make a correction (either Auslan or SCA), please contact Nicasia Leontodes at 249551@members.eastkingdom.org.

Heraldry Signs

(fs) indicates fingerspelling

• COLOR (Rule of Tincture):

  • Argent SILVER/WHITE

  • Or GOLD/YELLOW

  • Azure BLUE

  • Gules RED

  • Purpure PURPLE

  • Sable BLACK

  • Vert GREEN

• PATTERN

  • Ermine and erminois (Silver/gold with black spots)

    • 
      

  • Counter ermine and pean (black with silver/gold spots)

    • 
      

  • Vair (and its variants), patterned/divided color and metal. (checkered, striped, wave, it's a classifier and visual description)

    • 
      

LGBT+ Signs

(fs) indicates fingerspelling

• Clan Blue Feather, signed as CLAN+FEATHER+BLUE, or CLAN+BLUE+FEATHER. Feather may also be signed using an H-handshape Classifier, flicking an "H" handshape pointed behind the head to signify how the feathers are worn on hats - is a group within the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) that supports LGBTQIA+ members and their allies. The group's main goals are to educate and encourage research about LGBTQIA+ history in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.  Clan Blue Feather was founded in 1988 in the East Kingdom. Their group's name was chosen at Pennsic 18, in 1989. The can's Blue Feather Ball began at Pennsic in 1991 and their encampment at Pennsic began in 1992. 

• ADVOCATE

• ALLY

• ASEXUAL

• BISEXUAL

• CISGENDER

• DANCE

• EAST KINGDOM, signed as EAST+KING+AREA (This uses American Sign Language, as this Kingdom is in the northeastern region of the United States and Canada).

• FOUNDED/SET-UP/ESTABLISH/BASE

• GAY

• LESBIAN

• NONBINARY

• PANSEXUAL

• PENNSIC, signed as HOME using a 'P' handshape. (This is adopted from American Sign Language)

• RIGHTS (legal, vs RIGHT correct)

• STRAIGHT/HETEROSEXUAL

• TRANSGENDER

While the following words do not necessarily pertain to the LGBTQ+ community specifically, Nicasia didn't know where else to list these words for relationship practices that are common in the SCA. Nicasia opted to list them here, in the meantime. 

• BOYFRIEND

• DATE/DATING

• FRIEND

• GIRLFRIEND

• MARRIED

• MONOGAMOUS - involving a relationship to one person at a time.

• PAIR/COUPLE

• PLATONIC

• POLYAMOROUS - characterized by or involved in the practice of engaging in multiple romantic (and physically intimate) relationships, with the knowledge and consent of all people involved.

• METAMOUR - a partner of a polyamorous partner, and someone you are not directly romantically involved with. For example, your partner's boyfriend or girlfriend is your metamour. 

  • There is no single, widely recognized sign specifically for "metamour." However, to convey the concept, you would likely need to use a combination of signs, such as "partner's partner' by signing "partner" twice, then adding a clarifying gesture or facial expression to indicate that you are talking about someone your partner is involved with romantically, but not you. Context is key!

• RELATIONSHIP

• ROMANCE

• SPOUSE/WIFE/HUSBAND

• SWEETHEART

Lochac Kingdom Signs

Lochac Awards and Orders, Lochac Awards Guide

• AWARD

  • General

    • Award of Arms, signed as AWARD+SYMBOL [(fs)AOA)] Device, Symbol; a beginner's award, a basic award - a Society-wide award given by the royalty. Recipients can use the title “Lord” or “Lady” before their names. The Kingdom Orders of Merit convey an Award of Arms to the recipient, if they are not already armigerous.

    • Court Baronies

      • The titles of Court Baron and Court Baroness may be offered to those the Crown wishes to honor. These titles carry with them an Award of Arms. An Award of Arms may be given as a separate award, or in conjunction with the Orders of Achievement:

      • Orders of Achievement

        • Lochac Order of Grace, signed CLUSTER+KIND - given by the Queen for exceptional courtesy. Only one may be awarded each reign. The token, made by the previous recipient of the award, is an embroidered favor with the order's badge: Gules, a hind courant Or between three mullets of six points argent.

        • Order of the Lily, CLUSTER+FLOWER+(fs)LILY (same sign as Fleur-de-lis) - given for achievement in the arts and sciences.

        • Order of the Golden Sword, sign name? meaning CLUSTER+GOLD+SWORD - given for achievement in the field of heavy fighting. (Formerly known as the Hasta Belli.)

        • Order of the Golden Tear, CLUSTER+GOLD+TEAR meaning AWARD+SERVICE - given for substantial and considerate service to the Kingdom.

        • Order of the Miles Regni, CLUSTER+(fs)MILES REGNI, meaning AWARD+ARMY+HELP - given to those who have supported the army of Lochac in any significant manner, including siege weapons and non-contact participants. (translates to "Soldier of the Kingdom".)

        • Order of the Nock, CLUSTER+(fs)NOCK, meaning  NOVICE+AWARD+ARCHERY - given for achievement in the field of archery and/or missile combat. The award is presented on a red ribbon for target archery, and on a green ribbon for missile combat.

        • Order of the Hector, CLUSTER+(fs)HECTOR meaning AWARD+HORSERIDING - given for excellence in equestrian activities.

        • Order of the Prometheus, CLUSTER+(fs)PROMETHEUS meaning AWARD+TEACHING - given for excellence in teaching.

        • Order of the Rapier, CLUSTER+FENCING, meaning NOVICE+AWARD+FENCING - given for achievement in the field of Rapier fighting.

    • Grant of Arms (GoA); a mid-level award, average; sign name? meaning - The Royalty may choose to give Grants of Arms along with the titles Court Baron and Baroness. Grants of Arms also accompany the eight Kingdom Orders of High Merit (below), and occasionally, a Grant of Arms is given as a stand-alone award. The Crown may bestow a Grant of Arms to any individual whose substantial, unremitting, and excellent service or ability is of great value to the Kingdom. Grants of Arms also accompany the following Polling Orders of Distinction:

      • Lochac Company of Archers, sign name? meaning CLUSTER+ARCHERY, meaning EXPERIENCED+AWARD+ARCHERY -  given to those who have demonstrated high achievement, chivalry, and service to the Kingdom in the field of archery. The members of this Company shall promote and encourage their art within the Kingdom of Lochac. They advise the Earl Marshal and the Archery Marshal on, and do research into, aspects of the art of missile weapons including combat standards, tactics, marshalling, training, period research, qualification and competition.

      • Order of the White Scarf of Lochac, signed as WHITE SCARF+LOCHAC, meaning EXPERIENCED+AWARD+FENCING - given to those who have demonstrated high achievement, chivalry, and service to the Kingdom in unarmored (rapier) combat. The members of the order shall promote and encourage their art within the Kingdom. They advise the Earl Marshal and the Marshall Rapier on, and do research into, all aspects of the art of rapier combat. It is a tradition in Lochac to address members of the Order as "Don" or "Doña".

    • Patent of Arms (PoA); a top-level award, above-average, sign name? meaning - The heirs to the kingdom poll all Patent-holding royal peers in the kingdom to determine whether the departing royalty should be awarded Patents of Arms when they descend the thrones, if they do not already have them. The heirs also consult the members of the Order of the Rose to determine if the consort will be inducted into that order. Patents of arms are automatically given to those who elevate to the Orders of Chivalry, Laurel, Pelican, and Defense. Departing royalty do not receive Patents of Arms. 

  • Non-armigerous awards

    • The following awards and orders do not convey arms:

      • Order of the Rowan, CLUSTER+(fs)ROWAN meaning   AWARD+KIND - given to those who have displayed exceptional and consistent grace and courtesy to all. It is named after the first recipient, Mistress Rowan Perigrynne. The order's badge is: A cinquefoil per pale vert and argent.

      • Order of the Silver Helm, CLUSTER+SILVER+HELMET (????) - given to those combatants who consistently present a good-looking and period appearance on the field. (formerly the Shining Helm.)

      • Order of the Southern Cross, CLUSTER+SOUTH+CROSS - given to recognize service to the Kingdom by those who are not citizens of Lochac. (in process of being renamed "The Cross of Lochac," AWARD+CROSS+LOCHAC)

      • Prix Jongleur, sign name? meaning PERFORMANCE+AWARD - given to those whose performances consistently entertain the populace of the Kingdom.

      • Royal Cyphers, sign name? meaning AWARD+ROYAL/KING/QUEEN+SYMBOL (Auslan already has a sign for monarch, sovereign, king, queen, royalty, royal all wrapped into one, not sure if Lochac adopts the ASL signs shown in the links for SCA use or if Lochac uses THIS) - given to those people who have been thoughtful and helpful to the Crown during their reign. May also be given as a King's Cypher or a Queen's Cypher.

      • The Mouse Guard, MOUSE+PROTECT, meaning AWARD+KID+GUARD - given to children aged 4 to 13 years, to recognize their contributions to the kingdom.

      • Order of the Pride of Lochac, CLUSTER+PRIDE+LOCHAC, meaning - given to groups (such as households) who have, as a group, made noteworthy contributions to the kingdom.

Peer & Student+ Signs

(fs) indicates fingerspelling

Based on the Auslan SCA Signs pamphlets Mistress Ælgifu of Burnfield shared with Nicasia, it appears Lochac has borrowed a lot of the SCA signs created by the d/Deaf community in the Americas, which is fair because that currently takes up most of the SCA Sign online resources. Auslan has official signs outside of an SCA context that borrows ASL handshapes, like the ASL letter "R" is used in ROCKET and RESPONSIBILITY, though it is also important to note that, like all languages, there is language variation across countries, as RESPONSIBILITY is also signed like THIS in South Australia. 

Links to signs include ASL if Auslan and ASL share a similar/same sign (like STUDENT) or if Lochac adopted the ASL-based way of signing an SCA term. 

• PEER, member of the Chivalry, MoD, Laurel, Pelican, and/or Rose orders.

  • Fighters, signed as...:

    • CHIVALRY - Armored Combat Peers recognized for their great skill on the tourney field, as well as for qualities of courtesy and grace. Companions of the Chivalry are the Knights, who swear fealty to the Crown, and Masters-of-Arms, who do not.

      • KNIGHT, MASTER OF ARMS (in the context of the SCA, can also be signed like the signed English MESSIAH with ASL letters transitioning from M to A moving from shoulder to hip, see reference here) 

      • (fs)SIR/(fs)DAME, title for a knight. 

      • WHITE, BELT, SASH (baldric), CHAIN, WEIGHT, GOLD, (fs)SPURS, CLOAK.

        • "By the WEIGHT of the chain" indicates RESPONSIBILITY.

      • (fs)CHESS, DANCE, VIRTUE (also means pious, righteous, goody-two-shoes), SERVICE, ART, PROWESS. 

      • SQUIRE, student in a formal relationship with a Knight/MOA. This version of the sign uses an S for Squire, but may also be signed with an R to reverence the Red Belt. RED, SILVER. 

      • MAN/WOMAN/PERSON-AT-ARMS. BLUE. - Man-at-arms is a term used in some SCA kingdoms and households to indicate a student of a squire (the relationship is similar to that between a squire and a knight, but taken down a step). In other kingdoms, knights may take a man-at-arms directly, often as a preliminary stage before squirehood. Not every Kingdom has an official blue belt to recognize a person-at-arms, with some knights instead providing an informal BLACK belt to their pupil as a symbol of the beginning of their student-teacher relationship.

  • LAUREL, a Peer recognized for mastery of an art or science as well as for qualities of courtesy and grace. 

    • APPRENTICE, student in formal student-teacher relationship with a Master/Mistress of the Laurel. Apprentices wear a GREEN belt.

  • MASTER/MISTRESS/MINISTER, title used by companions of the Orders of the Laurel, Pelican, Master of Defense, and Masters-of-Arms. Also used in some office names, such as "Mistress of the Lists" or "Master of Arts & Sciences." Minister is the gender-neutral version of Mistress/Master for office names. 

  • MASTER/MISTRESS OF DEFENSE, (fs)MOD -  Peer recognized for their great skill at rapier and/or cut-and-thrust combat, for qualities of courtesy and grace, for their willingness to teach others, and for service to the kingdom. 

    • (fs)MOD, COLLAR, WHITE, MOD also has a lexicalized fingerspelling version in ASL, spelling M-O-and then twisting D like a rapier sword. 

    •  WHITE SCARF - Award for Excellence in Rapier

    • There are many modifications to sign DEFENSE in ASL.

      • Handshape variation can be D, G, P, but is usually an S.

    • (fs)CADET/(fs)PROVOST, showing RED+SCARF ON ARM. Also signed as FENCING+STUDENT - student in a formal student-teacher relationship with a Master/Mistress of Defense.

  • PELICAN,  a Peer recognized for great service to their Kingdom and the SCA as well as for qualities of courtesy and grace. 

    • PROTÉGÉ, a student in a formal student-teacher relationship with a Master/Mistress of the Pelican. Protégés wear a YELLOW belt. 

  • ROSE

• ROYAL PEER

  • KING and QUEEN (no need to indicate gender as the sign already shows that difference with K and Q). PRINCE/PRINCESS (you DO need to indicate male/female before signing). This is not like male/female cousin because both Prince and Princess are signed from start to finish the exact same way, you need the gender identifier before you sign the royal sign. The following words share the same gendered requirement as Prince/Princess: COUNT/COUNTESS (served as King/Queen of a kingdom once), DUKE/DUCHESS (served as King/Queen of a kingdom more than once), LORD/LADY, VISCOUNT/VISCOUNTESS (served as Prince/Princess of a Principality), His/Her MAJESTY, and His/Her HIGHNESS, the ROYALS. Depending on the Silent Herald, they may not indicate the gender for the male version but only the female version. Some may sign for either. The Sign Heralds are moving away from using gendering of these words, but keeping these words in a group of similarly-made signs. His/Her EXCELLENCY. 

  • BARON/BARONESS, signed in a similar sash motion to KING from non dominant shoulder to dominant hip with the B handshape - he ceremonial leaders of a specific geographical region within the SCA called a "Barony," essentially acting as the King and Queen's representatives within that area, responsible for upholding royal authority, representing the Barony at events, and overseeing its affairs. Historically, Baron and Baroness has been signed BARON/BARONESS, but many of the d/Deaf SCAdian population has requested the change over to the sash motion. 

• Thrown Weapons Order, CLUSTER+THROW - …. There’s no official name yet in the Society for this Peer Order, so it’s just signed as thrown weapons. Some signers use 4 fingers instead of 2 for throwing.