This is clear of conflict with Arwenna of Kelsley, reblazoned in the Midrealm section of this LoAR as Per chevron inverted ployé throughout argent and azure, a mullet of eight points and two arrows inverted in pile counterchanged. There is no difference between two arrows inverted in chevron inverted and two arrows inverted in pile. Per the November 1995 LoAR, "There is ... a CD for the change to the field and another for changing the type and tincture of the primary charge group on one side of the line of division, even though numerically this is not 'one half' of the primary charge group. For a fuller discussion of this precedent granting a CD for two changes to charges on one side of a line of division even when less than half the charge group is affected, see the December 21, 1991 Cover Letter (with the November 1991 LoAR)." There is thus one CD for changing the field, and a second CD for changing the type and tincture of the portion of the primary group that lies on the chiefmost side of the line of division (from a mullet of eight points azure to a cinquefoil Or).
Note that the precedent quoted above refers to fields that are split into two pieces by a single line of division. Thus, that precedent pertains to this armorial comparison, where both fields are split in two by a single, per chevron inverted, line of division. However, the 1995 precedent does not apply to field divisions that split the field into more than two pieces, such as quarterly, per saltire, or per pall. The submitting kingdom quoted a precedent in the Letter of Intent from September 1999. Because the 1999 ruling addresses a per pall field, which is not addressed by the 1995 precedent, the 1999 precedent neither supports nor overturns the 1995 precedent cited above: "[Per pall sable, vert and argent, in pale two swords crossed in saltire argent and a cat's paw print counterchanged.] Conflict with ... Per fess embattled vert and argent, in pale two swords in saltire and a compass star counterchanged. There is one CD for the changes to the field, but none for change in type and tincture for only one of three of the primary charges (as they are not arranged two and one)" (LoAR September 1999).
Nice device!
Listed on the LoI as Hrefna in heppna Þorgímsdóttir, this name was submitted as Hrefna in heppna Þorgrímsdóttir. We have made this correction.
Her previous name, Raven Jäde vom Schwarzwald, is released.
Submitted as Lasairiona inghean Uilliam na Seoltadh, the submitter requested authenticity for 1600s Irish. No evidence was found that Lasairíona (with or without the accent) was used in period. The spelling shift from the Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form Lasairfhíona to the Modern Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form Lasairíona is typical of the shift from Early Modern Gaelic to Modern Gaelic, which occurred around 1700. Lacking evidence that Lasairíona was used in period, we have changed the given name to the documented form Lasairfhíona, in order to register this name and to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
The previous blazon, Gules, a baby sea-loat proper, did not clearly indicate the tincture or the posture of the charge. The sea-loat is an SCA-invented monster. The baby sea-loat resembles a six-legged calf with finned ears, a finned paddle-like tail, and very small horns on its nose.
The previous blazon, (Fieldless) A bear statant erect reguardant contourny supporting a berdiche argent, did not indicate which way the berdiche was facing.
His previous name, Alexandros Dietrick vom Einhornwald, is released.
Submitted as Charles Le Cervoisier d'Alsace, the combination of bynames Le Cervoisier d'Alsace 'the brewer of Alsace' falls afoul of RfS VI.1, "Names Claiming Rank", which states in part:
In some cases, use of an otherwise inoffensive occupational surname in a territorial context may make it appear to be a title or rank, such as John the Bard of Armagh or Peter Abbot of St. Giles.
As the submitter allows any changes, we have reversed the order of the bynames to address this issue. We have also lowercased le in the byname le Cervoisier in order to match documented forms.
Her previous device, Quarterly sable and Or, in pale an arrow fesswise and a flame counterchanged, is transferred to Grimvér Longtooth, as noted later in the Ansteorra acceptances section of this LoAR.
Submitted as Baltesar de Gôa, no evidence was presented, nor could any be found, that the character ô was used in Portuguese before 1600. Siren provided evidence that the spelling Goa was used in period:
In 1512, the Spaniard Martin Fernandez de Figueroa published a book about his travels in the Portuguese Indies, published in English (together with a reproduction and trancription of the original Spanish) as A Spaniard in the Portuguese Indies. In the text, the place is spelled <Guoa> and <Goa>. Even today, the spelling <Goa> seems to be preferred in Portuguese, at least according to my Harper Collins English-Portuguese dictionary. Given this, it should probably be registered as <Goa>.
Lacking evidence that the character ô was used in Portuguese in period, we have registered this name in the period form Goa found by Siren.
Submitted as Matheus Mac Tavish Mak Mychell, the submitter allowed minor changes.
All examples found of Scots names having two Mac bynames either (1) used the same spelling for both forms of Mac, or (2) used a V spelling for the second particle - representing the pronunciation of the lenitied form mhic that appears in Gaelic.
Some examples of this construction may be found in Black: (p. 451 s.n. MacAllan) dates Alexander roy McAllane McReynald and Innes McAllane McRenald to 1541, (p. 556 s.n. MacPhail) Maria M'Kane M'Fale to 1548, (p. 566 s.n. MacThomas) Aye M'Ane M'Thomas to 1543, and (p. 570 s.n. MacWerich) John M'Patrik M'Vyrricht to 1573.
Based on these examples, we have changed both particles in this name to Mc- in order to register this name.
While Black (s.n. MacTavish) dates a number of forms of this byname to period, none show the submitted spelling Tavish. Lacking evidence that this is a plausible period form, we have changed the byname to use the form McTaevis, which is dated to 1515 in this entry.
The submitter documented the name Olivia from Withycombe (s.n. Olive). However, this entry only supports Olivia as a literary name in period used by Shakespeare in his play Twelfth Night. As this play was first performed in 1599-1600, Olivia is registerable under the guidelines for using names from literary sources found in the Cover Letter to the February 1999 LoAR.
We have received the occasional comment asking whether the charges in an orle of [charges] are conjoined by default. They are not. By default an orle of [charges] is an unnumbered group of charges (generally, eight or more charges) that are arranged in orle. Each individual charge is in its default posture unless otherwise blazoned. The arms of the Valence family (sometime earls of Pembroke) are, perhaps, the best-known example of this sort of design in real-world armory. Their arms are protected as important non-SCA arms as Barruly argent and azure, an orle of martlets gules.
In a charge group blazoned as An orle of [charges] in orle, the charges are arranged in orle and the postures of the charges tilt so that they follow each other. Thus, an orle of fish naiant would all be in the default naiant (fesswise) posture, but an orle of fish naiant in orle swim head to tail.
This was pended from the February 2002 LoAR for clarification of a confusing blazon.
There were some questions in the commentary about whether it was necessary to explicitly blazon the arrangement of the charges on the top half of the field. Note that charges on the top half of a field divided in a roughly horizontal fashion (per fess or per chevron) will have the charges in a horizontal row in chief by default.
The Cover Letter for the LoAR of October 2000 gives substantial discussion of "medium contrast" fields, defined there as fields "divided so that half was a solid color and half was evenly divided between color and metal." Such fields are, given the Cover Letter discussion, clearly acceptable as long as the charges on them have acceptable contrast (which is the main topic of discussion in the Cover Letter). By the guidelines in the Cover Letter for the October 2000 LoAR, in this submission, both the field and the charges upon it have acceptable contrast.
The fleur-de-lys was originally blazoned as florency but the SCA does not blazon this sort of artistic detail. Per the Cover Letter for the June 1993 LoAR (dated July 1993):
Occasionally, the very diversity of the Society dictates that some details shouldn't be blazoned. For instance, we don't normally blazon the local drawing style: a fleur-de-lys is blazoned a fleur-de-lys, whether drawn in the Italian style (sometimes blazoned a fleur-de-lys florencée by modern heralds) or the French style. In this way, we permit the broadest mix of cultures; we don't micro-manage the scribes, but allow them the fullest creativity and expression; and we make it possible for someone to change persona without requiring a reblazon.
The submitter should be advised to draw fewer and larger dovetails on the chevron.
The submitter requested authenticity for 10th C Welsh and allowed any changes.
There was some discussion whether the byname map Guoillauc was properly constructed or whether the byname should use the Latin filius 'son', as described in Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "The First Thousand Years of British Names" (http//www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/british1000/). Harpy provided information about the use of filius and map in records from this era:
On the matter of <map>, it's certainly true that written records of this era overwhelmingly use Latin patronymic markers, on the other hand, if the client wants the vernacular form (which is certainly more likely to reflect spoken practice), it can be supported by rare examples such as the Harleian MS 3859 genealogies (in Bartrum EWGT), composed in the 10th century, which use <map> and <merch>.
Based on this information, we have registered this name in the submitted form.
The bird in chief was originally blazoned as a dove. However, it lacks the tuft at the back of the head, which is the defining characteristic of a heraldic dove. It also has some characteristics that are not found in heraldic doves: it has a deeply forked swallow-tail. Because the type of bird is not clearly apparent, we have reblazoned it as a generic bird.
Listed on the LoI as Rosamund Blanchflur, this name was submitted as Rosamund Blaunchflur. We have made this correction.
Good name!
Submitted as Tukka Kirk, there were issues with the documentation for Tukka and with the combination of languages in this name.
The given name Tukka was documented from Reaney & Wilson (p. 456 s.n. Tuck). However, this entry gives no dated examples of Tukka. Instead, this entry states, "... the frequent occurrence of the personal name in the 12th and 13th centuries suggests that we have an Anglo-Scand. *Tukka, a pet-form of ON Þorketil." None of the dated forms listed in this entry end in an a. Metron Ariston explains the notation in this entry, "[T]he discussion in the location cited in Reaney and Wilson [s.n. Tuck] presumes an unattested Tukka derived from the Old Norse. (The asterisk is a dead giveaway!)"
Adding to the uncertainty of the form Tukka theorized by Reaney & Wilson is the information in Bardsley (s.n. Tuck), which cites Toka from a Latin entry in the Domesday Book: "'liber homo Stigandi Toka Francigine' (?Toka the Frenchman)".
Based on this information, Tukka is, at best, an unattested Old English name formed as a diminutive of an Old Norse name. The byname Kirk was documented as appropriate for 15th to 16th C Scots (a language closely related to English). Combining Old English and Scots in a name has been previously been ruled to be reason for return (Dunno Jamesson, LoAR of March 2002).
Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Tuck) date Tukke faber to 1101-7. As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the given name to the Middle English Tukke in order to register this name. The submitter may wish to know that, since a final e is not silent in Middle English, the form Tukke would be pronounced approximately "TUH-keh" - fairly similar to a modern pronunciation of Tukka.
Submitted under the name Áine inghean Fhathaigh.
This name was submitted as Ainnir of Hidden Mountain. The byname was changed at Kingdom because this branch name was registered as Barony of the Hidden Mountain in October of 1985.
There was some question whether the originally submitted form of this byname is registerable. Names of SCA branches are only automatically registerable in locative bynames in the forms in which the branch name was registered, as can be seen in the ruling:
The name was submitted as Kate{rv}ina of the Bright Hills. The barony's name, however, was registered without the article, so it should not be used here either. [Kate{rv}ina of Bright Hills, LoAR 06/1999, A-Atlantia]
As the branch name was registered as Barony of the Hidden Mountain, the locative byname that is automatically registerable based on this branch name is of the Hidden Mountain, not of Hidden Mountain.
The submitter requested authenticity for 15th C Florence and allowed minor changes. There was considerable discussion regarding the submitted byname degli Albizzi. Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "Names from Arezzo, Italy, 1386-1528" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/arezzofam.html) lists the byname degli Albizi as appearing three times in this data. 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 ALBIZZI. As this article normalizes bynames, this listing most likely represents the period form Albizzi. Based on these examples, the submitted form seems reasonable for 15th C Florence.
The submitter requested authenticity for English, if possible. Lacking evidence that any form of the Gaelic Caoilinn was used in English, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested language.
The submitter requested authenticity for 14th to 16th C English. Davis was used as a surname in period. It is registerable as a given name in this submission because it is the submitter's legal given name. Lacking evidence that Davis was used as a given name in period, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time period.
This name is close to, but clear of, the submitter's modern name Davis Rowell. Conflict between a submitter's modern name and SCA name is held to a different standard of conflict than between two SCA names. The difference required between a submitter's modern name and SCA name is specified in the Administrative Handbook III.A.9:
Name Used by the Submitter Outside the Society - No name will be registered to a submitter if it is identical to a name used by the submitter for purposes of identification outside of a Society context. This includes legal names, common use names, trademarks and other items registered with mundane authorities that serve to identify an individual or group. This restriction is intended to help preserve a distinction between a submitter's identity within the Society and his or her identity outside of the Society. A small change in the name is sufficient for registration, such as the addition of a syllable or a spelling change that changes the pronunciation. However, a change to spelling without a change in pronunciation is not sufficient. For example, Alan Miller could not register the name Alan Miller or Allan Miller but he could register the name Alan the Miller. Further, submitters may register either a name or armory which is a close variant of a name or insignia they use outside the Society, but not both.
Similarly, the current submission is clear of the submitter's modern name by addition of the syllable de.
The chief is drawn with the minimum acceptable number of embattlements. There are three embattlements pointing out from the chief, and the two outermost embattlements touch the side of the shield, so there are three "down" and two "up", and the outside edges of the two outside "down" embattlements touch the sides of the shield. This would also be acceptable if there were three "up" and two "down." Usually, however, an embattled chief would be drawn with two more embattlements (so, for example, three "down" and four "up").
Please advise the submitter to draw fewer and larger ermine spots. See the July 2003 LoAR for descriptions of how some ermine chiefs were drawn in period.
Submitted as Elena Fredereva, Fredereva was submitted as a constructed patronymic byname formed from the masculine given name Freder. Nebuly found that the correct byname form is Frederova:
The byname should be spelled Frederova; this is explained in Wickenden (p xxii, current edition). The -ov(a) ending follows a hard consonant, while -ev(a) follows a soft consonant. If you don't know whether the name Freder ends in a hard or soft consonant, you can note that Federova is dated to 1596 (ibid, s.n. Feodor), and that all but the weirdest variant spellings also take -ov(a) for the patronymic.
We have corrected the byname to Frederova in order to register this name.
Submitted as Gobbán Fahy, the submitter allows any changes. As submitted, this name combined Gobbán, which is an Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) or Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form, with Fahy, which is an Anglicized Irish form. Woulfe (p. 522 s.n. Ó Fathaigh) dates the Anglicized Irish form O Fahy to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. Therefore, the submitted form of this name contained two weirdnesses: one weirdness for combining Gaelic and Anglicized Irish in the same name and one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. We have changed the given name to the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form Gobán in order to remove the temporal disparity and register this name.
Please advise the submitter to draw the leonine parts of the sea-lion more clearly.
Period comets are drawn with a wide variety of head shapes, as noted in Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme's article "Blazoning Comets and Sparks" (1989 Caidan Heraldic Symposium Proceedings). The submitting barony's device has a compass star as its primary charge, so it seemed appropriate to accede to their request to blazon the shape of the head of the comet explicitly.
Submitted as Ingeborg í Trondheim, the submitter requested authenticity for 11th to 13th C "Viking-Old Norse-Norway/Sweden" and allowed any changes. Metron Ariston found information about the names used to refer to this location over time:
While Trondheim was apparently founded by Olaf Tryggvason in 997 (www.trondheim.com), the form of the name used here appears to be modern Norwegian rather than a period form and means "in Trondheim" rather than "from Trondheim". (In modern Norwegian the preposition for from is fra.) An article cited at http://www.samlaget.no/maalogminne/1_98/saman198.html notes a 1930 monograph by Didrik Arup Seip entitled "Trondhjems bynavn" that indicates that the earliest forms of the name of the town are Þrándheimr and Kaupangr and that after 1180-90 Niðaróss became the official name of the city. It is very clear from many web pages and written sources that in the period that the given name applies to the name of the city was Niðaróss [sic]. (It apparently only became Trondheim in the nationalizing phase after period, based on the earlier Þrándheimr.).
Lindorm Eriksson's article "The Bynames of the Viking Age Runic Inscriptions" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/lindorm/runicbynames/places.htm) lists a number of personal names that include locative bynames. The majority of these use í 'in, within' as the particle. In locative bynames that use í, the placename takes the dative case. The form Þrándheimr found by Metron Ariston is a nominative case. Gunnvör silfrahárr found an example of the dative case in Hálfdanar saga Eysteinssonar (Netútgáfan Web site, http://www.snerpa.is/net/forn/half-e.htm), where chapter 25 "is titled, '25. Hálfdan tók ríki í Þrándheimi'".
Based on this information, we have changed the byname in this submission to í Þrándheimi in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
This submission was pended from the January 2003 LoAR for an incorrect tincture. This ruling was inadvertently left off the August 2003 LoAR.
Kim was submitted under the Legal Name Allowance. No photocopy of a legal form of ID was included with this submission to support Kim as her legal given name.
The submission included a printout of a note from a herald whose name is not included in this printout. It is impossible to tell who wrote this note by looking only at the printout, though the LoI noted the name of the herald who saw the ID, so he is presumably the author of this note. However, this note does not list the submitter's full name - only noting that Kim is "her given name". As Kim is often a nickname for Kimberly, there was some question in the commentary which of these was her given name. In cases where a documentation for the Legal Name Allowance is provided without a photocopy, the question of a nickname versus a legal name is one reason that the submitter's full legal name should be written down at the time that the herald is viewing the ID.
In this case, we are giving the submitter the benefit of the doubt and are registering her name.
Please see the Cover Letter accompanying this LoAR for more information about required documentation for the Legal Name Allowance.
Please advise the submitter to draw the holly larger and to draw the fess wavy more evenly.
This name does not conflict with Marion Ross, an actress who portrayed Mrs. Cunningham on the TV series Happy Days. We protect well-known figures who have become prominent too recently to appear with their own entries in standard sources under section III.A.3 of the Administrative Handbook, which states: "The names of famous individuals who do not appear in standard references due to the age and scope of these works may also be protected on a case by case basis." However, in the case of Marion Ross, the majority of commenters did not either recognize this actress's name or did not call this as a conflict. In previous cases such as Rosie O'Donnell (Rós O'Donnell, Æthelmearc returns, LoAR of October 2002) and Patrick McManus (Patrick MacManus, Atlantia returns, LoAR of March 1992), the recently-prominent famous individuals that have been protected were prominent enough that an overwhelming majority of the College immediately recognized the name in question and called the conflict. Such was not the case with Marion Ross. Therefore, while she is known, she is not prominent enough to protect.
Listed on the LoI as Meurig Oglyn, the form listed this name as Meuric Orglyn. The given name was changed at Kingdom to match a documented form. Metron Ariston found that:
Reaney and Wilson (Dictionary of English Surnames, s.n. Merrick) show Meurich filius Rogeri from 1187, Meuricus from 1207 and Jeuan Eigon ap Meuric from 1391.
Given these examples, the submitted form Meuric is reasonable as a given name.
No documentation was presented and none was found that the submitted byname Orglyn is a plausible period form. Therefore, we have changed this byname to o'r glyn to match the submitted documentation in order to register this name.
There were questions in the commentary about whether the falcons were identifiable as falcons or solely as generic birds. The problem was largely due to poor reproduction on the Letter of Intent, which obscured the charges with dark speckles. Note that excessively poor reproduction quality can be a reason for return (although it was not so poor, in this submission, as to require return). The Administrative Handbook states that "An accurate representation of each piece of submitted armory shall be included on the letter of intent. Such emblazons must be ... large enough that all elements of the design may be clearly distinguished." If the copy quality is very poor, the Letter of Intent cannot be said to provide an "accurate representation" of the armory to the College, nor can it be said that "all elements of the design may be clearly distinguished."
Submitted as Órla Carey, Órla is a Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form. Lacking evidence that it was used in period, it is not registerable. We have changed the given name to the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c1200-1700) form Órlaith in order to register this name.
Submitted as Ormswyn of Aclei, Ormswyn was submitted as an Old English name formed by combining the Old English name Orm with the deuterotheme -wyn. Not all Old English names, can also be used as the first portion (protheme) of a name. Siren explains:
You cannot simply take a given name, even an Anglo-Saxon single syllable name like <Orm> and add a second element (deuterotheme) to it. However, <Orm> appears in Searle not only as a given name, but also as a first element (protheme). It is therefore possible to create a two-part (dithemic) name with <Orm> as the first element. However, this would not give <Orm*s*wyn>, but a simple joining of the two themes to make <Ormwyn>.
Searle (p. 370) also lists the name Ormcytel which is made up of the protheme Orm- and the deuterotheme -cytel. Given this information, the name Ormwine is a plausible construction, with Ormwyn being a rarer, though also plausible, variant.
We have changed the given name to the constructed Ormwyn in order to register this name.
There was some question regarding whether de Rath is a period byname in Ireland. Annales Hiberniae (Grace's Annals) (http://celt.ucc.ie/published/L100001/index.html) lists Johannes White de Rath on p. 90. As this document is in Latin, it provides support for de Rath in Latin, though not in Gaelic or Anglicized Irish.
His previous name, Quhinten O'Finney, is released.
This submission was pended from the January 2003 LoAR because the original mini-emblazon (on the round form) was pasted in the LoI upside down, and was not distinguishable from the same armory inverted. This ruling was inadvertently left off the August 2003 LoAR.
Submitted as Tomás of Inis Mór, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th to 15th C Irish and allowed any changes.
The submitted byname of Inis Mór combined the English of with the Gaelic placename Inis Mór and, so, violated RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a name phrase. Additionally, the placename Inis Mór was not grammatically correct. The word Inis 'island' is a feminine noun, Inis being the nominative singular case of this word. When the adjective Mór follows Inis, it lenites - taking the form Mhór. Therefore, the correct form of this placename is Inis Mhór.
Locative bynames are rare in Gaelic. When they are found, those that refer to the proper name of a specific location use an unmarked genitive construction. "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 4, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005D/), entry M1415.1, lists "Emann Mag Findbairr prióir Insi Móire Locha Gamhna". In this entry, "prióir Insi Móire", meaning 'prior of Inis Mhór', shows an example of this placename in the genitive case. Effric Neyn Ken3ocht Mcherrald explained that an adjective (such as Mór) must match the noun it modifies in gender, case, and number and that the feminine genitive singular of Mór is Móire. Additionally, an adjective should not be lenited when it follows a genitive singular feminine word (such as Insi). As a result, a genitive form of Inis Mhór is Insi Móire.
Therefore, the grammatically correct form of the submitted name would be Tomás Insi Móire in the submitter's desired time period and would mean 'Tomás [of] Inis Mhór'. We have changed the byname to this form in order to register this name.
As the submitter has requested authenticity, he may be interested in knowing that a man's name in his desired time period would typically include a patronymic byname. For example, a man named Tomás who was from Inis Mhór and whose father was named Cormac (as an example), would have the full name of Tomás Insi Móire mac Cormaic.
This submission was pended from the January 2003 LoAR because the cotises were not blazoned in the LoI and the researchers were not certain which tinctures were intended. This ruling was inadvertently left off the August 2003 LoAR.
Good name!
This was pended from the February 2003 LoAR due to an incorrect blazon.
Good name!
Nice device!
We have reblazoned the castles as walls, because a castle by default has a tower at each end, and these charges do not have any towers. According to the Pictorial Dictionary, walls are throughout and embattled by default, so it is necessary to blazon these walls as couped. It is also necessary to blazon the portals explicitly.
Submitted as Heloïse de Mont Saint Michel, the submitter requested that her name be made authentic for French and allowed all changes.
While some form of the name Héloïse was used in period, it is not clear if the submitted spelling was used before 1600. Reaney and Wilson (s.n. Elwis) give the Old French spelling of this name as Heluïs or Heloïs. The name appears in the 1292 Paris Census as Heloys. As the last form is the closest in time to the byname construction, we have changed the given name to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Listed on the LoI as Michael Trahy, this name was submitted as Michael Trahey. As no documentation was found for the spelling Trahey, the byname was changed at Kingdom to the undated, documented form Trahy. Woulfe (p. 654 s.n. Ó Troighthigh) dates the Anglicized Irish forms O Treighie and O Trye to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. While Anglicized Irish names such as O Treighie normally included O, there are rare examples of O being omitted. Based on this information, Treighie and Trye are plausible Anglicized Irish forms of this name in period. Lacking evidence that either Trahey or Trahy are plausible period forms of this name, we have changed the byname to Treighie (as a modern speaker is more likely to pronounce this form, rather than Trye, similar to the submitted Trahey) in order to register this name.
Please advise the submitter that, in period, ermined bends were generally drawn with bendwise ermine spots, not palewise ermine spots.
Listed on the LoI as William Hethfeld, this name was submitted as William Heatherfield. The byname was changed at Kingdom because no support was found for Heatherfield as a placename, while Ekwall (s.n. Heathfield) dates the form Hethfeld to 1275 and gives the meaning of this placename as "Open land overgrown with heather". The submitter requested authenticity for 15th C English and allowed minor changes.
Metron Ariston found a reference to a place named Heatherfield in Sussex:
[...] I have found evidence for Heatherfield as a period place name in Sussex. On the official web page for the Colonial National Historic Park associated with Jamestown (www.nps.gov/colo/Jthanout/RHunt.html), it is stated that the first chaplain at Jamestown was Robert Hunt with the following notes "Robert Hunt (c. 1568-1608), clergyman of the Church of England, was Chaplain of the expedition that founded Jamestown, Virginia. The expedition included people from Old Heatherfield, East Sussex, England. Reverend Hunt had become the Vicar of Heatherfield, County of Sussex, in 1602, which title he held as Chaplain of the Jamestown Settlement."
Speed's The Counties of Britain (p. 175, map of Sussex, map dated 1610) shows the name of this place as Heathfeild. Bardsley (p. 371 s.n. Heathfield) dates Thomas Hethfeld to 1 Edw. III (1327-1328). Therefore, we have examples of this placename dated before and after the submitter's desired time period. We can interpolate a 15th C form by comparing the elements to other dated names. Mills (p. 165 s.n. Heathrow) dates La Hetherewe to c. 1410. Reaney & Wilson (p. 167 s.n. Field) dates Baldwin Felde to 1428. Based on these names, a 15th C form of this name would be Hethefelde. We have changed the byname to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Aethstan of Wortham, the submitter allowed any changes.
Aethstan was submitted as a theorized variant of the documented Old English name Æðelstan. Many Old English names are formed by combining two themes. In this case, Æðelstan combines Æðel- 'noble' with -stan 'stone'.
Argent Snail found a number of variants of Old English names that need to be examined in regards to this name:
While not the most common substitution for Æ, ae can be found. For instance, in von Feilitzen's The Pre-Conquest Personal Names of Domesday Book, under Æðelmær the form Aelmarus is found, under Æðelfrid the form Aeluert is found, etc. Therefore, based on the forms Æth--, Aeth- should be fine. There are a reasonable number of instances of the form Adst-- or Edst--. In von Feilitizen, for instance shows Adstan, Adstanus, and Bo Seltén's The Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal Names, shows Edstan and Edstani.
In the examples of Æðelmær appearing in the form Aelmarus and Æðelfrid appearing in the form Aeluert, the protheme Æðel- is rendered Ael-. Therefore, these examples do not support rendering the character Æ as Ae. Rather, they would support Aelstan as a variant of Æðelstan.
The other examples found by Argent Snail deal with representations of the protheme Ead- rather than Æðel- and, so, do not support the submitted Aethstan.
Olof von Feilitzen, The pre-Conquest Personal names of the Domesday Book (p. 188 s.n. Æðelstan), lists Athestani as a genitive form of this name. The corresponding nominative form would be Athestan. We have changed the submitted Aethstan to this form in order to register this name.
Nice device!
The form was marked as a new device, but this is a device change. Because there is no notation indicating that we should retain the previous device as a badge, it is released: Purpure, a domestic cat couchant guardant argent marked sable within a bordure compony sable and argent.
The device does not conflict with Morgan of Aberystwyth, reblazoned in the An Tir section of this LoAR as Gules, a baby sea-loat rampant Or. There is one CD for adding the strewn roses on the field, and a second CD for changing the tincture of the primary charge.
Note that there is no difference for changing the type of the primary charge from a baby sea-loat to a sea-dog. A baby sea-loat is an SCA-invented monster that resembles a six-legged calf with finned ears, a finned paddle-like tail, and very small horns on its nose. Because a baby sea-loat is not a period charge, its type difference from a period charge must be determined on solely visual grounds, which are insufficient to give a CD from a sea-dog. Remember that a sea-dog is not a fish-tailed demi-dog, as one might expect given the formation of most sea-monsters: a sea-lion, for example, is a fish-tailed demi-lion. A sea-dog is a quadrupedal monster, like a scaly dog with webbed feet and a paddle-like tail.
The submitter's previous device, Gules, a sword Or between flaunches wavy argent, each charged with a rose gules, is released.
Listed on the LoI as Þorfinna gra'feldr, the documentation shows the byname as gráfeldr, not gra'feldr. We have made this correction.
Nice device!
Listed on the LoI as Bigid Armstrong of Lothian, this name was submitted as Brigit Armstrong of Lothian. The submitter requested authenticity for "Scottish/Gaelic" and allowed no changes. We have corrected the name to the submitted form.
As submitted, this name combines a given name used in English with a byname and location used in Scots (a language closely related to English). Lacking evidence that any of these name elements were used in Scottish Gaelic names in period, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested language/culture.
Listed on the LoI as Celia the Fair, this name was submitted as Caelia the Fair and changed at Kingdom at the submitter's instruction.
No documentation was provided supporting Celia as a name used in period. However, support for Celia was found by Sommelier for an earlier submission and was included in the December 2002 LoAR:
I found no documentation for Selia but I did find some for Celia at http://www.ancestry.com (these records are available on a subscription basis - I can provide copies to Pelican if necessary). "Wills proved and Administrations Granted in the Court of the Archdeacon of Berks, 1508-1652" has "1574 Cox or Coxe Celia, Uffington F. 436". The other entry is from "Lancashire: Standish - Parish Register, 1560-1653"; a baptismal record "Celia fa. Evani Heaton et Katherinae 04 Sep 1613". These are at best a secondary sources - I can't tell if the data is coming from images of the primary records or transcriptions of the data. [Cecily Mulligan, 12/2002, R-Meridies]
Based on this information, we are registering this name in the submitter's desired form.
The chief indented as drawn here is compatible with period style per the following precedent: "[A chief indented] The device was blazoned as having three triangles issuant from chief. This style of indentation can be found in period (for example Lowell of Balumbye (Lindsay of the Mount, pl. 107)), but it was blazoned as either indented or three piles. As current scholarship believes that such chiefs were originally indented with deep indentations, we decided to blazon it as indented and leave the depth to artistic license" (LoAR of July 2000).
Her previous device, Argent, a raven displayed, wings inverted, within an orle, all per pale sable and azure, is released.
There was some question whether the form Redcliff would have occurred in period. The name of this location was among those placenames that eventually became used as a surname. F. K. & S. Hitching, References to English Surnames in 1601 and 1602 (p. lxx) dates Radcliff and Redcliefe to 1602. Based on these examples, it is reasonable to assume that the name of the location Redcliff could have taken that spelling by the end of period.
Listed on the LoI as Elven Royé, this name was submitted as Elven de Royé; the byname was changed at Kingdom to match available documentation. The submitter requested authenticity for 13th C French and allowed any changes.
No evidence was found that the form Elven was used as a masculine given name in the submitter's requested time period and language of 13th C French. The form of this name found dated closest to the 13th C was Alwinus dated to a. 1131 in Morlet (I, p. 28, s.n. Alwinus). Alwin would be the corresponding vernacular form based on the Latin Alwinus. We have changed the given name to Alwin to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Aryanhwy merch Catmael found support for de Roye:
<de Roye> is found twice in the surnames section of my "French Names from Paris 1421, 1423, & 1438" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/paris1423.html).
As this is closer than Royé to the submitted form de Royé, we have changed the byname to this form.
Please advise the submitter to draw the demi-sun larger.
Please strongly advise the submitter to draw the griffin larger.
Listed on the LoI as Caitilín eyverska, this name was submitted as Caitlín Eyverska. The given name and byname were changed at Kingdom to match documented forms and because Caitlín was found to be a modern, rather than a medieval, form of this name.
The section "From Pelican: Regarding Capitalization in Norse Bynames" included in the Cover Letter for the October 2002 LoAR provides two cases where descriptive bynames may be registered in capitalized forms:
Therefore, we are upholding the current policy of requiring descriptive bynames in Old Norse to be registered in lowercase. The exceptions to this policy are (1) pre-pended descriptive bynames and (2) descriptive bynames based on proper nouns.
The byname eyverska 'woman from the Orkney Islands' is a descriptive byname based on proper noun. As such, it may be registered with the initial letter capitalized. Therefore, we have returned the byname to the submitted form.
This does not conflict with Otta the Terrible, Gules, two talbots combatant Or. There is one CD for changing the field. Previous precedent strongly implies that there is difference between a wolf and an enfield (and thus, a talbot and an enfield) as long as the forelegs of the enfield are not obscured by other elements of the design: "The main difference between a wolf and an enfield is in the front legs; when one of the beasts is holding a charge with those legs, it becomes impossible to tell the two creatures apart. We cannot give a second CD for type of primary here" (LoAR July 1992, pg. 17). There is thus a second CD for changing the talbots to enfields.
Listed on the LoI as Dauíd mac an Ghoill, this name was submitted as Dauid Mac an Ghoill. The given name was changed at Kingdom to match the documentation. Accents were sometimes left out of period Irish Gaelic documents. Therefore, we have removed the accent added at Kingdom. We have also changed the byname to match the submitted form, which matches the documentation.
Listed on the LoI as Dirk Tréfeller, this name was submitted as Dirk Treefeller. The byname was changed to a constructed French byname at Kingdom because no documentation was found for the submitted Treefeller. The submitter is most interested in having it sound like "Dirk Tree-feller" and allows all changes.
The constructed Tréfeller was submitted with the meaning 'feller of a subdivision of a parish' or 'three cracks/splits'. Insufficient documentation was found to support this constructed name as following period patterns of French bynames in period. Further, Tréfeller would not be pronounced as "Tree-feller".
Bardsley (s.n. Tree) dates Eliz. Tree to 1583. Reaney & Wilson (p. 166 s.n. Feller) dates Robert le Felur to 1275. There is evidence of occupational bynames used without articles, such as le 'the'. Therefore, this name is registerable as Dirk Tree Felur, which is nearly identical to the submitter's desired pronunciation of "Dirk Tree-feller".
The submitter requested authenticity for 10th C Irish but noted on the forms that he prefers the O'Connor form. A fully Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name would be Finn ua Conchobair. Anglo-Normans began settling in Ireland in the late 12th C, well after the submitter's desired time period. As such, the Anglicized Irish form O'Connor would not have appeared until well after the 10th C. As the submitter noted that he prefers the Anglicized Irish form O'Connor, we have not changed this name to an Irish Gaelic form appropriate for 10th C Ireland.
The submitter is a viscountess and thus entitled to bear a coronet in her armory. Seven charges on a stripe ordinary like a fess are too many to explicitly enumerate, so the blazon has been changed from on a fess ... seven compass stars to a fess ... semy of compass stars.
Please advise the submitter to draw the fleurs-de-lys more clearly.
This badge was originally designated as a new badge. It was accompanied by a petition, which asked that this badge be registered, and noted that the shire has previously petitioned to release two of its previously registered badges. Without at least one release, this submission could not be registered, because they were at their registration limit. While it is not clear whether the paperwork for the previous releases had been forwarded, the current petition's discussion of the desired releases is an appropriately formed request to release those two badges, and is being treated as such. This action has thus been changed to a badge change, and the other release becomes a new action.
The shire's badge, Argent, an earthenware wine bottle between in fess two fleurs-de-lys vert, is released.
The increscent was not blazoned on the Letter of Intent. However, enough commenters were able to deduce the type and tincture of the tertiary charge from other discussion so that it is not necessary to pend this for conflict research.
Please advise the submitters to draw the crosses more boldly.
The submitter requested authenticity for Byzantine and allowed any changes. Lailiane was documented as a Greek feminine name found in "A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names", and Asenina was documented as the byname of the empress Eirene Asenina Cantacuzene (1347-1354). Metron Ariston provided information regarding the elements found in this name:
The Greek form given at the place cited is [capital lambda-alpha-iota-lambda-iota-alpha-nu-eta]. The final vowel is an eta which is commonly transliterated as an "e" so this is a perfectly valid transliteration of this very rare name. It should be noted, however, that the material from which this collection is drawn comes from the classical period down to the sixth century A.D. and no farther (http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/). That means that there is a serious diachronic gap between the given name and the byname since there is no evidence for this rare given name in the later Byzantine period. Moreover, the Asenina is definitely late since it derives from the byname of the lady's grandfather, Ivan III Asan, for a period the ruler of Bulgaria.
This name contains one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years between the dates for the given name Lailiane and the byname Asenina.
Listed on the LoI as Máriá inn sléttmála, this name was submitted as Máría inn Sléttmáli. The element Sléttmáli was changed at Kingdom to sléttmála to put it into a feminine form and to lowercase the byname in order to use standard transliteration conventions.
We have corrected the misplaced accent in the given name. Also, the article inn is a masculine form. We have changed it to the feminine in in order to register this name.
Submitted as Michael of Molton, the submitter requested authenticity for 1300 - 1400 England. Dr. David Postles, "Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy: Holbeach" (http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/pot/lincholb.html), line 2, dates Alan de Multon to 1332. We have changed the byname to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Michael Ludovicus Dub von Affoltern, Dub was documented as a locative byname. Therefore, this name had two locative bynames, Dub and von Affoltern. Lacking evidence that such a combination is plausible in German, we have dropped the second locative byname in order to register this name.
Good name!
Good name!
Good name!
The flower was originally blazoned as a daisy but has six separate oval petals. Daisies have many more, thinner, petals. We have thus reblazoned this as a sexfoil, which is a generic heraldic six-petaled flower.
The submitter requested authenticity for 10th to 11th C Wales. As we were unable to find evidence of the elements in this name used in 10th or 11th C Wales, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time period.
Please advise the submitter to draw the Bowen knots so that there is space showing between the strands that interlace in the center.
Good name!
Good name!
The previous blazon, Argent, chaussé-ployé azure, two arrows inverted in pile and in chief a mullet of eight points counterchanged, was confusing. The mullet lies on the upper portion of the field, and the arrows on the lower portion of the field, but because the SCA has not for many years allowed the chaussé ployé field to have charges placed on the lower portion of the field, readers were not sure where the charges were located in this armory. Arwenna's device is on a form with a lozenge-shaped shield. It is thus impossible to tell whether the field was truly chaussé ployé (issuing from the upper corners of the field), or per chevron inverted ployé throughout, because there are no "upper corners" on a lozenge shaped escutcheon. We have therefore reblazoned this for clarity, using a per chevron inverted ployé field.
Nice device! Please advise the submitter to draw the crosses larger.
Submitted under the name Langry de Cluny.
The submitter requested authenticity for "Late 16th C France - 1595" and allowed minor changes.
Metron Ariston found evidence that the form Odillia is not a French form of this name:
A quick look at the internet confirmed my recollection that Odillia in that spelling is particularly associated with the Germany and the Lowlands in period. The mother of the woman whom Engelbrecht of Nassau married in 1403 appears in sources in Dutch as Odillia, Gravin van Salm and Englebrecht's granddaughter, born in 1437, also bore that given name (members.home.nl/pushkar/kindEngelbrecht.html). I also found an Odillia Wouter van Haren born in 1525 (home.planet.nl/~pete0057/dat18.htm#3) and an Odillia Weidenfeldt born around 1527 (www.camerama.demon.nl/wijd/wijded/). There is evidence that the name made it to England in period as it appears in some lines from The Weakest goeth to the Wall, a play printed in 1600: "Is there no beauty that can please your eye, But the divine and splendant excellence Of my beloved dear Odillia?" (www.bartleby.com/215/1304.html#txt12). Nonetheless, for a purely French name, I would rather expect the form Odile, familiar in a later period from Swan Lake but also in period the French form of the name of the Alsatian abbess and saint.
Based on this information, Odile Marguerite du Parc would be a fully French form of this name. As the submitter only allowed minor changes, and changing the language of an element is a major change, we were unable to change the language of the given name from the German or English Odillia to the French Odile in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Jimena Xemenez de Castile, the submitter requested authenticity for the 13th C and allowed any changes. The LoI stated, "The client cares most about having a name from Castile Iberia and wishes it to be authentic for the 13th century."
The feminine given name Jimena and the byname Xemenez derive from the same root. As such, it is unlikely that these forms would be found in the same name in the 13th C. Siren explains:
Both the spellings <Jimena> and <Xemenez> are dateable to period, with the former being typical for later period and the latter for earlier period. However, the probability that these two orthographical variants of what is basically a single name would appear together is miniscule. Diez Melcon has <Xemena> dated to 1266, and no forms of either the masculine or feminine given name with <J>. The spelling <Ximena> is found the earliest (1307 or so) extant copy of El Mio Cid.
Clarion found information regarding forms of the feminine name Jimena and the byname Xemenez found in the submitter's desired time period:
[T]he use of J in this name is not found in Diez Melcón's data. Talan's index of Diez Melcón lists Xemena as the form found in the 13th century with other forms found earlier (none, however, that start with J).
We also have the following 13th century forms for the byname (pg. 157, s.n. Ximenus):
Ximenes (1207)
Xemenez (1217)
Scemenet (1217)
Ximenez (1237)
Semenez (1237)
Based on this information, the combination Xemena Xemenez uses forms dated to the submitter's desired time period and uses consistent orthography.
The submitted byname de Castile is an English form rather than a Spanish form:
The byname de Castile was submitted as a byname referring to the town in Spain. Castile is the English form of the name and de Castile is an English byname referring to that town. Spanish forms of this byname are de Castil and de Castilla and are found in Juliana de Luna's article "Spanish Names of the Late 15th Century" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/isabella/). [Adam Carlos Diaz de Castile, 12/2002, A-Atenveldt]
Siren provided information regarding forms of de Castile as a Spanish byname in the submitter's desired time period:
Both the spelling <Castilla> and <Castiella> are found for the kingdom in the same source [El Mio Cid]. While it is true that in the 13th century, <de Castilla> is largely limited to descendants of the kings of Castilla, by the end of period, the surname <de Castilla> is found widely, including for rather poor individuals (in volumes of the Catalogo de Pasajeros a Indias).
Since forms of the byname de Castilla did not imply descent from the kings of Castile in late period, this byname is not presumptuous as a late period byname. Given the limited use of forms of the byname de Castilla in the submitter's desired time period of the 13th C, a woman named Xemena Xemenez who was from Castile would have most likely simply been called Xemena Xemenez. As the submitter allows all changes, we have changed her name to this form in order to meet her request for authenticity.
Submitted under the name Gormlaith Ó Néill.
This is clear of conflict with the Barony of Bjornsborg, whose badge is reblazoned in the Ansteorra section of this LoAR, (Fieldless) A bear statant erect reguardant contourny supporting a berdiche blade to sinister argent. There is one CD for fieldlessness. There is another CD for arrangement: the Bjornsborg bear and its sustained axe are in the default arrangment for a statant erect beast sustaining a polearm (in fess), while the charges in this submission are in bend sinister.
Note: Llywus is his legal middle name.
Submitted under the name Lin Shiao Mei.
The primary charge was originally blazoned as a phoenix, but a phoenix issues from flames. There are no flames in this emblazon. The demi-eagle ends in five small "jags', artwork which is typical of an erased charge.
Submitted as Stag's Attire Herald, we have dropped the apostrophe, as no evidence was found of its use in period.
Submitted as Törägänä Al'altun, the submitter requested authenticity for "Turkic Timund/Central Asian (modernly Uzbekistan) under Jenghiz-Hanite rule" and allowed minor changes.
An earlier version of this name was returned in the April 1999 LoAR. Some issues raised at that time were not addressed in this submission:
The commentary on the problems with the name was done by Pennon who said:
"The documentation that the submitter uses is a good book for Mongol history and a good book for names. But it is not a good book for spelling. The rest of the documentation is fine for each element. But they all really don't go together.
Toragana should be spelled Döregene as it is on page 239 of The Secret History of the Mongols, translation by Francis Woodman Cleaves. T and D are interchangeable in Mongolian so the spelling Töregene is equally as valid. Al Altun is fine as it stands, but not Al Altun-Baki. Al Altun is the original form of the name and could be joined to Al-Altun to form the name Töregene Al-Altun. [Törägänä Al'altun-Bäki Khanzade, 04/99 LoAR, R-Outlands]
The current submission again documents Törägänä from the same source as before, specifically René Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, translated from the French by Naomi Walford. This is the source described in the April 1999 return as "... good book for names ... not a good book for spelling."
The submitter provided additional documentation for the form Törägänä from Jesscia Bonner's article "Mongol Women's Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/jessica-bonner/mongolwomen.html). However, this source gives the header as Toregene. It is not possible to tell from the text of this article whether the form Törägänä is a period transliteration or a modern transliteration. While modern transliterations are registerable, they must follow an accepted transliteration standard. This article provides no support that the form Törägänä follows such a standard. Further, Bonner's article does not indicate where she found the spelling Törägänä in reference to this woman. Without this information, the College is unable to judge the reliability of the original source. Therefore, lacking evidence that Törägänä is a valid spelling, we have changed this name to Töregene as cited in the April 1999 return in order to register this name.
The form Al'altun is also documented from Grousset. Lacking evidence that Al'altun is a valid spelling, we have changed this to the documented Al-Altun in order to register this name.
Submitted as Ainfean inghean Risdeag, the submitter requested authenticity for 8th to 10th C Irish Gaelic and allowed any changes.
The spelling Ainfean is a Modern Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form. Lacking evidence that Ainfean is a period spelling, it is not registerable. We have changed the given name to the Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) form Ainbthen in order to register this name.
Risdeag is listed as a "later medieval diminutive" in Ó Corráin and Maguire (p. 155 s.n. Ricard). However, it is a nominative form. Effric Neyn Ken3ocht Mcherrald has provided a theoretical genitive form of Risdeig for this name. Therefore, we have changed the submitted byname to inghean Risdeig in order to register this name. Lacking evidence that any form of the Anglo-Norman name Richard was used in Ireland in the submitter's desired time period, we were not able to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and language.
Submitted as Anna Francesca Mason, Mason was documented as an Italian byname found in De Felice, Dizionario dei cognomi Italiani (p. 164 s.n. Masi). The LoI noted that the submitter preferred the form Massone and allows minor changes.
Metron Ariston found that two period artists had Massone as part of their names:
The submitter's preference for the byname Massone is not only understandable but laudable since it is a better-attested period Italian surname than the one used on the Letter of Intent. The Italian painter Giovanni Massone d'Alessandria painted a retable depicting the nativity is on display at the Musée du Petit Palais at Avignon dated to around 1490 (www.avignon.fr/en/musees/petipalen.php). The name also appears as a locative in the name of the painter Giovanni Antonio Zanoni di Massone who was active around 1603 (www.arco.org/Guidarco/La%20storia/l'%20Oltresarca.htm).
The College was unable to conclusively determine whether Massone was a masculine given name, a placename, or an occupational byname. As a result, it is difficult to determine what form Massone would take when used as part of a woman's byname. In the names found by Metron Ariston, Massone seems to be used as a masculine given name, which is consistent with the family name form Massoni listed in Ferrante LaVolpe's article "Family Names Appearing in the Catasto of 1427" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/catasto/). Therefore, typical forms of the submitted name would be Anna Francesca di Massone and Anna Francesca Massoni.
While the form di [masculine given name (nominative case)] is typical, there are a handful of examples of bynames that are formed using a masculine given name in the nominative case and do not include di. The article "Italian Men's Names in Rome, 1473-1484" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/Studium/) lists some examples of this type of byname, including Mario Salamone in 1482, 1483, and 1484. Further evidence that this form of byname is indeed a byname, and not a second given name, may be seen in three variations of one man's name in this article: Ghuglielmo Ramondo, Ghulielmo Ramondi, and Guglielmo Ramondo (all dated to 1482).
Based on this information, Anna Francesca Massone is plausible as an Italian name in period. Therefore, we have changed the byname to the form desired by the submitter.
The dice are shown with one face to the viewer (so that the front face is shaped like a delf) but each die is oriented bendwise sinister (so that the front face looks like a delf lozengewise.) Dice are found in this orientation in period, as can be seen in the canting arms of members of the Wurlf family (wurf is German for a die or cube) on folios 24r and 24v of the late 14th/early 15th C Botenbuch der Bruderschaft St. Christoph auf dem Arlberg.
It is acceptable to show dice with some perspective, as long as the perspective is not too deep and one face is oriented directly towards the viewer so that it is shaped like a delf. (It is not acceptable to draw dice with an edge towards the viewer, rather than a face towards the viewer.) Please advise the submitter to draw the perspective of the other sides of the dice more shallowly - while period dice are often drawn with some perspective, they are generally not drawn with such deep perspective.
Submitted as Caitlín ni Killian, there were some issues with this name.
No documentation was provided and none was found that the form Caitlín was used in period, though evidence was found of it as a modern name. We have changed the given name to the documented Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form Caitilín in order to register this name.
This submission raised considerable discussion regarding the element ni. A good bit of the confusion occurs because of the similarity of the Gaelic ní and the Anglicized Irish ny (which has often been registered as ni).
The Gaelic ní is a post-period contraction of inghean uí and is not registerable, lacking documentation that it was used in period.
The Anglicized Irish ny is found in records from 1603-1604 (C. L'Estrange Ewen, A History of Surnames of the British Isles, p. 210 which lists names from Patent Rolls of James I) and in wills from 1629 and 1639 (John O'Donovan, ed., Annals of Ireland, by the Four Masters, vol. 6, pp. 2446, 2460-2461). The element ny is used in two ways in Anglicized Irish records. The examples from 1629 and 1639 show the construction [feminine given name] ny [father's given name]. For example, Joane ny Teige is identified as the daughter of Teige Donovane in his will dated 1639. In the examples from 1603-4, relationships are not listed, so any analysis of these names involves some measure of uncertainty. Some time ago, Talan Gwynek examined these names via email and suggested that the entry Marie ny Dowda, widow most likely represented a Gaelic form Máire inghean Uí Dhubhda.
At this point, no examples of ni rather than ny have been identified in this type of construction in late period Anglicized Irish records. However, the lack of such documentation may well be due to the scarcity of women's names in this type of record. Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century Irish Names and Naming Practices" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/) lists Slany Enynimolan as dating to the 14th C. Tangwystyl identifies this byname as meaning 'inghean uí Mhaoláin'. The form Enynimolan lends support to ni as a variant of the documented ny.
No documentation was provided and none was found to support Killian as a plausible Anglicized Irish form in period. Woulfe (s.n. Ó Cilleáin) dates the Anglicized Irish form O Killane to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. Woulfe (s.n. Ó Cillín) also dates the Anglicized Irish forms O Killine and O Killen to the same time period. Based on these examples, registerable forms of this byname would include ni Killane, ni Killine, and ni Killen. As the first of these forms is closest to the submitted ni Killian, we have changed the byname to this form in order to register this name.
The submitter requested authenticity for Irish. A fully Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) or Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name would be Cathal Dub. A fully Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name would be Cathal Dubh. As the submitter only allowed minor changes, we were unable to change the byname to a Gaelic form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
The submitter requested authenticity for 12th C French/Welsh, requested changes for the meaning 'Chiere, wife of Maredudd', and allowed minor changes.
In most cases, an authentic name in period that combined elements from two languages (in this case, French and Welsh) would be recorded all in one language or all in the other language depending upon the language in which the name was recorded.
Clarion provided information regarding Welsh names that appeared in France:
The article "Welsh Names in France in the Late 14th Century" [KWHS Proceedings, 1994] looks at Welsh names in French contexts. In that context names were as the above article indicates that in a French context they "Frenchified" the Welsh names. Thus if the "wife of X" pattern is used in French names (and I do not know if it is), then Chiere <wife of> Mereduc would be a reasonable French name of a woman married to a Welshman and living in France. Mereduc is one of the forms found in the above article.
In a Welsh context, the given name would probably be converted to either a Welsh or English form. I am not certain what that would be.
Hercule Geraud, Paris sous Philippe-le-Bel: d'aprés des documents originaux et notamment d'aprés un manuscript contenant Le Rôle de la taille imposée sur les habitants de Paris en 1292 lists a number of entries that use fame to mean 'wife of', including Ameline, fame Phelipe, de Pontaise (p. 7, column 1).
Based on this information, a fully French form of this name, appropriate for the late 14th C, would be Chiere fame Mereduc. Lacking information regarding how the French feminine given name Chiere would be recorded in Welsh, we are unable to suggest a fully Welsh form of this name.
Lacking evidence of significant contact between French speakers and Welsh speakers in the 12th C, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time period. As the submitter only allows minor changes, and changing the language of a name phrase is a major change, we were unable to change this name to the fully French form Chiere fame Mereduc in order to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
He has permission to conflict with Aileen Fitzwilliam, Azure, a fox passant and on a chief argent three increscents azure.
Submitted as Elena neyn Duhile, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Scots and allowed all changes.
Scots, a language closely related to English, was spoken in the lowlands and towns of Scotland by the end of our period. The earliest surviving records written in Scots date from c. 1375. Lacking any evidence that Scots was used in the 13th C, it is not possible to make this name authentic for "13th C Scots".
The submitted byname neyn Duhile combined the Scots neyn with Duhile, found in Black (s.n. MacDoual), which states: "Fergus McDuhile in Wigton was juror on inquest at Berwick, 1296, and in the same year as Fergus MacDowilt rendered homage." Given the date, time, and location of the inquest cited by Black, this record was most likely written in Latin or Anglo-Norman French. The Scots form neyn would not be found in a Latin or Anglo-Norman French document, or in any 13th C document. Lacking evidence that any form McDuhile is a Scots form, the byname neyn Duhile combines Scots with either Anglo-Norman French or Latin, and so violates RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase. Without evidence of a Scots form of McDuhile, we are unable to hypothesize a feminine Scots form of this byname.
However, the vast majority of Scottish records that survive from the period desired by the submitter are written in Latin. These records provide enough information to construct a fully Latin form of the submitted name that is appropriate for 13th C Scotland. Black (p. 6 s.n. Achmuty) dates Elena la Suchis to 1296. Typical Latin construction for a woman's name may be seen in the name Muriella filia Coneval, which Black (pp. 620-621 s.n. Muriel) dates to 1284. Black (s.n. MacDoual) shows that this name corresponds to the modern Scottish Gaelic MacDhùghaill 'son of Dougal'. This origin can be seen in Dugalli, the Latin byname form corresponding to the submitted Duhile, which is found in the seal for a man who lived in 1296 which reads S' Will' f' Dugalli (Black, p. 217 s.n. Dougalson).
Based on this information, a fully Latin form of the submitted name, appropriate for 13th C Scotland, would be Elena filia Dugalli and would most likely belong to a woman of Scoto-Norman descent.
The blazon originally used the term undy rather than wavy. We have reblazoned it to use the more standard SCA term to avoid confusion. The term undy is confusing for two reasons. One reason is that the term undy sometimes represents a line of division (wavy) and sometimes a field division (barry wavy). Brooke-Little's An Heraldic Alphabet, p. 212, states: "Undy (also Undé or Ondé) A synonym for wavy. It is not much used today but in early blazon it was always employed, often meaning barry wavy." The other reason that the term undy is confusing is that it is prone to handwriting or typing errors, and might easily be misinterpreted as the different field division urdy. The SCA has previously chosen to avoid error-prone terms. For example, it has chosen not to use the error-prone term ermines (easily confused with ermine), in favor of the less error-prone term counter-ermine.
Her previous device, Vert, a greyhound rampant to sinister regardant argent gorged of a collar purpure and a chief erminois, is released.
A question was raised in commentary about heraldic difference between a rustre and a lozenge. A rustre is an uncommon charge in comparison with lozenges and mascles, but one which is described in late period. Hierosme de Bara's 1581 Le Blason Des Armoiries pp. 46-47 depicts the lozenge, the rustre, and the mascle. These are treated as distinct charges in the treatise. Thus, these three charges are considered significantly different under the provisions of difference in RfS X.4.e, which states, "Types of charges considered to be separate in period... will be considered different."
Note that by previous precedent, piercing is considered equivalent to a tertiary charge unless it is drawn in a small insignificant fashion: "After much thought, we decided that piercing is worth a CD when drawn large enough to be equivalent to adding a tertiary charge" (LoAR December 1999). By this criterion, lozenges, rustres and mascles are also distinct from each other. As an artistic note concerning the "lozenges with holes in them" class of period charges, the roundel in the center of the rustre in De Bara is by no means an insignificant piercing, but is the size of a good-sized tertiary charge. It is a bit larger proportionally than the (also significantly sized) roundel in the center of the rustre illustrated in Brooke-Little's An Heraldic Alphabet. As for mascles, they have always been drawn with a sizeable central piercing throughout their extensive period of use as a charge in heraldry. For some examples, see Bedingfeld and Gwynn-Jones' Heraldry p. 17 (from the Matthew Paris shields c.1244), and p. 61 (from the 15th c. Fenwick roll).
Submitted under the name Hannah of Thalia.
Good name!
Please advise the submitter to draw the ferrets more boldly.
The submitter's previous device, Per pale sable and argent, in pale a ferret statant and a single-horned anvil counterchanged, is retained as a badge.
The submitter requested authenticity for the late 16th C. The submitted documentation dated Michael to 1196-1215 and Kendrick to 1602 as a given name. Documentation was found for these elements in the submitter's desired time period. J. W. Garrett-Pegge, A Transcript of the First Volume, 1538-1636, of the Parish Register of Chesham, Buckingham County, p. 63, dates Michael as a given name to 1589. Bardsley (p. 444 s.n. Kendrick) dates Richard Kendrick to 1593. Therefore, the submitted name is a fine name for the late 16th C England.
Good name!
Submitted under the name Richard of Storm.
The lizard was originally blazoned as a gecko. The term gecko has only been used once in SCA blazon. The word is not a period Western European word - it derives from the Malay (Southeast Asian) language, after the sound that the lizard makes, and came into English in the 18th C. Because the term is not period, and seems somewhat intrusively modern, we have elected to use a more general blazon term.
Submitted as Robin Cleaver, the submitter requested authenticity for the 12th to 13th C. Bardsley (p. 185 s.n. Cleaver) dates Simon le Claver to 1273. We have changed the byname to use this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
The kingdom has permission to conflict from Eoin Maclullich, Azure, a drakkar and in chief three mullets of four points argent.
Submitted as Waldemar Stanislav of White Mountain, the submitter requested authenticity for Czech and allowed minor changes. Nebuly provided information regarding authentic forms of this name:
Waldemar is not, nor has it ever been a Slavic name. Contrary to claims made in the LoI, Waldemar does not appear in Wickenden. It certainly doesn't appear under the header Valdimar, because there is no such header in that book. Neither does the name appear in the SSNO (Dictionary of Old Polish Names). It turns out that Waldemar is a Danish royal name circa 1200, and the name of a Margrave of Brandenburg circa 1300 (Bahlow, s.n. Waldemar). Since the name is documented from eastern Germany, and since German names were frequently used among the Poles and Czechs, Waldemar is a fine given name.
The second element Stanislav can be documented to Poland by the beginning of the 13th century (SSNO s.n. Stanis{l/}aw), but the name is probably older. To be orthographically consistent, the spelling should be changed to Stanislaw, since v and w represent the same sound in this name. Before 1500, Czech spelling was closer to Polish, so I would use the 13th century Polish spelling Stanislaw. To meet the client's desire for a more authentic Czech name, we should convert this second element into a patronym Stanislowow or Stanislawsky (the second form is more common for patronyms formed from -ow names). This conversion makes the name more authentic by eliminating the double given name.
The final element of White Mountain is registerable only because there is an SCA branch by that name (reg. 1/85). I cannot justify a locative formed from the name of a battle, though a locative following a patronym should be fine. If the client's primary desire is for an authentic name, then the locative should be dropped and the spelling Waldemar Stanislawsky would be registered.
The only documentation providied in the LoI for the byname of White Mountain was the statement: "Place name. English form of Czech name of famous battle." This is insufficient documentation. This statement does not provide evidence of a placename dated to period, in either Czech or English. Were documentation provided for a Czech placename that meant 'white mountain', it would not support a byname of White Mountain. As recently explained:
Lingua Anglica equivalents for placenames are based on their English rendering, not on a literal translation of the meaning of the placename. For example, the Lingua Anglica form of Tokyo (which means 'Eastern Capital') is Tokyo, not Eastern Capital. [Erik the Bear, 05/2002, R-Atlantia]
As noted by Nebuly, the byname of White Mountain is registerable because of the registered SCA branch name White Mountain. Therefore, this byname refers to the branch in question, not a period Czech placename.
Both Waldemar and Stanislav were submitted as given names. Changing a given name (such as Stanislav) to a patronymic byname (such as Stanislawsky) significantly changes the meaning of the name and, so, is a major change. Dropping a name phrase (such as of White Mountain) is also a major change. As the submitter does not allow major changes, we were unable to modify this name to a form such as Waldemar Stanislawsky as suggested by Nebuly in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. We have changed the given name Stanislav to the form Stanislaw, suggested by Nebuly, in order to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
It is not clear what the default arrangement for three charges on a chapé field should be. The usual default on a plain field (two and one) doesn't fit well on a chapé field, and thus seems an unlikely default for that field. We have thus blazoned the arrangement explicitly.
This name is being returned for lack of documentation of Agrissa as a plausible byname in period.
The byname Agrissa was documented as the feminine form of a masculine hypothetical byname derived from the word agrios 'wild.' This byname has several problems. First, there is no evidence that agrios was used as a byname. The College was able to document Agrios as a masculine given name, but not as a byname. Patronymic bynames were occasionally used in Byzantine Greek. However, lacking evidence as to the form that a patronymic byname formed from the masculine name Agrios would take or whether such a construction is temporally compatible with this name, the element Agrissa is not registerable.
This submission justified Agrissa by referencing bynames that describe aspects of a person's character. However, the examples provided show bynames meaning 'of good character' and 'peaceful', which are not sufficiently similar to 'wild' to support a byname meaning 'wild'.
In addition, the element Agrissa is incorrectly formed. The feminine form of the adjective agrios is agrina, and a byname formed from would be expected to take the same form. The example that the submitter used to form Agrissa was an irregular form and would not apply to a feminine form of the word agrios.
As the submitter does not allow major changes, we were not able to drop the element Agrissa in order to register the name.
None.
This name is being returned for combining German and Welsh in a single name which has previously been ruled reason for return (Anton Cwith, August 2001) barring evidence of significant contact between these two cultures. The name Alaric was documented from Withycombe (p. 4 s.n. Alaric). However, this entry gives no indication that the name Alaric was used in English in period. The only period information regarding this name provided by Withycombe is the statement that Alaric was "the name of several kings of the West Goths, notably Alaric I who sacked Rome in A.D. 410." This statement only supports Alaric as an early Germanic name. Lacking evidence that the name Alaric was used in a language whose speakers had significant contact with Welsh speakers, this name is not registerable.
No documentation was presented and none was found to support Morganygg as a variant of the placename Morgannwg found in Morgan & Morgan (s.n. Morgan). Lacking such evidence, Morganygg is not registerable.
There was considerable discussion whether this name conflicted with Alaric Morgan, a principal character in a number of Katherine Kurtz's Deryni books. Previous precedent has ruled that this character is important enough to protect. Morgan is a patronymic byname. Morgannwg is a locative byname. Therefore, these names can conflict only by sound and appearance. Harpy provided a pronunciation for Morgannwg: "Morgannwg is pronounced something like \mohr-GAHN-noog\, compared with \MOHR-gahn\ for Morgan." The pronunciation of the additional syllable in Morgannwg is sufficient to bring this byname clear of the byname Morgan.
The documentation given in the LoI for the byname inghean Fhathaigh was:
The patronym derives from the listing under Fahey in MacLysaght's Surnames of Ireland where the masculine form is given as Ó Fathaigh and this is stated to be "A sept of the Ui Maine centred near Loughrea where their territory was known as Pobal Mhuintir Ui Fhathaigh, wherein we now find the modern place-name Fahysvillage. The use of Green as a synonym arises from the similar sound of the word faithche, which means a lawn or green. The name is said to be derived from fothadh, foundation, which is conjectural."
Metron Ariston provided information regarding the origin of this byname:
Further research indicates that, while MacLysaght is correct in his citation of the name of the sept of the Uí Maine, the etymology may be erroneous. The Dictionary of the Irish Language Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials (s.v. fáthach) shows this as a personal attributive adjective meaning "possessed of knowledge or skill; wise, sagacious". It is specifically noted as a sobriquet as in the name of Fachtna Fathach. This form would have a predicted genitive in -aig, -aigh and in fact the oblique form of fathaig is shown in the source cited above.
It was noted in commentary that Woulfe (s.n. Ó Fathaigh) says that this name is derived from a given name Fathadh. However, a genitive ending in -aigh is formed from a nominative ending in -ach, not a nominative ending in -adh.
Lacking evidence that Fathaigh would be a reasonable genitive either of faithche, as cited in MacLysaght, or of Fathadh, as cited in Woulfe, we must assume that the family name Ó Fathaigh is one of the class of family names that derives from a descriptive byname, in this case Fathach cited in the Dictionary of the Irish Language, rather than from a masculine given name.
Therefore, the submitted byname inghean Fhathaigh is not supported by the documented family name Ó Fathaigh. Instead, the appropriate feminine byname would be inghean uí Fhathaigh.
As the submitter allows no changes, we were unable to change this byname from inghean Fhathaigh to inghean uí Fhathaigh in order to register this name.
Her armory has been registered under the holding name Áine of Atlantia.
Conflict with a badge of the Barony of Andelcrag, (Fieldless) A hart courant azure. There is one CD for fieldlessness. There is no difference between statant and courant, because the evidence which has so far been obtained indicates that these postures were interchangeable in period.
The LoAR of August 2001 stated: "There is a significant amount of evidence implying that courant and passant were used interchangeably in English armory. There are multiple cases with the same or very similar coats of arms belonging to people of the same surname, using variously passant and courant postures... [details of family armory snipped] Of the families mentioned above, only one of them had a version of the coat of arms where the beasts took a posture outside of the passant/statant or courant groups." Because the specific ruling in that LoAR compared passant and courant, most of the text of that ruling specifically discussed passant and courant. Nonetheless, the ruling does mention the statant posture, and indicates that the research showed that statant was effectively equivalent to the passant posture for purposes of this discussion (by mention of the "passant/statant" posture group). Statant should thus not be given difference from courant, because it was interchangeable with courant in period - just as passant was interchangeable with courant in period.
There are previous precedents that give difference between statant and courant based on 20th C visual perceptions regarding the way the charge looks when the legs are moved. For example, "We feel that the second CVD can be gained from the change from courant to passant [sic - should be statant as in blazon], as it changes dramatically the position of all the legs. (Much as a CVD is granted for the change from statant to couchant, which effectively only removes the legs)" (LoAR November 1990). The currently applicable rules concerning difference are based primarily on what period people would have used to indicate cadency. The rules only use visual difference as a criterion for difference when period practices cannot be used: when period difference practices for certain armorial elements have not yet been determined by SCA scholarship, or when period difference practices cannot apply (as, for example, when a charge is not a period charge, but is SCA-compatible).
Statant and courant postures were both period postures, and per the August 2001 LoAR, could be interchangeable in period. Interchangeable postures would not have been used for cadency and we thus should not give difference between them. The current philosophical basis of the rules requires that past precedents which are based on 20th C visual perceptions should be overruled by precedents based on evidence concerning period cadency practices. New evidence indicating that the difference between courant and statant would not have been interchangeable in period could, of course, be used to overrule this finding, but no such evidence has yet been presented to, or found by, this office.
As no forms were received for this submission, it must be returned.
Had forms been received, there were issues with this name that would have needed to be addressed. This name was submitted as Benef{s,}e Ar Rashid and was changed at Kingdom to modify the byname to a feminine form of the masculine byname al-Rashid. However, the changes made were not quite correct. al-Jamal explains:
The given name appears on the cited list as Benef{s,}e, rather than with the finial "a". [...]
My article does not show "al-Raschid" as a masculine cognomen; the form there is al-Rashid, without the "c". [...] Al-Rashida would be the expected feminine form in Arabic, but I do not know whether Turkish feminized names by the same method.
Based on this information, Benef{s,}e al-Rashida is a registerable form of this name. The submitter requested authenticity for Turkish. Lacking evidence that the Arabic byname al-Rashida would have been used in Turkish, this form is not authentic for the submitter's requested culture.