AUGUST XXIII (1988)
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE APPROVED:
KINGDOM OF ANSTEORRA
Aislinn di Tanaleone. Name and device. Per fess Or and chequy sable and Or, on a fess rayonny gules, a lion passant coward Or.
It is not necessary to support the given name on the grounds of "compatibility": it has amply been documented as a period given name in the past.
Alana of Tallaght. Name only.
Neither of the sources cited for the given name offer dating and neither is particularly reliable. However, the Latin form of the masculine given name ("Alanus") is well-documented in period and this seems a reasonable Latin feminine.
Aldwin Greenleaf. Name only.
Alisandre Oliphant. Badge. An elephant's head cabossed, ears displayed, purpure, the dexter ear charged with an Old English A, the sinister with an Old English O.
Ansteorra, Kingdom of. Badge for Queen's College of Bards of Ansteorra. Or, a mullet of five greater and five lesser points within the frame of an Irish harp sable.
Caitlin Anna ni Sheanain. Device. Argent, a dolphin haurient to sinister purpure and a sinister gore vairy argent and sable.
Cristine of Winchelsea. Name and device. Per bend sinister argent and azure, three piles conjoined at the line of division, issuant respectively from chief, from dexter chief and from dexter, azure and in sinister base a cat's pawprint argent.
Derric Greywolf. Name only.
Derrick Gunther Valdemar. Name and device. Per pale sable and gules, a tree eradicated argent within a bordure embattled Or.
Erika Arenvaldsdochter. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Erika Arenvaldsdottir. Since the given name in the patronymic is German, we have modified the "daughter" part of the name to German from Old Norse.
Gareth Tremain. Name only.
Helmut Heinrichsohn. Name only.
Ivar of Bjornsborg. Holding name and device. Azure, a battleaxe bendwise sinister argent, hafted Or, maintained by a bear's jamb palewise, in dexter chief an increscent argent.
The submission was made under the name of Ivar Skalagrim, which was returned in April, 1988.
Lothar der Grauwolf. Device. Quarterly gules and pean, a wolf sejant erect reguardant argent, maintaining in the dexter paw a torch and in the sinister a sword Or.
Lundval Sveinkarr. Name only.
Martin Jäger. Name and device. Or, scaly sable, a seven headed hydra rampant gules.
Michel de Rieux. Name only.
Michele la Chatte. Name only.
Moriel Arenvaldsdochter of Raven's Fort. Name and device. Quarterly vert and erminois, a maunch counterchanged.
The name was submitted as Moriel Arenvaldsdottir of Raven's Fort. Since the given name in the patronymic is German, we have modified the "daughter" part of the name to German from Old Norse.
Morrin O hIongardail. Name and device. Argent, a raven displayed guardant purpure within a bordure azure.
Rupert Geoffrey Down de Ronda. Change of name from Simon Iago de Ronda.
Sigulfr Whitestone. Name only.
Sion Glas. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Sion a Glas. Since the article in Welsh is not "a" as stated on the letter of intent, we have dropped it: the name as registered still gives the meaning "John the Blue".
Tadhg Liath of Duncairn. Badge (see RETURNS for household name). Barry wavy argent and azure, three bezants.
Valgard of York. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Wyndhame, Shire of. Name and device. Per pale embattled gules and Or, in dexter chief a laurel wreath Or.
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
Ariane Jehanne Eamon. Change of name from holding name of Wanda of Tir Ysgithr.
Carolinde von Altenburg. Name and device. Argent, a brown seagoat proper, tailed, and a chief embattled grady vert.
The given name seems a reasonable construct in view of the documented existence of period German feminine names like Osterlinde, Seslinde, Drutlinde, Godelinde, Rylinde, Edelynd, and Girlinde (Mulch, Arnsburger Personennamen: Untersuchungen zum Namenmaterial aus Arnsburger Urkunden vom 13. - 16. Jahrhundert, pp. 3839).
Deborah of Golden Lake. Name only.
Ian Jameson. Change of name from holding name of Ian of Three Mountains.
The name was originally submitted as Ian Jameson. This was returned for conflict with Ian James of Silverlake. He then added a surname to make the proposed name Ian Jameson de Comyn. This was returned for conflict with the name of John (Ian) de Comyn, a notable figure from Scots history. The submittor appealed this return, arguing that the addition of the patronymic avoided any conflict (the Comyn was not the son of a James) and that, in any case, John de Comyn was more generally known as "the Red Comyn". These arguments are not convincing, but the issue is somewhat moot: through intervention of Latimer, permission to conflict has been granted by Ian James of Silverlake. Thus the submittor can have the form he originally submitted.
Malcolm of Ered Sul. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Or, a Scottish terrier statant to sinister sable, on a chief rayonny gules, a claymore argent.
The submission was made under the name Malcolm the Scot. Note that Mary, Queen of Scots, had a Skye terrier so that there is at least a presumption that the "Scottie" is period (Ammalynne Starchild Haraldsdottir, "May I Use a Collie in My Arms?", Proceedings of the Meridian Heraldic Symposium, pp. 4555.
Marguerite des Baux. Blazon correction. Per fess gules and azure, in base a yale passant to sinister argent, spotted gules, maintaining in its mouth a daisy, slipped and leaved, proper, and in chief three daisy flowers in fess proper.
This probably was the wildest misblazon in the current Laurel tenure: on the June letter it was reblazoned as having an azure field with a gules chief. This did in fact reflect commentary among the Laurel staff (in appearance the division of the tinctures was unbalanced) and at four o'clock in the morning, Laurel's brain was so fried that she reverted to mundane blazon. As the proof team for this one is as familiar with mundane practise as with Society quirks, this one slipped through. To all those who asked if I was slipping through a policy change on chiefs at the same time we tightened up on contrast elsewhere, the answer is no. (Although, it is sometimes hard to explain to submittors why they cannot have a chief of a colour when the visual effect of a field "parted per chiefish fess" is much the same. . .)
Michieal Dammary the Mischievous. Badge. Argent, in bend three platypuses naiant bendwise sinister to base gules.
While a number of commentors objected strenuously to the use of a beast unknown to western Europe in period, the wording of the current rules dictates acceptance of the platypus as a charge: "Objects, living things, or design elements not normally used in heraldry, i.e., which are not to be found in standard heraldic reference works, but were known to humanity prior to 1601, may be accepted as charges on a case-by-case basis. The guideline for acceptability is whether there is one recognizable form." It would indeed be offensive to deny that the aboriginal natives of Australia are a subset of humanity (although this has, of course, been done in the past. . .). The issue then is reduced to whether there is a single recognizable form for a platypus: since there is, the charge must be accepted.
Morgan ap Wynne. Name and device. Chequy argent and gules, a griffin sejant, forepaw raised, within a bordure sable.
The name was submitted as Morgan ap Wynne ap Gwygyn ap Llewellyn. No documentation was provided for "Gwygyn" and none could be provided by the commentors. Crescent noted that, taken to its logical extreme, the final patronymic would place the name in conflict with the registered household name of Caer Llewellyn. There was also some question whether it placed the name in conflict with that of Morgan Arthur ap Llewellyn: opinion was somewhat divided on the issue, but the echo was definitely stronger when the second patronymic was removed, as lack of documentation required.
Morgan ap Wynne ap Gwygyn ap Llewellyn. Badge. An aardvark sejant to sinister, forepaw raised, Or.
Nicolas Alejandro del Otoño. Device. Purpure, a bend sinister vairy Or and gules between an acorn and a sun in splendour Or.
This was pended from the February meeting but omitted from the May letter through word processor (human and coded) failure.
Padraig of Loch Salann. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Argent, a sword inverted between three ram's heads cabossed in pall inverted, noses to center, sable.
The submission was made under the name of Padraig of Lough Strangford.
Perkuk Gilgehjeh. Spelling correction.
When this was registered in July, 1988, the final consonant was misread as "n", not "h" (another case of the fearsome "dot matrix character blur"!).
Raymond Carder the Sea Rover. Change of name from Mihail Rautacios din Pest and reblazon of device. Or, semy of suns in splendour and on a chief indented of three points, two wolves' heads cabossed.
Raymond Carder the Sea Rover. Addition of alternate persona name of Mihail Rautacios din Pest to badge previously registered under that name with the designation of Raymond Carder the Sea Rover. Or, a rhinoceros statant gules.
Rowan Blackflame. Device. Or, a dexter hand fesswise reversed couped azure holding a flame sable charged with a scorpion inverted argent, all within a bordure gules.
Please draw the hand larger!
Sikman the Stout. Device. Per chevron inverted enhanced gules and sable, a pall wavy argent between three Thor's hammers Or.
Valeria Bridget Rodin. Device. Argent, on a bend wavy gules between three roses, one and two, azure, barbed and seeded proper, a key, wards to chief, argent.
It is necessary to specify that one rose is in chief and two in base because the opposite situation is the default.
Yehudah of Nuremberg. Name and device. Argent, on a bend between two Bourchier knots fesswise azure, three Bourchier knots argent, all within a bordure azure.
The name was submitted as Yehudah ben Levi of Nuremberg, appealing a previous return for conflict with the Hebrew poet, physician and philosopher whose name is given in many English books as Judah Halevy. The arguments essentially were that "Yehudah" and "Judah", although derived by transliteration from the same Hebrew name, were in fact different names because the average Society member would pronounce the two in different manners, that "ben Levi" had a different meaning from "ha Levi", and that the addition of the German place name completes the difference from the historical character who is associated with Spain and Palestine. Unfortunately, it is clear that "Judah" and "Yehudah" are the same name: the two are used interchangeably. As Crescent has noted, the New Jewish Encyclopedia (p. 250) gives both forms of the given name for the philosopher. It is also clear from period Jewish sources that there is no material distinction between "ha" and "ben": the same person may be referred to as "ben Levi" or "ha Levi". The modern surnames "Halevy" and "Levy" are directly equivalent and often use the same form in Hebrew documents. The question then is reduced to whether the historical individual is famous. It is our judgement that he indeed is: he is one of the greatest period Hebrew poets and one who had a great vogue among period and modern Zionists (among his works were Zionides, which expressed longing for Palestine, and in his old age he sailed for Palestine where it is said he was killed by Arabs within sight of Jerusalem). Not only was he responsible for introducing the forms of Arabic poetry to the Hebrew poetry of his era, but he also wrote a major philosophical dialogue, Kuzari, which contained debates designed to show the superiority of Judaism over both Islam and Christianity. (Note to those who, prompted by a comment from Dolphin, asked what "haftorah" might be: this refers to passages from the prophets which are read after passages from the Torah during services on the Sabbath or special festivals. In the context used by Dolphin, we assumed that it referred to the readings at his Bar Mitzvah.)
KINGDOM OF ATLANTIA
Adelulf von Trier. Name and device. Argent, a wolf's head, couped and sinister facing, azure, on a chief wavy sable two axes, blades to sinister, argent, hafted Or.
Although not so blazoned on the letter of intent, the hafts of the axes are in fact Or (and were so blazoned on the forms). Although this does need to be blazoned, we felt that this was a trivial enough detail from the point of view of differencing that the device did not need to be pended for further consideration.
Alisaundre ni Fheidhlimidh. Name and device. Argent, on a bend sinister engrailed between two holly leaves bendwise sinister vert, two oak leaves argent.
The name was submitted as Alisaundre ni Fedhilmidh. The patronymic has been modified to the expected aspirated genitive form after "ni".
Allen Stuart MacClure. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Allen Stuart Annael MacClure. By the submittor's own documentation, the Tolkienic name was a unique elven name, that of the elf who adopted Tuor in the Silmarillion. Therefore, we have deleted it from the otherwise acceptable Scots name.
Aonghus MacLeoid. Name only.
Artos the Tinker. Name only.
Barddán Baird MacRiordan. Name and device. Per fess vert and Or, on a fess in pale a dragon passant and a dragon passant to sinister, all counterchanged.
The name struck many of us as excessive in that it means Bard the Bard son of the Royal Bard. However, all elements of the name were documented from period and both "Barddán" and "Rígbarddán" (the earlier spelling of "Riordan") appear as given names in period.
Clarissa di Firenze. Name and device. Purpure, a swan rousant to sinister Or, a chief rayonny argent.
The name was submitted as Clarissa de la Firenze. As the submittor indicated she wished the Italian form for "of Florence", we have substituted the correct Italian preposition and dropped the article. Note that the emblazon showed the bird without feet: normally the only posture in which swans appear without feet is when swimming. Ask her to insert the feet. The posture of the wings and body can be described best, not by "rising" but by the swan specific "rousant".
Dafydd ap Gwystl. Badge. A goutte azure pierced by an arrow bendwise sinister Or.
Domnhall Mac Giolla Bhrighde. Name and device. Azure, a stag springing to sinister azure, on a chief dovetailed Or, two estoiles of eight points sable.
Ester Cerulea. Name and device. Azure, semy of compass stars, a sheep statant and a base indented, all argent.
The name was submitted as Ester Cerulean. The documentation did not include a copy of the page cited for the given name from Ewen's History of the Surnames of the British Isles so it was impossible to tell if this supported the unusual spelling of Ester. However, at least one source in Laurel's library indicates that "Megillat Ester" is a standard transliteration for the readings from the Book of Esther read at Purim (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Judaica, p. 179). The byname created some controversy in the College since many felt that "blue" would not be likely to be byname of appearance. However, Reaney (p. 38) indicates that Blouet, from the French for "blue", appears as a byname as early as Domesday Book. By the submittor's own documentation, the English adjective "caerulean" does not seem to exist before the late seventeenth century, although the actual period Latin adjective "caeruleus" is fairly common for inanimate objects. Since this adjective is in fact the one which Caesar uses in his Gallic Wars to describe the Britons tendency to colour themselves blue (B.G. 5,14), it seems a plausible Latinization for the same sort of byname that is represented by "Blouet". We have therefore used the appropriate Latin feminine form from "caeruleus". Please ask the submittor draw all the charges a lot larger!
Elisabetta da Camerino. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name appeared on the letter of intent as Elisabetta de Camerino. However, the forms had the correct Italian form, supported by the submittor's documentation, so we have registered this form.
Howling Wolf's Keep, Shire of. Name only.
John of Sacred Stone. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Magnus Malleus. Device. Sable, in pale a hammer fesswise, argent, hafted proper, and a divider argent, all between three bezants.
This was pended from the March meeting for further comment, but was omitted from the June letter.
Michael of Bedford. Change of device. Ermine, a lion sejant affronty, forelegs displayed, per pale azure and Or, the head counterchanged, crowned with a ducal coronet set askew bendwise Or, all within a bordure engrailed gules.
This adds the ducal coronet to his previously registered arms. There was some controversy in the College over the specification of the orientation, but in the case of Duke Michael, the unusual orientation seems appropriate. (Note that, since the coronet is not added for difference, but is essentially a specification of a potential "artist's elaboration", it may be considered a "trivial detail" and so may be allowed to break tincture. Again, although this is still not a really good idea, it fits with the remainder of the device.)
Rose of Black Diamond. Name only.
Thorbjorn Thordarson. Badge for House of Thor's Bear. Per bend sinister sable and argent, a Thor's hammer and a bear passant to sinister counterchanged.
Note that the patronymic appeared on the letter of intent as "Thorisson" and on the forms as "Thordsson", the form given above is how it was registered in June, 1987.
Thorbjorn Thordarson. Badge. Sable, in fess two thorn runes within a bordure argent.
Tir-y-Don, Barony of. Badge. Argent, a saltire vert, overall a dolphin haurient gules.
Torcan MacCabe. Name only.
KINGDOM OF CAID
Alric Landolf. Name and device. Quarterly azure and Or, a saltire counterchanged, overall a helm affronty sable.
Brandolf von der Pirsch. Device. Sable, on a chevron raguly to chief argent between three massacres Or, a chevronel sable.
Catrin Rhiannon d'Arc. Name only.
This should have been on the letter of June, 1988, and in fact was in the file, but was accidentally formatted as "invisible".
Colm the Defrocked. Device. Vert, a triskelion of demi-birds argent.
Cristobal degli Glicini che Mangia Uome. Badge. Sable, a peacock rising, wings elevated and displayed, maintaining a sprig of wisteria, all argent.
When the device was registered in July, 1988, the position of the wings was misblazoned.
Davin Kinnard MacAilean. Spelling correction.
When the name was registered in June, 1988, the given name was inadvertantly "normalized" to "David".
Eric du Marne. Device. Per saltire Or and argent, an Oriental dragon rampant to sinister, in chief three roses, all within a double tressure azure.
Fia Naheed. Change of device. Vert, on a sun within a serpent vorant of its own tail Or, a mullet of four points between the horns of an increscent azure.
When the device was registered in July, 1988, the tertiaries were blazoned as sable. Crescent assures us that, despite their appearance on the emblazon sheet, they are indeed azure.
Fredrick of Woodlyn. Badge. Argent, a bordure urdy vert.
Fredrick of Woodlyn. Badge. Argent, an open book within a bordure urdy vert.
Gyldenholt, Barony of. Badge. Azure, a tree Or, in chief two swords in chevron proper.
Howard des Images. Name only.
This is a case where Withycombe, who feels that the use of "Howard" as a given name is of relatively recent origin (p. 156), would seem to be in error. Reaney (Dictionary of British Surnames, p. 184) cites numerous period instances of its use as a given name occurring as early as Domesday Book.
Jason Thomas the Wanderer. Name and device. Gules, a stag's head cabossed, between its attires a roundel Or charged with a Bowen knot crosswise gules.
There was some distinct soulsearching on this device since the visual effect strongly suggested cadet arms of Staffordshe ("Gules, a stag's head cabossed Or."). However, as Crescent noted, they are technically clear. In view of the various career moves of Jason (notably his cruise on the Argo), the byname gave Laurel's classicist preconscious some serious twitches, but she decided that this was probably an overreaction since noone else had a problem with this.
Johnathan Heydon of Fox Hollow. Device. Purpure, a fox sejant affronty within a bordure dovetailed argent.
Luther Anshelm. Name and device. Per bend Or and azure, a winged great helm affronty, wings displayed, sable, between two crescents counterchanged.
Philip the Apparently Harmless. Name and device. Azure, in pale a death's head and two quills in saltire, all within a bordure embattled Or.
Robert Buffle of Hawkhaven. Device. Per chevron azure and argent, a chevron per chevron Or and azure, between two bison statant respectant and a decrescent counterchanged.
Robert Carpentarius. Name and device. Per bend sinister azure and argent, a duck volant, wings addorsed argent, and a tower under construction, on its roof a building crane, sable.
Tybalt di Milano. Device. Quarterly sable and argent, four single-horned anvils counterchanged.
Ulrich Eichenschild of Prussia. Device. Gyronny of four from dexter chief azure and argent, a tree eradicated gules within an orle counterchanged.
Victoria of the Yellow Rose. Name only.
KINGDOM OF CALONTIR
Bran the Dark. Name only.
Brendan O'Carroll. Device. Per pale azure and argent, in fess two spiral hunting horns counterchanged.
Bronwyn nic Dougal. Name only.
Conn MacNeill. Device. Gules, on a pile raguly, between two cups Or, a sword inverted sable.
This had been returned previously for conflict with Ardis Bluemantle and appealed by Saker. The issue is now moot since Ardis Bluemantle has granted permission to conflict.
Kyneth mac Ewen. Name and device. Sable, on a bend sinister bretasse between two towers argent, a tilting lance sable.
The given name is a documented variant form of Kenneth.
Liriel Correll of Tuatha Keep. Badge. Azure, mulletty, a fox salient Or.
Tristan Rory de Jorz. Name only.
The name was submitted as Tristan Rory de Jorses. No documentation was provided on the letter of intent other than that the name was French. The submittor's paperwork gave a better clue by noting that the family was a Welsh family who travelled to Ireland and settled what became known as Joyce's County. This led us to Reaney's notation (p. 198) of a subvariant of the name "Joyce" that is derived from a place name of origin, from Jort in Calvados. As we could not document the submitted form, we have substituted the documented equivalent "de Jorz".
KINGDOM OF THE EAST
Adelinde Katla. Device. Or, semy of swords gules, on a spider tergiant inverted sable an hourglass argent.
The given name appeared on the letter of intent as Adelinda, but the forms used the registered form given above.
Alasdair mac Dhonnchaidh. Device. Lozengy argent and vert, on a chief embattled Or, three thistles, slipped and leaved, proper.
Brigantia sought a modification of DR11 on the grounds that the current wording was "at best confusing, and perhaps meaningless", citing that this device was under this rule in conflict with that of Anton Tremayne ("Chequy argent and sable, on a chief embattled Or, three crosses bottonny gules."). He errs on both points: under the current wording of the rule, this is clear. As now stated, the rule allows two changes to a tertiary to be equivalent to a major point of difference for "submissions consisting of a field and an ordinary". As the chief is an ordinary, the submission is clear under the current rule. As Crescent has pointed out, it would not be clear under Brigantia's proposed modification.
Alesia de Maris of Ravenstar. Change of name from holding name of Alicia de Maris of Ravenstar.
Alexandra Bentbow. Name only.
Anastasia Drug Cherepashii. Name only.
The name was submitted as Anastasia Drugh Cherepakha and has been corrected, as requested by Brigantia, so that the byname approximates "Turtlefriend" in Russian, which is what the submittor desired.
Andrea von Rosenburg. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for device). Or, a natural rose bendwise gules, slipped and leaved vert, within a bordure raguly gyronny sable and vert.
The name was submitted as Runa von Rosenburg. We have substituted her mundane given name.
Anthea Maecenas. Name and device. Vert, a fess wreathed of Or and pean between two suns in splendour Or.
The given name was previously returned because it appeared to be out of period in its use as a given name and was an epithet of Hera in period. Brigantia has provided evidence for classical use of the masculine name "Antheus" and the feminine name "Anthia", albeit in poetic contexts.
Aquel of Darkstead Wood. Badge for House Skold. Vert, a skold affronty argent, horned Or, belled argent.
Arianna Ravenstar of Wolfwood. Name and device. Or, two estoiles and a unicornate wolf passant reguardant sable.
Blosgaidh O'Ghabhain. Name only.
Although we were only able to document the actual form "Bloscaidh" for the given name, in circumstances similar to this Old Irish allowed orthographic alternation between "c" and "g" (Thurneysen (Grammar of Old Irish, pp.2223). Therefore, the formation seemed plausible.
Breck della Scala. Name and device. Per bend indented sable, mulletty argent, and vert, in dexter base an increscent argent.
The name was submitted as Brekke della Scala. While there are a number of very close given names in period, noone could find documentation for the name itself and thus it must be returned under NR10b, as cited by Crescent, since the name is used in one of the non-permitted fantasy cultures (Pern). As requested on the letter of intent, we have substituted her mundane given name.
Brianna Vivina O'Choda. Device. Chevronelly purpure and Or, on a chief argent, two panthers statant reguardant, addorsed and tails entwined, sable.
This would be much better style if the panthers were drawn as separate entities (dropping the entwining of the tails) and the field were drawn more evenly divided of the tinctures.
Brighid ni Chiaráin of Tethba. Device. Per chevron azure and Or, a needle fesswise, eye to sinister, and a Bowen knot crosswise counterchanged.
Brita Mairi Svensdottir. Name only.
Catriona Cattanach of Clan Macpherson. Name and device. Argent, a Persian winged lion passant reguardant to sinister sable and a chief indented gules.
Cecelia Constanza de Castellón. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Cedric of Drachensheim. Holding name and badge (see RETURNS for household name). Purpure, in pale a hunting horn, bell to sinister and pendant from strings, and a talbot passant Or.
The submission was made under the previously returned name of Cedric of Wessex Manor.
Colin Domhnall Douglas. Device. Per saltire sable and gules, a fret between four griffins segreant to sinister Or.
Dallán Caradoc of Caernarvon. Name and device. Per bend sinister embattled argent and purpure, a natural seahorse erect and sinister facing and a hawk striking counterchanged.
The name was submitted as Dalen Caradoc of Caernarvon. As Crescent noted, the given name has not been documented as an actual variant form and thus under the current rules cannot be used since it is also the Welsh word for "leaf". We therefore have substituted the actual Gaelic form of the name used in the documentation.
David der Affe. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name. Argent, a monkey sejant sable and a chief azure.
The submission was made under the name of Chlotifer der Affe. As the proposed given name was unacceptable, we have substituted his mundane given name.
David Lundensis. Name only.
Domnall MacDaniell. Device. Per fess sable and gules, a wolf's head erased argent between three swords, each fracted in chevron, proper.
Dorren of Ashwell. A peacock close perched upon a mascle fesswise sable.
Dorren of Ashwell. Badge (see RETURNS for household name). Quarterly sable and argent, a cross of four mascles counterchanged.
East Kingdom. Title for Golden Tyger Pursuivant.
Edward Dragonslayer. Device. Per bend sinister azure and argent, a bend sinister between two dragons dormant to sinister, tails coward, within a bordure, all counterchanged.
Ekaterina of Settmour Swamp. Name only see RETURNS for device).
Elenore Grailseeker. Change of name from holding name of Elenore of Ostgardr.
The name caused significant twitches, but seems permissible in the light of the absence of any Eleanors in the context of the Arthurian Grail quest.
Elfenbach, Shire of. Name only.
Elisabet Nilsdotter Rosendal. Name only.
Elspeth y Gweledydd. Name and device. Per bend indented sable and argent, in sinister chief a decrescent Or within a bordure gules.
Eoin of the Torriloc Moors. Device. Argent, a pall inverted azure between three thistles, slipped and leaved, proper, all within a bordure embattled proper.
Eric of Coppergate. Name only.
Gregory Finche. Name and device. Argent, semy of decrescents azure, three popinjays close vert, marked gules, within a bordure azure.
Grimhold of Settmour. Name and device. Ermine, a crane in its vigilance azure.
Hartshorn-dale, Shire of. Name only.
Brigantia has provided late evidence (title pages dated 1600!) to support the use of the hyphen in geographical names in period. However, this is definitely an anomaly and the name would be far better spelled without the hyphen as one word or two, as it most likely would have been spelled in period.
Hrothgar Hrolfsson. Name and device. Counter-ermine, on a lozenge argent, a wolf's head, erased and sinister facing, sable, a chief indented argent.
Ivar Corwin. Badge. Or, a battle-axe azure
Ive Annor M'Quhairr of Sighty Crag. Name only.
Jaroslav Tocnik of Kutna Hora. Name only.
Leopold Reinmar von Schönberg. Name and device. Per bend sinister gules and sable, an hourglass Or.
Kathleen Regina the Wild Irish Rose. Name and device. Or, a rose vert, its stem nowed sable, in chief two lions rampant gules.
After much discussion we decided that the name was legal, if wildly inadvisable.
Kindaswintha von Wintermond. Name and device. Purpure, on a saltire Or between a caltrap and three crescents, horns to center, argent, two natural roses crosses in saltire gules, slipped and leaved vert.
Please ask the submittor to draw a properly fattened saltire.
Mairgret of Carrigart. Name only.
Marian Greenleaf. Device. Or, a point pointed flory counterflory gules.
Marion Gwendolyn Morgan. Argent, a griffin segreant to sinister azure and on a chief embattled sable, three snowflakes argent.
Megwen ferch Rhys o Wynedd. Name and device. Vert, a daffodil sprig argent with two flowers, in chief three bendlets enhanced Or.
The name was submitted as Megwen ferch Rhys o Gwynedd. The place name has been modified as required after the preposition. Note that, although Brigantia's arguments attempting to form the given name from "Meg Wen" ("white Meg") do not hold water, linguistically speaking, Brachet has previously unearthed an Old English form "Maegwen" which does support the name. This is a perfect example of a situation where the current rules allow a "point and a half" for difference in type of primary charge and so there is no conflict with Wulfnoth macFinn O'Domhnall ("Vert, three bendlets enhanced and in base a wolf statant erect Or playing leather bagpipes proper.").
Morgan ni Lochlainn. Name and device. Gyronny gules and argent, a raven close to sinister sable, armed and membered Or.
Morwenna Durward. Name only.
Orianna vander Delft of Winfield. Badge for Hus Knusslig Hamn. Quarterly azure and barry wavy argent and azure, an oak leaf palewise Or.
Peter Greydragon. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Or, a bend and a chief embattled purpure.
This beautiful device was submitted under the name of Terafan Greydragon. As the given name was unacceptable, we have used his mundane name for the holding name.
Phineas Ginn. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Rachel of Gwynedd. Name only.
Robert of Ferness. Name only.
Seanan an Chasur. Name only.
The name was submitted as Shannon an Chasur. As Crescent has noted, this Anglicized form seems to be associated virtually exclusively with the river Shannon (or the Airport!). Therefore, we have substituted the similarly pronounced period form suggested by Brigantia on the letter of intent.
Silver Rylle, Shire of. Name only.
Theodur of Bucharest. Name and device. Argent, a bend sinister cotised sable between a goutte de sang and a bunch of grapes purpure.
Thomas Alexander of Hastings. Name and device. Vert, a pale pean between in chief two oak leaves Or.
Brigantia is correct when he states that the current rules specifically allow the pean pale to be placed on the vert field. Nonetheless the contrast is still abysmal.
Thomas Hickson. Name and device. Barry wavy and per pale azure and argent, two wyverns combattant gules.
Yosef ben Lazar. Name and device. Argent, a fess engrailed pean between three pellets.
Yvonne of Gosport. Name only.
Her mundane given name is Yvonne.
KINGDOM OF MERIDIES
Alleyne Blackburn. Name only.
Anne of Neath. Device. Per bend purpure and argent, an angel affronty and a hawk close to sinister counterchanged.
Barak of Cardiff. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Daniel of An Dun Teine. Holding name and device. Quarterly Or and argent, a mole rampant to sinister sable, maintaining in its mouth a shamrock vert and in its forepaws a shillelagh proper, all within a bordure embattled azure.
The submission was made under the name of Daniel de Bonne, which was returned in June, 1988.
Elizabeth Curry. Name and device. Per fess argent and vert, a red-haired Caucasian Green sphinx proper, furred Or, winged displayed azure.
Ellen Ceara na Cathrach. Name only.
The name was submitted as Ellen Ceara na Cathair. The place name has been modified to its genitive form.
Ernst der Dunkelwolf. Name only.
Gwyneth of Lindesfarne. Device. Per bend argent and azure, in bend sinister two crosses crosslet within a bordure, all counterchanged.
Ian Wallace MacAlpine. Name only.
Ida de Lorca. Name and device. Azure, a rose, slipped and leaved, argent between two piles Or.
Lain Alfanez de la Roca. Change of name from Alain du Rocher.
The name was submitted as Lain Alfanez de la Roche. Lain is documented as the name of the grandfather of the Cid. The byname has been modified since the submittor indicated that he wished the Spanish equivalent of his previous byname of "du Rocher": this is "de la Roca".
Mary of Neath. Device. Azure, three unicorns' heads erased in pall, conjoined at the horns, argent, armed and crined Or.
Meridies, Kingdom of. Title for Martlets Pursuivant.
Patrick Drake. Name only.
The name was submitted as Patrick O'Drake. As the patronymic particle does not seem to have been used with English surnames in this manner, we have dropped it.
Pilgrim's Reach, Shire of. Name and device. Per bend gules and Or, a bend counterchanged and in sinister chief three escallops inverted Or, overall a laurel wreath vert.
The device would have better balance and contrast were the laurel wreath entirely on the Or portion of the field under the bend.
Sion o Gonwy. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Sion o Conwy. The place name has been modified as required after the preposition.
Small Grey Bear, Shire of. Badge. Azure, a bear's pawprint between three compass stars argent.
Thomas of Aylesbury. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Wolfram Vincenzio d'Ifola. Name and device. Sable, two lions sejant erect addorsed, tails entwined, each maintaining a scimitar inverted palewise, Or, hilted argent, in chief seven increscents Or.
It has long been our feeling that heralds can count above six, when necessary: most have ten fingers. Seriously, period sources blazon charges up to nine or ten fairly regularly when they are primary or secondary charges (as opposed to charges "semy" or tertiaries) and this should be permitted when the numbers are not excessive. (The numbers seven and nine appear particularly frequently, possibly because of numerological considerations. . .)
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Adeliz Argenti. Device. Or, a gurges azure, overall four caltraps in pall gules.
Aethelwyn von Wotanswald. Name and device. Vert, three trees couped and on a chief argent, a pike naiant embowed gules.
Aidan MacAlpin. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Alwynn Kristyan nyn Rineyan. Name only.
The spellings of both "nyn" (like "nic" a contracted form of Gaelic "nighean") and "Rineyan" (a form of Ninian) are documented from Black, Surnames of Scotland, p. 629.
Ayesha of the Flowing Sands. Change of device. Or, on a pile inverted azure, a ram's head erased argent, on a chief azure, three bezants.
Breandan Sebastian. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
The name was submitted as Breanden Sebastian. The given name has been corrected, as the paperwork allowed, to the form of the name that was actually documented.
Bronwyn ferch Gwyn ap Rhys. Per pale azure and gules, a tabby cat sejant guardant proper and on a chief Or, three hawk's bells azure.
Cosimo di Assisi. Name only.
The name was submitted as Cosimo Di Assisi, with the preposition erroneously capitalized.
Crinán Lionel Rengarth. Name and device. Per bend gules and azure, a sword palewise inverted proper, its hilt surmounted by a pig-faced basinet argent.
The name was submitted as Crinnin Lionel Rengarth. The spelling of the given name used in the original submission could not be documented and does not seem to be a valid variant of the documented Irish name "Crinán" so we have substituted the documented form of the name.
Deirdre ni Coinín. Name and device. Or, a pile inverted azure, charged with a coney courant Or, between two piles azure, each charged with an Irish harp Or.
Hans Orwig. Device. Per bend sinister argent and vert, an annulet within and conjoined to four pheons in saltire, barbs outward, all counterchanged.
Heinrich Alois von Speyer. Name and badge (see RETURNS for device). Or, a chevron thoughout sable and in base a campfire sable, enflamed gules.
Isabet Periz. Name and device. Vairy argent and purpure, a pale sable, overall a seahorse Or.
Jadwiga od Rzeszowa. Name and device. Azure, a pall Or, ermined azure, overall a double tressure counterchanged Or and azure.
Please draw each element of the tressure thicker.
Joseph of Würm Wald. Name and device. Per fess sable and purpure, in pale a decrescent Or and a goutte d'eau.
Laurence Kleinstadt. Name only.
Melissa of Winged Hills. Name and device. Vert, a bee between four bees in cross, tails to center, all Or.
Her mundane given name is Melissa.
Milo Baxter of Duffus. Name and device. Argent, a mullet of six points between in pale a lion's jambe and a lion's jambe reversed, sable.
Moraig Anne Drummond. Name and device. Argent, a sprig of six holly leaves vert, fructed, within an orle wavy gules.
Nathan von Daritz. Name and device. Argent, a bend sinister sable between a cross crosslet fitchy and a mullet, all within a bordure gules.
Patri son of Cariadoc. Holding name and device (see PENDING for name). Per saltire Or and argent, a saltire sable, overall a griffin segreant drawing a bow with arrow nocked gules.
The submission was made under the name of Patri ibn Cariadoc. Note that this is an excellent example of Society feudal cadency since it combines elements from the devices of his mother (Diana Alene) and his father (Cariadoc of the Bow).
Reginald of the Horns. Name only.
Rurik Vladimirovich Zhilnikov. Name only.
Septentria, Barony of. Badge. Gules, a bear statant to sinister Or.
Stevyn Silverthorne of Dracanmor. Name and device. Per chevron inverted sable and gules, a lion's jambe palewise Or, maintaining a crown of thorns argent.
Taliesin of Archenfield. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Vladimir of the White Sea. Name only.
The name was submitted as Vladimar of the Whitesea. The alternation of the final "i" and "a" in the given name in Russian was not documented so we have used the known Russian form of the name. The place name is clearly intended to parallel the existing "Black Sea" so we have separated the noun and adjective as English usually does for those translated place names.
KINGDOM OF TRIMARIS
Aspasia Jeanne Cartier. Name only.
Aylwin of Stone's Leah. Name only.
Barbara of the Crossroads. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Cydonia of Essex. Name only.
The mention of Sidony on the letter of intent is something of a red herring, since that name derives from a period term for a winding sheet and tended to be given to children born around Easter. Crescent noted that Cydonia was the ancient name for the capital of Crete and therein lies the clue to the actual derivation of the name. It is the feminine form of the Latin adjective "Cydonius" from the Greek adjective for someone from that area of Crete (so named for the quince groves there since "kudon" means "quince" in Greek). As has been noted before, it was extremely common for non-citizens in Rome, particularly slaves, to be named from their place of origin and Cydonia appears on a number of inscriptions as the name of female slaves of Cretan origin. (As the adjective was also used in Greek for things that "swell like a quince", such as a young girl's breasts, it may have some other meanings, but. . .). While it is highly unlikely historically that this particular slave name would have made it to period Essex, the name is legitimate.
Golden Keype, College of. Name only.
Guillermo da Firenze. Name only.
Marguerite Isadora de Riva. Name and device. Barry wavy azure and argent, a scorpion palewise and on a chief wavy Or, an Egyptian sphinx azure, faced argent.
KINGDOM OF THE WEST
Angus MacFee. Name and device. Per fess rayonny argent and sable, three estoiles counterchanged gules and argent.
Aquila Chase. Name and device. Sable, a pegasus rampant and on a chief engrailed Or three hearts azure.
Brion of Bellatrix. Name and device. Sable, three crescents and on a chief Or, three compass stars gules.
The gentle is the son of Paul of Bellatrix and Carol of Bellatrix. While the locative would not normally pass under the current rules, there is overwhelming precedent for allowing spouses and children of those with registered bynames to use those bynames, even if they are no longer "legal".
David von dem Krieg. Name and device. Argent, a bison rampant sable and on a chief indented gules, a sword fesswise argent.
The name was submitted as David von der Krieg. The article has been modified to the dative form correct after the preposition.
Eleanor Mabille. Name only.
Ian James of Silverlake. Badge. A whelk shell fesswise Or.
Mathghamhain MacCionaoith. Name and device. Argent, a bear rampant to sinister gules and in chief two ravens passant to sinister, wings addorsed and inverted, sable.
Mathghamhain MacCionaoith. Badge. Azure, in pale a triumphal arch, embattled to chief, and a wolf's head, erased and sinister facing, argent.
Norman Fitz Herbert. Name and device. Or, a rose between four staves fretted proper.
Saint Brendan, College of. Name only.
Sebastien Mabille. Name only.
Takeuchi Kenji. Name only.
Thomas Faraday. Name only (see RETURNS for device).
Thom the Tanner. Name and device. Argent, a chevron vairy azure and Or between three lion's jambes bendwise azure.
Xenia Dimitrievna Morózova. Name and device. Or, a hammer bendwise sinister sable, hafted proper, between two roses gules, barbed purpure, all within a bordure sable.
Ysabelle le Notere. Change of device. Per chevron invected argent and azure, two bear's pawprints azure and a cinquefoil argent, eyed azure.
She releases her old device ("Azure, a bear statant affronty, paws upraised, and on a chief argent, three stars of David azure.").
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE RETURNED:
KINGDOM OF ANSTEORRA
Douglas Starwolf. Device. Purpure, two chevronels between two wolves combattant argent, collared sable, and a compass star, elongated to base, argent.
Conflict with Bawde ("Purpure, two chevrons argent.", as cited in Papworth, p. 542).
Erika Arenvaldsdochter. Device. Per saltire sable and Or, a maunch counterchanged.
Conflict with Wightman ("Per fess Or and sable, a maunch counterchanged.", cited in Papworth, p. 978).
Jonathan DeLaufyson Macebearer. Augmented arms. Azure, a saltire sable, rayonny argent, overall a mace inverted argent, the whole surmounted by on an inescutcheon Or a mullet of five greater and five lesser points between in pale a crown of three points sable and a demi-sun issuant from base gules.
By tradition in the Society, the Kingdom's arms are the arms of the king and should be worn only by the king himself and his herald, when speaking as the king's voice. After some consideration, we have come to the conclusion that it is inappropriate that the arms of a Kingdom should be used as an augmentation, even if the recipient is entitled to bear a coronet on his or her arms. The badge of a Kingdom or a rendition of the arms without the laurel wreath can, however, be used. Since the laurel wreath is absent, this does not actually use the Kingdom arms, but caused some twitches.
However, the use of the inescutcheon here for the augmentation would seem to be prohibited by the ban on appearance of pretense in AR10d: note that such usual insignia of augmentation as chiefs, cantons, bases are not included here.
Note as well that moving the augmentation to a canton or to a chief placed above the existing arms would increase the identifiability of the original arms and decrease the complexity of the whole.
Richard Kenneth O'Donohue. Name only.
According to his forms his mundane name is Richard Kenneth O'Donohoe. NR11 specified that a submittor's Society name may not be identical in sound or spelling to his mundane name.
Sion Glas. Device. Azure, on a bend sinister Or between two double-bitted axe heads argent, a wingless dragon passant to sinister gules.
Conflict with Kaidu ibn Yesugai ("Azure, on a bend sinister Or between two Mamluk rosettes argent, an arrow sable."), Richard Andreivitch of Rus ("Azure, on a bend sinister Or, an estoile sable.") and Denis Flaxenhelm ("Azure, on a bend sinister Or, a goblet upright sable.").
Tadhg Liath of Duncairn. Name for House Elphane.
The household name is indeed clear of the name of Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane. However, it has been pointed out to us that it does fall afoul of Elphame (as in Tam Lin and the Queen of Elphame).
Valgard of York. Device. Sable, three wolves' heads erased and a base embattled Or.
Conflict with Lovett ("Sable, three wolf's heads Or."), as cited in the letter of intent.
Willow de Wisp. Augmented arms. Per pale Or and vert, a willow tree eradicated sable, fimbriated Or, leaved counterchanged, its trunk surmounted by on an inescutcheon Or, a mullet of five greater and five lesser points between in pale a crown of three points sable and a demi-sun issuant from base gules.
For general comments on the augmentation see the submission for Jonathan DeLaufyson Macebearer above. This device is slightly simpler, but it should be noted that much of the inescutcheon Or lies on the Or half of the field.
Willow de Wisp. Badge. Per pale gules and vert, a heart within two wings displayed, conjoined in base, Or.
Conflict with de Wingham ("Gules, a body heart between two wings displayed Or.", cited in Papworth, p. 946).
KINGDOM OF ATENVELDT
Aldwin Yale of York. Badge for House Rising Star. Per bend sinister sable and Or, a compass star and a partisan counterchanged within a bordure embattled gules.
Withdrawn at request of the Aten Principal Herald.
Estasia Caterina Tullia Peruzzi de Borgia. Change of name from Estasia de Fiorenza.
While the remainder of the name was acceptable, it was the consensus of opinion in the College that the use of the surname Borgia was "presumptuous". Unfortunately, the submittor allowed no changes whatsoever to her name so that the name as a whole had to be returned.
Malcolm the Scot. Name only.
It was the consensus of opinion that this name did in fact conflict with several kings of Scotland, most notably with the son of King Duncan of Scotland mentioned on the letter of intent: it is this Malcolm who was proclaimed king after the death of MacBeth (MacBeth, Act V, Scene viii).
Maureen Fionn Lochlannach. Device. Gyronny arrondi counter-ermine and azure, on a mountain couped argent, a thistle proper.
As noted by Crescent, the field is not permitted under the rule cited by Aten since Society heraldry does not consider ermine furs to be neutral: rather are they considered to be of the same category as the underlying field. In this case, the counter-ermine must be considered as if it were sable which would not be permitted.
Padraig of Lough Strangford. Name only.
When dealing with patron saints as famous as Patrick, some care must be used to avoid locations which are associated with their careers. Unfortunately, Irish tradition has it that it was in Strangford Lough that Patrick and his party were attacked by the Irish chieftain Dichu, who was so overcome when Patrick faced him that he laid down his arms and was baptized. Supposedly, Patrick built a church on the site to commemorate his first conversion in northern Ireland (Sabhall Padraic or Saul Abbey). Downpatrick, close to the southern end of the lough is, as the name suggests, closely associated with Patrick: it is said to be his burial place and for much of our period one of his major shrines was located there.
Philip MhicRath of Locksley. Badge. Azure, two swept-hilt rapiers inverted, Or and argent, their blades entwined to form a pall, between a decrescent argent and an increscent Or.
The return of this badge by Laurel in 1985 was appealed on the basis of the recent passage of a recent badge which included three nails sable bound into the shape of a cross, bound with a cord Or. Unfortunately, this example, where there is adequate contrast between the sable and Or, does nothing to emend the current ban on wreathing of two metals. The basis for the limitation on wreathing of two tinctures of the same category is the reduction of identifiability that ensues: in this case, there would be some question as to the identity of the primary charge, even if the contrast between the two swords were adequate. It was the consensus of the College that this would not be acceptable for a device and definitely was not acceptable for a badge.
KINGDOM OF ATLANTIA
Allen Stuart MacClure. Device. Sable, on a fret argent, a unicorn sejant vert.
As Brachet has noted, this is in conflict with the arms of Blackmister ("Sable, a fret argent.", as cited in Papworth, p. 879). Also, as drawn, the green unicorn lay almost entirely on the lathes of the fret so had good contrast, but were it properly drawn overall as most Society heralds would try to draw it, it would violate the rule of tincture with the field.
Elisabetta da Camerino. Device. Argent, a piebald horse salient proper between a chief enarched and a base concave azure.
Although the submittor has indeed copiously documented the existence of piebald horses in period, as noted on the letter of intent, a piebald horse proper is still largely either brown or black and white. In this case, the horse was brown and white with black hooves, mane and tail. The white portions of the horse simply did not have adequate contrast with the argent on which it was laid (the hooves almost look like they are floating in mid-air with no legs attached). Although the submittor has provided some documentation for the enarched chief and base as separate elements, there is some doubt whether a base of this sort is period and certainly the "cat's eye" effect is distinctly modern.
John of Sacred Stone. Device. Azure, a saltire between four spearpoints in cross, points outward, Or.
Conflict with Gwynedd mab Cynddylan ("Azure, a saltire cotised with eight demi-fleurs-de-lys Or."), William of Wolfscape ("Azure, on a saltire between four lozenges Or, five hurts."), Hyndman ("Azure, a saltire Or.", as cited in Papworth, p. 1057), Weddell ("Azure, a saltire between four buckles Or.", cited in Papworth, p. 1069), etc.
KINGDOM OF CAID
John Fletcher Stanwood. Name only.
Vesper is correct in calling conflict with the early seventeenth century dramatist John Fletcher. He is one of the most famous early English dramatists. Probably his most famous works were written with Francis Beaumont (quite a few Society dramatic guilds are willing to stretch a decade or two on dates and such Beaumont and Fletcher as The Knight of the Burning Pestle, Philaster and The Maid's Tragedy have found ready audiences). Other plays were written with Massinger or Rowley and many scholars believe that Fletcher was co-author of Shakespeare's Henry VIII (one wit noted that Shakespeare wrote the "good parts" and Fletcher wrote the "bad parts").
Talorc the Pict. Change of name from holding name of Talorc of Calafia.
The name was returned in 1985 because, by the submittor's own documentation, the only documented use of the name Talorc was for a Pictish king. At that time, a holding name was generated using the submitted given name and the name of his Society group. A subsequent resubmission which added the designation "the Pict" to the holding name was returned for the same conflict as the original return.
He has now appealed this return and resubmitted the name without the locative. He argues that it cannot be claimed that Society precedence is incorrect in claiming that all kings are important within the meaning of NR15 and asserts that the Pictish kings had little effect on history and thus should not be protected. He further states that virtually all known Pictish given names are derived from Chronicles that consist almost entirely of the names of kings and thus it would be necessary to use a royal given name to use a proper Pictish formation at all. Thirdly, he argues that the byname in the form of a national adjective was not used for royalty at all in period and that surnames of this form were commonly used by people of little importance. He then cites an example of a scribe who bore a Pictish given name which appeared in the king lists together with the Latin byname "Pictus" as evidence that one did not have to be a king to use this collocation of names (the documentation provided by the submittor and his consulting herald spends some time assaulting a supposed false assumption by the College of Arms that, because the only documentation for the given name appeared in king lists, the only possible use of the name was by kings).
The submittor has spent a great deal of time in arguing his case (although much of the material was drawn from a single source, Wainwright's volume on The Problem of the Picts). However, these arguments appear to miss the point of the protection of royal names as they stand and, as was the case with his original resubmission, much of the documentation provided only serves to reinforce the original decision.
It is important to consider precisely why we protect the names of famous personages and historical figures in the Society. It is certainly not because they are likely to complain about the infringement, since many are long centuries dead. Rather it is to protect our membership against offense or disturbance which might be caused by someone assuming the persona of an actual historical figure.
The obvious example which is always used is that of Richard the Lionheart. Amazingly, from a purely historical and constitutional point of view, it would be very easy to argue that Richard had virtually no lasting effect on any of the lands he ruled (certainly, his reign was far less critical than those of his immediate predecessor or successor!). Indeed, there are many who would claim his entire reign had "an insignificant effect on the course of history". To say that all Pictish kings were unworthy of protection while all English kings probably deserve protection (the subtext of the argument) is unfortunately ethnocentric.
Noone who has travelled the northern portions of the British Isles could doubt the importance of the Pictish culture in the early Middle Ages although, by the very evidence adduced by the submittor, the names of only a few very famous kings survived due to the absorption of the Pictish kingdom after the conquest by the Scots of Dalriada under Kenneth MacAlpin. (The same is to a great extent true amongst the southern Celtic peoples, but those that did survive often became the matter of legend, e.g. Arthur, Mark, Tristan, etc.). So much the more important then should the names of those who are preserved be!
The fact that period practise could allow many ordinary people to bear the name of his home country when he lived abroad is to a large extent irrelevant, since it is the perception of the name by a member of the Society that must be considered. In all probability, Richard the Lionheart never referred to himself as Richard Plantagenet or Richard of England. However, we would protect both those forms because our membership would interpret the collocation of the name and byname as a claim to be that person. (Incidentally, the claim that the Picts themselves would never call themselves "Picts" is irrelevant: the term "Pictus" for a member of this people dates back to the Roman period in England and thus is clearly period for literate chroniclers writing about that people.)
Crescent summarized the traditional position of the College when he said (with regard to Malcolm the Scot) "There is a long set of Precedents that say [monarch's name] o [monarch's place] or [monarch's name] the [monarch's nationality] are too evocative of that monarch." Nothing in the arguments presented compels us to modify those precedents.
Crescent requested some guidance for the submittor on what sort of bynames would be acceptable with the given name "Talorc", yet could offer an association with Pictish culture. We would strongly suggest adopting a locative byname associated with the areas of Scotland most strongly linked to the Picts (avoiding any specifically associated with Talorc). The areas of eastern Scotland north of the Forth are particularly fertile areas for research in that respect and, if the submittor desired, he could use one of the numerous placenames from that area which retain evidence of the earlier Pictish occupation in their names (e.g., Pitcog or Pitcarmack).
KINGDOM OF CALONTIR
Jonathan Hogue. Name and device. Per fess gules and argent, in chief a fox courant and a fox courant to sinister Or and in base a goblet sable, charged with a Maltese cross gules, fimbriated argent.
The name conflicts with the leading character in Heinlein's The Unpleasant Occupation of Jonathan Hoag. The fimbriation of the cross on the goblet is excessive. Note that the countercourant foxes on the upper portion of the field only exaggerate the impression that there is an argent field with a chief gules.
KINGDOM OF THE EAST
Arthurus Theodore de Beár. Name only.
There was an overwhelming feeling that the name, as submitted, conflicted with the noted social and literary figure Theodore (Teddy) Bear. The name Arthurus de Beár would have been acceptable, but the submittor allowed no changes whatsoever to the name.
Cecelia Constanza de Castellón. Device. Or, a rose bush vert, flowered, within a bordure gules, charged alternately with bezants and crosses crosslet Or.
It was the consensus of those commenting that the bordure, semy of two separate charges in alternation was too complex for use in the Society. While such a usage does indeed occasionally occur in the Iberian peninsula (and thus accords well with her name), even there it is usually done in conjunction with a bordure compony so that the alternation of the charges is made more obvious by the differentiation of the bordure tinctures (the most famous of these examples is the bordure adopted by several Spanish families which alternates the lion of Leon and the tower of Castile).
Cedric of Drachensheim. Device. Azure, on a bend argent between two dragons passant Or, three crosses crosslet fitchy gules.
Conflict with Evard ("Azure, on a bend argent, three crosses crosslet fitchy gules.", as cited in Papworth, p. 234) and Jean-Marc de Folleville ("Azure, on a bend argent between a mace erect and a barrel palewise Or, three fleurs-de-lys palewise azure."). The fact that Boutell cites a dragon Or as the attributed ancient arms of the Kingdom of Wessex bothered some. Note that the submittor's name previously submitted name (Cedric of Wessex Manor) was returned for conflict in May, 1988.
Cedric of Drachensheim. Household name for Wessex Manor.
There was a strong feeling that this name claimed too much "heraldic space" and was in conflict with the Saxon house of Wessex.
Chlotifer der Affe. Name only.
While the protheme "Chlodo-" is, as stated in the letter of intent, not uncommon in Frankish and Old German sources, the suffix "ifer" or "fer" cannot really plausibly be considered a variant of the deuterotheme "-vert" or "-bert". It is rather a Latin suffix meaning "bearing" or "carrying". Its commonest use as a given name element is in Christopher ("bearing Christ"), while it appears in a number of bynames such as "aquilifer" (which is derived from the Roman soldier who carried the eagle of a legion). As the suffix is documented as a Latin form (and not as a Germanic one), it must normally be combined with Latin elements and not Frankish or Gothic prothemes.
Coinneach MacKenzie. Device. Azure, a chevron embattled between two suns and a lion rampant, all Or.
This return was omitted from the July, 1988, letter through a file error during the word processing merge that assembled the letter. Conflict with Bayne ("Azure, a chevron embattled Or.", as cited in Papworth, p. 374).
Dorren of Ashwell. Name for House Ashwell.
The town of Ashwell is an actual period town, one of no small size even in Domesday times (by the submittor's own documentation, it was of the same size as Bodmin, Tewkesbury and Barnstaple at the time of Domesday). As Seraph has noted, the manor was granted to Westminster Abbey by Edward the Confessor in 1066 and has a considerable history in the medieval period, even though no major battles or political events appear to have occurred there. Indeed, in the maps in Hill's Atlas of Anglo-Saxon England, it is ranked second in importance in Hertfordshire only to Hertford itself (pp. 136139).
East Kingdom. Name for Order of the Guardsman.
This return was omitted from the July, 1988, letter through a file error during the word processing merge that assembled the letter. The earliest usage of the word "guardsman" which we could find in the OED was from 1817, well out of period. Additionally, we could not but agree with Brachet that this term was rather too general to reserve for the use of one kingdom (just as we would not wish to reserve "King's Guard").
Ekaterina of Settmour Swamp. Device. Or, three bears sejant affronty displayed gules within a bordure wreathed Or and gules.
As noted by many in the College, the situation here is analogous to that which exists for a bordure compony: you may not use as one of the tinctures on the bordure the tincture of the field. Note that some felt that the teddy bears displayed combined with the "candy cane" effect was a bit much.
Lerwin Ysbrand O'Choda. Name and device. Vert, a dragon-prowed knorr sailing to sinister Or, sailed, on a chief argent, a Wake knot purpure.
Unfortunately, "Lerwin" is not a reasonable spelling variant of Learbhen, since the pronunciation of the Irish differs markedly from the English result (i.e., is closer to "Larvan" by the submittor's own documentation). Moreover, the statement that the name is an Irish construction is not strictly speaking true: the submittor indicates that she wishes to add the Welsh suffix "- wyn" ("-win") to the name of the Irish god Lir (also spelled "Ler") in order to produce a name which means "white Lir". The change of the initial letter in "Ysbrand" from "Isbrand" is not so reasonable was Brigantia calmly states: the submittor's documentation indicates that the equivalence for "ice" between "is" and "ys" exists in Old English, but no evidence is offered for Old Norse. However, we would be willing to stretch a point given Old Norse examples of "ing" and "yng" being equivalent as prothemes. Since the submittor allows no changes whatsoever to her name, the whole submission must be returned. Probably, the information provided by Green Anchor that the knorr, being a trading vessel, would not have used the military dragon prow, should be shared with the submittor. (In point of fact, her documentation for the knorr gives no support whatsoever for this usage, since all examples of the knorr, as opposed to the military longship, had plain prows.)
Lileen of Cinnamon Grove. Name and device. Per chevron azure and argent, a cinnamon tree eradicated counterchanged, its roots encircling a heart gules.
The given name was stated on the letter of intent to be "an acceptable variant" of Lilian. It was the consensus of the commentors, however, that this variant was not acceptable, being supported neither by period pronunciation nor period spellings. Additionally, it was felt that the name (which was stated on the submittor's paperwork to be her "own original version" of the "lily" names) had a distinctively modern feel like a twentieth-century compound of Lily and Eileen. As the submittor allowed no changes whatsoever to the name, the submission as a whole had to be returned. Note that gules heart environed of the roots of the cinnamon tree in a device otherwise totally azure and argent also strikes a rather modern note.
Olwen the Tanner. Name and device. Per fess azure and vert, a fess invected argent between a horse passant and a natural lynx dormant to sinister Or.
Unfortunately, Crescent is correct when he notes that the given name "Olwen" is not permissible for use in the Society without some evidence for its use by humans in period. As the letter of intent notes, in the Mabinogion Olwen is the daughter of the king of the giants. Her very name was from a non-human attribute: it means "white track" and refers to the fact that flowers bloomed wherever she walked. As the submittor allowed no changes whatsoever to the name, the submission as a whole had to be returned. Note that the submission blazoned the primary charge as a "fess wreathed", but for some years Society precedent has held that a charge may not be wreathed of one tincture. This is invected with interior diapering.
Ottar Eriksson. Badge. Barry vert and argent per chevron counterchanged.
This return was omitted from the July, 1988, letter through a file error during the word processing merge that assembled the letter. Crescent is correct in noting that the current provisions of AR19 technically apply to badges as well as devices:"A submission consisting entirely of a field shall differ from any other field-only armory by any two of the following categories: complex line of partition, division of field, tinctures, change or addition or removal of a treatment of the field." This differs by only one category from Harthall ("Barry of six Argent and vert.")
Phineas Ginn. Device. Argent, a pall inverted sable, overall a mascle azure.
We could not agree with Brigantia that this was clear of Gerhard Ruprecht von Eichenberg, cited on the letter of intent ("Argent, a pall inverted sable surmouted by oak leaves in pall vert alternating with three acorns argent."). It also conflicts with the badge of Aureliane Rioghail ("A mascle azure.").
Richard of Ely. Change of name from holding name of Richard of Shire An Dubhaigeainn.
This return was omitted from the July, 1988, letter through a file error during the word processing merge that assembled the letter. There was indeed an abbot of Ely named Richard. He held office in the first years of the twelfth century and was responsible not only for the completion of the transepts and eastern end of the current Cathedral but also for the translation of the relics of St. Etheldreda to that structure. Although his tenure ended in 1107 and the building was not elevated to its current status as a Cathedral until two years later, contemporary ecclesiastical records indicate that Abbot Richard's campaign was a decisive factor in its increase in status. [Editorial Note: Anyone within a hundred miles of Ely should visit this Cathedral, for the Octagon offers a view of Gothic architecture at its most creative that cannot be found anywhere else.]
Robert the Illuminator. Device. Vert, on a pile between two arrows in pile argent, an oak leaf vert.
This return was omitted from the July, 1988, letter through a file error during the word processing merge that assembled the letter. Under the current rules, there is a technical conflict with Nicholos of the Hill Folk ("Vert, on a pile argent a dragon rampant gules.").
Rowena of Wessex Manor. Device. Argent, a chevron cotised azure between two crosses formy and a stag springing gules.
Conflict with Rhiannon ap Llyr ("Argent, on a chevron cotised azure a raven displayed Or between two ravens displayed argent."): under the current rules there is a major point for the addition of the gules charges and a minor for the removal of the tertiaries. Her name was previously returned.
Runa von Rosenburg. Name only.
Unfortunately, although "-run" is documented as a period deuterotheme in Old English and German names, we could find no solid evidence to support the use of the name element by itself. As the word was a common noun in Old German and Swedish, documentation for its actual use must be provided. She could use one of the documented German or English compound forms.
Terafan Greydragon. Name only.
Despite the best efforts of Brachet, we could not feel comfortable with the formation of this constructed "Welsh" name. Indeed, the nearest we could come to this was the name of Tarafon Quickhand in Brian Daley's A Tapestry of Magics, hardly a period source.
KINGDOM OF MERIDIES
Barak of Cardiff. Device. Azure, on a compass star Or, an annulet azure, a chief Or.
Conflict with Paul of Sunriver ("Azure, a compass star Or.").
Eoin mac Uilleam Caimbeul o Lochandubh. Device. Azure, a lymphad argent, a chief gyronny Or and gules.
Conflict with Baad ("Azure, a galley argent.", as cited in Papworth, p. 1089). The conjunction of the boat and the gyronny which are associated with the arms of the Campbell Dukes of Argyll created some serious twitches for a number of commentors.
Kate the Curious. Badge for House Querulous. Per pale azure and Or, on a lozenge an ermine spot, all counterchanged.
A comparison of the two emblazons indicates that there is indeed a conflict with John of Melnibone, cited on the letter of intent ("Per pale azure and Or, a winged passion nail, wings displayed, counterchanged."). There was considerable doubt as to the appropriateness of the household name.
Sion o Gonwy. Device. Azure, on a bend sinister between an enfield and a falcon volant argent, a crescent azure.
Conflict with Corwynn of Thornwood ("Azure, on a bend sinister argent a thorn slip embowed throughout sable.").
Small Grey Bear, Shire of. Device. Azure, a bear passant argent within a laurel wreath Or, to dexter three compass stars in bend argent.
The design is unbalanced in the extreme, mostly due to the attempt to counterfeit the effect of a constellation (these are forbidden for Society heraldry). The same effect could be derived by placing the bear and wreath between three stars of the same size or by placing the stars in chief (in chevron, if necessary). Note that we do not register baby animals: a bear is a bear is a bear, the precise depiction is left to the artist.
Thomas of Aylesbury. Device. Sable, on a bend argent, three roses proper, all within a bordure gules, platy.
The bordure violates the rules on contrast (Society heraldry does not allow the latitude to bordures of cadency that late mundane heraldry does). When redesigning, it would be advisable to avoid the famous arms of Roos ("Sable, on a bend argent, three roses gules.", cited in Papworth, p. 240). Also, a procedural note: alternative blazons cannot be considered at Laurel level (in any case, since bordures may not be fimbriated, the alternate would not be acceptable either!).
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Aidan MacAlpin. Device. Vert, a satyr rampant to sinister argent, crined and furred sable, within a bordure rayonny argent.
Although minor details of a charge may break tincture, the crining and furring of the beast here is not minor. The contrast between the sable of the lower extremities of the satyr and the vert of the field is so dim that lower portion of the monster fades into the field. Since the goatish nether regions of the satyr are its primary distinguishing features, this unacceptably reduces the identifiability of the primary charge.
Breandan Sebastian. Device. Per pale sable and Or, a single-headed chess knight, sinister facing, within a wreath of pin oak foliage, all counterchanged.
Unfortunately, even when properly drawn, the wreath is too evocative of the laurel wreath required for groups.
Eastwatch, Shire of. Name and device. Argent, a tower sable, on its roof a beacon of flames proper, within a laurel wreath sable, a chief enarched azure, platy.
The name of the group technically conflicts with that of the Crown Province of Ostgardr. Unfortunately, holding names cannot be generated for groups.
Gottfried von Kolberg. Device. Or, a winged bull, statant to sinister, sable, a chief chequy sable and Or, fimbriated gules.
A chief cannot be fimbriated so that the device must be returned.
Heinrich Alois von Speyer. Device. Per pale ermine and azure, a maple leaf within a bordure counterchanged.
Conflict with Hugo von Moltke ("Per pale Or and azure, a maple leaf within a bordure counterchanged.")
Taliesin of Archenfield. Device. Vert, on a fess between three broadarrows inverted argent, a lion statant to sinister sable.
Conflict with the Shire of Castlemere ("Vert, on a fess between three towers argent, a laurel wreath vert.").
Wyndmere of the West, Shire of. Name only.
As was noted by commentors from both coasts, the name implies that the Shire is in the West Kingdom, which it is not. We did not feel that it actually conflicted with the Shire of Windymeads in the West Kingdom, but did feel that the modifier created an unfortunate confusion. It could not simply be dropped since it was added to clear a previous conflict.
KINGDOM OF TRIMARIS
Andros Leonthalasios. Device. Argent, a lion headed merman affronty, head to sinister, proper, tailed vert, maintaining a sword and shield Or, all within an orle wavy azure.
A substantially similar submission was returned in 1983 for overuse of proper and the use of an orle wavy crested. The latter problem has been corrected, but as Lymphad noted, the problem with the poor contrast and overuse of proper has not been addressed. The submittor, as is his right, appealed the return from kingdom level to Laurel. Unfortunately, we are compelled to agree with Lymphad: the only portion of the beastie which has adequate contrast with the field is the tail (vert). The head is Or, the weapons are a darker Or (bronze) and the body is light flesh tone, none of which show up well on an argent field. Note that the orle needs to be drawn much wider than it appeared on the emblazon sheet submitted.
Barbara of the Crossroads. Device. Sable, a bend sinister between a fleece Or and a sword bendwise sinister argent.
Conflict with Harold of Gryphon Wald ("Sable, a bend sinister Or between a sword inverted bendwise and a quill pen bendwise sinister argent.") and the badge of Hermann Otto Koehlermann ("Sable, a bend sinister Or.").
Darian Goldenhaired. Name and device. Vert, a Viking longship's prow and in chief two double-bitted axes in chevron proper.
Although this was not noted on the letter of intent, the documentation for the submittor's given name was Kolatch, a notoriously unreliable source. In fact, all evidence points to "Darian" being a modern creation like "Darren", "Darin", etc. The prow and axes proper have unacceptably poor contrast on the vert field: the only elements which show up clearly are theaxe heads.
KINGDOM OF THE WEST
Thomas Faraday. Name and device. Argent, a winged Bengal tiger sable, marked argent, in chief three pairs of garden roses azure, the slips of each pair entwined and leaved vert.
The beastie was blazoned as sable, marked argent, but in fact visually was argent, marked sable. The wings were totally argent, lined with sable, and the background of the tiger was argent (i.e., the parts that would be orange on your average tiger were white). As a result, the contrast was insufficient and, given the conventions of drawing such tigers, it might be difficult to resolve this problem. Note that the tiger is a bit large and the poseys a bit too small for balance.
THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS ARE PENDED:
KINGDOM OF ATLANTIA
Dafydd ap Gwystl. Change of device. Argent, on a bend engrailed between six gouttes azure, an arrow Or.
This was mentioned on the letter of intent, almost in passing, as a blazon "correction". The difference in tincture of the tertiary charge from the silver arrow registered in 1986 is worth a minor point of difference. As such, it cannot be considered merely a "correction" and must be considered in its own right as for conflicts. As virtually noone has done so, this is pended until the December meeting to allow time for adequate commentary.
KINGDOM OF THE EAST
Celyn ap Llewelyn. Name only.
Several people noted that this technically conflicted with the registered household name of Caer Llewelyn (we won't get into how we passed that one, of course!). As part of the discussion on the subject of household names, one proposal has been made which seems not to have had wide distribution in the College but has possibilities as a compromise position whilst we wait for the response to the polling of the populace. This would be to consider only "house" or "household" and direct translations of those terms to be "transparent" for the purpose of conflict with personal names. Other terms which have strongly different non-household, geographic connotations, e.g. "Castle", "Abbey", etc. with their translations could add difference.
Laurel herself is reluctant to make yet another set of "special case" rulings to take care of a relatively limited group of conflicting names (since the clarification of the ruling was made originally a year ago, under a dozen household names have been legitimately cited as conflicting with personal names, with most of these having been themselves "slips" on the part of the College in terms of the rules at the time they were passed). However, this proposal deserves some discussion prior to the December Laurel meeting. I ask you all to comment (calmly, please!) on this before that time.
KINGDOM OF THE MIDDLE
Patri ibn Cariadoc. Name only.
This is the form in which the submission was made. It was changed at Kingdom level to "ap Cariadoc" on the grounds that the Arabic patronymic particle could not be used with a Welsh given name and appeared in this fashion on the letter of intent. The submittor is the (mundane) son of Cariadoc of the Bow and apparently does not desire the apparent Welsh patronymic form inasmuch as Cariadoc is an Arab (in persona). Cariadoc of the Bow has produced a translation from correspondence in Tournaments Illuminated (Spring, 1978) which states that the name Cariadoc is "derived" from the Arabic "Qari al-Dhuq" ("he whose taste is exquisite). We are informed that the actual source of this letter, which was published "in persona", was Geirr Bassi Haraldsson. As the majority of the College did not consider the form of the name which was actually submitted, this name is pended until the December meeting to allow ample time for additional research and comment on the topic.
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