Award Recommendations

My absolute favorite thing about being a court herald is getting to see people being recognized for their hard work and contributions. In light of this, I wanted to share a few things that may help get the word out on how to submit a recommendation, so that more people can be recognized for their hard work and contributions.

Step one: Check Existing Awards

The best place to start a recommendation is to see what awards are out there, which will give you an idea for which award you want to make a recommendation.

If you have a question on what awards are available in Caid, and how they inter-relate, here is an article that I wrote outlining all of the Kingdom awards in Caid, and what they are given for: https://innofthetyger.com/articles/protocolheraldry102/

This information is also available on the Kingdom Awards page. In Caid, it can be accessed at https://places.sca-caid.org/caid/awards/.

The next thing to check is what awards the person you want to recommend already has! The best place to see which awards people have is to look up their Order of Precedence listing. Each person has a dedicated page for their own awards. The Caid Order of Precedence (also known as the OP) can be accessed at http://heralds.sca-caid.org/op/people.php.

By clicking on the “Alphabetically or by Territory” at the top left, or using the search bar in the middle left side/middle of the page, you can search for people. Most names with non-latin characters have an alias with latin letters to make it easier to search.

PRO TIP: Names might also be spelled differently than you expect. Try searching parts of names, or checking the spelling from a known source like the Caid Wiki or the SCA Ordinary and Armorial (OANDA).

Step two: Write a recommendation

Once you know which award you want to write and for whom, you can start writing your recommendation letter. In Caid, this is mostly done through the OP, though this is also accessible from the Caid Kingdom page, and can be accessed here: http://royals.sca-caid.org/awards/online.php

Please see the Further Reading list at the bottom of the page for several links to other articles on how to write a good recommendation letter, or for some good templates. Some concepts to keep in mind when writing a recommendation letter are:

  1. What related awards does the person already have?
  2. What have they done/made that qualifies them for the award for which you are nominating them?
  3. What unique contributions has this person made to their communities?
  4. How do their contributions specifically enrich their communities?
  5. How have they met and exceeded the core tenets of our Society? What makes them an example of chivarly and courtesy?
  6. Pictures of projects and links to online blogs/documentation go a long way for recommending arts awards!

Overall, the more specific you can be on qualitative AND quantitative examples of a person’s meritable actions and arts, the better. For example, instead of saying “they have run many events” or “they have taught many classes”, instead list the events or classes they have managed. Instead of saying “they fight really well”, instead quantify their victories and provide examples of their chivalry on the field (Are they considerate of their opponents? Do they consistently take killing blows?) These types of details help provide the context the Crown or Order members may be missing in a recipient that they do not know well.

For Peerage recommendations, please email the secretary of the appropriate Order (found here: https://places.sca-caid.org/caid/peerages/). It is most helpful to give very specific examples of how the person you are recommending follows and exceeds the requirements for Peerage. For more information on what requirements are for Peerage, consider reading the Order Charters, Kingdom Law (https://wp.sca-caid.org/…/Rev-18-July-2017-The-Boke-of…), and Corpora (Page 30, https://www.sca.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/govdocs.pdf)

Please look on your Barony’s website for the specific on how to submit a letter for your local Barony! At the very least, you can email the Baronage. Use the “Regions” drop down menu on the upper right of the page to find yours: https://places.sca-caid.org/caid/

PRO TIP: If you have doubts about which awards someone has, write the letter anyway. The Crown, Coronet, or Baronage are saavy enough to either “upgrade” the request, or find a suitable award. Peerage Orders are required to discuss anyone for whom they receive a letter of recommendation, though not all letters will result in a recommendation to the Crown for elevation.

Step three: Write another recommendation

The Crown, Coronets, and Baronage cannot be everywhere and see everything – help them by writing recommendations for many people. Help spread the recognition of cool and inspiring deeds.

If for some reason your award recommendation doesn’t immediately result in an award being granted, that’s okay! You can follow up to inquire if a letter was received, or to provide additional/updated information to better help them in their decision making process. The Heads of State and Peerage Orders do keep a database of all recommendations, which are handed down reign to reign.

Missing Awards and Corrections

For those who are finding that they, or others, are missing awards, you can submit a request for a correction. Please keep in mind that each request must be verified before it will be entered. Details on this are included in the Correction Policy below.

Questions?

If you have questions on the OP, Awards, or other heraldic based bits, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Kingdom, local, or favorite herald (or yours truly!). Below are listings of names and emails for those that are currently serving as heralds in Caid.

Happy Heralding!

For Further Reading:

Dame Briana MacCabe, Awards, and Where to Find (and Recommend) Them

Baron Konstantia Kaleothina, Award Recommendations: what are they, and why are they important?

Messer Giuseppe de Borgia, Letters of Recommendations – an SCA Post

Maîtresse Sabine du Bourbonnais, How to write an SCA recommendation

Order of the Pelican in the Kingdom of Lochac, How Do You Recommend Someone for a Pelican? (This is applicable for any Peerage order. Check your Kingdom listings for the correct contact)

Anarra Karlsdottir, How to write an Award Recommendation

© 2026 Stephanie Rendt-Scott. All rights reserved. Limited publication rights may be granted upon written request to the author.