April 14, 1980 XIV

LETTER OF ACCEPTANCES AND REJECTIONS

ACCEPTANCES BY KINGDOM

Kingdom of Ansteorra

None processed. (1/30/80 set put off until next month.)

Kingdom of Atenveldt

Baldwin of Erebor. Badge. A dove displayed upon a billet chequy Or and gules between a pair of cockatrices clad in motley like a fool's, their feathers are dimidiated with a tree eradicated, limbed and fructed countercompony.

Note: Fields and tinctures of charges need not all be specified in a badge. This is a special exception to the rule against complexity and does not constitute a precedent. Please see the drawing and story appended at the end of this letter.

Kingdom of Caid

None submitted.

Kingdom of the East

None submitted.

Kingdom of Meridies

Cole of Cornwall. Per chevron argent and sable, a bull's head cabossed counterchanged, armed and langued Or.

Grey Niche, Barony of. Badge. Sable, a pile throughout between two estoilles of eight points Or.

Jed Silverstar. Azure, a mullet of four greater and eight lesser points between four piles issuant in saltire argent.

Karin of the Golden Web. Azure, a spider depending from a spiderweb throughout in chief Or.

Meridies, Kingdom of. Badge for Companiate of Bards. Vair, a harp Or.

Robin de Shealladh. Sable, on a bend vert fimbriated Or between two lightening flashes a catamount rampant Or.

Selena of the Northern Woods. Sable, a caltrop Or.

Thomas Megtherium the Wordsmith. Per pale purpure and sable, a reed pen palewise Or surmounted by an anvil argent.

Note: The medieval anvil was symmetrical, with two horns. Thomas will have to redraw his device with a medieval anvil. I have corrected Megatherius to the correct form of Megatherium. He cannot be of Leviathan, because the Leviathan was a creature and you cannot be of a creature unless you are an offspring of it, which I do not think Thomas is claiming to be.

Kingdom of the Middle

Arnulf of Goldenhall. Azure, two bendlets wavy between two suns Or.

Eromene Aspasia. Badge for House Envoy. An escarbuncle argent between in chief the letter N, to dexter the letter W, in base the letter S, and to sinister the words ENVOY PRESS, sable.

Gray Gargoyles, The College of the. Argent, a bar embattled between a winged horned demon sejant erect affronté chase sable and a laurel wreath vert, all within a bordure sable.

Note: A gargoyle is a water spout. The demon drawn has its mouth shut and show no other opening for the spout, so I have blazoned it as a demon. Gargoyle is a class of object, and so you must say a gargoyle in the shape of something. If they wish to redraw it to make it an obvious water spout off the side of a building I will be happy to reblazon it as a gargoyle in the shape of the demon described.

James Douglas Eastland. Vert, a scarpe Or, overall in bend sinister two foxes currant and counter­courrant fesswise counterchanged.

Note: I passed it because I am not certain, but I believe that the use of middle names like that in English is out of period. I would appreciate it if someone could establish the fact one way or the other for me.

Johnnae llyn Lewis. Argent, on a pale azure between a pair of flaunches vert a thistle of three flowers argent.

Note: As blazoned, the flaunches do not touch the pale, so one need not use a diminutive of flaunch to describe the situation.

David Duncan Douglas of Summerhill. Badge for the Household of the Silver Tassel. A pillow azure with tassels on the four corners argent.

Kingdom of the West

Eden of Lionsguard. Change of device. Purpure, an iron grill gate fleury in chief argent between in chief two lions couchant respectant Or and in base an iris argent.

Note: The gate is similar to those at Buckingham Palace­vertical spear­like rods with horizontal bars at top and bottom, with the fleury spearheads rising in an arc above the top bar. The iris is an iris germanica, but as it is specified as argent this need not be specified in the blazon. (This is the standard iris shape.)

Ignatius of Man. Vert, on a chevron argent between three pine trees on mounts Or three English sparrows (Passer domesticus) close proper.

Kathryn Dhil Lõrriel. Argent, on a bend sinister gules cotised sable a Lady Banks rose slipped and leaved proper. (Rosa ladybanksiana)

Diana av Fjell Tusenfryden. Azure, a brunette woman sejant erect guardant proper, winged argent, vested gules, fimbriated argent, holding an increscent moon argent.

Note: Appeal accepted. An increscent moon is an increscent with a face and is in period as it was used in statuary in our period.

Madrone Culinary Guild. Gules, a spurtle inverted, a knife, and a spoon inverted Or.

Note: From now on groups that are not personal households can register devices.

Maythen of Elfhaven. Change of Device. Per bend sinister sable and Or, a dragon counter­passant reguardant, wings addorsed, gules.

Note: Her previous arms now become her badge.

Normand de la Croix. Per pale argent and sable, a cross flory and in canton a rose gules, barbed and seeded, slipped and leaved sable.

Note: Du is a contraction of de le, so du la is incorrect, and I have corrected the name to de la Croix.

Phalin of Duramen. Argent, a bend sinister argent, fimbriated sable, overall a winged unicorn salient sable, armed and collared and trailing a broken chain Or, the collar charged with a crescent gules, on a chief sable a wolf's paw print argent.

Torgul Bahadur. Sable, a tyger sejant erect affronté Or, pendant from each forepaw a metal cuff and broken chain sable, fimbriated Or.

Note: Appeal accepted. Bahadur is an epithet meaning great drinker and is acceptable.

Tricia of Weatherford. Per pale and per chevron argent and ermine, in bend two bicolor roses (Rosa foetida bicolor) palewise stalked and leaved proper.

Note: Appeal granted. It seems the bicolored rose is in period after all.

REJECTED SUBMISSIONS BY KINGDOM

Kingdom of Meridies

John called Folderol Tinhart. Azure, a heart argent within an annulet from which radiate sixteen bells Or.

The device is acceptable in form, but it conflicts with Anna Gertrude Leonhardt: Azure, on a heart argent a lion rampant azure. There is only one point of difference, namely the substitution of the ring of bells for the lion. The word folderol is out of period, being first attested in 1701. He could be John Tinhart.

Ember Herald. Badge. On a tau cross gules three firebrands staffs conjoined in tau cross sable, enflamed sable and argent.

Badge for subsidiary offices are forbidden, especially within the heralds. Seals may be used, but it is the opinion of myself and my staff that there is no need or justification for registering a seal to a heraldic officer below the level of Principality Herald. Were we to do so there would be hundreds of titled pursuivants in the SCA who could and probably would do so. Should they want to make up a personal seal for their office well and good, but they should not register it.

Morgana d'Anguille. Argent, a heart gules pierced by a sword inverted bendwise sinister sable, dependent from the point three gouts de sang.

This conflicts with Morguessa MacKinna: Argent, a heart gules pierced by a sword inverted proper entwined with two garden roses gules, slipped and leaved vert. There is a point of difference in the tincture of the sword and its angle of piercing. There is a point of difference between in the tincture of the sword and its angle of piercing. The difference between the two roses and the three gouts is less than a full point. Visually, the two are very similar.

Prashaton of Monnoth. Badge for House Plummer. Sable, a pall inverted between two feathers in pile and a dagger inverted argent.

I need a better drawing the feathers are neither in bend or in pale. The pall is much to thin to be a pall. The above blazon is my best guess.

Regan Lowry the Loner. Gyronny of twelve azure and sable, a mascle and on a chief argent a unicorn courant reguardant sable.

The device is beautiful and acceptable, but there is problem with the name. Regan is a surname, not a given name. It means little king. Lowrey is a given name, not a surname, and is a form of Lawrence, meaning fox. Both are masculine names. While Regina (queen) is an acceptable given name, Regan does not derive from it, although Regin does. You could be Regin Lowrey the Loner or Lowrey Regan the Loner, or Regina Lowrey the Loner, but not Regan Lowrey the Loner. Please decide quickly so we can register this pretty device.

Kingdom of the Middle

Knüt Öststrüm. Vert, semee of acorns proper.

Do not say "a semee of," just "semee of." It is a verb meaning strewn with. If conflicts with the arms of the Seven Oak family: Vert, seven acorns 3, 3, and 1 Or, and also Azure, seven acorns 2, 3, and 2 Or. To the medieval herald more than six of anything is many, and so there is no difference heraldically between seven charges and semee of those charges. Acorns proper are essentially Or in color, and so you do not really get a point of difference of tincture. I suggest changing the field to sable, so as to have black oak acorns.

Marc Uther Corwyn David Rengarth of Cornwall. Azure, a sword inverted proper, hilted gules, overall a balance scale Or.

This is in conflict with Conrad Tolbert Regnault: Azure, a sword proper, balanced on its point a balance scale Or. The only difference is the position of the sword. The difference in hilt is too minor to consider. The name, although long, is acceptable, as it is less than the maximum limit of 48 characters, including spaces. This is the current limit as it is the length of the fields in the armorial. (It used to be 50.)

Kingdom of the West

Phalin of Duramen. Badge. Argent, a wolf's paw print sable.

This is in conflict with the badge used by the Cub Scouts for the Wolf rank, and with the emblem for the humane society. Harald de Sort Ulv of Danelaw tried to register the exact same badge in 1977 and was rejected for the same reasons.

Kingdom of Caid

Leah de Spencer. Per chevron inverted enhanced sable and gules, in chief a Maltese cross argent, and in base a stag's head couped affronté proper, attired Or.

This looks too much like arms with an augmentation of the Knights of Malta: Sable, a Maltese cross argent. One must be very careful with such important emblems. The Knights of Malta also used a gules field as well. I suggest that Leah use a different style of cross, or that she change the upper section to either azure, vert or purpure. This was held over from last month so we could double­check the emblems of the order.