@DecaturNature @Daojoan And if I see one more image on here with unattributed text I'm going to go crazy.

@Daojoan There is something--beyond the foundational utility of it--charmingly satisfying about this idea. It would also put a "signed" person within a lineage of respect. That kindof cuts both ways and the potential exclusionary results you comment on, but the medieval/Renaissance theme definitely goes deeper than master/apprentice and guilds.

(similarly-but-differently, there's the concept of musical genealogy w/r/t pianists and their teachers reaching back to e.g. Chopin or Liszt)