My initial impulse was to do Fergus's text in Scots, as I had done for his investiture as Baron of Carolingia. However, the scribe was planning on doing a late-period Italian style. I'm having a very hard time finding good Italian sources in translation. My Italian is good enough to order food, but not quite good enough to cope with period legal concepts. So I resorted to one of my usual translated "Italian" sources: the transcriptions of the proclamations of the Council of Trent.
Here's the result:
Kenric, by right of arms King of the East, and Avelina his Queen, unto our good and highly esteemed Fergus MacRae, greetings. Wherefore, upon this 8th day of February, in the forty-eighth year of the Society, sitting on our thrones in our lands of Carolingia, it seems to us good, opportune, and expedient to convey unto you our most sincere gratitude for those extraordinary and diverse labors that you have undertaken on behalf of the Kingdom of the East, not least of which being your travails in the arts of defense and of the theater, and your loyal and steadfast stewardship of our aforesaid Carolingian lands; and wherefore, it lies within our singular royal authority to bestow such honors, accolades, allowances and benefits as have been prescribed by law and custom since the time of Maragorn and Adrienne, progenitors of the royal line; We do therefore, after mature deliberation, and of our own certain knowledge, and from the plenitude of our royal authority, and with the advice and consent of the venerable Peers of our Realm, appoint, determine, and assign that you shall, ought to be, and will hereafter be named among the membership of the Order of the Pelican. We further exhort, require, and admonish our heralds to convey unto you Arms by Letters Patent, in a form and manner to be determined, along with such rights, customs, allowances and appurtenances as are right and customary for men of such station. And that these things may come to the knowledge of all men, and that no one may use the excuse of ignorance; We will and ordain, that this letter be publicly read in a loud voice by certain officers of our court; and that, after having been read, it shall be committed to the press in our good city, that so it may be more conveniently made known throughout the provinces and kingdoms. Let no one, therefore, infringe this our will, mandate, and decree, or with rash daring go contrary thereunto; if any one shall presume to attempt this, let him know that he will incur our royal indignation and wrath. And so willing and wishing, we sign ourselves below:
Kenric Rex Avelina Regina
Yes, Fergus is a Peer, and one of my friends, and he doesn't have arms. I've stopped trying to get that particular horse to drink.
