28 NOVEMBER XXII (1987)
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE APPROVED:
KINGDOM OF AN TIR
An Tir, Kingdom of.
Badge. Chequy Or and argent, a lion's head caboshed within a bordure
sable.
An Tir, Kingdom of.
Change of badge for Pied Pipers and change of name from Pied Piper's
Place. Per saltire Or and argent, a transverse flute fesswise
sable.
Berek von Langental.
Change of name from Berek von Langenthal.
Bronwyn ferch Lewis. Name only.
Note that Gruffudd (Welsh Personal Names, p.
62) cites Lewis Glyn Cothi as the name of a fifteenth-century
Welsh poet. Therefore the use of the name Lewis in the Welsh would
seem to have been documented in period.
Caomhghin ap Rhys o Dun na hEan. Name and device. Argent, a triple-towered castle, on a chief azure an eagle displayed argent.
He has been granted permission to conflict
by Anne Louise of Bluecastle ("Argent, a castle triple-towered
azure, portalled, crenellated and pennoned gules, within a bordure
azure, semy of oak leaves Or.").
Conal Fitzalan.
Device. Sable, on a pile, doubly cotised, Or a sword inverted
sable.
Darien Tevarson.
Badge. Or, a cedar tree proper issuant from mount, all within
a bordure vert.
Eiríkr Stórox. Name and device. Per pale gules and azure, a lion and a dragon combattant argent, maintaining in their forepaws a sword and a great axe crossed in saltire, in base a massacre Or.
The name was submitted as Eiríkr Stórrox.
By the submittor's own documentation, the adjective should have
only one "r" in the compound here so we have dropped
the surplus consonant. Note that this very nearly falls over the
great cliff of overcomplexity: were the charges not confined to
two tinctures, this would be too complex.
Eirikr Thorinsson.
Change of name from Arthur de Montague.
Elizabeth Ashley Longbow of Newcastle. Name and device. Purpure, a natural seahorse naiant to sinister argent.
Note: the beastie in the device of Denis de
Courcey of the Kells ("Or a sea-horse erect to sinister vert.")
is indeed an heraldic sea-horse so there is no identical outline.
Elizabeth of the Fields.
Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Gytha Anora ni Chiarain. Device (see RETURNS for name change). Or, a seastag passant reguardant gules, on a chief three roses argent.
The submission was made with a change of name
to Gytha Anora ni Kerean.
Gytha Anora ni Chiarain.
Badge. Or, a seastag passant reguardant gules.
Kerryk Wolfram.
Name only.
Liesel von Langental.
Change of name from Liesel Alpenblum von Langenthal.
Marta de Caernis. Name only.
The name was submitted as Marte de Caerynis.
Unfortunately, the form "Marte" is not a coined variant
of Martha, as stated on the letter of intent, but a well-documented
period form of the common noun "mart" which has several
meanings, the most familiar of which is for a market (see the
OED under "mart"). Therefore, we have modified the form
of the given name to the closest form given in the submittor's
documentation. Also, the forms of the family name (given under
"Cairns" in Black's Surnames of Scotland) do not have
a final "ynis" which would change the meaning and sound
of the name considerably. Therefore, we have used the simpler
two-syllable form of the name, as shown in several variants in
Black.
Meagan ferch Meredydd.
Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Randell Elinor Raye of Crianiarich.
Device. Argent, on a chevron between three Celtic crosses vert,
a Celtic cross argent.
Reginleif the Unruly.
Badge. Sable, on a horse's head couped argent, a flame sable.
Richard Fitzgerald of Broadmeadow.
Device. Per pall inverted azure, Or and argent, in chief two lions
rampant addorsed, maintaining swords, counterchanged Or and azure,
and in base a cross crosslet fitchy gules.
Roger Fitzlyon.
Badge for The Brotherhood of the Wandering Sword. Argent, a dexter
wing conjoined at the base with a sinister gauntlet sable maintaining
a sword gules.
Rosemund Longfellow.
Name only.
Sarah of Three Mountains. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per bend sinister Or and azure, a unicorn salient to sinister sable and a tower argent, masoned sable.
The submission was made under the name Sarah
Sarahson. Note that the unicorn on the device of Morgaina Serai
la Foncée was registered as azure, although this tincture
was accidentally omitted from the latest armorial.
Stephen Schwarzpferd.
Name and device. Per pale gules and sable, on a plate a horse
rampant sable, in chief a flamberge fesswise argent.
Thorvald of Vulkanfeld. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Or, a bear rampant, maintaining an axe, within a bordure embattled vert.
The submission was made under the name of Thorvald
Halfdane.
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
Asa Birdfoot.
Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Barbara of Levedia. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Argent, on a pile ployé throughout vert, a daffodil, slipped and leaved, argent.
The submission was made under the name of Renya
Valeska Nyék of Levedia.
Beatrice Morgana.
Name and device. Or, a goblet between five mullets in chevron
sable and a base rayonny gules.
Daphne of Ered Isen. Device. Sable, a sword inverted surmounted by a retort fesswise gules, fimbriated Or, distilling from the retort a goutte d'Or, a label Or.
As noted when this was returned in May, we
have a moral obligation to pass this submission which adds only
a plain label Or to the registered arms of her father. Note that
the lady would be entitled under AR23a to display this device
without registering it. Through several submissions, she has taken
great care to "play by the rules" and should be complimented
on her patience.
Eleanor la Maladroite.
Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Genevieve nic an Cheannai. Blazon correction. Per pall gules, purpure and azure, a unicorn passant reguardant and a bordure argent.
When the device was registered in July, 1987,
a typo resulted in the field being described as per pale.
Godwin of Rye.
Device. Per bend sable and argent, in bend sinister three scorpions
counterchanged.
James Treebull the Stubborn. Name only (see PENDING for device).
The name was submitted as Jamie Treebull the
Stubborn. Since we could not document the use of the diminutive
form as a separate entity in period, we have substituted the formal
use name "James".
Mons Tonitus, March of. Badge. Argent, a pile inverted sable, surmounted by a chevron inverted counterchanged.
Please ask them to draw the chevron inverted
properly, with its point coming farther down than it did on the
emblazon sheet.
KINGDOM OF CAID
Adrianna Somerset Morgan. Name and device. Sable, two lion's heads, erased and sinister facing, and a lion rampant to sinister Or.
The name gave some of the Laurel staff twinges,
but Somerset Maugham's given name was William, not Adrian.
Althaea della Terra di Rugiada. Procedural correction.
Crescent has properly noted that, when her
name was approved in July, 1987, we omitted to specify that this
was a change from the holding name of Althaea of Calafia.
Balin of Canterbury.
Device. Azure, a dragon passant to sinister Or between three crosses
of Canterbury argent.
Briana O Dúnadhaigh.
Name and device. Per fess embattled gules and Or, two fleams and
a hawk's head erased counterchanged.
Caterine Sybille de Montmorillon.
Device. Per bend argent and purpure, two cat's faces jessant-de-lys
counterchanged.
Céline Jeanne de Hermain. Blazon correction. Argent, a raven displayed sable between three fleurs-de-lys gules, all within a bordure sable.
The tincture of the bird was omitted when the
device was approved in July, 1985.
Conrad Friedrich von Troppau.
Name and device. Per saltire argent and azure, an eagle displayed,
wings inverted, between four crosses formy counterchanged.
Derdriu MacKinnon.
Name and device. Argent, on a pomme between four holly sprigs
in cross proper, a spiral hunting horn argent.
Focarta Faolmear. Name and device. Gules, a wolf salient guardant within a bordure rayonny argent.
The name was submitted as Focarta Faol-mear.
The evidence of such names as "O Faolchair" (MacLysaght,
Surnames of Ireland, p. 102) indicates that the two elements would
coalesce, not be joined by a hyphen.
Galen the Mad. Blazon correction. Azure, on a saltire nowy quadrate argent, cotised Or, a bull's head cabossed sable.
When this was registered in June, 1987, the
important modifier nowy was omitted from the blazon. Our thanks
to Vesper for catching this.
Ian of the Isle. Badge. Argent, a lion's jambe bendwise erased gules.
Since the issue was raised by Æstel,
we checked on the mundane and Society defaults for a lion's jambe.
In depictions of the jambe where no orientation is given, it has
the "business end", i.e., the claws, to chief. In accordance
with this practice, the jambe on the badge for the Order of the
Jambe de Lion of An Tir ("Chequy Or and argent, a lion's
jambe bendwise inverted erased sable.") has its claws to
base. Thus there can be no question of conflict here.
Lyondemere, Barony of. Change of device. Argent, a sea-lion proper grasping a laurel wreath vert, a base engrailed azure.
Marcus Naturalis. Name and device. Or, a bend sinister sable, overall a monster composed of a human figure with the head and foreclaws of a griffin and the mane, tail and rear paws of a lion, kneeling and maintaining a pellet.
Note that there is evidence for the early use
of the term "natural" for the mentally deficient so
that this usage seems reasonable. (The submittor should be informed
of this connotation, however!) After some lengthy consideration,
we decided that Dragon was correct and it was primarily the rendition
of the monster, which would have done credit to a professional
strip inker, that prejudiced so many commentors against it. There
is, taken in itself, nothing unreasonable about the monster and,
in a full-sized emblazon, it is clearly identifiable.
Maredudd of Castell Dolwyddelan. Name only.
The name was submitted as Maredydd o Castell
Dolwyddelan. She asked that changes be made to preserve the sound
so we have changed the preposition to English to avoid the need
to mutate the following noun to "Gastell". The given
name has also been changed to the usual Welsh form to preserve
the sound: all evidence points to "y" appearing only
in Anglicised forms ending in "th".
Marie de La Rochelle.
Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Micheal of the Daugava. Spelling correction.
When the gentle's name was passed in June,
1987, it was inadvertantly spelled with the usual spelling Michael,
although his forms indicated he wished to use the reversed diphthong
of his mundane name: Micheal.
Philippe Lyon de Marseilles.
Device. Per fess rayonny Or and sable, in chief a lion rampant
gules, maintaining a quill bendwise sinister, between in fess
two fleurs-de-lys sable, in base a sun argent.
Timotheus Zacharia von Schloss Zwilling.
Change of name from holding name of Timotheus Zacharia of Altavia.
KINGDOM OF MERIDIES
Alexander Tair Gwal Garreg. Name and device. Per fess gules and sable, on a fess embattled counterembattled Or between two cats passant argent, a cat passant to sinister sable.
The name was submitted as Alezxander Tri Carreg
Gwal. The submittor allowed corrections to the name so we have
dropped the surplus "z" from the given name. The word
order of the byname was also modified to follow Welsh practice
and the modifiers were given the appropriate forms to accompany
the feminine noun "Gwal".
Bjorn Rhys.
Device. Per bend sinister argent and sable, in dexter chief an
elk's skull caboshed sable.
Brenna Lowri o Lanbedr. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Brenna Lowri o Llanbedr.
After the preposition "o" the initial consonant must
mutate.
Charles John ben Moses David of Guiles. Name and device. Azure, on a bend sinister argent a mullet of six points azure, a chief embattled and issuant from base a demi-sun Or, eclipsed azure.
The name was submitted as Charles John Ben
Moses David of Guiles. The patronymic particle by convention is
in lower case. The submittor has demonstrated that medieval Jewish
names could link two names each consisting of two names and Society
practice has long allowed the use of names from different linguistic
traditions in the same construct.
Garret MacFaelain. Name and device. Per chevron azure and argent, two arrows inverted in chevron argent and an acorn proper.
Note that O Corrain and Maguire (Gaelic Personal
Names, p. 92) show Fáelán as a usual Gaelic form
so that the patronymic is properly formed.
Geoffrey FitzRoger.
Badge. A male griffin segreant sable, armed Or, within an annulet
azure.
Meridies, Kingdom of.
Badge for Chirurgeons. Argent, a fleam gules.
Muirgheal Cinnsealach. Name and device. Per bend sinister argent and purpure, a bend sinister erminois between a chess rook azure and a conch shell fesswise argent, all within a bordure erminois.
The name appeared on the letter of intent as
Muriel Kinsella. However, the paperwork for the lady indicated
that she wished the well-documented Irish form.
Sionyn Muirgen ni Dhomnall. Change of name from Siobhan Muirgen ni Dhomnall.
The name was submitted as Sionann Muirgen ni
Dhomnall. The submittor provided a number of possible Irish variants,
but none were linguistically valid for the submitted given name
pronunciation save for those associated with the name of the Shannon
River and divine lady from whom its name is supposedly derived
(a sea-goddess granddaughter of Lir). This latter lady is anything
but human and it was the association with her (reinforced by the
epithet "sea born" used here) that caused the name to
be modified in the first place. However, we have found a form
close in sound and spelling in the Welsh masculine given name
and we have used this since the lady did permit changes of grammar
and spelling.
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Bronwyn ferch Gwyn ap Rhys. Name only.
Note that Gwyn appears to have been a masculine
given name in period as well as a descriptive byname. Morgan and
Morgan (Welsh Surnames, p. 116) copiously document its use as
a given name in sources from as early as the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries.
Riverwood Tower, Shire of.
Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Silfren Mere, Shire of. Name and device. Argent, a tower sable, its base environed of a laurel wreath vert, all within a bordure embattled azure.
This does not conflict by outline with the
Shire of Emerald Keep ("Or, a tower within a laurel wreath
within a bordure embattled vert."), since the laurel wreath
in that case fully surrounds the tower.
KINGDOM OF THE WEST
Caroline O Cainnigh. Change of name from Caroline nic Chainnigh.
Note that O Corrain and Maguire (Gaelic Personal
Names, p. 43) support the form Cainnech.
Catriona Gleannfhithich. Name only.
The name was submitted as Catriona as Glenfhitheach.
We have modified the byname to give the proper form for Raven
Valley. Note that the preposition has been dropped in favour of
an appositive phrase as is exceedingly common for locatives in
Gaelic: this avoids some of the syntactic difficulties created
by the dependent genitive.
Eric Karl Krause. Name and device. Quarterly argent and azure, in bend sinister two swords inverted bendwise Or.
The name was submitted as Eric Karl von Krause.
The preposition would not have been used with the adjective form
"Kraus" or without an article with the noun "Krause".
Since his mundane last name is "Krause", we have simply
dropped the preposition, as we did for his father on the October
letter.
Étienne the Inepte. Name and device. Azure, a fess bretessed ermine between three mice statant Or.
While the Olde Englishe spelling is a bit "twee",
it is not excessive here.
Helena of Heathcote.
Name and device. Argent, a heathcock passant to sinister within
a bordure purpure.
Lilian Guy of Swanton. Spelling correction.
When the name was registered in June, 1987,
we misread the forms and used the form of the given name with
three "l"'s. She wishes only two.
Karina of the Far West. Reblazon of device. Azure, a wyvern statant argent.
The original blazon ("Argent, a wyvern
argent.") is deceptive since it assumes that the wyvern is
in the "ramping" posture which is the default for dragons
and wyverns.
Lucina Sara Hawkridge. Badge. Per pale and chevronelly inverted sable and argent, a pink flamingo volant, wings addorsed proper.
Comment from Laurel Staff: "She should
be told she can get all the household badges she wants from a
mail order place called the Cat's Pajamas. They specialize in
plastic flamingos of all kinds (including clocks!".
Snorri Ottarson. Spelling correction.
When the name was registered in June, 1987,
the byname was inadvertantly spelled with only one "s".
Tzipporah bat Deborah.
Change of name from Eleanor du Mont Saint Michel.
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE RETURNED:
KINGDOM OF AN TIR
Adrian Blackfire. Device. Azure, a chevron inverted throughout Or, overall a wyvern couchant coward argent.
This does in fact conflict with Karina of the
Far West ("Azure, a wyvern statant argent." as reblazoned
elsewhere on this letter) which has a wyvern statant in almost
precisely the posture that is here blazoned as couchant. The wyvern
on Adrian's arms is closer to the traditional statant than couchant
in any case (a wyvern couchant would be in the same posture as
a dragon couchant).
Alain de Trois Rivieres. Device. Per fess enhanced wavy purpure and azure, two seawolves combattant between a mullet and three spears issuant from base, points conjoined in fess point, Or.
A complex line of division such as wavy is
permitted for fields in which the divisions are of the same tincture
category only in cases where the contrast between the tinctures
is good and the line of division is not obscured by overlying
charges. This device meets neither criterion: the contrast between
purpure and azure is almost the poorest imaginable and the sea-wolves
overly the line of division to such an extent that it is only
by examining closely that it is possible to determine that it
is not a plain line.
Ambiorix Draconis. Name and device. Purpure, a dragon's head erased Or.
Unfortunately, the name Ambiorix seems to be
a unique name for one of the greatest of the Gallic leaders who
appear in Caesar's Gallic Wars. Indeed, his fame was only exceeded
by that of Vercingetorix and it is arguable that Ambiorix, chief
of the Eburones, who led a major revolt against Roman power in
the 50's B.C. was a greater leader as he was not compelled to
surrender to Caesar as was Vercingetorix. Also, the proper formation
for the byname would have it in the nominative ("Draco").
Such a byname is perfectly legitimate and would be suitable both
for a Romanized Gaul or a Roman. The device, unfortunately, conflicts
with the badge of Sarkanyi Gero ("A triskelion of dragon's
heads Or, tongued gules."): no difference is created by the
languing, which could just as well have been left to artistic
discretion and the only other modification is the addition of
the conjoined dragon's heads in base.
An Tir, Crown Prince of. Device. Chequy Or and argent, a lion couchant, queue fourche, sable, gorged of a coronet argent.
Note that the submitted device is not sufficiently
different from submitted for the Crown Princess since they differ
only by the type of gorging, which is at most a weak minor (by
DR1c the minimum difference permissible between devices where
permission to conflict has been granted is a major point). This
also is in conflict with several devices cited by commentors.
Given the extremely low contrast field, which appears to be argent
in many lights, it visually conflicts with William the Silent
("Argent, a natural panther passant guardant sable.").
It also conflicts with Houri the Savage ("Argent, a lion
rampant sable, orbed and langued gules.") since virtually
no difference can be derived from the addition of the gorging
and none whatsoever from the orbing and languing.
An Tir, Crown Princess of. Device. Chequy Or and argent, a lion couchant, queue fourche, sable, gorged of a wreath of hearts and roses argent.
This is not sufficiently different from that
submitted for the Crown Prince. This must be returned for the
same conflicts cited for the proposed device for the Crown Prince.
Cerys o Aberystwyth. Name only.
Unfortunately, all evidence points to the given
name as a modern formation from a Welsh endearment (equivalent
to an English name of "Darling"). The documented form
Ceridwen or possibly the neoclassicist name Charis would be viable
alternates. (In either case, she would probably do well to use
the lingua franca preposition: "of".).
Dublin O'Guinn Silverwolf. Name only.
Æstel himself indicates the reason why
this appeal must be returned: "The stated intention of NR12
is to make allowance for the submittor who bears what is now thought
of as a given name but in period was only a surname." The
cited examples of geographical names used as given names (most
of which were only used as given names after our period) are commonly
recognized as such: thanks to their use over the years names such
as Neville, Mortimer, Gordon, Leslie, etc. now have as their primary
identity a given name usage, although they may have originally
been family names derived from place names. This is not the case
with Dublin. Not only is Dublin not commonly used as a given name,
it does not appear to have been used as a family name: neither
Reaney (Dictionary of British Surnames) nor MacLysaght (Surnames
of Ireland) show Dublin in any form as a family name. So far as
we can determine, it is used solely as a locative and a very famous
one at that. To gauge the effect this non-period usage will have
on a gentle who would be introduced to the submittor for the first
time, try substituting Berlin or Copenhagen or Brussels for the
first element of the name. Clearly, the "modern" effect
here is so disruptive that the leniency granted to mundane names
which will not overly disrupt the medieval ambience of the Society
cannot be allowed in this case.
Elizabeth of the Fields. Device. Argent, a bend coloured as a natural rainbow between a garden rose bendwise gules, slipped and leaved vert, and a heart gules.
This is a clear case of non-period style. Such
rainbow tinctured charges as this have been banned from Society
use for some years.
Gytha Anora ni Kerean. Change of name from Gytha Anora ni Chiarain.
The form of the name above was originally submitted
with documentation indicating it was a variant spelling of Irish
Ciaran and, when the name was registered in January, 1987, the
patronymic was modified to the proper Irish form which the paperwork
suggested the submitter wished ("ni Chiarain"). Æstel
has submitted a name "correction" to the original form.
Technically, this is a change of name or appeal rather than a
correction (which term should be used only when there is cause
to suspect that Laurel has mistyped or otherwise accidentally
modified the submitted form, not when the change is clearly intentional).
Unfortunately, the change was made originally to avoid several
problems with the name and the documentation provided by Æstel
does not resolve these. In the first place, "Kerean"
is not a valid variant, English or Irish, for Ciaran. The forms
cited in the letter of intent and all others we have been able
to find have no diphthong in the final syllable. Irish "Ciaran"
and the Anglicized forms "Kieron", "Kieran",
etc. are pronounced not at all like "Kerean" and orthographic
variants in both Irish and English tend to follow pronunciation.
As the "k" form is used, we must suppose that this is
an Anglicized form, which would not usually have been used with
the Celtic feminine patronymic particle "ni". In any
case, if the feminine particle is used, it would aspirate the
following given name, as in the registered form of the name. To
accept the appeal, it would be necessary to ignore our long-standing
strictures on prepositions and nouns following the grammatical
rules of the same language.
Ian Jameson. Name only.
The name conflicts with the registered name
of Ian James of Silverlake. Under our current rules, adding a
sufficiently different locative would clear the conflict.
Lao Tao-sheng. Change of name from Lao Xue-sheng and device. Lozengy argent and sable, a monkey rampant guardant azure, vested and booted in the Chinese manner Or, wearing a tam sable with two feathers, and maintaining in dexter forepaw a staff Or.
Although the new given name was documented
as the name of a period monk, no meaning was given for the name.
As the name is not a common one and most Chinese names have meanings,
this is necessary here, particularly in view of the aural similarity
that a number of non-Chinese oriented commentors found to Lao
Tzu, known in the West as the founder of Taoism. Note that the
beast depicted here is considerably less a primate than that on
the original submission and would be more readily identified as
a lion. Also note that, even with the expanded description, it
is doubtful that a competent heraldic scribe would arrive at this
depiction from the blazon. Finally, the problem with the interpretation
of this beast as the "Monkey King", which was raised
in the original return, has not been addressed in the letter of
intent or in the documentation.
Lao Tao-sheng. Badge. Lozengy argent and sable, a Chinese beret gules, decorated to sinister with two feathers azure, eyed vert, overall a bend couped bendwise Or.
The feathers on the cap, omitted from the blazon,
are not a minor detail in the design, although they fade into
the sable portions of the field. This form of cap is not the usual
one depicted in Chinese art and would not be reconstructed from
the suggested blazon by any heraldic artist. Indeed, the image
presented by a "Chinese cap" to most heraldic artists
we queried differed substantially from this image.
Lorraine Mary d'Aquitaine. Name only.
All documentation that we could find, including
the source partially cited in the letter of intent, supports the
view that the use of Lorraine as a given name is well out of period.
As Lorraine was an important geographical entity in period, it
is necessary to have some evidence for its use in period. She
could use her mundane given name, Laura, which is documented in
period.
Marisse the Unattainable. Name only.
By the very documentation included in the letter
of intent, the name forms offered as sources for Marisse date
from after our period. The only period formation we could find
that was really close was the geographic family name of origin
"de Marise" cited in Reaney (p. 232) which derives from
the French word for a marsh.
Meagan ferch Meredydd. Device. Vert, a triple-towered castle and a chief embattled argent.
Conflict with Hjalmar of Aachen ("Vert,
a castle argent, portalled and masoned sable, on a chief argent
three oak leaves vert.").
Miles Longfellow. Name only.
Conflict with the registered name of Miles
Long. The name is not only close in sound, but also in meaning:
in the citation from Matthews (English Surnames, p. 140) provided
by the submittor as documentation it is stated: "The proper
English word to describe a tall man was Long (Lang or Laing in
the North), or he could be called Longman or Longfellow.".
Richard Raedwulf. Name only.
The name is just too close to Richard Randolf.
The possibilities for confusion are only increased by Richard
Randolf's registered alternate persona of Randwulf Raedwulfing!.
Sarah Sarahson. Name only.
The name conflicts with that of a character
from one of Peter Schickele's P.D.Q.Bach albums. While neither
Peter Schickele nor the persona of P.D.Q. Bach may properly be
called period, they both have a certain cult status in many areas
of the Society. Many members not only recognize the music but
can recite the lyrics to most of the published work. Given this
circumstance, the use of the name of even a tangential character
from the P.D.Q.Bach corpus seems unwise.
Thorvald Halfdane. Name only.
The name conflicts with the registered name
of Thorvald Halfdanarson.
Valtorr of Oslo. Name and device. Quarterly Or and argent, a Sleipnir rampant sable within an orle gules.
We would really have like to be convinced by the argumentation on the name. Unfortunately, all the evidence provided by Æstel only supports the original grounds for return. The argument that "Viktor" demonstrates the use of "tor" as a deuterotheme sadly has no foundation in fact since it is merely a northern spelling variant of the Latin "Victor". The citation from Haugen's Scandinavian Language Structures (p. 66) designed to show that thorn does become "t" in period confirms the original evidence that it does not do so in the context offered since it indicates that this change occurs "initially when stressed" [italics ours]. By a somewhat longer process the thorn developed into "d" "initially when unstressed" [again italics ours]. The documentation offers no evidence that this occurred internally in words, compounded or not. Indeed, the evidence provided by the submittor in the form of citations from Reaney argues that it does not, for every single one has the "Thor"/"Tor" component as the first element in the name. (It is notable that in all the theophoric names we could find from Scandinavia, like that of the majority from the Mediterranean, the "divine" element is always the leading element: Thorfinn, Theodore, Apollodorus, etc.)
As for the device, the resubmission did not
address the issue of the propriety of registering a Sleipnir in
the Society. No evidence has been presented in support of the
use of this magical creature so closely associated with the Nordic
pantheon, even outside of the context of a theophoric name and
commentary in the College was even dubious concerning the use
of such a unique creature on this occasion than when it was first
submitted. Moreover, since any blazon to indicate the tinctures
of the submission was omitted, the College could not check properly
for conflicts which might have arisen since the original return.
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
Adelvarg va Midnatthimmel. Name and device. Sable, a wolf statant to sinister atop a rock argent.
Although both name and device were listed as resubmissions on the letter of intent, the name was actually being appealed, as there was no change made from the form returned. This appeal did not address the major objection to the given name, which was that neither "varg" nor any cognate form appears in the fixed pool of Germanic naming elements (either as a protheme or a deuterotheme). The submittor has provided copious documentation for the use of "Adel" as a protheme (which was never in dispute), but no evidence that "varg" was ever used in period or today in place of the "ulf" form that is common in Germanic names as a deuterotheme. It has long been established that the use of an element with meaning in one language does not necessarily mean that a translated form can be used in the same manner in another language. His argument basically is that, since "ulf" means "wolf" and is used, "varg" which also means "wolf" should also be used. This is not a valid argument. Also, no documentation has been provided for the use of "va" as a prepositional form, as opposed to the more familiar "av" that he has documented.
In resubmitting, he has attempted to avoid
conflict with Walter de Montagne ("Sable, in chief a lion
passant dismembered and in base a mount argent."), but beast
is very definitely secondary in importance here and the conflict
must be held to still exist. It also now runs into technical problems
with Guillaume le Chien Blanc ("Sable, a samoyed dog statant
to sinister proper and a chief argent.") and Haroun ibn-al-Dhib
al Abyadh ("Sable, a wolf passant to sinister argent, in
base a scimitar fesswise reversed Or.").
Asa Birdfoot. Device. Or, on a chevron throughout between three bird's footprints in pall, toes to center, vert, a chevronel argent.
While the secondary charges are well-drawn
to fill the field in the medieval manner, they are not identifiable
as bird's footprints (we are dubious whether anything could be):
a significant proportion of the commentors and Laurel staff thought
they were caltraps before the blazon was read.
Blanche Cecile d'Etoile Noire. Device. Argent, a chevron rompu between two mullets of six points sable and a wyvern passant vert.
Conflict with Salt ("Argent, a chevron
rompu between three mullets sable.", as cited in Papworth,
p. 459).
Callum MacLeod. Name and device. Argent, masoned sable, a ford proper and overall a bull's head cabossed sable.
Unfortunately, since the given name is a form
of Malcolm, the name conflicts with that of Malcolm MacLeod, first
independent chief of the MacLeods of Raasay (Moncreiffe, Highland
Clans, p. 173). While we cannot agree that the use of the bull's
head cabossed (the badge of the MacLeods) is per se an infringement
when used as the primary charge with the name MacLeod, the use
of the charge overall here, overlying a base does appear to be
non-period style, the more so since the ford is not drawn properly
but rather as a "base wavy azure charged with four barrulets
wavy argent".
Eleanor la Maladroite. Device. Quarterly gules and azure, a two-horned fool's cap conjoined to another inverted at their brims quarterly Or and argent.
Conjoined in this manner the fool's caps are
totally unidentifiable. Some thought they were crescents and Crescent
is perfectly correct in calling conflict with Wilby ("Gules,
a fer-de-moline argent."), Brun ("Azure, a millrind
Or.") and, given the fact that the current rules allow no
difference for the field, the Society badge of Tristan Melinydd
("A millrind purpure.").
Renya Valeska Nyék of Levedia. Name only.
Leaving aside the issue of the credibility
of the submittor in view of the contradictory documentation provided
for the given name in Caid and in Atenveldt, there is no doubt
that the given name is diminutive in form, almost certainly from
Regina, and that there is no evidence for its independent use
in period. Additionally, the documentation for "Valeska"
comes from a dubious source (Wells, Treasury of Names, p. 156)
which gives no date for its use and it may be doubted that this
is a period form. Finally, although the documentation does show
that Nyék is the name of a tribe, it is specifically stated
that the usage is parallel to that of the name "Magyar"
for a people and it is not shown that this tribal name would be
used as a family name in the sense we use them.
KINGDOM OF CAID
Johannas von Bern. Badge. A bear, sejant erect to sinister, sable, atop a stump Or, maintaining a sword argent, upon which it breaths flames of fire proper.
This badge labours under several difficulties.
It clearly violates the spirit of the rules on contrast, as it
is difficult imagine any field on which it would display adequate
contrast (a gules field would suffice were it not for the flames
of fire proper which are largely gules and appear to be a major
component of the design). It is overly complex for a badge. Finally
and not entirely irrelevantly, it suffers from terminal "cutesiness".
(Note: his name was returned on the August letter.).
Marie de La Rochelle. Device. Azure, a chevron between two fleurs-de-lys and an escallop argent, all within a bordure Or.
Conflict with George Lumsden, as cited by Æstel
("Azure, a chevron Or between two wolf's heads erased in
chief and an escallop in base argent, within a bordure of the
second.").
KINGDOM OF MERIDIES
Aindrea MacFirnaclachan. Name and device. Argent, a saltire vert between a pile and a pile inverted sable and in fess two thistles proper.
The patronymic is not properly formed: while
there are occasional instances of patronymics formed with "mac"
plus an occupational noun, we could find none with a a noun formation
purely derived from a location. Moreover, the formation "Fir
na Clachan" is not how Gaelic would indicate a man who lived
in a stone house. The blazon does not really correctly describe
the device as the sable is not really pile-shaped. The nearest
blazon probably is "Per saltire sable and argent, a saltire
vert, fimbriated argent, between in fess two thistles, slipped
and leaved, proper." However, this is not permissible since
much of the "fimbriation" will fade into the argent
portion of the field. This is not period style.
Brenna Lowri o Lanbedr. Device. Azure, on a pile invected Or between two estoiles and a crescent argent, a raven's head erased sable.
There was strong feeling in the College that
this is not period style since there would be no space for the
crescent beneath a pile properly drawn. It is also a tad complex,
involving four types of charges and five tinctures.
Brynja of Burrhyll. Device. Azure, three geese naiant in pall, heads conjoined at the center, within a bordure potenty argent.
It was the consensus of those who saw either
the miniature emblazon or the actual emblazon sheet that the geese
were functionally unidentifiable largely because of their unusual
posture. Note that the bordure on the emblazon sheet was much
too narrow.
Gwenhyfar le Wita. Name and device. Per chevron gules and gules, semy-de-lys, a chevron and in chief two crosses moline Or.
The given name lacks the "w" which
is necessary for the proper pronunciation of the Welsh form Gwenhwyfar.
As Pennon himself noted, le Wita couples a French article with
an Anglo-Saxon noun in a manner which is not documented from period
sources. The most serious problem with the name, however, is the
implications which come from linking the name Gwenevere with a
term like "wita" which could so easily be associated
with Arthur's queen. Although the given name was used by other
ladies in period and is licit for Society use, the contexts in
which it is used must be carefully examined in order to avoid
offense. The device conflicts with Slough ("Gules, a chevron
between three crosses sarcelly Or."). There is also a visual
conflict with Gaufridus Baldewin Gilbertson ("Gules, a chevron
between two chess rooks and a caltrap Or."): Crescent is
correct in stating that the visual effect is such that the semy-de-lys
in base must not be considered as a divided field for purposes
of difference, but rather as part of the group of secondary charges
about the chevron.
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Aberafonydd, Shire of. Name and device. Or, a saltire wavy azure, surmounted by a laurel wreath vert, between four hop cones azure.
Unfortunately, this is a case where the rules
technically require a return of the name since it is a direct
translation of the name of the Shire of Riversmeet in the Kingdom
of the East. However, it has previously been ruled that translations
of such generic names as these may be registered if the group
with which it conflicts gives permission and we would suggest
that Dragon approach the Shire of Riversmeet for such permission.
Unfortunately, if the saltire is drawn with appropriate thickness,
rather than as the conjunction of thin lines used on the emblazon
the laurel wreath vert will almost completely fade into the azure
saltire (it is nearly unidentifiable as it is).
Antonio di Casa d'Aqua. Badge for Casa d'Aqua. Vert, a millrind Or.
Conflict with U.S. Navy Judge Advocates Corps
("A millrind Or.").
Riverwood Tower, Shire of. Device. Ermine, a bend sinister azure between a tree eradicated proper and a tower sable, overall a laurel wreath vert.
There was a general consensus amongst the commentors
that the wreath overall was excessive, especially since it obscured
the tower to such a degree. The device needs to be simplified,
possibly by placing several metal laurel wreaths on the bend sinister.
KINGDOM OF THE WEST
None
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSION IS PENDING:
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
James Treebull the Stubborn. Device. Or, on the crown of a tree issuant from a mound sable, a bull's head cabossed Or, all within a bordure embattled sable.
The blazon on the letter of intent and the writen emblazon on the submission sheet had the emblazon above, but the emblazon sheet shows a plain bordure. If the blazon is correct, we need an emblazon sheet to match. If the emblazon is correct, then Aten needs to resubmit this for proper conflict checking by the College.
Last Updated $Date: 2004/05/20 21:00:33 $ GMT