September 2002 Letter of Acceptances and Returns

The previous blazon, Per bend azure and vert, a bend between a cross crosslet and a sprig argent, did not correctly specify the orientation of the sprig.

Winged quadrupeds have their wings addorsed by default, so this detail need not be specified in the blazon.

Please advise the submitters to draw the estoile larger and the bordure somewhat narrower.

Submitted as Arnóra inn hárfagri, the submitted byname is a masculine form. Since the given name is feminine, we have changed the byname to the feminine form in hárfagra in order to register this name.

Submitted under the name Basecg von Basel.

Please advise the submitter to draw a more standard chamfron. Chamfrons in heraldry generally have a more distinct "scoop" where the eyes are. Chamfrons in heraldry generally have rounded bottoms to follow the outline of the horse's nose, rather than squared bottoms as in this emblazon.

Most chamfrons in period heraldry do not include pieces covering the horse's ears. While the SCA accepts chamfrons with ear pieces, the ear pieces hamper the identifiability of the charge and should be drawn with care.

In this emblazon, both the chamfron and the charge on it maintain their identifiability. Therefore, this submission may be registered, even though in the past a particular piece of armory was returned because the charge on the chamfron interfered with the identifiability of the underlying chamfron. As a general rule, adding a tertiary charge to an underlying charge should not interfere with the identifiability of the underlying charge, and any such interference may be a reason for return.

The submitter's previous device, Gules, a horse rampant Or maintaining between its forelegs a goblet between three lit candles argent, is released.

Submitted as Drogo de LeMans, all information regarding the placename Le Mans had the name written as two words. We have made this correction.

Submitted as Ercc Mac Fítheal, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish. As submitted, this name combined a Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) given name with an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) byname. Earc is the Early Modern Irish Gaelic form of Ercc. Additionally, Fítheal is a nominative form. Gaelic grammar requires a genitive form in a byname. Woulfe (p. 186 s.n. Fítheal) gives the Early Modern Irish genitive ending of this name as -thil, which matches the example of Flaithrí mac Fithil Uí Mhaoilchonaire found in entry M1602.2 of "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 6, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005F/). We have changed this name to the consistently Early Modern Irish form Earc Mac Fíthil to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

The field treatment mailly will not be registered after the April 2003 LoAR. See the cover letter of this LoAR for a complete explanation of this decision.

The leaves were originally blazoned as grape leaves, but they do not resemble the palmate lobed leaves of a grapevine. They have thus been reblazoned as standard leaves.

Listed on the LoI as Isrið inn glaða, this name was submitted as Isrið inn glöða and changed at kingdom to match the documentation (Geirr Bassi, p. 21, which lists glaði as a descriptive byname meaning 'glad, happy') and to feminize the epithet. The byname form inn glaða is not completely a feminine form since the particle inn is a masculine form. The completely feminine form of this byname would be in glaða. We have made this change in order to register this name.

Good name!

Submitted under the name Corthaid Blodletere.

Good name!

Submitted under the name Styrkárr totiþjalfi.

The submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Scotland. No evidence was found that any form of timid was used as a byname in period, though it has previously been ruled as registerable as a descriptive byname based on a word that came into use in late period England. In a previous registration, Laurel stated, "Please inform the submitter that the name is highly unlikely; at the time the word timid was in use, descriptive bynames were not being created." [Ruth the Timid, LoAR 11/99]

Since no evidence was found of any form of the timid as a byname (including in Scotland), we were unable to make this name authentic for 13th C Scotland as requested by the submitter.

Note: Osborne is the submitter's legal surname.

Submitted as Biànca Seréni, the accents used in De Felice are pronunciation guides and are not part of the name.

This device does not conflict with Johanna von Griffenhurst, Vert, an amanita muscaria mushroom couped proper. Amanita muscaria (the Linnaean designation; alias the fly agaric mushroom) has a white stem and gills and a red or orange cap with white or yellowish warty dots on it. Amanita muscaria is thus approximately half gules, and the mushroom in Johanna's emblazon is drawn appropriately. Therefore, there is a CD for changing the number of mushrooms and a second CD for changing half the tincture of the mushrooms. We advise people not to pick and eat this mushroom.

Listed on the LoI as Ciannait Caimbeul, this name was submitted as Ciannait Caimbuel. The byname was changed at Kingdom to match documented forms. We have lenited the byname, as required by Gaelic grammar for feminine names.

Listed on the LoI as David Ben Leon, the name was submitted as David Ben Leon of Glaslyn. The locative based on the submitter's SCA branch name was dropped at Kingdom to meet the submitter's request for authenticity for a persona of a "14th Century male English merchant/alchemist of Hebrew descent". We have lowercased the particle ben to match documented forms.

Listed on the LoI as Domhnall Dubh O'Ruairc, this name was submitted as Dohmnall Dubh O'Ruairc and the misspelling in the given name was corrected at Kingdom. The submitter requested authenticity for 13th to 14th C Irish. The form O'Ruairc is a mix of Gaelic and Anglicized Irish and is not registerable. We have changed the byname to the fully Gaelic form Ó Ruairc. The documentation provided supported Domhnall and Dubh as masculine given names. Double given names were not used in Gaelic in period and have been reason for return in the past. In the case of this name, Dubh is also a descriptive byname meaning 'black'. Therfore, this name is registerable as a given name, followed by a descriptive byname, followed by a family or clan name.

Submitted as Faolan MacFarland, the submitter requested authenticity for 15th C "Scottish/Irish" and allowed any changes. This name combines the Gaelic Faolan with MacFarland, which is Anglicized Irish or Scots (a language closely related to English). In period, this name would have been recorded completely in Gaelic or completely in Anglicized Irish or Scots depending upon the language used for the document in which the name is recorded. Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 92 s.n. Fáelán) gives Faolán as the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name. 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), lists ffolan and ffoulin as Anglicized Irish forms (or possibly Latinized) forms of Faolan. Woulfe (p. 399) lists the header Mac Parthaláin, which is a Gaelic form of MacFarland. So Faolán Mac Parthaláin is a completely Gaelic form of this name. Since accents in Gaelic need to be used or omitted consistently, Faolan Mac Parthalain is also a completely Gaelic form of this name. ffolan MacFarland and ffoulin MacFarland would be fully Anglicized Irish forms of this name. Since, of the options found, the form Faolan Mac Parthalain only changes the form of the byname, we have complied with the submitter's request for authenticity by changing this element.

Listed on the LoI as Geoffrey Carlisle, the submitter requested an authentic 12th to 14th C British name. There was some confusion regarding which byname (Carlisle or Tailor) was desired by the submitter. Just to be safe, the LoI explained this issue so that the College could comment on both bynames. Since the notes on the submission form and the documented elements make it clear that the intended byname was Tailor, we have corrected the byname to Tailor.

Listed on the LoI as Gerita del Mere, this name was submitted as Gerita della Mera and changed at Kingdom because no documentation could be found for della Mera. The submitter requested an authentic 15th C Venetian name.

The documentation included with the submission indicates that the submitter intended the phrase della Mera to mean 'of the sea'. Unfortunately, this is incorrect. The word for 'sea' in Italian is mare rather than mere. Additionally, the word mare in Italian is masculine, and so it would be used with the masculine particle del rather than the feminine della. We have made these corrections.

Sommelier found period examples of this byname:

"Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names"by Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek includes Mare as a surname (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14/venice14sur.html#table). The "Florentine Renaissance Resources: Online Tratte of Office Holders 1282-1532" (http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/tratte/) lists DALMARE once, DELMARE 20 times, [...] as surnames.

We have changed the byname to the form del Mare to meet the submitter's request for authenticity and to register this name.

Listed on the LoI as Patric Long C{oe}ur, this name was originally submitted as Patric de Long C{oe}ur and changed at kingdom because no evidence was found that de would have been used with a descriptive byname. The LoI noted that the submitter intended "Long C{oe}ur [...] to refer to the large kindness (ie : Big Heart)." Both Long, meaning 'long', and C{oe}ur, meaning 'heart', were documented as bynames from Marie-Terese Morlet, Dictionnaire étyologique de Noms de Famille. Therefore, this name is registerable as a given name with two unrelated descriptive bynames which do not combine to give the meaning desired by the submitter. The College was unable to find evidence that these elements would be combined into a single descriptive byname with the meaning desired by the submitter.

Listed on the LoI as Rognvaldr Viljálmsson, the name was submitted as R{o,}gnvaldr Viljálmsson. We have corrected the given name to the submitted form. The masculine given name listed on p. 16 of Geirr Bassi is Vilhjálmr, not Viljálmr. We have corrected the patronymic byname accordingly.

Submitted as Siobhán inghean Donn Uí Néill, Donn is a nominative form of this masculine given name. As it follows inghean, it needs to be put into the genitive form, Duinn. Because Duinn starts with a D, it does not lenite after inghean.

Nice arms!

This does not conflict with Percival de Toulouse, Per fess indented azure and gules, a wyvern passant Or. There is one CD for changing the field and a second for the unforced move of the dragon to base. While it is true that the dragon, in order to fill the space, extends slightly into the upper half of the shield, the fact that the dragon is entirely below the per chevron line of division is an unmistakable visual cue that the charge is, indeed, in base.

His previous name, Ian Gilchrist, is released.

Submitted as Iain mac Caradoc, the submitter requested authenticity for 15th C Scots and allowed any changes. Iain is a Gaelic masculine given name, ruled SCA compatible in April 1997. However, no evidence has yet been found that it was used in period. The submitted byname mac Caradoc combined the Scots or Anglicized Irish particle mac with the Welsh name Caradoc. RfS III.1.a requires linguistic consistency in a single name phrase. Therefore, the phrase mac Caradoc is in violation of this rule and is not registerable. No examples were found of any form of Caradoc in either Gaelic or Scots (a language closely related to English). Therefore, we have changed the byname to the form Cradoc, which is a plausible form based on the examples of Philip Craddoc dated to 1205 and Robert Cradock dated to 1301, both in England, in Reaney & Wilson (p. 114 s.n. Craddock). Morgan & Morgan (p. 67 s.n. Caradog) explain that the change in this name from Caradoc to Cradoc forms is due to an accent shift in early Welsh. Use of an element that is only SCA compatible (Iain in this case) counts as a weirdness. Combining English and Gaelic in a single name is also a weirdness. To avoid having two weirdnesses in this name, which would cause the return of this name, we have changed the given name to the form Ian, which is also SCA compatible. Since Ian is Scots, and mixing Scots and English in a single name carries no weirdness for the lingual mix, Ian Cradoc is a registerable form of the submitted name.

The castle was originally blazoned as a tollgate. The castle as drawn here is similar to most two-towered castles except that it has a crossbar across the portal. It is thus almost indistinguishable from a standard castle, and may be considered an acceptable artistic variant of a castle.

We might have been willing to blazon this castle as a tollgate, as the submitter desired, had documentation been provided supporting such a blazon. However, no such documentation was provided to Laurel. Such documentation would need to indicate that a period tollgate would have a form that is standard enough to allow recreation of the emblazon from the blazon. The one named example of a period tollgate mentioned in the LoI, the Micklegate Bar in York, is not described as a tollgate by the current City of York. A picture of the Bar and a discussion of its history may be found at http://www.york.gov.uk/walls/1214th/micklegate.html, which is a portion of the Web page discussing the city from the 12th through 14th centuries. The defining crossbar in this emblazon's tollgate is not discussed in this Web site either. It appears that access through the Bar was controlled, as usual for gatehouses, by a portcullis.

Submitted as Raghnall mac Amlaíb mhic Tuathail, the submitter requested authenticity for 11th to 14th C Irish. As the second byname is a second generation patronymic, the patronym included in this byname is lenited. We have, therefore, corrected the patronym to the form Thuathail. As submitted, this name combined Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) and Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) forms. The fully Middle Irish Gaelic form of this name would be Ragnall mac Amlaíb meic Thuathail. The fully Early Modern Irish Gaelic form of this name would be Raghnall mac Amhlaoibh mhic Thuathail. As the Middle Irish Gaelic form is closer to the submitted form, we have changed the name to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

The type of hilt of a rapier may be specified in the blazon, but is not required to be specified in the blazon. This emblazon shows a swept-hilted rapier rather than the more standard cup-hilted rapier, but the submitter blazoned it simply as a rapier, and we have used the generic term in our blazon as well.

An arrow proper, according to the Pictorial Dictionary, has a brown shaft and black head. A fire arrow, when proper, is enflamed near the head in proper flames.

The submitter's previous device, Sable, on a bend sinister argent between two flames Or three eyes fesswise azure, is released.

This was pended from the March 2002 LoAR due to an omitted bordure.

Listed on the LoI as Aébfhinn úa Diarmada, this name was submitted as Aodhfionn ua Diarmuid and changed at Kingdom. The submitter requested authenticity for Irish Gaelic and allowed minor changes. Changing the submitted masculine given name Aodhfionn to the feminine given name Aébfhinn is a major change, which the submitter does not allow. Aodhfionn appears to be a rendering of the given name Aodh followed by the descriptive byname Fionn. The descriptive byname Fionn refers to a person's hair color or complexion and means 'fair' (as in light-colored). The submitted ua Diarmuid used the nominative form Diarmuid. As it follows the particle ua, this element needs to be in the genitive form. The Old Irish (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name would be Áed Finn h-ua Diarmata. The Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name would be Aodh Fionn ua Diarmada. As the Early Modern Irish Gaelic form of this name is closer to the submitted form, we have changed this name to that form in order to register the name and to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

The previous device, Gules, a laurel wreath and in chief four yak tails palewise argent, is released.

This is clear of conflict with Héléne Dupres de Bretagne, Per chevron azure and argent, two pegasi combattant and a harp counterchanged. There is one CD for changing the type of two-thirds of the charge group. There is a second CD for changing the posture of two-thirds of the charge group. Horse's heads and pegasi may both be respectant or addorsed. Therefore one can get posture difference for changing them from respectant to addorsed. See the LoARs of October 2001 and September 2000 for further examples.

The LoI read, "please release old badges". It appears from an odd Armorial entry that this badge may have been reblazoned away in 1981, and that Falconcree had but one registered badge, the "per pale wavy" badge above. Nevertheless, we are happy to accede fully to their request, and so we declare or confirm, as the case may be, that this badge, too, is toast.

Her previous device, Sable mullety and on a pall argent, three hearts points outwards gules, is released.

Note: Akiyo is the submitter's legal middle name. Under the Legal Name Allowance, we register middle names by their type. Since Akiyo is used modernly as a given name, it is registerable as a given name in this name.

This does not conflict with Wolfgang von Valkonberg, Per pale vert and argent, a blasted tree atop a mount counterchanged. There is one CD for removing the mount. There is a CD between a willow tree and a standard round shaped tree, just as there is a type CD between a pine tree and a standard round shaped tree. Wolfgang's blasted tree is drawn in the standard shape for a blasted tree.

His previous name, Angus Sturmisbroke, is released.

His previous name, Charles O' Malley, is released.

This does not conflict with Alyson of Islay, Per bend Or and vert, a koala rampant guardant maintaining a branch of eucalyptus proper. There is one CD for changing the field and another for adding the co-primary sustained charge. The branch of eucalyptus in Alyson of Islay's device is truly a maintained charge, not a co-primary charge, and is not worth difference.

Submitted as Cáelfind Ó Ruairc, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish Gaelic. Bynames were used literally in Gaelic in period. Ó is a later rendering of ua, which means 'grandson'. When inherited clan names came into use, Ó took on the meaning of 'male descendant of'. As a woman could neither be a grandson nor a male descendant, a byname such as Ó Ruairc is not registerable with a feminine given name. Appropriate forms of this byname appropriate to the early spelling Cáelfind are ingen Ruaircc and ingen hui Ruaircc (using Ruarcc, the earlier form of Ruarc). The first of these bynames indicates a daughter of Ruarcc. The second indicates a female descendant (literally the daughter of a grandson) of Ruarcc. As the latter form is closer to the submitted form of the byname, we have modified the name to use this form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

The submitter is a countess and entitled to use the reserved wreath of roses.

The LoI noted that if the submitter's "name must be changed she cares most about the language/culture (14-15th century Italy, for English mercenaries there)." As she did not request authenticity, we have made no changes to this name. However, given the specific culture she is interested in, she may wish to know about some information that the College found. Sir John Hawkwood's name was normally rendered in Italian as Giovanni Acuto. Given this example, it is most likely that the submitted name would vary depending upon whether the woman in question was being referred to by English speakers living in Italy, or if she was being referred to by Italian speakers. Among the English speakers, she would likely be known simply as Catharine Hawkwod. Among Italian speakers, she would most likely be known by an Italian form of her name, such as Caterina Acuto or Caterina Acuto da Barbiano.

Listed on the LoI as Decimus Claudius, this name was submitted as Decius Claudius and changed at Kingdom because documentation was only found for Decius as a gens and SCA names are required to have a given name. Sommelier found support for Decius as a praenomen as well as a gens. Therefore, Decius can fulfill the requirement for a given name in this submission. We have, therefore, returned the name to the originally submitted form.

The device does not conflict with Rognvaldr Tilbuinn, Per chevron argent and sable, in pale a chevron gules and a mullet of ten points argent, in chief two mallets in chevron sable. Both arms consist of a chevron between a group of secondary charges. Rognvaldr's arms have three secondary charges: two mallets in chief and a mullet in base. Half the charge group has changed in type, because the bottommost of a group of three charges two and one is considered half the group, and half of Rognvaldr's group has changed. There is a second CD for the change in number of the group from three to five charges.

His previous name, Dietmar Reinhart von Straubing, is retained as an alternate name.

Nice device!

Nice device! Note that the SCA default for six objects on a plain field is three two and one. This matches the default for six objects on a plain field in most of the times and places in which heraldry is found before 1600.

The submitter requested that these charges, normally blazoned as reremice, be blazoned using the common term bats. Since the term bat for this animal is not heraldically ambiguous, and it has been registered recently (in July 2001), we may accede to her request.

The LoI noted that the submitter previously submitted Eoin Blackwolf and that it was returned at Kingdom for conflict with John Blackwolf (registered March 1993). However, the names Eoin and John do not conflict with each other. They are significantly different in sound and appearance, similar to the examples given in RfS V.1.a.i. Therefore, his original submission does not conflict with the cited John Blackwolf. As the submitter only allows minor changes and did not note a request to drop the added element the Warrior if his name was clear of the cited conflict, we have left this name in the submitted form.

Submitted as Estefan el Roje, the name was changed at Kingdom to use documented forms to meet the submitter's request for authenticity for 16th C Spanish. There was some question whether a construction as simple as this was authentic for 16th C Spanish. Juliana de Luna's article "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/isabella/locative.html) lists Alonso el Negro, meaning 'Alonso the Black'. Therefore, this construction dates to at least the late 15th C.

Listed on the LoI as F{a-}'izah al-Zaqra, we have corrected the typo in the byname. The given name was submitted as Faizeh and changed at Kingdom to a form documented from a modern name book, as no documentation could be found for Faizeh. The form Fa'iza is dated to period in Juliana de Luna's article "Jewish Women's Names in an Arab Context: Names from the Geniza of Cairo" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/geniza.html). Fa'izah is an alternate transliteration of Fa'iza. We have added the glottal stop to the end of the byname, al-Zarqa', for consistency, as it is included in the given name.

Submitted as Fatimah al-Zarga' al-Rakkasa, we have corrected the typo in the byname al-Zarqa'. When registering names from languages that do not use the Roman alphabet, a consistent transliteration system must be used throughout the name. Therefore, we have modified the second byname to the form al-Rakkasah so that it uses the same transliteration system as the given name Fatimah.

This badge is to be associated with this alternate name.

Please advise the submitter to draw the warhammer more boldly.

His previous name, Gerhard of Nordvald, is released.

The submitter requested a reblazon from the previous blazon, Azure, two chevronels argent, overall a cross fleury counterchanged, all within a bordure dovetailed argent, to make the proportions of the cross explicit.

His previous name, Snorri hrafnfæðir, is released.

Good name!

The previous blazon was Per bend azure and argent, an eagle rising to sinister, wings elevated and addorsed, Or and a Lebanon cedar proper. The submitter's request for reblazon asked that we change the eagle's posture to striking. Striking is an SCA blazon term describing a hawk terminating its dive by braking with its wings and extending its claws down in order to, with luck, send some smaller animal into the afterlife. It is different from stooping, which depicts the hawk in the midst of the dive. Striking is similar to the period posture rising and no difference is given between these postures, but the SCA has continued to use striking when the posture seems appropriate. The eagle here is drawn in a posture that is at least somewhat characteristic of striking and we may therefore accede to the submitter's request.

Submitted as John Wallace of Loch Maree, Loch Maree is a modern name for this location. No evidence was found that it is a plausible period form. Johnston (p. 248 s.n. Marée) dates the form Maroy to 1633. We have changed the locative to use this form in order to register this name.

Listed on the LoI as Jonathan Drake of Skey, this name was submitted as Jonathan Drake of Skye and changed at Kingdom to match documented period spellings. Speed's The Counties of Britain (p. 266, map of Scotland, map drawn 1610) lists the spelling Skye. As the submitter did not request authenticity for a particular time period, and the spelling Skye is dated to the gray area, we have returned this name to the originally submitted spelling.

This does not conflict with Rowan le Beau, Argent, on a bend cotised azure a lily palewise Or between two others argent. There is one CD for changing the number of cotises. There is another CD for substantially changing the type of tertiary charges. There is substantial difference between a standard heraldic lily (a trumpet shaped flower in profile) and a daisy (a multipetalled disk shaped flower affronty).

Submitted under the name Niniana de Mona.

Good name!

Her previous name, Deirdre inghean Dhomhnaill mhic Maidecc, is released.

Submitted as Linnet de Hynkersul, the submitter requested authenticity for "1300-1400 Norman". Bright Leaf found:

Talan Gwynek, in his article "Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary Of English Surnames" (s.n. Lina), dates Linet to 1275. It is worth noting that all of the period examples of the byname derived from this name found in Reaney & Wilson, p. 280 (s.n. Linnett), have only one "n".

Given this information, we have changed the given name to use the form Linet in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Submitted as Mora Ottavia Spadera, the submitter requested a feminine name authentic for 16th C Venice and allowed any changes. Mora is listed as an undated feminine given name in De Felice Dizionario dei nomi Italiani (p. 270 s.n. Moro). Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek's article "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14/) lists Mora as a masculine given name. As Mora is documented to period as a masculine given name, we are unsure if it was used as a feminine given name in period. Availablility of information on period Italian names and naming practices is continually growing. In consideration of the relatively limited information that has historically been generally available on Italian names, we have traditionally assumed items listed in De Felice are period, unless there is information, either in De Felice's entry or through other sources, to believe the name is post-period. Therefore, Mora is registerable at this time as a feminine given name, though no dated examples have yet been found of it used as a feminine given name in period.

The submitter's documentation listed names of women in Venice in the 16th C, but Mora was not included among those names. Additionally, the examples in this source show that the normal practice in this time and place was for a woman to have one given name and one surname or byname. Therefore, in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity, we have dropped Mora from the submitted name.

Submitted under the name Özbeg Aghmighan.

Listed on the LoI as Raibeart MacKeever, this name was submitted as Raibert MacKeever and changed at Kingdom to match available documentation. No evidence was found that MacKeever is a plausible period form. Black (p. 520 s.n. MacIver) dates Duncan Campbell or M'Keuir of Stronesschero to 1562 and the surname form Makewer to 1572. From these examples, a form such as MacKever is plausible. We have changed the byname to this form in order to register this name.

Submitted as Rannveig upplending R{ø-}riksdóttir, upplending was submitted as a feminine version of the byname upplendingr, meaning 'Upplander (Sweden)', listed in Geirr Bassi (p. 29). However, upplendingr is a noun, not an adjective, and so does not take a different form when used in a woman's name. We have made this correction.

The submitted R{ø-}riksdóttir violates RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a name phrase, because it combines the Old Swedish or Old Danish R{ø-}rik with the Old Norse -dóttir. Argent Snail provided a consistently Old Norse form of this byname:

Rørik is also found in the Swedish Runenamelexicon (http://www.dal.lu.se/runlex/pdf/lexikon.pdf) under HrøríkR where it is said that the Old Swedish and Danish (both about 1100-1500) form of the name was Rørik. However, changing the spelling into Hrøríksdóttir will not affect the sound of the name, so it can be considered a minor change and one desirable to the submitter (as she wants an authentic name). As to the patronymic, Lind has this name under Hrórekr and states that -s is the genitive ending as with the other names ending -rekr (Alrekr, Hárekr, Sigrekr, Úlfrekr etc.).

We have changed the byname to the form Hrøríksdóttir as suggested by Argent Snail in order to register this name.

His name submission, Ryuusaki Raiden, was returned in April 2002.

The submitter's arms are identical to the real-world arms of the English barons variously surnamed Wahall, Wodall, or Odell. Some English heraldic sources, including Brault's Aspilogia III and Papworth, confirm that the arms in this submission are indeed Wahull arms. A particular baron of an equivalent first and last name, Saiher de Wahull, may have borne this coat of arms in the early 13th C, according to Woodhull and Stevens, The Woodhull Family in England and America, published in 1904 and available on the World Wide Web at http://www.geocities.com/riegel/other/woodhull1.html.

The SCA has always encouraged its members to create personae that were compatible with the Middle Ages and Renaissance but did not duplicate the identity of any particular real-world person. However, our Rules for Submission currently only forbid presumption in cases where (to quote from RfS I.3.b) the presumption would "thereby cause offense to a significant segment of the Society".

There seems to be no evidence that the name or arms of this family are in any way prominent in generally available sources. The arms are not found as an example in the standard heraldic texts, and these barons do not appear, in any of their many spellings, in the Encyclopædia Britannica. Searches on the web do eventually find some bucket shop heraldry sites that combine these arms with some variant of the surname, but most of the Web "hits" for this name are for genealogical research or information pertaining to the town of the same name. These are quite special-purpose sites that would not be known by "a significant segment of the Society". While many of the members of the College of Arms were not comfortable with the fact that the submitter's persona appears to be a member of a real-world family of some prominence, none of the members of the College, with their specialized heraldic knowledge, said that they had recognized the name/armory combination in this submission before reading Crescent's citation from Papworth. Therefore, it cannot be said that "a significant segment of the Society" would find the combination of this name and these arms to be offensive.

Some members of the College cited the ruling in the cover letter for the October 2001 LoAR in support of returning this submission for presumption based on the combination of names and armory. That precedent stated (in pertinent parts):

In the vast majority of cases, an SCA Alan Smith could bear the exact same arms as a real-world, but unprotected, Alan Smith. This is true even if the real-world armiger is found in a standard heraldic source such as Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials, Burke's Peerage or Fox-Davies' A Complete Guide to Heraldry. In order for there to be presumption, it must be demonstrated that a significant number of SCA members would find that the name and arms combination claimed "status or powers the submitter does not possess". In some cases, a significant number of SCA members will recognize, and find presumptuous, a combination of real-world name and arms, even if the use of the name or arms alone would be innocuous. Such possible cases of presumption will have to be determined, as they have been so far in the College of Arms, on a case by case basis.

In Kieran Hunter's submission, it was ruled that there is presumption in a case where the arms have no difference from that of a Scottish clan chief, and the surname of the submitter matches the clan chief's surname. While either the name or arms could be registered alone, the combination implies a status that the submitter does not possess, and is presumptuous.

The October 2001 Cover Letter specifically stated that a listing in Papworth was not adequate proof of presumption due to a name/armory combination. No evidence has been presented or found indicating that "a significant segment of the Society" would find the combination of the Wahull name and arms to be presumptuous. Therefore, this name and arms combination is not presumptuous for use in the SCA.

The specific case that was protected in the October 2001 Cover Letter, that of a name and armory combination for a Scottish clan chief, is in keeping with long-standing SCA precedents that acknowledge the peculiar prominence of Scottish clan chiefs to a "significant segment of the Society." Quoting from the LoAR of March 1993, referring to bynames of the form [clan name] of [clan seat/territory]: "[such a name's] use in the SCA represents a direct infringement on actual nobility, and also appears to be a claim to rank, either of which is grounds for return". This precedent has been consistently upheld, most recently in November 2001 and in this LoAR (Ian of Mull, Calontir acceptances). At no point has the precedent been changed to require that only certain "famous" clan chiefs' name and clan seat locations are protected: it has always been all the clan chiefs.

Submitted as Slaine Aschenane, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Irish and allowed any changes. As submitted, this name combines an Irish Gaelic feminine given name with a byname that is Scots (a language closely related to English). An authentic name would have been rendered all in one language depending upon the language of the document in which the name was recorded. Black (p. 720 s.n. Shannan) dates Gilqwhongill Aschenane to 1376 and gives the origin of this name as the Irish O'Seanáin [sic]. Woulfe (p. 642) lists the header Ó Seanáin. The byname indicating a woman belonging to this family in the 14th C would be inghean Uí Sheanáin. As accents were often omitted in examples of names in Irish annals, Sláine inghean Uí Sheanáin and Slaine inghean Ui Sheanain are forms of this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture. Since the submitted form included no accents, we have registered the authentic form without accents in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

This order name was originally submitted as Order of the Stjerne of Starkhafn and changed at Kingdom to the current form to match available documentation.

Listed on the LoI as Order of the Tönn frá Úlfr of Starkhafn, this name was submitted as Tönn frá Úlfur and changed at Kingdom to match available documentation. The submitting group requested authenticity for "Icelandic" culture.

Argent Snail provided grammar correction information for this item:

The correct grammatical form of the Old Norse phrase is probably "tönn frá Úlfi" as the preposition "frá" always takes dative form and that's what I get with my somewhat rusty Old Norse Grammar. However, this construction is somewhat unscandinavian - especially Old Norse and even the Scandinavian languages today would be more likely simply to form a compound word: "ulftönn" = wolf's tooth. The construction is supported by Lind bynames that has "ulffotr" (wolffoot) and "ulfhamr" (taking/in the form of a wolf, looking like a wolf). The current suggestion sounds more like "a tooth given by/gotten from Úlfr (a person)" so it isn't what the submitter wants.

We have corrected the grammar in the main element in this order name to Ulftönn according to Argent Snail's recommendation.

Evidence was presented (from the May 1985 Laurel letter of corrections) that this released device was to have been maintained as a badge.

Her previous device, Purpure, a swan naiant argent between four mullets in cross Or, is released.

This is clear of conflict with Vasilisa Myshkina, Argent, a chevron between three holly leaves vert. There is one CD for changing the tincture of the chevron. There is a second CD between a holly sprig and a holly leaf. A sprig has multiple leaves and the outline is notably different from a single leaf.

Cavelli was submitted as a variant of the Italian name Cavalli found in Ferrante LaVolpe, "4300 Citizens of Pisa Swear to Maintain the Alliance with Siena, Pistoia and Poggibonsi" (http://library.byu.edu/~rdh/eurodocs/italia/pisani.html). The LoI stated that the submitter would "accept spelling of Cavalli, if needed for registration". Metron Ariston found Cavelli as the name of a French family in the 15th & 16th C. Since the submitter prefers the spelling Cavelli, has noted no preference for language (just that sound was most important), and allows any changes, we are registering the submitted spelling Cavelli as a French name. A fully Italian form of this name would be Angelo Paolo Cavalli.

The submitter requested authenticity for 12th to 15th C German. Lacking evidence that double given names were used in German in this period, we were unable to confirm that this name is authentic for the submitter's desired time period.

Submitted as Culverin Herald, a culverin was documented as an early firearm dating to the 15th C and a type of cannon dating to the 16th and 17th C. The OED dates the submitted spelling culverin to the 19th C. Some period forms listed are the Latin Colubrinas (1466), and the English Culuering (1515), and Culuerene (1549).

No evidence was provided and none was found of of a culverin as a period heraldic charge. However, among the armory registered to SCA members (as opposed to important non-SCA armory), there are five pieces of armory with cannons, one with a pole-cannon, and one with cannon barrels. Given these registrations, combined with the documentation of the term in English in period, it seems reasonable to give the submitter the benefit of the doubt and register this title.

As the submitted spelling was a post-period form, we have changed the spelling to Culuerene, dated to 1549, in order to register this name.

Submitted as Catherine of Dark Forest, no documentation was provided and none was found that Dark was used as an element in an English placename in period. Lacking such evidence, Dark Forest is not registerable. Reaney & Wilson (p. 174 s.n. Forest) dates Adam ate Forest to 1300 and Anabilla del fforest to 1354. Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Dark) dates John Darke to 1362, showing an example of Darke as a descriptive byname. Therefore, Catherine of the Forest and Catherine Darke of the Forest are registerable forms of this name. As the latter contains all of the submitted elements, though in a different order than submitted, we have changed the name to this form in order to register this name.

Submitted under the name Corwyn MacCamie.

Submitted under the name Heulwen ferch Lloid.

Submitted as Duncan Faramach MacLeod, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Scots, though information included with the submission indicated that the the sound of the name was more important than the request for authenticity. In this name, Duncan and MacLeod are Scots (a language closely related to English) and Faramach is Modern Scottish Gaelic. In period, a name would have been written all in Scots or all in Gaelic depending upon the language of the document in which the name was recorded. No documentation was found that Faramach, meaning 'noisy/loud', was used in period.

The submitter included several alternates for Faramach. Some of these had other meanings, but all were similar in pronunciation to the submitted Faramach. As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the byname to the Irish Gaelic Fearmac as it is the documentable name element with the pronunciation closest to the submitted Faramach. Fearmac is a constructed descriptive byname indicating the family branch Ui Fearmaic, which is listed in Woulfe (p. 695) and which appears in several entries in the "Annals of the Four Masters" (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005C/, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005E/). An example of this type of descriptive byname appears in the "Annals of Connacht" (Mavis Cournane, Vibeke Dijkman, Ivonne Tummers, ed., "Annála Connacht" http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011/), entry 1349.12, which lists the name Murcertach Riaganach Mag Aengusa. In this case, the descriptive byname Riaganach indicates the family branch Ui Riagain, which is also listed in Woulfe (p. 696). Fearmac is the form that a descriptive byname would take that refers to the family branch Ui Fearmaic. We have changed the descriptive byname to Fearmac to meet the submitter's desire for a byname whose pronounciation is similar to Faramach and to register this name.

Submitted as Etiennette Bluet, Etiennette was documented from Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700 (p. 127 s.n. William I). Genealogy resources often standardize names and, in so doing, do not necessarily use spellings appropriate for the time and place in which the individual lived. In this case, Etiennette seems to be a modern representation for the name of a woman named Estefania. The submitted documentation gives no support for Etiennette as as a name actually used in period.

Siren found listings in French parish registers for a woman named Estiennette Grau who was baptized in 1598 ("REGISTRES PAROISSIAUX D'AMBLENY (AISNE): BAPTEMES 1578-1616" at http://lkokanosky.free.fr/ambnai1.html) and who is listed as the mother in six baptisms ranging from 1624 to 1637 (listed at the same site in the page http://lkokanosky.free.fr/ambleny_A.html). Therefore, we have changed the spelling of the given name to the documented form Estiennette, in order to register this name.

Submitted under the name Evangeline Bajolet de Roubidoux.

Submitted as Gabrielle la Roche, La Roche is the name of a location, and so would take the preposition de. We have changed the byname to match documented forms in order to register this name.

Please advise the submitter to draw the caltrops larger.

Submitted as Gwenlyn ferch Ithel, Gwenlyn was documented from Gruffydd (p. 50). However, this entry gives no date for this name. Metron Ariston notes that "[u]ndated feminine names in Gruffudd, particularly those with geographic translations, are usually not period names." Lacking evidence that Gwenlyn was used in period, it is not registerable. We have changed the given name to the second form listed in the LoI, Gwenllyen, which is dated to the 16th C in Morgan & Morgan (p. 111 s.n. Gwenllian) in order to register this name.

Submitted as Ian MacLean of Mull, Mull is the clan seat of Clan MacLean. By long-standing precedent, use of the clan seat with the clan name (such as MacLean of Mull) is presumptuous and is not registerable. We would normally drop the locative byname of Mull in order to register this name. However, the resulting Ian MacLean would conflict with Ian MacClen (registered October 1991). Therefore, we have dropped the element MacLean and are registering this name as Ian of Mull.

Submitted as Khristiana Ivanovna Medvednikova, the elements Khristiana and Medvednikova were documented only from Tatiana Nikolaevna Tumanova's The Complete Russian Name Book. Nebuly explains the issues with this source:

Though in the past we have relied on Tatiana's book for Russian name documentation, that work contains no dates and is derived from books about modern Russian names (also without dates).

The College was unable to find evidence of Khristiana as a period name. Lacking such evidence, it is not registerable. Therefore, we have changed the given name to Khristina, which is dated to 1165 in Wickenden (3rd ed., p. 143 s.n. Khristina). Wickenden (3rd ed., p. 207 s.n. Medvednikov) dates the byname Medvednikov to c. 1495. Medvednikova is the feminine form of this name.

Medvednikova was also submitted under the Grandfather Clause, as the LoI states that "Medvednikova is the submitter's real mother's SCA name." However, no documentation, other than a simple statement of a relationship, was provided with this submission to support this relationship. Lacking such supporting documentation, the Grandfather Clause may not be used. As the College was able to provide alternate documentation for Medvednikova, it is registerable.

Please advise the submitter to draw the rays of the sunburst more prominently.

The lenses of the eyeglasses are considered to be half the tincture of the charge.

Please advise the submitter to draw the fountains with a more clearly defined barry wavy.

The ash sprig was originally blazoned as an ash leaf. Each ash leaf is a compound of smaller leaves. It seems much clearer to blazon this as a sprig.

Submitted under the name Morwen Nantyronnen.

Good name!

Submitted as Sadb inghean Constance, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish. The byname inghean Constance combined the Gaelic particle inghean with the English feminine given name Constance. Since RfS III.1.a requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase, such as inghean Constance, this byname is not registerable. We have dropped the particle inghean in order to register this name as an Irish feminine given name and an English matronymic byname. Lacking evidence that the name Constance was used in Ireland, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired culture.

Submitted as Shane of Drake's Vale, no documentation was presented and none was found that Drake's Vale is a plausible period placename. Reaney & Wilson (p. 141 s.n. Drake) date David Drake to 1185, and (p. 464 s.n. Vale) John Vale to 1382. These entries show Drake to be a descriptive byname originally meaning 'dragon' or an occupational byname referring to a standard bearer, and Vale to be a locative byname referring to a generic 'valley' location. As the submitter allows any changes and noted that sound was most important, we have changed this name to use Drake and Vale as two separate bynames in order to register this name with a minimum of changes to its sound.

This is clear of conflict with David Waxthorn, Argent, a turkeycock statant and on a chief azure, two quill pens crossed in saltire Or. There is one CD for changing the number and tincture of the charges on the chief. There is a CD between a correctly drawn turkey cock and an ostrich. The turkey has a much shorter neck and legs and has a distinctive fan-shaped tail.

Please advise the submitter to draw the bunches of grapes more recognizably. Each bunch should have the grapes conjoined in a natural cluster rather than these stylized and separated roundels in a triangular arrangement.

This was pended from the March 2001 LoAR due to an incorrect tincture.

Submitted as Gericke von Keger, no evidence was found that Keger was the formal name of a location (as opposed to a generic term referring to a bog or moor). Lacking evidence that Keger was the formal name of a location, it is not registerable with the particle von. We have changed the byname to follow the form found in Brechinmacher (s.n. Keger), which dates Ruod. der Keger to 1293, in order to register this name.

Submitted as John Marshall of Hartshorn-Dale, the registered name of the submitter's group is Hartshorn-dale. Since only the registered form of a branch name is automatically registerable, we have changed the byname to use the registered form.

Submitted as Kassandra Aiantos, the byname Aiantos was intended to mean 'daughter of Ajax'. The submitter requested authenticity for "1200's Greek". Metron Ariston found information regarding this byname:

[T]he byname in classical Greek would clearly be an adjective and, as such, would have to agree in gender with the feminine Kassandra: either Aianta or Aiante, depending on the dialect you are using. However, I did not find this particular form in the BIG Liddell and Scott and suspect that it is a confusion with the documented adjective Αιάντεια [Alpha iota {alpha'} nu tau epsilon iota alpha] (in the feminine singular at least) that has the meaning "of Ajax". However, Liddell and Scott give an actual masculine patronymic form of Αιαντίδησ [Alpha iota alpha nu tau {iota'} delta eta sigma] which should argue for a parallel feminine form Αιαντίδη [Alpha iota alpha nu tau {iota'} delta eta]. Neither would really be presumptuous in classical Athens as there was an Athenian clan that claimed descent from Ajax as its eponymous founder and members of that clan used the form Αιαντίδησ [Alpha iota alpha nu tau {iota'} delta eta sigma] to identify themselves. Thus, I would expect the name to be Kassandra Aiantide in translation or, if she preferred the broader adjective which has more the connotation of possession (Ajax' Kassandra) to use Kassandra Aianteia. I have to admit, however, that I do have some qualms about the usage of the name, particularly in the form Kassandra Aianteia, since the Trojan princess Kassandra who plays such a part not only in the Troy story but also in the Agamemnon-Clytemnestra cycle, after the fall of Troy was dragged from the temple of Athena and raped by Ajax the Lesser. [...] This is one of the more popular tales in classical Greece and I suspect that most ancient Greeks who saw the phrase "Ajax' Kassandra" would immediately assume that it referred to the Trojan princess and priestess.

As the first byname (Aiantide) suggested by Metron Ariston indicates a family claiming descent from Ajax, it is the more appropriate of these two bynames given the submitter's desired meaning of 'daughter of Ajax'.

Good name!

The proper tincture for a falcon is brown, as stated in the cover letter for the October 1995 LoAR. This device does not conflict with Gareth of Lochmere, Argent, a brown wren close proper, a bordure azure. There is a CD for engrailing the bordure. There is a second CD for the type difference between a falcon and a wren.

We have no reason to believe the two charges would not have been considered distinct in period. They are certainly different types of bird (the falcon is a raptor and a wren is a small perching bird), and real-world heraldry generally distinguishes between these types of bird, at least in blazon. Falcons and wrens are certainly quite visually distinct. A wren has a thin pointed beak, and horizontal body posture with its tail pointing straight up. A falcon has a hooked raptor's beak, and vertical body posture with its tail pointing downwards. The falcon in this device is further identified as a falcon or hawk by its prominent bells and jesses.

This does not conflict with a badge of Richard of Black Iron, Argent, a single-horned anvil reversed sable, enflamed proper. There is one CD for changing the field and another for removing the significant enflaming of Richard's anvil. We considered reblazoning Richard's armory as a flame proper charged with an anvil sable, but the shape of the flame so generated would be so unusual as to be unacceptable. Therefore we are maintaining the current blazon.

Submitted as Ludwig von Eisburg, Eisburg was submitted as a constructed placename. The LoI noted that if Eisburg was not registerable, he would accept changing the placename to Eisenburg. The LoI referenced a number of German towns whose names begin with Eisen- or Eis- and stated that "the former means 'iron' and the latter 'ice'". Bright Leaf found information regarding placenames using Eisen- and Eis-:

None of the names beginning with Eis- in either Bahlow or Brechenmacher seem to have anything to do with ice. Rather, they are mostly shortened forms of names beginning with Eisen- (iron). For example, Bahlow, DN, p. 115, notes that, while Eisbein is the modern form, it derives from Eisenbein, a descriptive byname probably used for someone who had leg armor made of iron. None of the dated examples of compound names using iron found in Bahlow or Brechenmacher, even those dated from the 17th century, show the -en dropped. The names in Bahlow that do provide dated examples without the -en (Yystrud, 1494, p. 117, s.n. Eistraut, and Isegrim, 1150, p. 116, s.n. Eisengrein) are those that derive from given names (Isentrut and Isengrin, in these cases). Given this information, I would prefer to see the byname registered as von Eisenburg, as the submitter allows. This name is dated to 1497 in the form Eysenburg on p. 393 of Brechenmacher (s.n. Eisenburg(er)).

Given no examples of German placenames in period beginning with Eis- rather than Eisen-, combined with the information found by Bright Leaf, Eis- seems to be a post-period rendering of Eisen-. Lacking evidence that a placename would have used Eis- rather than Eisen- in period, a placename using Eis- is not registerable. We have change the placename to Eisenburg, as the submitter specifically allows, in order to register this name.

Good name!

Moira was ruled SCA compatible in June of 1997.

The submitter is a court baroness and entitled to use the generic coronets of four points.

Submitted under the name Moira MacDonald.

Submitted as Nest Verch Tangwistel, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Welsh. We have lowercased the particle to follow documented examples.

Nice device! The garbs were originally blazoned as oat-garbs. However, they are not clearly identifiable as any particular type of garb, and there is no apparent cant to be preserved, so they have been blazoned using the more general name for the charge.

Submitted as Ríán MacFaoitigh. In period, Mac was not connected to the patronym in Gaelic. We have added a space to follow documented examples.

The sprig was originally blazoned as a sprig of broad-leafed sage. Some commenters indicated that the broad-leaved sage was a modern cultivar. Without proof that this is a period plant, its type should not be explicitly blazoned. Moreover, sage does not set fruit, so a fructed sprig would not be appropriate for sage.

Reaney & Wilson (p. 495 s.n. Wind) give examples of forms of Wind as a locative byname. Therefore, the submitted name has the structure of given name + descriptive byname + locative byname and is registerable.

The birds in chief were originally blazoned as ravens but they are not in a standard period posture for ravens and they do not have any particularly defining attributes of ravens. They have thus been reblazoned as generic birds.

Submitted as Agnieszka the Wanderer, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Polish. Nebuly found information about period forms of this name:

The submitted spelling Agnieszka is the standard modern spelling for that name in Polish. It is my experience working with the SSNO that soft consonants were not indicated in period spellings (there wouldn't be an i after n in the name), and this is supported by the spellings in the SSNO: Agnesca, Agneschka, Agneszka. Since the client asks for a 13th century name, I'd recommend changing the given name to Agneszka.

The byname the Wanderer is ruled SCA-compatible, and there is a period Polish equivalent. The Polish for "wanderer" is wêndrownik, which appears under that heading in the SSNO in the name Stanek Wandrownyk, dated 1397.

The name is registerable as submitted, but if the client would like a fully authentic Polish name, the period feminine equivalent would be Agneszka Wandrownyka.

We have changed the given name to the form recommended by Nebuly in order to register this name and to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity. As she only allowed minor changes, and changing the language of the byname from the English the Wanderer to the Polish Wandrownyka is a major change, we were unable to change the name to the completely Polish form recommended by Nebuly. The byname the Wanderer is a Lingua Anglica translation of the Polish byname found by Nebuly and therefore does not count as a weirdness.

Submitted as Alta of Salisbury, Alta is the submitter's legal given name, not her middle name as was reported on the LoI.

The submitter requested an authentic "Norman" name. Ekwall (p. 404 s.n. Salisbury) dates the form Salesburi to 1205. Reaney & Wilson (p. 389 s.n. Salisbury) dates Bernard de Salesbiry to 1246. Given these forms, Salesbury is a reasonable form for her desired culture.

The name Aoife, including the earlier form Aífe, has only been found as the names of legendary women. Lacking evidence that it was used by humans in period, we will stop registration of this name beginning with the April 2003 decision meeting (see the Cover Letter for more details).

Submitted as Arabella Rosa D'Antonio, we have changed the byname to d'Antonio to follow period examples.

Submitted as Bríg O' Finnigan, Anglicized Irish forms either have a space in the byname or have an apostrophe. Lacking evidence that both an apostrophe and a space would occur in the byname, we have removed the space in order to register this name.

The submitter requested authenticity for pre-1200 Irish. The name Caiterína was brought into Ireland by the Anglo-Normans. Anglo-Norman feminine given names begin to appear in Irish Gaelic families in the mid-1200s. The earliest example currently known of Caiterína used in an Irish Gaelic family is in the mid-1300s. Lacking evidence that Caiterína was used in Irish Gaelic families before 1200, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time period.

Submitted as Ceara filia Drusti, the submitter requested the Latinized form of this name appropriate for 500-600 A.D. Ceara is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of a name which was Cera in Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900). Our best guess is that Cera would have retained that spelling in a Latin form. Therefore, we have changed the given name to this form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Submitted as Dominique Maquereau, both elements are modern forms. No documentation was found that these are plausible forms in period. Marie-Therese Morlet, Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle (vol. II, p. 42 s.n. Dominica), dates Dominica to various points in the 9th to 11th C as a feminine name. Marie-Therese Morlet, Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles (p. 431 s.n. Maquerelle), dates the form Maroie Maquerelle to 1318. We have modified this name to use period forms in order to register this name.

There was some question whether a locative byname that referenced the name of a river was plausible in German. Edda Gentry's translation of Bahlow lists several entries with dated examples of bynames referencing river names. Some of these include:

Bahlow (p. 390 s.n. Odermann) gives this name as referencing the Oder River and dates Tile Oderman to 1351, Peter von der Oder to 1399, and P. Oderer to 1352.

Bahlow (p. 379 s.n. Necker(mann)) gives this name as referencing the Neckar River and dates Heincze vom Necker to 1387 and Dyme am Neckar to 1343.

Bahlow (p. 625 s.n. Wuppermann) gives this name as referencing the Wupper River, which was orginally called the Wipper River, and dates Nolde by der Wupper to 1466 and Tile von der Wipper to 1434.

Given these examples, the submitted form of this name is both registerable and authentic for German, as requested by the submitter.

Submitted as Guaire Mac Aengus, the byname was not in the genitive case. We have made this correction.

This name does not conflict with Jean Laffite, early 19th C privateer and smuggler, who has his own entry in multiple encyclopedias. Properly pronounced, Lafayette has three syllables while Laffite has two. This difference, combined with the pronunciation difference in the final syllable of each name, is enough to clear these two names.

The submitter's previous device, Argent, a violet purpure slipped and leaved vert, between flaunches invected purpure, is retained as a badge.

Submitted as Jourdain de Bois-Robert, the submitter requested authenticity for 11th to 12th C Norman. All examples that were found of placenames combining Bois with a given name showed the name as one word (such as Boisgirard) rather than as a hyphenated form. We have changed the placename to Boisrobert in order to register this name and to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

His previous name, Juan Pelayo de Huesca, is released.

The submitter requested authenticity for "French-Maltese". This name combines the Italian given name Lucia with the French byname de la Valette. In period, this name would have been written completely in Italian or completely in French depending on the language of the document in which the name was recorded. Based on the example of Luce la Berote found 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), Luce de la Valette would be a fully French form of this name. As the College found no Italian form of the byname, we are not able to determine a fully Italian form of this name. Since the submitter allowed only minor changes, we are unable to change this name to a fully French form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Submitted as Madryn Newmarch, Madryn was documented from Gruffydd (p. 66). However, this entry gives no date for this name, dating only Madrun to the 5th C as a feminine given name. Undated names listed in Gruffudd are usually modern names. Lacking evidence that the form Madryn is a plausible period form, it is not registerable. Sommelier found support for a form of Madrun as a feminine given name in the 13th C:

Tangwystyl's "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html) lists Madrun as the "standard" spelling and Maderun as the form appearing in manuscript. It is listed as a feminine name.

As the submitter allows all changes and has specified no desired gender, we have changed the spelling of the given name to Madrun in order to register this name.

Submitted as Margarete della Mare, the byname della Mare was submitted as an Italian byname. However, this phrase is not grammatically correct. The word mare in Italian is masculine, and so would be used with the masculine particle del rather than the feminine della. We have made this correction.

Listed on the LoI as Oláfr Eiriksson, this name was originally submitted as Olaf Ericson and changed at Kingdom to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. The submitter requested authenticity for an unspecified language/culture, which Kingdom interpreted as Old Norse because all of the documentation for this name came from Geirr Bassi. In an Old Norse name, accents should be used or omitted consistently. Therefore, a fully Old Norse form of this name would be Oláfr Eiríksson.

Argent Snail found that the originally submitted form of this name is authentic for 15th C Swedish:

Another language and culture the original submission, "Olaf Ericson", would fit is Medieval Scandinavia. Probably even anywhere in Scandinavia any time 1100-1500, but there aren't really good sources for all areas.

For example Swedish Medieval Names have under Erik "Olaff Erixsson" 1479, "Olaff Ersson" (from "Erik") 1484 and "Olef Erichzsson"1486. Furthermore, there's under "Anna" "Anna Olafz dotther" 1459 and "Anna Olafsdotter" 1491. The spelling "Ericson" is somewhat rarer, but appears under Erik at least 1464 ("Magnus Ericson") and 1478 ("Per Ericson"). Thus the submitted spelling would be a perfectly fitting 15th century Swedish name.

Since the originally submitted form is authentic for a culture (15th C Swedish) and the submitter did not specify a culture in his request for authenticity, we are registering this name in the originally submitted form.

Submitted as Otmar von Ehinga, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Germany. Brechenmacher (vol. 1, p. 383 s.n. Ehinger) dates Bertoldus dictus de Ehingen to 1251. We have changed the byname to use the form Ehingen to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Nice arms, and very compatible with his name's desired time and place!

Her alternate name Damhnait an t-Abhlóir is released. Her badge Gyronny sable and vert, a fool's cap argent, associated with that name, is now associated with her primary name.

Submitted as Stefan de Sanglier, the submitter intended the name to mean 'Stefan the Boar' and requested authenticity for 12th to 14th C, but specified no culture. The particle de, meaning 'of', would not be used in a descriptive byname. We have changed it to le, meaning 'the', in order to register this name and to give the submitter his desired meaning.

This name combines a German given name with a French byname. In period, this name would have been rendered all in German or all in French depending upon the language of the document in which the name was recorded. 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) lists Estienne le chaucier. Estienne le Sanglier would be a completely French form of this name. Lacking a German form of the byname, we are unable to suggest a completely German form of this name. As the submitter only allows minor changes, we have not changed the language of the given name to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Listed on the LoI as Tamalnatch Mac Daimín, this name was submitted as Tomalnatch Mac Daimín and typoed on the LoI. The form documented the name Tomaltach and noted that the submitter preferred the form Tomalnatch but that no documentation could be found for that form. The College was also unable to find documentation for the form Tomalnatch. Lacking evidence that it is a plausible period form, it is not registerable. We have changed the given name to the documented Tomaltach in order to register this name.

Nice arms!

Submitted under the name Willoc Dulglass.

Her previous name, Aine inghean Chillín, is retained as an alternate name.

The submitter's previous device, Vert, a wing Or, a bordure argent semy of shamrocks vert, is released.

Submitted as Faílenn ingen Tigernaig, the submitter requested an authentic 14th C 'Irish Celt' name. The submitted name is an Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) or Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form. Faoileann inghean Tighearnaigh would be the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name. The only dated examples we have of any form of Faílenn used as a feminine given name in period are for women who lived in the 7th C. Since there are saints of this name, Faoileann is registerable as an Early Modern Irish form of this saints name under the guidelines for the registerability of saints's names discussed in the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR.

Although most names lenite after inghean, names that begin with T, such as Tighearnaigh, do not.

Submitted as Kolfinna inn barnakarl, barnakarl is a masculine gender noun. Descriptive bynames that are nouns do not have to agree with the gender of the given name. Therefore, Kolfinna barnakarl is grammatically correct. Kolfinna inn barnakarl is not grammatically correct because the article inn is feminine and the word it modifies, barnakarl, is masculine.

Please advise the submitter to draw the chief triangular more deeply.

Submitted as Terryl MacAodhagáin. Terryl is the submitter's legal given name. Since the submitter is female, Terryl is used here as a feminine given name. Bynames in Gaelic were used literally in period. Since a woman cannot be anyone's son, the particle Mac is incorrect in the submitted name. The Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this byname would be inghean Aodhagáin. The Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this byname would be ingen Áeducáin. As the Early Modern Irish Gaelic form is closer to the submitted form, we have changed the byname to this form in order to register this name.

The Letter of Intent asked if there was a problem with the combination of this badge and a version of the MacBain surname. Way of Plean and Squire's Scottish Clan and Family Encyclopedia, endorsed by the Convenor of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, gives the MacBain crest as A grey demi-cat-a-mountain salient, on his sinister foreleg a Highland targe gules, and the MacBain badge as A grey demi-cat-a-mountain as in the Crest within a chaplet of boxwood Proper.

In the Cover Letter for the March 1991 LoAR, it was ruled that "It has been decided that we will NOT check for conflicts against mundane crests". Therefore, we need only consider the MacBain badge for possible pretense issues. The removal of the chaplet of boxwood makes it clear that no identity is being presumed.

This badge does not conflict with Thomas Bordeaux, (Fieldless) A demi-lion argent issuant from a cloud Or. There is one CD for fieldlessness and a second CD for removing the co-primary cloud.

Submitted as Badai Doghshin Altai, the submitter requested an authentic 12th C Mongol name. The LoI noted that if the name could not be registered with all three submitted elements, the submitter preferred to drop Doghshin.

No documentation was presented and none was found for a Mongol name with two separate bynames. There is a precedent which was discussed in commentary:

[Chinua Al-Naran] Mongols did not as a rule use three-part names. Fortunately, Pennon has pointed out that there is an uncommon but attested pattern of hyphenated names, to which this submission can easily be made to conform. We have taken his suggestion. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR May 1999, p. 8).

The byname Al-Naran is comprised of two themes, Al 'crimson' and Naran 'sun'. These two meanings can be combined to form the reasonable meaning 'crimson sun'. In the case of the current submission, the bynames Doghshin 'fierce' and Altai 'he who is crimson' are mutually exclusive ideas which could not be combined into a single byname with a plausible meaning.

We have dropped the byname Doghshin, as allowed by the submitter, in order to register this name.

Submitted as Brude mac Bruide, the submitter requested authenticity for 10th to 12th C "Scot or Pict". By this time period, the language spoken by the Scottish/Pictish culture was Scottish Gaelic. Very few Scottish Gaelic records remain from that time period. So, to determine Scottish Gaelic names appropriate for that time period, we often have to rely on Irish Gaelic records of the period. This is possible because the Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic languages were very similar at that time.

In the case of this submission, Brude and Bruide are both nominative forms, documented from records written in the 11th C (in Irish Gaelic) and in the 14th C (in Latin in Scotland) that discussed people who lived earlier than the submitter's desired time period. The nominative form of this name is Bruide in Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900). It is listed in several annals entries, including entry U693.1 of Donnchadh Ó Corráin & Mavis Cournane, "The Annals of Ulster" (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100001/), which mentions Bruide m. Bili, rex Fortrend. The genitive form of this name in Old Irish Gaelic is Bruidi, as is shown in entry I691.1 of Donnchadh Ó Corráin, ed., "Annals of Inisfallen" (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100004/), which mentions (Bruidi m. Bili), rig Cruithnech. The latest use of Bruide that we have found dates to the 8th or early 9th C. If some form of this name was still in use among the Scottish/Pictish people in the submitter's desired time period, it would have taken a Gaelic form. So the name of a man named Bruide who was the son of a man named Bruide would be Bruide mac Bruidi. We have changed this name to this form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Submitted as Rio de Las Animas Perdidas, Shire of, the group allowed registration of Rio de Las Animas, Shire of if Rio de Las Animas Perditas, Shire of was not registerable. This name has previously been returned twice by Laurel, in September of 1997 (as Rio de las Animas, Shire of and in January of 2001 (as Rio de Las Animas Perdidas, Shire of). RfS III.2.b.i "Branch Names", states that "[n]ames of branches must follow the patterns of period place-names." In this submission, evidence has been provided that rivers were named for saints and other objects of veneration (such as Rio de Nombre de Dios 'River of [the] Name of God') in the early Spanish period in the Americas (16th to 17th C). Evidence was also provided that a settlement and a province were, in the same time period, named for river names.

Documentation was also provided for a number of locations in Spain whose names take the form [toponymic element] de Las Animas. It is unclear which of these locations was actually known by their de Las Animas name in period. However, given the number of locations and the fact that naming a location [toponymic element] de Las Animas follows the pattern of naming a location for an object of veneration, it is reasonable to assume that at least some of these locations had these names in period. In these names, Las Animas follows the pattern of naming a location for an object of veneration, since it is almost certainly a reference to the holy day Dia de las Animas (called All Souls' Day in English, celebrated on November 2nd).

Documentation was provided that a confraternity (a lay order) existed in Spain named Cofradias de Las Animas (literally 'Confraternity of the Souls', referring to souls in purgatory) and that this confraternity dated to at least 1564. Documentation was also provided for a brotherhood named Hermanadad del Nino Perdido (literally 'Brotherhood of the Lost Child') that existed in Spain in the 16th C. However, while monastic orders, brotherhoods, and confraternities are suitable models for household or order names, they are not placenames as required for branch names in the RfS. Additionally, evidence that a brotherhood would be named 'of the Lost Child' in Spanish in late period is not support that a river would be named 'of the Lost Souls'.

Lacking evidence that a river name would have included the element Perdidas, we have dropped this element, as the branch allows, in order to register this name.

Had documentation been found supporting the element Perdidas in a river name, a branch name Rio de Las Animas Perdidas would conflict with the current real-world location in the area of this branch. This issue was recently addressed in the precedent:

[T]he name may run afoul of section III.A.9 of the Administrative Handbook: No name or device will be registered to a submitter if it is identical to a name or device used by the submitter for purposes of identification outside of a Society context. Thus, in the present case, we would not have registered Tornio or Torneå, those being the currently used names for the town. The submitted name differs from each of these by one syllable, and that is generally considered sufficient difference for personal names. Again, we see no point in treating place names differently. [Torna, Canton of, LoAR 06/01, A-Drachenwald]

As the river Rio de Las Animas Perdidas is in the same area as this branch, it may not be used as the name of this branch. Removing the element Perdidas clears this conflict.

Submitted as Roan Mac Raith, Roan was documented from a translation of "a long geneology listed on pages 136-139 of The History of Ireland by Geoffrey Keating D.D. Volume II, The first book of the history from sect. XV to the end, edited with a translation and notes by Rev. Patrick S. Dinneen, M.A. London, published for the Irish texts society by David Nutt, 1908." The LoI noted that there were no dates in this genealogy and that the submitter noted that if Roan was not registerable, he would accept Rónán. The person mentioned in the cited genealogy appears in the "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 1, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005A/) in the byname on Rotheachtaigh, mic Roain in entry M4170.1. This entry number indicates that the date referenced in this entry is approximately 4170 B.C., putting this reference well into legend rather than history. As no other evidence was found for Roan, it is not registerable. We have change the given name to Rónán as the submitter allows in order to register this name.

Mac Raith is a Gaelic masculine given name. Irish Gaelic did not use either unmarked patronymics in period, or double given names. Therefore, the expected patronymic byname based on the given name Mac Raith would be mac Meic Raith in Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) and mac Mhic Raith in Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700). This is the normal patronymic construction formed from given names that begin in Mac. While these patronymic forms existed for Mac Raith, the byname mac Mhic Raith began to be rendered simply as Mac Raith well within period. Some examples of this trend are shown in the "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 3, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005C/) which list Petrus Mac Raith in entry M1243.1 and Niocól Macc Raith in entry M1344.3.

Her previous device, Per bend sinister sable and argent, a wolf's head cabossed and a mullet of eight points counterchanged, is released.

His previous device, Per pale sable and argent, a spiderweb counterchanged, on a chief purpure a scorpion fesswise argent, is retained as a badge.

This submission was pended to consider whether the SCA should protect the version of the arms of Campbell of Argyll that were found through the 16th C, Gyronny argent and sable. This form of the Campbell arms does not appear to be well-known in its own right (under the "arms" school) to most SCA members. General references (heraldic and otherwise) only cite the modern Or and sable form of the armory.

There is some support for protecting the arms under the "man" school, as some of the bearers of the arms in this form are found in some standard references. Archibald Campbell, fifth Earl of Argyll (who lived in the 16th C) has his own listing in the Encyclopædia Britannica as a supporter of Mary Queen of Scots. He and two other 16th C Campbell Earls of Argyll are listed as subentries in the Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia under a general entry for the Campbell family.

The consensus of the College was that the combination of the "arms" and "man" school evidence were insufficient to require that the SCA protect the argent and sable form of the Campbell arms as important non-SCA armory. Wulfgar's arms may thus be registered.

The submitter requested authenticity for Gaelic. Grania is an Anglicized Irish version of the Gaelic Gráinne. While Gráinne is documented to the 14th to 16th C in Ireland, no evidence was found of this name being used in Scotland. Buchanan is Scots (a language closely related to English) and is a byname derived from a location. No evidence has yet been found of locative bynames in Scottish Gaelic, except when used as part of a chiefly title. In the case of Irish Gaelic, in locative bynames formed from the names of areas smaller than provinces (such as towns, villages, and baronies), the locations referred to are all locations in Ireland. None have been found that refer to a similar location outside of Ireland. Lacking an appropriate Gaelic form of this name, we have left it in the submitted form.

His previous device, Azure, a chevron Or, in base a tower checky Or and gules, and on a chief Or, three apples gules, is released. Wreath and her staff say "hi" to Ivar and we hope he comes and visits back home in An Tir sometime.

The submitter requested authenticity for 14th to 15th C Spanish/Iberian and allowed any changes. Juliana de Luna's article "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/isabella/locative.html) lists de Bazan as a locative byname. The unmarked locative bynames listed in this source support Bazan as a variant of the documented de Bazan. Siren notes that "while accents are relatively rare, they occur in many names. Thus, a surname Bazán is not implausible for the fifteenth century."

There was some question about whether double given names are authentic for the submitter's desired period. Siren provided information regarding double given names in Spanish:

I have yet to see a case of a double given name in Castilian in the fourteenth century. There are somewhere between three and five examples of double given names, all men, in the fifteenth century. The first women with double given names that I have seen date from around 1550, but that may reflect the relative scarcity of women's names in the records. So, while the more likely name would be Luzia Bazán, we cannot rule out Luzia Violante Bazán.

From this information, Luzia de Bazan and Luzia Bazán are definitely authentic for the submitter's desired time period. Given the examples of masculine names with double given names in the 15th C, and the small number of women's names compared to men's names in available documents, it is plausible that the submitted form Luzia Violante Bazán is authentic for the 15th C.

The submitter requested authenticity for Gaelic. Rowan, as a masculine given name, is an Anglicized Irish version of the Gaelic Ruadhán. Buchanan is Scots (a language closely related to English) and is a byname derived from a location. No evidence has yet been found of locative bynames in Scottish Gaelic, except when used as part of a chiefly title. In the case of Irish Gaelic, locative bynames formed from the names of areas smaller than provinces (such as towns, villages, and baronies), the locations referred to are all locations in Ireland. None have been found that refer to a similar location outside of Ireland. Lacking an appropriate Gaelic form of this name, we have left it in the submitted form.

Note: there was some confusion regarding the status of Rowan as an SCA-compatible name. Rowan, used as a feminine given name, is SCA compatible. Rowan, used as a masculine given name, is registerable as an Anglicized Irish masculine given name and so does not need SCA compatible status.

His previous name, Morkar the Ruthless, is released.

This order name is being returned for non-period style. RfS III.2.b.ii, Names of Orders and Awards, states:

Names of orders and awards must follow the patterns of the names of period orders and awards.

These are often the names of saints; others are similar to sign names (see RfS III.2.a.iii). Some examples are: the Order of Saint Michael, the Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus, the Brethren of the Sword, the Order of the Garter, La Toison dOr (the Order of the Golden Fleece), the Order of the Golden Rose, the Order of the Star, the Order of the Swan, La Orden de la Jara (the Knights of the Tankard), the Order of Lilies.

This order name does not follow the pattern of basing an order name on a heraldic charge. To follow that pattern, the charge in question must either be (1) documented as a period heraldic charge or (2) must have been ruled to be registerable as a charge within the S.C.A. In the case of a starfish, precedent specifically states that it is not a registerable charge:

As originally blazoned, the mullet was blazoned as a starfish. Starfish have been reblazoned as mullets in the past:

The starfish is not, to the best of our knowledge, a period heraldic charge; it seems to have started use in Victorian heraldry (Elvin, plate 32). [reblazoned as mullets, leaving internal markings as artistic license] (Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme, LoAR October 1992, p. 18).

[Jaelle of Armida, LoAR December 1997, p. 6]

RfS III.2.a.ii says that some order names were "similar to sign names". In those cases, both sign names and order names are formed using names of heraldic charges. Since there is evidence that a starfish was not a period heraldic charge, it is highly unlikely that it would be used in a period sign name. Lacking evidence that it is plausible as an element in a period sign name, it is not registerable in a sign name construction.

Basecg was only documented from Savage's The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, which is a modern translation. Metron Ariston found information regarding this name:

The given name usually appears in the Chronicles as Bagsecg o[r] Bachsecg and the only exemplar I could find was the Norse prince killed at the Battle of Ashdown in 871.

So Bagsecg and Bachsecg are Old English forms of the name of a Norse prince who died in 871. This submission combines this given name with the byname von Basel, which is Middle High German. Lacking evidence that mixing Old English and Middle High German is plausible in a single name, this combination is not registerable. As the submitter indicated that sound was most important, he may be interested in the option found by Hund:

Balhow under Bäsecke has the Beseke (=Basilius) von der gartow from 1342 another 14th century citation of which is Baseke, Brechenmacher also has "von Basel" as submitted from 1360, thus a fully documented German 14th century name would be Baseke von Basel.

As the submitter only allowed minor changes, we were unable to change this name to the German form suggested by Hund in order to register this name.

His armory has been registered under the holding name Bagsecg of Aquaterra.

This name is being returned for lack of documentation of Corthaid as a given name. Corthaid was documented via the surname Ó Corthaid, which is given as the Gaelic form in MacLysaght's The Surnames of Ireland (p. 71 s.n. Currid). Not all Mac and Ó surnames derive from given names. Some derive from descriptive bynames. For example, the surname Ó Balbháin (Woulfe, p. 433 s.n. Ó Balbháin) means 'descendant of the stammerer'. Woulfe (p. 482 s.n. Ó Corthaid) says specifically that he cannot trace the origin of the surname. Ó Corráin & Maguire list no given name similar to Corthaid. Lacking evidence that Corthaid is plausible as a given name in Gaelic in period, it is not registerable as a given name.

His armory has been registered under the holding name Mark Blodletere.

This name is being returned for lack of documentation of Lyutsina as a feminine given name in period. Lyutsina was documented using Tatiana Nikolaevna Tumanova's The Complete Russian Name Book. Nebuly explains the issues with this name:

The name Lyutsina does not appear in Wickenden. Though in the past we have relied on Tatiana's book for Russian name documentation, that work contains no dates and is derived from books about modern Russian names (also without dates). I do note that Wickenden includes the name Lukina, which carries the client's desired meaning. The name was borne by a third century martyr, and is a feminine form of Lukin (dated to the mid 15th century). I recommend changing the name to the documented form Lukina Manova.

Lacking evidence that Lyutsina is plausible as a feminine given name in period, it is not registerable. It was generally felt that the change from Lyutsina to Lukina was a major change, which the submitter does not allow.

The emblazon blurs the distinction between a chief and a per fess line of division. If this is a charged chief, the line marking the bottom of the chief needs to be higher, and in particular, the bottom points of the rayonny line should not extend as far down as the fess point of the shield. The moon should also be drawn larger as befits a primary charge.

If this is a per fess division, the rayonny line should extend equally over and under the fess line of the shield. In a per fess interpetation the equal visual weight of the lozenges and the moon is appropriate.

As this cannot be accurately blazoned, it must be returned per RfS VII.7.

This name is being returned for lack of documentation of the byname totiþjalfi as a plausible period byname. The byname toti, meaning 'breast' (well, not quite, but this is a family forum), is listed in Geirr Bassi (p. 29). However, there are no examples of this byname being used in a compound byname. Additionally, no evidence was found that the byname þjalfi (also found in Geirr Bassi on p. 29), meaning 'embracer, conqueror' would be combined with an element refering to a body part. Lacking support for this construction, it is not registerable. As the submitter only allows minor changes, we were unable to drop an element and register this name as Styrkárr toti or Styrkárr þjalfi.

There was also a good bit of discussion regarding whether the constructed byname was offensive. We are declining to rule on that issue at this time.

His armory has been registered under the holding name Styrkárr of Aquaterra.

The armory needs to be returned for redrawing. These lace bobbins appear to be a modern form of bobbin. Our lace experts indicate that period lace bobbins have handles which have a somewhat elongated pear shape, as seen in the Pictorial Dictionary. The bobbin in this submission has a rectangular or cylindrical handle. These bobbins differ enough in form from the documented forms that, without documentation for them as a period form of lace bobbin, they cannot be registered.

In addition, the spider is not recognizable as drawn. A spider has two roughly equally sized body segments, the cephalothorax (a slightly smaller segment to which the legs are attached) and the abdomen. The spider's legs are each, roughly, as long as the body. In this emblazon, the abdomen is disproportionately large: about four times the length that one would expect given the size of the legs and cephalothorax, and wider than one would expect as well. This changes the outline of the spider so much that it cannot be recognized.

This armory is visually equivalent to Azure, a fess argent charged with three crosses of Cerdaña two and one sable. It therefore conflicts with a number of pieces of armory protected by the SCA, including the flag of Honduras (important non-SCA flag), Azure, on a fess argent five mullets in saltire azure, and Aithine nic Merril, Azure, upon a fess argent, a mole's paw print sable. In each case there is only one CD for the cumulative changes to the group of charges on the fess.

The strewn mullets need to be redrawn. Strewn charges need to be distributed evenly over the field. While the strewing need not be done with geometrical precision, the overall effect should be an even strewing of mullets. Here, due to the small size of the mullets in combination with their uneven placement, the mullets appear to be an attempt to represent some particular constellation of stars. This is reason for return, as noted in past precedent: "[The submittor] must draw the upper portion of the field properly as mulletty, i.e., more evenly distributed. As drawn now, the design looks more like an attempt to depict a constellation ... which is not permitted as a charge in Society heraldry." (LoAR 28 December 1986, p.9).

It is only acceptable to blazon an animal as a brown animal proper when that animal is frequently found in a brown color in nature, as per the Cover Letter of October 1995, which states in pertinent part in part "... animals which are normally brown may be registered simply as an {X} proper (e.g., boar proper, hare proper). 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)"

Period Western European sparrows are not brown birds, but distinctly marked birds. The male is about one-third brown with the remainder marked in black and white. The less distinctive female is half brown and half off-white. One typical species is Passer domesticus, which is called the house sparrow in both Europe and the United States. It is thus appropriate to inquire as to how a bird with such natural markings would be depicted in period heraldry when proper. Documentation was neither provided nor found for sparrows proper in period armory, so we have to draw conclusions based on other similarly marked proper birds.

There is evidence that birds that are black and white in nature are depicted as black and white birds when proper, even if their markings in the heraldic depictions are not quite correct for the species. The black and white stork with red legs and beak in the arms of Die Dobrzinsky on f. 73 of Siebmacher (from Silesia) is depicted very much like a European stork. There are two types of European stork, the White Stork and the Black Stork. Both are black and white birds with red beak and legs. Siebmacher's depiction is closer to a White Stork. Rietstap's blazon for this family indicates that the bird there depicted is intended to be a stork proper (beaked and membered gules, although this would, as stated, also be proper for a stork). Siebmacher also gives us the arms of von Atzelndorf (from Meissen) on f. 156 using a black and white bird. Atzel is the German word for magpie, and a magpie is a black and white bird, so it seems logical to conclude that the bird in these arms is meant to be a magpie. The Siebmacher rendition does not do a good job of duplicating a magpie's natural markings, but its proportions and general black and white coloration are correct for a magpie. A more accurately marked magpie proper may be found in the 15th C Milanese Stemmaria Trivulziano, p. 67, in the arms of de Bertis. The magpie there is black and white and the markings mostly follow the natural markings of a magpie. The editors inform us that the word berta means magpie (although it is not the most common Italian word for that bird) and de Bertis thus has canting arms.

Because birds that are black and white in nature appear to be drawn black and white when proper in period heraldry, it is not reasonable to assume that the partially brown and partially black and white sparrow would be solid brown in period heraldry. The female sparrow is a closer match, but is still not an "all brown bird". Also, as a general rule, it is the more colorful member of a species that is used to determine the proper coloration of a species in heraldry, the peacock being the prime example of this practice. Thus, unless evidence is provided for brown sparrows proper in period armory, they may not be registered in the SCA.

Note that some New World birds that are called "sparrows" in modern terminology are mostly brown in their coloration, unlike the Old World species. It does not seem appropriate to consider species outside of Western Europe when considering the proper tincture of an animal, unless the animal being considered is a distinctly non-European animal, such as the turkey (which is found in its proper coloration as the crest of Robert Cooke in 1556).

The angels are not in a blazonable posture. The angels are drawn almost identically to the angels in her previously returned device. The angels have been mirror-imaged (turned from roughly sinister facing to roughly dexter facing) and are drawn with slightly less detail at the bottom of the angels' robes. The text of the previous return, from the August 2000 LoAR, read as follows:

The angels are depicted with their faces and part of their upper torso turned away from the viewer. They should be redrawn either facing to the side or facing forward. The standard heraldic depiction is facing forward.

This assessment applies to the provided emblazon as much as it applied to the previous emblazon, and continues to be a reason for return. The angels are in a three quarters view as seen from the back, or alternately, in a one-quarter view as seen from the front. They are neither facing to the side ("in profile") or facing forward ("full face"). In addition, some commenters noted that the wings appeared more to be butterfly wings rather than angel wings. This does appear to be the case: the angels appear to have four wings like a butterfly (two wings on top and two on the bottom, with some overlap between the top and bottom wings) rather than having two bird wings as an angel should have. We suggest that the wings be redrawn in the next submission.

Because this submission uses a sable rose on a gules roundel, it violates the rules of contrast in RfS VIII.2.a. It has been explicitly ruled that augmentations may not violate the rules of contrast until such time that documentation is presented showing such violations of contrast to be standard in period augmentations:

The basic question raised by this submission is can an augmentation break the rule of tincture? ... only one example of period use of an augmentation breaking the rule of tincture was found. Barring documentation of large numbers of period augmentations that break the rule of tincture, we are unwilling to register this practice. (LoAR August 1997 p. 26)

In addition, the augmentation violates the stylistic "layer limit" (RfS VIII.1.c.ii). The most generous interpretation of this augmentation would place a type of mullet on a double rose, which double rose lays entirely on a roundel (not "directly on the field"), thus violating the rule. It is necessary to demonstrate that such a violation of the layer limit would be compatible with period styles of augmentation in order for this practice to be acceptable.

The submitter has been given permission for the augmentation to match a registered badge of the Kingdom of Ansteorra, (Fieldless) A rose sable charged with a rose Or, thereon a mullet of five greater and five lesser points sable. The SCA has registered numerous augmentations in which a kingdom badge is used as an augmentation for an individual. In all such cases, in order for the augmentation to be registered, the kingdom must give permission for the badge to be used as the augmentation, and the badge must be stylistically acceptable as an augmentation in the context of the armory which it augments.

Conflict with Cornwall, Sable bezanty (important non-SCA arms). There is one CD for changing the field. There is no difference for changing the arrangement of the charges, since the bezants cannot reasonably be expected to fall on the very thin portions of azure in the paly portions of the field, and they certainly may not fall on the same-tincture Or portions of the paly portions of the field.

Some commenters inquired whether the party of six pieces field division was ever used for marshalling and, if so, whether the armory in this submission would thus appear to be marshalled arms. Note that RfS XI.3 is only concerned with divisions "commonly used for marshalling", not divisions "which may rarely have been used for marshalling." We have only found a few 16th C English coats (and a few more post-period coats) with marshalling in six pieces. Each such example uses a different coat in each of the six pieces (such as the arms of Jane Seymour on p. 87 of Bedingfield and Gwynn-Jones' Heraldry, painted c. 1536). No evidence has yet been presented that party of six was "commonly" used for marshalling. No evidence has yet been presented for party of six being used to marshal only two separate coats (which might give an appearance like the armory in this submission). Without new evidence, there seems no compelling reason to add party of six pieces to the fields which the SCA has found to have been "commonly used for marshalling".

There were also some style questions raised about this armory. We note that no evidence has yet been presented for armory using a party of six field with more than one charge in each section of the field. However, since the charged portions of the field merely use multiples of a single type of charge, this is at worst one step from period style ("a weirdness") and is not in itself a bar to registration.

The winged animal is not clearly identifiable as a winged cat. The head is not clearly feline, and the head is so far back on the body that the animal appears to have a very long neck, which is inappropriate for a cat.

This emblazon does not appear to depict a correct way of combining a canton with a chief. The canton as drawn in this emblazon takes up a bit less than the dexter third of the chief in its horizontal extent and extends exactly to the bottom of the chief in its vertical extent. This seems neither the correct way to charge a chief with a canton, nor the correct way to place a canton so that it surmounts the entire device.

Parker, in A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry, states that a canton, when combined with a chief, will overlie the chief. This implies that the canton will extend onto the field. In this armory, since the canton and the field are of the same tincture, this might result in problems with our rules for contrast (RfS VIII.2). Franklyn and Tanner, An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Heraldry, p. 59, indicate that a canton can be charged on a chief but they also state that "A canton on a chief ought to be slightly smaller than the chief's width in order not to appear like a chief party per 'side'."

We suggest that, if the submitter resubmits, she include documentation that the form of augmentation that she plans to use is found in period armory. Note that if she attempts to resubmit with the canton lying entirely on the chief, or to otherwise submit with a charged charge on the chief, she should specifically address how such a violation of the "layer limit" (RfS VIII.1.c.ii) would be compatible with period styles of augmentation.

Moreover, there are administrative problems with this device that would necessitate clarification, if not return, of the augmented armory. The forms describe this submission as an "Augmentation of Arms". However, the provided emblazon includes a change from her registered device. In her registered device, the phoenix' flame is proper, and the forms also blazoned the flame as proper. However, the flame is emblazoned as gules. In order to register the emblazon we received, we would have had to change the submitter's "base coat" to use a gules flame, which does not appear to be the submitter's intent.

On resubmission, the submitter should be careful to either draw the base device so that it matches her blazon, or needs to initiate two separate armorial actions (a device change and an augmentation). The latter would require two separate sets of forms and two separate numbered items in the LoI.

Conflict with Werner Seitz, Per chevron argent and sable, two crosses formy sable and a salamander tergiant argent enflamed proper. There is one CD for significantly changing the type of primary charges by RfS X.4.e. However, the crosses have not changed substantially in type, which would allow the two pieces of armory to be clear of conflict under RfS X.2.

With crosses, as with quadrupeds, it is sometimes possible to get "substantial" difference between two distinct charge types; in other cases it is only possible to get "significant" difference, and in others yet, no heraldic difference is given at all. In most cases where substantial difference is given, it is because the charges in question are standard period charges which are definitely not standard period variants of one another and are always visually distinct. A cross barby does not appear to be a standard period cross, and has a standard equal-armed shape like a cross formy. It thus seems appropriate only to give one CD for the difference of type between these charges.

Conflict with Catherine Abernathy, Per pale azure and purpure, a mullet within a bordure argent. There is one CD for changing the field. Mullets of five (straight) points and estoiles of six (wavy) rays are both standard period charges, and the SCA gives a CD between them, but an estoile of five (wavy) rays is not a period charge. Per RfS X.4.e, armorial difference involving a non-period charge must be determined based on whether "its shape in normal depiction is significantly different" from the charge with which it is being compared. Because the rays of estoiles are often drawn with very shallow waves, it does not seem appropriate to give a CD on purely visual grounds between a mullet of five points and an estoile of five rays.

This name is being returned for lack of a given name by the precedent:

While Aurich is found in Bahlow's Deutsches Nameslexikon, it is as a place name, not a given name, leaving the submitter with no given name. Since a given name is required, we are returning it for lack of a given name. [Aurich Greim, 06/99].

If the submitter is interesed in the sound of Aurich, he may wish to consider the name "Erich, a German masculine given name dated to the 13th, 14th , and 15th centuries in multiple examples on p. 123 of Bahlow (s.n. Erich)", suggested by Bright Leaf.

The element bràthadair was documented in the LoI only "as a word meaning 'knave' on p. 48 of Maclennan, Malcolm. (A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language. Aberdeen: ACAIR and Aberdeen University Press, 1984.)" No documentation was presented and none was found that the word bràthadair was used in period. Additionally, no evidence was found that a word meaning 'knave' follows the patterns for descriptive bynames in Gaelic. Descriptive bynames in Gaelic were rare. Of those that existed, the vast majority are straightforward physical descriptions. The few descriptive bynames that describe a personality trait are also straightforward: 'greedy', 'arrogant', et cetera. A descriptive byname meaning 'knave' is not similarly simple. Another issue with this byname, assuming support were found for it as a descriptive byname in period, is the question of whether such a description would have been used to describe a woman in period or whether it would have been limited to men. Lacking documentation regarding all of these issues, this name must be returned.

The fleurs are drawn too small and too numerously to be recognized. There are 43 of them on the relatively small portion of the field where they are placed. The unidentifiability of the fleurs-de-lys requires return under RfS VIII.3.

In addition, the blazon on the letter of intent implied that the fleurs-de-lys were vert, not sable. Therefore, the College was not able to accurately check for conflicts. Ordinarily, this incorrect tincture would be reason for pending the armory for further research, but the unidentifiability problem with the fleurs-de-lys necessitates return at this time.

This armory must be returned for using a chapé field in which the upper portions are charged. The original blazon for this armory described the field as per chevron throughout, but the proportions of the emblazon clearly show that the field is chapé and that the charges on the upper portions of the field are therefore reasons for return. Note the following precedent:

Listed on the LoI as having a per chevron line of division, the location of the line of the division and the relative sizes of the charges makes this an example of chapé. Therefore, it must be returned ... for charging its upper portions. (LoAR January 2000).

Conflict with Cromán of Brineside Moor, Sable, a chimerical beast with the head of a lion, a unicorn, and a dragon, a body of a lion, and a dragon's tail statant argent. There is one CD for changing the field, but no difference for the forced change of placement on the field of the chimerical beast. The argent chimera may not overlie the checky purpure and argent portion of the field, so the chimera is "forced" to base in Cromán's device. Thus, the difference in placement on the field is "caused by other changes to the design" (the change of field) and is not worth difference by RfS X.4.g. There is no difference for the minor change in type of the chimera.

Conflict under RfS X.5, "Visual Test", with Ajax Thermopylokles, Per pale Or and gules, a Gorgon's head cabossed counterchanged. The particular stylization of the gorgon's head in Ajax' armory leads it to be visually very similar to a sun in splendor. The snakes are evenly arrayed radially about the gorgon's face, rather than just issuant from the top of the head as one might expect of a gorgon with snakes for hair. The gorgon's face is also very stylized, more like a mask than a face. Thus the face resembles the disk of a sun more than one might expect of a standard woman's face. Overall the visual similarity is so overwhelming that we have no choice but to call conflict under RfS X.5. In ordinary circumstances we would expect there to be X.2 difference between a variant of a human head and a sun.

Conflict with Ásta Jorundardottir, Azure, three piles in point argent each charged in chief with a key palewise wards to base azure. There is a CD for changing the tincture of the field. RfS X.4.j.ii.a states that "armory that has a group of identical charges on an ordinary or other suitable charge alone on the field is a simple case." No clause of RfS X.4.j.ii considers armory using multiple charged primary charges to be a simple case. Therefore there is no difference for changing the type only of tertiary charge by X.4.j.ii.

The outer piles issue mostly from the chief, but slightly from the sides of the shield as well. This is a standard period depiction of three piles in point, and is acceptable. As the submitter has been advised to change her artwork, we would like to let her know that she may continue to use the artwork that she has now. We do echo the kingdom's advice to draw the three piles of more equal width.

Conflict with Malutka sep Srebnitska, Ermine, a turkey vulture [Cathartes aura] displayed, dexter wing erect, sinister wing inverted, proper. There is one CD for adding the triquetras.

There is no type difference between a turkey vulture and a hawk. The turkey vulture is a New World bird, which is not a period heraldic charge. Per RfS X.4.e, when determining difference from a non-period charge, difference is determined by a visual comparison. A visual comparison shows that there is insufficient difference between a turkey vulture and a hawk to give difference on solely visual grounds.

There is no difference between the visually similar postures of displayed dexter wing erect and striking wings displayed. There is no difference for changing tincture, as less than half the charge has changed in tincture. Malutka's turkey vulture is black with a red head, and Morgan's hawk is black with a red tail. The head and the tail combined make up less than half the tincture of these birds.

Niniana was submitted as a hypothetical feminine form of the masculine name Ninian. No documentation was provided and none was found that such a feminization is plausible with this name. Therefore it is not registerable per the ruling:

In December I noted that in period Latin inflections do not appear to have been used to change the gender of Welsh (and for that matter Gaelic) names. That is, such feminizations as Briana, Morgana, and Alana are, so far as we know, post-period inventions. The first of these has been declared 'SCA-compatible' on account of its great popularity. As I noted in December, the other two have enjoyed less popularity and are represented by significantly fewer registrations. I called for commentary on whether to continue to allow these and other similarly-formed names for which there is no evidence of period use. [...] [T]he question stimulated little controversy (or even discussion), so a decision is not difficult: the names Morgana and Alana, as well as any other similarly feminized masculine names for which there is no evidence of period use (and which have not already been declared 'SCA-compatible'), are not considered 'SCA-compatible'. In other words, the argument based on the Latin/Romance practice of using inflectional endings to change the gender of a name is not automatically valid; it must be supported either by evidence of period use of the specific name or by evidence that the practice was in general use in the linguistic culture of that name. [Talan Gwynek, Cover Letter to the June 1996 LoAR, p. 2]

Mona was documented as the Roman name for the island of Anglesey. However, no documentation was provided that de Mona is a properly formed Roman Latin locative byname. Lacking such evidence, this byname is not registerable.

There was some commentary regarding possible conflict of this name with the Arthurian character of the Lady of the Lake. Metron Ariston explains:

The given name is fairly obviously the Arthurian Niniane whose human origins are somewhat dubious. In some versions she is associated with the Lady of the Lake and in others is stated to be a powerful sorceress, possibly of Druidic origins, and is associated with the deceit of Merlin. A number of modern "romantic magic" sources associate her with Mona/Anglesey, possibly because of legendary associations between Anglesey and the "island in the west" and also with late survival of Druidic rites.

We are declining to rule on this possible conflict at this time. If this name is resubmitted in a form similar to the current submission (for example, Ninian de Mona), the new submission should address whether the Lady of the Lake would be referred as of Anglesey or as of Mona/de Mona. Such information would help the College evaluate whether or not the submitted name would or would not conflict with the Lady of the Lake.

Her device was registered under the holding name Kay of Starhaven.

The submitter requested authenticity for "15th C Mongolian Uighur, from the time when the Mongols invaded Central Asia and conquered the Uighur."

This name has significant problems. Özbeg was documented as the name of a Mongol clan that derived from the name of a ruler. Aghmighan was documented as an Uighur epithet meaning "yellow weasel". The practice of naming a child for the first thing seen by a mother after birth was documented as a Mongol naming practice. Therefore, the submittered Aghmighan applies Mongol naming practices to an Uighur name. No documentation was found that such a combination is plausible.

However, there is a far greater problem with this name. No documentation was provided and none was found that the Uighur had contact with pre-17th C Western Europe. Lacking such evidence, Uighur falls afoul of the precedent:

More important, significant interaction between Tibet and pre-seventeenth century Western culture has not been demonstrated. The Encyclopædia Britannica dates the first visits to Tibet by Western missionaries to the 17th century, and the fact that the 8th century Tibetan kingdom had some contact with the Arab conquerors of Iran still leaves Tibetans at least two removes from Western Europe. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR November 1995, p. 16)

Lacking evidence that the Uighur had contact with pre-17th C Western Europe, Uighur is "at least two removes from Western Europe" and so is not registerable.

His device was registered under the holding name Özbeg of Gyldenholt.

Prior precedent holds that

[i]n cases where identifiability is maintained --- where one of the charges is a long, slender object, and the area of intersection small --- overall charges will still be permitted in fieldless badges. (Cover Letter for the November 1992 LoAR)

The area of intersection here between the overlying and underlying charges is quite substantial.

Submitted as Order of the Fjaer of Starkhafn, the name was changed to the current form at Kingdom as no documentation was found for Fjaer. The word fiðri was documented as meaning 'feathers, plumage', which gives this word a plural meaning. As such, this order name falls afoul of the precedent:

Submitted as Order of the Golden Swans of Aneala, there is no evidence of plural nouns used in order names in period, with the exception of the word "knights." [Aneala, Barony of, 07/99, A-Lochac]

More recent information has shown examples of plural nouns that refer to groups of people such as Soldiers, Nobles, etc. A list of such order names may be found in Meradudd Cethin's article "Project Ordensnamen OR What do you mean that the Anceint[sic] and Venerable Order of the Most Holy and Righteous Wombat's Toenail isn't period?" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order/). However, no evidence has been found that plural nouns referring to items (such as feathers) rather than groups of people were used in order names. Lacking an appropriately constructed singular form of fiðri, this name is not registerable.

Fr{oe}ði-maðr was documented as meaning 'learned man, scholar, historian' from a dictionary of Old Icelandic. No documentation was presented that an order name meaning 'Order of the Learned Man/Scholar/Historian' is a plausible period order name. Meradudd Cethin's article "Project Ordensnamen OR What do you mean that the Anceint[sic] and Venerable Order of the Most Holy and Righteous Wombat's Toenail isn't period?" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order/) lists several order names that include an element that refers to a group of people, including Argonauts of St. Nicholas (1382), Nobles of Catalonia (1481), and Poor Soldiers of Christ (1119). Given that research into the forms that order names took in period is ongoing, combined with these examples, it would be reasonable to give the submitter the benefit of the doubt for an order name meaning 'Order of the Learned Men/Scholars/Historians'. However, we do not know the plural form of Fr{oe}ðimaðr. Lacking the ability to make Fr{oe}ðimaðr plural, or evidence that an order name would use a singular form instead of referring to an entire group of people, we are unable to register this name.

In each set of three Or barley heads, the dexter head lies almost entirely on the argent portion of the field. It thus has insufficient contrast to be acceptable. If the barley were in actual sheaves, as stated in the original blazon, then each head of barley would have lain with half of the barley head on each side of the field, and it would have had acceptable contrast.

This name has two weirdnesses. There is one weirdness for use of an element (in this case Corwyn) that is only SCA compatible. Corwyn is a variant of Corwin, which is an English surname that is SCA compatible as a given name. There is a second weirdness for combining English and Scots in a name (per the ruling for Katrina Rosehearty in the LoAR of September 2001).

His armory has been registered under the holding name Corwyn of Carlsby.

Evangeline was submitted under the Legal Name Allowance. However, no documentation was provided supporting Evangeline as the submitter's legal name. Lacking such support, this name is not registerable under that allowance. Bright Leaf provided information regarding the name Evangeline:

According to Withycombe, p. 113 (s.n. Evangeline), this given name was invented by Longfellow for his famous poem in 1847. I do not, however, think that it sounds obtrusively modern since it resembles period names that such as Engelina (1250) and Evangeliste 1583 - both found in Andreanna Innes's article, "An Index of Period Given Names Contained in A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames by Charles Bardsley."

Evangeline is not obtrusively modern. Therefore, if documentation is provided that Evangeline is the submitter's legal name, it would be registerable under the Legal Name Allowance.

The submitter desired the locative byname de Roubidoux, because she lives in the Roubidoux River Valley. Metron Ariston found some information regarding this name:

The earliest citations I could find for Roubidoux referred to the family of the founder of Saint Louis Missouri, some in phonetic spellings like "Rubidu" and none went back before the eighteenth century.

Orle found more information:

Roubidoux was brought into that region by a French settlers in the mid-1700s from Montreal. I can find no evidence of the name earlier than that.

Unfortunately, none of the information found by the College dates the name Roubidoux earlier than the 18th C. Lacking evidence that it is a plausible period name, it is not registerable.

Her armory has been registered under the holding name Evangeline of Calanais Nuadh. As explained in the Cover Letter for the June 2002 LoAR (in the section entitled "From Laurel: Regarding Mundane Given Names Used to Create Holding Names"), use of Evangeline in her holding name does not grandfather this element for use in an SCA name since no documentation was provided in this submission supporting Evangeline as her legal name.

Heulwen was documented from Gruffydd (p. 59). However, this entry gives no date for this name. Metron Ariston notes that "[u]ndated feminine names in Gruffudd are usually not period names. In this case, where the translation given is 'sunshine', I would say that the odds are very long that this is not a period name." Lacking evidence that Heulwen was used in period, it is not registerable.

Her armory has been registered under the holding name Deborah ferch Lloid.

The turtle is not in a heraldic posture, and as a result, it may not be registered. It is drawn at some angle between statant affronty and tergiant inverted.

The demi-crane was originally blazoned as a crane displayed. While this is a Far Eastern stylization of an entire crane, from the Western perspective this crane lacks the bottom of a bird displayed: no tail or legs are visible. Therefore, this is, for purposes of SCA heraldry, a demi-crane.

Nantyronnen was documented from p. 34 of Dewi Davies, Welsh Place-names. However, this source is not on the "No Photocopy" list specified in the Administrative Handbook (Appendix H - Books That Do Not Require Photocopies to Laurel). As photocopies were not provided so that this source may be evaluated, and this element was not supported from other sources, it is not registerable.

Her armory has been registered under the holding name Morwen of Three Rivers.

Conflict with Ailith of Heronter, Per bend azure and vert, a bend between a cross crosslet and a sprig bendwise argent, reblazoned in the Æthelmearc section of this LoAR. There is only one CD for changing the type of secondary charges.

The flowers were blazoned on the Letter of Intent as natural roses. They are, however, drawn as rosebuds (roses that have not yet opened their petals). Rosebuds are not acceptable for SCA registration: "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." (Cover Letter for the November 1994 LoAR)

Shez was submitted under the Legal Name Allowance, but no documentation was provided demonstrating that Shez is the submitter's legal given name. Lacking such documentation, the Legal Name Allowance is not available.

Even were documentation provided supporting Shez as the submitter's legal given name, it would not be registerable, since the College felt that the name Shez is obtrusively modern. An obtrusively modern name element is not registerable in an SCA name, even under the Legal Name Allowance (RfS II.4). Obtrusively modern elements may not be used in a holding name, per the ruling for Jay MacPhunn in the LoAR for July 1993 (West returns). Lacking a given name that may be used in a holding name, no holding name can be formed.

Conflict with Katheline van Weye, Quarterly vert and purpure, a tulip slipped and leaved Or. The submitter has a letter of permission to conflict from Katheline that explicitly pertained to her previous submission, Azure, a tulip slipped and leaved Or. However, no letter of permission to conflict has been received for this submission. As can be seen in Appendix D of the Administrative Handbook, the standard form letter for a letter of permission to conflict (which was followed in Katheline's letter) only specifically gives permission to conflict between two stated blazons: that of the registered item and that of the submission in progress. The old letter of permission to conflict, as stated, does not pertain to this new submission. It is an unfortunate inconvenience, to be sure, but it does allow precision in granting permission. Note that more general letters of permission to conflict are acceptable if stated clearly and unequivocably.

No documentation was provided and none was found that Draco Mercatoria, meaning 'Merchant Dragon', meets the requirements set down in RfS III.2.b.iv, which states:

Household names must follow the patterns of period names of organized groups of people.

Possible models include Scottish clans (Clan Stewart), ruling dynasties (House of Anjou), professional guilds (Bakers Guild of Augsburg, Worshipful Company of Coopers), military units (The White Company), and inns (House of the White Hart).

Were documentation found supporting this name as a household name, the structure of this name would need to be corrected. The genders of the two elements in Draco Mercatoria do not agree. The correct Latin form of this phrase is Draco Mercatorius.

Additionally, the currently submitted name has no designator. Since a designator is required for registration, one would need to be added. The designator used in a household name varies by the model used for the household name. Examples that appear in RfS III.2.b.iv quoted above include Clan, House, Guild, and Company.

This name conflicts with Maura MacDonald (registered September 1984). Moira and Maura are both variants of Mary and are not sufficiently different in sound and appearance.

Her armory was registered under the holding name Moira of Northern Outpost.

Forming the Bourchier knot out of two differently tinctured strands impairs its identifiability as a knot. It also does not seem compatible with the usual heraldic practices for tincturing a single charge. The vast majority of charges are either tinctured of a single tincture or are divided by a standard heraldic division (such as per fess or checky). This design may not be accepted unless documentation is provided for period armory using knots where the strands are of different tinctures.

"The use of the white rose of York with the byname 'of York' has been disallowed since the LoAR of 11 Nov 77" (LoAR of December 1992). The combination of a white rose with the name element "of Yorkshire" appears to strike the same chords of presumption in the College and in the populace as does the combination of a white rose and the byname "of York".

RfS VIII.3, Armorial Identifiability, states, "For instance, a complex line of partition could be difficult to recognize between two parts of the field that do not have good contrast if most of the line is also covered by charges." We have such a case here: the compass star covers much of the per bend embattled line.

In addition, the per bend line is not correctly drawn. The per bend line should bisect the portion of the field which shows beneath the chief. The chiefmost point on the per bend line should be where the bottom of the chief meets the dexter side of the shield.

The line of division is neither clearly per chevron wavy nor per fess enarched wavy. This needs to be drawn in an identifiable fashion.

Some commenters felt that the wavy was drawn in a way that could be confused with nebuly. However, the wavy as drawn here is similar to early period wavy, and is acceptable.

The submitter should be advised to draw the roses somewhat larger to better fill the space.

This emblazon blurs the distinction between a chief and a per fess line of division. If this is a per fess division, the dovetailed line should extend equally over and under the fess line of the shield.

As this cannot be accurately blazoned, it must be returned per RfS VII.7.

Some commenters asked whether a complex line of partition was ever acceptable between sable and purpure, due to the particularly low contrast of these tinctures. Complex lines between low contrast tinctures are rare in period armory. However, a smattering of such designs does occur, and such examples include a variety of low-contrast tincture combinations. As a result, as long as the line of partition remains identifiable and is not obscured by other elements of the design, complex lines between low-contrast tinctures may be allowed between any pair of low-contrast tinctures. The line of partition in this emblazon is not obscured by the tinctures of the field or by overlying charges, and it will be acceptable if its placement is changed to clearly show a per fess division.

This name is being returned for lack of documentation that the name elements are period names and for use of a matronymic in an Arabic name.

The notation used in the LoI to represent this name did not accurately represent the name elements and did not follow standard notation used by the College. We can do no better than to quote al-Jamal in his analysis of the issues with the LoI's notation:

The use of curly braces in the header name and documentation is confusing, and makes it very hard to determine, without direct access to the documentation, exactly what spelling/transliteration is being used and what the marks are supposed to be. I am assuming that "a{-}" means that there is a horizontal line over the preceding "a", and that "a{'}" means that there is an accent over the "a" (though this sounds unlikely for the source cited. I do not remember that Qazi uses accents)

[Ah, back and home and with Qazi in front of me, the name there is Saa'iqa, not Saáiqa.] Please, we developed the system of curly braces in a systematic fashion in order to allow us to use them even on systems and with typewriters/word processing systems, etc. that did not print the multinational characters. To use another system, or to misuse the system, is only confusing. There are several websites that discuss the system of curly braces: http://www.grt-net.com/Heraldry/Names/Da_ud_Notation/da_ud_notation.html or http://www.scadian.net/heraldry/daud.html are only two examples. The initial implementation list, and the rationale behind it, were published in the Cover Letter with the February 1996 LoAR.

No documentation was provided that either name element in this name was used as a name in period. al-Jamal summarizes the issues with these name elements:

An{a-}n: The name actually given in Hamid is 'An{a-}n, with the hamza, a glottal stop, before the initial "A". The name also appears in al-Ja'fari's Muslim Names. I do not find it in any other of my sources. It also needs to be remembered that Hamid, al-Ja'fari, Qazi and, except where he gives dates, Ahmed, are all modern "what to name your baby in Muslim" books. The College has often accepted undated names from these sources owing to a lack of more comprehensive period sources, but their use must be tempered with the knowledge that the majority of names in them are modern and not period.

Saa'iqa: is found on p. 45 (#158) of Qazi. It is found in no other source, not even Hamid or al-Ja'fari. This is more of a problem, if only because of all the sources available, Qazi is probably one of the least dependable, and his transliteration system tends to be idiosyncratic, at best. To use a consistent transliteration system throughout the name, this should be S{a-}'iqa.

In the case of 'An{a-}n, the fact that it is listed in multiple sources and is not explicitly identified as modern might be enough to give the submitter the benefit of the doubt on that name element. However, in the case of S{a-}'iqa, it is found in only one source, and that being one of the least dependable. Lacking other supporting evidence, this single reference is not sufficient support for this name element.

However, the largest problem with this name is the use of a matronymic byname, which has previously been cause for return. al-Jamal found relevent precendent:

But the biggest difficulty with this name is that S_'iqa is a listed as a feminine given name in Qazi, and Arabic does not use metronymics. "Both 'Inan and Nihlah are Arabic feminine given names, but there is no evidence that Arabic names were formed of two given names. As they did not use metronymics we could not fix this by making the second name a metronymic." (Elsbeth Anne Roth, LoAR February 2000, p. 16) "It still does not appear that metronymics based on personal names were used in Arabic-speaking cultures. Laurel has found just one example (apart from the inherently exceptional 'Isa ibn Maryam 'Jesus son of Mary'), and Ensign has one example of a metronymic apparently based on the mother's occupational byname. This latter discovery indicates the desirability of further research, but for now the overwhelming weight of cultural and onomastic evidence argues against overturning the precedents against registering Arabic metronymics." [The name was returned.] (Sadira bint Raya al-Asiri, LoAR May 1996, p. 23)

A lightning bolt is an SCA-invented charge taken from one component of the classical Roman thunderbolt. Lightning bolts are straight charges by definition and curving them to be in orle is not acceptable style.

Moreover, the lightning bolts are drawn as very thin lines, effectively one pen-width thick. Even if these were drawn as straight lightning bolts, the bolts are too thin to be accepted.

In addition, "By long-standing precedent, complex charges cannot be counterchanged over ordinaries" (LoAR of April 2000).

We would also like to advise the submitter to use a standard purpure tincture. The tincture in this armory is very close to pink and may not be acceptable. This may be due to fugitive printer inks, and the tincture might have been a better purpure when it left Meridies. However, it is necessary for the tincture to be good when it is considered at the Wreath meeting. Please see the cover letter for more details.

Conflict with Mathias Sicco von Hagen, Per fess sable and vert, issuant from the line of division a demi-compass-star Or. There is one CD for changing the field but no difference between a demi-sun and a demi-compass star. The submitter should be advised on resubmission to draw the demi-sun more semicircularly.

Conflict with Aethelstan of Axford, Quarterly azure and argent, an orle embattled on the inner edge counterchanged. There is only one CD for changing the type of the peripheral charge.

This name was submitted as Gralon Le Friant Braz and changed at Kingdom because no documentation was found for the submitted form of the given name. The documentation submitted with this name is in French and no translation was provided. Precedent states that "we require that all documentation in another language be translated into English" (November 1993 LoAR, p. 20). As no translation was provided for this documentation, it is not considered support for this name.

An earlier form of this name was returned with the explanation:

The evidence found by the College seems to indicate that Gradlon is an unique name for a legendary King who is not clearly human. Barring evidence to the contrary we therefore have to return the name. [Gradlon Friant Braz, Meridies-R, LoAR 01/2001]

Regarding the current submission, Sommelier found that:

The on-line Encyclopædia Britannica under the entry Quimper (or Kemper, a town in Bretagne region of France) states "Once the ancient capital of the countship Cornouaille, it is associated with the legendary (5th century) king Gradlon, who came from Cornwall in Britain."

As the only example of the name Gradlon that was found is of the legendary king, the previous reason for return has not been addressed and is still valid.

There is an additional issue with the byname Le Friant Braz. Friant, meaning 'gourmand', and Braz, meaning 'large', were documented as bynames. However, no evidence was provided and none was found that a byname combining these elements is plausible. A name using an inherited surname followed by a descriptive byname, such as Friant followed by le Braz, would be registerable.

Conflict with Elspeth of the Wood, Vert, on a pale azure, fimbriated, an oak tree Or. There is one CD for changing the field. There is no difference for removing the fimbriation on the pale. There is no difference for changing the number only of tertiary charges on the pale.

The rayonny line of division is drawn with too many and too small repeats to be acceptable. There are about 20 repeats across the top and 30 down each side: a good four or five times more than the usual standard number. Because each repeat of the line is so small, the line of partition has lost any ability to be distinguished from indented.

Conflict with Timotheos of Alexandria, Azure, a chevron Or between two open books and a unicorn rampant reguardant maintaining a quill pen argent. There is only one CD for changing the type of the secondary charges.

No documentation was provided and none was found that Sala{-}h is plausible as a masculine given name in period. al-Jamal found information regarding this name:

Schimmel gives two citations for the use of Salah in a name: one is the laqab of Yusuf ibn Ayyub, Salah al-Din (Saladin). The other, with Salah as a given name, is 'Abd as-Sabur Salah, who died in 1982. Hamid, of course, is entirely undated. al-Ja'fari does not give the name at all. Ahmed gives Salah, but the only citation to a real use of it is that of Salah-ud-Din (Saladin). Qazi gives Salaah, but, again, is completely undated. The Fihrist of al-Nadim, a period source, does not give any form of Salah. The sources which give dates all indicate that this name is modern. [...] [I]t seems most unlikely as a period name to me, based on the evidence in all of the sources at hand.

Given that all the period citations use this forms of Salah only in a laqab, and lacking evidence that it is plausible as a period given name, it is not registerable as a given name.

This name combines Anglicized Irish and Old Norse in a single name, which has been ruled unregisterable:

The submitted name is a combination of an Anglicized Irish given name and an Old Norse byname. Mixing Scots and Old Norse in a name has been ruled unregisterable:

The combination of an Old Norse given name and an Anglicized Scots patronymic had too severe a temporal disparity. We have therefore changed the spelling of the given name to medieval Norwegian. [Ulvar MacVanis, A-Lochac, LoAR 07/2000]

Anglicized Irish and Scots existed in similar time period. Therefore, just as a mix of Scots and Old Norse is not registerable, a mix of Anglicized Irish and Old Norse is not registerable. [Davin Steingrimsson, R-An Tir, LoAR 01/2002]

Additionally, the byname 6zveginn is incorrect. Geirr Bassi (p. 26) lists this byname as óþveginn - with the initial character being an accented o, not the number 6, and the second character being a thorn, not a z.

The device conflicts with Alexa of Krasnadar, Or, on a pile throughout azure, involved about three stalks of wheat, a serpent Or, orbed, armed, and langued gules. There is one CD only for changing the type, tincture and number of the single group of tertiary charges.

This name combines the Anglo-Saxon given name Willoc with the Scots byname Dulglass. Combining Anglo-Saxon and Scots in a name is not registerable (per the ruling for Dunno Jamesson in the March 2002 LoAR).

The LoI noted that the submitter "wishes to mean 'William Douglas'." Unfortunately, a name that is simply William Douglas (including diminutive forms of William) would conflict with several historical people as noted by various members of the College. Sommelier notes several specifically:

Conflict with William Douglas, 1st earl of Douglas (1327-1384); William Douglas, 8th earl of Douglas (1425-1452), William Douglas, 10th earl of Angus (1552-1611), and William O(rville) Douglas (1898-1980) all of whom have entries in the on-line Encyclopedia Britannica.

His armory has been registered under the holding name Willoc of Evensong Forest.

Conflict with Ellisif Arngunnardottir, Or, two ravens close respectant sable maintaining between them a crescent gules, all within an orle sable. The crescent in Ellisif's armory is truly maintained, being about half the size of either bird. There is therefore only one CD, for changing the field.

The birds in this submission are drawn as close birds with slightly addorsed wings. They are therefore equivalent to birds close. If the birds were rising, with their wings truly addorsed, there would be a second CD from Ellisif and thus the conflict would be avoided, although other conflicts might be introduced.

This order name is being returned for presumption. al-Jamal explains:

The real problem I see with this order name is not conflict (though I suspect that Agincourt King of Arms might be a conflict), but presumption. Yes, I know that the Barony has already registered the Order of Thermopylae(September 1988). But here they are not attempting to register the "Order of Agincourt", they want to have the Order of the Archers of Agincourt. And just as they could not register the "Companions of Thermopylae", because of presumption, they should not be able to register the "Archers of Agincourt", as that would at the very least imply that the members were "veterans of that epic battle". The following precedent regarding the registration of the Order of Thermopylae seems apt here:

"As Crescent noted, the modification of the name to drop the 'Companions of' materially lowers the twitch factor since the implication no longer is present that the members of the order are veterans of that epic battle (or even in some way the peers of that gallant, if suicidal, band). However, we were compelled to agree that White Stag's arguments presenting the Order of the Golden Fleece and that of the Annuziada as analogues to support the name do not really apply here and would be even less forceful when applied to the originally submitted name. There is a world of difference between the sort of allusion involved in the Golden Fleece and one parallel to the original submission, which would have had the Burgundians create an Order of the Argonauts. It should also be noted that, as there is no beginning date for our period (although post-Roman personas are distinctly encouraged!), Latin and Greek personas can be and have been registered. In any case, the plausibility of any member of the Society claiming to be a member of a group does not really affect whether we would consider a name presumptuous or offensive: obviously, someone in our period could not be a member of the Ku Klux Klan but we still would not allow the use of that name in any form." (Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane, LoAR September 1988, p. 9).

The name Order of the Companions of Thermopylae had been returned in April 1988 with the comment: "We were compelled to agree with Vesper and the other members of the College who found this name presumptuous."

Further, recent precedent states:

Granted, section VI.3 of the Rules for Submissions addresses only names that unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person or literary character. However, it seems appropriate to apply similar standards to personal and non-personal names, and Section VI.4 gives us enough discretion to do so. We would, therefore, return names that unmistakably imply identity with a protected place: for instance, while Londinium does not have its own article in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, London is protected and so registering the Roman name for the city would be presumptuous. [Torna, Canton of, LoAR 06/01, A-Drachenwald]

As Agincourt has its own entry in the online edition of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/), it is protected. Therefore, just as Order of the Companions of Thermopylae was found to be presumptuous in 1988, the current submission falls afoul of the same construction issues (since it unmistakably implies identity with a protected location) and so it is also presumptuous.

This name conflicts with John Lambert (1619-1683), English general and political leader during the English Revolution, who has his own entry in the online Encarta Encyclopedia.

Conflict with Nicolette de Coulours, Quarterly purpure and vert, a hippogriff segreant Or. There is one CD for changing the field, but no difference between a griffin and a hippogriff, per the October 2001 LoAR. There is also no difference for adding the small maintained charges.

The device is still in conflict with the armory cited in the previous return, that of Degary Golafre of Pembroke, Quarterly sable and gules, a griffin segreant coward maintaining in its dexter talon a Celtic cross and in its sinister talon a sword inverted Or. There is one CD for the change to the field, but no difference for changing the small maintained charges. The submitter has provided Laurel with emails from Degary's wife, issued from Degary's email account, indicating willingness to provide permission to conflict. However, the administrative handbook requires that "If permission to conflict has been granted, a written statement of permission must be included, signed by the owner of the conflicting item with both Society Name and name used outside the Society." The emails did not include a signature, and therefore are not valid letters of permission to conflict. A scan of a full letter of permission to conflict (including signature along with the text of the letter) would be acceptable, but unsigned text email is not.

The submitter, in her long and unfortunately arduous submissions history, has amassed letters of permission to conflict from Gavin Flandre, Gules, a griffin segreant checky argent and azure, Kiera Loch Beldragon, Gules, a griffin segreant maintaining a harp Or, a chief urdy erminois, Hugh the Undecided, Gules, two griffins segreant addorsed Or, Morgan ap Siral, Gules, a griffin segreant ermine maintaining in its dexter foreclaw a cross of four lozenges Or, and the badge of Merissa Meraud de la Fontaine, Gules, a griffin passant to sinister maintaining in sinister claw a goblet, Or. Each of these letters gives permission to conflict with an earlier incarnation of her armory, differing only from this armory in that it uses a maintained rosebud instead of a maintained heraldic rose. This slight difference in maintained charge is small enough that it seems only reasonable to rule that this change does not invalidate the letters.

Some of these letters of permission to conflict are by no means recent: the one which bears a date is dated November 27, 1995, and some of the others may be older. The College should note that the administrative handbook does not mandate an "expiration date" for letters of permission to conflict, nor does a letter of permission to conflict cease to be valid if a submission is returned at Laurel. Yet permission to conflict may be rescinded by the owner of the conflicting armory at any time before the submission is registered. Any person wishing to rescind permission to conflict for a submission which has not yet been registered must write to Laurel and the submitting kingdom with an explicit letter to rescind any previously written letter of permission to conflict.

We wish the submitter luck in her quest and also advise her that, on resubmission, she should use the latest Laurel-mandated forms.

The rose is "highlighter orange", which is not an acceptable depiction of the heraldic tincture Or. Please advise the submitter to resubmit with an unquestionable shade of yellow or metallic gold.

This submission is an appeal of the same name returned in the January 2002 LoAR:

The submitter's legal name is Mari Alexander [surname]. Therefore, this submission contains the submitter's first two names in the same order as in her legal name. A similar submission was recently returned:

The submission consists of the given names, in order, of the submitter. As this is one of the possible common use names, we have to return this submission for conflict against the submitter herself, protected under section III.A.9 of the Administrative Handbook. [Mary Amanda, 09/00, R-Artemisia]

Therefore, just as Mari [surname] would be conflict with her legal name, so the submitted Mari Alexander conflicts with her with her legal name.

There was a typo in this ruling. The final line should have read "use name" rather than "legal name". As the appeal addressed the issue of Mari Alexander as a use name rather than as a legal name, the appeal was unaffected by the typo in the ruling. It is noted here for the sake of completeness.

Kingdom appealed the return, asserting that this ruling was not a proper interpretation of what is meant by a use name in the Administrative Handbook and that this interpretation was new with the current Pelican Sovereign of Arms.

In fact, the Mary Amanda return cited in the previous return of this name appeared in the September 2000 LoAR when Master Pietari Pentipoika was Pelican King of Arms.

Regarding the interpretation of a "use name", section III.A.9 of the Administrative Handbook, "Name Used by the Submitter Outside the Society", states:

No name will be registered to a submitter if it is identical to a name used by the submitter for purposes of identification outside of a Society context. This includes legal names, common use names, trademarks and other items registered with mundane authorities that serve to identify an individual or group. This restriction is intended to help preserve a distinction between a submitter's identity within the Society and his or her identity outside of the Society. A small change in the name is sufficient for registration, such as the addition of a syllable or a spelling change that changes the pronunciation. However, a change to spelling without a change in pronunciation is not sufficient. For example, Alan Miller could not register the name Alan Miller or Allan Miller but he could register the name Alan the Miller.

The key portion of sections III.A.9 as regards this submission is "common use names ... that ... identify an individual" and "This restriction is intended to help preserve a distinction between a submitter's identity within the Society and his or her identity outside of the Society." A use name can take many forms. Often, the common use name of a person is simply their given name. In other cases, it is a nickname. And in some cases, a use name contains more than one element. Use names containing more than one element fall into two basic categories: (1) two given names, and (2) a given name and what appears to be a surname.

Common examples of the first case in today's society are women who are known by both their given names (Jane Ann, Mary Jane, Rose Ann, Jeanne Marie, Mary Louise, etc.). An example of a man whose use name contains two given names is King Juan Carlos of Spain. His full name is Juan Carlos Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón (per http://cervantesvirtual.com/historia/monarquia/juancarlos1.shtml).

In the second case, a person may currently have multiple surnames in their legal name. A prominent example of this is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In her will (http://www.courttv.com/legaldocs/newsmakers/wills/onassis.html), she gave her name as JACQUELINE K. ONASSIS. Being a will, it is certainly a legal document and indicates a legal representation of her name. In addition to her legal name, there are a number of use names that are instantly recognizable as referring to her, including Jacqueline Kennedy, which is a rendering of her legal name with only the final surname removed.

The amount of difference required between a person's SCA name and their mundane name is much smaller than any other type difference required to clear a conflict. The standard of difference set down in III.A.9 is:

A small change in the name is sufficient for registration, such as the addition of a syllable or a spelling change that changes the pronunciation.

This level of difference is neither overly burdensome nor unreasonable. In the case of this submission, the submitted name Mari Alexander contains the first two names of the submitter's legal name. Therefore, it is in conflict with Mari Alexander, a legitimate use name derived from her legal name of Mari Alexander [surname], and must be returned.

No documentation was provided for either the elements of this order name or for the construction of this order name. RfS III.2.b.ii, Names of Orders and Awards, states:

Names of orders and awards must follow the patterns of the names of period orders and awards.

These are often the names of saints; others are similar to sign names (see RfS III.2.a.iii). Some examples are: the Order of Saint Michael, the Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus, the Brethren of the Sword, the Order of the Garter, La Toison dOr (the Order of the Golden Fleece), the Order of the Golden Rose, the Order of the Star, the Order of the Swan, La Orden de la Jara (the Knights of the Tankard), the Order of Lilies.

Lacking evidence that the elements of this order name are period and that the construction of this order name follows period naming patterns for orders and awards, this name is not registerable.

No documentation was provided for either the elements of this order name or for the construction of this order name. RfS III.2.b.ii, Names of Orders and Awards, states:

Names of orders and awards must follow the patterns of the names of period orders and awards.

These are often the names of saints; others are similar to sign names (see RfS III.2.a.iii). Some examples are: the Order of Saint Michael, the Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus, the Brethren of the Sword, the Order of the Garter, La Toison dOr (the Order of the Golden Fleece), the Order of the Golden Rose, the Order of the Star, the Order of the Swan, La Orden de la Jara (the Knights of the Tankard), the Order of Lilies.

RfS III.2.a.ii says that some order names were "similar to sign names". In those cases, both sign names and order names are formed using names of heraldic charges. To follow the pattern of an order name based on a heraldic charge, the charge in question must either be (1) documented as a period heraldic charge, or (2) must have been ruled to be registerable as a charge within the S.C.A. No evidence was presented of a muse as a period heraldic charge and there has not yet been one registered as a heraldic charge within the S.C.A. Therefore, muse is not available for use in an order name whose name references a heraldic charge.

Lacking evidence that the elements of this order name are period and that the construction of this order name follows period naming patterns for orders and awards, this name is not registerable.

The device appears to be acceptable. However, because the submitter does not have a name, and a holding name cannot be formed, we cannot register her armory at this time. Her name is already in resubmission (as a "name change") in the September 3, 2002, Calontir Letter of Intent, item 11, Cellach inghean ui Dubhthaigh. The armory will be pended until the new name is considered.

The arms were blazoned on the Letter of Intent as Gules, a bend cotised Or. While Sommelier did issue a correction in her Letter of Comment, most commenters expect to find corrections in a Letter of Intent or Letter of Correction. They are not accustomed to looking for corrections in other Letters of Comment. In some cases it is clear from the commentary that the commenters have found a correction issued in a nonstandard letter, but that does not appear to have happened in this case. This must therefore be pended for further conflict research.

The submitter should be advised, at the resolution of this pend, to draw the cotises wider.

The eclipsing of the demi-sun was not stated in the original blazon. This must be pended for further research.

Please note that the line of partition was originally blazoned as enhanced. The line is moved slightly to chief from the most standard central position, but that is a natural consequence of only having one charge in base. The term enhanced has thus been removed from the blazon as unnecessary.