Ceremonies, announcements, and presentations are the stones with which courts in the SCA are built. However, an edifice will fall apart if it doesn’t have the right mortar holding the stones together. In the case of courts, the mortar is a set of phrases that often go unscripted. These interstitial phrases are assumed knowledge for seasoned court heralds, but are often overlooked when training newer volunteers. In this article, I intend to fill that knowledge gap with appropriate language for common court usage, as well as an explanation of each scenario.

The information I provide here is gleaned from my experience in performing courts across the Known World. That said, every kingdom has their own culture and tradition, and may do things differently from what is described. As always, I encourage the reader to consult with their kingdom court heralds to ensure that their knowledge is accurate to local norms.

In this article, I will often refer to “the Crown” as the presiding authority over court. If the primary authority in court is the Coronet of a Principality, the Baronage of a Barony, or (in some kingdoms) the Royal Patron of a Shire, the same information largely applies.

Before Court Begins

In the minutes prior to the start of a given court, a herald may be tasked with letting the populace know that they should prepare. Such an announcement would begin with a call for attention, (e.g., “Oyez, oyez,” “My lords and ladies,” or “Good gentles and nobles, pray attend!”) Once the noise of the crowd has lessened to the point where the herald is confident they can be heard, they may then share the meat of their announcement. Examples of phrasing this announcement include, but are not limited to:

• Court will commence promptly at 5 PM at the Royal Pavilion!
• Court will begin in five minutes! Please make your way to the main hall!
• Please take your seats and silence your electronic devices; court is imminent!

Whatever the circumstances, keep the announcement concise and informative.

Processions and Populating the Dais

The Crown may choose either to formally process into court, or to take the dais quietly and without fanfare. If the former, it is customary for the court herald, or another voice herald working for Their Majesties, to announce them into court. While these announcements can be flowery and poetic, they can also be quite short and to the point. The following are examples of both short and long processional texts:

• Behold! William and Linet, by right of arms and grace of love and beauty King and Queen of Oaktown!
• People of Oaktown, draw nigh! With stamp of foot and flash of steel now comes brave William, King of Oaktown, whose sword mows men down like the grain, whose heel grinds those men into flour, and whose cunning repurposes them by adding milk, eggs, and sugar, forming them into man-cake! He does this in honor of his Queen, Linet, flower of the valley, radiant jewel of the realm, whose beauty is only surpassed by her wisdom and generosity!

When the Crown has taken their place at their thrones, and their retinue have cleared the aisle, they may invite other royalty or nobility to join them on the dais. This should generally be done in precedence order, though the Crown may wish to change the order up for various reasons. The court herald prompts the approach of the visiting dignitaries, usually keeping the language short and cordial (as the more flowery language is likely to come from the herald attached to their retinue). The following are examples of prompting processions:

• Their Majesties are pleased to welcome Their Royal cousins of Lilliput.
• The Crown welcomes into Their court Their Highnesses of Brobdingnag.
• Their Majesties invite Their Excellencies of Bearesville to join them in court.

If there are several processions, a clever herald may observe the pace of an entourage at the end of its entry and summon the next dignitaries before the aisle has cleared, provided the latter are moving fast enough not to cause a traffic jam.

Once the dais has been populated, whether through procession or subtlety, court may begin.

Convening Court, Sitting the Audience, and Opening Comments

When the Crown is ready, the herald will announce the opening of court. This is generally a fairly straightforward announcement:

• Here opens the court of William and Linet, King and Queen of Oaktown.

However, on occasion there may be a desire to be more specific. For the final court of Their Majesties just prior to the Coronation ceremony, for example, the herald might say:

• Here opens the final court of William and Linet, King and Queen of Oaktown.

Or if the event itself is a special occasion, one might elaborate:

• Here opens the court of William and LInet, King and Queen of Oaktown, at the 50th Anniversary Tournament and Celebration of the Barony of Bearesville.

If court had previously been convened that day, and been suspended, the second court would open as follows:

• Here resumes the court of William and Linet, King and Queen of Oaktown.

In any case, many in the populace may be standing at this point in deference to the Crown. With Their Majesties’ permission, the herald may bid them to sit, Examples include:

• You have Their Majesties’ leave to draw nigh and be seated.
• Their Majesties bid you make yourselves comfortable.

In many courts, the first item on the docket is opening comments from the Crown and other guests on the dais. Check in advance to make sure the Crown expects the prompt.  Then, as the populace is settling in, ask:

• Your Majesties, have you any words for these, Your people?

After the Crown completes their comments, similar prompts may be given to the guests. The phrase “for these, your people” is appropriate to ask of the host Coronet and/or Baronage, but for guests, the herald may consider modifying the language to the following:

• Your Highnesses, do you have any words for the assembled populace?
• Your Excellencies, do you have any words for the court?

Starting an Item of Business

The easiest item of business is an announcement. To begin and end, the herald needs only to start reading the announcement aloud, continue through to the end, and stop.

However, most items of business require that someone be invited, summoned, or admitted into court. For this, the herald (on behalf of the Crown) summons the individual or group.

If the summoned party has asked for time in  court, (e.g., for a presentation or announcement), the herald customarily asks for the Crown’s assent, as in the following examples:

• Your Majesties, the Kingdom seneschal has business before Your court.
• Your Majesties, the event steward has announcements about the day.
• Your Majesties, the Barony of Bearesville is without, and begs leave to approach with gifts of largesse.

Under this format, the Crown does not summon the petitioner, but instead grants them leave to approach:

• Their Majesties are pleased to welcome the Kingdom seneschal / event steward / Barony of Bearesville into Their court.

The most common summons, of course, is for awards. The most important part of any summons is the (properly pronounced) name of the candidate. To avoid losing the relevant information amid any flowery language, the candidate should be named either at the beginning or the end of the summons, with a very short pause between the name and command, as such:

• Their Majesties now call…Quintin of Bearesville!
• Quintin of Bearesville…come now before the Throne.

The summons can be as short as “Their Majesties summon Beauvis Longfellow” or a bit more flowery, like “William and Linet, August King and Queen of Oaktown, seek the presence of Mora da Valencia!” However, brevity is the friend of anyone who wishes to avoid a multi-hour court, and every second counts.

To keep the language fresh, a thesaurus is the herald’s friend, but beware: synonyms can have very different connotations. “Command” is a word that rings of authority, while “demand” does not. When choosing which word to use in the summons, bear in mind that some members of the populace may be nervous about approaching the throne. For children, newcomers, and those receiving their first recognition, gentler words are probably best:

• Their Majesties request the presence of…
• …please present yourself before this court.
• Their Majesties invite…

For individuals or groups with whom the Crown has a comfortable relationship, more assertive language can be used.

• Their Majesties command the presence of all Companions of the Order of the Chivalry.
• …the Crown orders your immediate and dutiful presence before this court.

Be very careful in exploring assertive language. No one should be made to feel like the summons is tied to misdeeds or imminent punishment.

It’s possible that a recipient is not at court. If this is the case, contingencies should be agreed upon in advance with the Crown. Some Crowns will want the award read into court, and will expect the herald to summon a representative (usually the awardee’s B&B, shire seneschal, or head of household) to take possession of the award and deliver it at an appropriate time. Other Crowns will want to postpone the award to a later date when the awardee will be present to receive it. If this is the case, the herald simply moves on to the next item on the court agenda.

Ending an Item of Business

Announcements rarely require applause, but most other items of court business are punctuated by the herald exhorting cheers from the populace. Typically, the cue for the cheer is preceded by the reason for the cheer. For example:

• For Lady Mora da Valencia, newest armiger of Oaktown…
• For the generosity of the Moneyers’ Guild…
• For the new champion of Bearesville, and all the winners of the day…
• For the children of Oaktown, our hope of the future…

After this, the herald leads the cheer appropriate to the kingdom. In some kingdoms, the herald says “hip-hip!” three times, each time enjoined the populace cheering “huzzah!” In other kingdoms, the herald cues the populace to chant “vivat!” three times. Some kingdoms have unique cheers, such as Ealdormere’s “wassail,” Gleann Abhann’s “awe hail,” or Midrealm’s unfortunate “hoobah.” The details of when and how to lead the cheers are specific to each kingdom’s culture, and can vary based on the rank or prestige of the award being bestowed; talk to a senior herald in your kingdom for more details.

Often, there’s a beat between the last prescribed cheer and a general applause from the audience to show their enthusiasm for a particular award. This pause can be a bit awkward, so some heralds in An Tir have taken to adding “A joyous noise!” as a further direction from the dais to cheer at will. This prompt is sometimes used on its own, in lieu of the more traditional “huzzah” cheers, especially for lesser awards or acclaims not tied to awards at all (e.g., “For the winners of the baking competition, a joyous noise!”).

Transitioning Between Items

In the radio business, “dead air” is a span of silence where nothing is being broadcast. Allowing dead air is very unprofessional, and is an obvious blunder on the part of the radio host. In SCA courts, an efficient herald will ensure that there is little to no dead air between items of business. Once the audience cheers begin to die down, the herald should launch immediately into the next item of business – either beginning an announcement or issuing a summons.

There are a few legitimate reasons for delay, including but not limited to the Crown needing a moment to compose themselves, the aisle being full of Order members vacating the Royal presence after admitting a new member, and the retinue trying to find the regalia for the next item of business. If the delay is brief, the herald should pay careful attention and act the moment the cause of the delay has passed.

If, however, the delay is more than a few seconds, the herald may be tempted to fill the dead air with a performance. This should only be done as a last resort, as the herald is the Voice of the Crown and not a regular performer. The herald may instead prompt the Kingdom Bard or other performer to step in to entertain the populace, or suggest the Crown do so. Ideally, this contingency will be worked out in advance of court with performers. If not, a gentle prompt from the herald might be:

• Their Majesties invite the Kingdom Bard, Lord Olaue Hinrikson, to entertain the populace with a song.

In any case, once the delay is over, get court up and moving again as quickly as possible.

Throwing to Other Courts

Often in a court with multiple sets of thrones on the dais, other Crowns, Coronets, or Baronage will have items of business to add to the host Crown’s docket. There are a few ways that the herald might handle this, all of which should be cleared with the Crown, the guest, and the guest’s herald (if any) in advance of starting court.

If the visiting nobility only brought a few items of business, the herald might say:

• Your Majesties, the Barony of Bearesville begs leave to conduct business during Your court.

Once Their Majesties give verbal assent, the herald of Bearesville can launch directly into the item of business without further fanfare. The two heralds may even arrange to take turns during this brief interlude.

If, however, the visiting nobility brought an entire docket, the Crown may opt to temporarily cede control of the court. If such is the case, the herald would suspend the court with a variant of one the following phrases:

• Here suspends the court of King William and Queen Linet
• Here suspends the court of Their Majesties of Oaktown
• Here suspends the Royal Court of Oaktown

At the conclusion of the visiting court’s docket, the herald would then resume the court with the same phrase, replacing “suspends” with “resumes,” i.e. “Here resumes the Royal Court of Oaktown,” followed immediately by the next item of business.

Closing Comments and Closing Court

Once all other items of court business have been either conducted or postponed, it will be time to close court. Most, if not all, kingdoms usually schedule final comments from the Crown and their guests before dismissing the populace. However, before prompting the Crown to speak, a smart court herald will double check to make sure no items of business were missed, using some variation of the following phrases, pausing to listen for a response from the Crown, retinue, or angry event steward who’s been waiting for hours to announce the results of the baking competition:

• There being no further business…
• If there be no further business before this court, for the benefit of Crown, Kingdom, or populace…
• Your Majesties, there appears to be no further business.

This may be immediately followed by the same prompting language used at the start of court:

• Have you any parting words for these, Your people?

Once all comments are closed, the herald will conclude this session of court. If there is another court scheduled for later in the day, the herald should suspend court, using language similar to that found the previous section of this article, but with a bit more fanfare and information for the next court. For example:

• Here suspends the court of Their Majesties William and Linet, King and Queen of Oaktown. Court will reconvene at 6:00 PM tonight, here in the royal pavilion.

The herald should then dismiss the populace with a variation of one of the following statements:

• You have Their Majesties’ leave to depart and be about the day’s business.
• You have the Crown’s leave to enjoy the tournament.

If, however, this is the last or only court of the day, the herald will indicate this by saying:

• Thus closes the court of Their Majesties, William and Linet, King and Queen of Oaktown.

The herald will then launch immediately into the Recessional Litany.

The Recessional Litany

This final part of court is some of the most fraught and complex elements of court.

In the early days of the SCA, a tradition emerged wherein every noble seated on the dais would exit down the main aisle while people cheered their names. Over time, this tradition developed protocols and expectations that are shared (with minor language variants) Society-wide. The recessional litany is now recited whether the Crown and Their guests exit the dais or no.

Boiled down to its essence, the herald leads cheers for those sitting on the dais, in descending order of precedence, starting with the Sovereign and Consort of the hosting kingdom (present or no). This is then followed by cheers of the territories represented on the dais in reverse order, ending in the name of the host branch, the host principality (if any), and finally the host kingdom. If the event is hosted in a shire or canton, that branch is included in the second half of the litany.

Wording for these cheers is dependent upon individual kingdom traditions, and inter-kingdom events can lead to some interesting discussion on which tradition is more appropriate to follow. For example, in Caid every noble couple and branch is cheered with “Long live X” being cried by the herald and repeated by the populace, ending with three huzzahs.

1. Long live the King and Queen of Caid! – Long live the King and Queen of Caid!
2. Long live the Baron and Baroness of the Angels! – Long live the Baron and Baroness of the Angels! 
3. Long live the Angels! – Long live the Angels!
4. Long live Caid! – Long live Caid!
5. Hip-hip! – Huzzah! (x3)

In An Tir, the tradition is a bit more complex, with “Long live X” being reserved for Kings and Queens. Other nobility are cheered with the herald saying “For X, long life!” and the audience rejoining with “Long life!” Branches below the kingdom level are cheered with the herald saying “For X, huzzah!” rejoined with “Huzzah!” Finally, the herald gives a prompt about the greatness of the kingdom being rejoined with three repetitions of “An Tir!” Thus:

1. Long live the King and Queen! – Long live the King and Queen of An Tir!
2. For the Baron and Baroness of Three Mountains, long life! – Long life!
3. For Three Mountains, huzzah! – Huzzah!
4. And for the greatest kingdom in the Known World, thrice raise her name to the skies! – An Tir! An Tir! An Tir!

In the Principality of the Summits, however, the tradition has a variant. In lieu of the branches being recognized with “For X, huzzah,” the herald leads a call-and-response of each branches’ name, said once for a local branch, twice for the Summits, and thrice for An Tir. Thus:

1. Long live Their Majesties of An Tir! – Long live Their Majesties of An Tir!
2. For Their Highnesses of the Summits, long life! – Long life!
3. For Their Excellencies of Adiantum, long life! – Long life!
4. Adiantum! – Adiantum!
5. Summits! – Summits! (x2)
6. An Tir! – An Tir! (x3)

The court herald should check with senior heralds to learn the appropriate recessional litany for their kingdom’s traditions. And for inter-kingdom events, all involved court heralds should confer with one another so that every kingdom’s traditions are respected in the recessional litany.

At the conclusion of any recessional litany, the herald should release the populace, using similar language to that found in the section above:

• You have Their Majesties’ leave to depart!

Conclusion

In writing this article, I hope that I have imparted to you, the reader, the language to connect the disparate items of business found in a court docket into a cohesive whole. As with everything on my site, all instructions and advice should be considered within and alongside your local branch’s traditions. If you have any questions, your principal herald should be able to provide clarification, even if their answer, quoting the King of Wakanda, is “We don’t do that here.”