AN TIR

Ælfric Thorfastson. Device. Per chevron inverted azure and gules, a dragon sejant, dexter foreleg raised Or within a bordure engrailed argent.

Anna Elizabeth von Engelberg. Alternate persona name for Asleif Einarsdottir.

Caterina Giulia di Raffaello Strozzi. Name and device. Per fess indented argent and azure, a winged lion statant queue-forchy sable and three needles Or.

Ian Cnulle. Badge. Argent, a pair of open blanking shears, handles interlaced with a hammer fesswise reversed, all between three roundels sable.

The blanking shears, like scissors, have their handles to base by default.

Magda Azul. Badge. (fieldless) On an increscent argent three mullets of six points azure.

Summits, Crown Principality of the. Device. Azure, a gryphon passant and on a mountain argent, a goblet azure within a laurel wreath vert.

ANSTEORRA

Ansteorra, Kingdom of. Title for Bordure Pursuivant.

Ansteorra, Kingdom of. Title for Orle Herald.

Barbara of Emerald Glen. Name.

Bonwicke, Barony of. Name for the Order of the Western Cross of Bonwicke.

Desert Wyndes, Shire of. Name.

In period, the dominant meaning of desert was "uninhabited by people"; it was perfectly proper to speak of desert forests, for instance. Wynde being documented as a winding street, the name thus means "Shire of Empty Streets" -- something of an oxymoron for a functioning SCA group. Either for this meaning, however, or for their intended meaning of "Shire of Hot, Arid Breezes", the Rule of Toyota seems to apply.

Elwyn Halfmoon. Name change (from Elwyn of Bjornsbjorg).

This had been returned on the LoAR of Jan 92. The submitter has appealed, documenting half moon as a period placename (referring to a crescent-shaped piece of land). It should be quite acceptable as a topographical byname.

This does not run afoul of the College's ban of overall charges in fieldless badges. The portions of the tree that are overlain (the roots) are "long and skinny"; overlain long skinny charges are an acknowledged exception to the ban. This would be far better style, however, if the tree were simply issuant from the anvil; you might suggest it to the submitter.

Isabeau Marie Beauvallet. Name and device. Argent, a seahorse within a bordure vert charged with roses argent.

The College applauds (literally) the good style of this device.

Given the period examples in Jönsjö's Middle English Nicknames of Todheved "fox-head" and Horsher "horse-hair", the submitted byname is quite reasonable. Please inform the submitter (if she doesn't already know) that Joscelin was a masculine name in period.

This was submitted under the name Lynette la Tisserande des Mots.
The flower was blazoned on the LOI as a rose gules slipped and leaved vert. However, evidence suggests that rose branch vert, flowered gules would have been the more common blazon in period. It is certainly a more accurate description of the visual reality in cases such as this, where the slip is more visually significant than the rose. See the cover letter for a further discussion of this issue.

Meredith Rose. Device. Per pale gules and vert, a rose Or barbed sable, seeded gules, within a bordure dovetailed Or.

Muireann á Dùn na Tràighe Cèine. Device. Azure, on a pale endorsed argent three lozenges azure.

Very nice armory.

Randwulf the Hermit. Device. Or, in pale a t'ai-chi argent and sable and an aloe vera vert.

The device had been returned on the LoAR of March 92 for lack of identifiability of the aloe vera plant. (The incompatibility of Oriental motifs with Occidental plants was not cited in the previous return.) The submitter has appealed that return, providing evidence that the aloe vera was known in period, and that it was used in (post-period) armory in the form shown here. I agree that the charge would probably have been as recognizable as, say, the lotus flower; it should be acceptable for SCA use.
The charge in chief was blazoned a yin-yang on the LOI, at the submitter's insistence. The term does not appear to be correct. Yin-yang is the Chinese philosophy of opposing cosmic forces; the motif in this submission is a yin-yang symbol, according to the OED Supplement. (The submitter's own documentation refers to the motif as a "yang-yin disc".) The OED Supplement also gives t'ai chi as the name for this fusion of forces, the Supreme Ultimate -- but also as the name for the symbol of that concept. (The martial art characterized as "low-impact aerobics" on the LOI is properly called t'ai chi ch'uan.) The term t'ai-chi is correct for the motif; it's been used in previous SCA blazons; so long as we register the symbol, we will continue to so blazon it.

Robert Pery Paxton. Device. Or, a smith's hammer and tongs in pile sable, on a chief azure a sword reversed argent.

Seòras Macabhaird. Name.

Seumus MacAonghuis MhicDhubhshith. Device. Barry wavy argent and azure, on a pile Or a lymphad, sails set and oars in action gules.

A striking device!

According to Franklyn & Tanner, a maiden in her modesty is nude, with one arm flexed across and covering the breasts.

Taliesin O Sionnaigh o Pholl na tSionnaigh. Household name for House of the Red Revelers.

This was submitted on the LOI as House of the Red Revelers' Roost. This follows no period pattern for house names of which we're aware; and roost in the metaphorical sense of "meeting place for people" dates only to the 19th Century. The submitter gave permission to delete Roost from the name; since we'd probably register (however reluctantly) a hypothetical John Red Reveler, we should similarly register the simplified form of the household name.

This was submitted as a name for the Canton of Bois d'Argent. The canton dissolved in Dec 92, and the submission was withdrawn by Lord Star. However, at the same time, the members of the former canton sent a petition directly to Laurel, asking that the name be registered as a household name. Since the College considered the name acceptable for a branch, it should be acceptable for a household. I've discussed the change of designation with the acting Lord Star, who finds it agreeable (and who will take care of fees, forms, and other necessities within the Ansteorran College).

Uilleam MacDhomhnuill. Name.

The byname was submitted as MacDhòmhnuill, with an accent. Black's Surnames of Scotland gives the name without accents; in the interests of orthographic simplicity, we've followed suit here.

When registered back in April 82, the primary charge was blazoned as a laurel wreath vert enflamed Or. Unfortunately, that blazon follows neither period practice (which would have had tiny bursts of flame issuant from the wreath) nor the Society practice usual at the time (which would have had the wreath as a tertiary on a solid flame). We've reblazoned the device to accord with both period and current Society blazoning practice.

This submission engendered considerable discussion at the Symposium; many felt that the badge was post-period in style. It was decided that the Grandfather Clause would permit the Barony to continue to use their "flaming laurel wreath" (reblazoned above), but not necessarily any flaming charge. (The analogy was that of the East Kingdom, whose arms contain a laurel wreath fimbriated; the Grandfather Clause wouldn't permit them to register an elephant fimbriated on the strength of that registration.) This badge therefore had to be decided on its own merits.
The full-sized emblazon did not show an annulet "fimbriated of flame", as some commenters described it, but a ring of fire charged with a gold annulet. The question was whether an annulet of flame was an acceptable motif. Our standards regarding charges made of flame have tightened over the years, but we still accept simple cases (the base of flame being the prime example). The annulet of flame seemed simple enough to accept, on a case-by-case basis.

Regensburg being the capital of the Upper Palatinate of Bavaria, the LOI questioned whether the name conflicted with those Dukes of Bavaria named Wilhelm. However, the Dukes in question never seemed to have been called of Regensburg; the name no more conflicts with the Dukes of Bavaria than John of London would conflict with King John (whose capital was London).
Please instruct the submitter to draw the line of division bolder henceforth, with a more pronounced angle.

Aleksii Stefanovich. Name and device. Azure semy of quill pens Or, on a billet argent a lighting bolt azure.

Alexis of Ross. Name and device. Purpure, two single-headed chess knights in fess and on a chief triangular argent, a single-headed chess knight purpure.

Antonella di Marco. Device. Argent, a fasces gules between flaunches counter-ermine.

Arawina of Ravenhall. Name and device. Per chevron inverted vert, and purpure ermined Or, a decrescent argent and a mullet Or.

The given name was submitted as Arawynn, supposed to be constructed from Anglo-Saxon themes from Searle. Unfortunately, the documentation was misread: Searle might support Ar- (Har-) as a prototheme, but not Ara-. The latter is used, in Germanic names found in Morlet -- but that requires the use of a Germanic deuterotheme to match. We've done so here, adding the feminine suffix -a.
Please instruct the submitter to draw the mullet larger, to match the decrescent.

The term dunghill cock means simply "rooster"; Parker, p.120, attests to its use in blazon. While dunghill may seem to be an unnecessary modifier, it is no more a problem than the modifiers in the terms domestic cat or sewing needle; it distinguishes the barnyard fowl from the moorcock and peacock; and it helps avoid some of the modern connotations of the unmodified term cock.

Cristóbal Federico. Name.

Diana Elinor Somerville. Name and device. Per pale gules and argent, a chevron cotised between three escallops inverted counterchanged.

Egmar der Grawe. Name.

Gareth MacDougal. Name.

Kristine McGowan of Rose Hill. Name and device. Purpure goutty, on a cross argent a garden rose purpure, slipped and leaved vert.

In the submitted emblazon, the rose's slip is not prominent enough to warrant reblazoning the tertiary as a rose branch vert, flowered purpure.

Mia von Paderborn. Name and device. Per saltire vert and sable, four talbots sejant argent, a bordure Or.

Please instruct the submitter to draw the talbots larger.

The infants' bodies are swaddled in blue, with only their heads showing. The charge is often found in medieval armory; and the contrast in this case is acceptable.

Philippe le Jongleur. Name and device. Or, three roundels purpure and a gore gules.

Stephania Hering. Name.

Talya Palaeologina. Device. Vert, a standing balance Or, on a chief argent three closed books palewise vert.

Tangwystl ferch Myrddin. Name.

Thomas Woodbridge. Name and device. Sable, a wood chisel, blade to base, and on a chief indented Or three hammers sable.

Thorfinnr Gandalfsson. Device. Per chevron rayonny sable and Or, two lion's heads cabossed and a Thor's hammer counterchanged.

Please instruct the submitter to draw larger lion's heads, to match the hammer.

Wulfgar the Black. Name.

CAID

Anton Petrovych. Name.

The surname was submitted as Petróvych. The accent is an artifice of the Russian name reference used here; it's not part of the word. Accordingly, we've removed it.

Please instruct the submitter to draw the chevron wider.

The submitter's previous badge (Azure, two trefoil knots braced Or and argent, on a chief argent a dragon couchant azure, winged sable) is released.

Gunther Garr. Device. Per chevron chevronelly Or and azure, and azure, two swords in saltire surmounted by a spear Or.

This does not conflict with Reigar von Rostock (SCA): Azure, two swords in saltire surmounted by a sword inverted Or, each blade surmounted at the tip by a wolf's head cabossed argent. There's a CD for the field, and a CD for the wolves' heads; a check of Reigar's emblazon showed large, visually significant heads.

The byname was submitted as of the Purple Moonstone. We have stated (LoAR of July 92) that "we should continue to accept [of the bynames], so long as they aren't complete nonsense." Purple Moonstone is complete nonsense. Moonstone is a form of albite (plagioclase feldspar), and is only found in white, grey, and very light blue (Sorrell's Minerals of the World, p.220). I agree that modern synthetic stones can be given the opalescence of natural moonstone in any color, including purple -- but such synthetics are, by definition, not period.
As the submitter has permitted changes to her name, we've deleted the adjective; the noun moonstone alone seems to be acceptable, dating from at least 1632. Please instruct her to draw her charges larger.

Maxen Dawel ap Morgan. Name and device. Barry wavy azure and argent, on a pale Or three mullets azure.

Nathan Giles. Name.

Ragnall of Winterhill. Name and device. Per pale sable and vert, a winged wolf's head couped contourny, wings addorsed, within an orle of snowflakes argent.

Sophia ní Fhearadhaigh. Device. Per pale indented Or and vert, two pears counterchanged.

Taliesin de Morlet. Name and device. Per chevron gules bezanty and sable, in base a hart springing, a bordure Or.

CALONTIR

Alina Grace. Name.

Alvira MacDonald. Device. Vert, a scorpion within a bordure embattled Or.

Angus Murdoch Stewart. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Aonghus Lochlainn of Loch Fyne. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Ceidyrch ap Llywelyn. Name (see RETURNS for device).

The patronymic was submitted as Llyewlyn, which appears to have been a typo; we have corrected the spelling to the documented form.

This doesn't conflict with Robin de Shealladh (SCA), Sable, on a bend vert fimbriated between two lightning flashes, a catamount rampant Or. By the definitions of Rule X.4.j.ii, these are both simple armory. Thus, there's a CD for the change in type of secondary charges, and a second CD for the change of type of tertiary charge.

Elwyn of Vatavia. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Isolde Stahlkrieger. Name.

Rowena MacDonald. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Ulfgrim the Grey. Device. Sable, on a plate a wolf's head cabossed gules, in base three lozenges in fess argent.

Ursula of the White Forest. Name.

EAST

Agilolf von Vierboom. Name.

As a point of interest, the submitter's mundane surname is not von Vierboom, as stated on the LOI, but simply Vierboom. However, Vierboom seems to be a reasonable toponymic, a Low German variant of Vierbaum "swamp tree" (Bahlow's Deutsches Namenlexicon, pp.522, 74).

The patronymic was submitted as O'Muirgheasain. The anglicized particle O' (with the apostrophe, not the fada) should not be used with the old Gaelic Muirgheasáin; either a purely Irish construction (which with a feminine given name should be ní Mhuirgheasáin) or a completely anglicized form should be used. We've used the latter, as being closer in sound to the submitted form.

Altea di Firenze. Name.

The given name was submitted as Altèa, with an accent. De Felice, in his Dizionario dei Nomi Italiani, inserts accents to guide pronunciation, as in many dictionaries; they aren't part of the name. We've therefore deleted it here.

Arthur Whitewing. Name.

Asa de Tanet. Name.

The byname was submitted as de Thanet, however, Thanet lost its H long before the placename might be used with de. We've adjusted the spelling accordingly.

The byname was submitted as du le Coeur Sincère, which is redundant: du is a contraction of de le, "of the". We've deleted the superfluous article.

The given name was submitted as Aurélia, with an accent. De Felice, in his Dizionario dei Nomi Italiani, inserts accents to guide pronunciation, as in many dictionaries; they aren't part of the name. We've therefore deleted it here.

Berengaria de Hainault. Name change (from Berengaria of the Hounds).

The byname was submitted as d'Hainault; as the initial H in Hainault is not silent, it would not cause a contraction of de to d'. We've corrected the spelling.

The patronymic was submitted as ní Ceallaigh. The particle ní causes aspiration of the following word; we've corrected the spelling accordingly.

The patronymic was submitted as O'Dochartaigh. The anglicized particle O' (with the apostrophe, not the fada) should not be used with the Gaelic Dochartaigh; either a purely Irish construction (which with a feminine given name should be ní Dhochartaigh) or a completely anglicized form should be used. We've used the latter, as being closer in sound to the submitted form.

Unlike the cases of Compaignie Mercurie (returned Oct 92) and House Sirius (returned Oct 91), the use of a constellation name here neither infringes on an important location, nor appears to be a claim to extraterrestriality. On the first point, a constellation is not a place; it's a pattern of lights. On the second point, most constellations were named either for artifacts or after characters from ancient myth -- which, during the Renaissance, were also the source for Order names. Given the recent registration of the Order of the Pisces (LoAR of June 92), this is acceptable.

The longer name is the submitter's principal persona name, registered May 90. The shorter name is her alternate persona name.

Duncan Andrew Hughes. Name.

Duncan Campbell MacCallum. Name.

Eibhlín ingen Sheáin. Name.

The byname was submitted as ní Seáin. The use of a patronymic particle by women causes aspiration in the following word: thus Seáin becomes Sheáin. However, the particle ní may not be ideal for her intended meaning of "daughter of Sean". In modern Irish, at least, ní is a contraction of two particles: Ní Sheáin means "daughter of an O'Sean". The particle ingen is preferable here, both as being more authentically period and as undeniably meaning "daugher of". (In fact, according to her submission forms, the client had originally submitted inghean, but was told that ní was more correct. Depending on the exact meaning intended, either may be correct.) Since we have an explicit statement as to the submitter's wishes, which has been independently suggested in the commentary, we've substituted ingen for ní; if the submitter would prefer the latter, she may resubmit at no charge.

Faoiltiarna ní Dhobhailein. Name.

The patronymic was submitted as ní Dobhailen. The particle ní causes aspiration in the following word; we've corrected the spelling accordingly.

Fortaleza should be acceptable as an equivalent for the SCA branch classification of "Stronghold."

Garrick Mapmaker. Name.

Giles William Trout. Name.

Gillecalum of Mar. Name.

The given name was submitted as Ghilliecolm, which the submitter took from a 14th Century Scots tombstone. We suspect that the name on the stone was Mac Ghilliecolm, or some other construction that would decline the form of the name. The name's nominative form, as cited in Black, is Gillecalum, which we've substituted here.

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn. Name.

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last Welsh prince of Wales, had a daughter named Gwenllian, but she does not appear to have been important enough to protect from conflict: she appears in no general references, not even in the articles on her father.

Gwyneth of Wells. Name.

Gyrerd von Altwolfstein. Name.

Halvard av Norden. Name.

The byname was submitted as av den Nord. In Danish, the definite article is a suffix attached to the noun: in this case, -en. We've corrected the grammar.

Jaffré Hébert. Name.

The spelling on the submitter's forms, unlike that on the LOI, had accents to match the documentation. We've replaced the accents.

Please inform the submitter that his byname means "of the Black Cowherds". If this was not his intended meaning, you might invite him to submit a name change.

Joseph le Pykard. Name.

The byname was submitted as de Pickard. The French picard means "man from Picardy"; as it's not a placename, it should not be used with the preposition de. We've substituted a documented spelling, using the definite article.

Kara Tölumaer. Name.

The byname was submitted as Tolusveinn, intended to mean "chatterbox, gossip" in Old Norse. While it does have that meaning, it's also a masculine term: the literal translation is "talking boy". On the assumption that the submitter would rather be a talking girl, we've changed it to the equivalent feminine form.

Konrad zu Reinekendorf. Name.

Lalage la Peregrina. Name.

Without evidence that the courtesan Lalage of antiquity had a unique name, we must assume her name to be generally acceptable.

The given name was spelled Leofelda on the LOI; however, the submitter requested Leofleda, and that is the form supported by the documentation. We've corrected the typo.

Oksana Goncharova. Name.

Petr Petrovich Chekrygin. Name.

Rebecca of Preston. Name.

Rhiannon Llysieuwraig. Name.

The byname was submitted as Llysieuydd, which turns out to be post-period: its first citation in the Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (which is to Welsh as the OED is to English) is 1762. The equivalent (feminized) period term for "herbalist" is llysieuwraig, which we've substituted.

Ríoghnach of Ruantallan. Name.

The given name was submitted as Riognach. The submitter's own documentation supports either Rígnach or Ríoghnach; we've substituted the latter, as closest to the submitted spelling.

FYI: The submitter's personal name was registered April 81.

Seamus O'Connell of Donegal. Name.

Seamus O'Doghartie. Name.

The patronymic was submitted as O'Dochartaigh. The anglicized particle O' (with the apostrophe, not the fada) should not be used with the Gaelic Dochartaigh; either a purely Irish construction or a completely anglicized form should be used. We've used the latter, to match the byname of Caitlin Sorcha O'Doghartie, earlier on the letter.

The byname was submitted as O'Connachtaigh. The anglicized particle O' (with the apostrophe, not the fada) should not be used with the Gaelic Connachtaigh; either a purely Irish construction or a completely anglicized form should be used. We've substituted the former.

On the LOI, the initial epithet Tanna was not affixed by a hyphen to the given name Kormákr. The examples in Geirr Bassi's Old Norse Name show only hyphenated prefix epithets; we've therefore added the hyphen.
The patronymic was submitted as Makanarson. The given name Makan seems to be a borrowing into Old Norse from Irish; when declining to the genitive case (required by the suffix -son), such borrowings most often use the first declension, which simply adds an S. The more probable form of the patronymic is thus Makansson, which we've used here.

The patronymic was spelled Trahaerne on the LOI, but Trahaern on the submission forms. Since either spelling appears to be acceptable, we've substituted the submitter's spelling.

Ulfr Thunnhar. Name.

The byname was submitted as Thunhar, "thin hair". The submitter's own documentation, however, gives thunnr as the Old Norse for "thin"; the double-N is retained when combined with other words. We've amended the spelling accordingly.

Ygraine of the Seven Oaks. Name.

While the name is acceptable, the submitter should know that Sevenoaks is a documented English place name; Ygraine Sevenoaks would be a more authentic construction. You might recommend it to the submitter.

Amber Blackwood. Device. Per chevron inverted azure and sable, a chevron inverted between an arrow fesswise and three decrescents argent.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

The given name was submitted as Blodwyn, which would be a masculine form; we've changed it to the feminine form, following consultation with the submitter.
There was some question over whether Blodwen, even in its corrected feminine form, is a period given name. Hanks & Hodges (Dictionary of First Names, p.43) unequivocally date it to the Middle Ages. However, Lady Harpy could find no period examples of the name's use in all her sources; she quotes the opinion of a professor in Medieval Welsh that Blodwen as a name dates from the 19th Century. I'd trust Lady Harpy's expertise in this area far more than that of Hanks & Hodges; but either I must declare Hanks & Hodges completely unreliable, even in their most authoritative statements (as we've done for Yonge), or else give the submitter the benefit of the doubt. Since Blodwen has already been accepted for Society use (LoAR of Sept 92), the latter seems the more generous course.

Bronwen o Gydweli. Name change (from Bronwyn of Kidwelly) and device. Per pale sable and argent, an antelope statant counterchanged.

The name was submitted as Bronwyn gan Gydweli. The use of the Welsh preposition gan is incorrect here: while gan does mean "from" in some contexts, location (e.g., "from London") is not one of those contexts. The only Welsh preposition used for location seems to be o, which we've substituted.
This submission shows the value of heraldic consultation, at all levels. The submitter had telephoned me on an unrelated matter; I brought up her name submission, noting that the submitted spelling Bronwyn was the masculine form (despite the Y). Sure enough, although that information has been in the commentary for some months, it had never been forwarded to her. She opted for the feminine spelling upon having the distinction explained to her. (I couldn't persuade her to drop the preposition, but at least we can change it from gan.) The result is a much improved name to go with her excellent device.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

The household name was registered Jan 93. Like the device, the badge had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

This was submitted under the name Caitlin Magwynne of Dolwyddelan, which was returned Jan 93. The device had been pended for lack of an archive copy. The archive now having been received, this is registered under a holding name.

If the submitter would prefer a completely Russian name, you might suggest Ilya Strannik.

Jean Paul le Malicieux. Device. Argent, a chevron inverted engrailed sable between a tower azure, battlements enflamed proper, and two fleurs-de-lys azure.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting.

Joan Wolf is the name of the author of a number of historical novels, including one (The Road to Avalon) set in Arthurian England. However, she doesn't seem to be important enough to protect: she is not listed in our standard references, nor did a poll of randomly chosen populace find any who recalled her name.

Starhelm Warlocke. Badge for Ladyhall. Azure, in fess a decrescent and a mullet of seven points argent charged with a pheon inverted gules, a bordure embattled argent.

The household name was registered Jan 93. The badge had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

The byname was submitted on the LOI as Isbrandrdottir. While Isbrandr appears to be a valid Old Norse construction, the use of the suffix -dottir would decline it to the genitive case: Isbrands-, as on the submitter's forms. We've amended the spelling accordingly.

Alberad von Westerwanna. Name and device. Argent, a dragon statant purpure breathing flames proper, in dexter chief a cauldron purpure.

Alexander Fortescue. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Anatolia Chryse. Device. Per chevron azure and sable, a chevron embattled between two recorders and a wingless griffin rampant argent.

Anne des Sept Monts. Device. Per pale azure and argent, a dove volant counterchanged, on a bordure gules seven mountains couped argent.

Normally, the mountains on the bordure would be blazoned as semy. In this case, however, we have period examples of seven charges being explicitly numbered in the blazon: e.g. the arms of the Earls of Winchester, blazoned in Glover's Roll (c.1258) as De gules a set fauses losenges de or (Gules, seven mascles Or). Added to the cant on the name (which we always like to encourage), there seemed sufficient reason to blazon the number here.

Antonio Franco di Milano. Household badge for Villa Verde. Ermine, a tower vert and a bordure gules.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

Bryan of Duckford. Name.

Cáelainn Mhoireach. Name and device. Argent, an ounce passant contourny sable bezanty, within an orle embattled on the outer edge sable.

Please instruct the submitter to draw the bezants larger, and the orle with fewer embattlements.

Daniel de Lincoln. Device. Azure, four coneys rampant in saltire, heads to center, conjoined by the ears in annulo argent, playing bagpipes Or.

Danielle nic Chonn. Device. Vert, a triquetra argent between three acorns, stems to center Or.

Erik of Grenloch. Name.

Fujiyama Takamori. Device. Per chevron argent and purpure, in chief a roundel gules, a bordure counterchanged.

Generys Flechyr of Durham. Name and device. Purpure, a domestic cat couchant guardant argent marked sable within a bordure compony sable and argent.

Guido de Canale. Name.

Madeleine Bynortheweye. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Morgan Branwen. Device. Vert, a maple leaf between three increscents argent.

Moriz von Nördlingen. Name.

Nathaniel Jonessone. Name and device. Quarterly gules and ermine, a cross counterchanged.

Nice armory!

Rhys le Vyngnon. Name and device. Or, two dragons combattant, tails entwined in base gules, within an orle of golpes.

Possible conflict was cited with the attributed arms of Uther Pendragon. Papworth gives two possible blazons (p.988): Or, two dragons gules crowned vert, and Or, two wyverns without legs respecting each other vert crowned gules. Dennys (Heraldic Imagination, p.189) notes that Or, two dragons addorsed vert crowned gules was the usual armory attributed to Uther in medieval treatises. We may speculate that there were other variants on these themes as well -- including a variant with which this submission might conflict -- but without an explicit blazon to that effect, we should give the submitter the benefit of the doubt. Particularly, against the first of Papworth's blazons above, we assume the dragons are not combattant; there's a CD for posture of half the monsters, and a CD for the orle of roundels.

Tobias Alan MacKenzie. Badge. Per fess Or and gules, two dolphins respectant azure and a tree blasted and eradicated Or.

OUTLANDS

Arianrwydd of the Mists. Badge. (fieldless) Two leather slippers in fess, toes outward proper, goutty d'eau.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

When registered May 92, the given name was inadvertently spelled Caomn on the LoAR. The LOI, forms, documentation and commentary all spelled it Caomh, so we have no qualms about correcting the typo.
I would grant Substantial Difference between a human arm and a beast's jambe. Rule X.2 thus brings this clear of such armories as Vireau (Gules, a human arm issuant from sinister Or maintaining a scimitar bendwise sinister proper), cited in the commentary.

The byname was submitted as de Saint Claire, using the masculine French form of "saint" with the feminine form of "Claire". We've corrected the spelling for a single gender; as Saint Clair is also a documented French placename, its use with de "of" is correct.

Corisande de la Vallée. Name and device. Or, a heart gules, on a mount sable a wolf's head erased Or, on a chief sable three wolf's heads erased Or.

Dominica Leontyne du Lac. Device. Per pale ermine and azure ermined argent, three roses counterchanged sable and argent, all barbed and seeded proper.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

Erasimierz Waspanieski. Release of badge. Or, a cross couped sable counter-voided.

Erasimierz Waspanieski. Release of badge to Konrad von Greifswald. (fieldless) A mandrake's head eradicated vert, fructed and corded about the neck Or, jessant a cross crosslet fitchy quadrate, the limbs quadrate and square-pierced gules.

Erasimierz Waspanieski. Release of badge to Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme. (fieldless) A black-haired demi-maiden proper, vested per pale and chevronelly argent and azure, maintaining above her head a strung bow Or.

Felis Cheval. Name and device. Quarterly gules and azure, a horse passant to sinister argent pellety within a bordure argent.

Please instruct the submitter to draw the pellets fewer and larger henceforth.

Haakon Thorgilsson. Household badge for House Fox Pass. Per fess indented argent and vert, in chief a fox's mask gules.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting for lack of an archive copy. The archive has now been received.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting.

This was presented on the LOI as a change of name from Kiera Morkstjarna. There was some confusion here: the submission forms simply cite Kiera Morkstjarna as justification for the given name Kiera. The submitter and Kiera Morkstjarna are two different people.
As we've registered Kiera as recently as July 92 (based on the name of St. Kiara, c.680), there's no problem with the name here.

Rhonwen Gwynedd. Name (see RETURNS for device).

The given name was submitted as Rhonwyn, which is the masculine form. We've corrected it to the feminine form, matching the documentation.

The patronymic was submitted as Bjarnisdottir. However, the correct genitive form of Bjarni (which is required by the Old Norse patronymic suffix -dóttir) is Bjarna, not Bjarnis. We've corrected the grammar.

Her previous device (Quarterly counter-ermine and azure, a double-headed eagle displayed and in chief three escarbuncles argent) is released.

Aletheia de la Mer Argentée. Name change (from Aletheia Dilwyn Floutere).

The byname was submitted as de la Mer Argent. In French argent is a noun, "silver" (i.e. the precious metal). To say something is made of metallic silver, one uses d'argent; to say something is silvery-colored, one uses the adjective argenté(e). We've substituted the latter, as more plausibly applicable to a sea.

Bjorn Lundgren of Bearhaven. Badge. Vert, in fess a bear passant reguardant between two towers Or.

This does not conflict with the badge of Correus Dracontius (SCA), Purpure, a Roman scutum argent ornamented gules between in fess two towers Or. A visual check of Correus' badge shows the blazon to be correct: the scutum is definitely primary, while the towers are secondary charges. Bjorn's badge has a single group of three primary charges.

The submitter has asked that her previous blazon (Per fess azure and argent, a demi-sun issuant from chief and three compass-stars, two and one, counterchanged) be changed to reduce the chance of misinterpretation. Both blazons being technically correct, and acceptable style, we see no reason not to accede.

Cynthia Mairin of the Wilde Wode. Name correction (from Cynthia Mairin of the Wilde Wood) and device. Per bend vert and argent, a tambour argent, framed of wood, and a wooden drop spindle proper threaded vert.

When registered May 92, the final word of the name was inadvertently spelled in its modern form. As the LOI, submission forms, documentation, and commentary all spelled it Wode, we have restored that spelling here.
The charge in chief was blazoned a bodhrán on the LOI. The bodhrán is a large drum used in Irish folk music, and popular in the Society -- Laurel himself plays the bodhrán -- but there is no evidence that it's a period instrument. The best evidence I've found is that the bodhrán is "traditional" (Mícheál O Súilleabháin, The Bodhrán: A Practical Introduction), which means it probably dates only to the 18th Century.
Fortunately, the instrument is indistinguishable from a tambour or tabor, which can be documented at least to Tudor times. Indeed, O Súilleabháin notes that the bodhrán is called a tambourine in Kerry, and its player a tambourine tipper. We have no qualms, then, in using a more readily accessible and provably period term for the charge in chief.

This was submitted with a name change to the Shire of Vair Couvert. The new device has been accepted under the branch's currently registered name.
Their previous device (Argent, a hurst of oak trees proper within a laurel wreath vert, on a chief azure three crescents Or) is released.

Please instruct the submitter to draw the mullets larger.

Do please instruct the submitter to draw the bordure wider -- just as she was instructed on her previous return (LoAR of Sept 92).

Please instruct the submitter to draw the gauntlets larger.

Maelsnechtain de Gaston. Name and device. Or, a leopard's head gules jessant-de-lys between three fleurs-de-lys sable.

While we, like Lord Palimpsest, might enjoy seeing more authoritative evidence for Maelshechtain, the submitter's source is clear in its use of this spelling, and we have no reason to suppose it in error. We can certainly give the submitter the benefit of the doubt here.
Possible conflict was cited against the arms of Terell (Papworth 911): Or, a leopard's head jessant a fleur-de-lys gules. There's a CD for the secondary charges; the issue turned on the difference to be granted for partial change of tincture of the primary charge group. We've opined previously (LoAR of Oct 92) that a head jessant-de-lys was effectively a single charge, in the same way a penner-and-inkhorn is a single charge; we also left open the possibility that it might be a group of two conjoined charges. Under either interpretation, we see granting a CD for change of half of the primary charge group.
This is corroborated by the arms of Braunch, c.1586, one branch of which (Papworth 911) bore Gules, a leopard's head jessant-de-lys Or and another of which bore Gules, a leopard's head Or jessant-de-lys argent. It's reasonable that the change in tincture of the fleur-de-lys should count for difference: the origin of the leopard's head jessant-de-lys was as a cadence from the fleur-de-lys, in the arms of Cauntelo/Cantelupe (Wagner & London, p.120).

Please have the submitter draw the cross larger henceforth.

Mícheál de la Ferret. Device. Quarterly Or and argent, a ferret statant between three anvils sable.

This was pended from the Jan 93 meeting, for what we thought was an error: the forms showed a different device than that blazoned (and emblazoned) on the LOI. It's turned out that the LOI was correct, and Lord Vesper simply forwarded the wrong forms to Laurel. We've now received the correct forms for the above version of the device; since this was the version discussed in the commentary -- with no problems found -- we will happily register it now.

While Unbegaun's transliteration of Marcev is registerable, please inform the submitter of its correct pronunciation: "martsev".

Saurina de Almansa. Name.

Snorri Blódhdrekkr ór Ódhinslundi. Name (see RETURNS for device).

The bynames were submitted as Blóð-drekker ór Óðinslundr. We've replaced the two edh characters from the LOI with the appropriate transliteration. Additionally, ór declines the following placename into the dative case; we've corrected the spelling accordingly.

Vrydrich von Marienburg. Name and device. Quarterly purpure and argent, a double-headed eagle counterchanged.

THE FOLLOWING SUBMISSIONS HAVE BEEN RETURNED:

AN TIR

Randal the Redowtable. Device. Per pale gules and sable, a salmon haurient sustaining in its mouth a sword inverted and pendant from its tail a tankard, a bordure argent charged with crosses formy per pale gules and sable.

The device has several problems. It's right on the edge of acceptable complexity, per the guideline of Rule VIII.1.a, with five types of charge in three tinctures. The party-tinctured charges on the bordure add to the complexity, being difficult to identify. The further weirdness of having a limbless creature maintaining, not one, but two different charges brings this beyond the limit of acceptability. This must be returned for simplification.

As drawn, the salmon barely overlaps the cross, which is poor heraldic style, and has been reason for return since 17 June 83. If correctly drawn, with the salmon significantly overlapping the edges of the cross, this would violate our ban on overall charges in fieldless badges. Either way, it must be returned. We suggest resubmitting with the salmon entirely upon the cross, as a tertiary charge.

Ansteorra, Kingdom of. Title for Aubergine Pursuivant.

The earliest citations for aubergine "eggplant" are from 1750 (in French) and 1794 (in English). We need evidence of period usage before the word can be registered as an heraldic title.

As blazoned, this violates the ban on overall charges in fieldless armory, which took effect Jan 93. As emblazoned, the eagle is not truly overall; while the eagle unquestionably overlaps the annulet, it doesn't really extend significantly beyond it. The resulting depiction isn't blazonable. For either reason, this must be returned; he might consider redrawing the eagle entirely within (and conjoined to the inner edge of) the annulet.

Though blazoned on the LOI as a flame proper, the charge in base is actually a flame gules fimbriated Or: a proper flame would be equally gules and Or, not mostly gules with a thin gold outline (as drawn here). Complex fimbriation is not permitted in Society armory.
Should he resubmit with this motif, please instruct the client to draw all the charges larger; among other benefits, this will help make clear that the flame and trees are a single group of primaries (not one primary with two secondaries in chief). He might also prefer an anvil enflamed, not a flame charged with an anvil; see the cover letter for a discussion on the distinction between the two.

This submission was an appeal of a return by the Ansteorran College for non-period style. The submitter contends that the phrase la Tisserande des Mots ("the weaver of words") could only be interpreted metaphorically, so its literal meaning is beside the point; and that a person "of poetic inclination" would have described herself by such a metaphor.
Unfortunately, the submitter has provided no evidence that period bynames were ever so fanciful or metaphoric. In both English and French, bynames are usually straightforward descriptions: of origin, of personal description, of trade or craft. Even a professional bard would call himself simply bard. Without some evidence that "abstract metaphor" was used in period bynames, the name cannot be accepted.
Even accepting the submitter's argument at face value, the construction's literal meaning ("weaver of words") doesn't yield a valid metaphor for her desired meaning ("poet, storyteller"). The concept of weaving is used in several metaphors, but always referring to the final product: the OED (under "weave" and "weaver") cites period examples of weaving allegory, history, and woe; post-period metaphors refer to weaving tales, fables and songs. In every case, the metaphor involves the final product, not the materials used: a "weaver of words" might possibly be an inventor of new words, but never a poet or storyteller. In any case, we would need hard evidence of that usage in French before we could register the byname.
We suggest the submitter simply register Lynette la Tisserande, and privately tell her friends exactly what she weaves. For now, her armory has been registered under the holding name Lynette of Loch Soillier.

This was blazoned on the LOI as a mountain argent enflamed gules. Unfortunately, it was not drawn in the usual period manner for a charge enflamed -- and would violate the Rule of Contrast if it were. See the cover letter for a more complete discussion on period enflaming.
The problem of contrast between the field and the mountain can be addressed by our reblazon, which makes the mountain a tertiary on the flame. However, the design still suffers from a lack of identifiability: the red stripe, with white on either side, looks more like a récherché fess than an enflamed mountain. This must be returned for redrawing; we suggest using a dark-colored mountain with spurts of flame issuant, as in the examples of MacKenzie armory cited in the LOI.

The use of overall charges in fieldless badges was disallowed in the Jan 93 LoAR; they render the underlying charges unrecognizable, where the whole purpose of heraldry is identification. In this instance, where the "crescents" were drawn to resemble canoes, any further lack of identifiability becomes doubly unacceptable.

Brighid Aileen O'Hagan. Badge. Per bend gules and azure, a mullet within a decrescent argent.

This conflicts with the flag of the Republic of Turkey: Gules, a decrescent and between its points a mullet argent. There's a CD for the field, but the slight movement of the mullet from between the points to within the horns is not worth the second needed CD.

The addition of the chief removes the conflict from the previous return. However, there's now a lack of contrast between the sable chief and the field. The field is equally gules and Or, and technically neutral with respect to contrast -- for charges that are equally supported by the gules and Or traits. A centrally placed sable charge, or a sable bordure, would have sufficient contrast; but a sable chief might not. (The problem is not unique to this field division: Per bend gules and Or is a neutral field, but Per bend gules and Or, a chief sable still suffers a lack of contrast.)
In this case, the chief's contrast is exactly the same as with a hypothetical Gules, a pale Or and a chief sable. We would return the latter, were it submitted; we must likewise return this. The client might consider counterchanging the tinctures of the field, or using a bordure.

Friedrich von Rabenstein. Device. Gules, on a sun Or a raven displayed sable, a mountain argent.

The submission has several conflicts. The closest is the device of Leifr Johansson (SCA), Gules, on a sun Or an eagle displayed azure, a bordure argent. There's a CD for changing the bordure to a mount, but nothing for the change of only the tincture of the tertiary bird. (Though blazoned as a raven on the LOI, it's drawn indistinguishably from a hawk displayed.)
It also conflicts with the device of Seth the Seeker (SCA), Gules on a compass star throughout Or a unicorn's head couped at the shoulder sable armed and crined gules. There's a CD for the addition of the mount, but no difference between suns and multi-pointed mullets -- which includes compass stars.

Angus Murdoch Stewart. Device. Argent, a cow statant erect purpure within a bordure gules.

The bordure on the submission forms (unlike that on the LOI's miniature emblazon) is far too narrow to register. We're normally content to instruct a client to "draw the bordure wider henceforth" -- but this bordure is too narrow for us to do so in good conscience. If this is resubmitted with a correctly emblazoned bordure, it should be acceptable.

Considered as a field-only device with a simple division (i.e., one without a complex line), this conflicts with several armories: Hammerton (Papworth 1035), Quarterly argent and vert; Harthell (Papworth 53), Barry of six argent and vertt; Langley (Papworth 1018), Paly of six vert and argent; Lawson (Papworth 1018), Paly of six argent and vert, and Lillington (Papworth 371), Checky argent and vert. In each case there's a single CD, for the field division; Rule X.4.a.ii requires two changes to field-only armory.
If the field is considered as an exaggerated Per bend indented (sometimes misblazoned dancetty), the device clears the above conflicts, but new conflicts are then introduced: Ferne (Papworth 182), Per bend dancetty argent and gules; Kendall (Papworth 182), Per bend dancetty argent and sable; and Markington (Papworth 182), Per bend indented sable and argent. In each case, there's a CD for tincture, but not for the field division or its complex line. Either way, this must be returned.

As far as we can determine, the purely Irish Ruairc would not have been used with the anglicized particle O' (with an apostrophe); the correct Irish spelling of the anglicized "O'Rourke" is Ó Ruairc, with a fada. The submitter allowed no grammatical corrections to the name.

This conflicts, alas, with the arms of Baringham (Papworth 1001): Per pale argent and sable. Flaunches do not appear to be primary charges, so Rule X.1 does not apply here; there is a single CD for their addition.
This was a very tough decision; evidence was available supporting either side of the question. The main issue boiled down to whether flaunches can ever be primary charges. If they can't, then the conflict is valid (as discussed in the LoAR of July 92, pp.23-24). Like the bordure, our prime example of a peripheral charge that can never be primary, the addition of flaunches need not disturb the placement of other charges on the field (July 92, p.6). On the other hand, unlike the bordure, flaunches can legitimately extend quite a ways into the field, increasing their visual dominance over a design.
In the end, the fact that flaunches are usually considered ordinaries (or sub-ordinaries, depending on the text) proved decisive. Ordinaries may be classed either as central ordinaries (e.g., the pale, fess, cross, etc.) or as peripheral ordinaries (e.g., the bordure, chief, base, etc.). No matter how they intrude into the field, flaunches do not cross its center, as central ordinaries would; therefore, they must be peripheral ordinaries. (Another peripheral ordinary, the chief, can legitimately extend into an unoccupied field quite as much as can flaunches.)
In the case of Eleonora Vittoria Alberti di Calabria (LoAR of Dec 92), it was decided that Rule X.4.j.ii applies to charged flaunches alone on the field. Since flaunches aren't in the center of the field, the only examples of the Rule that support the decision are those of X.4.j.ii (d), the examples involving peripheral charges. This confirms the general impression among the College that flaunches are peripheral -- and therefore cannot be primary, and cannot invoke Rule X.1.
The submitter might try a slight change of field: tincture, perhaps, or a complex line of division. When he resubmits, please instruct him to draw the flaunches correctly: issuant from the corners of the chief.

Neither the flower or the helm are drawn as recognizable heraldic charges. The flower isn't an octofoil, the standard heraldic eight-petalled flower; some commenters thought it looked more like a sun. Likewise, the helm isn't drawn as the standard heraldic barrel helm or tournament helm (and with that much open space in the face, we really don't see how it can be a Society-legal fighting helm, as Lord Hawk suggests). It's not really a Roman or Greek helm, lacking the characteristic plumes; indeed, it strongly resembles a Romulan helm from the old Star Trek television series.
This must be returned for redrawing, both of the helm and the primary charge. They must be drawn in an identifiable heraldic form when she resubmits.

This conflicts with the arms of Chamberlayn (Papworth 300), Gules, an eagle displayed argent. There's a CD for the charge in base. There's no heraldic difference between displayed and migrant. That leaves only the possible difference between an eagle and a generic bird. After some thought, we decided we couldn't grant a CD between a generic bird and any specific type of bird.
Against the arms of Howell (Papworth 304), Gules, a falcon rising, wings expanded argent, we would grant a CD between migrant and rising, wings displayed [expanded]. That, with the CD for the heart, brings it clear.

Adrian O'Kells. Name.

Kells is a patronymic surname, derived from the given name Kel, Chel (from the ON Kettil): "Kell's [son]". Therefore, it should not be used in a patronymic construction such as O'[given name]; either the O' or the final s should be deleted. Judging from the submitter's forms, he might have intended to be "from Kells", the Kilkenny monastery noted for its scribes; that would have made the byname of Kells or possibly o' Kells. Unfortunately, the submitter disallowed any changes whatsoever to the name, so we couldn't perform even the minor surgeries noted above. The name must therefore be returned.

The conjunction is incorrect in this context: vom is a contraction of von dem, "of the". With a placename, the unmodified von "of" should be used. The submitter disallowed any changes whatsoever to the name; it must therefore be returned.

The LOI gave Sevastos as "the original form of Sebastian", which is not quite correct. Rather, the given name Sebastian is derived from an adjective meaning "from Sebasta", a town in Turkey. Sevastos or Sebastos is a Greek term, literally meaning "worshipped, reverenced, held in awe": Liddell & Scott's Greek-English Lexicon, p.631, define it as "The Latin Augustus, as a title applied to the Roman Emperor"; the usage is corroborated in L.G. Pine's Titles: How the King Became His Majesty, p.38. (The town Sebasta, the source of the given name Sebastian, was named after Augustus, as was Sebastye in Palestine.) The application of Sevastos to people, then, seems to be restricted to the "Roman" Emperors of East and West -- and thus may not be registered without better evidence of its use by commoners. Unfortunately, the submitter forbade us to delete that portion of his name; the submission as a whole must therefore be returned.

Withdrawn by the Principal Herald.

This had been pended from the Jan 93 meeting, to allow the submitters to forward a petition of populace support. No petition having been received, this must be returned.

Given Lord Palimpsest's examples of "oath bynames" -- that is, bynames taken from the owner's favorite oath (e.g., Mitgoczhilfen "With God's Help", 1397) -- the use of Teufel "[to the] Devil" is not unreasonable. Duffel appears to be a valid variant of Teufel, given the documented forms Deufel, Duvel. However, the name must still be grammatically correct. As Teufel (Duffel) is a masculine noun, the correct form of the oath would be zum Duffel, not zur Duffel (zur is for feminine nouns). Unfortunately, the submitter forbade any changes whatsoever, leaving us no choice but to return the name.

Allen of Moffat. Device resubmission. Per chevron Or and azure, a pall inverted between three shamrocks counterchanged.

Though blazoned as "new" on the LOI, this is in fact a resubmission. The previous submission (Per chevron inverted sable and Or, a pall counterchanged Or and gules between in chief a bezant charged with a cross formy fitchy at the foot, and in base two crosses formy fitchy at the foot gules, each within an annulet sable) was returned Sept 83 for over-complexity and non-period style. Laurel suggested at the time that the submitter "Please use a simple pall gules", implying that the counterchanging of the pall over the field division was part of the non-period style.
This resubmission, though greatly simplified, still has a pall (this time inverted) counterchanged over a Per chevron field division. We have in the past registered solidly-tinctured palls inverted over Per chevron divisions (or the same motif inverted); the pall is then understood to overlie the line of the field. The same understanding cannot apply when the pall is counterchanged: the line of the field could legally be under the center of the pall, under one of its edges, or even extending beyond the pall on the other side.
Moreover, the visual effect is that of a pall inverted (the lower limbs narrower than that in chief) and a point pointed azure, all on an Or field. The visual confusion, combined with the problems of reproducibility, combine to make this motif unacceptable.
We offer the same suggestion as in his previous return: he might try making the pall gules (assuming no conflicts, of course).

This must be returned, for either of two reasons. First, it conflicts with the arms of Godard (Papworth 318), Gules, on an eagle displayed Or, an annulet for difference sable. There's a CD for the field, but as the eagle is not a simple geometric charge, Rule X.4.j.ii gives no difference for changing only the type of the tertiary.
Second, no archive copy of the device was included. Even had there been no conflict, this would still have been returned.

The badge seems acceptable, but must be returned for administrative reasons: no archive copy of the emblazon was included.

This must be returned, for either of two reasons. First, the field has a complex line of division using two colors, with the wolf's head obscuring the line. This is unacceptable, per Rule VIII.3.
Second, no archive copy of the badge was included. Even had it been otherwise acceptable, the badge would still have been returned.

Alexander Fortescue. Device. Quarterly purpure and Or, a chain bendwise argent.

This conflicts with the arms of Chetner (Rietstap): De gueules à une chaîne de trois chaînons d'argent, posée en bande (Gules, a chain of three links bendwise argent). There's a single CD, for the field.

This conflicts with the device of Tnek the Ainissestor (SCA): Per bend sinister sable and gules, a griffin segreant to sinister argent. There's a single CD, for the field.

As drawn, the wavy line of the chief is too shallow to be identified at any distance. This must be returned for redrawing, per Rule VIII.3.
If the client resubmits with this design, please instruct him to draw the tortoise larger, to fill the available space.

The unorthodox posture of the dragon's gambe renders it completely unrecognizable. (Guesses at the Laurel meeting included a flower and a teddy bear, both assumed to be badly drawn. It also strongly resembles the Motie hand from the cover of the latest Niven & Pournelle novel.) Heraldic charges should be in heraldic postures, so they can be identified. This must be returned for redrawing.
Should the client resubmit with this motif, please instruct him to draw the bend's embattlements as boldly on the full-size emblazon sheet as on the miniature.

The torii is still permitted in Society heraldry, due to its modern familiarity among Occidentals (for instance, the word is found in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary) and its valid reblazon as a Japanese gateway. However, since no heraldic difference can normally be obtained from regional drawing style, we grant no difference between a Japanese gateway (torii) and a standard heraldic gate -- any more than we grant difference between an arch and a dolmen. Therefore, this conflicts with the arms of Portnew (Papworth 898), Gules, a gate Or, and of La Porte (Woodward 363), Gules, a portal Or. In each case there's a CD for the addition of the caltrap, but none for what is essentially an artistic interpretation of the main charge.

There are two emblazoning problems with this submission. First, the wavy line of the bordure is drawn far shallower in the full-sized emblazon than in the LOI miniature -- too shallow to be recognizable from any distance. This is in itself sufficient reason for return.
Second, the flowers were unidentifiable as roses -- among other things, heraldic roses are normally drawn with five distinct petals, not the four conjoined petals of these flowers. The second problem, unlike the first, possibly might not have been sufficient for return -- a note to the submitter might have sufficed -- but given the bordure's identifiability problem, the roses' identifiability must also be addressed. This must be returned for redrawing.

The household name was spelled Sheppy on the LOI, but Sheppey (to match the documentation and submitter's name) on the forms. Under either spelling, however, this conflicts with the Isle of Sheppey, in the mouth of the Thames. The place is cited in general references (e.g. the 1991 E.Brit., vol.10, p.726), so it's important enough to protect.

No petition of support from the populace was included with this submission.

Balin an Claidheamh. Device. Or, a double-bitted axe sable, its handle grasped by a hand gules, between flaunches azure.

This conflicts with the badge of Ulric von Ravensway (SCA), Or, a double-bitted bearded axe sable. There's a CD for the addition of the flaunches; but the hand is too minor a detail to be worth the second needed CD. (Visually it's equivalent to a maintained charge -- but we can't really call it that, since the hand grasps the axe, not the other way around. However, its visual weight is certainly too small to be worth any difference here.)

As drawn, the needles are too small to be identifiable. Sewing needles are difficult to identify under the best circumstances; when drawn this small, the problem becomes fatal. This must be returned for redrawing.

This conflicts, alas, with the mundane arms of Vismara (Rietstap): Parti de gueules et d'argent à une château sommé de deux tours, de l'un en l'autre, ouvert et ajouré du champ (Per pale gules and argent, a castle of two towers counterchanged, portal and windows of the field). There's a single CD, for the bordure.

The rayonny line of division is drawn too small to be visible from any distance. In period, complex lines were drawn big and bold, the better to be seen. This must be returned, per Rule VIII.3.

Georg of Glacier's Edge. Badge. (fieldless) A massacre gules.

This conflicts, alas, with the arms of Borsinger (Rietstap): D'argent à une ramure de cerf de gueules (Argent, a deer's massacre gules). There's a single CD, for the field.

Jay is documented only as a noun and surname in period; as it's the client's mundane given name, it was submitted under the aegis of Rule II.4. Such submissions, while usually acceptable, can be returned if the name is "obtrusively modern". We find Jay to be obtrusively modern, by virtue of its sound: it sounds like an initial, as in J. P. Morgan, and thus post-period.
We might have considered this acceptable as a "bird name", akin to Robin, had we been shown a common pattern of usage that birds were used as given names in period. But we could think of no examples offhand, save Robin; and one can make a good case that the bird's name derived from the given name (a diminutive of Robert) rather than the reverse. Without period examples, Jay must be considered intrusively modern, and unacceptable even under the Legal Name Allowance.

The emblazon has multiple problems, which combine to make the device unacceptable. The comet is unidentifiable as drawn: it more closely resembles a sword blade attached to an asterisk. The dragon is in an unheraldic posture, awkward of blazon and not attested in period. The cumulative effect warrants return for redesign.

The submitted name does not appear to be a correctly constructed toponymic. The intended meaning, according to the LOI, was "shady thicket noted for squirrels". However, in this context vair is a noun, not an adjective; and the one period example of couvert in a French place name cited in the commentary used it as an adjective. The submission's actual meaning is thus "hidden squirrel pelt" (or "hidden vair", referring to the heraldic tincture), which is highly implausible. At best, we would need explicit examples of "Hidden [animal/color]" before we could register this.
The shire permitted only specific alterations to the name, none of which would have solved the above problems. It must therefore be returned. If they're interested in the general sound of the name, Lord Palimpsest has suggested Bois Vairé, derived from a Latin given name Varius. If they prefer a placename associated with squirrels, Covert des Escuriuels (or Escuriaux) seems to be a medieval French form, according to Larousse's Nouveau Dictionnaire Étymologique.