Customs, Etiquette, and Playing the Game

Regalia & Sumptuary Laws, or "Who Gets to Wear What?"

The Society as a whole observes certain conventions:

• Kings and Queens wear Crowns.
• The heirs to the Throne and the royalty of principalities wear Coronets.
• Dukes and Duchesses wear circlets embellished with strawberry leaves.
• Counts, Countesses, Viscounts and Viscountesses wear circlets which are crenelated.
• Landed Barons and Baronesses wear the circlets of their Barony.
• Court Barons and Baronesses wear circlets embellished with pearls.
• Members of the Order of Chivalry who are Knights wear white belts and heavy gold chains. Members who are Masters at Arms wear a white baldric. Both Knights and Masters may wear spurs with rowels.
• Members of the Order of the Laurel wear the badge of their order, often as a medallion on a necklace.
• Members of the Order of the Pelican wear the badge of their order, often as a medallion on a necklace. They are also entitled to wear a cap of maintenance, but this practice is not common in An Tir.

The following is customary within An Tir:

• Members of the Order of the Pelican and of the Laurel may wear a circlet which bears the badge of their orders.
• Members of the Order of the Iron Chain wear a black iron chain.
• Many squires throughout the Known World wear a red belt to indicate their relationship with a member of the Order of Chivalry. In An Tir, it has become customary for the end of the red belt to be marked with the Knight or Master’s badge or device. Some squires also wear silver chains in imitation of the chain of fealty.
• Some apprentices and protégés in other kingdoms wear belts of certain colours to indicate their relationship with members of the Order of the Laurel or the Pelican. This tradition is not firmly entrenched in An Tir.
• Any subject of An Tir may wear, bear, or display the badge of An Tir: Chequey Or and argent, a lion's head caboshed within a border sable. (See "Tell Me About Using the Kingdom Device and Badge".) (See UPDATE
for new information.)

It is considered extremely poor manners to wear jewelry, headgear, or any other articles which might lead others to think you hold a higher rank than you actually do.

On the Subject of Circlets: The variety and splendor of the various styles of circlets worn in An Tir and throughout the Known World are such that you need to be very careful [when wearing one] that you do not presume to a higher rank unknowingly. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that circlets (other than those mentioned above) be less than an inch wide, not vary in height in any way, and have no protuberances above the top edge of the band. Any further designs (excluding those heraldic elements which denote rank), stones, or metals is left up to the taste of the wearer, but bear in mind that fancier generally denotes higher rank.

As a general guide, those without an Award of Arms may wear a simple, undecorated metal circlet. Those with an Award of Arms may add a single stone and/or a small amount of engraving to the circlet. Those with an award which conveys a Grant of Arms, may add several stones and more engraving to their circlet.

Kingdom of An Tir WWW site Maintained by the An Tir Webteam Page created: 29-Jul-1998 Last changed: 21-Apr-1999 11:40:47 PDT

This is the recognized Web Page for the Kingdom of An Tir, of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. (SCA). The maintainer of this page is the An Tir Webteam. It is not a corporate publication of the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc. and does not delineate SCA policies. In cases of conflict with printed versions of material presented on this page or its links, the dispute will be decided in favor of the printed version.