Embedded Files
Originally written 02/06/2025, edited 08/26/2025 to include updates from the Sign Herald side while waiting for the Society Emissary to respond.
Hello all,
Conversations between the Sign Heralds and Voices of the Populace (VotP), two groups that offer Volunteer Sign Language Services within the SCA, have only recently begun. This letter discusses similarities and differences in practices and views between both groups.
The Sign Heralds of the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA) have made strides with changing the terminology used in our community (for example, moving away from using the title "Silent Herald" to "Sign Herald" since "Sign" doesn't perpetuate that the d/Deaf voice is being silenced ) and have been working toward editing their Handbook to include practices for signing outside of Court settings. With growing numbers of Signers (including Deaf users of signed languages and individuals offering Volunteer Signing Services) in each Kingdom, Sign Heralds aim to have more Signers volunteering Signing Services throughout events, battles, and classes.
Chosen hobby name signs and vocabulary are typically communicated from the d/Deaf community within each Kingdom if there is not yet anything standardized across the Society (for example, name signs like Pennsic and Pelican became standardized across the Society as they were created by members of the Deaf SCAdian Populace and have also been used for years in all kingdoms). When there is a recognized need for change on a larger scale, this eventually moves to a Society Level change (like changing the terminology of Silent to Sign).
Since there has historically been slow movement in getting things changed in the Sign Herald Handbook (last edited 2014), particularly in written protocols amongst Sign Heralds outside of court settings along with limited communication between kingdoms within the Society, a new group that offers volunteer Signing Services has formed out of the West Kingdom called the Voices of the Populace (VotP). This group has also started expanding into the Kingdoms of An Tir, Outlands, and Caid, according to the Head Emissary of VotP.
As opposed to the title "Sign Herald," VotP uses the term "Sign Emissary," Emissary being chosen as it means 'person who carries a message between parties.' A Sign Dignitary is a Signer that is still in training for becoming a Sign Emissary. After completing a class assigned by the VotP (or having completed an equivalent of 2 semesters of college in American Sign Language and culture), they must take a practical exam and swear an oath of ethics to then be given the title of Emissary. Sign Heralds do not require paid college courses, but do list free (and paid) online resources to learn American Sign Language, particularly from Deaf teachers. Standardized SCA signs collected over time are taught by qualified Sign Heralds or Deaf SCAdians who volunteer to teach Sign Herald classes. These classes are required as these signs have no meaning outside of an SCA context (meaning these signs and SCA definitions also cannot be found in a modern ASL Dictionary). Sign Heralds are to be assigned a tier level of fluency in relation to what they are allowed to do in the SCA with their skill level after interviewing with the Society Sign Herald. A further explanation of tier levels of fluency for Sign Heralds will be in the 2026 update to the Sign Herald Handbook.
One reason why VotP was created was to ensure that there is no association with the term "Herald" because Heralds, according to VotP, act as the "voice of nobility," stating that the Sign Herald Handbook does not specify that Sign Heralds also speak behalf of the SCAdian Populace.
After some digging, this SCAdian found through https://www.sca.org/resources/heraldry/:
"Voice Herald" - cry out public announcements, announcing fighters entering the list field, and act as the voice of the nobility in Court, reading the scrolls that accompany the awards being given out.
"Sign Heralds" - provide accessibility to Courts for audience members who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing. These volunteers (not necessarily professional Sign Language Interpreters) use a combination of Sign Language, fingerspelling, and SCA-specific signs to communicate the awards and actions that are taking place.
This SCAdian also found that the current Society Sign Herald Handbook defines Sign Herald as:
Sign heralds are closest in nature to vocal heralds, although their duties sometimes can take them into venues other than Court or field. Sign heralds in the society are heralds who express auditory information into visual and/or tactile information. Sign heralds use sign language, lip movements, facial expression, gestures, and body language to convey what they hear, this is the visual part. As well, there are some members of the populace who require the sign herald to make signs into the person’s hands, this is the tactile part.
To this SCAdian, these definitions sound like they describe Sign Heralds as people who sign everything that is spoken, including signing for those who are summoned up to speak with the Royals, signing for those who give speeches during Elevations, signing for those in the audience who have quick quips and retorts to things happening at the front of Court, signing for the bards that sing before Court and during "intermission," signing for our Nobles, and more. The goal is for a Deaf SCAdian in the audience to not miss out on most (if not all) of what is being heard at Court.
Some terminology from the current Society Sign Herald Handbook that the VotP may be referencing about prioritising the voice of nobility is:
Members of the populace who have been involved in the SCA for any length of time understand the hierarchy and protocol of the SCA when it comes to the Crown. This acknowledgement of the hierarchy of the Royal prerogative is paramount.
This practice of showing respect to nobility isn't exclusive to Sign Heralds. This passage is from the Handbook is referencing when a volunteer signer may need to step away from their signing role for a moment during Court because they have been summoned by Their Majesties, whether to be challenged or to be awarded with something, and that when they return to their signing position when the Royals are done speaking with them, they are to summarise what happened while they needed to focus on listening to the Royals when being spoken to directly. There may be other concerns that the VotP has regarding voicing for nobility at Court from the current Sign Herald Handbook, but this SCAdian will allow them to speak on these concerns in their response letter. It is to this SCAdian's understanding that while Sign Heralds can sign on behalf of the Royals directly as well as through the Voice Heralds during Court (and many other Persons at court, as described above), the term "Herald" was only used to include these volunteer signers in the College of Heralds as a means of integrating all types of announcers that may be seen at Court, not strictly because they only speak on behalf of nobility.
Another example that was provided to this SCAdian on how VotP and Sign Heralds differ is that the VotP provide more services than visual sign language access, such as additionally having tactile signing services. Tactile services are actually included within the definition of a Sign Herald in the 2014 edition of the Sign Herald Handbook, so the Sign Heralds are presently waiting to hear from the VotP about how they differ in other ways (perhaps requiring their Emissaries to take college classes on tactile sign as opposed to learning from free or cheaper alternative resources). The Sign Heralds are also looking forward to seeing the upcoming VotP website once it's published, as we too would like to 1) read about the other services they offer in the Society, 2) read more on their requirements for becoming an Emissary, and 3) be able to find contact information for the volunteers in their kingdoms so that it may also be provided to traveling Deaf and Signing SCAdians who are going into those kingdom territories.
Something the VotP expressed concern for is that there are presently no detailed protocols for signing in settings outside of Court in the Sign Herald Handbook. This is true! There are presently no detailed protocols written for non-Court settings outside of partial descriptors of "wear this" and "stand in a position something like this," though this is to be addressed in our 2026 rendition of our handbook, anticipated to be published before Pennsic LIII (53)!
Another reason why VotP formed was because, while Sign Heralds may be requested to volunteer their services throughout an event, this SCAdian has been informed that the VotP Handbook states that their Emissaries have an obligation to volunteer their services for the entirety of an event. Regardless of whether a volunteer signer is expected to be at an event, this SCAdian believes accessibility to sign language services from either group will become MUCH easier to get for any activity at an event as more Signers opt to volunteer their services in the Society!
One thing that IS evident on how the two groups differ is that, while the Sign Heralds are technically a branch of the College of Heralds within the Society (it is important to note that some kingdoms have Sign Heralds fall under their kingdom's office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI, though they are still technically within the Society's Herald purview), the VotP identify fully as a branch of the DEI Office of the Society. With present-day concerns in the modern world, there have been concerns expressed by SCAdians in the United States about the SCA DEI Office being eliminated. As the majority of the SCA (on paper) falls within the US, Society-Level discussions have landed on keeping the Sign Heralds within the College of Heralds to aid in protecting Volunteer Signing Services services from being cut if any such cut is to take place within the Society). If there is to be any change on where Sign Heralds fall (in or outside of the Herald's purview), that change is years away.
The Head of the VotP, Drötin Odd Inn Fundni, has made it known that VotP would be interested in joining under the same formal umbrella as the Sign Heralds once Sign Heralds move away from using the word "Herald" and adopt "Emissary." For now, this SCAdian believes the two groups fall under the cultural umbrella of 'Volunteers that offer Signing Services' and that both groups consider each other allies in ensuring signing services are accessible in the Society through both parties' efforts to create language equity and standardized language/signed vocabulary across the SCA.
Since the VotP's reported concern of the use of "Herald" is thus far not a concern in other kingdoms by their d/Deaf SCAdian populations, it will be up to the volunteer Signers in each kingdom to listen to their Populace about adopting any preferred terminology ONLY IF the d/Deaf population of their kingdom requests this change be made, as it is the Deaf Voice that matters most in what terminology and service titles are used. If terminology practices are more widespread across multiple Kingdoms, this can allow for changes on a Society-Level as a whole. It is important to note that, like ASL in the modern world, in the SCA there will be some variations, particularly in titles. For example, the Head Sign Herald goes by different names in each Kingdom, as can be seen on each Kingdom's webpage. Though there is an effort to continue to standardize Society sign vocabulary (Knight, Chivalry, Laurel, etc.), each Kingdom handles their own infrastructure and support which means it will be up to each Kingdom on how they choose to change and use their Kingdom terminology and titles, particularly for office and volunteer roles. Each Kingdom (and each region within each Kingdom) will be able to adapt and follow the interests of THEIR local d/Deaf community, including on a one-to-one basis (for example, if there is a d/Deaf SCAdian that does not want the Sign Herald to refer to themselves as a Herald, then the term Volunteer Signer [SIGN+VOLUNTEER+PERSON] may be used instead during events where this one individual may attend, even if this change is not going to formally be made on a Kingdom- or Society-wide scale because the rest of the d/Deaf community in that Kingdom has no quarrel with the term Herald).
It takes TIME for formal changes to be made in the SCA (such as published handbooks). For example, the Kingdom of Atlantia JUST changed their Kingdom Law and policy to use "Sign Herald" instead of "Silent Herald," and this change took over a year to finalize, so there is a very low chance of modifying the terminology to "Sign Emissary," in their books now, particularly when there is no objection to "Herald" from the d/Deaf community in Atlantia. The Head Sign Emissary of the Outlands' email is still silentherald@outlandsheralds.org as of today, even though the Outlands has changed their signing services to come from VotP instead of falling under the Sign Heralds! Again, change takes time in the SCA, even with strong efforts to move things forward both locally and on a Society-wide scale.
Until any such large-scale terminology changes are made within the Sign Herald office or within the Society, this website will remain SignHeraldsOfTheSCA as it is the most recognizable term for our particular branch of the College of Heralds and is presently the most recognized group for Volunteer Signers in the SCA. Should there be a grand scale change on a Society level for Sign Heralds and VotP to converge into one office, the name of this website can change once such a convergence happens. In the meantime, both Emissaries and Sign Heralds are given access to editing this website (at least, once someone requests to the Sign Herald Webmaster to be added as an editor, as Google Sites requires individual permissions to edit) so that proper links, descriptions, names, and contact information can be included for the other signing group on their appropriate pages. This way, all Signers of the SCA, whether they be individuals looking for Signing Services or Volunteer Signers, can find what they are looking for within each kingdom. This way, too, the VotP can also contribute to our Introduction to ASL lesson page, the ASL Learning Resources page, and the SCA ASL Dictionary so that both Signing Groups in the SCA can use a standardized source of vocabulary. With VotP being based primarily in the West Kingdom, there may be Signers of other signed languages outside of the US that could edit their sign language pages on this site, too (see signed languages of the SCA here)!
All that being said, this SCAdian would like to write that the SCA is a volunteer-based organization. Volunteer Signers of either group also enjoy other aspects of the SCA. They may not be able to attend one event to sign if they are attending another event while participating in their other medieval-based hobbies. This can even happen at larger events where multiple activities are happening at the same time. This can make the obligation of attending every moment of every event impossible for each individual Volunteer Signer. The importance of showing up and providing access is still stressed, but can be better addressed if there are more Volunteer Signers of either kind within each Kingdom.
Why is Nicasia ensuring there is tab on the Sign Herald website specifically for VotP? Accessibility! If a d/Deaf SCAdian living in the East Kingdom (where there are presently no Sign Emissaries) were to travel to the West Kingdom or to the Outlands (where there are presently no Sign Heralds) and wanted to be able to find Volunteer Signers to improve their SCA experience out-of-Kingdom, would it not be unfair to that SCAdian if no contact information was readily available to them through a site they are already familiar with? If VotP and Sign Heralds work together, d/Deaf SCAdian can have out-of-Kingdom contact information readily available to them for any Kingdom they visit (at least regarding USA and Canada with ASL at the moment), regardless of which Signing Group is more prevalent in the Kingdom that is being visited. VotP and Sign Heralds share the duty of ensuring language accessibility is available to the population they mutually serve, the SCAdian population.
An important takeaway is that when voices in your Kingdom say change is needed, making that change happen will allow for a more welcoming environment for everyone. Though not all d/Deaf SCAdians in each Kingdom have shared the conviction of disapproving the word "Herald" as has the VotP has, this new group was created because these SCAdians felt that their d/Deaf voices weren't being heard through lack of action. February 2025 marks the beginning of outreach between Sign Heralds and the VotP to move signing accessibility forward and ensure availability and standardization of our Society's signed vocabulary.
In summary, Sign Heralds and the VotP are separate but equal groups of Volunteer Signers and educators in the Society that do things just a bit differently. A shared goal between Sign Heralds and VotP is language equity in all SCA settings, like field shouts! Both groups are very interested in working together to make for a better and more accessible experience for all present and future SCAdians!
Thank you for reading.
Yours in Service,
Lady Nicasia Leontodes
Deputy Sign Herald to the Society Sign Herald
Deputy ASL Sign Herald to the Esteem Sign Herald of the East Kingdom
Webmaster to SignHeraldsOfTheSCA.com
A Letter from Drötin Odd Inn Fundni, Head Sign Emissary of Voices of the Populace:
A Letter from Drötin Odd Inn Fundni, Head Sign Emissary of Voices of the Populace:
This is the official website of the Sign Herald of the Society for Creative Anachronism. Copyright © 2025 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. The copyright for some material is retained by its original contributors. Links to third-party websites do not represent an endorsement, and the SCA is not responsible for their content. This website and the data it collects are governed by the SCA.org Privacy Policy. To report website issues, contact the Sign Herald Webmaster.
Ceci est le site officiel du Sign Herald de la Society for Creative Anachronism. Copyright © 2025 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. Les droits d'auteur de certains contenus appartiennent à leurs contributeurs originaux. Les liens vers des sites web tiers ne constituent pas une approbation, et la SCA n'est pas responsable de leur contenu. Ce site web et les données qu'il collecte sont régis par la politique de confidentialité de SCA.org. Pour signaler un problème concernant le site web, veuillez contacter le Webmaster du Sign Herald.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse