ACCEPTANCES

AETHELMEARC

Adriana Michaels. Name.

Ælfwynn Leoflæde dohtor. Name change from Geileis nic Dhughaill.

Listed on the LoI as Aelfwynn Leoflaede dohtor, the form listed Ælfwynn Leoflæde dohtor. We have returned the name to this spelling.

Her previous name, Geileis nic Dhughaill, is released.

Anastasia Tremayne. Name.

The submitter requested authenticity for 1500s England and allowed minor changes. Anastasia is dated to 1219 and 1220 in Withycombe (s.n. Anastasia). The College was unable to find examples of the full form of this name dated to later period in England. Examples of diminutive forms were found in Bardsley (p. 55 s.n. Anstee) which gives Anstie and Anstice as nicknames for Anastasia and dates Anstey Mankyswyll to 1520 and Anstice, daughter of John Nanskevell, to 1602. From the evidence, it seems probable that only diminutive forms of this name survived in the 16th C, and that the full form Anastasia was no longer used. Anstie Tremayne or Anstey Tremayne would be forms of this name that are documentably authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture. Given the difference in sound and appearance, it was generally felt that changing the given name from Anastasia to a diminutive form Anstey or Anstice was a major change. As the submitter only allowed minor changes, we were unable to make this change to make her name verifiably authentic for her desired time and culture.

Annanias Fenne. Name and device. Per bend argent and sable, a rose and a chief gules.

Listed on the LoI as Annanias Fenn, this name was submitted as Annanias en la Fenne. The byname was changed at kingdom because the submitter requested authenticity for 16th C England. The submitted form en la Fenne is dated to 1340 in Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Fenn), while the form Fenn is dated to 1617 in Bardsley (s.n. Fenn). Hitching & Hitching, References to English Surnames in 1601 and 1602 (p. xliv), dates Fenne to 1601. As this date is closer to the submitter's desired time period than either 1340 or 1617, and this spelling is closer to the originally submitted spelling, we have changed the byname to this form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Bastian Eisengart. Name and device. Azure, a hawk Or between three gauntlets argent.

Listed on the LoI as Bastien Eisengart, the given name had a typo since both the form and the documentation spell the given name as Bastian. We have made this correction.

Bohdan Medvíd. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Submitted as Bohdan Medvíd of Carpathia, the submitter requested authenticity for Ukrainian. The LoI noted that "[h]e will accept no changes to the given name or the nickname, but will accept changes to the locative. If it cannot be rendered into Ukrainian, it can be dropped." As the College was unable to find a Ukrainian byname meaning of Carpathia, we have dropped the byname to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Bran of Æthelmearc. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per saltire sable and gules, a tower argent within a bordure Or.

Submitted under the name Bran McNaughton.

Bressal Macculloch. Name and device. Vert, three boar's heads erased argent.

Nice device!

Briant Huntington. Name and device. Vert, two dolphins hauriant addorsed and on a chief wavy argent five decrescents vert.

The submitter requested authenticity for 12th C Welsh and noted on her form that the name was intended to be feminine. Briant is a English masculine given name that is not Welsh in origin. The byname Huntington is an unmarked locative byname referring to locations in several English shires. Garnet noted in the LoI, "Through communication with the submitter, I know that she wants this name, even though it's not feminine, nor authentic for Welsh, and cannot be easily made so." Given this clarification, we are registering this name as submitted rather than attempting to make it authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.

Caterina del Cavallo. Transfer of name and device to Daniel del Cavallo. Per fess gules and Or, in pale a horse passant and a Catherine wheel counterchanged.

This is a posthumous transfer. The Laurel office was provided with (1) a copy of Caterina's real-world will, (2) a letter from Caterina's legal heir transferring Caterina's name and device to Daniel del Cavallo, and (3) a letter from Daniel accepting transfer of Caterina's name and device.

We suggest that all people with registered armory consider writing an explicit heraldic will. Directions on how to create and file a heraldic will are in the newest Administrative Handbook section IV.F with a template for the will itself in Appendix D. This newest version of the Administrative Handbook is available on-line at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html as well as from the usual print sources.

Ceara of Æthelmearc. Holding name and device. Vert, three oak trees eradicated within a bordure argent.

This device was submitted under the name Ceara inghean uí Mháille, which was returned on the April 2002 LoAR.

Colin MacWilliams. Badge. (Fieldless) On a wolf's head erased argent a sword sable.

Collys Bythesea. Name and device. Argent, a bend sinister wavy azure between a popinjay contourny regardant and a palm tree bendwise sinister all within a bordure sable.

Conandil ingen Donngaíle. Name.

Daniel del Cavallo. Acceptance of transfer of name and device from Caterina del Cavallo. Per fess gules and Or, in pale a horse passant and a Catherine wheel counterchanged.

The name Caterina del Cavallo is registered to Daniel del Cavallo as an alternate name. Caterina's device is registered to Daniel as a badge.

Deirdre ingean Dhomhnaill. Badge. (Fieldless) A dragonfly fesswise reversed sable.

Denw verch Rhys. Name.

Egill the Dane. Badge. (Fieldless) A cross swallowtail gyronny azure and Or.

Please advise the submitter that if he wishes to ensure that this charge is perceived as a cross, the arms should be longer. This was generally perceived by the commenters as some sort of mullet of eight points rotated slightly from the default posture, which would have one point to chief. This cross is drawn in exactly the same way as the cross swallowtail in his registered device, and he may thus register another such cross despite the ambiguity of the artwork.

While the usual blazon for this cross would be swallowtailed, we have preserved the blazon from his device, which reads swallowtail.

Emelyne le Tresor. Name and device. Gules, a chevron argent semy of key crosses sable between three fleurs-de-lys argent.

Ethne an Locha. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Faílenn de Céarsaigh. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Fionnghuala inghean Diarmada. Name and device. Or, a serpent nowed vert and on a chief gules three trefoils Or.

George Anne. Device. Argent chaussé vert, a frog tergiant inverted sable.

This device uses a frog in the tergiant inverted posture. The SCA has general precedents against registering inverted animate charges unless they are part of a radially symmetrical group such as in annulo. These precedents are on the grounds that such inverted animals are generally not readily identifiable, and they are not found in period heraldry. However, the SCA also has a registration tradition of allowing animals which are usually found in a tergiant posture to be registered in the tergiant inverted posture. We were asked by the submitting kingdom to rule on the acceptability of the tergiant inverted posture when considering this submission.

There is very little period evidence for tergiant inverted animals in heraldry. No evidence was presented by the College. We were only able to find two instances of period or near-period tergiant inverted animals after the Wreath meeting, both of which used scorpions. There is a tergiant inverted scorpion as the crest of Sir William Sharington/Sherrington c. 1547 in Bedingfield and Gwynn-Jones' Heraldry, p. 104. This crest is a very unusual depiction of the Sherrington scorpion crest/badge: in the town of Lacock (where the Sherrington family was granted the old abbey as a home by Henry VIII), there are period displays of their armory in the Abbey/Sherrington home and in the town church, and the scorpion seems always to be in the default tergiant posture. Guillim's Display of Heraldrie second edition p.215 gives the arms of Cole, Argent, a cheueron, Gules, betweene three scorpions reversed, sable. The emblazon shows the scorpions in what the SCA would call the tergiant inverted posture. The second edition, published in 1632, is not in our period, but is in our grey area. The combination of a perhaps-erroneous emblazon of a crest with a slightly post-period emblazon of armory is not clear evidence of period practices for scorpions, and is certainly not compelling evidence for a general period use of the posture tergiant inverted.

A significant number of commenters felt that inverting a tergiant charge which is commonly found as tergiant (such as a tergiant scorpion or a frog) does not hamper the identifiability of the charge so much as to render it unidentifiable, and they felt that it should be acceptable. The frog in this submission certainly retains its identifiability very clearly in the inverted posture. As a result, inverting a tergiant charge is acceptable as long as it does not otherwise violate any basic heraldic principles, including the requirement for identifiability. Because of the lack of period evidence for tergiant inverted charges, the posture will be considered a clear step from period practice (also known informally as a "weirdness") for any charge that cannot be found in this posture in period. We explicitly decline to rule at this time on whether scorpions tergiant inverted should be considered a "weirdness".

Gregory of Glencairn. Name and device. Vert, a cross engrailed argent overall a gurges Or.

Initially, Glencairn did not look like a Scots (as opposed to Scottish Gaelic) period spelling. (Scots is a language closely related to English.) Black (s.n. Glencairn) dates Fergus de Glencarn to 1222. Given that Black (s.n. Cairncross) dates Robert Cairncorse to 1571, a cairn-based spelling is plausible in Scots in period.

The model for this armory submission is in Foster's The Dictionary of Heraldry. It depicts the arms of Robert Giffard, from the Dering Roll c. 1275. Foster's blazon is Argent, a cross engrailed sable, over all a gorge azure, and it is drawn much like this submission. The gurges is depicted as concentric annulets, each annulet overlying the "cup" parts of the engrailed cross. The outside annulets are cut off by the sides of the shield so only the corners show.

Unfortunately, we were unable to find a period emblazon of these arms. One must be careful about relying too heavily on Foster's redrawn emblazons. A design found only in Foster's artwork will generally not be considered sufficient documentation to be accepted in the SCA, as noted in the return of Séamus Ó Cuileáin's device in the LoAR of December 1998.

One notably different depiction of the same coat of arms is in Humphery-Smith's Anglo-Norman Armory II, where it is blazoned, Or, a cross engrailed sable surmounted by five concentric annulets vert. Humphery-Smith's research is usually considered to be more accurate than Foster's. Humphery-Smith emblazons the armory with five concentric annulets surmounting the center of the cross. The outside portions of the cross are not obscured by the annulets, and none of the annulets are cut off by the sides of the shield.

However, there is also some scholarly support for Foster's emblazon. Brault's Early Blazon gives a (modern) illustration of a 'concentric-annulet' gurges (p.76, fig.11) where the outside annulets are cut off by the sides of the shield. Woodward's A Treatise on Heraldry, p.193, states:

Akin to this last bearing is the Gorge or Gurges, or Whirlpool, a spiral line of azure commencing in the fess point of a field of argent, and occupying the whole shield; it is figured in Plate XIX, fig.6, and was borne, in the reign of HENRY III, as armes parlantes, by the Wiltshire family of GORGES. In GLOVER'S Roll of Arms, No.188, this bearing takes an unusual form: being, Argent, four concentric annulets azure, the exterior one is cut by the outline of the shield. It is there given thus: 'Rauf de Gorges Roele dArgent & dazur' (sic).

In general, it appears that concentric annulets, of which the outermost are cut off by the edges of the shield, are an early form of gurges. Thus, it seems appropriate to give this emblazon the benefit of the doubt, and assume that this is an acceptable period-style combination of a gurges and a cross engrailed.

Please advise the submitter that the College had some difficulty identifying both the cross and the gurges. He should be careful to draw the cross and gurges so that the engrailed line of the cross maintains its identifiability.

Grimbald Deth. Name and device. Sable, two spiked maces in saltire between in fess two skulls Or.

Günther Schwarzrose. Name.

Hannah Rosenberg. Name and device. Per chevron argent and vert, a sheaf of rose branches vert each branch ending in a rose gules and on a mullet of six points argent a Hebrew letter chai vert.

The submitter requested authenticity for a 1500-1600 German Jewish woman and allowed minor changes. The spelling Hannah was documented as an English feminine given name. Evidence was found that forms of this name were also used in Germany. The Hebraicized form Chana is found in Germany in Julie Stampnitzky's article "Names from Hebrew Chronicles of the 10th to 13th Centuries" (http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/fem/chana.html). The vernacular form Hanna is found in the matronymic byname Hannen dated to 1343 in Bahlow (p. 209 s.n. Hannen). As changing the language of a name phrase is a major change, which the submitter does not allow, we were unable to change the given name to a German form to meet the submitter's request.

Hierytha Storie. Device. Per fess wavy argent goutty de sang and azure, a lemming salient contourny sable.

Please advise the submitter that a lemming resembles a mouse with a short mouse tail. The charge drawn here has no tail at all.

Khazima bint Hakim. Device. Vert, a naked woman statant affronty arms upraised and in chief three crescents argent.

Kristin in hárfagra. Name change from Birgitta Gladarodd Fredriksdottir av Knusslig Hamn.

This name combines the given name Kristin, which was documented as a Swedish feminine given name dating to 1318, with the Old Norse byname in hárfagra. Mixing Old Norse and Swedish is registerable, though it is a weirdness. If the submitter is interested in a fully Old Norse name, she may wish to know that Kristín is listed in Geirr Bassi as a feminine given name used in Old Norse.

Her previous name, Birgitta Gladarodd Fredriksdottir av Knusslig Hamn, is released.

Laurette de Montasalvy. Device. Argent, two hummingbirds rising respectant wings elevated and addorsed and a chief engrailed purpure.

Leofwynn Kyndheir. Name and device. Argent, a brown owl displayed proper and on a chief triangular vert three oak leaves conjoined at their stems Or.

The submitter requested authenticity for 10th C Saxon and allowed minor changes. The byname Kyndheir was documented as dating to 1332 in Jan Jönsjö, Studies on Middle English Nicknames, vol. 1, Compounds, which gives the meaning of the byname as 'kind or natural heir'. Metron Ariston found that the English word heir derives from French and so is unlikely to have a 10th C Saxon form:

Jonsjo deals with Middle English nicknames, not Old English so he is dubious for the tenth century. Moreover, the Oxford English Dictionary (s.n. heir) tells us that the English word heir in all its forms appears to be derived from French so it is unlikely as a combinant in the tenth century. On the other hand, Selten (Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal Names, Vol. II, p. 119) notes that the feminine name Leofwynn, though rare, does exist in Middle English, citing the forms Leofwena from 1186, Lewana from 1198, Lefwenna from 1209, Lefwen' from 1199 and Lewen from 1327.

From this information, Lewen Kyndheir would be an authentic 14th C English form of this name. However, lacking evidence of a 10th C Saxon form of the byname Kyndheir, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture.

The owl in the device was originally blazoned as a horned owl, but this overspecifies the type of owl. This sort of detail should be specified as an artist's note, not as a blazon detail. In Europe, the eagle owl is a large owl found over most of Europe which is brown in tincture (with darker brown spots.) Three other sorts of owl (the short-eared, Scops, and long-eared owls) are predominantly brown. It therefore seems reasonable that an owl proper could be depicted as brown. Per the Cover Letter of the October 1995 LoAR, "animals which are frequently found as brown but also commonly appear in other tinctures in the natural world may be registered as a brown {X} proper (e.g., brown hound proper, brown horse proper)."

Lídia dAlgarve. Device. Per fess argent and azure, a sheaf of spears and a crane in its vigilance counterchanged and a base embattled argent.

Lothar Rosenstill. Name and device. Gyronny vert and Or, a hand and a bordure sable.

Maeve Egan. Name and device. Purpure semy of tambourines bendwise, on a pale Or a quill pen between two rapiers purpure.

Marina MacLymond of Craignethan. Device. Per chevron inverted sable and Or, a sun in his splendor and a mullet counterchanged.

Megge Gormshuileach. Name.

Méraud d'Avignon. Name and device (see RETURNS for badge). Purpure, a dragonfly within an orle of fleurs-de-lis Or.

Michael Mcphe. Name and device. Azure, in pile a rapier proper between two feathers Or.

Morien MacBain. Device. Gules crusilly Or, a Maltese cross and on a chief argent three falcons belled and jessed sable.

Rachel Armstrong. Device. Vert, on a bend argent three wolf's paw prints palewise vert and in sinister chief an increscent argent.

Richenda de Jardin. Badge. (Fieldless) A fleur-de-lis per fess azure and argent.

Sueva the Short. Name change from holding name Theresa the Short.

This submission is an appeal of a return of the same name in April 2001:

The given name was documented from Roberts, Notable Kin: An Anthology of Columns First Published in the NEHGS NEXUS, 1986-1995. While we have no reason to doubt the quality of the genealogical research, the goals of genealogists are different from ours and their data is not necessarily applicable to SCA use. The College was unable to verify this name. We therefore have to return it, barring new evidence of its use as a given name in period.

Also, please note that the College needs to know the culture as well as the time period of a name, especially when the name is documented from a non-standard source.

The current submission provides documentation of Sueva from a manuscript quoted in A. William Smith, trans., Fifteenth-Century Dance and Music: Twelve Transcribed Italian Treatises and Collections in the Tradition of Domenico da Piacenza. The woman mentioned in this manuscript as Sueva is Sveva, the first wife of Alessandro Sforza. (The v to u switch sometimes occurs in documentary forms.) Therefore, Sueva is documented to period as an Italian feminine given name and is registerable.

Tigernach Mag Samhradháin. Name and device. Per pale argent and Or, an oak tree eradicated azure.

Submitted as Tigernach Mag Shamhráin, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed any changes. Tigernach is a Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) masculine given name. Examples of this name have been found in the 10th and 11th centuries. Mag Shamhráin is a Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700-present) spelling. The "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 3, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005C/) lists Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) forms of this byname in several entries, including Tomas Mag Samhradhain in 1275 (entry M1275.7) and Brian Breaghach Mac Samhradháin taoiseach Teallaigh Echdach in 1298 (entry M1298.3). We have changed the byname to a form consistent with these examples in order to register the name. Lacking evidence that the given name Tigernach was still used when Early Modern Irish Gaelic was in use, or that Mag Samhradháin was used earlier, in Middle Irish Gaelic, we were unable to make this name completely authentic.

This device is clear of conflict with Allistair MacMitchell, reblazoned elsewhere in this letter as (Fieldless) A tree eradicated azure its trunk entwined and sustained by a wingless wyvern passant to base Or. The wyvern is co-primary with the tree, so there is one CD for fieldlessness and another CD for removing the wyvern.

Wülfer Drachenhand. Badge. (Fieldless) A dragon's jambe erased argent sustaining in chief a roundel embattled per pale vert and sable charged with a decrescent argent.

Wülfer Drachenhand. Badge. (Fieldless) On a roundel embattled per pale vert and sable a decrescent argent.

AN TIR

Aluara Hesel. Name and device. Azure, a Lacy knot argent within a bordure nebuly Or.

Submitted as Alureda Hesel, the submitter requested authenticity for 12th C Irish and allowed any changes. Alureda was submitted as a hypothetical feminine form of Alured, which is dated to 1066 in Withycombe (s.n. Alfred). However, Alured is a form of the Old English name Ælfweard. In Old English, feminine names were not formed by simply adding 'a' to the end of a masculine given name. Therefore, Alureda is not a plausible construction.

The LoI noted that "[i]f the name must be changed, the submitter cares most about the sound of the name, 'similar to "Allura"'." The LoI also inquired about the November 1993 registration of Aluuara O'Reilly. Aluuara is a plausible documentary form of the Old English feminine given name Ælfwaru, which Searle (p. 24) dates from c. 990 to 1012. Searle (p. 520) lists Uluuara and Uluara as variants of the Old English feminine name Wulfwaru. Following these examples, Aluuara and Aluara are plausible forms of Ælfwaru. The w to uu switch is typical of documentary forms of the period and would still have been pronounced as a w. Since the second form is closer to the submitter's requested form, we have changed the given name to this form in order to register the name.

As no evidence was found that any form of either element in this name was used in Ireland, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture.

Çinara Suberria. Device. Sable, a cherry blossom throughout argent seeded sable between five roundels all within a bordure argent.

Conal MacLaren. Name.

The submitter requested authenticity for "1600 Scottish from Bahlquider or Perth" and allowed any changes. Conall is dated to 1570 as an Anglicized Irish masculine given name in an indenture transcribed on pp. 1651-1652 of John O'Donovan, ed., Annals of Ireland, by the Four Masters, vol. 5. The byname form Oconil, which contains a single 'l', is dated to the 14th C in Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article, "Names and Naming Practices in the Red Book of Ormond (Ireland 14th Century)" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/ormond.html). Given this example, a single 'l' form of the given name is plausible. However, no evidence was found that any form of Conal was used in Scotland as a given name. The examples listed in Black (p. 168 s.n. Conall) are bynames. This entry gives Conall as "[m]odern for Congal or Congual". Lacking evidence of any form of Conal used in Scotland c. 1600, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture.

Elonda Blue Haven. Device reblazon. Azure, semé of lightning flashes bendwise sinister Or, a sinister hand cupped in profile fesswise argent maintaining in its palm a flame proper.

This armory was reblazoned in the LoAR of January 2002 to Azure, semé of lightning flashes bendwise sinister Or, a sinister hand cupped in profile fesswise argent maintaining in its palm a flame gules fimbriated Or. As part of that reblazon, the flame (which had originally been blazoned as proper) was reblazoned as gules fimbriated Or. Because of the decision concerning the blazon and emblazon of flames proper later in this letter (Rúadhán Súilghlas, in An Tir returns), the reblazon of the flame was in error. We have thus restored the original proper blazon of the flame (while keeping the other necessary parts of the January 2002 reblazon).

Gwenevere McAy. Badge. (Fieldless) A dragon contourny sustaining a compass rose argent.

Jean-Jacques Lavigne. Name and device. Per fess embattled vert and argent, three bunches of grapes and a willow tree eradicated counterchanged.

Jean-Jacques Lavigne. Badge. (Fieldless) A bunch of grapes per pale argent and vert.

Krista Silverlock. Name and device. Gules, three annulets interlaced two and one and on a chief argent three wheels gules.

Krista is her legal given name. Silverlock is her father's registered byname.

Mahliqa bint Ali. Device. Per bend argent and purpure, in bend sinister two fish naiant in annulo counterchanged.

Marguerite de Moseleia. Name.

Mikhail Kurganovich. Name.

Submitted as Mikhail Kurganovic, the documentation cited Kurgan as a masculine given name from Wickenden (s.n. Kurgan) and -ovi{cv} from B. O. Unbegaun's Russian Surnames (p. 105). We have modified the byname to conform to the transliteration system used in the rest of the name.

Rafe Neuton. Name and device. Per chevron sable and argent, a demi-sun issuant from base azure.

Good name!

Viridis Solari. Name and device. Per saltire Or and argent, a sun within an orle vert.

Submitted as Viridis Aletha Solari, the submitter allowed minor changes and noted that she is "willing to drop the middle name 'Aletha' if [it is] not consistent with period naming practices, or if documentation is insufficient." Aletha was documented from Yonge, which is not a reliable source. Double given names are found in Italian in late period. If Aletha were changed to a documented form, this name would be registerable. For example, Withycombe (s.n. Alethea) dates Alatheia to 1606. Therefore, Viridis Alatheia Solari would be registerable as a mixed language name combining Italian and English. While such a mix is registerable, it is not strictly "consistent with period naming practices". Therefore, we have dropped Aletha according to the submitter's instructions since the College was unable to find documentation of any form of this name in Italian.

Willelm Bogamann. Name and device. Per pale Or and sable, two hedgehogs rampant addorsed the dexter maintaining a bow and the sinister maintaining an arrow inverted all counterchanged.

Submitted as William bogsveigir, the submitter requested an authentic "masculine 11th Century Danelaw" name and allowed any changes. His desired meaning was 'William the archer'. William was documented from Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Williams) which date Henry Fitz William to 1300. bogsveigir was documented from Geirr Bassi (p. 20) as an Old Norse byname meaning 'bow-swayer, archer'. Metron Ariston provided commentary on the forms of this name:

I'd think the Old Norse would be wrong for so late a date in the Danelaw. A bit earlier and I would suggest the purely Norse Vilhjálmr bogsveigr. Going the English route for around the Norman Conquest which appears to be more or less the time he wants, I'd suggest Willelm Bogamann. The given name is in a spelling given from 1067 by Withycombe (Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, s.n. William) The byname is an Old English occupational construct from boga ("bow") and mann ("mann") and may be presumed to be the antecedent of Middle English bowman which Reaney and Wilson (Dictionary of English Surnames, s.n. Bowman) document as early as the first quarter of the thirteenth century.

We have changed this name to the form recommended by Metron Ariston to meet the submitter's requested time and culture.

ARTEMISIA

Admiranda de Foxerde. Name and device. Per chevron throughout argent and vert, two apple tree branches inverted leaved proper and fructed gules and a unicorn rampant contourny argent.

Good name!

Artemisia, Kingdom of. Heraldic title Black Pillar Pursuivant.

Colin Campbell de Leith. Device. Gyronny pean and Or, in bend sinister a lion rampant reguardant contourny and a lion rampant reguardant gules.

Elizabeth Latham. Name change from Elizabeth of Canterbury.

Her previous name, Elizabeth of Canterbury, is released.

Giovanni Orsini da Venezia. Name and device. Argent, two falcons respectant gules and a chief triangular azure.

Konrad von Krixen. Badge. Vert, three goblets in pall bowls to center and on a bordure argent an ivy vine vert.

Magdalena Dragonetti. Name.

ATLANTIA

Atlantia, Kingdom of. Heraldic title Silver Hare Herald.

Atlantia, Kingdom of. Heraldic title Silver Nautilus Herald.

Costança Daguiar. Device. Argent, a cross of Calatrava and a double tressure azure.

Costança Daguiar. Badge. (Fieldless) A cross of Calatrava azure.

She has a letter of permission to conflict with a badge of Isabella Benalcázar, (Fieldless) A cross of Santiago azure.

Edward Shirebrooke. Name and device. Sable, on a fess between two ostrich feathers fesswise reversed argent, an ostrich feather fesswise reversed gules.

Elena Alexander. Name and device. Argent, a horse's head couped contourny vert and a bordure sable.

Girard le Bourguignon. Name and device. Per pale ermine and sable, a fleur-de-lys counterchanged.

Submitted as Girard de Bourgogne, this name conflicted with Gérard de Bourgogne (d. 1061), who has his own entry in the online Encyclopædia Britannica under his papal name of Nicholas II.

The submitter requested authenticity for 13th C France. From examples in Colm Dubh's article "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html), the typical form of this name would be Girard le Bourguignon rather than Girard de Bourgogne. The byname le Bourguignon is a descriptive byname meaning 'the Burgundian', while de Bourgogne is a locative byname meaning 'of Burgundy'. Descriptive bynames referring to locations have been ruled clear of heads of state:

[<name> Lietuvos, meaning <name> the Lithuanian>] While prior Laurel precedent has returned the form '{Name} the {Nationality}', we do not find this presumptuous of the ruler of the country in the same way or to the same degree that, say, '{Name} of {Nation}' would. Hence, we do not find that this name conflicts with <name>, King of Lithuania. (LoAR 12/91 p. 12).

<Given Name> the Breton should no more conflict with <same Given Name>, Duke of Brittany, than Richard the Englishman would with Richard, King of England. [Note that this overturns a precedent of Master Baldwin's regarding Wladislaw Poleski] (LoAR 10/90 p. 2).

Similarly, Girard le Bourguignon would not conflict with the protected Gérard de Bourgogne. Additionally, these bynames are clear of auditory conflict by the addition of the last syllable in le Bourguignon, which is not present in de Bourgogne. As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the byname to le Bourguignon both to clear this conflict and to meet his request for authenticity.

Katherine d'Anjou. Device. Purpure, on a chevron inverted Or three roses purpure.

Marion le Red. Device. Per fess argent fretty and azure, in base a daisy proper.

Matsuura Suetsune. Name and device. Vert, on a plate a brown stag's head cabossed proper all within a bordure argent.

Óláfr Úlfbrandarson. Device. Per saltire Or and sable, four Thor's hammers hafts to center counterchanged and in chief two fleurs-de-lys sable.

Óláfr Úlfbrandarson and Katherine d'Anjou. Joint badge. Argent, a fess embattled between a halberd fesswise reversed and a rose purpure.

Rhiannon of Berra. Alternate name Elizabeth M'Kiernane.

Submitted as Eilis M'Kiernan the Weaver, Eilis was submitted as an Irish Gaelic form of Elizabeth. Woulfe (p. 210 s.n. Eilís) lists the header forms Eilís and Eilíse. Not all of the given names listed in Woulfe were used in period. Since no documentation was provided and none was found that Eilís was used in period, it is not registerable. This name, in the forms Eilís and Eilis, has only been registered a total of five times, too few to be considered SCA compatible. The English form Elizabeth is dated to the 14th C in Ireland in Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "Names and Naming Practices in the Red Book of Ormond (Ireland 14th Century)" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/ormond.html). As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the given name to this form in order to register the name. Tangwystyl's article lists Elyn McGalman as a woman's name, supporting the authenticity of the submitted name construction. Woulfe (p. 410 s.n. Mac Thighearnáin) dates the Anglicized form M'Kiernane to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. The LoI noted that the byname the Weaver had been added to clear a potential conflict, but did not state what name this submission potentially conflicted with. The College was unable to find a conflict with this name. No examples of women's names in Ireland were found that included occupations. Therefore, we have changed the spelling of the patronymic to match the dated form and we have dropped the occupational byname the Weaver to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Rhiannon of Berra. Badge. (Fieldless) A unicorn couchant contourny per pale azure and argent.

Robert Bedingfield of Lochmere. Device. Sable estencely argent, a bordure countercompony vert and argent.

Please advise the submitter to draw the estencely more boldly.

Robin of Atlantia. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Gules, a winged cat passant guardant Or and a chief erminois.

Submitted under the name Niobe the Forgetful.

Seisyll ap Tegwyn. Name.

Sigrid Larsdotter. Name and device. Or, a turtle within a bordure embattled gules.

CAID

Áine inghean Uilliam. Name.

Allistair MacMitchell. Badge reblazon. (Fieldless) A tree eradicated azure its trunk entwined and sustained by a wingless wyvern passant to base Or.

The previous blazon, (Fieldless) A tree eradicated azure, its trunk entwined by a wingless wyvern passant to base Or, did not clearly indicate that the wyvern is co-primary with the tree.

Christina O'Cleary. Name.

The submitter requested authenticity for 16th C Irish. Lacking evidence that Christina was used in Ireland in the 16th C, we were unable to verify that this name is authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.

Craig MacDonald. Name and device. Per fess embattled argent and sable, a torteau and a plate.

Craig is his legal given name.

Danielle Victoire de Steele. Name and device. Argent, a fleur-de-lis purpure within an orle of ivy leaves vert.

Deodonatus Cervarius. Name and device. Argent, a dragon's head cabossed gules and a bordure potenty sable.

As originally documented, this name was not registerable due to excessive temporal disparity. Deodonatus was dated to 1205 in England (Withycombe, s.n. Deodatus). Cervarius was documented as the name of a Roman knight who conspired with Piso against Nero (Lemprire's Classical Dictionary, p. 156). Since the two elements had a temporal disparity of over a millennium, this name was not registerable with the submitted documentation. Metron Ariston found that "the byname is a relatively common Latin adjective meaning 'of or pertaining to deer'. One Fernandus Cervarius apparently signed a document relating to the monastery at Sarria in Spain in the year 1219 (www.sarriaweb.com/convento.htm)." This information eliminates the temporal disparity between the two elements in this name.

Eridana Ambra Dragotta. Household name House of Five Belles.

Belle was documented as a variant spelling of Bell from Reaney & Wilson (p. 37 s.n. Bell) which dates John atte Belle to 1332. Therefore, House of Five Belles follows the construction of a sign name referring to five bells.

Felice Filadoro. Name.

Hauk Klœngsson. Device. Azure, a pall inverted Or cotised argent between three hawk's heads erased Or.

Please advise the submitter to draw the cotises wider.

Henri Bigod. Device. Ermine, a talbot courant sable and a bordure azure.

Ingilborg Sigmundardóttir. Device. Azure, in pale two wolves courant Or.

Nice device! She has permission to conflict with Katherine Goodpasture, Per fess and per pale embattled erminois and gules, in bend sinister two talbots passant Or.

Julianna Neuneker Hirsch von Schutzhundheim. Device change. Sable, a flint between four furisons in saltire steels to center Or.

The flint emits small tongues of flame, which are part of the standard depiction of the flint. The exact nature and disposition of the flames is artistic license. The easiest place to find the combination of furisons and flints in period heraldry is in items of Burgundian origin, because the furison and flint combination is a Burgundian badge. See, for example, the picture of a Burgundian Standard from 1476-1477 (although painted in 1616) in Colin Campbell's Medieval Flags, p. 17, where the flint and steel are shown around the picture of S. Thomas at the hoist and incorporated elsewhere on the standard. In that example, as with this armory, the flames emitting from the flint are strewn to quite some distance away from the flint itself. The flint and furison also are used in the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. The collar is of linked flints and furisons. Each flint is between the steels of two respectant furisons. Due to the limitations of the metal medium of the collar (which requires that all the pieces be conjoined), the flames are only conjoined to the flint in the livery collar instead of being strewn out to a further distance. One nice portrait showing the collar of the Order is that of Antoine the "Grand bâtard" of Burgundy by Rogier van der Weyden in 1449, which is figure 250 of Lorne Campbell's Renaissance Portraits.

The submitter's previous device, Per bend sinister embattled argent and sable, a wyvern erect gules grasping in both claws a hammer bendwise sable and a harp bendwise sinister argent, is released.

Michael of Starkhafn. Name.

Michael vomme Harze. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Róis inghean uí Fhlaithbheartaigh. Name.

Submitted as Róisín ingen uí Fhlaithbertaig, Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 157 s.n. Róis) say "Róisín is a popular diminutive form." While Róis is dated to the 16th C, no dates are given for the form Róisín. Given that Róis only appears in Irish Gaelic in the 16th C, it is highly unlikely that it formed diminutives in period. In their statement, Ó Corráin & Maguire use the present tense, "is a popular diminutive form." This phrasing is significant because they use the past tense when discussing forms dated as late as the 19th C (s.n. Máire). Therefore, Róisín must be assumed to be a modern diminutive form. Barring evidence that Róisín was used in period, it is not registerable. We have changed the given name to the documented Róis in order to register the name. As the submitter requested authenticity for Irish, we have changed the byname to use Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) spellings in order to be consistent with the given name Róis.

Roland of Glen Lyon. Name.

Rotheric Kynith. Name.

Saher de Wahull. Name.

Séadach inghean Mhurchadha. Name.

Seraphina Sacheverell. Badge. (Fieldless) A cross of Jerusalem sable.

Svana Laransdottir. Name change from Deredere inghean Chananaich and device. Per chevron argent and vert, two thistles proper and an hourglass argent framed Or.

Her previous name, Deredere inghean Chananaich, is released.

Tadhg Mac Murchadha. Name.

Vivienne de Lampérière. Name.

There was some question about the plausibility of Vivienne in period. Morlet, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille, (p. 969 s.n. Vivien) gives Vivienne as a matronymic form. Combined with the example of Vivien le serjant in Colm Dubh's article "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html), Vivienne is a plausible period form.

Yryc of Isenfir. Name.

DRACHENWALD

Bengt Knutsson. Name.

Drachenwald, Kingdom of. Reblazon of badge for the Order of the Silver Guard. (Tinctureless) A silver wristguard bearing a dragon passant coward, wings addorsed, maintaining in dexter forepaw a sword erect.

The original blazon, (Tinctureless) A silver wristguard engraved with a dragon passant coward, wings addorsed, maintaining in dexter forepaw a sword erect, specified that the wristguard must be engraved. The kingdom wished that detail to be removed from the blazon. In heraldry, a line is a line (whether engraved or otherwise), so we are happy to comply with their request.

Floris van Montfort. Device. Argent, two pallets gules overall a tree vert.

This does not conflict with the important non-SCA arms of O'Connor Don (name corrected elsewhere in this LoAR), Argent, a tree eradicated vert. Armory using three or more pallets is interchangeable with paly on visual grounds and on grounds of historical heraldic difference. Armory using two pallets is visually distinct from paly, and evidence was neither presented nor found that paly and two pallets should be considered artistic variants of each other in period. This is therefore clear of O'Connor Don by RfS X.1 for adding a primary charge group (the pallets).

Guillaume de Vaison. Device. Azure, a bend wavy ermine between two towers argent and a bordure Or.

Please advise the submitter that the ermine spots on a bend are tilted bendwise in the vast majority of period armory using ermine bends. Please also advise him to draw fewer and larger ermine spots.

Karl Hoykka. Name and device. Sable, a boar's head couped Or between three bezants.

Submitted as Kaarle Hoykka, no documentation was provided and none was found that Kaarle is a period spelling of Karl, which is dated to 1507 in Vanhat nimityyppimme (Finnish Names) (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/FinnishNamesArticle.htm). We have changed the given name to a documented form in order to register this name.

Please compliment the submitter on his good heraldic art.

Nemet Arpad. Name and device. Sable, a lion passant between three Maltese crosses argent.

Nice device!

Nemet Arpad. Badge. (Fieldless) A lion passant argent crusilly Maltese sable.

Rannulf Sweartfeax. Name and device. Argent, a goutte azure and an orle sable.

Signe of Attemark. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Gules, three bees Or.

Nice device!

Submitted under the name Signe Sigurdsdotter.

EAST

Carolingia, Barony of. Badge. Argent, a column between two beavers combattant gules.

Concordia of the Snows, Barony of. Badge. (Fieldless) A hare courant to sinister per pale azure and argent.

Concordia of the Snows, Barony of. Badge. (Fieldless) A bow reversed, overall in pale two arrows fesswise reversed argent.

This is clear of conflict with a badge of Cariadoc of the Bow, (Tinctureless) A reflex bow reversed strung with a decrescent and armed of an arrow fesswise. The decrescent is co-primary in Cariadoc's badge, giving one CD for tincturelessness and another CD for removing the decrescent.

East, Kingdom of the. Heraldic title Golden Stag Pursuivant.

Fujiwara no Aoi. Name (see RETURNS for alternate name).

Sufficient documentation was presented that use of Fujiwara as a surname does not automatically imply relationship with the royal family of that name. Therefore, it falls into that category of names, like Stewart, which are names of royal families but which are not considered presumptuous because "use of that surname does not link one unmistakably to the royal house" as set down in RfS VI.1.

The question was raised during commentary regarding whether no is registerable as a written element in a Japanese name.

In the case of languages that do not use a Roman alphabet (Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, et cetera) registerable forms of the name are not based on pronunciation, but rather on transliteration standards for the language in question.

In this instance, this issue is made more complicated because Japanese uses multiple character sets. Of these, kanji is pictographic while hiragana and katakana (collectively referred to as kana) are phonetic. Standards exist for transliterating kana using the Roman alphabet. The term used to refer to this representation of kanji or kana words using the Roman alphabet is romanji. As an example, in Japanese a man's name is properly written in kanji. However, there is also a kana equivalent for his name. Using transliteration standards, his name also has romanji equivalents.

Adding yet another level of complexity for this issue is the existence of furigana. Furigana is made up of kana and is written alongside of kanji characters in a text to clarify the pronunciation of the kanji in question. Since kanji is written vertically and furigana is written alongside of the kanji characters, furigana serves somewhat the same purpose as a pronunciation notation would be if written above a sentence in an English document.

In the case of no, we know that it is not written in the kanji form of a name, though it is included when the name is spoken. Solveig Throndardottir notes that

The no will often show up in the furigana gloss to classic texts. It does not normally appear in the original text even when the original text contains extensive kana. [...] [T]he evidence to support no usage is much more dependent on scholarly or traditional glosses than the main formation of the name. Basically, we are on much more better footing if we leave no out of most formations.

Given that no is included in furigana glosses in classical texts, though not in the original texts (and so it is not appropriate for those submitters desiring authenticity), no can be viewed as a modern transliteration standard. As such, it is registerable, so long as it is not used in a construction that could be viewed as presumptous. Solveig explains:

[I]nserting -no- can at times be presumptuous indicating a specific rank or office not actually posessed. For example, Iguchi no Tarou might indicate a specific authority over Iguchi by lord Tarou. This sort of analysis is supported by the floating postion of -no- in various names in Heike Monogatari.

Use of -no- in women's names tends to be less problematic. -no- appears in common use names where someone is described as the mother, wife, or daughter of some other person.

This name is a woman's name of the type described above by Solveig. As it is not presumptuous, it is registerable.

Iron Bog, Shire of. Badge. Per pale sable and argent, a cattail plant with two cattails counterchanged.

Piedro Vega y Garcia de Barcelona. Device reblazon. Sable, an infant's arm couped at the shoulder fesswise embowed Or maintaining an apple proper.

This has been reblazoned from Sable, an infant's dexter arm couped at the shoulder Or, holding an apple proper, to indicate that the arm is fesswise and embowed. As originally blazoned the arm would appear to be palewise. The apple is roughly evenly divided into vert, Or and gules portions, so the original tincture of proper has been kept rather than reblazoning it in heraldic tinctures. The apple is a small maintained charge, and its addition, deletion or tincture change is not worth difference by the heraldic policies of at least the past decade, so the ambiguity in the blazon of the apple's tincture should not be a problem when checking for conflict.

Rosalind Bennett. Device change. Per bend argent and sable, in sinister chief a fleur-de-lys vert.

Her previous device, Ermine, a griffin segreant vert, on a chief sable a pair of scissors fesswise Or, is released.

Sarra Fina MacDonald. Alternate name Isabetta Seraphina di Petrillo.

Stephan le fiz Ricard. Name and device. Bendy gules and argent, a bordure azure.

Tanczos Istvan. Name and device. Per chevron potent and gules.

This does not conflict with Alfonso Henriques de Montoya, Per chevron azure and Or. This is clear by RfS X.4.a.ii.b., Complete Change of Tincture. Even though the fur potent is composed of azure and argent, it is considered a complete change of tincture from either azure or argent. This is parallel to the case of ermine(d) furs. By RfS X.4.a.ii.b, "The ermine furs and their variants are considered to be different tinctures".

Wolfgang der Sucher. Name and device. Vert, a decrescent between three lozenges Or.

LAUREL

O'Connor Don. Name correction from O'Connor, Don.

This is a name correction from O'Connor, Don, associated with the important non-SCA armory Argent, a tree eradicated vert. The comma is incorrect, and has led people to believe that the armory belongs to a real-world person named Don O'Connor rather than a family named O'Connor Don. This correction is based on information from Grenham, Clans and Families of Ireland, pp. 163-164; Brady, ed., Encyclopedia of Ireland, p. 265 (under O'Connor of Connacht); MacLysaght, Surnames of Ireland, p. 55 (under O Connor); and Ellis, Erin's Blood Royal, pp. 198-209. The sources generally agree that Don is an adjective modifying O'Connor.

MERIDIES

Alan Black. Name and device. Per bend sinister Or and vert, on a tower sable a rose slipped and leaved argent, a chief sable.

Connor of Kilsyth. Name and device. Vair, a swan naiant and a chief sable.

The LoI stated that "[t]he client indicated that he wishes a name authentic to the 'Early 1600's late 1500's' but prefers the name Connor of Kilsyth, over any period consideration." In this time period, a patronymic byname or a surname would typically be included in the name, Connor [Surname] of Kilsyth. Connor was documented as Anglicized Irish. No evidence was found that it was used in Scotland during the submitter's desired time period. As the submitter prefers the submitted form to his request for authenticity and the submitted name is registerable, we have made no changes.

Egil Haraldsson. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Eva Helena Vettori. Name and device. Quarterly azure and gules, a natural sea-turtle and a bordure argent.

Richard de Mont Saint Michel. Name.

Listed on the LoI as Richard de la Mont Saint Michel, this name was submitted as Richard de la Mont St. Michel and modified at kingdom because we do not register scribal abbreviations. The LoI noted that "[t]he submitter requested that [this name] be made authentic to 14th century France, but will allow only minor changes and stated that he would like to keep 'de la Mont'. To retain the 'de la Mont', he would be willing to drop the 'Saint Michel' element from the name." Mont is a masculine noun. Because French requires that the modifying article agree in gender with the noun, le, not la, would be used before Mont. Definite articles such as le and la are used in locative bynames that refer to generic locations. A byname using only Mont rather than Mont Saint Michel falls into this category. No evidence was found that definite articles were used in locative bynames that include the proper name of a location, such as Mont Saint Michel. In the case of a locative byname referring to a generic location, examples found in Hercule Geraud, Paris sous Philippe-le-Bel: d'aprés des documents originaux et notamment d'aprés un manuscript contenant Le Rôle de la taille imposée sur les habitants de Paris en 1292, show that de le is replaced by du. Therefore, du Mont is grammatically correct, where de la Mont is not. This byname is registerable as du Mont, which refers to a generic location. It is also registerable in the forms de Mont Saint Michel and du Mont Saint Michel, since both de and du were also used to refer to the proper name of a location. As de Mont Saint Michel is closest to the submitted de la Mont St. Michel, we have changed the byname to this form in order to register the name.

Sabine Berard. Device change. Per bend sinister azure and argent.

Nice device! This item was listed on the Letter of Intent as a new badge, but the submitter has since sent correspondence to Laurel indicating that she would prefer this to be a device change. Her previous device, Per bend sinister azure and argent, a dragon segreant counterchanged maintaining in its sinister claw a bezant, is retained as a badge.

Smythkepe, Shire of. Badge. Azure, a double-horned anvil within a bordure embattled argent.

MIDDLE

Aislinn ingen Rónáin. Name and device. Argent, a dragon passant gules and on a chief sable two eggs Or.

Aislinn was ruled SCA compatible in August 2000.

Alexander Craythorne. Name and device. Per fess sable and Or, a sun and a sinister glove counterchanged.

This name was originally submitted as Phoebus Alexander Craythorne. Lacking solid documentation for Phoebus as a given name, it was dropped at kingdom. The documentation provided by the submitter for Phoebus was from Weidenham, Male Christian Names, which lists Phoebus as an Antiochan martyr. The problem is that Phoebus was a descriptive byname. Lacking firm evidence that it was this martyr's given name, we must assume it was his byname. Metron Ariston explains:

Phoebus [...] is the usual name for the sun god in Roman mythology, sometimes alone and sometimes attached to the Greek name of the god (i.e., Phoebus Apollo). This name was well-known through the medieval and Renaissance period, which is why its adoption as a byname by Gaston Phoebus, Count of Foix, is generally considered a somewhat hubristic move. I suspect the "martyr" mentioned by the submitter is to be associated with that Phoebus excommunicated by the Council of Seleucia (www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-04/Npnf2-04-64.htm), but several other names in that listing are bynames and it is known that Phoebus was used in antiquity as a byname, though relatively rarely.

Lacking documentation of the existence of Phoebus as a given name in period, it is not registerable as a given name.

The glove in the device was blazoned on the LoI and on the forms as a glove aversant, which is a (default dexter) glove seen from the back. There is no silhouette difference between the outline of a dexter glove aversant and a sinister glove appaumy (seen from the palm). This glove has a very prominent detail showing the seam around the base of the thumb, present only on the palm side of the glove, so we have acceded to the requests of the College of Arms and reblazoned this as a sinister glove.

Ana ingen Chonchobair. Name change from Ana of Shelmerdine.

Submitted as Ana ingen Chonchobhair, the submitter requested authenticity for 6th to 8th C Ireland. The submitted form of the patronym Chonchobhair is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form. The patronym was changed by Kingdom to the Old Irish (c. 700 to c. 900) form Chonchobair in accordance with the submitter's request for authenticity.

Her previous name, Ana of Shelmerdine, is released.

Anne Gyldensleve. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Listed on the LoI as Anne Gyldenesleve, this name was submitted as Anne Gyldensleve and changed at kingdom to match a documented form. Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Gildersleeve) date John Gildensleve and Richard Gyldersleve to 1524. Given these examples, the submitted Gyldensleve is a plausible byname spelling for this time period. Since the submitter had no request for authenticity for a particular time period, we have returned the byname to the submitted form.

Brendoken, Barony of. Device. Per pale vert and sable, a mullet of eight points within a laurel wreath Or.

They have a letter of permission to conflict from the Shire of Champclair, Per fess azure and vairy Or and azure, in chief a sun within a laurel wreath Or.

Eiríkr Ívarsson h{o,}ggvandi. Name.

Listed on the LoI as Eiríkr häggvandi Ivarrson, the submitter requested authenticity for 7th C Norse and allowed minor changes. This name was submitted as Eiríkr Ivarrson Häggvandi and changed at kingdom to follow the more typical byname order of having the descriptive byname preceed the patronymic byname. The descriptive byname was also put into lowercase to follow the documentation.

An Old Norse patronymic byname formed from the given name Ívarr would be Ívarsson rather than Ívarrson. Geirr Bassi (p. 23) shows that the proper spelling of this byname is h{o,}ggvandi rather than häggvandi. We have made these corrections.

Changing the order of the bynames is a major change, which the submitter does not allow. Lacking documentation that the submitter approved this change, we have returned the byname order to the originally submitted order to remove this major change. In addition to the change in sound and appearance caused by the changing of the bynames, this change also changes the meaning of the byname in this case. The original order indicates that h{o,}ggvandi, meaning 'hewer' or 'herdsman', refers to Ívarr rather than his son Eiríkr.

Éva inghean uí Dochartaigh. Device. Pean, a lion rampant and a bordure embattled Or.

Eyja þursasprengir. Name and device. Azure, on a bend nebuly between two foxes passant contourny Or three roses gules.

Halldor Rauthbjorn. Badge. (Fieldless) A bear passant guardant gules maintaining on its back a castle argent.

Húnthjófr froskr. Device. Vert, a double-bitted battleaxe and on a chief argent three foxes courant vert.

Jacinthe Ritchie. Device. Purpure, a saltire argent overall a Lacy knot Or.

Jennifer of Greyhope. Device. Azure, an estoile of eight rays and on a chief wavy argent three roses gules barbed and seeded argent.

Máel Pátraic mac Domnaill. Name.

Matthew Smallwood. Name and device. Sable, a fret Or within a bordure Or pellety.

Orsina dalla Stava. Name.

Otto Helmsmid. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Pypa of Tintagel. Name.

Listed on the LoI as Pypa de Tintagel, this name was submitted as Pypa of Tintagel and changed at Kingdom to match typical 14th C forms because the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C English. Locative bynames forms using of and de are found in the 14th C as shown in Reaney & Wilson (p. 321 s.n. Newcastle) which dates Agnes of Newcastle to 1315 and Adam de Newcastle to 1340. Since a locative byname using of is authentic for the submitter's desired time period, we have returned the byname to the submitted form. As we were unable to find a 14th C spelling of Pypa or Tintagel, we were unable to make this name completely authentic for 14th C English. However, since all of the elements are dated to the 13th C, it is an excellent name for that century.

Rebekah ferch Anna. Name and device. Per pale vert and azure, two horses salient addorsed and on a chief argent an ivy vine vert.

Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names (in English Contexts)" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh16.html) says that it is "extremely rare, although not unheard-of, for a mother's name to be used" in a relationship byname. Anna is documented as a feminine given name in Tangwystyl's article "Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/). Therefore, the byname ferch Anna is documentable as a Welsh byname and is registerable.

Roana of Brigeford. Device. Vert, on a chevron between three ferrets sejant erect Or five pawprints sable.

Rokeclif, Shire of. Badge. (Fieldless) A cattail slipped and leaved proper.

Roscelin Cameron. Name and device. Azure, on a chevron invected between three sea-unicorns argent five mullets vert.

The submitter requested authenticity for 14th to 15th C Lowland Scottish. Roscelin was documented as an English masculine given name. Lacking documentation for the use of any form of this name in Scotland, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture.

Sofia Chiudskaia Smolianina. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Listed on the LoI as Sofya Chiusdkaya Smolnyanina, the name was originally submitted as Sofia Chiudskaya Smolyanina and changed at kingdom to follow a documented form. Wickenden (third ed., p. 336 s.n. Smol'nianin) dates Petr Somolianin Prokosha to the 14th C, which demonstrates that a period variant spelling omits the 'n' after the 'l'. Therefore, we have removed this 'n', which was added at kingdom. We have also corrected the transposed letters (-sd- was mistakenly written for -ds-) in the first byname.

The documentation supports the spelling Sofia Chiudskaia Smolianina, and Sofya Chiudskaya Smolyanina was put forth as a form of this name using a variant transliteration system. When registering Russian names, we require that a single translation system be used for the entire name. There are multiple valid transliteration systems for Russian names; we simply require that a single system be used consistently throughout the name. In this case, the documented name elements used a single consistent transliteration system. The documented elements were then modified with the intention of following a different transliteration system, which is a valid option. However, no explanation was provided to address why only some of the 'i's switch to 'y's and others do not. Without that support, the College has no way of knowing if the name was properly converted between transliteration systems. We have modified the name to follow the documented forms that were provided, since they consistently use a single transliteration system.

Ulrich von Zähringen. Device. Per pale sable and azure all crusilly Latin, a lion rampant argent.

Wolfram der Trüwe. Name.

NEBULY LETTER OF INTENT TO PROTECT

Nemanji{c'}i, Kings of Serbia. Device. Gules, a double-headed eagle crowned argent.

The arms found here are not arms of dominion, so they may only be protected under the Administrative Handbook provisions for "Significant Personal and Corporate Armory from Outside the Society" rather than "Armory of Significant Geographical Locations Outside the Society". "Significant Personal and Corporate Armory from Outside the Society" is protected on a case by case basis, determined by a combination of the fame of the owner and the fame of the armory.

These arms are found in at least one standard heraldic source: Woodward's A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign gives these as the coat of arms of "Stephen Némanja the Czar of Servia and Bosnia" [sic] on p. 251. The coat also appears to be the basis of the modern arms of Montenegro, Gules, a double-headed eagle Argent beaked, membered and tongued Or, bearing an escutcheon: Azure, a lion passant Or on a champagne Vert. Therefore, the arms have some degree of prominence on their own. There was some slight disagreement between the Medieval Serbia Web site (http://solair.eunet.yu/~zeljkoj/e-families.htm), Adam S. Eterovich's Croatian and Dalmatian Coats of Arms, and Woodward concerning the exact details of the armory: whether or not the eagle was crowned and the tincture of the arming and crowning (whether argent or Or). These discrepancies may well be due to artist's license rather than heraldic difference. We have followed the description of the arms given in the standard heraldic source in our blazon.

The Nemanjic dynasty has its own entry on britannica.com. They do not have their own entry in the eleventh edition (1911) Encyclopædia Britannica (which is one of the most complete editions for European history), but they are mentioned copiously in its article on Servia [sic], particularly Stefan Nemanja, who founded the dynasty and the Kingdom of Serbia. The Nemanjic dynasty ruled for over 200 years. The entries in the two editions of the Britannica imply a considerable degree of prominence, especially when one considers that the Britannica is less likely to cover Eastern Europe with the detail in which it covers Western Europe.

The historical prominence of the dynasty and the intrinsic importance of the arms combine to make this coat worthy of protection in the SCA.

OUTLANDS

Alia Marie de Blois. Device. Per pale pean and erminois.

Nice arms!

Athanaric Redeye. Device change. Argent, an eye gules irised argent and on a chief sable three double-bitted axes palewise argent.

His previous device, Or, an eye gules, irised Or, and on a chief sable three double-bitted axes Or, is released.

Brennan MacDuffie. Badge. (Fieldless) A rabbit's head cabossed sable.

Bryndís rauðkinn Ragnarsdóttir. Name.

Submitted as Bryndís rauðkinnr Ragnarsdóttir, the submitter requested authenticity for "8th to 12th C Rus Viking" and allowed minor changes. Bryndís was submitted as a feminine given name constructed from the elements Bryn- and -dís. The meanings of these elements were documented as bryn 'armour' and dís 'noble and/or beautiful' respectively from the Web article "Nafnasafnið: Icelandic and Heathen names" by Haukur Þorgeirsson (http://www.irminsul.org/arc/012ht.html). Metron Ariston provided an evaluation of this site for SCA name documentation purposes:

The site www.irminsul.org is published by the Irminsul Ættir, who describe themselves as "an Ásatrú church organization, a voluntary association of Ásatrúar to practice the religion, facilitate networking, sharing of resources, developing educational material and programs, fostering cooperation and the promotion of Ásatrú". As such, while I find it has a lot of interesting material, I also find most of it is strongly subordinated to their basic proselytizing intent and must be used with care. They certainly are not focused on chronological or linguistic accuracy in onomastics. [...] In this case, while the Icelandic Names listing has a lot of names and gives "meanings" (many of which the Norse would not have cared about), none of the names are dates apart from a statement that "This is a list of Icelandic names that were used in heathen times. Many, indeed most, are still used today. The spelling used is more or less appropriate for the later part of the saga-writing period." The intent of this group, which seeks to restore "heathen" religion is to provide a name pool for use names in religion and the desire for authenticity is strongly subordinated to that intent.

Since this site contains very few dates for the names listed, and given that there is no information regarding whether the forms of the names listed were normalized, this is a site that should be avoided for name documentation.

The elements Bryn- and -dís both appear in feminine given names in Geirr Bassi. Given these examples, we are giving the submitter the benefit of the doubt on the constructed Bryndís. Lacking evidence that this name was actually used in period, we do not know if it is authentic for her desired time and culture.

The byname rauðkinnr, 'red-cheek', is a masculine byname found in Geirr Bassi (p. 26). We have changed it to the feminine form rauðkinn found on the same page.

Cathalán mac Faoláin. Name.

The submitter requested authenticity for 11th to 14th C Scottish and allowed minor changes. Cathalán was documented as an Irish Gaelic given name. As the College was unable to find evidence that it was used in Scotland, we do not know if it is authentic for Scottish Gaelic. Examples of Cathalán have been found in Ireland previous to 1200, including in entry U1199.2 of Donnchadh Ó Corráin & Mavis Cournane, ed., "The Annals of Ulster" (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100001/) which lists Cathalan h-Ua Mael Fhabaill, ri Cairrgi Brachaidhe. Cathalán mac Fáeláin is the Middle Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name. Cathalán mac Faoláin is the Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name.

Colbán the Lutemaker. Name and device. Gules, on a bowed psaltery between in chief two bows in chevron argent a fleur-de-lys sable.

As was noted in the LoAR of March 2002, research has so far shown that a bowed psaltery is a relatively modern musical instrument. As noted in that LoAR, "This submission, and all others received before the October 2002 decision meetings, will be registered under the current SCA blazon for this charge, bowed psaltery. Future submissions of this charge should provide documentation for this form of musical instrument in period or they may not be registered." This submission may therefore be registered without accompanying documentation, as it is within the grace period for accepting this charge without documentation. For a fuller discussion of the research leading to this decision, see the March 2002 LoAR.

Conrad von Zollern. Device. Per pale Or and argent, an eagle displayed head to sinister and on a chief embattled sable two roses argent barbed and seeded proper.

Darius of Jaxartes. Badge. Checky sable and argent, a bull's head cabossed gules.

Some commenters inquired whether this armory conflicted with the Chicago Bulls NBA logo, which features a red bull's head cabossed. There are two possible problems which might arise due to resemblance to a modern logo or trademark. One is conflict and the other is obtrusive modernity.

On the matter of conflict, the Administrative Handbook says that we protect Coyprighted Images, Trademarks, Military Insignia, et cetera "when covered by applicable laws and regulations in the country from which the material derives." We are not aware of any pertinent laws by which registration of this badge would infringe on the brand recognizability or business of the Chicago Bulls. Checking the trademark data base at http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm, the trademarked versions of the Chicago Bulls insignia all have the text "Chicago Bulls" written prominently between the horns of the bull. These words are significant by our rules for difference. Under the SCA Rules for Submission, there is no conflict between this badge and the trademark. There is one CD for tincturelessness (of the Bulls trademark) and another CD for removing the words "Chicago Bulls". The words also seem to be integral to the trademark, as all the active registered Chicago Bulls trademarks are of the type "(3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS". This badge omits the words and thus should not infringe on the trademarks. Moreover, the stated uses for the Chicago Bulls trademarks concern very modern goods and services, and do not resemble the uses to which the SCA puts its armory.

The pertinent rule for possible Obtrusive Modernity due to resemblance to a real-world trademark is RfS VIII.4.b. This rule forbids "Overt allusions to modern insignia, trademarks or common designs". As noted in the LoAR of April 2002, "As a guideline, there generally will not be an obtrusively modern 'overt' allusion to a logo when the logo uses a single charge, unless the artwork of the submission matches the artwork of the logo very closely, or unless the charge is in some way unique." In this case, the bull's head in the emblazon does not strongly resemble the artwork of the bull's head found in the Chicago Bulls logo. Nor is a bull's head cabossed a unique charge. Therefore, this is not an obtrusively modern use of a bull's head because of an overt allusion to the Chicago Bulls logo.

Drahomira von Augsburg. Device. Purpure, a unicorn argent crined and queued and on a chief embattled Or two fleurs-de-lys purpure.

Gauvain Eisenbein. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Gwladyse verch Bertram. Name and device. Sable, a dragon couchant regardant Or and on a chief engrailed argent three gouttes de sang.

The byname verch Bertram does not violate RfS III.1.a, which requires lingual consistency. Though verch was documented as Welsh and Bertram was documented as English, evidence has been found of late period Welsh using English names in bynames that include ap or ferch. This issue has previously been addressed by the precedent:

Found on the LoI as Myfanwy ferch Gerallt, it was originally submitted as Myfanwy ap Gerald, and changed in kingdom because it was felt that the use of ap or ferch needed a Welsh name. However, late period Welsh used ap and ferch with English names, so we have restored the patronymic to the originally submitted form. (LoAR November 1998, p. 4).

Since verch is a 16th C form of ferch, the byname verch Bertram is registerable as a Welsh byname that incorporates an English name, which follows documented period practice.

Jacques of Pickering. Device. Quarterly sable and Or, a turtle counterchanged.

Jethro Stille. Name and device. Azure, a pale bevilled and in dexter three fish naiant contourny in pale Or.

Submitted as Jethro Stiller, the submitter requested authenticity for England and allowed minor changes. Jethro is one of the Biblical names that came into use in England after the Reformation. J. W. Garrett-Pegge, A Transcript of the First Volume, 1538-1636, of the Parish Register of Chesham, Buckingham County (p. 120) records the baptism of "Jethro sonn of Rowland & Martha Peirce" on December 28, 1615. Also, Argent Snail found the name Jethro in Bardsley's Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature (p. 101). She quotes this source, "'Jethro Forstall obtains licence, November 12, 1604, to dwell in one of the alms-rooms of Canterbury Cathedral.' That is obviously something granted to an adult, which makes the name having been used pre 1600."

Stiller is a header in Reaney and Wilson (p. 427). However, this entry gives no dated examples of this name. Instead, it says that this name is identical in meaning with the second etymology listed under the header Stille. Examples listed under that meaning include John atte Stille dated to 1327 and Reginald atte Stylle dated to 1333. Lacking evidence that a form of this name with a terminal 'r', such as Stiller was used in period, it is not registerable. Hitching & Hitching's References to English Surnames in 1601 and 1602 (p. lxii) dates the forms Stile and Still to 1601. Given these examples, Stille is a plausible variant for this period close to the originally submitted form.

Justinian the Gentle. Name and device. Or, an elephant rampant and on a chief enarched and invected azure a crescent between two musical notes argent.

To quote from the LoAR of June 1997, "While it is true that lines could be enarched and also embattled, engrailed, et cetera, the enarching was basically to show the curvature of the shield". Enarched lines are an exception to the general practice of disallowing the combination of two different complex lines of partition into one line of partition, so this enarched and invected chief may be accepted.

Outlands, Kingdom of the. Heraldic title Gold Trumpet Herald Extraordinary.

Qara Gan. Name and device. Quarterly ermine and azure, a roundel counterchanged.

Tavia of Persia. Name (see RETURNS for device).

The submitter requested authenticity for pre-12th C Persian. Tavia is the her legal given name. As Tavia is usually a short form of Octavia, which was not a name used in Persian, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.

Thomas de Carisbourg. Name.

Submitted as Thomas de Cherbourg, the submitter requested authenticity for 11th C Norman and allowed minor changes. We have changed the byname to a spelling dated to 1056 in Dauzat & Rostaing (p. 186 s.n. Cherbourg) to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Þórdís gjallandi eyverska. Name.

This name contains two non-patronymic bynames in Norse, which has previously been cause for return. Gunnvör silfrahárr (formerly Gunnora Hallakarva) found examples of people who were referred to using two non-patronymic bynames simultaneously. She provided the following examples and translations so each name may be viewed in context:

(1) Þórsteinn surts inn spaka (Thórsteinn Black the Wise) - Laxdæla saga (c. 1245), ch. 6. Ósk hét hin fjórða dóttir Þórsteins rauðs. Hún var móðir Þorsteins surts hins spaka er fann sumarauka. [Ósk was the name of the fourth daughter of Þórsteinn rauðr. She was the mother of Þórsteinn surts inn spaka, who found the "Summer eke".]

(2) Ari prests hins fróði (Ari the priest the wise) - Landnámabók ch. 83. Þórsteinn Hallsson var faðir Gyðríðar, móður Jóreiðar, móður Ara prests hins fróða. [Þórsteinn Hallsson was the father of Gyðríðr, who was the mother of Jóreiðr, who was the mother of Ari prests hins fróða.]

(3) Þórolfr Mostrarskeggr - Eyrbyggja saga ch. 3 (prepended and appended by-names) Hrólfr var höfðingi mikill og hinn mesti rausnarmaður. Hann varðveitti þar í eyjunni Þórshof og var mikill vinur Þórs og af því var hann Þórólfr kallaður. Hann var mikill maður og sterkur, fríður sýnum og hafði skegg mikið. Því var hann kallaður Mostrarskegg. [Hrólfr was a mighty chief, and a man of the greatest largesse. He had the ward of Thór's temple there in the island, and was a great friend of Thór, and therefore he was called Þórolfr. He was a big man and a strong, fair to look on, and had a great beard; therefore was he called Mostrarskeggr, and he was the noblest man in the island.

Given these examples, a name using two non-patronymic bynames in Old Norse is registerable so long as the bynames could reasonably be used to simultaneously describe the same person. In the case of the submitted name, the two bynames mean 'shrieking' and 'woman from the Orkney Islands'. These bynames have different meanings and could both have described the same person at the same point in her life. Therefore, this name is registerable.

TRIMARIS

Diana MacCormick. Name.

The submitter requested authenticity for Scottish. Diana was documented as an English feminine given name dated to 1580 in Withycombe (p. 83 s.n. Diana). Since no evidence was found of any form of the name Diana used in Scotland in period, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested culture.

Griffyn ap Owain. Device. Argent, a gryphon sable and in chief three compass stars gules all within a bordure engrailed vert.

Please advise the submitter to draw the griffin larger.

Trimaris, Kingdom of. Heraldic title Caravel Herald.

Trimaris, Kingdom of. Heraldic title Ferret Herald.

The heraldic title Ferret Pursuivant was registered by the Kingdom of the West in August 1987. Since that title was released in November 1993, this submission is clear.

WEST

Arthur of Hightower. Device. Per bend sinister gules and sable, a bend sinister argent overall a tower Or.

Gemini de Grendel. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Gemini is the submitter's legal name. There was some question regarding whether Gemini was excessively obtrusive and thus unregisterable due to RfS II.4 which states:

Elements of the submitters legal name may be used as the corresponding part of a Society name, if such elements are not excessively obtrusive and do not violate other sections of these rules.

Cornelian found that a letter from Pliny the Younger (died AD 113) was addressed to a Geminus. Kraken found evidence of an Italian given name Gemino, and "Gemini is the genitive of Latin Geminus and Italian Gemino (de Felice p.181 s.n. Gemello)". Additionally, Gemini appears as a feminine given name in J. W. Garrett-Pegge, A Transcript of the First Volume, 1538-1636, of the Parish Register of Chesham, Buckingham County. Gemini West is the mother in a baptismal record dated to February 22, 1606/7 on p. 99. The burial record for this child appears on April 11, 1611 (p. 300) where his mother is listed as Gemini West widow. She also appears as Gemini West widow in a marriage record on June 14, 1614 (p. 218).

The first two examples show that Gemini is not obtrusively modern. The example of Gemini West shows the form Gemini to have been used as a feminine given name in late period England (since the woman in question had a child baptized in 1606/7). Therefore, this name is registerable as a period name, quite apart from the Legal Name Allowance.

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS HAVE BEEN RETURNED FOR FURTHER WORK

AETHELMEARC

Bohdan Medvíd. Device. Azure, a bear statant erect and in chief a Ukrainian trident head Or.

The Ukrainian trident head diverges substantially from the depiction of the charge in the Pictorial Dictionary. It is missing some significant internal structure and has a somewhat different overall outline. The changes to the outline led some commenters to question whether it resembled a crown, indicating that the changes in the artwork have compromised its identifiability. Since the Ukrainian trident head is not a period heraldic charge, but a folk art design that has been incorporated into SCA armory, it is particularly important that it be drawn correctly in order to be acceptable.

Bran McNaughton. Name.

This name conflicts with Brian McNaughton (registered June 1986). Bran and Brian are closer in pronunciation than Brian and Brianna, which conflict:

This conflicts with the registered name of Brianna O Duinn. [Brian Ó Duinn, 04/00, R-An Tir]

His armory has been registered under the holding name Bran of Æthelmearc.

Ethne an Locha. Device. Per fess engrailed azure and argent, an oak tree eradicated gules within a bordure sable.

The College of Arms unanimously found that the identity of the line of division was obscured by the overlying tree, rendering it unidentifiable. Such unidentifiability is unacceptable by RfS VIII.2. In this emblazon, the tree branches and leaves overlie the majority of the line of division. Often, a tree on a per fess field will only have the narrow trunk overlie the line of division, which would help the line of division maintain its identifiability. However, because the top part of the field has low contrast with the tree, such a drawing might have other identifiability problems, since the majority of the identifying portion of the tree (the branches and leaves) would lie on the low contrast portion of the field. While redrawing may solve the identifiability problem with the line of partition, swapping the field tinctures so that the red tree branches lie mostly on the white parts of the field would improve the general identifiability of the armory substantially.

Faílenn de Céarsaigh. Device. Or, a winged naked woman statant affronty wings displayed azure crined argent.

Conflict with Victoria of the Vales of Barnsdale, Or, an insect-winged naked woman passant, wings chased, azure. There is one CD for changing the posture of the winged woman. There is no difference for changing the type of the wings. The insect wings in Victoria's device are mostly Or but have a significant amount of azure in their thick azure veins and outlines. Over half of Victoria's winged woman is azure, and therefore, there is no tincture difference from this submitter's winged woman, which is almost all azure.

The device also conflicts with Jason the Blue, Or, a four-armed demon azure, winged gules. There is one CD for changing the tincture of the wings, which are half the charge. Both monsters are in the same posture. There is no difference for changing the type of winged humanoid: "[Saint Michael...wings displayed vs. a fury rampant affrontee] There is... nothing for type between one winged humanoid to another" (LoAR 4/97 p. 17).

Méraud d'Avignon. Badge. (Fieldless) An escarbuncle argent surmounted by a roundel purpure.

Conflict with Cerelia de Lacy of Sherborne, Purpure, an escarbuncle argent. There is one CD for fieldlessness. Escarbuncles have a small center circle as part of their charge definition, reflecting their origin as a reinforced shield boss. As a result, this does not appear to be an escarbuncle with an overall charge, but an escarbuncle in which part of the charge is tinctured differently than the rest. Since less than half the tincture of the charge has changed, this does not get a tincture CD from Cerelia's armory.

Therion Sean Storie. Badge. Azure, a saltire ermine overall a lemming statant contourny Or.

The lemming needs to be redrawn to better resemble a real lemming or some other sort of rodent. It lacks a rodent's proportions. It also lacks the lemming's short rat-like tail, having instead a short broad tail like a badger's. The College of Arms was able to identify the lemming in Hierytha Storie's device (elsewhere on this LoAR) as some sort of a rodent, but this charge was not felt to be identifiable as a rodent, or any other particular sort of beast. It must therefore be redrawn to be acceptable.

The ermine spots on this saltire are drawn palewise. A question was raised in commentary as to whether the ermine spots on an ermine saltire should be drawn in a tilted fashion, as is customary for ermine spots on a bend (which generally tilt bendwise with the bend). Maister Iago ab Adam, in his study on furs, was not able to find many examples of ermine saltires, but the one example which he did find (in England in 1572) draws the ermine spots palewise. He also found that on chevrons (a similar case, resembling the bottom half of a saltire) the ermine spots are more often palewise throughout period than otherwise. Of thirteen examples of ermine(d) chevrons in period, ten of them had palewise ermine spots, two had the ermine spots tilted to follow the arms of the chevron (so the bendwise portion of the chevron had bendwise ermine spots) and one had the ermine spots tilted perpendicularly to the chevron (so the bendwise portion of the chevron had bendwise sinister ermine spots.)

Therefore, we should advise our submitters that in period depictions of ermined chevrons or saltires, ermine spots palewise are most common, but ermine spots bendwise or bendwise sinister (to follow the models of the spots on the chevrons given above) would also be acceptable style. None of these variants should be explicitly blazoned: they appear to be artistic choices rather than heraldically distinct practices.

Maister Iago's research also shows that period practices for drawing ermine ordinaries have little correlation with those for drawing vair ordinaries, so one should not generalize from one style of fur to another. (Before anyone asks, he has been Strongly Encouraged to summarize the materials from his class, "May the Furs Be With You", in a paper so the whole College may benefit.)

AN TIR

Aeriesgard, Shire of. Branch name.

This name combines two elements with similar meanings. No documentation was provided and none was found that such a combination is plausible. The element aerie came into English from French. In English, the meaning 'area, feeding place for animals' is dated to 1581 for aerie in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (p. 60 s.n. aerie). (The meanings cited in the LoI were from the etymology section of the OED entry, rather than the meaning section.) The element gard derives from the Old English geard, meaning 'enclosure'. Therefore, the constructed Aeriesgard combines two elements that describe specific areas of land. In placenames that contain the element -geard, the protheme specifically indicates what items (plants, animals, etc.) that is in the area being enclosed. Some examples include Bromyard 'broom enclosure', Bruisyard 'cottage enclosure' or 'farmer enclosure', Rudyard 'rue enclosure' or '[type of fish] enclosure', and Plungar 'plum-tree enclosure'. The constructed Aeriesgard, which would mean 'area enclosure', does not match this construction pattern.

An Tir, Kingdom of. Badge for the Office of the Earl Marshal Deputy for Siege. Checky Or and argent, a trebuchet at full release sable.

Deputy marshals may not register badges at the Kingdom level, as stated in the LoAR of February 2002:

A combat marshal must be quickly identifiable on the field during inter-kingdom wars. Thus, it is important that the badges for marshals should be the same throughout the Society. Such badges should therefore be registered at the corporate level, rather than the kingdom level. This is currently the case for the Equestrian Marshallate, whose badge was registered at the Society level as Sable, two tilting lances in saltire and in chief a chamfron Or.

In addition, please note that the trebuchet drawn here is not the SCA default sort of catapult or in its default posture. As noted in the Pictorial Dictionary:

The type [of catapult] in most common use in medieval times was called a "trebuchet" or "swepe": powered by gravity, it used a long lever arm and a heavy counterweight. This is the most common type in Society heraldry... All types of catapult are depicted by default in their "rest" position, with the arm neither cocked and ready, nor at full release.

The catapult here drawn here does appear to be of the trebuchet variety, but it does not have a "long lever arm". Other catapult research has shown that the Pictorial Dictionary is correct in its statement that trebuchets have long lever arms. The illustration in the Pictorial Dictionary shows a lever arm that is roughly three times longer from the pivot to the basket (for the projectile) than the length from the pivot to the counterweight. The trebuchet in this submission, in contrast, has a short lever arm. The length of the arm from the pivot to the basket is less than than the length from the pivot to the counterweight. This changes the overall visual proportions of the charge (as well as, we strongly suspect, its physics) so substantially that in order to register this emblazon we would need documentation for this form of catapult.

The posture of the catapult is also not the default "rest" position (with the lever arm bendwise sinister, with the counterweight in dexter base and the basket in sinister chief), but at full release (with the lever arm palewise, with the counterweight to base and the basket to chief). We have thus blazoned the posture of the catapult explicitly.

Rúadhán Súilghlas. Badge. (Fieldless) A flame proper.

Conflict with William of Sark, Sable, a flame proper. William's armory is emblazoned as an Or flame voided gules: an "old-SCA-style" proper flame. Rúadhán's armory is emblazoned with alternating gules and Or tongues of flame: a "new-SCA-style" (or real-world style) proper flame.

The question asked by the submitting kingdom: should we consider these charges distinct? A roundel paly wavy Or and gules would after all be considered to have a different tincture from a roundel Or voided gules, and the kingdom argued that the situation with flames should be analogous. Flames proper are, however, a special case of tincture due to SCA heraldic history, and it does not seem appropriate to give difference between the two different SCA styles of proper flames.

The "old-SCA-style" proper flames (drawn either as gules voided Or or vice versa) are not a period depiction of flames, as stated in the cover letter with the April 1995 LoAR. A ruling giving tincture difference between the "old-SCA-style" and "new-SCA-style" proper flames has unfortunate ramifications. It would be necessary to inspect all the registered proper flames and reblazon the flames which did not meet the current definition of flames proper. This would affect between 150 pieces of armory (armory using the two word-phrase flame proper in the blazon, which only considers single flames) and 450 pieces of armory (armory using the substrings flame and proper in the blazon, which could include armory which did not have a proper flame in it at all, but includes some other proper charge, and a flame in a standard heraldic tincture.) Because the April 1995 ruling was relatively late in the SCA's heraldic history, we expect that the majority of the armory using flame(s) proper use the "old-SCA-style" proper.

If we reblazon the "old-SCA-style" flames to match their current emblazon, we would not allow the submitters who had learned that the "old-SCA-style" flame was not period to choose to draw their proper flames in a period fashion henceforth. The reblazon would require them to continue to draw non-period flames, or to resubmit their arms. This does not seem like a desirable policy.

We therefore rule that, as a special case due to the SCA history of the charge, there will be no difference given between the various emblazons of flames proper.

ARTEMISIA

None.

ATLANTIA

Erik the Bear. Household name Bear Clan.

The submitter requested authenticity for a 10th C Norse Clan and allowed minor changes. The submission form gave the submitted household name as "Bear Clan (Bjarn Aett in Old Norse)". The LoI presented Bear Clan as the submitted household name, based on a Lingua Anglica equivalent of a Norse Bjarn Aett. In order to determine both registerable and authentic forms of this name, there are several steps that need to be addressed:

The vast majority of the documentation for this submission came from two sources: Mark Harrison and Gerry Embleton, Viking Hersir, 793-1066AD, volume 3 of Osprey Military Warrior Series; and Nurmann, Schulze, & Verhülsdonk, The Vikings, "Europa Militaria Special No. 6". These are tertiary sources at best and their purpose is not onomastics. Therefore, they must be used with care when used as documentation for name submissions. A number of Norse sagas were mentioned in the LoI, but no photocopies of any of them were provided. As none of them are included in the Admin Handbook under Appendix H, "Name Books That Do Not Require Photocopies to Laurel", these mentions may not be considered documentation. Additionally, no sections of those sagas were cited with specific references to "Norse clans". Such references would be necessary as part of documentation from these sagas. Viking Hersir (p. 6) defines an aett as an "extended family group". However, no documentation was provided that aett would be included as part of the name of such a family group. The Vikings (p. 53) defines the term Vikinge-lag as "brotherhoods of mercenaries". On the same page, it specifically mentions a particular group whose name includes this term:

Jomsvikinge-lag or Jomsvikings, who were probably established in the fortified camp and harbour of Jomsburg. ... The Jomsvikings were the subject of their own saga, which was written down in Iceland in about 1200. They are also mentioned in other sagas: that of King Olaf Tryggvasson states that hiring them was a question of prestige (although they seem to have been on the losing side in a number of important battles). The brotherhood was fading away by about 1010, and the remnant was destroyed by King Magnus of Norway in 1043.

Based on this example, vikinge-lag (as in Jomsvikinge-lag) is an acceptable designator for an SCA household based on the model of the Jomsvikings. The Lingua Anglica equivalent for this designator would be the suffix -vikings, as in the example Jomsvikings. The submitted documentation implies that Jomsvikinge-lag is a reference to the location Jomsburg. Geirr Bassi (p. 20) lists the descriptive byname Bjarneyja- meaning 'Bear Island-', which documents this location in Old Norse, and so dates it to period. A household name referring to this island, based on the Jomsvikings example, would be Bjarnavikinge-lag in Old Norse. Lingua Anglica equivalents for placenames are based on their English rendering, not on a literal translation of the meaning of the placename. For example, the Lingua Anglica form of Tokyo (which means 'Eastern Capital') is Tokyo, not Eastern Capital. The submitter's documentation shows Bjarn Isle as the English form of the place referred to in the byname Bjarneyja-. Therefore, a Lingua Anglica form of Bjarnavikinge-lag would be Bjarnavikings, not Bearvikings or Bear Clan.

A question was raised during commentary regarding whether Bear Clan was registerable using the model of a Scottish clan as cited in the Rules for Submission (RfS III.2.b.iv). In this model, Clan precedes the clan name (Clan [Surname]) rather than follows it ([Surname] Clan). Also, clan is a Scots word derived from the Gaelic word clann, meaning 'children'. (Scots is a language closely related to English.) The name of the clan is a Scots surname. While some of these surnames are also found in English, not all English surnames are found in Scots. Therefore, to comply with RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase, the clan name must be documented as a Scots surname. Occasionally, a locative may be included in the clan name, taking the form Clan [Surname] of [Location].

There is also a clan name model found in Ireland. However, in Ireland, the model that includes the word Clann in Gaelic (Clan in Anglicized Irish) is based on a given name found in Gaelic. Examples are found that include both Gaelic given names and Anglo-Norman given names that migrated into Gaelic.

The Rules for Submission were most recently updated on July 20, 2001. Previous to that, the most recent update was November 1, 1995. All household names, except one, registered since that date that use some form of clan as a designator follow either the Scottish or Irish models described above. The single exception is Clann an Chullaich Bhain (registered February 1996) which was submitted as a "sign name" meaning 'the white boar'. As our knowledge of naming practices has expanded, doubt has been shed on the theory that Scottish or Irish clan names would be based on the English sign name model. Lacking evidence of such a construction, they are no longer registerable. Several registrations of clan names were specifically mentioned during commentary. Clan Baldwin (registered June 1996) follows the Scottish model since Baldwin is a plausible Scots surname. (Black, s.n. Baldwin, gives only dated examples of forms of Baldwin as a given name, but it could easily have followed the pattern of other Anglo-Norman given names that became surnames in Scotland.) Clan Hubert (registered February 1999) follows the Irish model since Hubert was among the Anglo-Norman given names that appear in Ireland. Clan Gara (registered September 1996) and Clan Gillemore (registered March 1998) also follow the Irish model as Gara and Gillemore are Anglicized forms of the Irish Gaelic masculine given names Gadra and Gilla Muire.

Since Bear Clan does not follow either the Scottish clan name model or the Irish clan name model, it is not registerable as either a Scottish or an Irish clan name.

Niobe the Forgetful. Name.

This name is being returned for issues with both Niobe and with the Forgetful.

The only previous registration of Niobe was in December of 1989. Metron Ariston provided information regarding references to Niobe in period literature and art:

Niobe was major character in Greek myth, and appeared commonly in classical art and literature as early as Homer's Iliad. She had six or seven sons and the same number of daughters (the precise number depends on the author). When she boasted that she was at least equal to Leto who had borne only Apollo and Artemis, Leto's children killed all her children. The motif of her grief and the story of Niobe herself being turned to stone appear in a number of classical authors familiar in period (Homer, Apollodorus, Ovid, etc.) and it was a very popular motif in classical and Renaissance art. For instance, Anna Comnena uses her as a symbol of sorrow in book XV of the Alexiad. Dante mentions her in Canto XI of the Purgatorio. Chaucer similarly uses her ("To walwe and wepe as Niobe the quene, Whos teres yet in marbel been y-sene.") in ll. 699 700 of Troilus and Criseyde.

The character of Niobe has an unusual status in period literature. She was a human character in Greek myth. However, the references to her in medieval and Renaissance art and literature cited by Metron Ariston specifically use Niobe as a symbolic reference. So, the name Niobe had taken on a significantly well known allegorical meaning by the medieval and Renaissance periods. The guidelines for using names from literature set down in the Cover Letter for the February 1999 LoAR require that the name reference a human character. They also caution that allegorical names may not be registerable. Niobe falls into both of these categories. Names found only as an allegorical reference have been previously returned (Belphoebe de Givet, February 2002 LoAR). So, the question is whether Niobe is a name that would plausibly have been used by parents naming their child in the Middle Ages or Renaissance. At that time, the allegorical meanings associated with Niobe are more significant than her position as a human character in literature. Therefore, lacking evidence that Niobe was more well known in the Middle Ages and Renaissance as a human character rather than as a symbol, or that the name Niobe was used by humans in period, this name is not registerable.

The byname the Forgetful has been registered a total of seven times, most recently in May 1994. Since that time, there have been several rulings regarding abstract descriptive bynames, including:

[returning the nickname the Arronious] Period nicknames tend to be straightforward and to use common words: Thynnewyt "thin [of] wit, stupid", le Wis "the wise", Badinteheved "bad in the head", le Wilfulle, le Proude "the proud", le Hardy "the courageous", le Sour, le Cursede, le Deuyle "the devil", Blaksoule "black-soul". The learned erroneous simply doesn't belong in this company. Although the adjective in question is not a past participle, we do not consider this case to be significantly different from those of Adam the Unexpected (East, returned 2/96) and Deirdre the Distracted (Ansteorra, returned 4/94), whose bynames were returned partly for being too abstract. Similarly, erroneous is too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname. (Aurelius the Arronious of Bikeleswade, 10/96 p. 8)

Given this ruling, the byname the Forgetful is unregisterable if forgetful is "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname". The only documentation provided for the byname the Forgetful in the LoI was "Forgetful has been registered a handful of times, most recently in 1994." Citing previous registration of a name element is not documentation for a submission. Therefore, no evidence was provided with the submission showing that forgetful is a period word, much less whether or not it was a common term applied to people in period. The College found evidence of forgetful as a word derived from Old English, but presented no support in commentary for forgetful not being "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname". Lacking such evidence, this byname is not registerable.

Her armory has been registered under the holding name Robin of Atlantia.

Rory Daughton. Device. Per fess purpure and argent, a sword and a drop spindle in saltire counterchanged.

The College was unanimous in its opinion that the armory appears to be two swords in saltire, until detailed inspection is performed. The lack of identifiability of the spindle in this group is reason for return. The threading of the drop spindle does not remove the visual implication of a second sword. The problems with the identifiability are exacerbated by the fact that the drop spindle in this submission is extremely attenuated, with sword-like proportions. A drop spindle generally has a much wider spindle whorl in proportion to the length of the spindle (see, for example, the picture in the Pictorial Dictionary). A drop spindle with a wider spindle whorl, when loaded with thread, would have a roughly triangular outline rather than a sword-like outline.

CAID

Michael vomme Harze. Device. Per pale sable and argent, a pile inverted throughout counterchanged.

Conflict with Brandubh Ó Donnghaile, Per pale argent and sable chapé ployé counterchanged. The armory in this submission could also be blazoned as Per pale argent and sable chapé counterchanged. Because "you cannot 'blazon your way out of' a conflict" (LoAR February 2000), these must both be compared as pile inverted throughout armory, and also as per pale and chapé (ployé) armory. In either interpretation, these have no difference. Under the chapé ployé interpretation, there is no difference between chapé ployé and chapé (see the LoAR of April 2002 for a more complete discussion of this issue.) There is no other difference between the two coats of arms. Under the pile inverted interpretation, there is also no difference between the two coats of arms. Per the October 2001 LoAR, there is no difference between a pile and a pile ployé, and piles inverted would appear to act similarly.

DRACHENWALD

Signe Sigurdsdotter. Name.

This name conflicts with Signý Sigurðardóttir (registered May 1996). There is insufficient difference in both sound and appearance between the two names.

Her armory has been registered under the holding name Signe of Attemark.

EAST

Fujiwara no Aoi. Alternate name Caisín ingen Annaidh.

The submitted byname ingen Annaidh combines ingen, which is an Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form, with Annaidh, which is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form. This combination violates RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a single name phrase. A fully Old Irish/Middle Irish form would be ingen Annaid. A fully Early Modern Irish form would be inghean Annaidh. The LoI noted that the byname was originally submitted as Mac Annaidh and the only change allowed by the submitter was changing Mac to ingen. As the submitter allows no other changes, we were unable to modify the byname in order to register this name.

Iron Bog, Shire of. Badge. (Fieldless) A cattail plant with two cattails argent.

Conflict with Sean of Bergental, (Fieldless) A tuft of three cattails slipped and leaved argent. There is a CD for fieldlessness. However, both these pieces of armory are effectively cattail plants. The exact number of cattails on a plant may be blazonable but is not worth difference. This also conflicts with Llywelyn Gruffydd of Elfsea, Vert, three cattails slipped and leaved conjoined at the base argent. That armory also appears to be a single cattail plant, resulting in a similar analysis.

Sandmork, Canton of. Branch name.

This submission has several problems. First, no petition was provided supporting this name. Included with the submission were copies of the polling ballots and a listing from the Society registry office showing the paid members in their area. The list from the registry office shows 42 paid members in their area. Of the 11 ballots provided, 6 favored the submitted name. Section IV.C.5 of the Administrative Handbook states that, "Submissions involving the branch name or arms of an active branch must include evidence of support for the action on the part of a majority of the active members of the branch." Six ballots supporting the submitted name does not constitute a majority when there are 42 paid members residing in this group's area. No information was provided to explain why only eleven ballots were included with this submission when there are 42 paid members in the area. Lacking evidence to the contrary, all 42 paid members must be considered active members. As such, six supporting ballots out of 42 paid members is not even close to being a majority and so does not meet the requirements set down in section IV.C.5 cited above.

One of the main purposes of a petition is to demonstrate that the group has come to a consensus on a name or device. Ballots do not serve the same purpose because they do not demonstrate that the members who did not favor the submitted name are aware that a name they did not vote for is being submitted for their group. For this reason, petitions are the preferred form of support for groups whose size makes a petition feasible. (Support for submissions for larger groups, such as kingdoms and principalities, is also addressed in section IV.C.5.) Lacking support for this submission which meets the requirements set down in section IV.C.5, this submission must be returned.

The summary of supporting documentation provided in the LoI was inadequate. The names of a number of sources were listed, but no indication was given regarding what information in these sources was pertinent to this submission. Additionally, only one of those sources was listed in Appendix H of the Administrative Handbook, "Name Books That Do Not Require Photocopies to Laurel". Photocopies are required for supporting documentation for any sources not on this list. No photocopies of any documentation was provided with this submission.

The submitted name was intended to mean 'Sandy Forest'. No examples were provided of similar constructions in Old Norse to demonstrate that such a pattern is plausible for that language. Metron Ariston found some support for this name:

Smith would seem to support this name, though not the exact meaning, giving Sand from Old Norse sandr meaning "sand" and showing a large number of instances where it appears as the first element in an English place name: Sandford, Sandbeck, Sandhurst, Sandtoft, Sandwich, etc. (English Place-Name Elements, Vol. II, p. 97). Smith (ibid., p. 43) also shows m{o,}rk as Old Norse meaning "a border, a boundary" rather than the "forest" shown on the Letter of Intent. As the Canton is on the longest sand bar in the world (Long Island), the meaning given by Smith is actually more accurate!

The information provided by Metron Ariston addresses the documentation of the elements. However, the lack of a valid petition prevents registration of any form of this name.

LAUREL

None.

MERIDIES

Brondolf the Stout. Name change from Godric Haldane.

This submission was withdrawn.

Egil Haraldsson. Device. Vert, an eagle Or.

Conflict with Constantinople, Emperor of, Gules, a double-headed eagle Or. There is one CD for changing the field, but nothing for changing the type of eagle from a double-headed to a single-headed eagle. This also conflicts with Napoleon I, Azure, an eagle displayed contourny grasping in both claws a thunderbolt Or. There is one CD for changing the field but nothing for changing the head posture only of the eagle and nothing for removing the small held thunderbolt. There are other conflicts as well, but none so illustrious.

Ophelia Osborne. Badge. (Fieldless) A dragonfly conjoined at wingtips and tail to a ribbon embowed to base argent bearing the Latin phrase "nunquam dormio".

A ribbon is not an acceptable heraldic charge. To quote the summary of the September 1994 analysis: "There seems to be no compelling reason to register the ribbon as an heraldic charge" (LoAR 9/94, pp. 15-16). Please see that LoAR for more details about the ribbon as a heraldic charge.

Rixa Eriksdottir. Device. Quarterly gules and sable, a dragon segreant between three compass stars argent.

Conflict with David le Ymagour, Per pale gules and vert, a dragon between three mullets of eight points argent. There is one CD for changing the field. We give no type difference for the change between mullets of eight points and compass stars. Dragons are segreant (or rampant) by default, and we have visually confirmed that David's arms comply with this default.

MIDDLE

Anne Gyldensleve. Device. Quarterly sable and azure, an arm fesswise embowed Or gloved argent maintaining a falcon close Or.

Conflict with Piedro Vega y Garcia de Barcelona, reblazoned elsewhere in this letter as Sable, an infant's arm couped at the shoulder fesswise embowed Or maintaining an apple proper. There is one CD for changing the field. There is no difference for changing the tincture of the arm from all Or to mostly Or. There is no difference for changing the small maintained charges; both the falcon in this submission and the apple in Piedro's are maintained changes.

This does not conflict with Huldah von Jal, Per chevron sable and gules, a cubit arm argent, vested Or, cuffed sable, belled argent, grasping a thunderbolt Or, winged gules and enflamed proper. There is one CD for changing the field, and another CD for posture of the arm. Huldah's arm is palewise and this arm is fesswise.

Middle, Kingdom of. Badge for the thrown weapons marshallate. Argent, on a pale gules two axes Or.

Deputy marshals may not register badges at the Kingdom level. As stated in the LoAR of February 2002,

A combat marshal must be quickly identifiable on the field during inter-kingdom wars. Thus, it is important that the badges for marshals should be the same throughout the Society. Such badges should therefore be registered at the corporate level, rather than the kingdom level. This is currently the case for the Equestrian Marshallate, whose badge was registered at the Society level as Sable, two tilting lances in saltire and in chief a chamfron Or.

Northshield, Principality of. Heraldic title Irendon Herald.

This title was submitted as a heraldic title formed from a placename. However, the only example found of a placename with Iren- as a protheme is Irenacton which prepends Iren- to an already existing placename, Acton. Evidence was found of -don used as a deuterotheme in placenames (including Blaydon), but no evidence was found of Don as an independent placename. Lacking such evidence, Irendon does not follow the pattern of Irenacton and is not a plausible placename.

Otto Helmsmid. Device. Gules, an amphisbaena nowed between three anvils Or.

The monster in this armory is not identifiable as an amphisbaena. An amphisbaena is too compact to be nowed in the center (unlike the serpent, a much longer and thinner creature). Another difference between this monster and an amphisbaena is that an amphisbaena has bird wings and this charge has wyvern wings.

Some possible reblazons were offered by the College or by the proofing staff, but none of them would recreate this armory. This charge cannot be reblazoned as two wyverns addorsed tails nowed, nor can it be reblazoned as two wyverns addorsed tails issuant from a stafford knot. The reblazons would require visible tapering for the tails, and this charge maintains an even thickness throughout the knot, as if a dragon-ended sausage had been tied in a knot. This charge is too many steps from period practice to be acceptable.

Sofia Chiudskaia Smolianina. Device. Gules, in dexter chief, sinister chief, and base a bear rampant Or, and in chief, dexter base and sinister base a tree argent.

No documentation was presented, and none was found, for this arrangement of two types of charge on a plain field. The arrangement is very difficult to blazon, hence the laborious blazon above. Some less explicit blazons were suggested, but none of them would unambiguously recreate this emblazon. The combination of the lack of documentation and difficulty of blazon indicates that this design is too far from period style to be accepted.

While we were unable to find this arrangement of two types of charge on a plain field, it may be found on a field divided party of six pieces. See, for example, a grant of arms c.1558, Party of six azure and Or, three fountains and three lion's heads erased gules (Gwynn-Jones, The Art of Heraldry, p. 103). This blazon for the 1558 coat is patterned on the blazon for Theodoric of Salt Keep, Party of six pieces per fess nebuly gules and ermine, three anvils argent and three falcons close sable. In these cases, the divided field causes the charges to fall into the desired arrangement by default, simplifying the blazon.

NEBULY LETTER OF INTENT TO PROTECT

Bal{sv}i{c'}i, Rulers of Zeta (Montenegro). Device. Gules, a wolf's head erased argent.

No evidence was provided, and none was found, that these arms were the arms of dominion of Zeta or Montenegro. Therefore, these arms would need to be protected on the grounds of "Significant Personal and Corporate Armory from Outside the Society" rather than "Armory of Significant Geographical Locations Outside the Society". The criteria for each of these is set forth in the Administrative Handbook.

"Significant Personal and Corporate Armory from Outside the Society" is protected on a case by case basis, determined by a combination of the fame of the owner and the fame of the armory. No evidence was given that this armory is significantly well known on its own. Some reasons to believe that the armory is well known on its own are if it is mentioned prominently in standard heraldic texts, if it is found as a component of modern official armory or flags, or if it is widely displayed in nonheraldic venues. For example, the arms of George Washington are also the arms of the District of Columbia, and are found on the license plates of the District of Columbia. This widespread civic use makes them much more familiar to the average North American viewer than most other armory.

The arms in this submission are not found in standard heraldic sources, not even in Woodward's A Treatise on Heraldry, British and Foreign, which makes a particular point of covering the heraldry of all of Europe. The documentation provided for the arms in the LoItP documented them from a Medieval Serbia Web site (http://solair.eunet.yu/~zeljkoj/e-families.htm). Nebuly provided Wreath with a hard copy of the Web site contents. It should be noted that we do not generally assume that presence of arms on a medievally focused Web site is proof that the arms are intrinsically well known: such Web sites are generally more special-purpose than are standard references such as an encyclopedia or general heraldic texts. Therefore, we do not consider these arms to be well known on their own merits. The arms must be protected solely based on the fame of the Bal{sv}i{c'}i.

The Encyclopædia Britannica is often used as a touchstone for general fame. While we are aware that the Britannica does not have the same focus on Eastern Europe as it does for Western Europe, it can still be used as a guideline. Neither the eleventh edition (1911) Britannica (one of the most complete for the history of Western Europe) nor britannica.com give entries for the Bal{sv}i{c'}i or for Zeta. The 1911 Britannica mentions both Zeta and the Bal{sv}i{c'}i in the section on Montenegro. The family was a ruling dynasty for less than 70 years. The britannica.com site does not mention the Bal{sv}i{c'}i in the article on Montenegro or elsewhere.

The College of Arms did not support protecting these arms based on the evidence in the LoI (taken from the Medieval Serbia Web site and from various books on the history of East Central Europe and the Balkans). Therefore, while we recognize that the Bal{sv}i{c'}i are people of some historical importance, their importance combined with the importance of the arms themselves is not sufficient to protect their arms in the SCA.

Djuradj Brankovi{c'}, Despot of Serbia. Device. Argent, a lion rampant gules within a pair of bull's horns azure.

The arms found here are not arms of dominion, so may only be protected under the Administrative Handbook provisions for "Significant Personal and Corporate Armory from Outside the Society" rather than "Armory of Significant Geographical Locations Outside the Society". The coat of arms is found on the Medieval Serbia Web site, and in Eterovich's Croatian and Dalmatian Coats of Arms, but these are both special-purpose types of sources and not indicative of general fame. No other evidence was presented or found indicating that these arms are famous in their own right. Therefore, the fame of the coat must be judged solely on the basis of the fame of the owner.

Djuradj Brankovi{c'} is not mentioned under his own name in either the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica or britannica.com. He is mentioned in the eleventh edition Britannica's entry for Servia [sic], his tenure as despot lasting for 30 years. He is mentioned briefly in passing in entries for Belgrade and for János Hunyadi, but he does not have an entry under his own name. He is only mentioned in passing in britannica.com.

The College of Arms did not support protecting these arms based on the evidence in the LoI taken from the Medieval Serbia Web site and from various books on the history of East Central Europe and the Balkans. The combined fame of the owner and the armory is not sufficient to protect these arms in the SCA.

Mrnjav{cv}evi{c'}i, Kings of Serbia. Device. Argent, on a cross gules between four furisons azure, an eagle displayed argent.

The arms found here are not arms of dominion, so they may only be protected under the Administrative Handbook provisions for "Significant Personal and Corporate Armory from Outside the Society" rather than "Armory of Significant Geographical Locations Outside the Society".

The LoI stated that these arms were "highly reminiscent of the modern arms of Serbia". The arms have some resemblance to the modern Serbian arms, Gules, a cross between four furisons argent, in that both coats include a cross between furisons. However, with a complete change of tincture and addition/deletion of a tertiary charge, there is only a passing resemblance between the two coats of arms. The modern Serbian arms are much more similar to the arms of the Byzantine Empire (and the Palaiologos family), Gules, a cross between four furisons Or, and one might more easily surmise that the modern Serbian arms were derived from those of the Byzantine Empire. No documentation has been provided stating that the arms of Serbia were indeed derived from the Mrnjav{cv}evi{c'}i arms: the only written reference to the similarity was on the Medieval Serbia Web site which merely remarked that both coats of arms used furisons. It therefore cannot be said that the arms heavily influenced the modern armory, or are incorporated into the modern armory.

No citation of these arms was found in standard heraldic references. They are present on the Medieval Serbia Web site and in Adam S. Eterovich's Croatian and Dalmatian Coats of Arms, but these sources have too much of a special purpose to be considered proof that the armory is well known. Since no evidence was presented, and none was found, that this coat is itself a famous coat of arms, the fame of the coat must depend on the fame of the owner.

Neither the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica nor britannica.com mention the Mrnjav{cv}evi{c'}i under that name in their own entry or in the entry for Serbia/Servia. According to John V.A. Fine's The Late Medieval Balkans, p. 362 et seq., the Mrnjav{cv}evi{c'}i were Vuka{sv}in and Uro{sv}, who co-ruled from 1365 to 1371. They are mentioned briefly under their first names in the 1911 Britannica (which considers them to be part of the preceding dynasty rather than a dynasty of their own). They are not mentioned in britannica.com.

The College of Arms was not in support of protecting these arms based on the evidence presented in the LoI. The combined fame of the owner and the armory is not sufficient to protect these arms in the SCA.

Stefan Vuk{cv}i{c'} Kosa{cv}a, Duke of S. Sava (Hercegovina). Device. Bendy gules and argent.

The arms found here are not arms of dominion, so they may only be protected under the Administrative Handbook provisions for "Significant Personal and Corporate Armory from Outside the Society" rather than "Armory of Significant Geographical Locations Outside the Society". No evidence was presented, and none was found, that this coat is itself a famous coat of arms, so the fame of the coat must depend on the fame of the owner.

Stefan Vuk{cv}i{c'} Kosa{cv}a briefly ruled Hercegovina as a duke, and was the first and last ruler of that area as an independent entity. He is mentioned under Bosnia and Herzegovina in the eleventh edition Encyclopædia Britannica. He is mentioned very briefly under Herzegovina in britannica.com. The College of Arms did not support protecting these arms based on the evidence in the LoI taken from the Medieval Serbia Web site and from various books on the history of East Central Europe and the Balkans. The combined fame of the owner and the armory is not sufficient to protect these arms in the SCA.

OUTLANDS

Gauvain Eisenbein. Device. Per chevron sable and Or honeycombed sable, a chevron argent and in chief two ears of wheat slipped and leaved Or.

According to the September 2001 LoAR, "We do not have a similar period pattern of a wide range of field treatments based on various tessellations. Hence, after the LoAR of April 2002, honeycombed will no longer be registerable in the SCA." Therefore, this motif is no longer registerable.

Rampart expressed concern that this ruling was not available at the time the Letter of Intent was issued, possibly due in part to a misconception that the ruling was on the November 2001 LoAR, rather than the September 2001 LoAR. The cover letter for the LoAR of September 2001 is dated December 12, 2001, and the LoAR was mailed within a day or two of December 10 (the date that Master Symond, who is kind enough to do our mailings, received the LoAR). The decision was therefore available for a full month before the January 17, 2002, Letter of Intent upon which this submission was forwarded to Laurel.

Pelican and Wreath expect that submissions heralds will be aware of all rulings up to and including those made in LoARs which were mailed during the month before the date of a Letter of Intent. Standard College of Arms policy schedules the grace period for disallowed practices (when such grace periods are implemented as part of the Laurel decision) so that decisions may be made at kingdom based on the LoAR issued the month previous to the submission at hand. The grace period is not scheduled to cover items which were in submission in a kingdom Internal Letter of Intent, in the hands of a local consulting herald, or earlier in the consultation and submission process. Some pertinent precedents showing this timeline, or a slightly tighter timeline (depending on the postmark date for the LoARs in question) are:

No evidence was presented that a roundel enchancré is a period charge. Therefore, barring period evidence of its usage, after the July 1997 Laurel meeting we will no longer register it. (LoAR March 1997 p. 2) [note: deadline set so that it will cover all LoIs issued on or before March 1997, when the decision was published]

Commentary was nearly as strong in favor of banning garden rosebuds from armory. Consequently, we will accept whatever garden rosebuds may be in LoIs issued before December 1994, but no further registrations of this charge will be made. (CL for November 1994) [note: again, the deadline is set so that it will cover all LoIs issued on or before the Cover Letter date of November 1994.]

Please note that not all disallowed practices are given a grace period before they are disallowed. The institution of a grace period for a disallowed practice is at the discretion of the Sovereigns of Arms.

Kolfinna Knýtir. Device. Per chevron azure and vert, a chevron between two crochet hooks in chevron and an elk's head cabossed Or.

Crochet hooks have not yet been registered in the SCA. Defining instances of charges should be provided with documentation, and no documentation was provided with these charges. In this case there is some doubt whether crochet is a period craft, so documentation is all the more important. While some suggested that these could be blazoned as "shepherd's crooks", the curve at the top is not sufficient to allow such a reblazon. This must therefore be returned for documentation of the crochet hooks.

Please advise the submitter to draw the chevron more centered on the field (it is currently somewhat high on the shield), and balance the surrounding charges accordingly.

In addition to the lack of documentation for the crochet needles, this may not be registered for administrative reasons. The submitter's name was returned in February 2002 for lack of forms, and replacement forms have not yet been received by Laurel Clerk. Since we do not have copies of the name forms, we do not know whether the submitter allows a holding name. Lacking such information, we would have had to return this submission even had there been no other problems with it.

Meenakshi Singh. Name change from holding name Margaret of the Outlands.

The documentation provided for Meenakshi show it only as the name of the consort of Shiva. Lacking documentation that it was used by humans in period, or even a pattern of Indian given names in period being taken from the given names of deities or their consorts, this name is not registerable.

Tavia of Persia. Device. Azure, a simurgh close argent.

The simurgh has been explicitly blazoned as close, since simurghs have no default posture. The simurgh is not visually distinct enough from a peacock to be worth difference. Since the simurgh is not a charge found in period heraldry, difference is determined on visual grounds only under RfS X.4.e. This therefore conflicts with Winifred Yseult of Hall's Isle, Azure, in pale a peacock passant close between two roses, all argent. There is one CD for removing the roses. This also conflicts with a badge of Morgaina Sarai la Foncée, Sable a peacock close maintaining in its beak a lotus with seedpod argent, slipped and leaved vert. There is one CD for changing the field but nothing for removing the very small maintained lotus.

TRIMARIS

None.

WEST

Gemini de Grendel. Device. Per chevron raguly sable and argent, two death's heads and a Roman numeral two counterchanged.

The device is presumptuous of non-human powers or status when combined with the submitter's name: specifically, presumption to the identity of the mythological Gemini twins, Castor and Pollux, who are represented or personified by the constellation Gemini. Current precedent states:

For those names that are well documented as period human names, that also happen to be the names of gods, one armorial allusion to the god will no longer be considered excessive. (LoAR August 1992 p.17)

The device contains two allusions to the constellation Gemini. The Roman numeral two very closely resembles the astrological sign for Gemini, a strong allusion. (The crossbars on the astrological sign for Gemini are drawn slightly embowed towards the center of the sign, and the crossbars of the Roman numeral two are generally drawn straight across, but the visual resemblance is remarkable). The two skulls are also suggestive of twins, a less strong allusion but an allusion nonetheless. The August 1992 precedent indicates that two allusions to a supernatural entity is excessive. As a result, the combination of the name and the armory is not acceptable by RfS XI.2.

(No items were pended this month. However, with this LoAR is a LoPaD containing an issue that was overlooked for last month's LoPaD. Also, a Laurel Letter of Intent to Protect is enclosed as well.)


Created at 2002-07-25T23:48:57