29 MAY XXIII (1988)
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE APPROVED:
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
Asa Birdsfoot. Device. Or, on a chevron between three caltraps, bases to center, vert, a chevronel argent.
Christopher Xavier. Name only.
Côte du Ciel, Shire of. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Donal MacMurtrie. Badge (see RETURNS for name of Clan MacMurtrie). Argent, three mullets, one and two, gules.
Edana of the Vineyards. Name and device. Per bend wavy argent and azure, a dragonfly bendwise azure and a dragonfly bendwise inverted Or, all within a bordure wavy counterchanged.
Gareth the Wanderer. Badge. Azure, a sword inverted between two Celtic crosses Or.
Ian of Silver Keep. Device. Per chevron sable and Or, in pale a bicorporate lion queue-fourchee argent and a garden rose sable.
Jyllian of Bubb. Name and device. Azure, a cat sejant argent, within a loop of thread depending from the eyes of two needles, tips crossed in chief in saltire, Or, all within a bordure ermine.
Magdalen Anne Catherine Ravenstein. Device. Argent, a bend gules, overall a raven volant bendwise sinister to sinister within a bordure embattled sable.
Olivia di Ravenna. Name only (see PENDING for device).
Note that Withycombe cites examples of Oliva in England as early as 1203 (p. 232): Olivia is the standard Italian form used in Shakespeare.
Robert of Sentinel's Keep. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Or, two hares rampant gules and a chief sable, fretty Or.
The submission was made under the name of Robert de Harcourt.
Rurik the Axe-Finder. Reblazon of device. Azure, a candle palewise argent, enflamed at both ends Or.
The previous blazon did not specify the palewise position of the candle (which could be interpreted as defaulting to a fesswise position) nor the tincture of the flames.
Trelon of the Wood. Badge. Or, a lion's head cabossed gules between six fir trees couped in annulo proper.
KINGDOM OF ATLANTIA
Aelfwynn Gyrthesdohtor. Release of badge. A heraldic sea-otter couchant.
Aelfwynn Gyrthesdohtor. Release of badge. Argent, a mullet of nine points pierced azure.
Aelfwynn Gyrthesdohtor. Release of badge. Azure, a mullet of nine points throughout pierced argent.
Aelfwynn Gyrthesdohtor. Release of badge. Azure, a sea-otter erect Or within a bordure argent, goutty de larmes.
Atlantia, Kingdom of. Title for Shofar Herald.
Bran Fountain. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Gules, a chevron argent surmounted by an eagle displayed, wings inverted, counterchanged, in chief an arrow fesswise, barb to sinister, argent.
The submission was made under the name Bran Haroldsson. The holding name is formed with his mundane surname.
Brenna of Storvik. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per chevron sable and argent, two mullets of eight points argent and a snake coiled as to strike vert. The submission was made under the name Brenna o'r Glan-y-mor.
Caterina Leonora de Forza d'Agro. Device. Or, a round-bottomed basket within a bordure vert.
Donnabhan Keegan Bothwell. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Donnabhain Keegan Bothwell, with the genitive form of the given name which would be used after a patronymic particle. We have restored the spelling of the nominative, as shown in O Corrain and Maguire (Gaelic Personal Names, p. 77).
Dunstan of Tunbridge. Name and device. Azure, three mullets in chevron between two chevronels Or, all within a bordure embattled argent.
Note that Saint Dunstan is not associated with Tunbridge (half of the other places in southern England, but not Tonbridge).
Ealasaid Ramsey of Skye. Device. Vert, a chevron ermine, cotised, between two roses argent and an opinicus sejant erect to sinister Or.
Eleanor de Wardon. Name and device. Argent, on a bend cotised between two pears vert, a wingless dragon passant argent.
Finnabair ni Ealasaid. Name and device. Per chevron throughout Or and vert, a seahorse erect argent between in chief a decrescent and an increscent sable.
The name was submitted as Finnabhorr ni Ealasaid. This form hovered between the feminine Finnabair and the masculine Finnbarr (see O Corrain and Maguire, Gaelic Personal Names, pp. 100101). Although cross-gender names are legal within the Society, the remainder of the submittor's name suggested strongly that she wished the feminine form so we used that.
Forgal Kerstetter. Change of name from Fergal Kerstetter.
The supporting evidence for the appeal was from MacManus' Story of the Irish Race, which is more useful for its legends and historical trivia than for its faithful recording of Gaelic nomenclature. In particular, the citation used here must be suspect since it uses an Irish genitive ending (such as would appear after a patronymic, which might cause other modifications) in a supposedly nominative noun. Other sources strongly suggest that there is a perceptible distinction between the "fer" or "fear" element of names such as "Fergus" and "Fergal" and the "for" used in "Forlaith": they not only sound different, they have different meanings. However, since this name as a whole is specifically non-Irish in language and we have been able to find late examples of similar names such as "Fergus" being modified in languages other than Irish or Gaelic (an example of "Ferguson" becoming "Forgusoun" is listed in Black, p. 260), it would seem unduly harsh to deny the submittor's appeal.
Galmr Ingolfsson. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Galmr Ingolfson, but the properly formed patronymic demands the double "s" in Old Norse.
Geoffrey Blacksteel. Name and device. Per pale argent and sable, a mullet inverted between in chief three roundels, one and two, all counterchanged.
Hreodbeorht Lumhalghs. Name only (see PENDING for device).
James Ingram of Cambion. Name only.
He is a member of Clan Cambion and has written permission from Rorik Fredericsson to use the clan name.
Karl Haroldsson. Device. Per chevron azure and sable, a chevron Or between two axes in saltire and a sword inverted argent.
This was his original device which was inadvertently released when his badge was incorrectly registered as a device some years ago. He only recently discovered the error, but fortunately there were no conflicts in the interim. (Note to those who asked why it took him so long to discover the error: not everyone reads the Armorial as soon as it comes out like we do! Many people only discover such errors if they receive a scroll or some gift from someone who is relying only on the Armorial for their heraldry.)
Katheryn MacEvin. Name only.
Marcos Ironworker. Name and device. Argent, in saltire a trident and a sword inverted sable, overall a flame of fire proper, all within a bordure sable, fretty argent.
Mark of Storvik. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Argent, three roses in bend between two bendlets azure, all between two ravens rising, wings elevated and addorsed, sable.
The name was submitted as Mark of Ravenswood.
Morgan MacDonald MacCrae. Name only.
Nessa Dunna of Cambion. Name and device. Per pale gules and argent, six gouttes, two, two and two, all counterchanged.
She is a member of Clan Cambion and has written permission from Rorik Fredericsson to use the clan name.
Rudhraighe O'Hagan. Device. Per bend sable and azure, a bend between a boar passant Or and in base four plates in saltire within an annulet argent.
Given some of the previous peculiarities of Society heraldry, it seemed better to err on the side of verbosity and specify that the plate/annulet combination was in base, lest any poor scribe attempt to place the annulet around all of the charges.
Sarah de Montgomerie. Name only.
Seareach, Shire of. Name and device. Azure, a sea lion naiant, maintaining a trident, within a laurel wreath and in chief three escallops, all Or.
The letter of intent had the name rendered as two words: Sea Reach. However, the forms indicated that the group wished it to be one word. Since there was no compelling linguistic reason to deny this desire, we have coalesced the two words into one.
Semeeah Caitlyn. Name and device. Per chevron azure and sable, a chevron Or surmounted by a unicorn's head erased to sinister argent.
The device is the already registered badge which is hereby transferred from Karl Haroldsson to his lady.
Stephen Badger. Device. Argent, a quiver, containing two arrows, between four pheons in saltire, all gules.
Tearlach the Unwashed. Device. Bendy sinister Or and sable, a stork statant to sinister argent, beaked and membered gules.
The field was erroneously blazoned on the letter of intent: it is in fact "Or and sable" so that the body of the bird lies along a sable portion of the field.
Thorhall Halftroll. Name only.
Thorhall is an acceptable Anglicized form of Old Norse Thorhalli (Geirr Bassi, p. 16). Note that Geirr Bassi (p. 22) cites the byname as occurring in the Landnámabók: it must therefore be considered to have been use as a byname for humans in our period.
William Costello. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as William of Costello. However, the place and barony that were cited in the letter seem to have drawn their name at a relatively late date from the name of the family who held them, itself derived from the Irish "mac Oisdealbhaigh" (MacLysaght, Surnames of Ireland, p. 60, confirmed by the documentation provided by the submittor).
Veleda of Isenfir. Badge. Sable, a lily of the valley argent, slipped and leaved, Or within a bordure wavy argent.
KINGDOM OF CAID
Anna Hroswitha von Adlerstein. Name and device. Per bend sinister gules and sable, an eagle's head erased between four mullets in cross Or.
Cadhla nic Iain mac Pharlain. Name and device. Or, on an escallop inverted vert, a Bengal tiger sejant affronty argent, striped sable, within a bordure raguly sable, platy.
Please ask her both to draw the raguly properly and to place the plates on the main part of the bordure, as would have been done in period. Also, if what she wishes is a Bengal tiger, not a tiger striped domestic kitten, please ask her to draw the beastie properly as well.
Emma Rose Cuffe of Summerwood. Name only.
Francesca Nicola Alessandra Cellini. Name only.
The name was submitted as Francesca Nicola Alessandra Cellini di Firenze. This caused a very heavy twitch factor since the famed Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini was not only born at Florence, but worked there for much of his adult life and, even when he worked elsewhere, his identity as a Florentine heavily influenced his career. We were unable to confirm the names of the ladies associated with him (Laurel's annotated copy of his Autobiography was borrowed some time ago and has not found its way home), but there was a consensus that the locative was just to suggestive of a claim to be Benvenuto's wife or daughter.
Gareth Morgan Tyrius. Name and device. Sable, a sword surmounted by a horse's head couped within a bordure argent.
The submittor should probably be told that the adjective "Tyrius" can mean not only "from Tyre", but also (based on the popularity of purple fabric from the area of Tyre) quite commonly means "purple": Gareth Morgan the Purple.
Isabeau de la Forêt. Name and device. Argent, a fleur-de-lys within an annulet, all within an orle azure.
Johnathon Heydon of Fox Hollow. Name only.
Kendrick Lagerfeld. Name only.
Koell of the Broken Tower. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The submittor desired the byname to be translated into German or Old Norse, but his intent in being "of the Broken Tower" was unclear. The precise usage in the Germanic languages would depend on the meaning intended: "from the Broken Tower", "living in the Broken Tower", "of Broken Tower", etc.
Leona Alwyn. Name only.
Crescent indicated that she really wished "Lona". Perhaps she would wish to consider "Ilona", the Hungarian form of Helen?
Natalya de Foix. Badge. Sable, a lion couchant, its head a sun in its splendour Or.
This is her former device. When her device was changed in April, 1988, this should have been made a badge.
Philip Andrew Gawaine of Devon. Name only.
KINGDOM OF CALONTIR
Agnes de Lanvallei. Name only.
Aideen the Audacious. Device. Lozengy argent and gules, a unicorn rampant to sinister, tail fourchy, sable.
Alban St. Albans. Badge. Per pale Or and sable, a human head cabossed counterchanged.
Aleksandra Rodiovna. Name only.
Ariane MacFhearguis. Name and device. Azure, a pall of chain mail between a six-petalled rose and two unicorns combattant Or.
The name was submitted as Arian MacFheargius. As the form "Arian" does not seem to be a given name, we have substituted a French variant of Ariadne: "Ariane". The spelling of the last name has also been corrected since the actual spelling of the genitive in both Irish and Scots has "uis" as its ending (see Black, Surnames of Scotland, p. 493).
Bran Gwyn ap Caw ap Maelgwn. Change of name from Bran Gwyn ap Arthur ap Maelgwn (see RETURNS for device).
"Caw" appears as a human given name in the Mabinogion. The father of a number of Arthur's warriors in the story of Culhwch and Olwen was named Caw and the same tale also mentions Caw of Scotland who may or not be the same person.
Bronwyn Montgomery of Ironwold. Name and device. Per chevron vert and argent, two trees couped argent and a swan naiant sable.
Caitlyn of Penryn. Change of device. Or, two scarpes gules, overall a horse passant and on a chief embattled sable, three stirrups argent.
Her former device ("Counter-ermine, a phoenix gules issuant from flames proper within an English stirrup Or.") becomes a badge.
Caitrin ni Ruaidhri. Name and device. Argent, three thistles, slipped and leaved, purpure and a chief indented vert, semy of estoiles argent.
Caroline Buxton Talbot. Name and device. Or, a pall inverted gules between three talbot's heads couped sable.
Christopher Amber. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Ealhwynna MacDonald. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Eleanor d'Autun. Name only.
Finola O'Clery. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Hendrick von Sievershausen. Name and device. Vert, a sinister gauntlet appaumy within a bordure embattled Or.
Hrafnhildr o Landyssul. Name and device. Per saltire argent and gules, in pale two ravens displayed sable and in fess two swords palewise proper.
The name was submitted as Hrafnhilder o Llandysul (aka Raven). We have not for some time incorporated an alias in this fashion in the registered name so the "Raven" was dropped from the name. As the submittor allowed modifications of grammar and spelling, the given name was corrected to the actual Norse form and the place name to the proper mutated form after "o" with the double sibilant in the center of the word.
Huginn Hrothgeirsson. Name and device. Gyronny gules and Or, a triangular triquetra sable.
The charge on this device was blazoned as a "valknut", but did not match the pattern set by the device of Styrbjorg Ulfethnar, as Crescent pointed out. Although no documentation was provided for the charge with the submission, Habicht is no doubt correct in adducing exemplars for this form from period art. However, the Society precedent for this term has been set and what will be derived from the blazon "valknut" by the heraldic artist will be three discrete triangles interlaced in a specific manner, not this depiction. In effect, this is a triquetra with its rounded "corners" turned into triangles, so we have used this to describe the charge. The use of "Huginn", one of the names of Odin's ravens, would preclude the use of the given name were it not so well-attested as an independent period diminutive of Hugo or Hugi. Reaney lists one early "Reginaldus filius Hugin" as well as a "Hugyn" from 1276 (p. 185).
Hyrim de Guillon. Name only.
Jadwiga Marina Majewska. Device. Lozengy Or and gules, ermined Or, on a chief indented Or a cat couchant purpure.
Jenette of Carrington. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
John the Lost. Personal name and badge for Castle of the Lost (see RETURNS for device). Paly wavy argent and sable, a castle triple-towered gules.
The household name appeared on the letter of intent as "Castle Lost", but the registered version appeared on his forms.
Morgana Bro Morgannwg. Name and device. Or, seven stalks of wheat sable issuant from a crescent vert.
The name was submitted with the incorrect spelling Morgana bro Morganwyg. With the submittor's permission, this spelling has been corrected.
Nicholas Colfox. Name only.
No Mountain, Shire of. Badge. Per fess embattled argent and vert, in chief a demi-horse rampant sable.
Rhiannon Mor MacFhearghuis. Name and device. Gules, a bend sinister of chain mail between two Arabic lamps Or.
The name was submitted as Rhiannon Mor MacFhearghius, but the actual spelling of the genitive in both Irish and Scots is as it has been registered (see Black, Surnames of Scotland, p. 493).
Robert of Ruda. Device. Ermine, two spears crossed in saltire sable, between in pale an elk's head erased vert and a boar's head erased gules.
The name appeared on the letter of intent as Robert of Rude, but was registered in May, 1987, in the form given above.
Roderick of Mandrake Hill. Name and device. Sable, on a chevron wavy between three spearheads Or, three acorns sable.
Sabine von Altheim. Name and device. Quarterly Or and vert, four hammers palewise, faces to center, counterchanged.
Saethryd of Egremont. Name and device. Gules, three scarpes wavy enhanced and a pomegranate, slipped and leaved, Or.
Note that the commoner spelling of the given name is "Saethrith" to reflect the actual pronunciation of the thorn.
Thorin of Kvalsund. Name only.
The name was submitted as Thoron af Kvalsund. The form of the given name was supported only by the extremely dubious evidence of the name list from The Greater Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of The English Language so we have used the previously documented form Thorin. Since the preposition "af" would require changes in the case of the place name, we have substituted the lingua franca "of".
Three Rivers, Barony of. Badge for Historian's Guild. Azure, a scroll bendwise ermine between two keys bendwise, that to dexter with wards to chief, Or.
William of Carrington. Name and device. Azure, on a bend between two griffins segreant Or, two suns gules.
William of Questionable Intentions. Name and device. Per pale azure and argent, an owl displayed within a bordure semy of escarbuncles, all counterchanged.
KINGDOM OF THE EAST
Achsa of Beresford. Name and device. Azure, a bear rampant and in chief two fleams, all within a bordure argent.
Aelfgifu of the Hazel Thicket. Name and badge (see RETURNS for device). Azure, four feathers fretted argent.
Andreanna Innes. Badge. On a bay leaf Or, a garb purpure.
Note that the single laurel or bay leaf is not restricted to the members of the Order of the Laurel (although the submittor is a member of that Order).
Angharad ferch Geoffrey ap Owen. Name and device. Or, a talbot's head couped sable, on a chief azure three lozenges argent.
Boris Dragons Bane. Name only.
Cassandra FitzGeorge. Name only.
Cynyr Longtoes. Name only.
The name was submitted as Cynyr Fad Ortagen, with the note that it was intended to be a Gaelic translation of "Longtoes". The submittor's forms indicated that his nickname actually is "Longtoes" in English, which is far more plausible with the Welsh given name than the same epithet in Gaelic. As far as we can determine this is not a Scots style epithet, although the literal translation for "of the long toes" would seem to be something like "nan Ortag Fada" (this would not have quite the same meaning though).
David Waxthorn. Name only.
The name was misspelled as David Waxthorne on the letter of intent, but the submittor's forms showed the spelling given above.
Deirdre Gwyn Robinson. Name only.
Drachenwald, Principality of. Order of the Dragon's Pride.
Duncan Mac na Ceardadh. Name only.
Dunstan of Thorun Watch. Name only.
Eadred Brywer. Name only.
Edouard d'Ath. Badge. Per fess gules and azure, all semy of roses argent, barbed and seeded proper, a griffin statant argent.
Eirich mac Dhomhnuill. Name only.
Elaigne Kerr. Change of name from Elaigne Kerr Benicoeur and change of device. Azure, a bend raguly between two cur's heads erased and sinister facing argent.
This is clear of James of Greycastle ("Azure, a bend bretasse between a sword inverted bendwise and a double-bitted axe bendwise proper."): there a major for type of secondary charge, a minor for the line of division on the bend and, because both axe and sword are proper and therefore are only half argent, a minor for the difference in tincture of the secondaries.
Elaine Courtnay. Name and device. Gules, an open book, on a chief engrailed argent, three hearts gules.
The chief is engrailed, not invected as blazoned on the letter of intent.
Elias Barbarossa von Zweibrücken. Name only.
Frederica Drachendonner. Name only.
Haakon Oaktall. Change of name from John of Pentagast.
Ivar Njalsson. Name only.
James of Norwoode. Name only.
Katherine Stanhope. Name and device. Lozengy sable and argent, a harp within an orle Or.
Please draw the orle wider so it is really visible.
Lorenzo Quintain. Name only.
Mustapha al-Muhaddith ibn al-Saqaat. Device. Per chevron azure and Or, two candlesticks and an open book counterchanged.
Niklaus der Auslander. Device. Vert, a mastiff salient argent and a chief vair.
Orlando Alvarez. Name and device. Gules, an escallop Or within a bordure Or semy of pellets.
Raymond of Stratford. Name and device. Gules, a hammer bendwise and a label argent.
The name was submitted as Raymond Bearengaer of Stratford. Granted his father is Bearengaer hinn Raudi (whose arms he is here differencing), he still may not use the name two given names together: they are so closely associated with the Counts of Barcelona and Provence that the use of the two names is indeed presumptuous. The submittor's forms state that the Counts of Provence are not "particularly famous mundanely" which is slightly disingenuous since they played a very prominent role in the history of both France and Spain. The daughter of Raymond Berengar III, Count of Barcelona, was that Berengaria who married Alphonso VII of Galicia and Castile in 1128 and became the mother of Sancho III of Castile, Ferdinand II of Leon, the Constance who married Louis VII of France and the Sancha who married Sancho VI of Navarre (the latter named their daughter Berengaria in the family tradition: she was the wife of Richard Coeur de Lion). Raymond Berengar, Count of Barcelona, married Petronilla, Queen of Aragon, and their son Alphonso II of Aragon also had a brother Raymond Berengar, who inherited the County of Provence. Alphonso's grandson Raymond Berengar V, Count of Provence, had four daughters who married reigning kings: firstly, Margaret who married Louis IX of France; secondly, Eleanor who was the wife of Henry III of England and herself became mother of Edward I of England, Margaret of Scotland and Edmund Crouchback, King of Sicily; thirdly, Sancha, wife of Richard, Earl of Cornwall and King of the Romans; and finally, Beatrice, wife of Charles I, King of Naples. By the most conservative definition of "famous", these magnates who for some time reigned in their own territories as monarchs and formed dynastic alliances on that basis are "famous".
Roberto di Milano. Change of name from Robert de la Mante and change of device. Gules, a pall inverted between three bickerns (anvils) Or.
Rowena Robusta of Charryng Tower. Name and device. Bendy argent and vert, a natural seahorse, erect and sinister facing, between in fess two cinquefoils, a base fleury Or.
Ruantallan, Barony of. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name is documented as an Englishing of a Gaelic place name from an appendix of proper names to Dwelly's Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary as the name of a small location in Scotland. The name is a generic descriptive that certainly suits much of Nova Scotia (the location of the Barony): it means "promontory that juts out into a bay.
Sine Coldtoes of Selkirk. Name only.
The name was submitted as Sine Fuar Ortagen of Selkirk, with the statement that the byname was meant to mean "Coldtoes". Our best efforts could not come up with a really plausible version of this byname (it is not really a Scots construction!) that would not be terminally weird with the locative.
Siubhan nic Cruimein. Name only.
Stephen de Raymond. Device. Or, on a fess between two roundels purpure, three bezants.
Historical Note: many years ago when Alisoun first joined the Society and ended up as local seneschale, this gentle was the local herald and she helped him design his first arms submission (Alisoun and Stephen got their AoA's on the same night). Never did we think it would take eleven years to get his arms registered: he has submitted about once a year, every submission was such great style that someone else already had it! Even less did we think that Alisoun would return his arms three times from the East and finally, as Laurel, pass them. . . (Editorial Comment: forgive the personal note, but when it's six o'clock in the morning, you get nostalgic.)
Thomas of South Hill. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Trahaern ap Ieuan. Name only.
Morgan and Morgan (p. 198) cite the given name as early as the twelfth century in the name of the poet Trahaern Brydydd Mawr.
Vittorio Maria del Fabbro. Change of name from Ardelf Hrothling Belhaven.
KINGDOM OF MERIDIES
Angelique del Mar. Name and device. Barry wavy argent and azure, a cross crosslet sable, on a chief azure, three anchors argent.
The name was submitted as Angelique de la Mar. As Crescent noted, the idiomatic Spanish usage for "of the Sea" is "del Mar" so we have modified the name as the submittor permitted. Note that White Stag has provided period examples of the anchor without a crossbar as the submittor has depicted it, although in general heraldic artists will use the "normal" anchor with crossbar. As the submittor does not appear to have prejudices on this issue, we felt this was something best left to "artistic license".
Draco de Ense Argenteo. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Draco de Ensis Argenti. Draco was the name of an early Athenian legislator who became famed as one of the great lawgivers of history and thus was well-remembered in the mediaeval period. The submittor permitted changes to his name which he desired to mean "Draco of the Silver Sword". The commentary on the proper grammar for the name in the College was hot and heavy (and largely inaccurate, which prompted at least one suggestion that Laurel should do an impromptu rerun of her "Quick and Dirty Mediaeval Latin for Heralds and Calligraphers" course at the Symposium!). Although this is not a common usage in classical Latin, idiomatic mediaeval Latin frequently uses the preposition "de" with the ablative to denote an attribute of an individual. Since "ensis" is a third declension masculine noun, the ablative form would be "ense". In classical Latin a genitive of material like "argenti" (i.e., "of silver") would be possible, particularly in the poetic context suggested by "ensis" (a high-flown poetical equivalent for "gladius"). However, medieaeval Latin would be far more likely to use the common adjective "argenteus" to produce "de ense argenteo". Note that the declensions in Latin differ in their endings so that a noun and adjective which agree in number, gender and case may well have different endings: in this case, the noun is third declension and has the appropriate endings, while the adjective uses second declension forms in the masculine. From the alternatives provided, at least one submittor though that there might be a thinly veiled obscene allusion intended here (yes, the Romans did use that sort of imagery!), but the byname is perfectly legitimate, whatever the submittor's intent.
Erik Bryssen. Device. Per saltire pean and erminois, on a gauntlet palewise appaumy argent, maintaining fesswise a rose sable, slipped and leaved vert, three gouttes de sang.
Geoffrey de Bradelei. Name and device. Gules, a stag springing and in chief three crosses patty argent.
Gideon ap Llywellyn. Name and device. Quarterly vert and gules, an acorn bendwise sinister within a chaplet of oak leaves argent.
The name appeared on the letter of intent as Gidion ap Llywellyn, but the submittor's forms had the more usual spelling given above.
Gwendolyn of the Aran Isles. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Gwendolyn of Aaron Isles. Evidence on the forms suggested that what she was after was the name of the Irish islands: Aran. (It is also possible that she was aiming for the Isle of Arran in Scotland, "of Arran Isle", and she should let us know, if that is the case.)
Katherine Maghee de Chantre. Name only.
Kenric of Sudsbury. Name only.
Magdalen Ainslee MacNeil. Name and device. Per bend gules and Or, in bend sinister three crosses crosslet fitchy counterchanged.
Pieter van Doorn. Device. Argent, a cross crosslet countercompony sable and Or within a bordure sable.
A previous submission was returned for conflict with Van Doorn of Utrecht ("Argent, a cross countercompony Or and sable."). No extra difference can be derived from the reversal of tinctures of the cross, but the difference of type of cross and the addition of the bordure carry it clear.
Ragnar Kaupmadr. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Rami ibn Addad men Damashk. Badge. An increscent surmounted by in pale three swords fesswise reversed sable, counterchanged argent.
Rhiannon Cathaoir-Mor. Name only.
The surname has previously been registered to Phelan Cathaoir-Mor from whom she has written permission to use the name.
Robert Blackthorn. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Rowland Addison Carrick. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Addison Rowland Carrick. Unfortunately, as the name is a documented English patronymic surname, it is necessary to have evidence that the name was used as a given name in period. The source cited for the use of "-an" as a suffix in given names specifically links this to the accusative case in Old High German while the given name base is a diminutive form of the English given name Adam: the suffix does not match in language or period and would not in any case have been used with a name in the nominative case. The submittor seems to have anticipated this problem as he specifically allowed the reversal of the initial two names. We have therefore followed his wishes to register the name elements which he desires.
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Alexander de Graystanes. Name and device. Per fess sable and vert, two plates and a wolf's head cabossed argent.
Alexandra Morgain Kingsley. Name only.
Allan Grayson of Eaglescliff. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Alys Slocombe. Name only.
André Alexandre Rochon. Name only.
Arlette du Coeur. Name only.
The name was submitted as Arlette de Coeur. As the submittor allowed modifications, we have changed the preposition to carry the meaning the submittor desired. Note that, although sources appear to disagree on the name of William the Conqueror's mother, the submittor provided evidence from several sources which indicated that her name was Arlette and that she came from Falaise (including Alan, The Making of the King: 1066, p. 62 and 67 and Slocombe, William the Conqueror, pp. 1016).
Björn of Nidaros. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Björn Skeggjason. Name and device. Per chevron purpure and argent, a chevron invected between two bears' heads cabossed and a pheon inverted counterchanged.
Björn Skeggjason. Badge. Purpure, a bear's head cabossed within a bordure invected argent.
Bridget Casey. Name only (see PENDING for device).
The name was submitted as Bridget ni Casey. The Irish form of the given name which gives rise to the Anglicized form O'Casey is "Cathassach" (O Corrain and Maguire, Gaelic Personal Names, p. 47). As the Irish form should be used with "ni", we have dropped the particle and used the standard English form.
Bryan Mikhail Woodroffe. Name and device. Sable, on a bend sinister gules, fimbriated, between two crosses couped fitchy, a bat palewise displayed, all within a bordure embattled argent.
Please ask him to draw the fimbriation much wider.
Charles Farquhar Gordon. Device. Argent, an enfield rampant to sinister gules and in base a plant of three thistle flowers, slipped and leaved, proper.
Dafydd McOwin. Name only.
Debra of Cyprus. Device. Pean, a sea-unicorn erect erminois.
There is no identity of outline with Leif of the Blue Mountains ("Ermine, a seahorse sejant sable, finned, scaled and unguled Or.") because of the ermine tails on the primary charge.
Domnhnall of Glenfiddich. Name and device. Pean, an Irish wolfhound courant argent, in chief a barrulet couped Or, within a bordure argent, masoned sable.
Since the wolfhound is in fact all argent (the emblazon forms do not even depict it as "greyed"), it can thus be blazoned. Please ask him to draw the courant posture more conventionally with both forelegs and hindlegs together and the body more horizontal than it appears on the emblazon.
Eglantine of the Viol. Name and device. Azure, a natural leopard sejant erect to sinister erminois, playing a viol, in chief two sprigs of briar Or.
Note that, although the given name is clearly a "flower name" (it means "sweetbriar"), it occurs in Curia Regis Rolls as early as 1213 and is the name of Chaucer's Prioress (Withycombe, p. 96).
Elisabeth Emmeline Sterling. Name and device. Per bend sinister gules and argent, a sun Or and three mullets in bend sinister gules.
The name was submitted as Lisbeth Emmeline Sterling. As the given name appears to be a modern diminutive for Elisabeth and the submittor allowed modifications to her name, we have used the formal version of the name.
Eliska Polacek. Name and device. Argent, a swan naiant azure within a bordure sable.
Elysabet de Warren. Device. Vert, on a pile throughout between two snowflakes argent, a rod sable entwined by a vine vert.
The submission was previously because "the staff with the vine about it is too reminiscent of a rod of Aeculapius, a charge which we reserve to people with suitable medical credentials."(Baldwin of Erebor, July, 1986). She has provided copies of her mundane certifications as a Registered Nurse with qualifications in emergency cardiac care.
Erik of Hallstead. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Feran Blackthorn. Name and device. Paly bendy sinister argent and gules, three crescents conjoined in pall inverted, points outward and throughout, sable.
The name was submitted as Faron Blackthorn. This appears to be a surname in period so we have substituted the form above which is documented as a form of the given name "Ferrand" as early as 1198 (Reaney, p. 123).
Fiadhnait Chelsea. Name and device. Argent, a stag rampant to sinister between eight mullets in annulo and on a chief sable, a sun Or.
Please ask him to draw the beastie larger, as befits a primary charge. Note that the sun, while it is not "in splendour" as blazoned on the letter of intent, does fall within the parameters for suns in Society heraldry: most notably it retains the alternate straight and wavy rays.
Finnbar MacAlasdair. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Although the letter of intent had the surname as "MacAlsdair", the forms had it correctly spelled in the form which Black (Surnames of Scotland, p. 449) gives as the Gaelic original of MacAlister.
Freydis Saemundardottir. Name and device. Or, on a pile wavy azure, a mermaid maintaining a pearl argent.
The name was submitted as Freydis Saemondsdottir. As the submittor allowed changes to her name, we have modified it to the documented genitive form of the Old Norse name "Saemundr".
Garvin the Slow. Name and device. Quarterly embattled argent and sable, in bend two nautilus shells and in bend sinister two hearts counterchanged.
O Corrain and Maguire (Gaelic Personal Names, p. 110) gives "Garvin" as an Anglicized form of the Irish name "Garban". The byname is a fine period epithet: Reaney (p. 324) cites one "Richard Slou" from 1296.
Gavin White of Westburgh. Device. Vert, a hawk's head argent issuant from a base embattled argent, masoned sable, and in chief two strawberry flowers argent.
Gillian de Ravely. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Gytha Hakonardottir. Name and device. Vert, two crab apple leaves inverted, stems in saltire, argent, within an annulet Or.
Hadrian Woodard. Name and device. Per saltire sable and argent, a hedgehog's head erased between four mullets of seven points counterchanged.
Hatekayama Masamoto. Name and device. Per bend sinister argent and lozengy couped gules and argent, in dexter chief a crab passant gules.
Draw the crab bigger so as to fill its compartment of the field.
Hawkland Moor, Riding of. Device. Or, a three-tiered fountain azure within a laurel wreath vert, all within a bordure azure charged with six hawks displayed argent.
John of Dragonwood. Name and device. Argent, semy of oak trees eradicated vert, on a chevron sable three dragons segreant to sinister Or.
Karl Tollmache of Cuxhaven. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Kiera MacDonnell. Name only.
Learbhean ferch Dafydd. Name and device. Argent, semy of trefoils vert, a griffin passant to sinister gules.
Lub Shiochail, Shire of. Name and device. Argent, on a bend sinister engrailed azure, between two laurel wreaths purpure, a quill argent.
The name was submitted as Siochail Lub, Shire of. In Gaelic, the adjective generally follows the noun it modifies so the adjective had to be moved. Additionally, "lub" is a feminine noun so it aspirates the modifying adjective. As they permitted corrections to the name so long as the meaning of "Peaceful Bend" was preserved in the Gaelic, we have made these changes.
Lughaidh of Forbes. Name only.
The name was submitted as Lugh of Forbes. However, "Lugh" is the name of a Celtic god (cogntae with "Lleu" in Welsh). Therefore, as the submittor permitted, we have substituted the documented period name from which the submittor thought the shorter form derived.
Madeleine de l'Este. Name and device. Per fess enarched rayonny azure and argent, three suns counterchanged.
Madeleine du Pré de la Fontaine. Name only.
The name was submitted as Madeleine du Près de la Fontaine, which was grammatically incorrect since "près" is a preposition which would not normally appear with the preposition plus article as it does here. We have substituted the documented period surname "du Pré" which makes more sense since the byname then means "of the Meadow of the Fountain">
Marc of Skraeling Althing. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per fess azure and argent, a wolf sejant and a double-bitted axehead counterchanged.
The name was submitted as Nywulf of Darkenwood.
Mariah Stern. Name and device. Azure, mulletty Or, in pale a rainbow proper and a bath tub Or.
Mungo Sheepshanks of the Hill. Name only.
Owen Alun. Name and device. Vert, an oak leaf within a stag's attires Or, a chief argent.
Ramona of the Crystal Lake. Name and device. Argent, semy of compass stars, elongated to base, sable, a sea-horse erect and sinister facing azure.
Rebecca Rowena of Dunsinane. Name only.
Rhiannon Dragonsword of the Mystic Woods. Name and device. Or, a sword sable piercing an annulet gules maintained by two griffins passant aspectant azure.
Many commentors felt this name was just too "fantastic" to be permissible and it is indeed a fine exemplar of the genre of "fantasy-derived names", but it is legal and is in fact the sort of name that many members of the Society have in mind when they hear that made-up names are specifically protected under Corpora. Draw the griffins bigger. Please.
Rhys Morwaywffon. Badge for House Morwaywffon. Per fess engrailed argent and azure, on a pale between two sea-horses combattant, in chief a cup counterchanged.
Roewynne Langley. Name and device. Per pale azure and argent, a rowan tree, eradicated and sundered in pale, counterchanged argent and vert.
Rorry Cennedi the Kid. Name and device. Sable, goutty d'Or, three pairs of wings argent.
As animal epithets were common in the mediaeval era, it is somewhat irrelevant that "kid" only refers to a young goat in period: it certainly contains no claim to non-human origin. There is no conflict with Aldringham ("Sable, three hawk's lures, penned, stringed and ringed argent."), cited on the letter of intent, since the wings on these are always tips downward and the banding and stringing of the hawk's lure, a training tool for falconer's, has a real difference from the shape of the wings here.
Sarra Elisabeth Graeham of Birnham. Device. Or, a cross formy fitchy sable and two quill pens in saltire gules.
Séadna O Bainain. Name only.
The name was submitted as Séadna O'Beineon. As the submittor allowed changes to the name, we have used the documented Irish form whence "Bannon" comes. This seems to be what the submittor was aiming at.
Susanna the Unyielding. Name only.
Please explain to her how "unyielding" is spelled, since it was misspelled on her forms, she might like to know. . .
Tancred of Thuringia. Name only.
The name was submitted as Tancred von Thuringia. This uses the English place name: the German form of the name for the area is "Thüringen". To preserve more of the original sound, we have substituted the English preposition.
Tangwystl Failsworth. Name and device. Per chevron sable and argent, an eagle displayed, doubly headed with the heads of Afghan hounds, counterchanged.
Theodoric aus dem Freiwald. Device. Sable, on a pale Or between six anvils, horns to center, argent, a bull rampant gules.
Thorhalla Carlsdottir Bröberg. Spelling correction of personal name from Thorhalla Carlsdottir Broberg and for House Bröberg from House Broberg transfer of household badge from joint tenure with Thrain Bröberg to sole tenure. Per chevron azure and argent, in chief a bridge Or.
Note that, when the names were first registered, the Laurel Office did not have the capacity to print out the umlauts. However, they were actually there so this is not an actual spelling modification: more a verification. . .
Tomas the Lapidary. Name and device. Azure, an anvil argent within an annulet, all between three annulets Or.
Valentine FitzDavid. Name only.
Victor von dem Stürme. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Victor von Storme and has been modified, as the submittor desired, to the proper German forms. Note that there was some controversy as to the proper dative for Sturm: according to our Langenscheidt the dative here should have both the umlaut and the terminal "e".
KINGDOM OF THE OUTLANDS
Amarantha Randolph. Name only.
Aylwin Virden von dem Drachenlager. Name and device. Per saltire sable and gules, a dragon passant between in pale two mortars and pestles within a bordure, all argent. Virden is his mundane middle name.
Aylwin Virden von dem Drachenlager. Badge. Per saltire sable and gules, a mortar and pestle argent, emitting flames proper, within a bordure argent.
Please ask him to draw the flames correctly: the flames on the submitted emblazon were closer to "gules, fimbriated thinly Or". Since they lie on the gules and sable field they really need to be drawn properly as proper [sic], that is, as Or with gules markings.
Darcy Randolph. Name only.
When the name was first submitted the documentation cited Withycombe (p. 78) who indicates that the name is geographical in origin and specifically says :in the 14th C a branch of the family settled in Ireland, and Darcy was there adopted as a Christian name, at first perhaps as a translation of the native Irish Dorchaidh." Note that no date for this development into a given name was specified and Withycombe did not cite any dated examples of its use as a given name, which is usually a bad sign. However, evidence has now been provided from MacLysaght's Irish Families (p. 111) that the Annals of Loch Cé show an Irish chieftain who bore the name MacDarcy at the end of the fourteenth century. While this is almost certainly an Englishing of the Irish name and may indeed be somewhat later, the presumption is that the Anglicised form of the name was used in period. Note that the appearance of a name element after a patronymic in Irish or Gaelic does not automatically mean that that formation is in itself an independent given name. Apart from the less common patronymics not formed from given names, there is the frequent modification of the given name form after the patronymic particle, not only in the original language but also in Anglicized forms. Irish and Scots both demand a genitive form after the patronymic particle (while a nominative would be used to form a name) and modification of initial consonants and vowels is more the exception that the rule, particularly when the name is assimilated to an Anglicized spelling. Thus MacCafferty derives from the Irish "Mac Eachmharcaigh", MacClenaghan from "MacLeanachain", MacHale from "Mac Ceile", O'Hanlon from "O hAnluain", etc. In one of these cases would the given name begin with the same sound as appears in the "normal" spelling of the patronymic.
Gerome of Heyswyndon. Name only.
The place name is period and cited from Gover, Mawer and Stenton's Place Names of Wiltshire, p. 276277. It is not, however, a "variant" form for Swindon, as stated on the letter of intent, but rather an entirely separate form "High Swindon", which in period was used for an area which was almost certainly outside the boundaries of the market town of Swindon. There is an excellent analogy in the modern geography of Long Island: strung across the south shore of the island, in addition to the more famous "Southhamption", are "Hampton Bays", "Bridge Hampton", "Easthampton", etc.
Hagen Silverskull. Device. Per fess sable and gules, two swords inverted in saltire surmounted by a sword inverted palewise, all proper, within a bordure dovetailed argent.
Harold O Mainnín. Name and device. Sable, a dexter hand appaumy couped between three annulets, all within a bordure argent.
Lothar vom Bergenwald. Name only (see PENDING for device).
The name was submitted as Lothar von Berganwald. As he indicated he wished the sound of the name to be retained, but allowed corrections, we have modified the preposition to the contracted form for "von dem" as is appropriate grammatically with such names. The submittor documented "bergan" as a Middle High German infinitive form, but German does not form compound nouns with infinitives in this manner. Again, as he was primarily interested in sound rather than meaning, we have modified the placename to "Bergenwald" which has a slightly different meaning ("wood of the mountains").
Lydia of the Pines. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Maelgwyn y Trafeiliwr. Name and device. Per bend sinister argent and vert, two bars embattled counterchanged, in base a lily Or.
While the article can be used here, the much more common usage would be "Maelgwn Trefeiliwr" (using the older form of the given name).
Outlands, Kingdom of. Title for Blue Iris Herald.
Teresa Anna Lucia Vespucci. Name and device. Per chevron embattled gules and Or, two winged whippets rampant combattant, wings elevated and addorsed, Or and a horse's head, barded and armoured of a unicornate chamfer, sable.
Thomas the Far Travelled. Name and device. Or, a halberd head sable between three caltraps azure.
KINGDOM OF THE WEST
Aelf of King's Crossing. Name and device. Per chevron argent and vert, two arrows palewise inverted, vert and a harp Or.
As Crescent noted, the wording of the name documentation in the letter of intent was ambiguous, suggesting that the form presented here was a diminutive form from period names cited in the source (Redin, Studies in Uncompounded Personal Names in Old English). As "ælf" is the standard Old English word for an elf, fairy or succubus, this would be unacceptable under our current rules. However, a search through Redin (the page number for the citation was not included on the letter of intent), revealed that he cites (p. 3) at least one "Aelf diacon" (i.e., "Aelf the deacon") who appears in the documents included in Kemble's edition Codex diplomaticus aevi Saxonici. Given the source and the occupation of the person bearing the name, we must assume this to be a legitimate formal use of the name by a human!
Alix du Mont sur la Mer. Name and device. Per bend azure and counter-ermine, a bend engrailed and in sinister chief an escallop argent.
Andrew of Riga. Reblazon of badge. A spider proper.
At the time this badge was registered in 1976, for some reason the proposed blazon of "A spider displayed proper." was dropped in favour of "A spider rampant-passant." There is no good reason to do so since the emblazon clearly shows the spider in the default position for such beasties and the emblazon sheet shows it as the "generic" black spider proper.
Brendan MacIain. Name only.
Brodhir MacDathi. Name and device. Azure, four daggers in cross, hilts to center, within a bordure wavy Or.
Note that Dunkling and Gosling (p. 56) says of the given name "Probably from Norse Brodhir 'brother', the name once given to a second son. Became an Irish surname and taken as such to Scotland. Now thought of as a Scottish first name, although it occurs only rarely in that country." No date is given for this translation, although it may be supposed to have occurred in the Viking period. In fact, Geirr Bassi apparently cites an older form of the name in "Breithr" (p.8). O Corrain and Maguire (Gaelic Personal Names, p. 38) cite the same name in a different form ("Bruatur" or "Bruadar"), but derive it from another Celtic language, rather than the Norse. Dathi is likewise an Old Norse name which was brought to Ireland (it is cited in Geirr Bassi, p. 9, and Targe supported it copiously from original sources at the time his own name was registered). The name would really work better as all Norse ("Breithr Dathasson") or purer Irish ("Bruadar mac Dathail" or "Bruadar macDaibhead").
Catherine nic Griogair. Name and device. Purpure, on a pall Or between three gouttes argent, a heart purpure.
Diego Esteban Manuel Luis Monteverde. Name only.
The name was submitted as Diego Esteban Santiago Manuel Luis Monteverde. However, as Habicht has pointed out, the documentation from Yonge submitted on the letter of intent does not demonstrate that "Santiago" was a given name, but rather the reverse: it means Saint James. While this is an acceptable (and rather common) Spanish surname, it is not a valid given name. Since he is already using "Diego" as his given name, we felt we could not modify it to the proper form of "Diego". If he wishes, he could have Diego Esteban Manuel Luis Santiago de Monteverde which is still under the maximum name length.
Eirik Blackhawk Ulfsson. Change of device. Argent, a chevron embattled azure between three mullets of four points, elongated to base, sable.
Elrik Skap-Vargr. Change of name from Elric of Wolfshead.
Eoin O'Halloran. Name only.
Eric of Stormwind. Device. Per chevron azure and argent, two unicorn's heads couped, aspectant with horns crossed in saltire, argent and a sword palewise azure, hilted sable, all within a bordure embattled Or.
Falan Bitor. Badge. Gules, ermined argent, a duck naiant Or.
Gabryell Dolfinstone. Name and device. Per chevron purpure and Or, three natural dolphins naiant counterchanged.
The name appeared on the letter of intent as Gabryell Dolphinstone, but the forms had the spelling of the last name given above. Since the documentation cited on the letter (Black, Surnames of Scotland, p. 213) appears under the heading "Dolfinestone" and that spelling is cited in period, there seems no reason to deny the submittor the spelling originally desired. Note that Withycombe (p. 124) shows this spelling of the given name in period.
Ian Leslie of Kilgairen. Device. Gules, on a bend between two Celtic crosses patty argent, three thistles proper.
Jonathan Blackshaft. Device. Argent, a sheaf of three arrows inverted within a bordure embattled sable.
Khaalid al-Jaraad. Change of name from Ambrose of Barduin.
The name was originally returned for lack of translation of the second element. On the letter of intent Vesper noted that no translation had been provided because it was a name. However, as both Badger and Crescent noted, the presence of the article "al" indicated that this was an epithet with meaning and therefore the translation becomes necessary under our rules. A translation now has been supplied ("the Locust, Liberal") which indicates that the epithet is suitable for use in the Society.
Khulan the Dark. Change of name from Khulan Torley and device. Argent, a wolf statant, head raised, sable, in chief a sword fesswise gules, all within a bordure sable.
Konrad Tregetor der Taschenspieler. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Konrad Tregetor der Tauschenspeiler. As the letter of intent and his forms indicated he wished the German for "juggler", we have corrected the misspelling of the byname.
Laurent le Noir. Name and device. Pean, a winged scarab within a bordure Or.
Please draw the body of the scarab more prominently so the primary charge looks less like an interestingly diapered crescent.
Lucrezia Ana Callista Caracciola da Venezia. Change of name from Lucrezia Lupinetta.
Maeva Torfadottir. Name only.
Oweneth Weavewell. Change of name from Owena Weavewell.
Brachet presented lengthy arguments for the submittor in her guise as "customer service representative" with an appropriate caveat as to personal opinions. It is probably significant that the two members of the College most familiar with mediaeval and modern Welsh (Brachet herself and Laurel) are the least convinced by the thread of linked exceptions used to support the "constructed" given name as a valid Welsh construct. However, most of the College found it "compatible" and we felt this consensus was probably more representative of popular opinion.
Richard Anthony of Southern Shores. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for device). Quarterly sable and gules, on a bend Or five fir trees palewise proper, in sinister chief a raven displayed Or.
The submission was made under the name Richard Anthony de Ravenswood.
Sean of Elmhurst. Name and device. Per bend azure and sable, a shark naiant to sinister argent.
Thrainn Járngrímsson. Name and device. Per bend sinister wavy argent and sable, a unicorn rampant counterchanged, on a chief sable, three roses argent.
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE RETURNED:
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
Côte du Ciel, Shire of. Device. Gyronny sable and gules a bear rampant argent, maintaining in its dexter forepaw a laurel wreath Or, all within a bordure Or, charged with a ribbon gyronny gules and sable.
The bordure was blazoned as "voided counterchanged" on the letter of intent, and the blazon above is the nearest approach to a "legal" blazon that we could find, but in fact the emblazon shows a bordure counterchanged delineated with Or as any competent heraldic artist would do to pick up the metal of the wreath. As several commentors noted, the "voiding" or "fimbriating" of a bordure is not permitted under the rules and the counterchange of two colours upon one another is not permitted (a bordure counterchanged is only permitted when the two tinctures involved are from different classes).
Donal MacMurtrie. Household name for Clan MacMurtrie.
As has been mentioned during the ongoing debate on the protection of household names, the current ruling precedent is that of Wilhelm von Schlussel, made in June, 1982: "Household names may not be the surnames of actual families or clans, as that would imply that the head of the household was the head of that family or clan." (Although there have been occasional lapses in the consistency with which household names have been checked for such conflicts, this has remained the ruling precedent.) Unfortunately, so much attention was focused on the potential precedent surrounding the original badge submission, which featured a belt surrounding the badge in the Scots manner, that the question of the name was not raised until this Laurel meeting. MacMurtrie is in fact a period Scots surname and appears in Black (Surnames of Scotland, p. 547). Our apologies to the submittor for not mentioning this sooner; he should be assured that, if he cannot reserve the use of the name, noone else can either!
Robert de Harcourt. Name only.
The name seems to be in direct conflict with that of the Robert de Harcourt whom Crescent's research indicates was the progenitor of the French branch of a family of great historical significance on both sides of the English Channel. (Note that, since the information derived from the mid-sixties Encyclopedia Britannica, which was notorious in historical circles for large-scale obliteration of historical material to allow space for the "modern", this information can hardly be said to be obscure! For those interested in methodological tricks, acquisition or library use of a pre-War Encyclopedia Brittanica can be a wonderful shortcut for mediaevalist documentation: long articles on mediaeval and Renaissance English and Continental history include heavy reference to original documents like the Monumenta and the Rolls series which were published in the last century.)
Tristam Gryphonroke. Device. Per chevron argent and sable, two gryphons combattant vert and a tower argent.
Alas! We were compelled to agree that there is a conflict here with Cornelia of the Sapient Throng ("Per chevron argent and sable, in pale a mullet of nine points voided and interlaced and a tower counterchanged.": the bottom portion of the two devices is identical (argent tower on sable per chevron division) with all the changes confined to the upper half of the field. A change to the tincture of the field or charge in the bottom portion of the field would carry this clear. . .
KINGDOM OF ATLANTIA
Bran Haroldsson. Name only.
The name conflicts with the already registered Society name of Regin Bran Haraldssonn.
Brenna o'r Glan-y-mor. Name only.
As Crescent notes, the name is in conflict with that of the registered household of Tzipporah bat Deborah (note that this is listed in the Armorial under her former name of Eleanor de Mont Saint Michel). Perhaps Vesper could be persuaded to intercede with her for permission to conflict?
Donnabhan Keegan Bothwell. Device. Per bend embattled sable and gules, in sinister chief a thistle argent.
This was misblazoned on the letter of intent as having a field "gules and sable". This is in fact in conflict with the badge of Theresa de Foxton ("Per bend embattled sable and gules, a thistle slipped and leaved argent.").
Eachann MacAngus. Name only.
As "Eachann" is cognate with and directly translates "Ian", this is a conflict with the registered Society name of Ian MacAngus.
Fridrich Eisenhart. Device. Azure, a bicorporate lion within a bordure Or.
Conflict with Arundell ("Azure, a lion rampant within a bordure Or.", cited in Papworth, p. 118) and John of Northampton, Lord Mayor of London ("Azure, a lion bicorporate sejant guardant crowned Or, the tails cowed and erect", cited in Dennys' Heraldic Imagination [p. 137] with the note "the beasts sometimes depicted as more or less rampant").
Galmr Ingolfsson. Device. Per chevron azure and argent, two lions couchant aspectant Or and a longship, sails furled, proper.
Conflict with Hagar Stromburg Blackrune ("Per chevron throughout sable and argent, two double-bitted axes Or and a double-prowed drakkar, oars in action, proper."): only a minor point of difference can be derived from the differences in the fields.
Mark of Ravenswood. Name only.
The name conflicts with House Ravenswood, registered to Cigfran Myddael Joserlin the Raven. As noted elsewhere on this letter, this is particularly unfortunate since the household name itself should never have been registered, being in conflict with the previously registered Shire of Ravenwood (sometimes our past mistakes come back to haunt us. . .).
Richard Marshall of Oldcastle. Change of name from Richard Corwin of Oldcastle.
Not only does this still uncomfortably close to the Richard Marshall, son of the William Marshall, but as Crescent has pointed out, since marshall is a rank, this has the appearance of claiming a title "marshall of Oldcastle" (cf. NR13b).
William Costello. Device. Or, two bottlenosed dolphins haurient in saltire proper, a base engrailed azure.
The dolphins are grey (i.e., argent) which breaks tincture by being placed on the metal field.
KINGDOM OF CAID
Koell of the Broken Tower. Device. Or, on a tower within a bordure rayonny sable, a sword argent.
The question of conflict raised on the letter of intent was with Harold Breakstone ("Or, a castle triple-towered sable, pennants flotant to sinister vert."). Crescent specifically asked for a "point count ruling" under our current system for the difference between a "castle" and a "tower". Crescent is quite correct in stating that mediaeval practise would have considered the difference negligible. Brault (Early Blazon, p. 141) notes "Contrary to modern heraldic practice, which distinguishes between castles, towers and turrets, the first two having at least two towers, early blazon used all three terms interchangeably." A perusal of period rolls supports this conclusion: arms blazoned as a tower might be depicted with multiple towers while a "chastel" or "castrum" might appear with only one tower. It should be noted that Brault's comment on modern usage should be applied to terminology, not perception of difference, since even modern armorial researchers tend to subsume the one category under the other (for example, Papworth includes "tower" under "castle"): the case seems to be similar to that of the lozenge and fusil or, perhaps more aptly, that of mascle and rustre.
In Society tradition, the situation is by no means so clear and practice has apparently varied widely from time to time, depending in part, one suspects, on the skill of the submittor's heraldic artist. Based both on period practise and modern perception, it is clear that the difference between a single-towered tower and a multi-towered castle should be at most a minor point of difference as we currently count difference. In circumstances where the building is a large central primary charge, this may be a strong minor. In circumstances where there are multiple charges whose size and impact is therefore diminished and/or the charges are removed to the periphery of the device, the difference may be reduced to a weak minor or a negligible point.
In this case, we were inclined to see the maximum strength in the minor for type taken against Breakstone's device: with the major point for the bordure and the minor for the tertiary, this would squeak clear under the current rules. However, it is rather closer to Alina Brianna of Rainbow Keep ("Or, a tower with spire and pennon sable, surmounted by a natural rainbow proper."). In the latter case, the addition of the rainbow, which would normally comprise a major point of difference, is severely weakened by its placement and lack of contrast: the argent clouds are carefully placed to begin exactly at the point the tower impinges on the field and so are entirely argent upon Or (i.e., not there), whilst the bands of colour lie entirely on the sable tower and fade into it. In this situation it is almost impossible to grant two full points of difference for the addition of the bordure and the change from the rainbow overlying the black tower to the sword entirely on it.
KINGDOM OF CALONTIR
Aethelred de Lowther. Device. Or, in pale six annulets sable between a pair of flaunches Or, fimbriated azure.
Although the flaunches were blazoned on the letter of intent as "azure voided" they are in fact thin partial arcs of azure placed on an Or field: an almost classic instance of "thin line heraldry". In fact, as Crescent has noted, the voiding or fimbriating of flaunches has been banned since September, 1981: "Flaunches voided and flaunches cotised are both non-period. . ."
Bran Gwyn ap Caw ap Maelgwn. Device. Azure, chaussé, a raven close argent.
He had permission to conflict with Roane Fairggae of Lochlann ("Argent, on a pile throughout azure, a seal haurient argent."). However, as Seraph pointed out, both devices can be considered "on a pile" and therefore the two differ only by a single minor for type of tertiary charge which is less than the permitted difference allowed with permission to conflict under DR1c. Note that this also conflicts with Richard Corwin of Oldcastle ("Argent, on a pile throughout azure, a sun Or."). [Editorial Note: yes, Roane and Richard do conflict with one another --- even the College nods sometimes.].
Christopher Amber. Device. Per pale sable and Or, two mullets in bend counterchanged.
According to DoD C.2 "Changes in number and placement where all charges change position on the field count as a major and a minor point.". Thus this submission is in conflict with Reinhard Bergen der Kuhn, cited on the letter of intent ("Per pale sable and Or, a mullet pierced counterchanged.").
Ealhwynna MacDonald. Device. Per pale argent and azure, on a heart a mullet of eight points counterchanged.
Conflict with Anna Gertrude Leonhardt ("Azure, on a heart argent, a lion rampant azure."). Between Society armoury, counterchanging along a line of division contributes only a major point of difference, not automatic sufficient difference as it does with the mundane.
Finola O'Clery. Device. Argent, a cock crowing azure within a bordure gules, semy of fountains.
Unfortunately, Crescent is correct in indicating that the fountains are banned because of the ban on charges semy which are fimbriated, proper, fur or divided tinctures (AR1.c). In this case, there actually is a problem since virtually noone who looked at the device was certain that the charges on the bordure were fountains.
Jenette of Carrington. Device. Erminois, on a pale sable a fleur-de-lys Or.
Conflict with Lin the Baker ("Argent, on a pale sable, a garb Or.")
John the Lost. Device. Sable, three pallets argent, overall a turk's head proper, impaled on a spearpoint gules.
Unfortunately, although the background was blazoned as "paly" what was drawn was in fact a coloured field with three metallic pallets. In fact the spear overlies the center pallet in such a way that it appears to be gules on sable. The turk's head in this context is the distinctly Mongol sort of Turk that appears so commonly in Hungarian heraldry with a sable topknot (which itself lies in large part on the sable field so is hard top identify): see von Volborth (p. 122) for some examples.
Raonull Modar. Device. Gules, upon a passion nail inverted argent, a six-petalled rose sable.
The general consensus in the College was that the "passion nail" was so distorted as to be unidentifiable as anything other than a deformed lozenge.
Silvestrus Sophonius. Name and device. Erminois, a horned owl gules, clutching an acorn proper in its dexter claw and perching on an oak branch proper.
The entire submission had to be returned since the submittor allowed no changes to his name (commenting "No need, I know my Latin."). Unfortunately, neither element of the name is correct Latin, either for the ancient or mediaeval period. The actual period given name is "Silvester". Even as an adjective the form is "Silvestris", since this is a third declension adjective: the second declension ending in "-us" is inappropriate. Since the submittor indicated that the intent of the byname was to use an epithet which claimed status as a learned clerk, we suppose he was aiming at "Sophos", borrowed from the Greek for a wise or learned man. However, the closest name element in sound would appear to be "Sophronius", the name of the patriarch of Jerusalem at the time of the Arab conquest.
Stephen Grimfalcon de Norfolk. Badge for Subatai the Hawk. Per bend sinister embowed counterembowed gules and argent, in fess a hammer sable, fimbriated argent and a falcon striking sable.
There are several problems with this submission. It is clearly too complex for a badge (in itself, the hammer is too complex a charge to fimbriate). Historically speaking, there is some evidence to support the view that "Subatai" is a unique name, applied to the Great Khan's general in eastern Europe (the character in the Conan environment appears to have been directly, if a trifle weirdly, derived from the historical personage). Habicht's comment as to the use of "Bahadur" with the name of the historical Subatai is somewhat irrelevant: it has been previously established that this is a statement of rank, rather than a true byname added to distinguish one individual from others with the same name, so that the name "Subatai Bahadur" is equivalent to "Sir Subatai".
KINGDOM OF THE EAST
Aelfgifu of the Hazel Thicket. Device. Vair, on a chief azure, four feathers palewise argent.
Crescent and Brachet are correct to cite a visual conflict with Llywelyn ap Evan ("Per fess azure and vair ancient, three escallops in chief argent."): period heraldry did not really make that much distinction visually between a field divided per fess and one divided "per chief" (as Papworth sometimes calls it). In this case the "enhancement" of the line of division is even more diminished because the chief lies entirely along an azure portion of the field, which it should not.
Andreanna Innes. Badge. A Lacy knot lozengewise Or.
The bulk of standard heraldic works (e.g., Boutell, Brooke-Little's Heraldic Alphabet, Franklyn's Shield and Crest, etc.) show the Lacy badge in precisely this orientation so this must be considered to be a direct conflict.
Cedric of Wessex Manor. Name only.
There really is a conflict with Cerdic, king of Wessex. It is clear that Scott's use of the name "Cedric" was derived from a fairly common type of reversal of an "r" and a following consonant (idiomatic English does this sort of thing all the time and Scott was not as careful as he could be about such things, for instance, the place name "Ivanhoe" actually is "Ivinghoe"). In Ivanhoe Cedric stands as the inheritor of the old Saxon values and the intent is definitely to echo and appeal to the legendary founder of West Saxon power, who was said to be the first "King of Wessex" and was in fact the theoretical ancestor of the later kings of Wessex, such as Alfred the Great and, ultimately, Edward the Confessor who came to represent the romantic image of the Saxon.
Dragonship Haven, Barony of. Badge for the Order of the Yale. A yale rampant argent, semy of hurts.
This conflicts with one of the "Royal Beasts" of England, i.e., the animate badges which have been adopted by the Royal Family over the centuries (those who have visited Hampton Court will vividly remember these). The so-called Beaufort yale, which was freely used by Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, and by her descendants, was "A yale argent, bezanty". Thus it appears even to this day serving as the supporter for her arms over the gate of Christ College, Cambridge, as well as on a number of other royal foundations. Since the semy on the beast is considered a scattering of tertiary charges, not a change of tincture as stated on the letter of intent, this also conflicts with Athena Catarina of Windcrest ("Azure, an antelope rampant argent."), cited on the letter of intent.
Elaine Courtney. Badge. A heart per fess invected argent and gules.
Since no difference can be derived from the field this is technically in conflict with Malinda Angelanne von Hohen Staffen ("Per fess embattled azure and argent, a heart gules."): there is only a major point for the tincture of the charge (DoD A.1.b.1).
Juliana Richenda Trevegne. Name only.
The given names are fine, but the surname is not formed on standard Cornish patterns since, by the submittor's own documentation, it combines the "tre" with a variant of an infinitive form. Cornish place names of this sort were invariably formed of two nouns or of the "tre" plus an adjective. There were a number of possible alternatives that sound almost alike, but her documentation gave no clue which she would prefer, so we felt it best to leave it to her. "Trevon" (="towns") dates from at least 1284; "Trevanion" (="Annian's place") goes back to Domesday Book; "Trevean" (="small place") is documented in 1291; "Trevennan" means "women's place"; "Treventon" refers to a "homestead by a spring", etc. (all from Dexter's Cornish Names).
Michel l'Espiegle. Device. Purpure, on a pale between four cups Or, a rapier inverted purpure.
Visually this does conflict with William of Blackmoor ("Purpure, on a pale between two double-bitted axes Or, a sword purpure."): the minor for inverting the sword is just too weak to carry it clear.
Rowena of Wessex Manor. Name only.
For a discussion of Wessex, etc. see Cedric of Wessex Manor, above. Rowena, who was the beloved of Ivanhoe, was destined by Cedric as the bride of Athelstan specifically because they would unite the remaining two strains of the royal Saxon line, i.e., the line of the kings of Wessex. That this lady appears to be the wife of Cedric of Wessex Manor, not his ward, does not help the situation very much. . . Ruantallan, Barony of. Device. Azure, a pile within a laurel wreath argent. As Crescent notes, if the pile were drawn properly, there would not be space below it for a laurel wreath. Additionally, as drawn, this could really be blazoned "Azure, a laurel wreath and a chief triangular argent." That being the case, it may be considered to infringe on the Shire of the Far Reaches ("Azure, a laurel wreath and in chief three acorns argent."), since the laurel wreath would be the primary charge in both cases.
Thomas of South Hill. Device. Per chevron sable, mulletty argent, and vert, a castle argent.
Conflict with Anne of the White Tower ("Sable, a tower argent.") as well as with Hitchins ("Sable, a castle triple-towered argent.") In either case there is at most a minor for the division of the low contrast field, a minor for the differences in depiction of the building, and a minor for the addition of a semy over part of the field (DoD A.4.c. specifically indicates that a major point can be derived for addition of the semy only if it is "across the entire field").
KINGDOM OF MERIDIES
Albion Marcus Montelammartine. Name and device. Per chevron azure and Or, in chief a winged lion passant guardant, maintaining in its dexter paw a sword Or, all within a bordure compony Or and azure.
The citation from Withycombe (p. 9) used in the letter of intent to support Albion as a given name in period does not do so: what is actually said is that "another possibly connected name is Albion, e.g., Sir Albion Richardson KC, b. 1874". That is clearly out of period and, given the use of "Albion" to denote England even in Roman days, this must be considered an impermissible usage. He might do better to use a documented Latin form of the root name such as "Albanus", which Withycombe documents as early as 1201 (p. 9): it would go better with the second given name. The surname also has problems since it is not properly formed in either Spanish or French. If he wants proper Spanish for "of the Mountain by the Sea", he should use "de Monte del Mar". If he wants something closer to the submitted sound, he could use the actual French place name "Montmartin sur mer", suggested by Crescent. The use of a bordure compony where the bordure used one or both of the tinctures of the field has been banned by consensus of the College since last summer. It probably should be pointed out to the submittor that some members of the College were distinctly twitchy over the use of the winged lion of Saint Mark with the name Mark and "by the sea" in view of the associations of Mark as patron saint of Venice.
Audrey fitzWilliam of Treville. Device. Gules, a fess cotised between two escallops inverted and a sprig of lily of the valley, all argent.
Conflict with Normanville ("Gules, a fess cotised argent."), as well as several other mundane cotes which difference by adding charges about the fess cotised just as this device does.
Draco de Ense Argenteo. Device. Pean, in pale a sword fesswise and a sword fesswise reversed between in pale a dragon, couchant, wings elevated and addorsed, and a dragon couchant to sinister, wings elevated and addorsed, all argent.
Conflict with Draco of Nola ("Pean, a sword fesswise, point to sinister, between two dragons couchant, wings elevated and addorsed, argent.") cited on the letter of intent. The tinctures are identical: the only differences are the addition of one sword and the reversal of one of the dragons which tally to at most a major and minor point. In effect, the visual similarity is overwhelming.
Ganelon Imrahil de Lorraine. Personal name and badge for Clan Stardragon. Per bend sinister argent and sable, a dragon passant and a compass star within a bordure
embattled, all counterchanged.
Ganelon is not, as stated on the letter of intent, a made-up name. It was the name of the step-father of Roland in the Chanson de Roland. It was Ganelon who betrayed Roland and his companions to the Saracens at Roncesvalles in that chanson de geste and, by so doing, became a period archetype for treachery on the grand scale. As such he appears in a number of period works, including Dante's Inferno and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. In period terms, this appears to be a unique name and should not be registerable in the Society. The situation is only made worse by Zelazny's use of the name as the pseudonym adopted by Oberon in the Amber series: this was quite intentional and was meant to signal the role which Ganelon/Oberon was to play in the original series, one definitely parallel to that of Ganelon in betraying the hero to whom he ought to behave as a father. As Ganelon/Oberon first appears in The Guns of Avalon as ruler of "Lorraine", this name is a direct conflict. The difficulty is not at all ameliorated by the use of "Imrahil", the name of the Prince of Dol Amroth in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. He allows no changes whatsoever to his name so we feel that a holding name would be imprudent and must return the whole submission.
Gillermo el Alacran de Castilla. Badge. Argent, a chestnut tree eradicated sable, leaved gules.
Conflict with Kornkoopers ("Argent, a dry tree sable.", as cited in Woodward, p. 318).
Gwendolyn of the Aran Isles. Device. Azure, a chevron argent between three fleurs-de-lys in fess and a starfish Or.
Conflict with all of the following: Hall-Joy ("Azure, a chevron argent between in chief three fleurs-de-lys Or and in base a lion rampant proper.", as cited in Papworth, p. 420), Helliar ("Azure, a chevron argent between three mullets Or.", cited in Papworth, p. 460), Allenson ("Azure, a chevron argent.", cited from Papworth, p. 373), Angela of the Stoney Oak Forest ("Azure, a chevron between two acorns and an oak leaf argent.") and Beorn Collenferth ("Azure, a chevron between a harp, an axe reversed and a sabre-toothed tiger statant argent.").
Jean Paul de Burgundy. Name only.
The lesser problem with the name is that "Burgundy" is the English form of "Bourgogne" which should be used with the French preposition. More serious is the conflict with John, Duke of Burgundy (sometimes called "Jean sans Peur") who played such a significant role in the history of France and England in the age of Charles VI of France and Henry IV and Henry V of England.
Ragnar Kaupmadr. Device. Azure, a drinking horn between a chief and a base embattled Or.
This is visually Or, on a fess embattled counterembattled azure, a drinking horn Or. As such it conflicts with Aber ("Or, a fess embattled azure.", cited in Papworth, p. 706), as noted by a number of commentors.
Robert Blackthorn. Device. Or, a bend azure between three blackthorn leaves, two and one, vert and a compass star of four straight and four wavy rays gules.
Conflict with Sula von Pferdenthal ("Or, on a bend azure, two horses' heads cabossed argent.") and Badye ("Or, a bend azure.", cited in Papworth, p. 191).
Rowland Addison Carrick. Device. Purpure, a hawk rising, wings elevated and displayed, grasping in its talons a decrescent Or, charged on the breast with a fleur-de-lys sable.
Conflict with John Aquila of Eaglesdown ("Purpure, a hawk close to sinister Or."): there is a major point of difference for the posture of the bird, but the single charge on the breast of the bird and the decrescent, which several commentors correctly noted is so obscured by the bird as to be nearly negligible, are not strong enough minors to carry this clear and, in this case, the difference between eagle and hawk is really non-existent. A similar case exists with Owain of Corn Valley ("Gules, a peregrine falcon rising, wings elevated and displayed, Or grasping in both talons a halberd bendwise proper."): here the field is different but the bird is essentially identical and the other changes still do not create the visual equivalent of a major point of difference.
Siegfried das Wiltekind and Rosemund of Mercia. Badge for Household of Siegfried and Rosemund. Vert, an inescutcheon argent, entwined by a two headed serpent gules, in chief an annulet Or.
The serpent is vital to the badge design, but is virtually unidentifiable. The household name is not period style and does not really need to be registered. Dolphin is correct when he notes that the cumulative effect of the allusions to the Ring Saga (Siegfried, Rosemund, ring and wyrm) are a bit much.
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Allan Grayson of Eaglescliff. Device. Per bend sinister Or and argent, a bend sinister azure surmounted by a triple-headed eagle displayed counterchanged.
There are two serious problems with the device. First, the complex counterchanging involving three colours is not period style. The parts of the eagle on the field are azure and the portion of the bird on the bend is divided per bend sinister Or and argent: the general effect is to make the charge overall unrecognizable at any distance. In any case, if it this were not the case, as Crescent and Treble Clef both have commented, the triple-headed eagle has been banned from use in the Society for nearly nine years because of its close association with the aspirations of the Holy Roman Empire (it appears in at least one period armorial as the imperial arms once Jerusalem has been reconquered).
Björn of Nidaros. Device. Or, fretty gules, a ram rampant argent, within a bordure purpure.
There is insufficient contrast betweent the ram and the field which is predominantly Or. Although the letter of intent indicated that the submittor would accept a ram purpure, this must formally be submitted (with properly coloured forms) so that the College may consider it for conflicts.
Bryan Mikhail Woodroffe. Badge for House Shadowstaff. On a roundel enflamed gules, a compass star within the horns of a decrescent argent.
As no difference can be derived for field, this technically conflicts with Boncoeur ("Ermine, on a sun gules, a heart Or.") and, even more obviously, with the badge of Drstha Maida of the Lowara ("Argent, upon a sun gules a dexter hand appaume couped argent."). In the latter case, the only real visual change is in the tertiaries.
Cariadoc of the Bow. Badge. Azure, a candle argent, enflamed, within a mascle Or.
Conflict with Rurik the Axe-Finder ("Azure, a candle palewise argent, enflamed at both ends Or.", as reblazoned elsewhere on this letter). There is also a visual conflict with Jervaise de Guienne ("Azure, on a lozenge throughout Or a mascle azure.").
Étien de Nihil. Name only.
The name appeared with the given name properly spelled as Étienne on the submittor's paperwork, so we are not certain whence derived the peculiar form given on the letter of intent. The proper Latin for "of Nothing" should be "de Nihilo". However, this usage gave us severe twitches. Those who are familiar with period Western philosophical and theological thought will be aware that the ability to create "de nihilo", i.e. from nothing, was peculiar to God (indeed, the inability to do more than transform pre-existing matter into new shapes was one of the specific limitations which distinguished the Devil from God!). To use this byname seems to come rather close to either claiming to be able to create de nihilo or stating that you have yourself been created de nihilo (a claim which, in most versions of the cosmological myth, even Adam himself cannot make!).
Erik of Hallstead. Device. Argent, semy of trefoils vert, a unicorn rampant gules.
Crescent is correct in citing as conflict the arms of Cratford ("Argent, a unicorn salient gules.").
Finnbar MacAlasdair. Device. Gyronny vert and sable, a winged stag salient, wings elevated and addorsed, argent, attired Or.
Conflict with Pownes ("Sable, a buck springing argent, attired Or.").
Fiona MacGregor. Badge for Household of Copers Anomalous. Argent, on a spiderweb throughout, in base a spider sable.
Conflict with Darvula Hedwig von Schwarzwald ("Argent, on a spiderweb sable, a garden spider displayed proper within a bordure rayonny gules."), cited on the letter of intent: as Darvula's spider is essentially sable, negigible difference can be derived from the spiders. Note that the consensus of the College was that the name was not a period construction, the more so since both elements of the name were first documented after our period (and the senses in which they are used here are more modern still).
Gillian de Ravely. Device. Azure, on a pile throughout between two crescents Or, a sword inverted azure.
Conflict with Jaromir Mikhailovich ("Azure, on a pile Or in chief a sun gules.").
Guillaume le Fort. New designation of Midrealm Free Militia for previously registered badge. Chequy gules and argent, a ram passant to sinister sable, maintaining with the sinister foreleg a bill bendwise Or.
It was the consensus of the commentors that, if the fighting group is to be an official arm of the Kingdom, the badge should be registered to the Kingdom. It was even more strongly stated by most commentors that the use of the Kingdom name by non-official groups should not be considered legitimate, even when authorized by the Crown.
Josef Jäger. Name and device. Or, a fleshing knife, blade to base, between three mullets of six points pierced sable.
The name conflicts not only with the friend of Luther cited on the letter of intent but also with the registered Society name of Joseph the Hunter of which it is a direct translation. Several commentors asked if there is any documentation for this knife as a period type of instrument and whether there is a fixed shape for a "fleshing knife".
Karl Tollmache of Cuxhaven. Device. Gules, fretty Or, a pale argent, overall a sea wolf erect sable maintaining a trident argent.
The sable beastie on the essentially gules field is colour on colour.
Kosulya Karlovich Kuznetzov. Name only.
The given name is stated to mean "roe deer" and to "work as a nickname" in Russian. While Russian, like English, does derive surnames from animals, it does not seem to produce given names from common nouns or the names of animals. While Karl is used in modern Russia in honour of Karl Marx, it is a German given name which normally would not have been used in period with a Russian patronymic.
Nywulf of Darkenwood. Name only.
No evidence was produced for "ny" as a protheme in period given names and the epithetic "new wolf" in this structure is not even formed of words from a single language: "ny" is modern Norse for "new" but the Norse for "wolf" is "ulv" (from Old Norse "ulfr"). In Old English the word for "wolf" is "wulf", but "new" is "niw" and there is no form that we could find for any word which would coalesce with "wulf" to form "nywulf" in Old English. Note that Darkenwood precipitated severe twitches in some of us.
Tamarra Amalthea de Romany. Name and device. Per bend sable and vert, a mortar and pestle within a bordure Or.
The only two instance of Amalthea that we could find (both alluded to on the letter of intent) were distinctly suprahuman: the nymph who nursed Jupiter and the Cumaean Sibyl who presented the early Romans with the Sibylline Books (whom some ancient authors associated with the nymph). Also, if the byname is retained in the current form, the name is Russian + Latin + French + English which is excessive. As she strictly forbade any changes to the given names, we felt we could not form a holding name and had to return the submission as a whole, even though the device seemed acceptable.
Torvald Thorgilsson. Name only.
Conflict with Torvald Torgarsson and Thorvald Thorlyfsson, cited on the letter of intent.
Tyra Seebensdottir. Name and device. Sable, a domestic cat rampant to sinister argent within a bordure ermine, overall a canton purpure.
While Dragon has given reasonable arguments for the given name, the patronymic appears to be undocumented from either German or Norse. A canton should not overlie a bordure in this manner and, in any case, the purpure canton on the sable field breaks the well-established rules on contrast. There was a general feeling that the canton did have the appearance of an augmentation and, given the other problems with it, the submittor should be strongly encouraged to drop it.
Victor von dem Stürme. Device. Argent, on a bend sinister azure, an Egyptian sphinx couchant Or.
Conflict with Jason of Riverstone ("Argent, on a bend sinister between two ermine tails azure, a pen inverted Or.").
KINGDOM OF THE OUTLANDS
Lydia of the Pines. Device. Argent, a pine branch in bend sinister, fructed, proper within an orle vert.
We were compelled to agree with Aten and with Lydia Nove herself that this was too likely to be confused with the device of Lydia Nove ("Argent, a gore vert, in sinister a pine bough leaved and fructed proper."). In either case the pine bough could be seen as the primary charge (in Lydia Nove's device it is of no less weight than the gore) and the modification of the position of the bough really derives from the difference between a gore and an orle. Although the coincidence of given name and geographical area might add to the practical difficulties, they were not considered in making the judgement on difference here.
Mikel the Silent. Device. Argent, a Great Horned Owl rising guardant, wings elevated and displayed, proper, maintaining an arrow bendwise sable (Bubo virginianus).
The submittor's device was originally returned for conflict with Cigfran Myddrael Joserlin the Raven ("Argent, a raven rising reguardant, wings disclosed, proper, in the dexter claw a sword gules."). Note that this was stated to be an appeal, but it was not mentioned that the tincture of the bird had been specifically changed from sable to "proper", i.e., brown and black-brown: therefore this was not an appeal per se but rather a resubmission of a modified device. The conflict was more striking visually in the original submission were both birds were sable and in virtually identical positions maintaining long skinny objects in precisely the same position. Indeed, in the original rendition, difference of tincture of the minor objects which the birds were holding was the salient point of difference visually. The submission has been modified and most artistically drawn, although at the cost of rendering the bird in trian aspect with the most distinguishing mark of the owl (its distinctive head shape) obscured because it lies upon the identically coloured wing. It is clear that the blazon reflects the intent of the submittor and, if the bird were properly drawn, it would follow the blazon and the two birds would again be in almost identical positions. While there is a greater degree of visual difference here, there was a strong consensus in the College that the two devices were just too close to one another.
Susan the Midwife. Device. Argent, three spiders sable.
Conflict with the badge of Andrew of Riga ("A spider displayed proper.", as reblazoned elsewhere on this letter). The spiders are identical, differing only in number.
KINGDOM OF THE WEST
Christian du Glaive. Badge. Sable, a lion rampant to sinister argent.
Opinion was mixed as to whether Cromwell should be granted extra protection as a "ruling house" and thus be considered in conflict with the proposed badge. Some agreed with Vesper that "usurpers should not be given the same protection we give to rightful kings". It was, however, Laurel's position that, since we are interested in avoiding confusion or offense, it is not necessarily the de jure situation but the de facto which should be considered. Although he (like Caesar) on several occasions refused the title of king, as Lord Protector Cromwell exercised virtually all the powers of the monarchy and this fact was recognized by time of his death since the Protectorate became an inheritable estate, precisely as did the royal estate had been previously. In any case, as several commentors noted, the point is somewhat moot since the badge also conflicts by reflection with the Duchy of Aosta one of the Italian sovereign houses.
Konrad Tregetor der Taschenspieler. Device. Vert, an English sheepdog passant to sinister argent, marked sable, on a chief argent, three triple-bladed windmills azure.
This variety of dog appears to have developed after our period and therefore are not permissible under AR7b (see Ammalynne Starchild Haraldsdottir "May I Use a Collie in My Arms?" in the Proceedings of the Meridian Heraldic Symposium, specifically p. 54).
Richard Anthony de Ravenswood. Name only.
As Crescent has noted, the name is in conflict with the household name of Ravenswood registered to Cigfran Myrdddrael Joserlin the Raven. (That the household name should not have been registered because that name itself conflicted with the previously existing Shire of Ravenwood is unfortunate, but irrelevant. . .).
West Kingdom. Title for Hippocampus Pursuivant.
Vesper's note that "hippocampus" is merely the Linnaean name for a modern seahorse and not a translation of "seahorse" is in fact in error. Both in Greek ("hippokampos") and Latin ("hippocampus") sources, the term was used for both the half-fish and half-horse monster that classical mythology saw as the steed of the sea gods and for the "natural" seahorse of Society heraldry. Thus the name does conflict by translation with the designation held by the East for the heraldic officer of the Crown Province of Ostgardr. However, the East (hopefully with the permission of Ostgardr) could grant permission to conflict.
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE PENDED:
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
Olivia di Ravenna. Device. Argent, on a bend sinister wavy sable between two escallops inverted vert, three increscents Or.
The tincture of the bend sinister was omitted from the letter of intent leading most commentors to assume it was vert. It is pended Until the August meeting to permit conflict checking.
KINGDOM OF ATLANTIA
Alyna of Snow Camp. Device. Azure, two seahorses addorsed, tails nowed, and in chief a decrescent argent.
This is pended until the August meeting since the charges appeared on the letter of intent as azure, not argent, and the commentors could not check adequately for conflict.
Hreodbeorht Lumhalghs. Device. Sable, a Bengal tiger's head cabossed Or, marked sable, horned gules, between three roses, all within a bordure Or.
On the letter of intent the tiger was blazoned as "proper" which would make it an orange with poor contrast against the field. Its primary tincture is actually the same Or used for the other charges on the field. It is pended until the August meeting to allow for proper conflict checking.
KINGDOM OF CALONTIR
Thorvald the Golden. Device. Argent, a sword argent, flamed gules and hilted within a bordure rayonny azure.
On the letter of intent the tincture of the flaming was omitted: from the comments received many of the commentors did not realise that the device was not entirely azure and argent. Since no correction appears to have been sent to the College, the submission must be pended until the August meeting to allow proper conflict checking.
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Bridget Casey. Device. Per pale and per fess indented purpure and vert, a fess dancetty, the points ending in shamrocks Or.
Although Dragon sent out a correction indicating that the field should be purpure and vert, not azure and vert, the bulk of the College seems to have missed this and checked for conflict against the latter field. The submission is therefore pended until the August meeting for proper conflict checking.
KINGDOM OF THE OUTLANDS
Lothar vom Bergenwald. Device. Per fess azure and vert, a fess dancetty argent, overall a ram salient Or.
The ram was incorrectly blazoned as argent on the letter of intent. Therefore, the submission has been pended until August to permit accurate conflict checking.
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