Some commentary asked whether this depiction of an ermine bend, which charges the bend with five bendwise ermine spots, should be blazoned as A bend argent charged with five ermine spots sable rather than a bend ermine. This is an excellent period depiction of an ermine bend. As noted in the January 2002 LoAR:
There seem to be few ermine bends in period, but they may be found throughout the heraldic period. Those which [Maister Iago ab Adam] found are all depicted with the ermine spots tilted bendwise on the bend.
Maister Iago has provided some additional detailed information about English depictions of ermine bends throughout our period:
Out of seven period examples of ermine bends studied, two had two offset rows of spots (like footprints up the bend), one had seven spots arranged 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, one was charged and had the spots arranged to fit around the charges, and three were drawn as in this submission, with a single row of five spots (although it should be noted that these last three examples are all mid-16th C. or later.)
The previous blazon, Argent, a python glissant palewise wings displayed vert vorant of a rose azure slipped and leaved vert, did not clearly indicate that the rose is a small maintained charge.
Please advise the submitter that, as a general rule, ermine charges in period were drawn charged with whole ermine spots, rather than having the spots cut off at the edge of the charge. (This is different from the practice for ermine fields, which commonly had the spots cut off at the edge of the shield.)
This is not in conflict with Drachenwald's Company of Archers, Or, in pale a dragon passant coward sable and two arrows in saltire gules. There is one CD for changing half the type of the primary charge group. There are three charges in Drachenwald's armory: one dragon and two arrows. Thus, there is a second CD for changing the number of primary charges from three to two.
Good name!
Please advise the submitter to draw the primary chalice larger.
The submitter requested authenticity for northern English. Brighid is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name. When this name was used in English, it took on other spellings. Aryanhwy merch Catmael found forms of this name in Lancashire (northern England) and Gloucestershire (southwestern England):
<Brichet> is recorded in 1581 and 1585 and <Brychet> 1589 in Ormskirk, which is in Lancashire, and thus fits the bill for northern English. (http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sfriedemann/names/ormskirk/). The following spellings are also found in Gloucestershire (http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sfriedemann/names/late16/): Bridgett 1573, 1590, 1596; Bridget 1593; Bridgret 1590. Any of these will differ in sound negligibly.
Based on this information, Brichet Ross and Brychet Ross would be forms of this name appropriate for Northern England. As the submitter only allows minor changes, and changing the language of the given name from a Gaelic form to an English form is a major change, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired culture.
Please advise the submitters to draw the serpent erect correctly. Its tail should be to base, rather than twisting upwards and overlapping the serpent's body. The current rendition obscures the identifiability of the serpent's posture, although it does not obscure it so much that it may not be registered.
In the SCA, the per fess and per bend engrailed lines of division are drawn with the bottom of the "cups" to base (and the points between the "cups" to chief), so this is an engrailed line of division rather than an invected line of division as it was originally blazoned. To quote from Master Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme's A Grammar of Blazonry at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/bruce.html: "The engrailed line of partition, when applied to the field, does not seem to follow the mundane default; the references disagree on exactly what that mundane default is. In SCA blazon, Per fess engrailed has its points to chief... similar defaults hold for Per bend engrailed, Per chevron engrailed, etc. Invected lines have their points to base by SCA default."
Note: Martha is her legal given name.
The submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Welsh/English. The name Rhiannon is SCA-compatible, but no evidence has yet been found of it being used as a given name by real people in period. Lacking such evidence, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.
There was some question whether this name conflicted with "Richard Dragon, the eponymous hero of the DC series Richard Dragon, Kung-Fu Fighter, published for some time from 1975 on." Precedent states:
There are thus few comic characters that need to be protected: the aforementioned Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, possibly Mary Worth, Bart Simpson, Charlie Brown, perhaps a handful of others. Those conflicts are, unfortunately, valid -- but they will, in all cases, depend on whether the character's name has seeped into the public consciousness. We can't depend on finding these items in general references, our usual standard for importance. I'll try to be as objective as I can, but it'll still boil down in most cases to polling Yeomen on the Road to see who's heard of the name. (LoAR 10/92 - Cover Letter).
The comic book character Richard Dragon is nowhere near as well known as Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Bruce Wayne (Batman), or Clark Kent (Superman). In this case, Richard Dragon has not "seeped into the public consciousness" in the way that these characters, or even a number of secondary characters such as Dick Grayson (Robin), have. As Richard Dragon does not have the name recognition of these other characters, he is not important enough to protect.
Please see the Cover Letter for the October 1992 LoAR for a full discussion of "Comics culture conflicts".
Submitted as Ruaidhri Lámgel, Gaelic names are registerable with accents used or omitted consistently. As the byname included the accent, we have added the missing accent to the given name as well.
This submission was documented using a client letter from the Academy of Saint Gabriel. In that letter, he indicated his desired time and culture was 15th C Ireland. As he did not mark his form as requesting authenticity, we have registered this name with only the change to the accent in the given name.
Since the submitter had indicated a particular time period in his correspondence with the Academy of Saint Gabriel, we are including additional information regarding authentic forms of this name as a courtesy to the submitter. The submitted form of this name combines the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) Ruaidhrí with the Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) Lámgel. A fully Early Modern Irish Gaelic form of this name would be Ruaidhrí Láimgheal. A fully Middle Irish Gaelic form of this name would be Ruaidrí Lámgel.
The submitter requested authenticity for Spanish and allowed minor changes. Clarion provided information regarding the submitter's request for authenticity:
My article "16th Century Spanish Names" includes Rodríguez as a patronymic byname. The article notes that accents are not required in 16th century names (and were probably added to the source). Castile is not the standard Spanish form of the name (it is the standard English form of the name); without being able to check the documentation I cannot tell if the name was normalized on the maps or not. In any case, the above article lists de Castilla as a locative byname, and notes that about 5% of the names in the sample (at least the sample I was able to do the statistics on) were of the form <given name> <patronymic> de <locative>.
Therefore, Sebastian Rodriguez de Castilla would be an authentic form of this name appropriate for 16th C Spain.
As the submitter only allows minor changes, we have registered this name in the submitted form, since changing the language of the byname from the English de Castile to a Spanish form is a major change.
His previous device, Per pale gules and Or, on a chief sable three lozenges Or, is released.
Submitted as Caelan MacRobb, all the period examples of this byname found by the College use one b. Lacking evidence that the double-b form is plausible in period, we have dropped one b.
Submitted as Cassandra de Skardeburgh, no evidence was found to support an Sk-, rather than an Sc-, form of this placename in English. We have changed this name to follow documented examples in order to register this name.
Submitted as Coinneach mac Séamuis mhic Eoghain, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Scots Gaelic. As submitted this name claimed relationship with Shamus Mac Ewen (registered in October 1997), and so violated RfS VI.3 Names Claiming Specific Relationships, which states in part, "Names that unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person [...] will generally not be registered." As the submitter allows any changes, we have dropped mhic Eoghain to remove this claim of close relationship in order to register this name.
The cat was originally blazoned as a natural leopard, but there are no identifiable spots on the cat, as one would expect from a natural leopard. We have reblazoned it as a natural panther so that it will be reproduced correctly from the blazon.
"The Cross of Jerusalem is a defined single charge, though it consists of discrete elements in the same way than an ermine spot does." (LoAR July 1996). As a result, there is no problem having a cross of Jerusalem on a fieldless badge, even though portions of this defined single charge are not conjoined.
Please advise the submitter to draw fewer fusils in the bend sinister fusilly.
This is not in conflict with Kuroyama Ryuuichirou Tokinari, Or, two arrows fesswise gules and a mountain sable. The mountain functions as a peripheral charge in these pieces of armory. Therefore, these are clear by RfS X.2 for substantially changing the type of the primary group from arrows to bears.
Submitted as a badge for Serin le Rapp Scheurer and Evelun Lambert, Serin le Rapp Scheurer was a name change from Serena Gethin, which is returned in this LoAR.
We have reblazoned the calla lily as an arum lily. The calla lily is not a Western European flower, but the very similar arum lily is a Western European flower.
Submitted as Thomas atte Woode of Epping, the submitter requested authenticity for 1300-1500 English and allowed any changes. When two bynames that refer to locations appear in a name in English, the first byname is usually an inherited surname and the second is usually a literal locative byname. When atte Woode became an inherited surname, it seems to have been consistently written as a single word. Bardsley (p. 67 s.n. Attwood) dates William Attewood to 1439, which is late enough that the element Attewood in this name is likely an inherited surname. We have changed this name to use the inherited surname form Attewood to follow the documented pattern of [given name] [inherited surname] of [placename] and to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
There was some question whether mac Amhalgaidh was grammatically correct, since mac Amhalghadha and mac Amhalghaidh are the more typical Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) forms of this byname. The "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 3, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005C/), entry M1187.12, lists Aireactach Mac Amhalgaidh taoiseach Calraighe, which shows the submitted form of this byname. As this work was written in 1632-1636, this byname form is registerable.
This armory may also be blazoned as Per pale sable and Or vêtu a mullet of four points counterchanged. It must thus be considered versus the badge of Eleanor Leonard, (Tinctureless) A mullet of four points distilling a goutte. Eleanor Leonard gives a blanket letter of permission to conflict published in the Cover Letter to the January 2002 LoAR, which summarizes the contents of the letter as "For permission to conflict, the primary charge and/or the field must use a divided tincture, a field treatment, or a fur." Both the mullet and the field are divided in this submission, so this armory qualifies for the permission to conflict.
He has permission to conflict from Cartismandua Natione Veniconum, Sable, on a plate a hedgehog statant gules, on a chief argent three hedgehogs statant gules.
Listed on the LoI as Tighearnán Dugrais, the LoI noted that the submitter's first choice for a given name was Tiernan. Being unable to find documentation for Tiernan in period, they noted recent registrations of Tiernan as a given name and asked that if anyone had access to the documentation for these submissions, the submitter would appreciate it.
By coincidence, the registerability of Tiernan was addressed recently (so recently, in fact, that the LoAR with that discussion was not available during the commentary period for this submission):
There was some question regarding the registerability of Tiernan. Tiernan is an Anglicized Irish form of the Gaelic masculine given name Tighearnán. The question is whether or not Tiernan is a period Anglicized form of this name.
The given name Tighearnán was in use in late period as can be seen in the "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 6, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005F/), entry M1590.3, which mentions Tighearnan Bán mac Briain mic Eoghain Uí Ruairc. Because this name was used in late period, it is logical that there was an Anglicized form of this name existed. Since no Anglicized forms of this given name have yet been found in period Anglicized records (probably due mainly to the scarcity of such records), we have only period Anglicized forms of bynames formed from Tighearnán to examine. Woulfe (p. 410 s.n. Mac Tighearnáin) dates M'Tiernane and M'Ternane to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. Woulfe (p. 652 s.n. Ó Tighearnáin) also dates O Ternane and O Tiernan to the same time period. Given these examples, Tiernan is reasonable as a period Anglicized form of Tighearnán. [Tiernan Moor, LoAR 02/2003, A-An Tir]
We have changed the given name in this submission to Tiernan, which was the submitter's first choice as a given name, since it is a plausible as an Anglicized Irish name in period, and so is registerable.
Submitted as Ulbrecht vom Wald, the submitter requested authenticity for 7th C German. As this request was not included in the LoI, the College did not have the opportunity to provide commentary regarding authentic forms of this name for that language and time period.
No documentation was included on the LoI for the byname vom Wald except the statement "'of the forest' (this is a contraction of von dem Wald, and the one concern is that the contraction might be a post-period practice)". Multiple members of the College found documentation for this byname. For example, Sommelier commented:
Bahlow/Gentry 2nd (sn Wald(e), p.532) has Hans vorm Walde dated to 1471 and Wernher zu dem Walde dated to 1361. In the same source (sn Ulbrich(t), p. 518), Ulbrecht (Albrecht) Gryfstete is dated 1379-86 and Ulbrecht Geißeler is dated 1482.
The information found by the College consistently shows Walde as the form of this word used in bynames. We have made this change in order to register this name. The commentary provided by the College supports Ulbrecht vom Walde as a late 14th C or 15th C German name. Lacking information about how this name might appear in 7th C German, we do not know if it is authentic for that time and culture.
Submitted as Order of the Shark's Tooth, we have removed the apostrophe in accordance with the ruling:
Submitted as the Order of the Gryphon's Eye, the apostrophe was not used until after period. [Artemisia, Kingdom of, 01/00, A-Artemisia]
As noted by Kraken, Atlantian Kingdom Law (http://law.atlantia.sca.org/Law03-04.html) specifies that the Shark's Tooth is an award rather than an order. We have, therefore, corrected the designator in this submission to Award.
Submitted as Curwinus Treverorensis, the submitter requested authenticity for 9th to 10th C Germanic. The only documentation provided on the LoI for the byname was the statement, "The surname is an adjectival form of the Roman name of the Gallo-Germanic city of Trier."
Metron Ariston provided information about Latin forms of Trier:
The only instance I could find on the net of the adjectival form Treverorensis was in this gentle's name. The classical name of the town was Augusta Treverorum. The usual period and modern Latinization of Trier is Trevirensis or Treuirensis. This is the form used in the Latin name of the Diocese of Trier (Dioecesis Trevirensis in the listing of contacts at www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dtrie.html). It is commonly used in early manuscripts and printed books and in Sebastian of Munster's Cosmographiae Universalis of 1550 the depiction of Trier is labeled "Situs & figura antiquissimae & praecipuae Medioniatricum ciuitatis Treuirensis".
Lacking evidence that Treverorensis is a period form, we have changed this byname to Trevirensis in order to register this name. As we were unable to find forms of either of the elements in this name used in 9th to 10th C Germanic, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.
Please advise the submitter to draw the bordure wider.
The submitter requested authenticity for Scottish. Lacking evidence that any form of the name Cynthia was used in Scotland in period, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested culture.
Please advise the submitter that in period, ermine spots on bends were drawn to tilt along the line of the underlying ordinary. We expect, similarly, that ermine spots on a bend sinister should be bendwise sinister.
Her previous name, Daria of Stierbach, and previous device, Quarterly gules and sable, a bull's head jessant-de-lys argent, a bordure argent semy-de-lys sable, are released.
Submitted as Derbáil ingen Lonán, the byname element Lonán was in the nominative case. We have changed this element to the genitive case Lonáin, as required by Gaelic grammar, in order to register this name.
Nice device!
Llisted as Evja R{o,}skva on the LoI, the form listed this name as Evja r{o,}skva. We have returned the byname to lowercase both to match the originally submitted form and to match standard transliteration conventions in order to register this name.
Listed on the LoI as Grimkell Valgar{dt}sson, the submitter requested an authentic Viking name. The form included the accent in Grímkell. We have made this correction.
The correct Da'ud notation for the edh character, ð, is {dh}, not {dt}.
The patronymic Valgarðsson was not correctly formed. The patronymic byname formed from the masculine given name Valgarðr is Valgarðarson. We have made this correction.
Submitted as Marsaili Johnston of Lochwood Moss, documentation was provided for a placename of Lockwood and a toponymic Moss. No evidence was found to support Lochwood as a variant of the documented Lockwood (Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Lockwood). Lacking support for the form Lochwood, we have changed this element to a documented form in order to register this name.
No evidence was provided to support adding Moss to the end of an existing placename, particularly one that already incorporates the toponymic element -wood. However, there is a pattern of English placenames created by appending surnames to existing placenames. Examples of this include Chilton Foliot 1221 (Mills, p. 78 s.n. Chilton), Northone Brun c. 1266 (Mills, p. 244 s.n. Norton), and Saunford Peverel 1275 (Mills, p. 284 s.n. Sampford). As Moss is a surname, dated to 1230 in the form Mosse and to 1327 in the form ate Mos (Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Moss), a location Lockwood located on or near an estate owned by the Moss family could come to be known as Lockwood Moss.
Submitted as Miriam Calvert of Gidiehall-on-Honiburn, the submitter requested authenticity for 16th C English and allowed minor changes. No examples of [placename]-on-[placename] were found in period. The example of Stretford upon Auen found in Speed's The Counties of Britain (p. 178, map of Warwickshire, map dated 1610) is formed [placename] upon [river name] rather than [placename] upon [placename]. Metron Ariston found support for a hypothetical placename of Gidiehall Honiburn:
Gidiehall-on-Honiburn does not appear in my copy of Mills under Honeybourne, as stated on the Letter of Intent. However, Honiburn does, as part of Calewe Honiburn dated to 1374. Mills does give under the heading of Gidea Park, a citation of La Gidiehall from 1258. Together they would certainly support something like Gidiehall Honiburn from the thirteenth or fourteenth century [...].
Given this information, we have dropped -on- from this byname in order to register this name. Lacking evidence that this form is appropriate for the 16th C, we were unable to confirm that this name is appropriate for the submitter's desired time period.
Submitted as Onóra inghean Bhriain uí Chonchobhair, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish. As submitted, this name claimed relationship with Brian O'Conor (registered in June 1995), and so violated RfS VI.3 Names Claiming Specific Relationships, which states in part, "Names that unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person [...] will generally not be registered." The submitted name Onóra inghean Bhriain uí Chonchobhair means 'Onóra daughter [of] Brian Ó Conchobhair'. Brian Ó Conchobhair is the Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of the name Brian O'Conor, both of which have nearly identical pronunciations. Therefore, the submitted name claims to be the daughter of Brian O'Conor and so is not registerable without a letter of permission from Brian.
The LoI noted that this name was submitted with the meaning 'Onora, daughter of Brian the son of Conchobar'. In fact, the submitted form of this name means 'Onora, daughter of Brian the grandson (or male descendant) of Conchobar'. As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed inghean uí Chonchobhair 'daughter of a grandson (or male descendant) of Conchobhar' to inghean mhic Conchobhair 'daughter of a son of Conchobhar' in order to register this name. (Note: names beginning in C- do not lenite if the previous word ends in -c.) This change provides the submitter her intended meaning, meets her request for authenticity for Irish, and removes the claim of close relationship to the registered name Brian O'Conor.
Submitted as Sabina of Castle Rising, the submitter requested authenticity for 1200-1300s English. Mills (p. 273 s.n. Rising, Castle) dates the form Castel Risinge to 1254. We have changed the byname to use this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Salesberie Glen cannot be justified as Salesberie, a dithemic placename, with the element Glen, meaning 'valley', appended. Glen is found only in a few placenames, all of which combine Glen with a simple descriptive element. As an example, Mills (p. 144 s.n. Glen) dates Magna Glen to 1247 and Parva Glen to 1242.
However, there is a pattern of English placenames created by appending surnames to existing placenames. Examples of this include Chilton Foliot 1221 (Mills, p. 78 s.n. Chilton), Northone Brun c. 1266 (Mills, p. 244 s.n. Norton), and Saunford Peverel 1275 (Mills, p. 284 s.n. Sampford). As Glen is a surname, dated to 1230 (Reaney & Wilson, p. 193 s.n. Glen), a location Salesberie located on or near an estate owned by the Glen family could come to be known as Salesberie Glen.
Submitted as Samuel Calvert of Gidiehall-on-Honiburn, the submitter requested authenticity for 16th C English and allowed minor changes. No examples of [placename]-on-[placename] were found in period. The example of Stretford upon Auen found in Speed's The Counties of Britain (p. 178, map of Warwickshire, map dated 1610) is formed [placename] upon [river name] rather than [placename] upon [placename]. Metron Ariston found support for a hypothetical placename of Gidiehall Honiburn:
Gidiehall-on-Honiburn does not appear in my copy of Mills under Honeybourne, as stated on the Letter of Intent. However, Honiburn does, as part of Calewe Honiburn dated to 1374. Mills does give under the heading of Gidea Park, a citation of La Gidiehall from 1258. Together they would certainly support something like Gidiehall Honiburn from the thirteenth or fourteenth century [...].
Given this information, we have dropped -on- from this byname in order to register this name. Lacking evidence that this form is appropriate for the 16th C, we were unable to confirm that this name is appropriate for the submitter's desired time period.
Submitted as Uaithne uí Ciaráin, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish. As submitted, this name was not grammatically correct. The name Uaithne was both a masculine and a feminine given name in Irish Gaelic in period. Uaithne ua Ciaráin would be a grammatically correct form of this name for a man. Uaithne inghean uí Chiaráin would be a grammatically correct form of this name for a woman. As the submitter's form indicated that she desired a feminine name, we have changed this name to the grammatically correct feminine form in order to register this name and to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
His previous name, Gunnar Haraldsson, is released.
Submitted as Wulfgang Moennich von Luppin, the submitter requested authenticity for German and allowed minor changes. The documentation provided supports Monnich, not Moennich. We have made this change in order to register this name. Wulfgang was submitted as a hypothetical variant of the documented Wolfgang. We have changed the given name to a form documented as having been used in period to meet the submitter's request for an authentic German name.
Submitted as Wolfräth Jäger, no evidence was found to support Wolfräth as a period variant of the documented Wolfrath. We have dropped the umlaut in order to register this name.
The submitter requested authenticity for mid 11th C English, and allowed only minor changes. Anderewe is a reasonable form for the 14th C. However, the 11th C form of this name is Andreas. Hawkewood is also a reasonable 14th C form; the most likely 11th C form is Havokwode. Therefore, while the submitted Anderewe Hawkewood is a fine 14th C English name, it is not authentic for the submitter's desired time period. A form of this name authentic for the 11th C would be Andreas de Havokwode. However, the change from Anderewe to Andreas is more than a minor change. As a result, we have registered this name unchanged, as any attempt to meet the submitter's request would result in a less authentic name.
Submitted as Avery de la Marre, the byname de la Marre was grammatically incorrect, as it combined a feminine article with Marre, a masculine noun. The submitter's documentation includes the form del Marre, dated to 1302 in Reaney & Wilson (p. 299 s.n. Marr). The sound-alike byname de la Mare is dated to 1190 and 1342 in Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Delamar). However, this byname derives from a different word. Since the submitter expressed a preference for del Marre as an alternate to the submitted de la Marre, we have made this change in order to register this name.
He has permission to conflict with Erliss Greylizard, Per pale and per chevron inverted Or and sable, a chevron inverted gules.
His previous device, Lozengy argent and sable, a chevron inverted cotised gules, is retained as a badge.
Listed on the LoI as Hans Schneckenburger, this name was submitted as Hans Schneckenburg and changed at Kingdom to a documented form. The LoI noted that the submitter accepted all changes. However, his form has the "no minor changes" box checked (though the "no major changes" box is unchecked). In cases where the forms are marked in this manner, we interpret the changes allowed as "no changes".
Happily, the submitted form of this name is registerable. Brechenmacher (vol. 1, p. 269 s.n. Tannenberg(er)) dates Joh. Tannenberg to 1508, showing an example of a locative byname formed from the name of a location without using a particle such as von. We have returned this name to the originally submitted form.
There was some question whether the byname filia Edwardis was grammatically correct. In modern usage, the Latin nominative form of the name Edward is Edwardus, with the genitive form Edwardi (thereby treating the name Edward as a second declension noun in Latin). In the medieval period, the name Edward was treated in the same way as it is today, with Edwardus as the nominative form and Edwardi as the genitive form. However, the name Edward also appeared with a nominative form of Edward and a genitive form Edwardis (treating this name as a third declension noun). Therefore, both filia Edwardi and filia Edwardis are grammatically correct forms of this byname in the medieval period.
Submitted as Lorccán ua Conchobair, the submitter requested authenticity for late 10th C Irish and allowed minor changes. We have changed the particle ua to the older form hua to match the submitter's requested time period.
His previous name, Cellach mac Ualraig, is released.
Nice device! Please advise the submitter to draw the cotises wider.
This submission was pended from the September 2002 LoAR for a missing tincture. His previous device, Gules, a bend cotised argent between a fleur-de-lys and an escallop Or, is released.
Submitted as Strom Arenvald, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th to 15th C "German or Scandinavian" and allowed any changes. As documentation was only found for Strom in Russian, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired culture. Metron Ariston did find a similar sounding name in German. We have included that information here as a courtesy to the submitter:
The nearest I could come to this form from Germany was Saint Sturmius, the first abbot of Fulda (see the article on Fulda in the Catholic Encyclopedia at www.newadvent.org/cathen/06313b.htm).
Regarding the submitted byname Arenvald, the only support found for this spelling was in Withycombe, as noted by Metron Ariston:
The usual source cited for Old German Arenvald is Withycombe (Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names) who under Arnold notes "Old German Arenvald, compound of Arin 'eagle', and vald 'power'."
Withycombe's strengths lie in English. In this case, her information does not agree with that in Bahlow. Hund provided the information that Bahlow and Brechenmacher have regarding this name:
According to Balhow under Arnwaldt does not mean Arnold as -waldt and -old are significantly different. However, it can be construed as a place name like Buch-wald, usw.. Brechenmacher under Arnswald(e) has Arneswold dated to 1358 and Arnswold dated to 1400, both as surnames.
Lacking support for the form Arenvald other than in the reference in Withycombe, we have changed this byname to the period form Arneswold in order to register this name.
The badge was submitted for the House of Sword and Rose, but this household name was returned in the February 2003 LoAR.
Submitted under the name Angharad y Rhosyn ferch Rhain.
The tree was originally blazoned as an ash tree, but it was not clearly identifiable as that sort of tree. We have thus reblazoned it to a generic tree.
Submitted under the name Donnan o' Whyspering Wude.
Listed on the LoI as Gillian Holroyd, this name was submitted as Gillian Holroyd macLachlan. The element macLachlan was dropped at Kingdom. The LoI explained that Kingdom was "unable to reconcile the use of 'mac' with a woman's given name, and we were unable to find evidence for use of a geographic surname followed by a patronymic." The submitter requested authenticity for the 13th to 15th C and allowed any changes.
Examples of women's given names used with Mac- style bynames appear in Scots (a language closely related to English) in the 15th C and later. Some examples from Black include: Joneta Makgillumquha dated to 1406 (p. 471 s.n. MacClumpha), Agnes Makcalpyn dated to 1475 (p. 26 s.n. Aquhonan), and Margaret Makrerik dated to 1490 (pp. 480-1 s.n. MacCririck). The example given in the LoI of Gillaspy MacLachlan, dated 1308 in Black (p. 553 s.n. MacLachlan), is in Scots, not Gaelic. Therefore, MacLachlan is an appropriate form of this name that may be used with a feminine given name in Scots. Therefore, we have restored the element MacLachlan to this name, though we have changed the capitalization to match documented forms in Scots.
As the College was unable to find support for a locative byname preceeding a Mac- style byname in Scots, we have reversed the order of the bynames in order to register this name. Reaney & Wilson (p. 236 s.n. Holroyd) dates de Holrode to 1327. We have changed the byname to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Good name!
Her previous name, Gwendolen Lambert, is retained as an alternate name.
Submitted as Ingvarr W{oe}lsing, the submitter requested authenticity for 5th to 6th C continental Saxon and allowed minor changes. The submitted documentation shows Wælsing rather than W{oe}lsing. We have made this change. Ingvarr was documented as Old Norse, while Wælsing was documented as Old English. Lacking evidence that either element was used in the submitter's requested time and culture, we were unable to make this name authentic.
The submitter requested authenticity for the Italian Renaissance. Lacking evidence that la curiosa was used as a descriptive byname in 16th C Italy, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.
This name does not conflict with Isabeau FitzLyon (registered in July 2001). FitzLyon is a patronymic byname, whereas de Lyon is a locative byname. As these are two different types of bynames, they need only "look and sound significantly different" per RfS V.1.a.ii. A similar situation was addressed in the ruling:
[Jehan Fitz Alan vs Jonn Elynn] It is also quite possible that the difference in sound between Alan and Elynn is insufficient to bring them clear of each other. Nevertheless, we agree with the majority who thought that the names oughtn't to conflict; and by good fortune a strict interpretation of RfS V.1.a.ii (Bynames) justifies the conclusion that Fitz Alan is significantly different from Elynn. Certainly the two are quite different in sound and appearance; the only question is whether it is necessary to compare Elynn with Alan rather than with Fitz Alan. The rules do not explicitly cover this situation. However, any conflict between Alan and Fitz Alan lies in their potential interchangeability. Elynn, on the other hand, is not a variant of Alan and is therefore not interchangeable with Fitz Alan; consequently, the reasoning that brings Richard into conflict with Richardson does not apply to Fitz Alan and Elynn. Therefore the names need only meet the basic criterion of significant difference in sound and appearance, which, as we already noted, they clearly do. (Jehan Fitz Alan, 2/96 p. 8)
Similarly, de Lyon and FitzLyon are significantly different in sound and appearance and, so, do not conflict.
Please advise the submitter to draw the per chevron line a bit higher on the field.
Submitted under the name Jan Starszy Podró{z.}nika.
Submitted as Johann van Antwerp, the submitter requested authenticity for 1400-1500s Dutch and allowed any changes. As submitted, this name was Low German rather than Dutch. We have changed this name to the fully Dutch form Jan van Antwerpen in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Listed on the LoI as Julienne de la Rochelle, the form listed this name as Julienne De La Rochelle. The submitter requested authenticity for "1400 France". As the name of this location is La Rochelle, the expected form of this byname would be de La Rochelle. We have made this change.
This name does not conflict with Caitríona ní Bhriain (registered in December 1983). The byname O'Brien is Anglicized Irish. The byname ní Bhriain is Gaelic. (The particle ní in this name is a post-period form of inghean uí, and is no longer registerable.) Per the Cover Letter for the April 2002 LoAR, "if the two byname phrases (1) differ significantly in sound and appearance, and (2) are in different languages, the two byname phrases are clear." O'Brien and ní Bhriain (pronounced "nee VRI-an") are sufficiently different in sound and appearance. Therefore, these two names are clear.
Nice device!
Listed on the LoI as Pamela Gattaerelli, this name was submitted as Paméla Gattaerelli. The accent was dropped from the given name at Kingdom because the accents used in De Felice are pronunciation guides and are not part of the name.
The submitter requested authenticity for 16th C Italian. Though the name Pamela is listed in De Felice Dizionario dei nomi Italiani (s.n. Pamela), this entry gives no indication that the name Pamela came into use in Italy in period. Withycombe (s.n. Pamela) indicates that Philip Sidney invented this name for a character in his poem "Arcadia" in 1590. Pamela is registerable as an English name under the guidelines for registerability of literary names (Cover Letter for the February 1999 LoAR). However, lacking evidence that this name came into use in Italy in period, this name is not authentic for 16th C Italian.
Gattaerelli was documented from Fucilla (p. 136). However, the form listed in Fucilla is Gattarelli, not Gattaerelli. We have changed the spelling of the byname to match the documentation.
Submitted as Rennewief Grünewald, the submitter requested authenticity for "lowland German 1100" and cares most about the meaning 'from the green wood'.
Nebuly provided information regarding appropriate forms of this name for the submitter's desired time and culture:
The name is good, but not quite correct for the client's desired period. Rennewief appears in my article on Dutch Women's Names. Although I cannot find a period place called Grünewald with a citation early enough for the client's period, the element Grun- appears in a period spelling of Gronsveld ("green field", Künzel et al., p155-156), and -wald appears in a period spelling of Esselijkerwoude (ibid. p134). The locative byname still needs a preposition. A nice documentary form of the name would be Rennewief de Grunwald, though the preposition de is Latin. The Low German form would be Rennewief van Grunwald.
We have changed this name to the Low German form recommended by Nebuly to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
The submitter requested authenticity for 11th to 12th C Welsh Norman. The name Rhiannon is SCA-compatible, but no evidence has yet been found of it being used as a given name by real people in period. Lacking such evidence, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.
Her previous name, Rhiannon Llysieuwraig, is released.
Good name!
Please advise the submitter to draw the pale lozengy so that the parts of the pale which lie against the azure field are the high-contrast argent portions rather than the low-contrast vert portions.
Listed on the LoI as Conn mac Lochlainn, this name was originally submitted with a double given name and returned at Kingdom for use of a double given name. In this submission, the submitter indicated that he will accept either Eoin mac Lochlainn or Conn mac Lochlainn. Kingdom forwarded this name as Conn mac Lochlainn in the belief that Eoin mac Lochlainn conflicted with Ian Mac Lochlainn (registered in October 1993).
However, Eoin does not conflict with Ian per the precedent:
Eoin Mac Cainnigh - The name is clear of Ian MacCoinnich, registered 9/90; Eoin and Ian are significantly different in sound as well as appearance. [Talan Gwynek, LoAR April 1996].
As the format of the LoI indicated that Conn mac Lochlainn was his secondary choice and Eoin mac Lochlainn was his first preference, we have changed this name to Eoin mac Lochlainn, as that name is clear of the cited Ian mac Lochlainn.
This was pended from the September 2002 LoAR because the eclipsing was not specified in the blazon, leading the commenters to believe that the entire demi-sun was per pale argent and sable. While the fact that the demi-sun is eclipsed does hamper its identifiability, the overall identifiability of the charge remains acceptable.
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.
Submitted as Léofwynn of Leodridan, the marking used on the e in the given name is not correct. Metron Ariston explains:
I'm afraid that the marking in the on line article by Scott [Talan Gwynek's article "Feminine Names from A Dictionary of English Surnames", http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/reaney.cgi?Lewen>] cited on the Letter of Intent is merely an attempt to indicate the long marking in the source material and even there, it appears to be slightly off as Reaney and Wilson under Lewin note the source as the masculine form L{e-}ofwine. Selten (The Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal Names, Vol. II, p. 119) notes "L{e-}ofwynn is well evidenced in Old Enlish[sic]. . . but does not occur in Domesday Book and is apparently rare in Middle English." The given name should either be registered as L{e-}ofwynn or the marking should be omitted entirely.
Based on this information, this name is registerable as L{e-}ofwynn of Leodridan and Leofwynn of Leodridan. As the submitted form included a diacritical mark on the e in the given name, we have registered the form which includes a mark over the e.
The submitter requested authenticity for the 14th C and allowed any changes. The submission documented the given names Anna and Lyse as German and the byname Warwick as English. No evidence was found that either German or English used double given names in the 14th C. Additionally, Lyse was documented only to the 15th C. As Anna was used in both English and German, we would have dropped the given name Lyse in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. However, doing so would bring this name into conflict with Anne of Warwick, queen to Richard III. Therefore, we have registered this name as submitted, but were unable to make it authentic for the 14th C as requested by the submitter.
Submitted as Domnall Ó hOdhráin, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Irish and allowed any changes. Domnall is a Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) form. The corresponding Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name is Domhnall. We have changed the given name to this form to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture.
The badge is transferred from the Principality of Northshield. As an administrative note, both parts of the transfer (the sending from Northshield and the reception by Moraig) should be separate items on the Letter of Intent. They have been separated for purposes of the LoAR.
The Letter of Intent said, "If this badge is registered, the Principality would like to release the badge (Or, a pomegranate gules, seeded Or between two flaunches sable) and transfer it to Moraig Ann Drummond". As an administrative note, both parts of the transfer (the sending from Northshield and the reception by Moraig) should be separate items on the Letter of Intent. They have been separated for purposes of the LoAR.
The badge is transferred to Moraig Ann Drummond.
The LoI noted that the submitter "is actually looking for Rowan, but believes that Roana is as close as she can get." Several commenters noted the ruling:
... Rowan is SCA compatible as a feminine given name, this name is registerable with a weirdness for use of an SCA compatible element. [Rowan Bridget Blackmoor, 01/02, A-Atenveldt]
Therefore, the name Rowen de Hauekrig is registerable. We examined the submitter's form to determine whether to register this name as Roana de Hauekrig or Rowen de Hauekrig. The submission form makes no mention anywhere of the name Rowan and notes that the submitter allows no major changes. Neither her form, nor the LoI states that the submitter specifically wishes her name changed from Roana to Rowan if documentation were found for Rowan. Lacking this instruction from the submitter, we have registered this name in the submitted form.
Submitted as Bede's College, we have removed the apostrophe to follow period examples.
This does not conflict with Aelesia Emelyne Couchur, Azure, a chevron embattled argent. There is a CD for adding the bordure. Because chevrons and fesses embattled (with a complex line of partition on the top of the charge and a plain line on the bottom) and embattled counter-embattled (with a complex line of partition on both sides of the charge) are found as distinct treatments in period heraldry, there is a type CD between them.
Nice device!
Submitted as Wilo ingen Donnchada, Wilo was documented only as a masculine given name. The byname ingen Donnchada means 'daughter of Duncan'. Gaelic patronymic bynames were used literally in period. Therefore, this name was not registerable as submitted since a man could not be a daughter. Since the submitter marked "don't care" for gender on her form, we have changed the byname to the masculine form mac Donnchada in order to register this name.
The branch designator in this name is -shire. As with other branches before them, if this shire becomes a barony, their name would become Barony of Benton.
This name does not conflict with David Roberts, a 19th C painter, even though he has his own entry in the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. The "From Laurel: Beyond the Encyclopedia" section of the Cover Letter for the January 2003 LoAR explains:
In order to bring the decision back within the College of Arms and to realign with our scope of protection, we are refining the process by which we decide which names to protect. Beginning with this letter, each name will be evaluated individually. The initial factor will continue to be an entry in a general-purpose encyclopedia. However, now we consider the prominence of this person (including when they lived and the length and contents of their encyclopedia entry) when determinining whether they are important enough to protect.
In accordance with this policy, since the painter David Roberts has an entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica, we considered whether or not he was important enough to protect. In this case, David Roberts is simply not well enough known among the general populace of the SCA to warrant protecting his name.
His previous name, Griffin ap Rhys, and previous device, Or, a griffin passant reguardant within a bordure azure, are released.
The LoI requested assistance with documentation for the byname Amberlach. As submitted, the only documentation for this element was: "Invented locative byname. Amber=golden and Lach=lake." Orle found that Amberlach is a plausible placename in English, but that it would not have the meaning desired by the submitter:
Lach is Middle English for stream, not lake. Ekwall page 419 s.n. Shocklach gives Schoclache from 1260 meaning 'goblin stream'. Page 9 s.n. Amber gives the river name Ambre from 1191. S.n. Amberden gives Amberden from 1176 as a valley frequented by a type of yellowhammer bird from Old English amore and den. Amberlegh from 1242 is a wood where this bird frequented. Amberlach would be constructed to be a place named after a stream this bird frequents.
As Amberlach is plausible as an English placename in period, this name is registerable as a feminine given name with a locative byname.
Good name!
The submitter requested authenticity for Scottish. As we were unable to find any evidence that the name Rebecca was used in Scotland in period, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired culture.
Parker describes trefoils double-slipped in his A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry. One example may be found in Glover's Ordinary, and another similar example in Legh's 16th C Accedens of Armory. The charge seems a reasonable variant of a trefoil, although one which is not given difference from a standard trefoil.
Good name!
The submitter's name submission, William Blood the Merchant, was returned in the February 2003 LoAR for lack of forms. This device was returned in the March 2003 LoAR for purely administrative reasons relating to the previously returned name and the lack of a name form. The Administrative Handbook does not allow registration of armory without a registered name or holding name. Without a name form, it could not be determined whether the formation of a holding name was allowed, or even how such a holding name could be formed.
A very short time after the release of the March 2003 LoAR, a name form for this submission was received. This name form allowed the creation of a holding name. We have therefore taken the action to register the device, because of the timely resolution of the administrative problem.
The submission was withdrawn by Kingdom.
There is a high degree of overlap between the coronet and the anchor and its cable. This is not acceptable style for overall charges on a fieldless badge for reasons of identifiability and non-period style. The same stylistic constraints which apply to charges surmounted by overall charges also apply to charges enfiled by other charges.
The orientation of the coronet is neither clearly bendwise sinister nor clearly palewise. This is not blazonable and therefore a reason for return under RfS VII.7.b. There are also contrast problems with this emblazon. The argent pearls on the coronet overlap the argent anchor, giving no contrast at those points.
The dragon has a high degree of overlap with the underlying annulet, which is not acceptable style for fieldless badges. Moreover, an overall charge should extend significantly past the outlines of the underlying charge, which is not the case in this armory.
This order name was submitted with the intended meaning 'Order of the Great Bow'. Arcus means 'arch, bow, rainbow'. Therefore, the submitted name means 'Order of the Big/Great Arch/Bow/Rainbow'. Both a bow and a rainbow are heraldic charges and so are reasonable as a noun in an order name. However, no documentation was presented and none was found to support the construction Big/Great [heraldic charge] in an order name in period. Lacking such evidence, this name is not registerable.
Conflict with Bjorn Sigurdsson, Paly gules and argent, a bear's head cabossed sable. This armory is heraldically equivalent to Per fess embattled Or and wavy sable and Or, a bear's head cabossed sable, as it is not uncommon for barry fields to be drawn with either even or odd numbers of traits. Therefore, there is one CD for changing the field. There is not a second CD for moving the bear's head, as it may only lie on the Or portion of the field for reasons of contrast. RfS X.4.g states "Changing the relative positions of charges in any group placed directly on the field or overall is one clear difference, provided that change is not caused by other changes to the design". Here, the change of the relative position of the bear's head is caused by other changes to the design - the tinctures of the field.
The dragon in chief was not identifiable in the mini-emblazon due to poor reproduction quality on the Letter of Intent. Because the College was not able to meaningfully comment on this submission, it cannot be accepted. The Cover Letter for the April 2002 LoAR stated:
In the last few months, there have been cases where the mini-emblazon included with the Letter of Intent did not accurately represent the emblazon on the submission form. If the emblazon does not match the form, the CoA cannot produce useful commentary, which in turn does not allow a decision on that item. The CoA has enough to review without commenting on the "wrong" item. A mismatch between the LoI emblazon and what is on the submission form can be reason for administrative return. If you produce LoIs, please double-check that the mini-emblazons on your letters are a good representation of the emblazons on the submission forms.
Photoreduction is recommended over redrawing. Scanning can be used with care. Many complaints have been received about mini-emblazons which were produced by scanning at inappropriate settings, rendering elements of the armory invisible or otherwise unidentifiable.
Serin was documented as a descriptive byname "from the agreeable song of a bird", not as a given name. Lacking evidence that it was used as a given name, it is not registerable as a given name.
In the byname le Rapp, Rapp was documented as a patronymic byname. No documentation was presented and none was found to support the addition of le to Rapp in this byname. Lacking such evidence, the byname le Rapp is not registerable.
Conflict with Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Vert, a chevron between three falcons argent, Caitlyn Emrys, Vert, a chevron between three peacocks pavonated to base argent, and Harrys Rob of Wamphray, Vert, a chevron between three winged spurs argent. In each case there is only one CD for changing the type of secondary charges.
We have reblazoned the cats from herissony to statant, as their backs are not arched enough to be blazoned herissony.
Conflict with Neal Gyrfalcon, Purpure, perched atop the pommel of a sword inverted proper a gyrfalcon contourny argent. There is one CD for adding the quill pen in chief and no difference for removing the small, insignificant (effectively "maintained") gyrfalcon.
Please advise the submitter that, for the sword to keep its current blazoned primary charge status, it should be drawn somewhat larger in comparison to the quill pen. Alternately, the quill pen and sword could be drawn the same size and could be considered co-primary charges. Note that redrawing will not clear the current conflict call - that analysis is the same whether the quill pen is considered a primary or a secondary charge. However, on resubmission, the quill pen should be clearly drawn as either a subsidiary secondary charge or as a co-primary charge. The difference is likely to be important in further potential conflict comparisons.
Conflict with Robert Fagan of Blackstoke, Quarterly per fess indented sable and Or, two crosses crosslet fitchy Or. The text in the previous return (where Sean's submission was Quarterly vert and Or, two crosses bottony Or) still applies, "There is one CD for changing the field. 'There is not a CD between a cross crosslet fitchy and a cross bottony' (LoAR December 1999)." (LoAR August 2002).
There is no difference for changing the arrangement of the crosses. RfS X.4.g states: "Changing the relative positions of charges in any group placed directly on the field or overall is one clear difference, provided that change is not caused by other changes to the design." Because the Or crosses may not overlie the Or portion of the field, they are forced to be in the two vert quarters. Thus, the change in the relative positions of the crosses is "caused by other changes to the design" - namely, the changes to the field - and is not worth difference.
Conflict with Caterina Nadalini, Purpure, on a lozenge ployé Or a bunch of grapes proper. There is a CD for changes to the tertiary charge group by X.4.j, but no difference between a lozenge ployé and a lozenge.
The juggler's club has only been registered twice in the SCA. The Pictorial Dictionary indicates that it is a 20th c. invention and more recent scholarship supports this assertion. It is thus unclear whether juggler's clubs are compatible with SCA armory.
The clubs in this emblazon do not resemble any of the previously registered juggler's clubs. They also do not resemble the default SCA heraldic club, which is a rough wooden club. In addition, this particular emblazon does not allow one to clearly identify these items as three clubs of any sort; because of the way this particular emblazon is drawn, the heads of the clubs are visually disassociated from their handles.
Because these charges are not identifiable as drawn, and because there is no evidence the charges here depicted are compatible with SCA armory, this must be returned.
This submission has insufficient support from the populace of the Kingdom to be accepted. It is necessary for a kingdom to show support, not merely indifference, for changing armory that is as important as the consort's arms. The total polling, according to the LoI, had 93 respondents with 74 of the respondents in favor of the change. According to the S.C.A. Registry, on April 1, 2003, the Kingdom of Atlantia had 1254 sustaining members, 166 associate members, and 663 family members, for a total of 2083 members. This means that the total polling of 93 people reflected less than 5 percent of the Atlantian membership, with the positive responses being even less than that. We do understand that in any polling, many members will choose not to respond to the polling. Even taking that fact into account, the support shown here is insufficient to support the change in the armory.
Questions were raised about the inclusion of a crown in this armory. Kingdom armory of any sort may use a crown, as indicated in the reserved charges portion of the Glossary of Terms. Many kingdoms have registered secondary armory, such as badges, which include a crown or coronet. Having such a crown or coronet in the consort's arms, when one can be sure that the reigning consort is entitled to bear a crown, seems perfectly reasonable.
The College generally felt that this bird, drawn in some sort of early period artistic stylization, was not recognizable as a raven. However, this charge is clearly identifiable as a bird close, albeit a stylized one. We have therefore reblazoned it as a bird.
The badge conflicts with the device of Eliahu ben Itzhak, Or, on a mullet of six points sable, a griffin segreant contourny Or. There is one CD for fieldlessness. There is no difference between mullets of six and eight points: "The rules for change of type of mullets follow the rules for change of number of charges. Mullets of n points will get a CD from mullets of m points if RfS X.4.f gives a CD for changing the number of charges from n to m." (LoAR of February 2002, Ansteorra acceptances). Since RfS X.4.f states that "Six and higher numbers ... are not significantly different from each other", there is no difference between mullets of six and eight points.
Note that there is no meaningful posture comparison between birds and griffins. If there were, we would expect the change from a griffin rampant to an eagle displayed to be a change in both type and posture. This clearly has not been the case in the SCA, which has seen this as a type-only comparison. And appropriately so: the postures taken by these creatures in period heraldry are very different and are generally not directly comparable. As an example: the most common postures for eagles in period heraldry are close (standing with wings folded) and displayed (the bird's chest and tail facing the viewer, wings expanded, head to dexter, legs spread to either side of the tail). Griffins, by contrast, are virtually never found in period heraldry with their wings folded (like a close eagle). Nor are they found in a displayed posture (like a displayed eagle).
Because there is no meaningful posture comparison between a bird and a griffin, we have only changed the type of the tertiary charge in this comparison. "There is nothing for change of type only of tertiary charge on a sun or multipointed mullet, as this shape is not simple for purposes of RfS X.4.j.ii" (LoAR February 2002).
Conflict with Armand Dragonetti, Sable, a dragon rampant erminois and a bordure Or. There is only one CD for changing the tincture of the dragon.
As submitted this name claims relationship with Rhys ap Dafydd (registered in November 2000), and so violates RfS VI.3 Names Claiming Specific Relationships, which states in part, "Names that unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person [...] will generally not be registered." Dropping ap Dafydd from this name would bring this name into conflict with Gwenllian ferch Rhys (registered in June 1994). Any other changes that could be made (such as changing one of the elements entirely, or adding an element to this name) were felt to be more than a major change. Therefore, we are returning this name. The submitter may wish to know that simply reversing Rhys and Dafydd in this name would cause a claim of relationship with Dafydd ap Rhys (registered in October 1986), though Gwenllian ferch Dafydd seems to be clear at this time. Options the submitter may wish to consider is changing either her father's name or her grandfather's name, or adding an element (such as a descriptive byname) to this name.
This name was registered in October 2002 as Kersten an der Straße.
The bird was originally blazoned as a firebird, which is an SCA-defined charge representing a folk art design. The SCA firebird resembles a peacock. This charge is an eagle enflamed (surrounded with small tufts of flame). We have reblazoned it accordingly.
Conflict with the House of Este, and Modena, each of which is protected as important non-SCA armory, Azure, an eagle displayed argent crowned Or. There is one CD for adding the bordure but no difference for removing the crown and none for removing the small tufts of flame.
Conflict with Emrys Dragon, Gyronny Or and purpure, a dragon segreant and a bordure argent. There is one CD for changing the field, but no type or posture difference between a dragon segreant and a wyvern erect.
This household name is being returned for multiple issues.
The LoI stated that the submitter believed that Der Drachenbrüder meant 'The Fraternity/Brotherhood of the Dragon'. In this name, the only element that could be considered a designator would be the element -brüder 'fraternity/brotherhood'. As designators are transparent for conflict purposes, this name would conflict with Dragon Principal Herald (registered in December 1975 to the Middle). The designator in this heraldic title is Principal Herald. The substantive portions of these names are Drachen- and Dragon respectively, and there is insufficient difference in both look and sound between these two elements.
The LoI provided documentation for two period fraternities: Marxbruder 'Brotherhood/Fraternity of [St.] Mark' and Lux Bruder 'Brotherhood/Fraternity of [St.] Luke'. This documentation supports a construction combining a saint's name with the element -bruder or Bruder. No documentation was provided and none was found to support using 'dragon' in place of a saint's name in this construction. Lacking such evidence, this household name is not registerable.
This submission was withdrawn by Kingdom on behalf of the submitter.
This submission is an appeal of a Laurel return in April 2002, which stated:
This name is an auditory conflict with Dorchester, a market town and municipal borough and the county town of Dorsetshire, England. As Dorchester has its own entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is protected. Since designators (Shire of in this case) are transparent for conflict purposes, the only difference between Dorchester and Darchester is in the initial vowel and does not give enough difference in pronunciation between these two names.
The appeal argued that the change in the vowel was sufficient to differentiate the two names. However, by long-standing precedent, the change of a single vowel is not a sufficient difference between two names.
This branch submitted a second branch name at the same time as this appeal. They asked that, if this appeal was not accepted, that their second submission be considered. That branch name (Shire of Darton) is registered in this LoAR.
The element Castleguard was documented from the OED in 1576 as an occupational term. However, the byname of Castleguard would indicate that Castleguard were a placename, like London or York. As no evidence was presented nor could any be found that Castleguard is a reasonable placename, the byname of Castleguard is not registerable. An occupational byname using this term would be simply Castleguard.
As the submitter does not allow any changes, we cannot drop the problematic element of in order to register this name.
No documentation was presented and none was found that Silver would have been used in an English sign name. This topic was recently addressed:
The College was unable to find documentation of Silver used in an English sign name. The registration of Katriona's name states:
Given the documented bynames Whitehors, Blaklamb, Grelamb, Gragris, and Whitecou (this last meaning grey swan), we believe that a pattern of such names has been shown to be established. [Katriona Silverswan, 01/92 LoAR, A-East]
The registration requirements have changed since Katriona's registration in 1992. Lacking evidence of Silver used in an English sign name, Silverswan is not registerable. [...]
Given the examples listed in the January 1992 LoAR and those found by the College, Whiteswan would be registerable as a locative byname derived from a sign name. [Brian Silverswan, LoAR 01/2003, East-R]
Lacking evidence that Silver would have been used in a sign name in period, this household name is not registerable.
A triquetra is, by nature, made of thin lines. Because of its thin-line nature, it is very difficult to tell exactly how the the charge is divided into its three tinctures when it is divided in pall. Because the division is not clear, this must be returned by RfS VII.7.a.
Conflict with Cyneric Dracaheorte, Or, three piles two from chief and one from base gules overall a reremouse sable. There is one CD for changing the type of the overall charge. There is no difference for inverting less than half of the primary charge group (only one of a group of three piles). Note that piles in point are not given difference from piles issuant from chief and palewise, so the tilting of the outermost piles is not worth any posture or orientation difference: "[Three piles in point and an overall charge, vs. 3 piles] 'Addition of the overall charge is only one CVD' [This implies no difference between piles and piles in point] (LoAR 4/91 p.13)."
The elements in this name have a temporal disparity of more than 1000 years. Una is a Gaelic name dated to 1310 and later. Orcadiana is a locative byname referring to the Orkneys. The root of this byname is Orcades, dated to the mid-2nd C in section II.A.1 of Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Consideration of Pictish Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/pictnames). As these two elements are dated to more than a millennium apart, this name must be returned.
No evidence was presented, nor could any be found, that the Wylds is a plausible placename in period. Not all surnames of location are based on placenames; some are based on generic descriptions, such as 'woods' and 'well.' Wild appears to be this type of generic description. There is a modern placename Wild found in Ekwall, but period spellings do not include the final d, suggesting it is derived from wile, 'trick, contrivance' (such as a windmill or trap).
One pattern for naming colleges in period is to name them after the surname of their founder and benefactor; examples include Merton Colledge and Balliol Colledge, found in this form in Speed's The Counties of Britain (pp. 146-7, map of Oxfordshire, map dated 1605) This suggests that Wyld College would be a reasonable name for a college in period.
Changing the order of significant elements in a name is a major change, which the submitting branch does not allow. Therefore, we are unable to change this name to Wyld College in order to register this name.
Unfortunately, we must return this very nice device, because armory cannot be registered without a name, and holding names may not be formed for branches.
None.
This name was submitted as Angharad o'r Rhosyn ferch Rhain and changed at Kingdom to use y, as it is typically used with objects while o'r is usually used with generic locations. This name was intended to mean 'Angharad of the Rose, daughter of Rhain'.
The question was raised regarding whether a byname meaning 'of the Rose' was presumptuous, and so was not registerable. Indeed, previous precedent has ruled:
[returning the byname of the Rose] The byname [of the Rose] implies membership in the Order of the Rose as much as 'of the Laurel', 'of the Chivalry', or 'of the Pelican' imply membership in those orders. (Da'ud ibn Auda, 1/95 p. 13)
However, the point was raised that we have recently registered the bynames de la Rosa and de la Rose. Therefore, a clarification is in order.
RfS VI.1 "Names Claiming Rank" states in part:
Names containing titles, territorial claims, or allusions to rank are considered presumptuous. [...]
Names documented to have been used in period may be used, even if they were derived from titles, provided there is no suggestion of territorial claim or explicit assertion of rank. For example, Regina the Laundress is acceptable but Regina of Germany is not.
Bynames meaning 'lord', 'master', 'knight', etc., have been ruled to be presumptuous in multiple languages. The reason is that use of these bynames is an "explicit assertion of rank", which is prohibited in RfS VI.1 cited above. However, unlike Master, Knight, etc., and their associated alternate forms found in the List of Alternate Titles (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html), 'of the Rose' is not used as a title in the S.C.A., though it can be interpreted as claiming membership in the Order of the Rose. The key is whether such a byname is an "explicit assertion of rank".
Reaney & Wilson (p. 383 s.n. Rose) date Robert de la Rose to 1242 and Adam atte Rose to 1305. Bermúdez Plata, Don Cristóbal, Catálogo de Pasajeros a Indias Durante los Siglos XVI, XVII, y XVIII (vol II, p. 131, #2206) dates Francisco de la Rosa to 1535. David Herlihy, R. Burr Litchfield, Anthony Molho, and Roberto Barducci, ed., "FLORENTINE RENAISSANCE RESOURCES: Online Tratte of Office Holders 1282-1532" (http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/tratte/) lists the byname DELLAROSA. As this article normalizes bynames, this listing most likely represents the period form della Rosa. From these sources, we have documented period use of the bynames de la Rose and atte Rose in English, de la Rosa in Spanish, and della Rosa in Italian. Use of these bynames was not an "explicit assertion of rank" in period. Nor, given the number of times they have been registered without comment, both from the College of Arms during commentary and in the LoARs, use of these documented period bynames is not generally seen to be an "explicit assertion of rank" within the S.C.A. Therefore, like the given name Regina, these bynames are registerable so long as there is no suggestion of rank implied by this element in conjuction with another element in the name, or in the name as a whole.
In the case of the submitted byname in this name, the element Rhosyn was documented from a modern English-Welsh dictionary. No evidence was found that it would have been used part of a descriptive byname in Welsh in period, though Metron Ariston found evidence of a period placename of Glyn Rhosyn (http://www.wku.edu/~rob.harbison/david.html). Lacking evidence that a byname meaning 'of the Rose' existed in period Welsh, the byname y Rhosyn must be seen to be a claim to membership in the Order of the Rose and so is not registerable.
As the submitter allows no major changes, we were unable to drop the problematic byname in order to register this name.
Her armory has been registered under the holding name Angharad of Anglespur.
The charges in this submission are drawn as long staves. The heads of the staves are made of a curved hook ending in a ball and a straight point ending in a ball.
The documentation provided with the submission includes a coat of arms from Denmark (taken from the late 16th C seal of the town of Nexø) which uses a charge called a boat-hook. The charge shown in the Danish arms does not include a staff, but appears to be the head of an implement to which a staff should be attached (much like a spear-head). As a result, we have blazoned the charges in this submission as staves ending in boat-hooks rather than, simply, boat-hooks as they were originally blazoned.
In the documentation from the Danish arms, the curved part of the boat-hook is pointed at the end, and the top of the boat-hook ends in a pointed barb. The documentation also includes an undated illustration set in 1597 showing the end of a Willem Barents expedition. Lying on the ground is a staff which has an end much like a boat-hook. The end of the staff is slightly different from the boat-hook in the seal: both the curved portion and the straight portion end in a simple point. The implement is not described in the illustration or its caption.
The documentation provided does not clearly support the form of the boat-hook in this submission, with ball endings for the hook and the point at the top of the book-hook. As the defining instance of this charge, we would expect the emblazon to resemble the documentation more closely. If the implement needs pointed hooks and ends to work (like a sword needs a pointed end to work), adding a ball to the end would be an unlikely artistic variant. We would also like to see more documentation for this charge in general.
We would not hesitate to give difference between a bill-hook polearm and a staff. The visual difference between this charge and a staff is similar to the difference between a bill-hook polarm and a staff. If the boat-hook ends to these staves were drawn prominently and according to the documentation, then the staves ending in boat-hooks should have a CD from plain long staves or similar objects.
In the documentation for the byname o' Whyspering Wude, the LoI stated that the components of byname were grandfathered to the submitter. However, RfS II.5 limits grandfathered items only to the actual registered name elements. In this case, the byname of Whispering Wude is grandfathered to the submitter. Any changes to this byname negates the Grandfather Clause and causes the new name phrase, in this case o' Whyspering Wude, to be considered as a new item.
Whispering is no longer registerable as an adjective in a placename:
Submitted as Anastasia of Whispering Oaks, no evidence was presented, nor was any found, that Whispering is an adjective used in place names in period. [Anastasia of the Oaks, 10/99, A-East]
Therefore, the new locative byname o' Whyspering Wude, which is not grandfathered to the submitter, is not registerable because it contains Whyspering.
Additionally, o' is a scribal abbreviation. While the submitter may use it when writing his name, it is not registerable. The documentation provided from Shakespeare uses o' as an abbreviations, much as we use St. today to represent the word Saint.
As the submitter allows no changes, we must return this name for both of these problems.
Conflict with a badge of Juliana de Saint Denys, (Fieldless) A triquetra purpure (registered in February 2002). There is one CD for fieldlessness. However there is no difference between a triquetra and a trefoil knot. The triquetra has pointier ends than the trefoil knot, but this slight change is insufficient to give type difference between these two charges.
No documentation was presented and none was found to show that Mönggülig Ordu 'Silver Horde' is a phrase that would have been used in period Mongol. Metron Ariston explains:
[I]f memory serves, the name Golden Horde on which this is playing was not the Mongols name for themselves but was a descriptive that evolved when they moved to the West and may derived[sic] from the perceived color of their leader's tent. Nonetheless, since Golden Horde apparently was not a Mongol phrase, then one would not think that it would support a Mongol analogue.
Lacking evidence that a name meaning 'Silver Horde' is a reasonable description of a group of people in period Mongol, Mönggülig Ordu is not registerable.
Additionally, no support was found that a word meaning 'Horde' would not be presumptuous as a designator for a household name. The modern normalized terms Mongol Horde and Golden Horde both refer to period groups of people that were the size of a nation. Lacking evidence that a word meaning 'Horde' would be used to refer to a smaller group of people, it is inappropriate for use as a household name. We would not register Duchy of [placename] as a household name because it is an explicit claim of rank by the owner of the household name and, so, violates RfS VI.1 "Names Claiming Rank". Similarly, without documentation supporting use of a word meaning 'Horde' for groups smaller than a nation, use of a word meaning 'Horde' as the designator in a household name is an explicit claim of rank in the same way as Duchy, violating RfS VI.1.
The submitter requested an authentic name for 14th to 16th C Polish with the meaning 'John the elder, who travels'. There are two problems with this name. First, no documentation was presented and none was found to support two descriptive bynames in Polish. Second, no evidence was found to support any form of Podró{z.}nika as a plausible byname in period.
Nebuly found information information regarding the elements in this name:
The name Jan (John) appears in Polish at least as early as 1202 (SSNO, s.n. Jan), and is one of the most common Polish names for the next several centuries. Rymut documents Starszy to 1417 (s.n. Stary), and it does mean "the elder/older" as given in the LoI.
The word podró{z dot above}nika is the feminine form of podró{z dot above}nik, and so is grammatically out of place in an otherwise masculine name. I can find no evidence that this was a period byname, and think it unlikely a person would be known by two descriptive bynames. The only byname I've found with the submitter's intended meaning is Wandrownyk (SSNO, s.n. W{e,}drownik), but again I think the name "The older John, the wanderer" is unlikely for having two descriptive bynames.
This name would be registerable as Jan Starszy 'John the elder' or as Jan Wandrownyk 'John the wanderer'. However, both of these options are major changes. As the submitter did not allow major changes, we must return this name.
His armory has been registered under the holding name Jan of the East.
The three towers would default, given this blazon, to lie in chief. However, they are arranged somewhere between in chief and one and two. This arrangement is not blazonable and thus is not acceptable by RfS VII.7.b.
Please also advise the submitter to draw the chevron wider and the fleur-de-lys larger.
The ford is drawn with the blue stripe to chief, lying entirely against the vert pile inverted. This has insufficient contrast, as the remainder of the ford does not have enough stripes to clearly identify it as a ford. If the ford were drawn with two more stripes, or if the pile issued from the center of the ford (so that the top stripe on the ford laid partially against the field), there would not be a problem with having the blue stripe at the top of the ford.
The College had some questions about the way that the bottom of the ford extends exactly across the bottom of the pile inverted. As a general rule, we would expect a pile inverted to be somewhat thinner and thus issue from the center of the ford, rather than extend all the way across the ford.
Conflict with the Holy Roman Empire, Or, a double-headed eagle displayed sable (sometimes crowned, sometimes also nimbed Or). Because the raven displayed has equal visual weight with the axes, all three are co-primary charges. There is therefore one CD for adding the co-primary axes. There is no type difference given between a raven displayed and a double-headed eagle displayed: "[a raven displayed vs. an eagle displayed] Even though ravens and eagles were different birds in period, only eagles were ever displayed. Therefore there is not a CD for type" (LoAR November 1999; see also the extensive discussion in the Cover Letter for the January 2000 LoAR). There is also no difference for the number of heads: "...(not too dissimilarly to not granting a CVD for the difference between an eagle and a double-headed eagle)" (LoAR October 1990 p.14).
Pineapples are new world flora and thus considered a step from period style (a "weirdness"): "New World flora and fauna... are a discouraged weirdness, but registerable" (LoAR of August 1999). It appears that having a two-sided ordinary (like a bend) with a complex line on only the lower side of the bend should also be considered a "weirdness": "The only period examples of treating one side of an ordinary which were noted was that of embattling the upper edge of an ordinary" (LoAR of November 1990 p. 15). As a result, the armory has two steps from period style armory ("two weirdnesses") and is stylistically unacceptable.
In addition, the submitter should be advised that the engrailed line should be drawn with deeper and fewer engrailings.
The ermine spots are too small to be identifiable. The size derives in part from the very high number of ermine spots (approximately 88). As the ermine spots cannot be identified, this must be returned under RfS VIII.3.
Based on the disposition of ermine spots on similar charges in period armory (such as cinquefoils), we would expect there to be 7-13 ermine spots on the average fleur-de-lys used as a primary charge. We would also expect the ermine spots to be whole ermine spots, rather than cut off at the edge of the charge. As a general rule, ermine spots drawn on charges were usually whole spots arranged to fit well on the charge (even if some of the ermine spots needed to be made a bit smaller than usual, or tilted slightly, to fit in their alloted spaces). In contrast to the practices for ermine spots on charges, ermine spots on fields in period were not infrequently drawn with the spots cut off at the edge of the shield or at the edge of an overlying charge.
The submitter requested authenticity for late 1500's Persia and allowed no major changes.
Roxana was documented as a modern rendering of the name of Alexander the Great's wife, who was Bactrian by birth and who died in 311 B.C. Regarding the submitted given name Roxana, the LoI also cited the precedent:
While we do not find this a very likely name, since the stories of Alexander the Great were so popular during the middle ages (Alexander was one of the Nine Worthies), and since there is documented evidence of taking names from Arthuriana, we are giving the submitter the benefit of the doubt. (Roxanne O'Malley, 10/96 p. 7)
The "documented evidence of taking names from Arthuriana" is for Western European languages, specifically French and English, not Middle Eastern languages. In the case cited above, Roxanne was registered as an English rendering of this name used in literary sources. Lacking evidence of a pattern of taking names from literature in Middle Eastern languages, and that Roxana is a Middle Eastern form of this name, Roxana is not registerable as a Middle Eastern given name. Siren found what seems to be a non-modernized form of this name:
[T]he lady was from the general Persian area (Bactria). An academic website (http://faculty.winthrop.edu/haynese/syll/notes/331/PERSIA.html) gives what seems to be a non-modernized version of her name as <Roshanak>.
Given this documentation, Roshanak is a feminine given name appropriate for 4th C B.C. Persia or Bactria. The submitted documentation does not address what forms of this name were used in period English literature. It would be those forms that would be registerable as English names under the literary name allowance.
The byname Farabi was documented as a modern rendering of the Arabic byname al-Farabi dated to A. D. 950/951. al-Jamal found information regarding this byname:
Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Farabi (cited in the Fihrist of al-Nadim, vol. 2, p. 985), was "the distinguished philosopher and scholar of Greek learning, who lived at Baghdad but died at Damascus, 950/951, when 80 years old." The period form of his byname is al-Farabi; further, it is the masculine form. It would not have been used in Arabic in period without the article ("al-"), and it would not have been used in this form by a female (the feminine form would have been al-Farabiyya(h)) [...].
I don't trust the form (Abunasr Farabi) given by the website as the name for the Persian musician in pre-Islamic times; the name sounds more Arabic than Persian (the two languages are in fact fairly distinct), and their respective naming practices were dissimilar. As only one example, the Arabic form of the Persian Omar Khayyam's name is 'Umar al-Khayyami. Nor do I believe that Persian used abu ("father of") before the Arab conquest. Because of all this, I believe that the form of the name cited here, Abunasr Farabi, is a modern rather than a period form.
Siren also found information regarding this byname:
[...] <Abu Nasr> or <Abunasr>, as the website gives, is a name that is Arabic in form and content, not Persian, and <al-Farabi> the same - it also appears to be a locative (from Farab in Turkistan), and so would need to be feminized.
From this information, al-Farabiyya and al-Farabiyyah would be feminine forms of this Arabic byname appropriate for the mid-10th C. If the submitted byname Farabi were corrected to a period feminine form, then this name would combine a 10th C Arabic byname with a given name documented as a modern English rendering of a 4th C B.C. given name.
With the best will in the world we were unable to discern whether these compass stars should be vert or azure. They did at first appear to be vert, but the blazon has them as azure and it does appear that, perhaps, they were originally vert and colored over with an azure marker. Because the tincture cannot adequately be determined, this must be returned under RfS VII.7.a.
The mini-emblazon clearly depicts some sort of saltire and bordure that are not present in the full-sized emblazon or in the mini-emblazon on that form. All but one of the members of the College who commented on this device assumed that there was some sort of saltire and bordure on the emblazon. They thus believed that they were not able to adequately research the submission. In addition, because the College did not receive a mini-emblazon that closely resembled the submission, they could not adequately comment on the depiction of the submission at hand. This must therefore be returned. The Cover Letter for the April 2002 LoAR stated:
In the last few months, there have been cases where the mini-emblazon included with the Letter of Intent did not accurately represent the emblazon on the submission form. If the emblazon does not match the form, the CoA cannot produce useful commentary, which in turn does not allow a decision on that item. The CoA has enough to review without commenting on the "wrong" item. A mismatch between the LoI emblazon and what is on the submission form can be reason for administrative return. If you produce LoIs, please double-check that the mini-emblazons on your letters are a good representation of the emblazons on the submission forms.
Photoreduction is recommended over redrawing. Scanning can be used with care. Many complaints have been received about mini-emblazons which were produced by scanning at inappropriate settings, rendering elements of the armory invisible or otherwise unidentifiable.
This armory consists of a single group of charges (effectively, a sheaf of charges) consisting of three separate types of charge: roundel, wings, and lightning bolts. This is thus overcomplex by RfS VIII.1.a.
The odd arrangement of the wings and the bezant was commented on by a number of College members. Usually a winged object is winged with two displayed wings. Here the rotary nature of the wings' arrangement is unusual, and required a somewhat convoluted blazon as a result. We advise the submitter to consider designing the winged roundel in a more conventional fashion on his resubmission.
This name conflicts with Finns, the Swedish word for the ethnic group predominant over most of Finland, which has its own entry in the 1975 Funk & Wagnalls encyclopedia. Designators, such as Clan, are transparent for conflict purposes. There is insufficient difference in both sound and appearance between Finn and Finns.
As this name was documented as Irish Gaelic, the submitter may also wish to know that while Clan Finn is an appropriate form for Anglicized Irish, the grammatically correct form of this name in Gaelic is Clann Fhinn. The submitter may clear this conflict by changing the name Finn to another name or by adding an element that would describe Finn. For example, if Finn had red hair, a clan named for him could be Clann Fhinn Ruaidh, literally 'children [of] Red Finn'. If Finn was a large man, the clan would be Clann Fhinn Mhóir, 'children [of] Big/Great Finn'. The corresponding forms of these names in Anglicized Irish would be Clan Finn Roe and Clan Finn More. Examples of this type of construction may be seen in bynames found in Woulfe (p. 348 s.n. Mac Dáibhidh Mór, p. 350 s.n. Mac Diarmada Ruadh, p. 477 s.n. Ó Conchobhair Donn).
The sun is drawn in a non-heraldic tincture. While it was blazoned as purpure, the sun is bright pink on its disk and in half of its rays, and purple in the remaining rays. Bright pink is not an acceptable heraldic tincture, as it is not a standard period variant of any of the heraldic tinctures, and it specifically blurs the distinction between gules and purpure. This may not be accepted by RfS VII.7.a.
Please advise the submitter to make the primary leopards a bit larger in proportion to the secondary sun and mullet.
Some members of the College of Arms asked if it was acceptable to have a the mullet and the sun in the same charge group, or whether this was a "sword and dagger" problem. A mullet of five points is a heraldically distinct charge from a sun. The two are not possible artistic variants of each other (unlike a sword and a dagger, or a dragon and a wyvern). As a result, there is no problem having a charge group which incorporates both a sun and a mullet of five points.
The submission was withdrawn by Kingdom on behalf of the submitter.
The submission was withdrawn by Kingdom on behalf of the submitter.
The submission was withdrawn by Kingdom on behalf of the submitter.
As submitted this name claims relationship with Uilleam MacLeòid (registered in January 1997), and so violates RfS VI.3 Names Claiming Specific Relationships, which states in part, "Names that unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person [...] will generally not be registered." As the submitter does not allow changes, we were unable to modify this name to remove the claim of close relationship, in order to register this name.
Conflict with Abraham ben Aaron, Gules, two Sassanian horned winged demi-lions statant addorsed conjoined Or. The monster so formed is almost identical to an amphisbaena. There is thus only one CD for adding the secondary anvils.
The College should note that the Kingdom of the West released its badge Gules an amphisbaena Or in July 1988.
Conflict with Ayslynn MacGuraran, Azure, a snowy owl affronty proper grasping in its dexter talon three roses Or, slipped and leaved vert, and in its sinister talon two of the same, within an orle Or. There is one CD for changing the field. "There is not a CD between an owl close guardant and an owl close affronty" (LoAR of October 2000). The same applies to an owl close guardant contourny (as in this submission) and an owl close affronty (as in Ayslynn's device). There is no difference for removing the small held charges.
Conflict with Alyanora of Vinca, Argent, a periwinkle proper. Periwinkles are effectively cinquefoils and given no type difference from cinquefoils. There is no tincture difference: per the September 1996 LoAR, "The tincture of the periwinkle is somewhere between blue [and] purple, and therefore both azure and purpure flowers could potentially conflict with it."
We have blazoned the cinquefoil as pierced because we believe that it is standard SCA practice to blazon this detail. Piercing of cinquefoils was likely due to artistic license in some portions of our period, and is not worth difference.
Conflict with Diolach Macaree, reblazoned in the Æthelmearc section of this LoAR as Argent, a python glissant palewise wings displayed vert maintaining in its mouth a rose azure slipped and leaved vert. There is one CD for changing the field. There is no difference for removing the small maintained rose. There is no difference given between bird-winged and bat-winged serpents: "[a winged serpent vs a bat-winged tree python] The change to the type of wings is too slight to count for the necessary second [CD]." [i.e. there is not a significant difference between a bird-winged and a bat-winged creature] (LoAR January 1995 p. 14). In considering this ruling, it is worth remembering the fact that the wyvern, a closely related monster, was often drawn with bird wings in early heraldic art.
The device conflicts with the Barony of Wastekeep, Per pall Or, argent and azure, a laurel wreath vert, a tree blasted and eradicated sable, and a grey granite tower proper. There is a single CD by RfS X.4.e for changing the type of the charges, but not sufficient difference under RfS X.2. That rule states that "Simple armory does not conflict with other simple armory if the type of every primary charge is substantially changed... For purposes of this rule, simple armory is defined as armory that has no more than two types of charge directly on the field and has no overall charges." The armory under submission is simple, but the Barony of Wastekeep's armory is not simple, as it has three types of charge directly on the field. As RfS X.2 cannot be used to call these two pieces of armory clear, we are forced to fall back on RfS X.4 for further analysis. RfS X.4.a does not give a CD for changing only one-third of the field tincture.
There is no difference for changing the tincture of the charge group. A grey granite tower proper is effectively argent, so only one-third of the charge group has changed in tincture (the charge in chief).
On resubmission, the submitter should be careful to avoid conflict with the following armory: Duibheasa ní Chéileacháin, Per pale argent and sable, two wolves sejant respectant ululant, in chief a roundel all counterchanged, and Marina of Vinewood, Per pall azure, argent and sable, a sprig of grape vine argent and two dogs salient respectant counterchanged.
This name is being returned for combining a Welsh given name with a Hungarian descriptive byname. al-Jamal addressed the documentation for Welsh-Hungarian contact provided in the LoI:
The closest to real documentation for a combination Welsh/Hungarian name that the LoI comes is a statement about the plausibility of an assumption "that there was, at least one, Welshman who went on Crusade to Jerusalem amongst the plethora of English" or "that there was, at least one, Welshman who went on Pilgrimage to the Holy Land ... most likely via Hungary", and alluding to the presence of the Benedictine Order in both the British Isles and in Hungary (without taking into consideration at all the likely or even possible nationality of its members). RfS III.1. states that: "As a rule of thumb, languages should be used together only if there was substantial contact between the cultures that spoke those languages...." (Emphasis added) Assumptions, even without arguing their plausibility, are not evidence of "substantial contact".
Lacking evidence that Welsh and Hungarian cultures had substantial contact, this name is not registerable.
Additionally, no documentation was provided and none was found to support Nevetség(es) as a plausible Hungarian byname in period. Nebuly explains:
Does Nevetség mean "foolish, harlequin, laughable?" The LoI has documented its translation using a Finnish web site, which is not necessarily the best option. A better source is the respected Hungarian-English dictionary by Magay & Országh, who translate nevetség as a noun meaning "jeering, mockery, derision," with related expressions relating to ridicule.
There is no suggestion here that this word could refer to a harlequin, and so it is not equivalent to the LoI's translation as jester/joker. It should be noted that the LoI has actually given the translation of the adjectival form nevetséges, meaning "ridiculous, laughable, funny." Neither form appears as a byname in Kázmér's Dictionary of Old Hungarian Surnames, nor is there any byname listed there from this root. I have not found a period byname with the submitter's (apparent) desired meaning, and there may not be a Hungarian word meaning jester. Országh does give udvari bolond as the translation for "jester", and that phrase means "court madman." The closest period byname that I find is Bolond, a word that can mean jester, but that Kázmér translates as "lunatic, madman."
Lacking evidence that Nevetség(es) is a plausible period Hungarian word, much less a plausible period Hungarian byname, Nevetség(es) is not registerable.
The triquetras are not drawn correctly. Triquetras are thin-line charges made of a single interlaced strand, like a three-lobed knot. (The triquetra is given no difference from a trefoil knot; it merely has more pointed ends than the trefoil knot.) As with a knot, the underlying field or charge shows through the loops made by the strand of a correctly drawn triquetra. In this submission, the triquetras are some sort of solid charge: both the strand making up the triquetra and the inside of the triquetra's loops are argent. Because these charges cannot be identified as heraldic charges or recreated from a blazon, they must be returned by RfS VII.7.a.
The chevron inverted issues from the top corners of the shield and only extends about halfway down the field, so that it lies almost entirely in the top half of the field. This is not an acceptable depiction of a chevron inverted. As a general rule, chevrons inverted issue from the sides of the shield. One might posit that it could be acceptable for a chevron inverted to issue from the chief corners of the field, because in some displays of armory using chevrons in period on a square form of display (a banner or a square quarter), the chevron issues from the bottom corners of the field. However, the chevrons in those period examples still effectively bisect the field. The chevron inverted in this submission is too high on the field to bisect the field. This is therefore not an acceptable depiction of a chevron inverted.
Her previous armory used a chevron inverted as well, but it was drawn issuing from the sides of the shield and it bisected the field. Thus, this depiction of the chevron inverted is not grandfathered to this submitter.
Conflict with William of Sark, Sable, a flame proper. William's armory is heraldically equivalent to Sable, on a flame Or a flame gules. As a result, there is one CD for changing the field but no other difference for changing only the type of tertiary charge on a complex-outlined flame by X.4.j.ii.
Conflict with Arabella Lyon de Rohese, Gules, a lion couchant guardant Or, on a chief Or three cinquefoils gules. There is a CD for embattling the chief. There is no difference for the minor posture changes to the lion (affecting only the head). In order to get a CD for changing type only of tertiary charges under RfS X.4.j.ii, it is necessary to show substantial change in type of the tertiary charges. The difference in type between the various sorts of foils can be significant, but it cannot be substantial. Thus, there is no difference for changing the type only of charges on the chief.
The LoI stated that this name was submitted as an "[i]nvented name meaning Shire of the Dawn Star". No documentation was provided and none was found that a placename meaning 'Dawn Star' is plausible as an Italian placename in period. Lacking such evidence, this name must be returned as it does not comply with RfS III.2.b.i, Branch Names, which states "Names of branches must follow the patterns of period place-names".
None.
The fret was not blazoned as Or on the letter of intent, leading the College to do its conflict research as if if the fret were argent. This must be pended for further research.
Please advise the submitter to draw the roses larger.
(This submission was item number 17 on the East's Letter of Intent of November 24, 2002.)
Created at 2003-06-26T23:39:56