is more reasonable than most and could probably
be given the benefit of the doubt. However, his forms indicate that he does not care about the meaning and
does care about the sound of the name, and he thinks that Tgellast is homonymous with cellist. Since
Tregellast sounds quite different, we prefer to return the name for further work. If he resubmits this with a
double surname, he should try to document the form.
CALONTIR
Anlon MacMatha. Badge. [Fieldless] An equal-armed Celtic cross vert pierced of a
mullet.
The "piercing" of the cross here is essentially an attempt to use a tinctureless (or rather, omni-tinctured) tertiary
charge. Such have been disallowed for some time. "It is not possible to eclipse something `of the field' on
a fieldless badge." (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR February 1991, p. 18)
It is true that we have registered fieldless badges consisting of a charge which has been pierced, but
in these cases the piercing was part of the definition of the charge (e.g., a mascle, a rustre) and can hardly be
considered as being in the same category as a "cross pierced of an (omni-tinctured) mullet".
Aleksandr Yaroslavovich Vyetcikov . Badge. Counter-ermine, a winged natural tiger salient
argent.
Conflict with Alienora di Paravano, Per saltire gules and sable, a winged lion rampant wings elevated and
addorsed argent. There is one CD for the difference in the fields, but nothing for rampant vs. salient,, and the
College has long considered that "cats is cats" in the same manner that "swords is swords".
Benjamin McDougal. Device. Per fess wavy argent and purpure semy of helms argent, a
demi-griffin segreant issuant from the line of division purpure.
The line of division of the field needs to be drawn much more boldly. Indeed, even in the large emblazon it
was nearly impossible to identify at any distance.
Christine Joye Stewart. Device. Azure, on an open book argent a thistle and a pan pipe
azure.
Conflict with Trimaris (badge for the Kingdom Historian), Upon a book argent in fess a triskele and an
hourglass azure. There is CD for fieldlessness, but X.4.j.ii. does not apply to the change in type only of the
tertiaries.
Conflict also with Yale University, Azure, an open book argent charged with Hebrew letters sable.
There is one CD for the multiple differences (type, tincture, number) to the teriaries, but two CDs are
required.
Gillian Elphinstone. Badge. [Fieldless] On a sun Or a shamrock sable.
Conflicts with: Kourost Bernard of the East Woods, Sable a sun eclipsed Or; Stefan of Seawood, Azure on a
sun Or an eagle displayed sable; Elizabeth Siobhan of Wiltshire, Quarterly sable and vert on a mullet of eight
points Or a natural pantheer sejant erect sable; and Seth the Seeker, Gules, on a compass star throughout Or
a unicorn's head couped at the shoulders sable armed and crined gules. In each case, there is only the fieldless
CD, as X.4.j.ii. (allowing a CD for the change to type only of tertiary charges) does not apply to charges upon
a sun or multi-pointed mullet.
Maura Brighid of Darkwood. Device. Gules, on a sun argent a tree eradicated sable.
Conflict with Anthony the Sinister, On a mullet of ten points argent, a pheon sable; Loren Shadwydpere
o'Moerlonde, Per chevron abased azure and argent, in chief on a sun argent, eclipsed sable, a pear argent; Fine
of Clare, Per pale azure and gules, on a sun argent an estoile of eight rays sable; John Emeris of Ellenar,
Sable, a mullet within a sun of wavy rays eclipsed argent; and Rathnar Blaiddgwyn, Sable, a wolf's head
cabossed within a sun eclipsed argent. Each of these has a CD for the field, but because X.4.j.ii. does not
apply to charges placed on a sun, there nothing for type only of tertiary charge. (Several of these conflicting
armories also have quaternary charges, which do not count for difference). Conflict also with Conroy der Rote,
Gules, on a sun argent, a falcon's leg couped a-la-quise proper, with only one CD for the multiple changes to
the tertiaries; and conflict with Seth the Seeker, Gules, on a compass star throughout Or a unicorn's head
couped at the shoulders sable, armed and crined gules, with only one CD for tincture of the primary and
nothing for sun vs. compass star ("multiply-pointed mullet").
Meadhbh n¡c Fhaoiltighearna . Badge. Argent, a wolf statant contourny atop a chain and
broken shackle sable.
Conflict with Harald de Sort Ulv af Danelaw, Argent, a wolf sejant to sinister sinister forepaw raised sable.
As the chain and shackle here are clearly the equivalent of maintained charges (and because "dogs is dogs" in
the same way that "swords is swords"), there is only one CD for changing the posture of the primary charge
(to statant from sejant).
Morgana of Raglan. Badge. Or, a melusine proper crined gules.
Conflicts with: Donnan the Truehearted, Per pall inverted azure, vert, and argent, a mermaid in her vanity,
facing and her tail flexed to sinister, proper; Fionaghal nan Eilean, Azure, a blackhaired mermaid embowed
to sinister, drawing a bow and arrow, all proper; and Ondine Patru de Limantour, Azure, a mermaid proper,
holding in both hands a scarf, striped longitudinally gules and purpure, arched over her head. In each case
there is a CD for the field, since we grant no difference between regional depictions of the same charge.
(Melusines are the Continental mermaid; the mermaid is the British version.) Conflict also with Pamela Hewitt
the Harper, Or, a brunette mermaid contourny playing a harp proper, a bordure gules, with one CD for
dropping the border.
Romana la Suertuda. Name only (see PENDS for device).
The byname was said to by Spanish for `the Lucky', but there was no documentation for it, and no one could
support the formation. Nothing close has the same meaning, so we are returning the name for further work.
Please inform her that the article was seldom used in Spanish adjectival bynames.
Taariq ibn Akmal. Device. Argent, a phoenix and on a chief gules three roundels
argent.
Conflicts with Blodwen ferch Maigred, Argent a phoenix and on a chief gules a fire arrow reversed argent.
There is only one CD, for the changes to the tertiary charges on the chief.
EAST
Aine Callaghan. Household badge for the Dabbler's Guild. Vairy purpure, semy of bees Or,
and argent.
Conflict with Napoleon (badge), Azure, semy of bees Or (registered elsewhere in this LoAR). There is only
one CD, for the change to the field. There were an ample number of commenters who felt that Napoleon's
badge, cited in the LoI, was of sufficient importance to protect. As a consequence, we are adding it to the list
of protected items here.
Damasus Aurelius Ptolemaeus Octavianus. Name.
If Damasus were one of the 36 known Roman pr‘nomina (e.g., Aulus, Gaius, Lucius, Sextus, Tiberius), this
would be a classical Roman name. By the 3rd century the pr‘nomen was often dropped, but it does not seem
to have been replaced; rather, this simply left the gentilicium (or nomen) at the head of the name. (In the chaos
of late-empire naming it is certainly possible to find exceptions, i.e., names not headed by gentilicia, but the
available examples are all names of just one or two elements.) Unfortunately, Damasus, of Greek origin, is
apparently not a gentilicium. If any single element of this name were dropped, or if Damasus were moved to
follow Aurelius, it would go at most one step beyond documented forms and (barring new evidence to the
contrary) would be registerable. As it stands, it goes a bit too far beyond what has been documented for us
to feel comfortable registering it.
Duncan Forbes. Badge. (Fieldless) On an escallop argent, a cross crescenty vert.
Conflict with Etain Winterbourne, On an escallop argent, a violet plant vert flowered purpure, since the plant
is primarily vert (thus not allowing us a CD for change to type and tincture) and the escallop is not a charge
which will allow application of X.4.j.ii. to grant a CD for the change to type only of the tertiary
charge.
Elsa de Lyon. Device. Azure, a lion's jamb bendwise shackled and chained with a broken
chain argent.
The jambe is neither palewise nor bendwise, but somewhere in between. As such, it's posture is unblazonable.
If it were considered to be palewise, it would conflict with Fearghus O'Shannon, A tiger's jambe couped argent
marked sable, with one CD for fielded vs. fieldless, but a visual check confirmed that Fearghus' jambe is
basically argent with only a couple of narrow sable stripes.
Everard Martel. Device. Argent, on a fleur-de-lys sable another inverted argent, all within
a bordure azure.
There are a couple of problems with this device, which together add up to its exceeding the informal "Rule
of Two Weirdnesses" (an informal name given to the idea that, in most cases, the College can accept a design
that has one break with the usual heraldic style. A device that has two violations of period heraldic style, or
"two weirdnesses", is less likely to be registered). Charging a fleur-de-lys is difficult at best, because of the
complex nature of the charge and the difficulty of acquiring sufficient space for a charge to be placed upon
it. Indeed, here it is not the fleur which is so charged, it is only the top central "petal" of the fleur. As a
consequence, we are left with the problem of devising a blazon which is both concise and yet describes
accurately the arrangement of the charges.
The second is the inversion of the tertiary charge. Where, as here, a tertiary charge is the same as
the primary charge on which it lies, the eye expects them to be in the same orientation. Where there is not
a lot of difference, as with fleurs-de-lys, between the palewise version and the inverted one, this becomes even
more confusing visually.
All in all, this just is not good period style.
Feng Amlethson. Name.
Both elements of the name are problematic. Feng is from Old Norse Fengr, one of the many aliases used by
Odin in his dealings with mankind; no evidence has been presented to show that it was actually used by human
beings. Amleth is the translator's rendering of Saxo's Amlethus, which represents Old Norse
Amlóoumli (so that the actual Old Norse patronymic would have been Amlóoumlason).
(Interestingly, this name, which is the original of Hamlet, came to mean `a fool, simpleton, imbecile; a weak
person'.) However, Lind (Norsk-Islädska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn) marks the name as an alias,
or assumed name, so it is not clear that this name was actually in everyday use, either.
Amlóoumlason is a borderline case; possibly it could be justified as a patronymic formed from a
byname, though evidence for such formation is fairly skimpy. Feng, however, is clearly not registerable
without evidence of human use.
Jan Kees Dudel. Device. Per bend azure and argent, a crescent bendwise sinister transfixed
by an arrow bendwise sinister inverted argent, and a bow bendwise sinister with an arrow nocked and drawn gules.
The device is visually confusing; the eye wants to see two bows and arrows. This sort of confusion in
identifiability is counter to one of the basic purposes of heraldry, which is easy identifiability. Additionally,
given the relative sizes of the charges and their visual weight, this falls afoul of the complexity limits of RfS
VIII.1.a., containing as it does three different types of charge in a single charge group: bow, crescent, and
arrows.
Mári ni Raghallaigh. Badge. Azure, semy of bees argent.
Conflict with Napoleon (registered elsewhere in this LoI), Azure, semy of bees Or, with one CD for the change
to the tincture of the charges.
Owen ap Robert. Device. Per bend sinister azure and sable, a dragon passant Or,
blindfolded gules.
Conflict with Percival de Toulouse, Per fess indented azure and gules, a wyvern passant Or, as cited in the LoI.
There is a CD for the changes to the field, but wyverns and dragons are merely artistic variants of the same
charge, just as mermaids and melusines are.
MIDDLE
Cynnabar, Shire of. Badge. [Fieldless] A winged lion-dragon erect per fess Or and
vert.
Visual conflict with Dakyn le Puk of Meriden, Per bend sinister vert and Or, a sea-lion counterchanged. There
is the fieldless CD, but a visual comparison of the two emblazons demonstrated the overwhelming visual
resemblance of the charges, especially as the wings on the submitted monster were very small and in exactly
the same place as the end of the fish's tail of Dakyn's monster.
Dianne Pensworth. Name.
Diane is the French form of Diana, a name occasionally found in England late in our period (and once in the
13th century). The double nn is apparently a modern innovation suggested by the name Anne; it is not
evidenced in any of the available period citations, French or English, and is not supported by the Latin original.
We would happily drop the extra n to register the name, but unfortunately the submitter does not allow any
changes. (The name was submitted on the new Middle Kingdom form, which makes this the default option,
and the submitter did not check any box. Pelican notes that in these circumstances it is impossible to
determine whether the submitter actual forbade changes or merely overlooked the section on Permitted
Changes.)
Kay of Triasterium. Name.
Triasterium is a constructed Latin place-name modelled on such attested names as Trimontium `[place of the]
three mountains' and Tripontium `[place of the] three bridges'. The underlying noun is astˆr (genitive asteris),
a masculine noun borrowed from the Greek; according to the Oxford Latin Dictionary it can signify either a
plant (belonging to the genus Aster), a kind of Samian clay, or `star, destiny'. Its genitive plural is asterium,
so Triasterium is grammatically of the same form as its models. Unfortunately, grammatical correctness is not
a sufficient condition for registerability: a proposed place-name construction must also make sense as a place-name.
That a place would be named after three mountains or bridges is completely unsurprising; that a farm,
manor, or other small community might be named after three prominent trees is also believable (and
documentable, inasmuch as a Latin Tres Arbores is in record). We are not persuaded, however, that Triasterium
`[place of the] three asters' is at all believable as a place-name, since we cannot envision the circumstances
in which three flowers would be a landmark notable enough to give rise to one. Asterium `[place of the] asters'
would be another matter; many places have been named for some plant that once grew there in profusion. But
as one commenter suggested, Triasterium is as implausible a place-name as Three Daisies.
Knowing that the lady has been using the name (or a close variant) for some 20 years, we hesitate to
make any but the most minor changes. We are, however, able to offer one possibility that might be acceptable
to her. There are a few pairs of English place-names in which Latin descriptions have been added to existing
place-names to differentiate the places. Two good examples are found in Dorset. The first is that of Toller
Porcorum (Tolre Porcorum 1340) and Toller Fratrum (Tolre Fratrum 1340), on the river Toller (now the
Hooke). The first is `Toller of the pigs'; the other, `Toller of the brethren', was owned by the Knights
Hospitallers. Another example is Ryme Intrinseca `inner Ryme', whose suffix distinguished it from the former
manor of Ryme Extrinseca `outer Ryme'. (Both examples can be found in A.D. Mills's Dictionary of English
Place-Names.) Reaney & Wilson mention that the surname True may in some cases derive from one of the
places in Devon named Tree, Trew, True, or Trow. These are evidently minor places, since they do not appear
in any of the standard English place-name references. Consequently, it is not clear what their period spellings
were. The first, at least, may be from the English noun tree, which can be found as tre and tree from the 13th
century to the end of our period, or from Cornish tre `homestead'; in either case Tre should be a possible
period spelling. Since there are apparently several of these places, the addition of a modifier would not be
surprising; and Devon is next door to Dorset, where the examples already noted are found. Thus, Tre Asterium
`Tre of the asters', though exceedingly hypothetical, is probably not quite beyond the bounds of reasonable
possibility.
(Note that in period the given name can probably be justified only as a masculine name (from a Welsh
or Breton form of Latin Caius); Withycombe's wording strongly suggests that as a pet form of Katherine it is
relatively recent. This is of course not a problem in this name.)
Kestrel Corsayre. Name.
While some names of birds can be found as personal names in some European languages, documented examples
all existed as name elements since the earliest records of the languages in question. But the earliest instance
of kestrel (in any form) in the OED is from the 15th C., and if the etymology suggested there is right, the word
derives from French forms that are quite different. Thus, it did not exist when such personal names of this type
were still being created. It might make an acceptable byname, though it is a bit late to be very convincing
even in that r“le, but it cannot have been a given name in our period. We must therefore return the name for
lack of a given name (required by RfS III.2.a (Personal Names)). Please inform the submitter that in period
corsair meant chiefly a Barbary pirate, not a pirate in general.
Middle, Kingdom of the. Title for Jessant-de-lys Pursuivant.
As noted in last month's return of the title Ursine Pursuivant (Meridies), the few apparently adjectival period
heraldic titles do not support the indiscriminate use of adjectives as heraldic titles; all of them name qualities
of character or spirit and could reasonably serve as mottos. Jessant-de-lys is neither a plausible motto nor a
description of character or spirit, nor is it the name of an heraldic charge; it therefore does not appear actually
to follow the period models that it most nearly resembles. (There was also no submission form in the
packet.)
Randwulf Widefarer. Household name for Haus Kaperschiff.
Kaperschiff is German for a ship used by privateers. Haus Kaperschiff is therefore analogous to House
Warship, House Q-Ship, and House Trawler. Such names are too generic to be registered and in any case do
not follow any of the usual period models for household names (e.g., names of Scottish clans, ruling dynasties,
professional guilds, military units, inns). Ships' names are probably another reasonable model, so perhaps the
submitter should simply name his Kaperschiff.
Thomas the Green. Device. Vert, a smith's hammer and on a chief argent a broad
arrowhead between two loops of rope ends to chief crossed in saltire sable.
Withdrawn from consideration at the request of the submitter.
This had been pended from the September Laurel meeting.
WEST
Tegen Meanbh. Device change. Per fess wavy sable and gules papellony argent, in chief
three increscents argent.
Conflict with SignýJóinnardótir, Per fess wavy sable and barry wavy argent and azure,
in chief three increscents argent, registered last month, with only one CD for the field.
Walraven Van Nijmege . Name.
The submitter has used excellent sources for his documentation; unfortunately, 16th century orthography has
played a dirty trick on him. The 1566 map on which he thought to read Nijmege actually has a tilde over the
final e. This standard scribal abbreviation for an omitted n or m was still in common use in the 16th century,
in print as in manuscript, and other place-names on the same map confirm its use here (e.g., Bate[n]borch,
Campe[n], Lichte[n]foerde, Wachte[n]donck, Reckelichuse[n], Crane[n]borch). As a matter of long-standing
tradition we do not register scribal abbreviations. We would have expanded the abbreviation and replaced Van
with van in accordance with normal period practice so as to register the name as Walraven van Nijmegen, but
he permits no changes whatsoever.
It is questionable whether the submitted form can be justified from the remaining documentation. The
final n appears by about the year 1000; forms without it are recorded at least into the 12th century, but in Latin
contexts. There is a gap in the documentation between c.1200 and the 16th century, but it appears that final
n was established by the time the first part of the name became Nij-. It is possible that evidence can be found
to justify Nijmege, but in the meantime we must regretfully return the name. If no such evidence can be found,
Walraven de Numege would be an excellent 12th century version without final n, and Walraven van Numege
would probably also be acceptable.
The accompanying armory was registered under the holding name Brian of the West.
THE FOLLOWING HAVE BEEN PENDED UNTIL THE APRIL 1996 LAUREL MEETING:
ATENVELDT
Owen Blacksheep. Device. Azure, on a cross nowy argent a ram statant sable.
The tincture of the cross had been dropped from the blazon in the LoI.
CALONTIR
Romana la Suertuda. Device. Argent, a fess vert between two mullets purpure and a
decrescent azure.
The LoI misblazoned the crescent as "argent".
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