Submitted as Odriana vander Brugghe, the submitter requested authenticity for Flanders and allowed minor changes.
Odriana was documented from Walraven van Nijmegen's article "Dutch Womens' Names before 1100" (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1336/name1100vr.html). The byname vander Brugghe is dated to 1465 in Loveday Toddekyn's article "Flemish Names from Bruges" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/bruges/). As submitted, the elements of this name had a weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. In that amount of time, most languages in our period evolved and changed to some degree. Therefore, a name authentic for pre-1100 would likely have at least minor changes to spelling of the byname. A name authentic for 1465 would likely have at least minor changes to the given name.
In this case, the College found information regarding authentic forms of this given name appropriate for late period. The submitted given name Odriana was only found in Walraven's article (dated to pre-1100). The form Adriana is found dated to 1391-1428 in Guntram von Wolkenstein's article "Vlaamse Vrouwennamen" 'Dutch Women's Names' (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/guntram/vlaamse.htm). Adriana is also found dated to 1589 in Loveday's article cited above. As the form Odriana seems to have fallen out of use by the 15th C (the date for the submitted byname), we have changed the given name to the form Adriana in order to make this name temporally consistent for a single time period in Flanders in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Her previous name, Fiona Harpar, is released.
Nice badge!
Nice device!
This is the defining instance of a plow in the SCA. The plow is taken from a depiction in Neubecker's Heraldry: Sources, Symbols and Meaning, p. 139, which illustrates an armorially decorated table of the Tanner's Guild of Solothurn (dated to 1594). Note that the upright handle portion of the plow is palewise and to sinister. The remainder of the plow dips a bit (as is sensible for an item designed to dig into the earth) so its bottom edge is not quite fesswise but is slightly bendwise sinister. Presumably the handle is the charge's reference point, not the digging blades.
Nice badge!
(Unsurprisingly) also a nice badge!
The Letter of Intent did not note that this submission was a joint badge with Katryna Robin.
This is the first SCA registration of a house. It is shaped like a horizontal billet with a hip roof and a slightly sagging ridge beam. The door is arch-topped and is in the center of the fesswise billet, and there are two small arch-topped windows over the door, one to either side.
The depiction of the house is taken from Von Volborth's Heraldry, Customs, Rules and Styles, p. 54. Von Volborth does modern redrawings but has a good idea of period sensibilities. The illustration says that the arms are of the town of Dorfen, in Bavaria, and are derived from 14th C seals.
Houses are found, if infrequently, in period armory. In addition to the 14th C coat mentioned by Von Volborth, the Dictionary of British Arms gives a few examples of armory depicting a "house" or "hall." Unfortunately, no evidence was either presented or found showing a period depiction of a house as used in heraldry.
The LoAR of May 1998 indicates that the usual SCA procedures for the first registration of a charge are relaxed for architectural charges. While ordinarily a new charge documented solely from a modern redrawing (such as Von Volborth's) would not be registerable, this house meets the criteria set forth in the May 1998 LoAR for first registrations of architectural charges. This charge is clearly recognizable as some sort of a house, and houses were period charges. This is thus analogous to the May 1998 registration of a domed mosque of one minaret which stated:
A question of reproducibility was raised in commentary in regards to this submission. Of particular relevance to this case are period heraldic depictions of buildings. There are, particularly in Continental heraldry, many coats incorporating everything from individual buildings up to entire cities. Even a casual examination of multiple sources will show that there was little regularity in depiction. The blazon for such charges is characteristically vague: "a church" or "a city". Clearly any variation in depiction is a matter of artistry, not heraldry.
In this case, anyone viewing the emblazon will recognize the charge as a mosque. A competent heraldic artist may not produce this particular mosque, but will presumably produce a drawing which, again, the viewers will recognize. This situation is no different from period heraldic depictions of churches.
This is a change to our normal policy of having the first registration of a charge not documented as having been used in period heraldry be the defining example of the charge. In this specific case, since the period usage of buildings varied so widely, we are comfortable with not having a defining example.
Good name!
This badge is clear of the badge of Hrefna in heppna Þorgrímsdóttir, (Fieldless) A raven vert. Per the Cover Letter to the November 2003 LoAR, there is substantial difference between a rooster (a "poultry-shaped" bird) and a raven (a "regular-shaped" bird) when both birds are in period postures and drawn correctly. The two badges are clear of conflict by RfS X.2.
This is also clear of conflict with a badge of Brian of Leichester, (Fieldless) A dodo close vert armed Or. The dodo is not a bird used in period heraldry, and its eligibility for RfS X.2 is thus determined on a case by case basis. Because RfS X.2 is not required to clear these two pieces of armory, we are declining to rule on the question of the dodo's eligibility for RfS X.2. There is one CD for fieldlessness, and a second CD under RfS X.4.e between a rooster and a dodo. While both the rooster and the dodo are heavy-bodied short-legged birds, the dodo lacks the distinctive tail, crest and wattles of a rooster.
Submitted under the name Taileshíthe of the Greenwood.
We are glad to see a submission including a mouse, as it gives us an opportunity to modify, due to later developments, the statement in the December 2001 LoAR that "we've found no period examples of armory using mice or rats." We've found some now. The Stemmario Trivulziano, a 15th C Milanese armorial, has armory using both mice and rats. The arms of di Francavila on p. 150 and da Sorexina on p. 329 both include a mouse statant sable (blazoned in modern Italian by Carlo Maspoli as "sorcio"). The canting arms of di Topi on p. 354 also include a mouse (or rat) statant sable (modernly blazoned as "topo", which word can mean either rat or mouse). Canting rats (from the dialectical Italian "ratt" variant of the more common "ratto") may be found in the arms of Ratazi on p. 312, using a rat statant sable, and Ratanate on p. 308 using a rat rampant sable.
Note that all these rats and mice are sable. There are no mice proper in Stemmario Trivulziano - although there are a number of other proper brown animate charges in this book including canting dormice. Dormice are distinctly visibly different from mice or rats, with bushy tails, and we do not believe that practices for dormice can necessarily be extended to practices for mice. We thus continue to uphold the Glossary of Terms entry in Table 3 stating that there is no default proper tincture for mice.
This leaves the question of whether a brown mouse proper should be allowed. As noted in the LoAR of August 1995 and upheld since then (including the extensive discussion in the Cover Letter for the March 2002 LoAR), "Animals which are frequently found as brown but also commonly appear in other tinctures in the natural world may be registered as a brown {X} proper (e. g., brown hound proper, brown horse proper)." Mice are commonly found in a brown tincture in the natural world, so brown mice proper may be registered.
The submitter requested authenticity for pre-11th C Persian. The submitted name, Ghalib al-Sami, is not a Persian name, though it is an authentic pre-11th C Arabic name. Siren observed "there were people with Arabic names living in Persia before the 11th century." Therefore, while this name is not an authentic pre-11th C Persian name, it is authentic for a person with an Arabic name living in pre-11th C Persia.
Good name!
Nice device! Both the tinctures and the overall armorial design are very appropriate for the German name.
The byname ap Erwin does not violate RfS III.1.a, which requires lingual consistency. Though ap was documented as Welsh and Erwin was documented as English, evidence has been found of late period Welsh using English names in bynames that include ap or ferch. This issue has previously been addressed by the precedent:
Found on the LoI as Myfanwy ferch Gerallt, it was originally submitted as Myfanwy ap Gerald, and changed in kingdom because it was felt that the use of ap or ferch needed a Welsh name. However, late period Welsh used ap and ferch with English names, so we have restored the patronymic to the originally submitted form. (LoAR November 1998, p. 4).
As a result, the byname ap Erwin is registerable as a Welsh byname that incorporates an English name, which follows documented period practice.
A gorilla statant, as depicted in this badge, is found in his device (registered in February 2003). More discussion of the registerability of gorillas may be found in that LoAR.
A gorilla statant contourny, as depicted in this badge, is found in his device (registered in February 2003).
Submitted as Gwenllian Beddgelert, the submitter requested authenticity for 1100-1300 Wales. Both the given name and the byname used standard modern spellings. The College of Arms was able to find spellings appropriate for her desired time.
Regarding the given name, the LoI stated:
According to Tangwystyl's article, "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names," it is the second most popular feminine name and appears in spellings such as Wentlian, Wentlyan, Wentliana, and Wentlyana.
Regarding the byname, Siren said:
"BEDDGELERT (Gwy) Bedkelerd (1269). Earliest record: Bekelert (1258). Meaning: from WELSH bedd 'grave' and a (probably Irish) personal name Celert or Cilert. Bethgelert, the 16th century spelling,..." From "WALES AT THE TIME OF THE TREATY OF MONTGOMERY IN 1267." (http://www.gwp.enta.net/waleshist.htm).
We have changed her name to the dated forms that are closest in sound to the submitted forms to meet her request for authenticity.
Please advise the submitter to draw the heads of the arrows more boldly.
Please advise the submitter to draw the heads of the arrows more boldly.
Listed on the LoI as Alastair Kirkpatrick, this name was submitted as Alastar Kirckpatrick and changed to follow documented spellings. The submitter requested authenticity for 1300-1500 Scottish and allowed any changes.
The submitted form of this name was Scots, a language closely related to English. (The form Alastair, used by Kingdom, is a Gaelic rather than Scots form.) All information found by the College showed that forms similar to Alastar only appeared in Scots in the second half of the 16th C. Dated Scots forms of this name that were found by the College include Allester, 1581 (Black s.n. MacEwan), Alester Modrell, 1596 (Black s.n. Motherwell), and Alister McWilliam McPhadrik, 1579 (Black s.n. MacKay). Additionally, Effric Neyn Ken{gh}ocht Mcherrald found examples of this name in her research:
16th century (Inverness Records):
Allister Dow in Abertarff 1562
Allister Roy Mcken3ie 1562
During the submitter's desired time period, the form of this name in use in Scots was Alexander. For example, Black, s.n. Tod, dates Alexander Tode to 1467. As no evidence was found of any form of Alastar in use in Scots previous to the second half of the 16th C, we have changed the given name to Alexander in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
He has permission to conflict with a badge of Liriel Correll of Tuatha Keep, Azure, mulletty, a fox salient Or.
Submitted under the name Berik of Sugdak.
Submitted as Katherine Quhiting, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Scottish and allowed minor changes. Talan Gywnek's article "A List of Feminine Personal Names Found in Scottish Records" dates the form Catarine to 1360. We have changed the given name to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Listed on the LoI as Durante Ramberti, this name was submitted as Durant Ramberti Caiaphas. The LoI explained the issues with the element Caiaphas:
[T]he submitter's documentation for Caiaphas, and the total of what the CoH were able to locate, all indicated that the name belonged to a single Biblical figure before the time of Christ. As this name element could not be found to be combinable with an otherwise post 1300 Italian name, the element was dropped at kingdom.
The spelling of the given name was also changed to match the documentation.
While Durante is a period Italian masculine given name, Siren found evidence for the form Durant in French:
R&W (s.n. Durrand) dates <Durant stabularius> to t. Henry II and Morlet Picardie dates <Henricus Durant>. The combination is registerable with a weirdness for combining either English and Italian or French and Italian.
As the submitter did not request authenticity for a language, we have returned the given name to the form Durant based on the documentation found by Siren.
Her previous device, Or, a unicorn counter-couchant purpure, overall a recorder palewise proper, is released.
Submitted as Emma Le Blanc, the submitter requested that her name be made authentic for a Norman woman. She also said that she cared about the meaning 'the white'.
The LoI documented the byname from Cateline de la Mor's article "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/cateline/norman16.html). However, this article gives forms found in a history book; we do not know the actual forms the names took in period.
Marie-Thérèse Morlet, in Étude d'Anthroponymie Picarde, dates the masculine le Blanc and feminine la Blanche to 1363 and 1404 respectively. The form La Blanche is found in 1421 in Paris, in Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "French Names from Paris, 1421, 1423, & 1438" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/paris1423.html). As the submitter requested a byname meaning 'the white', we have changed to to the feminine form La Blanche to make this byname have her desired meaning while being authentic for Norman.
The surname Leblanc is a likely 16th C form. However, by then it would be a surname, not a descriptive byname indicating that the submitter is 'the white'.
Please advise the submitter to draw the arms of the cross more narrowly, so that more of the sun may lie on the field.
Jebe is the name of a Mongol general who lived in the 13th century. The byname of Sugdak is a Lingua Anglica form of a locative byname which might have been found in Mongolian or Arabic, as the Arabic traveller Ibn Battuta describes his visit to the Mongol-controlled town, probably in 1332.
Submitted as Madrun verch Trahaearn, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Welsh.
Both the given name and the byname used standard modern spellings. Clarion noted that Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/welsh13.html) "lists a 13th century form of Madrun as Maderun and a 13th century form of Trahaearn as Trahaern, so Maderun verch Trahaern is a more authentic 13th century form of the name."
We have changed this name to the form suggested by Clarion in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Please advise the submitter to draw the chevron higher on the field.
Submitted as Mughain Brecc inghean Dhonnghaile, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th to 16th C Irish, allowed all changes, and noted that sound was most important to her.
Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 140 s.n. Mugain) lists Mugain as the names of two women, one of whom is listed as a saint. Given that the other has a feast day, she is also most likely a saint. As Ó Corráin & Maguire mention no date for either of these women, they are most likely early figures. While we have no evidence of Mugain used as a given name in Gaelic except by saints, the name is registerable as a saint's name, though it is not authentic. (See the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for more details regarding the registerability of saints' names.) Mughain is the Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name.
Brecc is found as the byname of two men who lived in the 7th C. No evidence was found that this byname was in use later. Brecc is an Old Irish (c. 700 to c. 900) form. The Early Modern Irish form of this word is Breac. This word is translated as 'freckled', but is often translated as 'speckled'. By the submitter's desired time period, breac is found most often in the phrase galar breac 'smallpox'. During that time, the descriptive byname Ballach 'freckled' was in use. Lacking evidence that Breac was used as a descriptive byname in the submitter's desired time period, we have dropped it from this name.
The submitted form of the byname inghean Dhonnghaile was not grammatically correct. In Gaelic, D does not lenite if the previous word ends in an n. Therefore, inghean Donnghaile is the grammatically correct form of this name.
Based on this information, Mughain inghean Donnghaile and Mughain Bhallach inghean Donnghaile are forms of this name that are partially authentic for 14th to 16th C Irish Gaelic. Lacking evidence that Mughain was used as a given name during this time period, these forms are not completely authentic. As the submitter indicated that sound was most important to her, we have registered this name as Mughain inghean Donnghaile rather than introducing a completely new element into the sound of this name.
Submitted as Raphaella di Contini, the submitter requested authenticity for mid-1400 to 1500 Venice and allowed any changes.
No documentation was presented and none was found to support a -ph- spelling of the given name in Italian, even modernly. Lacking such evidence, we have changed this to the undated feminine form Raffaella found in De Felice, Dizionario dei nomi Italiani (p. 311 s.n. Raffaelle).
No evidence was found that a feminine form of Raffaello was used in Italian in period. However, the documented examples of the masculine given name forms Raffaello and Raffaele, combined with the period examples of feminine names ending in -a sharing the same root as masculine names ending in -o, is sufficient to give the submitter the benefit regarding the plausibility of Raffaella in period. Lacking dated period examples of this given name, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.
The submitted byname di Contini was not grammatically correct. Contini is a genitive form. The corresponding nominative form, which would be used with di, is Contino. Therefore, grammatically correct forms of this name would be Raffaella Contini and Raffaella di Contino. As the second of these forms is closer to the submitted name, we have changed the name to that form in order to register this name.
His previous device, Per fess azure and checky sable and Or, in chief a chess rook argent, is released.
Nice badge!
While we have no documentation that Silver would have been used as an adjective in an order name in period, it has been ruled SCA-compatible for use in order and award names in a position where Golden would be appropriate (see the ruling for Award of the Silver Osprey registered by Atlantia in the May 2003 LoAR).
It should be noted that the sea-urchin heraldic charge is a hedgehog with a fish's tail. Though no evidence was presented of its use as a period heraldic charge in this submission, it has been registered as recently as July 2003 and is, therefore, registerable in a heraldic title as an SCA registerable heraldic charge.
The estoile was blazoned on the Letter of Intent as fesswise, which was presumably intended to describe the fact that the estoile does not have a point to chief. It is not necessary to blazon the exact orientation of either a mullet of six points or an estoile (which by default has six rays). The orientation of such charges appears to an artistic preference, not a heraldically significant choice. For example, in Iberian armory mullets of six points often do not have a point to chief, but in French armory they often do have a point to chief.
Submitted as Ordo Primarius Famularis, Primarius was documented from a Latin dictionary as meaning 'in the first rank'. No evidence was provided and none was found to support a word with this meaning in a period order name. Lacking such evidence, we have dropped this element as the submitters allow all changes.
Additionally, the grammar of this order name was incorrect. The form Famularis is an adjective, not a noun. Grammatically correct forms would be Ordo Famuli 'Order of the Servant' and Ordo Famulorum 'Order of the Servants'. As the desired meaning was given as 'Primary or Honored Servant', we have registered this name in the singular form.
Submitted as Brian ó hUilliam, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed any changes. In period records, the standard practice was to uppercase Ó whenever any uppercase letters were included in the patronymic byname (as opposed to recording the name entirely in lowercase). We have made this change in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Please advise the submitter not to draw the slip of the shamrock so disproportionately long.
Note: Trahan is his legal surname.
Submitted as John Cotterell, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C English and allowed minor changes. Metron Ariston found that the submitted form of this name is an excellent 16th C name:
There is no doubt that the name is period since we have the domestic inventory of a servant named John Cotterell from 1572 from the collection of Appleby inventories connected with wills. [...] [T]he submitter might be interested in the items his alter ego owned at in the late sixteenth century: "The trewe Inventorye of all the goodes and chattells latelye John Cotterell of Appleby deceased given & presed the nynth day of Januarye Anno domini 1572 by Richard Walker, Rychard Baker, Rychard Wryght and Rycharde Watthew inhabitants for that purpose as hereafter followeth: Imprimis Barlye and wheate prysed iii£, Item pease & hey with some otes in ye barne xls, Imprimis Barlye and wheate prysed £iii, Item pease & hay with some otes in ye barne xls, Item seven bordes and two bedsydes xxd, Item certayne tymber xiis, Item syxe shepe xviis, Item in redye monye xxd, item one cheste xxd, Item one roobe & a peare of hose iiiid, Item fower landes in the feld sowen with wynter corne xvis, Item the lease of the house iiii£, Summa totalis xi£ xxd". (A rather prosperous servant!!!)
The single example of this name found by the College dated to the 14th C was in Bardsley (p. 208 s.n. Cotterell), which dates William Coterel to 1303. We have changed the byname to this form in order to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time period.
Note: Pavatte is her legal surname.
Please advise the submitter to draw the lower scarpe more centrally on the field.
As noted in the November 2003 LoAR, "By examination of period armory, ducks and geese are close by default."
This does not conflict with Michael Batcok, Barry of four vert and argent, a dunghill cock and a bordure gules. Per the Cover Letter for the November 2003 LoAR, "swan-shaped" birds and "poultry-shaped" birds are eligible for X.2 (substantial) difference when they are drawn correctly and in period postures, which is the case in this armorial comparison.
Her previous name, Pavla Dmitrovna, is released.
His previous device, Argent, a thistle proper on a chief vert three Celtic crosses Or, is released.
Submitted as Geoffrey of Doune, the submitter requested authenticity for "Southern Scotland 16th C" and allowed any changes. By the 16th C, a single given name and a single inherited surname was the standard practice in southern Scotland. Lacking evidence that a given name and literal byname (with no inherited surname) would have been used in this time and place, we have registered this name as Geoffrey Doune in order to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and location.
Good name!
His previous name, Graham of the Bright Hills, is released.
Submitted as Gyßel die Spacz, the submitter allowed minor changes. The byname was intended to mean 'the sparrow'. The College of Arms was unable to find the submitted spelling as either a period or a modern form, but was able to find other forms of this byname dated to period. Red Hawk said, "[Brechenmacher] shows <Ulrich Späzzi> 1285, <Burkart Spätzi> 1359, <Hainrich Spatz> 1382 and <Michel Spatz> 1467."
In German descriptive bynames, the article (such as die) matches the gender of the word it modifies, not the gender of the person being described. Since Spatz is a masculine word, it cannot take the feminine article die, making the form die Spatz grammatically incorrect. Moreover, the College of Arms was unable to find evidence that an article was used either with this form, or with other bynames derived from birds. Therefore, we have dropped the article die, and changed the spelling of the byname to Spatz, the documented form closest in sound to the submitted form.
The monsters were originally blazoned as sea-dogs. The period sea-dog is a quadrupedal monster. It does not follow the usual period method of forming sea-monsters from beasts (as is done with sea-lions or sea-horses), which is to conjoin a demi-beast with a fish's tail. In order to re-create this emblazon, we have blazoned the monsters in this submission as fish-tailed demi-dogs.
Good name!
Submitted as Sudentor, Incipient Canton of, we have dropped Incipient because the College does not track that status.
Sudentor was submitted as Middle English with the documentation:
Ekwall notes under Dunster a form Dunstore dated 1138. Under Haytor is noted Eofede torr dated 1323, both of which reference an entry torr, an Old English word meaning "High rock, peak, hill". Under Siddington appears Sudendune, dated to the Domesday book of 1066.
The Middle English Dictionary (Kurath and Kuhn, 1954) under tor notes a placename Torbiri dated 1271 and Blaketorre dated 1296.
However, there are a couple of issues with the proposed form Sudentor. First, the example of Sudendune dated to the Domesday Book is Old English (or a Latinized form of an Old English placename). It is not Middle English.
Second, the cited examples of Dunstore and Eofede torr support -tore as the second element in a dithematic placename and torr as the second word in a two element placename. Neither supports -tor as a Middle English deuterotheme (second half) of a dithematic (two-element, one-word) placename.
As a result, the submitted form Sudentor is actually a mix of Old English and Middle English. RfS III.1.a requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase. Therefore, this name must be changed to a fully Old English or a fully Middle English form in order to be registerable.
Ekwall (s.n. Siddington) dates the form Sudingdone to 1286, showing Suding- as a Middle English form of the earlier Suden-. Therefore, a fully Middle English form of this name would be Sudingtore.
Ekwall (s.n. Dunster) dates the form Torre to the Domesday Book. Therefore, Sudentorre would be a form of this name consistent for the language of the Domesday Book (mainly Latinized Old English).
Of these two forms, Sudentorre is closer than Sudingtore in sound and appearance to the submitted Sudentor. As the submitters allow minor changes, we have changed this name to the form Sudentorre in order to register this name.
Submitted as Tuathal O'hAirt, the byname combined the Anglicized Irish O' with the Gaelic hAirt and, so, violated RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase. As the submitter allows minor changes, we have changed this byname to the fully Gaelic form Ó hAirt in order to register this name.
Listed on the LoI as Úlfeðinn þráinsson, both the submission form and the documentation showed Úlfheðinn Þráinsson. We have made these corrections.
His previous name, Ulfhethinn Thráinsson, is released.
Submitted as Aeddan ap Cai ap Llyr, the submitter allowed the final element to be dropped if needed for registration.
The registerability of Llyr has varied. It was prohibited in 1987:
Llyr does indeed appear in early Welsh genealogies, just as Mars appears in the early genealogies of Rome: he is the Welsh sea god and there is no doubt that the use of his name here will be interpreted as a claim to more than human descent. ... There can be no doubt that Llyr, as he appears in the Mabinogion is described sometimes in terms that would suit a Mabinogion mortal king, as is Beli, but it is equally clear that such heroes as Bran, son of Llyr and grandson of Beli, are not really considered as of wholly human descent. [Emrys ap Llyr, 12/87 LoAR, R-East]
It was then registered without comment in 1996 and 1998, presumably on the basis of the Llyr ap Einion Yrth mentioned in the Letter of Intent.
Two men named Llyr are mentioned in Bartrum as legendary ancestors of saints and kings. The first is the Llyr of the Mabinogion, who is clearly superhuman and legendary. The second, Llyr ap Einion Yrth, is listed only as a remote ancestor of saints and early Welsh kings. As such, his name is also legendary. These were the only two examples found of the name Llyr. Therefore, Llyr, like names only found in these legendary contexts in Irish texts, is not registerable.
Listed on the LoI as Æsa inn kyrra, this name was submitted as Æsa inn kyrri. The element kyrri was changed at Kingdom to kyrra to put it into a feminine form.
The article inn is a masculine form. We have changed it to the feminine in in order to register this name.
Please advise the submitter to draw the martlets larger.
Submitted as Appolonia Rose Notburgen, the submitter requested authenticity for German and allowed any changes.
Appolonia and Notburgen were documented as German feminine given names dated to 1495. Rose is the submitter's modern middle name. It was also found as a feminine given name in English in period. Unmarked matronymic bynames (bynames formed from the mother's name) existed in German, but were rare. An example is found in Bahlow (p. 113 s.n. Elisabeth) which dates Dietrich Elisabet to 1289. As a result, this name may be considered to have the construction [German given name] [English given name] [German unmarked matronymic byname]. As such, it would be registerable. However, lacking any evidence that Rose was used in German in period, it would not be authentic for the submitter's requested culture. As the submitter allows any changes, we have dropped the element Rose in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Shire of Bull Pytt, the submission mixed the Old English pytt with the late period English Bull. This combination is not registerable, as it violates RfS III.1.a, which require linguistic consistency within a name phrase (such as a placename). Siren was able to suggest possible registerable forms:
There are several placenames based on <Bul-> 'bull' or perhaps derived from a personal name <Bulla>, including <Bulebrige> c. 1200 (s.n. Bulbridge), <Bulecampe> DB (s.n. Bulcamp), Bulecote DB and 1236 (s.n. Bulcote), and <Bulemere> 1178 (s.n. Bulmer). The spelling <pytt> is unfortunately Old English, not Middle English. Most forms of placenames based on OE <pytt> turn out as <-pet>, but <Pytte> is dated to II DM (s.n. Pett). That may support a c. 1066 <Bulepytte>. Short of that, a hypothetical late period <Bull Pitte> is probably justifiable. There is a placename <Pitt>, spelled <Pette> in 1286 and <Putte> in 1316 (Ekwall s.n. Pitt). R&W (s.n. Pitt) date spellings with <-e->, <-u-> and <-i->. Examples of the last include <Thomas de la Pitte> 1225, <Gilbert atte Pitte> 1294, and <Richard Pyts> 1395. R&W (s.n. Bull) date <William Bull> to t. Henry III. So a place named <Pitte> on the estate of the Bull family might come to be known as <Bull Pitte>.
As Bull Pitte is the closest plausible Middle English form to the submitted Bull Pytt, we have changed the submitted name to that form to register it.
There was much commentary regarding the style of the device. The group of roundels is in a clearly blazonable (albeit not standard) heraldic arrangement. While it is one step from period style (a "weirdness") to tincture only one of these roundels differently from the others in the group, it is not so far from period style to be a bar to registration. Note the following precedent from the LoAR of September 2000:
[an octofoil within eight octofoils in annulo] Size is not the only thing that determines a primary charge. We were unable to devise a way to describe arrangement of the charges in a way that did not imply that they were a primary charge surrounded by a secondary group. Such arrangements cannot use the same type of charge. The problem could be solved by arranging them in a diamond (1,2,3,2, and 1) or in a square (3,3, and 3).
In this September 2000 precedent, it was made clear that if the charges could be arranged so that they were clearly all in the same charge group, the design would be registerable.
For information pertaining to the period use of mice in armory, please see the device submission for Franz Belgrand die Mus in the Æthelmearc section of the acceptances on this LoAR.
Submitted under the name Cyneswith a bíth inghean Domnaill.
Submitted as Grigory Burrows, the submitter requested authenticity for the 15th to 16th C. While the spelling Grigory was in use in England in the 13th C, it seems to have fallen out of use after that time. We have therefore changed it to the later documented form.
Submitted as Ingi aptrkemba, the submitter requested a feminine name and allowed any changes. Ingi is found in Geirr Bassi (p. 12) as a masculine given name. We have changed this to the feminine given name Inga (also found in Geirr Bassi, p. 12) in order to make this name feminine as requested by the submitter.
The crescents were blazoned as crescents pendant on the LoI but crescents inverted on the submission form. We have restored the submitter's preferred form. Both terms are acceptable for use in the S.C.A.
Submitted under the name Iror the Insane.
Submitted as Kaun Steinrøðsson, the patronymic Steinrøðsson was not correctly formed. The patronymic byname formed from the masculine given name Steinrøðr is Steinrøðarson. We have made this correction.
Please advise the submitter to draw the cross with wider arms.
Submitted as Máire Caitlín Macleod, there were several issues with this name.
No documentation was provided and none was found that the form Caitlin was used in period, though evidence was found of Caitlín as a Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form. Lacking evidence that Caitlin is a plausible period form of this name, it is not registerable. The Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name is Caitilín.
This name had two given names in Gaelic, which has long been reason for return. Dropping one of the given names would resolve this issue. However, dropping Caitlín would result in the name Máire Macleod, which would conflict with Maura MacLeod (registered in September 2001). Dropping Máire (and replacing the post-period Caitlín with the period form Caitilín) would result in the name Caitilín Macleod, which would conflict with Caitlin MacLeod (registered in June 1989).
Members of the College offered a number of suggestions that may interest the submitter.
Fully Gaelic forms of this name that seem to be clear of conflict at this time are Máire inghean Leóid and Caitilín inghean Leóid.
Siren pointed out Scots (a language closely related to English) forms of this name that would retain forms of both given names:
[...] a fully Scots name, like <Mare Catrine Macleod>, which would have a single weirdness for the two names. <Mare> is from Talan's "A List of Feminine Personal Names Found in Scottish Records"; <Catrine> is an interpolated form (given <Katrine>, <Katrina> and <Catrina>) from the same source. Both are 16th c. forms.
Of all of these changes, the Scots form Mare Catrine Macleod is the closest to the submitted form of this name. As the submitter allows major changes, we have modified this name to the Scots form suggested by Siren in order to register this name.
His previous name, Mathieu la Croix, is released.
Submitted as Ophelia Le Lavendere, there was some question regarding which forms of this byname would have been used in a woman's name in period.
The form la Lavendere 'the Laundress' would be the typical spelling used in a woman's name in 13th C England. Both la and Lavendere are feminine forms. Reaney & Wilson (p. 273 s.n. Lavender) show an example of this byname in the name Ysabelle la Lauendere, which they date to 1253.
The corresponding masculine byname was le Lavender. An example of this form may be found in Bardsley (p. 471 s.n. Launder) in the name Peter le Lavender, which he dates to 1273.
As the English language evolved, and byname usage also evolved, some variations are found, mainly in the forms bynames took when used in a woman's name.
Documented examples include Ralf la Lavendere dated to 1268 in Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Lavender). This name shows a masculine given name with the feminine byname form la Lavendere.
Cecelia la Lavender is dated to 1273 in Bardsley (p. 471 s.n. Launder). This example shows the feminine particle la with the masculine form Lavender. Examples of a woman's given name combined with a masculine form of a byname were discussed in the December 2001 LoAR:
The question came up whether the particle le is appropriate in a woman's byname. Dr. D. A. Postles, "Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy Rolls" (http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/pot/lincscon.html), lists many women's bynames that include the particle la and some that include the particle le. These subsidy rolls date to 1332. Identified examples from the parish of Kesteven (village and line number are in parenthesis) include: Isabel le [sic] vescy (Welbourn, 1), Agnes le [sic] Palm[er] (Tallington, 2), Matilda le [sic] Schapman (Spanby, 1), Isabel le [sic] prouost' (Horbling, 13), Alice le [sic] Baker (Horbling, 16), Agnes le Hyrde (Horbling, 31), Alice le [sic] straunge (Colsterworth, 3), Matilda le [sic] Deye (Woolsthorpe [2nd], 13), Marg' le [sic] Bailyf' (Culverthorpe, 5), Quenilda le [sic] hyrde (Kirkby la Thorpe cum Laylthorp', 20), and Agnes le [sic] Wryth' (Wellingore, 8). Examples in the parish of Lindsey, village of Caenby, include: Alice le [sic] Couhird (line 3) and Avota le [sic] Couhird (line 12). [Eryngerd le Trewe, 12/2001 LoAR, A-Atlantia]
These examples support a feminine given name combined with a byname that has a fully masculine form.
However, no support was found for combining the masculine article le in an otherwise feminine byname. Therefore, support was found for Ophelia la Lavendere (fully feminine byname form), Ophelia le Lavender (fully masculine byname form), and Ophelia la Lavender (feminine article la, masculine form Lavender), but no support was found for Ophelia le Lavendere (masculine article le, feminine form Lavendere).
Of these options, Ophelia le Lavender best retains the pronunciation that most modern English speakers would expect when seeing the submitted Le Lavendere. (In Middle English, the final e in Lavendere was not silent. Instead, it was pronounced approximately as a soft "eh" or "uh" sound.) As the submitter allows minor changes, we have changed this byname to the form le Lavender in order to register this name.
Submitted as Otric von Mecklenburg, no documentation was presented and none was found that Mecklenburg is a plausible period spelling of this placename. Siren found that "Breckenmacher (s.n. Mecklenberg(er)) dates <Franko Mekelenborgh> to 1387." We have changed the submitted byname to use the spelling of the location found by Siren in order to register this name.
Submitted under the name Sven Gustav von Bremen.
Submitted as Temair in eich Gil, we have changed this byname to match the documentation.
Please advise the submitter to draw the spider larger in proportion to the roses.
The archepiscopal staff is topped with a cross formy, as noted in Parker's A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry under "crosier".
Listed on the LoI as Ailbe Mac Branáin uí Drisceoil, this name was submitted as Ailbe Mac Branáin ua Drisceoil, and the grammar was corrected at Kingdom. The submitter requested authenticity for 15th C Irish Gaelic and allowed minor changes.
Ailbe is a Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name. The corresponding Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form is Ailbhe. This name has been used as both a masculine given name and as a feminine given name. There were a couple of early Irish male saints named Ailbe, including one who was a bishop or archbishop (d. 528-541 according to various Irish annals). However, Gaels during our period generally considered the names of prominent saints too holy to use as names for their children. This likely explains why the use of Ailbe as a masculine given name fell out of use long before the submitter's desired time period (though it was still used as a feminine given name in the 15th C).
Based on the registerability of saints' names (summarized in the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR), the Early Modern Irish Gaelic form Ailbhe is registerable as a 15th C form of this masculine name. We have changed the submitted Ailbe to Ailbhe to make this name consistently Early Modern Irish Gaelic, which was used during the submitter's desired time period.
The form Ó Drisceóil is a corruption of the family name Ó hEidirsceóil (Woulfe s.n. Ó Drisceóil). There is some question as to whether this spelling change occurred during or after our period. The change is typical of the shift from Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) to Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700 to present). The sound of the name c. 1600 (as heard by English speakers) can be found in the Anglicized Irish form O Driscole, dated to Elizabeth I-James I (Woulfe s.n. Ó Drisceóil). However, no evidence was found of the use of the form Ó Drisceóil, rather than Ó hEidirsceóil, in Gaelic records dated within or near our period.
The "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 4, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005D/), shows examples of this family name in the listings for "Fínghin mac Mec Con mic Fínghin Uí Eidersceoil" (entry M1409.13) and "Mac Con Ua h-Eidirsceoil" (entry M1418.1). As these people lived during the submitter's desired time period of the 15th C, and the spellings used in the "Annals of the Four Masters" are generally appropriate for Early Modern Irish Gaelic (though this source is irregular regarding use of accents), which would have been used during the 15th C, we have lowercased mac and changed Drisceóil to Eidirsceóil in order to make this name partially authentic for the submitter's desired time period and language. Lacking evidence that Ailbhe was used as a masculine name in the 15th C, we were unable to make this name completely authentic.
The submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Lowland Scots. As the College was unable to find any evidence that Frederick was used in Scotland during period, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested language/culture.
Submitted under the nane Maria Tareija da Castanheira Noronha.
Submitted as Myfanwy Methig, the LoI provided a very useful summary of information and we thank them for it:
[The submitter] takes minor changes only, cares most about the meaning of the name. She thinks that Methig means doctor (she is a med student) and wants a female name authentic for Welsh language/culture.
The question was raised regarding whether the byname Methig needed to be lenited since it was being used in a woman's byname. Harpy provided information regarding an authentic form of this name:
As noted in the documentation, <Mevanwy> and <Methig> are found in the same source (my article on names from early 16th c. Chancery Proceedings) ["A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names", http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/welsh16.html], and both are Anglicized spellings. So the most compatible combination in terms of spelling would [...] be "Mevanwy Methig". But then we get into gender issues.
[...] I don't know that it would be plausible for a woman to use the byname meddyg "doctor, physician" in period. Occupational bynames were largely "real", and when women have them, they are normally occupations held by women -- and often specifically feminine forms of the occupational terms. Now, the Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru _does_ list a couple citations for the feminine "meddyges" (female physician) in the 15-16th century, but in every case the epithet is used metaphorically of the Virgin Mary.
[...] The easiest way to dodge the gender issue is to suppose that we're dealing with late period and a name transitioning to a fixed surname. Morgan & Morgan note some modern surnames in Wales of the form "Meddick" that appear to come from this origin, so this isn't entirely off the wall. As a fixed surname, the issue of women's bynames leniting also becomes moot, because that doesn't necessarily apply to fixed surnames (although it can, on occasion).
Based on this information, we have registered this name in the 16th C form Mevanwy Methig in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted under the name Orm Udding.
Party of six pieces was found with more than one type of charge on the field - albeit infrequently. Gwynn-Jones' Art of Heraldry (p. 103) illustrates arms from c. 1558 that can be blazoned as Party of six pieces azure and Or, three roundels barry wavy two and one argent and vert and three lion's heads erased one and two gules. Anthony Wagner's Historic Heraldry of Britain gives the arms of Thomas Cromwell (d. 1540) as Party of six pieces Or and gules, three fleurs-de-lys azure and three pelicans Or.
No evidence has been either presented to, or found by, this office for party of six pieces with a complex per fess line (although we grant that we had limited research time, after our last meeting in office). A similar field was registered by Theodoric of Salt Keep in October 1996 without comment, Party of six pieces per fess nebuly gules and ermine, three anvils argent and three falcons close sable. The practice also seems a reasonable extension of the not-uncommon period design of quarterly with a complex per fess line. Party of six pieces with a complex per fess line of division seems, at worst, a single step from period practice (a "weirdness").
Good name!
The previous device, Argent, a wolf's head erased contourny sable a bordure vert platy, is retained as a badge.
The submitter is a court baron and thus entitled to use a coronet in his armory.
The previous blazon, Per chevron vert and argent, in chief two wings addorsed argent, was subject to misinterpretation concerning the arrangement and posture of the wings.
Submitted as Jocelyn Alexandra Axstall of Mordav, the submitter requested a female name and allowed any changes.
The documentation provided for the elements Jocelyn and Alexandra in the LoI was the statement that they were "listed at the Hundred Years War game site at <http://www.hyw.com/books/history/Legitima.htm>". This site is a particularly poor resource for our purposes and should be avoided.
In the case of the name Jocelyn, all evidence found by the College showed that this name was only used as a masculine given name in period. Lacking evidence that Jocelyn was used as a feminine given name in our period, it is not registerable as a feminine given name.
No documentation was provided to support Axstall as a variant of the documented Axstell. Lacking such evidence, Axstall is not registerable. We have changed this element to the documented form Axstell in order to register this name.
No documentation was provided at all, either in the submission or in the LoI, for the element of Mordav. Black Pillar found that Ekwall (p. 330 s.n. Morda) dates the form Mordaf to 1295. As the submitter indicated that sound was most important to her, we have changed the submitted byname to use this form in order to register this name.
This name combines a masculine given name, a feminine given name, an inherited surname, and a locative byname. The combination of the masculine and feminine given names is a problem:
While cross-gender names have long been allowed in the SCA, mixed-gender names have not. This has a masculine given with a feminine given with a surname. [Cristall Madeleine Moore, 05/1995 LoAR, R-West]
Similarly, the submitted combination of Jocelyn Alexandra as given names is not registerable. As the submitter requested a feminine name, we have dropped the element Jocelyn in order to register this name.
Submitted as Aveline de Longueville, the submitter requested authenticity for 12th to 13th C Anglo-Norman and allowed minor changes.
Regarding the submitted byname, the LoI stated only:
[de Longueville]~ town in Normandy, France.
This statement is not documentation for the submitted byname as it does not provide supporting evidence that Longueville is a location in Normandy, even modernly.
Several members of the College researched this byname in order to aid the submitter. They found that Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Longueville) date Henry de Longauilla to 1185, Henry de Longavill' to 1229, and Thomas de Longevill to 1336. Based on these examples, de Longavilla is a likely form for her desired time period. No evidence was found for a Longue- form before 1509 (Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Longueville).
We have changed the byname to the form de Longavilla in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Muirne Caitlin Maguire, the submitter requested authenticity for "Northern Ireland 1590" and allowed any changes.
As submitted, this name had a number of problems.
First, this name had two given names in Gaelic, which has long been reason for return.
Second, the given name Muirne has been previously returned as being only a legendary name:
Unfortunately, Ó Corráin and Maguire, Irish Names, only cite Muirne as the mother of Finn mac Cumaill -- who, as they note under Finn, was really a Celtic god. The submitter might consider Muirenn instead; Ó Corráin and Maguire say it "was an extremely popular name in the early period". [Muirne inghean Séamus Ó Corcra, 09/00, R-Atlantia]
Lacking evidence that Muirne was used by real people in period, it is not registerable. We have dropped this element in order to register this name.
Third, no documentation was provided and none was found that the form Caitlin was used in period, though evidence was found of Caitlín as a Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form. The Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name is Caitilín. Lacking evidence that Caitlin is a plausible period form of this name, it is not registerable.
Fourth, no documentation was included in the submission supporting Maguire as a form of this name used in period. Woulfe (p. 427 s.n. Mag Uidhir) lists Maguire as a modern Anglicized Irish form of this name and dates the Anglicized Irish forms Maguier, M'Guier, M'Gwire, and M'Guiver to temp. Elizabeth I-James I.
As a result, the minimum changes necessary to make this name registerable would be to drop the element Muirne and change the remaining elements to use forms documented to period. These changes would result in the name Caitilín Maguier.
The submitter requested authenticity for "Northern Ireland 1590". As submitted, this name combines Gaelic given names with an Anglicized Irish byname. In Ireland, in our period, a woman's name would be recorded completely in Gaelic or completely in Anglicized Irish depending upon the language of the record in which her name was recorded. A fully Early Modern Irish Gaelic form of this name appropriate for 1590 would be Caitilín inghean mhic Uidhir. The College was unable to find an Anglicized Irish example for the name Caitilín. Therefore, we have changed this name to the fully Early Modern Irish form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as David de Longueville, the submitter requested authenticity for 12th to 13th C Anglo-Norman and allowed minor changes.
Regarding the submitted byname, the LoI stated only:
[de Longueville]~ town in Normandy, France.
This statement is not documentation for the submitted byname as it does not provide supporting evidence that Longueville is a location in Normandy, even modernly.
Several members of the College researched this byname in order to aid the submitter. They found that Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Longueville) date Henry de Longauilla to 1185, Henry de Longavill' to 1229, and Thomas de Longevill to 1336. Based on these examples, de Longavilla is a likely form for his desired time period. No evidence was found for a Longue- form before 1509 (Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Longueville).
We have changed the byname to the form de Longavilla in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Helen ni Gorman, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Irish and allowed minor changes.
A number of members of the College provided information regarding forms of this name. Regarding the submitter's desired time and culture, Aryanhwy merch Catmael found that:
Tangwystyl's article "Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century Irish Names and Naming Practices" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/) covers both names of Gaels in English or Latin contexts as well as names of Anglo-Normans in Ireland in English or Latin contexts. The Red Book of Ormond, from the 14th century, is in Latin written by an English speaker. The name <Elena> is recorded once in an English context, and <Elyn> once in an Irish context and once in an English context. There is nothing like <Gorman> in this source. The article has one example of <inghean uí> being contracted to <Enyni-> in English. <ni> itself did not arise until the end of the 16th century.
Siren found Anglicized byname forms dated to the late 16th or early 17th C:
Woulfe (s.n. MacGormáin) dates <M'Gormane> and <M'Cormaine> as well as (s.n. Ó Gormáin) <O Gormane> to t. Elizabeth I/James I.
These spellings shown in these Anglicized Irish forms are fairly consistent with spellings that show up for other bynames cited in Tangwystyl's "Red Book Of Ormond" article, noted by Aryanhwy above. The one difference is that the bynames cited in Tangwysytl's article usually have English forms that end in -an for renderings of Gaelic bynames that end in -án (as is the case with the Gaelic form of the submitted byname).
Based on all of this information, Elyn Enynigorman is the most likely form of this name for 14th C Ireland. We have changed the name to this form in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Emmeline de Flandre, the submitter requested authenticity for French (preferably 13th to 14th C) and allowed any changes.
The submitted byname de Flandre 'of Flanders' was documented as a modern form. The College found that de Flandres would be the grammatically correct form in period. However, the information found by the College was of descriptions, rather than bynames. For example, Aryanhwy merch Catmael found that:
In H. Géraud, Paris sous Philippe-le-Bel d'après des documents originaux, et notamment d'après un manuscrit contenant le Rôle de la Taille imposée sur les habitants de Paris en 1292, Paris, 1837, p. 36, I find in the tax roll an entry for Robert Povre-Home, described as <concierge au conte de Flandres> 'guardian to the count of Flanders'.
Based on this information, de Flandres is registerable, though it has not been shown to be an authentic byname for the submitter's desired time period and culture. The College found that bynames referring to large regions (including countries) were much more common as adjectival forms such as l'Alemant 'the German' (Géraud, p. 142, col. 2) rather than as of [placename] forms such as d'Alemaingne 'of Germany' (Géraud, p. 162, col. 1). Géraud (p. 23, column 2) includes an example of a feminine form of a byname meaning 'the Fleming' (indicating Flanders) in the listing for Marguerite la Flamenge in the contents of the 1292 census of Paris.
Based on this example, we have changed the submitted byname to the form la Flamenge to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture.
Good name!
The branches were originally blazoned as borage slipped. However, a borage flower, which is found frequently in period artwork, is a five-petalled flower with thin pointed petals and long sepals (barbs). These branches end in a group of small blue dots, which might be intended as a cluster of borage flowers but are unidentifiable as such. We have thus blazoned the charges on the chief as branches, as they are predominantly green stems with green leaves.
Submitted as Hans Cresse, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C English and allowed any changes. Hans was documented as a German name. Aryanhwy merch Catmael was able to document the English given name Hanne saying "RW s.n. <Hann> say that <Hanne> 'was a very common christian name in 13th-century Yorkshire', with mention of examples from the period 1274-97." We have therefore changed the name to the English form to meet his request for authenticity.
Listed on the LoI as Matheus mac Eoin, this name was submitted as Matheus MacEoin and changed at Kingdom to follow documented patronymic byname construction patterns.
In Gaelic during our period, articles (such as Mac) found in patronymic-style bynames were indeed written as separate words from the patronym. However, capitalization of Mac in Gaelic bynames varied in period, though it was not completely random. (For more information, see "From Pelican: Capitalization of Gaelic Particles: mac versus Mac" found in the Cover Letter to the June 2002 LoAR.) In the case of this name, both Matheus Mac Eoin and Matheus mac Eoin are plausible forms. As the submitter did not request a particular meaning or form, we have returned the capitalization of Mac to the submitted form.
Listed on the LoI as Peter of Turnberry, this name was submitted as Petyr of Turnberry. The given name was changed at Kingdom because the submitter requested authenticity for Scotland, and the submitted documentation did not support Petyr as a Scottish name.
Boke was able to document Petir as a Scottish spelling: "Black s.n. <Cochran> has <Petir Couchran> 1487." Siren was able to document that i and y are sometimes used interchangeably in Scotland:
Effric's "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/) has a few names that exist with both <-i-> and <-y-> in the middle of names, including <Cristane>/<Crystane>, <Kitte>/<Kytte>, <Dauyd>/<Dauid>, and <Martyne>/<Martine>.
Given this evidence, Petyr is a plausible Scots name, and the name can be restored to its original form.
All the dated forms of the placename that the College could find, as well as those that appear on the LoI, have only a single r in -bery. We have, therefore, made that change.
This charge was originally blazoned as a panther, but it is neither a heraldic panther (as it lacks the appropriate incensing) nor a natural panther (as it has the elaborately tufted tail and legs of a heraldic lion, which would never be found on a natural panther). It is an appropriately stylized lion for much of the heraldry in the last two centuries of our period. While it has either a minimal or nonexistent mane, this lack of mane is common with heraldic lions in our period.
Submitted as Rhys Morgan Owain, the submitter requested authenticity for late 16th C Wales. As submitted, this name used standard modern spellings. We have replaced them with documentary spellings dated to the mid to late 16th C in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Submitted as Sabin Lorand Axstall of Mordav, the submitter requested a male name and allowed any changes.
The documentation provided for the element Sabin in the LoI was the statement that they were "listed at the Hundred Years War game site at <http://www.hyw.com/books/history/Legitima.htm>". This site is a particularly poor resource for our purposes and should be avoided. As the College provided documentation from reliable sources for Sabin as an English given name in period, this element is registerable.
The documentation provided for Lorand in the LoI was the statement: "[Lorand Lepes} a duke or prince of Transylvania 1415-1438 found at <http://www.friesian.com/perifran.htm>". Black Pillar found that the cited website listed Lorand in a Hungarian context:
<Lorand> is documented from an article from the website for "The Proceedings of the Friesian School, Fourth Series", which is "a non-peer-reviewed electronic journal and archive of philosophy." The particular article the URL points to is "SUCCESSORS OF ROME: THE PERIPHERY OF FRANCIA, 445-Present, Kings of the Asturias, Navarre, Leon, Castile, Aragon, Portugal, Spain, England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland", which seems to be scholarly in nature and is concerned about names and languages. <Lorand Lepes> is mentioned in a sidebar titled, "Dukes or Princes of Transylvania, Hungarian Suzerainty."
Nebuly found additional references to the person mentioned in the submitted website:
Giurescu (p418) lists the rulers of Transylvania from 1415 to 1438 as Nicolae Csáki, Ladislau Csáki, and Petru Cseh. [...]
Ah! So Lorand is supposed to be a Hungarian name, not Romanian. That helps enormously. Kázmér (s.n. Lépes) cites a Lorandus Lepes several times in the early 15th century. Hajdú (p65) derives the name from Roland. This still doesn't solve the linguistic combination problem, but at least the element Lorand can be documented to period Hungary.
No documentation was provided to support Axstall as a variant of the documented Axstell. Lacking such evidence, Axstall is not registerable. We have changed this element to the documented form Axstell in order to register this name.
No documentation was provided at all, either in the submission or in the LoI, for the element of Mordav. Black Pillar found that Ekwall (p. 330 s.n. Morda) dates the form Mordaf to 1295. As the submitter indicated that sound was most important to her, we have changed the submitted byname to use this form in order to register this name.
This name includes a Hungarian masculine given name, Lorand, in an otherwise English name. Lacking evidence of significant contact between speakers of Hungarian and English in period, a name combining these languages is not registerable.
The submitter indicated that sound was most important to him. Colm Dubh's article "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html) lists Lorent de Tongues. As a name combining English and French is registerable, we have changed the Hungarian Lorand to the French Lorent to resolve the lingual combination issue in order to register this name.
The submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Castillian Spain. As all of the documentation for this name is dated to the 15th C, we were unable to confirm that this name is authentic for the submitter's desired time period.
Submitted as Seán mac Conaill uí Braonáin, lenition was missing from the final element. As Effric Neyn Ken{gh}ocht Mcherrald explains in her article "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names" (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/):
The standard way to form a name using combined simple patronymic and Irish clan affiliation bynames for men is:
<single given name> mac <father's given name (in genitive case & sometimes lenited)> uí <eponymous clan ancestor's name (in genitive case & always lenited)>
We have added the missing lenition.
Submitted as Elias Treviranus, the submitter requested authenticity for German and allowed any changes. The LoI noted that he "cares most about the meaning ('A person from Trier') and the language/culture ('German')".
The documentation provided for Treviranus on the LoI was:
Treviranus is found in the Dictionary of German Names (Edda Gentry transl.) by Bahlow on page 513, which lists "Treviranus: a person from Trier (name from the Celtic tribe, Treveri)".
It is important to note that this entry does not show use of Treviranus in period. The focus of Bahlow is to present information about German surnames over time. As a result, not all information in it is appropriate for our period.
Clarion provided information about German locatives referring to Trier:
Bahlow, s.n. Treviranus, does list the name as meaning "a person from Trier." Under Trier, it lists a Heinrick Trier in 1345. Brechenmacher, s.n Teviranus, dates it to 1662 and, under Trier(er), dates Tryerer in 1344. For authenticity, Trier or Tryerer would be the best, especially as Treviranus has not been documented in period.
As no evidence was found of Treviranus used as a personal byname in period, we have changed this byname to the documented form Trier in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
His previous device, Per fess azure and gules, mullety of eight [sic] Or, a bordure argent, is released.
The submitter requested authenticity for 13th to 14th C Spain and allowed minor changes only. As submitted, it is an unusual but plausible 16th C name. No evidence has been found for double given names or for the combination of two patronymic surnames used in Spanish before the 15th C. As the submitter does not allow major changes, we could not alter the name to the form Maria Sanchez, which would be authentic for her desired time period.
This is not considered "slot-machine" heraldry in violation of RfS VIII.1.a under current precedent. The drawn bow nocked of an arrow Or are in a "standard, expected position" and are thus considered one charge for purposes of that rule:
[considering a strung bow and arrow along with another charge] The question was raised as to whether or not this is considered slot machine since it has three dissimilar charges in one group. While it is true that it has three charges, when a bow and arrow are in their standard, expected position they are considered one charge, just like a sword in a scabbard is considered one charge. It is only when they are separated, or put into non standard positions for their normal use, such as being crossed in saltire, that they become two separate charges. (LoAR April 1999 p. 6)
- Explicit littera accipendorum -
The basic design of this armory is unidentifiable. It is not visually clear whether the design is as blazoned above, or is something along the lines of Argent, a fess wavy on the upper edge and enarched on the lower edge azure and a tree issuant from base sable. We do not feel that redrawing the location of the per fess enarched line of division will materially aid the identifiability issue. In addition, the tree is not clearly identifiable as drawn, although that may be improved by redrawing.
Conflict with Kelson de la Croix, Sable, a bend sinister gules fimbriated argent, between a Latin cross and an olive branch bendwise sinister argent. There is one CD for changing the type of secondary charges. There is no difference for changing the tincture of the fimbriation.
There is no additional difference for changing the posture or orientation of the secondary charge groups. Lions rampant and swords would not be considered to have comparable postures. Likewise, there is also no meaningful posture comparison between a scorpion tergiant and a branch. For more discussion of comparable postures, see the section of the Cover Letter to the July 2003 LoAR entitled "Clarification and Explication of Some Rulings on Posture."
This name is being returned for lack of documentation of Taileshíthe as a plausible Irish Gaelic feminine given name in period.
Taileshíthe was submitted as a constructed Irish Gaelic feminine given name combining Taile-, found in the feminine given name Tailefhlaith dated to 782 in Ó Corráin & Maguire (s.n. Tailefhlaith), and -shíthe, found in the byname Mac Dhuibhshíthe that Woulfe (s.n. Mac Dhuibhshíthe) gives as meaning "the black-man of peace." The LoI also notes the feminine given name Síthmaith found in Ó Corráin & Maguire (s.n. Síthmaith) who derive this name "from síth 'peace.'".
The major issue with this construction is that, as several members of the College noted, Gaelic names are not generally dithemic - composed of a protheme (in this case, the proposed Taile-) and a deuterotheme (in this case, the proposed -shíthe). As a result, just because Taile- is shown to be the first portion of a name element and -shíthe is shown to be the final portion of a name element, it does not mean that the combination Taileshíthe 'abundance of peace' is reasonable as a Gaelic name.
The only confirmable example of Taile- used in a given name is the cited Tailefhlaith. No evidence was found of -shíthe used as the second element in a dithematic Gaelic feminine given name. Additionally, no evidence was presented supporting a name meaning 'abundance of peace' as following documented constructions of Gaelic feminine given names. Lacking evidence addressing these issues, this name is not registerable.
Additionally, Taile is Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) form, while -shíthe is an Early modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700). As a result, the submitted Taileshíthe violates RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase.
Her armory has been registered under the holding name Denise of the Debatable Lands.
Berik was submitted under the Legal Name Allowance. However, no documentation was provided supporting Berik as the submitter's legal name. Lacking such support, this name is not registerable under that allowance.
Berik was also documented as a Hunnish name. However, there is no evidence for contact between the Huns and the part of central Asia where Sugdak is located. Barring that evidence, the combination cannot be allowed.
His armory is registered under the holding name Berik of Wealdsmere. As explained in the Cover Letter for the June 2002 LoAR (in the section entitled "From Laurel: Regarding Mundane Given Names Used to Create Holding Names"), use of Berik in his holding name does not grandfather this element for use in an SCA name, since no documentation was provided in this submission supporting Berik as his legal name.
No documentation was presented and none was found that MacLean is a plausible period form. Black (p. 536 s.n. MacLean) dates a number of forms of this byname including those cited in the LoI:
The 14th and 15th century spellings that Black cites include M'Gilhon 1326, M'Gillon 1329, M'Gilleoin, 1485. M'Clane is found dated 1514 and Maklane is dated 1591.
None of these forms support the spelling MacLean. Lacking evidence that MacLean is a plausible period form, it is not registerable. As the submitter allows no changes, we were unable to modify this name to a period form in order to register this name.
The dance is largely obscured by the urchin, and the dancetty line is drawn very shallowly. As a result, the dance is not identifiable in this emblazon. This submission must be returned for violating RfS VIII.3, which states in pertinent part, "Identifiable elements may be rendered unidentifiable by ...being obscured by other elements of the design," in combination with RfS VII.7.a, which states in pertinent part, "Any charge, line of partition, or field treatment used in Society armory must be identifiable, in and of itself." It should be possible to address these stylistic issues by redrawing the armory.
The bend engrailed is so obscured by the overall dragon segreant that it is not identifiable. In addition, many of the dragon's identifying details (its head, foreclaws and tail) lie almost entirely on the low-contrast bend, which impairs the dragon's identifiability. This must therefore be returned under RfS VIII.3, which states in pertinent part, "Identifiable elements may be rendered unidentifiable by ... marginal contrast... or by being obscured by other elements of the design." It should be possible to address these stylistic issues by redrawing the armory.
This name is being returned for having two weirdnesses: one for a lingual mix and one for temporal disparity. This name uses a given name that is dated no later than the 10th C and that has been ruled to be registerable only in its Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form Muirenn. The submitted byname is dated no earlier than the 16th C and would be registerable in a woman's name in the feminine Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form inghean uí Mhuirneacháin. It has been previously ruled that the differences between Early Modern Irish Gaelic and Middle Irish Gaelic are sufficient that a name mixing these forms of Gaelic carries a weirdness. As the given name and the byname in this name are dated approximately 600 apart, there is a weirdness for temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. Therefore, this name has two weirdnesses and must be returned.
The submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed any changes. There were a number of issues with this name. We have provided discussions of each of these issues below, for the submitter's consideration when she chooses a name for resubmission.
Muireann is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form. The corresponding Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name is Muirenn. Muirenn is found as the name of women who lived in the 7th through 10th centuries. No evidence has been found that any form of this name was used later than the 10th C. Lacking evidence that this name was used as a given name in Early Modern Gaelic, the form Muireann is not registerable.
There were several issues with the submitted byname O'Muirnea{c.}áin.
The spelling O'Muirnea{c.}áin combined the Anglicized Irish O' with an otherwise Gaelic name, violating RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase.
This byname was documented from Woulfe (p. 622), which lists the header Ó Muirnea{c.}áin where the notation {c.} represents a c with a "dot" over it. The "dot" over a letter in Gaelic is called a punctum delens. When Gaelic is being represented using the Roman alphabet, letters with the punctum delens are rendered with an appended h; thus, c with a punctum delens becomes ch in standard transliteration. For registration purposes, we use this standard transliteration method.
This entry in Woulfe lists the Anglicized Irish form O Murnyghan to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. The College was unable to find any evidence that this name was used earlier. Therefore, Ó Muirneacháin must be considered a 16th C byname.
Precedent requires that when a Gaelic byname is used, it agree in gender with the given name, since bynames were used literally in Gaelic. Since Ó Muirneacháin is a masculine form, it cannot be registered with a feminine given name. The corresponding feminine form is inghean uí Mhuirneacháin.
No documentation was presented and none was found that Órd Seamair 'Order of the Shamrock' is a plausible period order name in Gaelic. Specifically, no evidence was found that the construction 'Order of the [heraldic charge]' was used in Gaelic in period. Lacking such evidence, this order name is not registerable.
This name is being returned for non-period style. A seastar is another term for a starfish. The Order of the Starfish was recently returned with the explanation:
This order name is being returned for non-period style. RfS III.2.b.ii, Names of Orders and Awards, states:
Names of orders and awards must follow the patterns of the names of period orders and awards.
These are often the names of saints; others are similar to sign names (see RfS III.2.a.iii). Some examples are: the Order of Saint Michael, the Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus, the Brethren of the Sword, the Order of the Garter, La Toison dOr (the Order of the Golden Fleece), the Order of the Golden Rose, the Order of the Star, the Order of the Swan, La Orden de la Jara (the Knights of the Tankard), the Order of Lilies.
This order name does not follow the pattern of basing an order name on a heraldic charge. To follow that pattern, the charge in question must either be (1) documented as a period heraldic charge or (2) must have been ruled to be registerable as a charge within the S.C.A. In the case of a starfish, precedent specifically states that it is not a registerable charge:
As originally blazoned, the mullet was blazoned as a starfish. Starfish have been reblazoned as mullets in the past:
The starfish is not, to the best of our knowledge, a period heraldic charge; it seems to have started use in Victorian heraldry (Elvin, plate 32). [reblazoned as mullets, leaving internal markings as artistic license] (Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme, LoAR October 1992, p. 18).
[Jaelle of Armida, LoAR December 1997, p. 6]
RfS III.2.a.ii says that some order names were "similar to sign names". In those cases, both sign names and order names are formed using names of heraldic charges. Since there is evidence that a starfish was not a period heraldic charge, it is highly unlikely that it would be used in a period sign name. Lacking evidence that it is plausible as an element in a period sign name, it is not registerable in a sign name construction. [Aquaterra, Barony of, Order name Order of the Starfish, 09/2002 LoAR, R-An Tir]
The same problems present in the Order of the Starfish are present in the currently submitted Order of the Seastar. Lacking evidence that seastar is a plausible element in a period sign name, it is not registerable in a sign name construction.
No documentation was presented and none was found that an order name meaning 'Order of the Muses' is a plausible order name in period. Lacking such evidence, this name is not registerable.
The LoI cited the Order of the Seraphim found in Meradudd Cethin's article "Project Ordensnamen OR What do you mean that the Anceint[sic] and Venerable Order of the Most Holy and Righteous Wombat's Toenail isn't period?" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order/). However, an order name referring to a group of angels found in Judeo-Christian religious context is significantly different from a group of demi-goddesses from ancient Greek mythology. As a result, the cited Order of the Seraphim does not support the submitted order name.
Primarius was documented from a Latin dictionary as meaning 'in the first rank'. No evidence was provided and none was found to support a word with this meaning in a period order name. Lacking such evidence, Primarius is not registerable in an order name.
As the submitters allow all changes, we would have dropped the element Primarius in order to register this name as Ordo Hippocampus. However, that name would conflict with Order of the Hippocampus, which was registered to Atlantia in April 1998.
Conflict with a badge of Conrad von Regensburg, Gules semy of decrescents argent. In Conrad's arms, there is a single group of primary charges consisting of (six or more) evenly strewn argent decrescents. In Dyan's arms, there is a single group of primary charges consisting of one argent decrescent, an Or tassel, and an argent increscent. The LoAR of December 2003 gave a lengthy analysis of the way to count difference in a similar situation, where the charge group changed from a registered group of charges on the field consisting of six lions Or, to an in-submission charge group consisting of a lion and a tower Or. That analysis summarized the change as follows:
It should be recalled that the SCA protects REGISTERED armory. Because of this, the SCA considers changes to have been made from the registered armory to the armory currently under submission, and has interpreted the Rules for Submission in the manner that gives the greatest protection to the registered armory, and allows the fewest possible differences for a change to armory. This implies a certain lack of symmetry to the ruling, because the interpretation of a change from "registered" to "considered" does not necessarily match the change from "considered" to "registered"...
In [this] case, the submitter is changing one of the lions into a castle, which leaves us with a charge group consisting of five lions and one castle. This change is to less than half of the charges in that group, so there is no CD under RfS X.4.e.
After the change of the type (a lion into a castle), we apply the change to the number by removing all but one of the lions and the castle. Of six charges, we remove four of the lions, leaving a total of two charges in the group, which is a change from six to two. RfS X.4.f notes that two and six are signficantly different, and therefore, entitled to a CD.
In this case, we have changed the charge group on the field from [semy of] decrescents argent to a decrescent argent, an increscent argent, and a tassel Or. The strewn ("semy") charges are considered to be equivalent to any charge group with six or more charges for purposes of the rule for difference in the number of charges on the field (RfS X.4.f).
Thus, when changing Conrad's badge to Dyan's, we are changing one of the (six or more) argent decrescents into an argent increscent, and one of the (six or more) argent decrescents into an Or tassel, and leaving (four or more) of the argent decrescents as argent decrescents. The change in type of two of six (or more) charges (the single tassel and the single increscent) is a change to less than half of the charges in the group, so there is no CD under RfS X.4.e. The change in tincture to one in six (or more) charges (the tassel) is also a change to less than half the charges in the group, so there is no CD under RfS X.4.d.
After the changes to type and tincture (six or more decrescents argent into four or more decrescents argent, one increscent argent, and one tassel Or), we then remove (three or more) of the decrescents, leaving a total of three charges, which is a change from six (or more) charges to three charges. RfS X.4.f notes that three and six are significantly different, and therefore entitled to a CD.
As a result, there is only one CD between these two pieces of armory, and they are therefore in conflict.
Conflict with Erik Ziemann, Per pale Or and sable, a rustre counterchanged. There is just one CD per RfS X.4.e, for changing the rustre to a lozenge.
The cover letter with the November 1992 LoAR permitted overall charges in fieldless badges only if the area of overlap is small and all charges identifiable. Here the area of overlap is too large to allow registration of this badge.
This badge was submitted on a device form, which is a reason for return in itself. The LoAR of October 2000 states "This badge was submitted on a device form instead of a badge form. Badges must be submitted on the badge form, although the submitter is free to display it on any shape she desires."
Conflict with Thomas Dolan Arbalister of Caerleon, Per pall vert, gules, and sable, a crossbow argent. There is one CD for changing the field. While we blazon the distinction between an uncocked crossbow and a default (cocked) crossbow, we do not give difference between them.
The Pictorial Dictionary states that "The door... may be inset into an arch or wall." This submission insets the door into a stone archway proper. Unfortunately the grey of stone proper (as defined in the SCA Glossary of terms) classes as a metal, and has insufficient contrast with the underlying argent field.
Note that the stone surrounding the door is, as drawn in this submission, an intermediate grey which has insufficient contrast with either argent or sable. This adds additional problems to the depiction, in that the stone proper is not drawn as a correct depiction of stone proper (which would class as a metal) but is not dark enough to be considered an artistic variant of sable.
Please advise the submitter to draw the chief wider and to draw the wavy line of division with greater amplitude.
We were at a loss on how to blazon this armory in a way which would clearly re-create the emblazon and would also be compatible with period armorial style. As blazoned, and based on our knowlege of overall charges in period armory, we would expect the four pawprints to be evenly placed on the bend, and thus, we would expect overall bear to obscure some of the four pawprints on the bend. However, all four pawprints are visible. It is not possible to blazon the bend with a larger number of pawprints, because there is enough of the bend showing in between the bear's limbs to show that there are no pawprints under the bear.
The element a bíth (which the LoI translated as 'the quiet') was documented only as words in Modern Gaelic. No evidence was provided that these words existed in Gaelic in period, or that they are plausible in a descriptive byname. Lacking such evidence, a bíth is not registerable as a descriptive byname in Gaelic. As the submitter only allows minor changes, we were unable to drop this element in order to register this name.
There were two additional issues with this name.
The byname inghean Domnaill combines the Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form inghean with the Middle Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form Domnaill and, so, violates RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a name phrase. The form ingen Domnaill is a fully Old Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form. The form inghean Domhnaill is a fully Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form.
Cyneswith is an Old English feminine given name dated to 656. Old English and Gaelic is registerable with a weirdness (see the discussion for Eithne of Cantwaraburg, registered in August 2002). In order to avoid a second weirdness for a temporal disparity, the byname would need to be dated no later than 300 years after the date for Cyneswith. Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 85 s.n. Eithne) give Eithne as the name of a woman who died in 795 and who was the daughter of "Domnall Mide, the high-king". This reference supports Domnall as a mid to late 8th C name, less than 300 years after the date for Cyneswith. Therefore, the name Cyneswith ingen Domnaill would be registerable with a single weirdness for combining Old English and Old Gaelic in a name.
Her armory has been registered under the holding name Cyneswith of Lost Forest.
As noted in the LoAR of March 2003 regarding a similar design, "Conflict with Aengus mac Coll, Vert, a stag's head cabossed argent, orbed and attired of flames proper, resting on its head a chalice Or. There is one CD for changing the field... There is no difference between a head cabossed and a head erased affronty. There is also no difference for removing the small maintained chalice on the stag's head in Aengus' device, nor is there a CD for changing the tincture of the attires, which are less than half the tincture of the stag's head."
Please also advise the submitter to draw the erasures more boldly. This depiction is borderline and may be reason for return. See the Cover Letter to the LoAR of November 2001 for a discussion of period ways to draw erased heads.
This name conflicts with Elaine of the Woods (registered in December 1982). Elena and Elaine are variants of one another and are insufficiently different in both sound and appearance. The difference between the bynames Wood and of the Woods is equivalent to the example shown in RfS V.1.a.ii.(b), which states in part that: "Undertheclyf is equivalent to del Clif and Cliff". Similarly, the bynames Wood and of the Woods conflict.
Her armory has been pended under the name Elena of Calontir.
This name is being returned for having two weirdnesses.
Iror is documented as an Old Norse masculine given name in Geirr Bassi (p. 12). As such, it is undated but appropriate for up to approximately 1100. The word insane was documented as an English word dated to 1550. Therefore, this name has one weirdness for combining Old Norse and Middle English and one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years.
Any changes we could make in order to register this name would involve a complete change of the byname. The College found a number of options that may interest the submitter. As there are multiple options, and the form gives no indication of what is most important to the submitter, we are returning this name and providing the information found by the College so that the submitter may choose how he wishes to proceed.
A ruling found in the January 1997 LoAR lists a number of period Middle English bynames with similar meanings to the Insane:
There are plenty of genuinely period ways to express the idea: Reaney & Wilson s.nn. Witless and Giddy have John Wytles 1327 and Walter le Gidye 1219 'possessed of an evil spirit; mad, insane', and in his Origin of English Surnames (289) Reaney notes Ralph Badinteheved 1275 'bad in the head'. [Morgaine Lynn (Alternate name of Morgaine the Insane), 01/1997 LoAR, A-East]
A name combining the Old Norse given name Iror with one of these bynames would have one weirdness for combining Old Norse and Middle English in a single name, but would not have a weirdness for temporal disparity since the elements would be dated less than 300 years apart. Therefore, such a name would be registerable with only one weirdness.
Silver Nautilus found an Old Norse byname with a similar meaning in Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "Viking Bynames found in the Landnámabók" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/vikbynames.html), which lists the byname inn óði as having the meaning 'mad, frantic, raging'. This byname would support a Lingua Anglica byname such as the Mad, but not the Insane. Iror inn óði would be the fully Old Norse form of this name.
His armory has been registered under the holding name Iror of Crystal Mynes.
The submitter allowed minor changes.
Gustav was documented as an undated German given name and as a modern rendering of the given names of two Swedish kings. The name Gustav was recently discussed:
German sources make it clear that Gustav was borrowed from Swedish; the College was unable to find evidence that it was used as a German given name before 1600. The spellings Gustaf and Gøstaff are found in Swedish (in Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn, vol. 9 s.n. Gøtstaf). [Gustaf Zizka, 06/2003 LoAR, A-Trimaris]
Lacking evidence of use of any form of Gustav in German in period, this element must be considered Swedish based on the documentation. While two given names are registerable in German, no similar pattern has been found in Swedish in period. As a result, a name using two given names in Swedish is not registerable.
Though there is evidence of unmarked patronymic bynames in German, no such evidence was provided for Swedish names during commentary for this submission. Lacking evidence for unmarked patronymic bynames in Swedish in period, a name combining two given names in Swedish could not be interpreted as a given name followed by a patronymic byname. Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn (vol. 9, column 568, s.n. Gotstaf) dates Swen G{o/}stafson to 1502. Therefore, this name would be registerable as Sven G{o/}stafson von Bremen. However, the change from the given name Gustav to the patronymic byname G{o/}stafson is a major change, which the submitter does not allow.
His armory has been registered under the holding name Sven of Vatavia.
The element Tae was documented only as a Kanji character. No documentation was presented and none was found to support Tae as a given name in Japanese. Lacking such evidence, this name is not registerable.
As noted in the LoAR of October 2001, "This is not a pile, because it issues from the top corners of the shield. Nor is it chaussé, because it does not extend all the way to base. Nor is it a chief triangular, because it is much too deep. Nor is it a per chevron inverted field division, because it does not issue from the sides of the field. As a result, this must be returned."
Conflict with Eibhlín ní Chaoimh, (Fieldless) On four demi-fleurs conjoined in cross Or a torteau. There is one CD for fieldlessness. There is no difference between the four demi-fleurs conjoined in cross charged with (a tertiary charge) and a cross flory charged with (a tertiary charge): the tertiary charge obscures any significant difference between these two designs.
There is also no difference for changing the type only of the tertiary charge. A cross flory is not a "suitable charge" for RfS X.4.j.ii, which states in pertinent part, "A charge is suitable for the purposes of [RfS X.4.j.ii] if (a) it is simple enough in outline to be voided..." Crosses fleury are analogous to crosses moline for purposes of considering whether they are too complicated to void or to fimbriate. The LoAR of July 1999 stated, "This is being returned for violating the precedent set by Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme as Laurel (January 15, 1993, cover letter) concerning which charges are suitable for fimbriation. A cross moline is too complex to fimbriate."
In the cases of both crosses moline and crosses flory, some period depictions of the cross have ends which are complicated enough that the cross is arguably too complex to void by the criteria of the Cover Letter dated January 15, 1993 (for the November 1992 LoAR), although many other period depictions of these crosses are simple enough to void by the same criteria. While we are not certain whether we would rule, de novo, that crosses moline are too complicated to void, insufficient evidence has been presented to overturn the previous precedent concerning the voidability of crosses moline.
This name is being returned for having two weirdnesses: one for the lingual mix and a second for temporal disparity.
The documentation showed that the given name Ago was used as a Frankish name recorded in 974. Frankish is the dialect of Old High German spoken in what is today France. The byname Praunfalk is a Middle High German byname dated to 1560.
Just as there is a weirdness for combining Old English with Middle English, or Middle Gaelic with Early Modern Gaelic, there is a weirdness for combining Old High German and Middle High German.
Since the given name is dated to 974 and the byname is dated to 1560, this name also has a weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years between the elements.
Unfortunately, this name conflicts with Alcazar, or Alcazar de San Juan, a town located in La Mancha, which has its own entry in the 1911 Encyclopedia Brittanica (s.n. "ALCAZAR DE SAN JUAN, or ALCAZAR"), among other sources. The conflict could be cleared by adding a second element different from San Juan.
Nice Spanish style armory to go with the Spanish name, and for that matter, the Spanish location. It is unfortunate that, because the name is being returned, the armory must be returned as well - no holding names may be formed for branches.
Conflict with Barak Elandris Bear the Wallsbane, Per bend sinister Or and sable, a bear statant and an axe bendwise sinister counterchanged. There is one CD for changing the type of the chiefmost charge. There is no additional difference for changing its posture or orientation, as bears and battleaxes do not have comparable postures. For more discussion of comparable postures, see the cover letter to the July 2003 LoAR, under the heading "Clarification and Explication of Some Rulings on Posture."
The tertiary charge is drawn so small and lightly, and the internal details so heavily, that the standing balance is not readily visible or identifiable. This is reason for return under RfS VIII.3.
This issue cannot be fixed solely by redrawing, as there is also a conflict with Ailonwy of Darkblade, Vert, on an estoile of four greater and four lesser rays argent a dagger inverted sable, all within a bordure argent. There is one CD for removing the bordure. There is no difference between a default estoile of six rays, and the SCA-invented estoile of four greater and four lesser rays. There is no difference for changing the type of tertiary charge on an estoile per RfS X.4.j.ii, as an estoile is not a "suitable" charge for purposes of this rule.
This name conflicts with Griffindor, the name of one of the houses at Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books. In addition to the numerous members of the College who called this conflict, Pelican (who has not read these books and has only seen one of the movies so far) immediately recognized the name Griffindor. Given this level of recognition, Griffindor is important enough to protect under Administrative Handbook, section III.A.6, "Names of Significant Geographical Locations from Literary Sources", which states:
Locations in period or modern literary works of all genres may be protected on a case by case basis. Such protection will be afforded if the College of Arms deems them worthy of protection
The change of one consonant cluster from <-nd-> to <-nst-> is not a sufficiently large change in sound to clear the conflict.
Nice armory! It is unfortunate that, because the name is being returned, the armory must be returned as well - no holding names may be formed for branches.
This armorial design blurs the distinction between the ermine tincture and ermine spots. To quote al-Jamal:
Because they appear entirely within two of the argent checks, one of them crammed up into the sinister chief, the ermine spots are not going to be seen as "charges" here, but rather as a checky field with two of the checks "ermine" in place of "argent". RfS VII.7.a. requires that "Elements must be recognizable solely from their appearance."
No evidence was presented nor could any be found for the use of two given names in Portuguese in period. As the submitter allows minor changes only, we cannot drop Tareija in order to make the name registerable.
The submitter might like to know that Siren found two 16th C examples of people with two locative bynames: Christovam de Meello d'Aabreu and João da Silva do Comto (both at http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/portugal16/), suggesting the form da Castanheira da Noronha.
Her armory has been registered under the holding name Maria of Nea Nikopolis.
Conflict with Malcolm Fraser the Impatient, Per pale azure and Or, a sun counterchanged. There is only a single CD for adding the secondary charges.
Please also advise the submitter that, on resubmission, the roundels should be drawn larger in proportion to the sun.
The submitter documented the byname Udding from a book and provided scans of pages from that book. Unfortunately, the documentation was essentially unreadable due to poor scanning quality. The LoI asserts that the book is in Swedish, and no translation was provided. We remind the College of Arms that documentation must be translated into English. Either of these issues is sufficient for return.
In addition, the summary of the material presented in the LoI did not support the idea that Udding was a personal byname, but only that it was a variant spelling of the name of the place. Documentation would need to be presented that this is a reasonable byname for it to be registered.
His armory has been registered under the holding name Orm of Drachenwald.
This name conflicts with the real-world town of Pähkinäsaari (later Pähkinälinna) as noted by Argent Snail:
It turns out that this conflicts with the real-world town of Pähkinäsaari, later known as Pähkinälinna, that was founded in ca. 1300 by Tyrgils Knutsson, Marshal of Sweden, and conquered 1349 by Novgorod. It was the site in 1323 of the Treaty of Pähkinäsaari that defined for the first time the border between Sweden and Novgorod. Both names, Pähkinäsaari and Pähkinälinna, are found as headers in several Finnish general encyclopedias.
Additionally, there was considerable discussion whether Village was appropriate as a household designator. The overwhelming consensus was that Village was not an appropriate designator for a household name and, that, if Village should ever be allowed as a designator, that it should be used as an alternate of some level of branch designator. We are, therefore, disallowing use of Village as a designator for a household name.
Dalriada was submitted as an English name for a Gaelic kingdom that existed from the 5th C to the mid-9th C. Primarily, Dal Riada was the name of the tribe who inhabited this area. The name used to refer to this kingdom derives from the name of this tribe.
The fundamental problem with this name is that no evidence has been found that any of the Dal tribe names (Dal Riada, Dal Cais, Dal nAriade, et cetera) were used in personal names except as part of a ruler's title. For example, Donnchadh Ó Corráin & Mavis Cournane, ed., "The Annals of Ulster" (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100001/), entry U778.7, lists "Aedh Finn m. Echdach rex Dal Riati". The phrase "rex Dal Riati" indicates that Aedh was king of the Dal Riada.
Lacking evidence that the name of anyone other than rulers would include a Dal tribe name, a byname such as the submitted of Dalriada, even in a Lingua Anglica form, is a claim to be a ruler of this tribe and so violates RfS VI.1 "Names Claiming Rank" which states that "Names containing titles, territorial claims, or allusions to rank are considered presumptuous".
Conflict with François le Féroce, reblazoned in the East section of this LoAR as Per chevron vert and argent, in chief a pair of wings argent. There is one CD for adding the grenade in base. There is no difference between a pair of wings and a pair of wings conjoined.
None.
As noted by al-Jamal, "RfS XI.3.b. [Marshalling] notes that 'No section of the field may contain an ordinary that terminates at the edge of that section, or more than one charge unless those charges are part of a group over the whole field.' The charged sections here contain multiple, though conjoined, charges which are not part of a group over the whole field."
This submission has multiple problems.
First, no evidence was presented that either element was dated to period. While evidence was presented of modern Welsh placenames beginning with Caer 'fort', the College looked and could find no evidence that Byrbryd (meaning 'snack' or 'luncheon') was used in period.
Second, no evidence was presented that the construction was plausible. The justification presented referred to modern English placenames and local industries, not to period Welsh placenames. To be registerable, the submitters would need to demonstrate that Byrbrid was used in Welsh placenames in period and could be reasonably combined with Caer. Barring such evidence, this name cannot be registered.
The tincture of the secondary charges could not clearly be perceived as either gules or purpure. This therefore violates RfS VII.7.a, which requires that "Elements must be recognizable solely from their appearance."
We note that under current precedent the secondary charge group in this armory (consisting of a bow and arrow and a sword) is not "slot-machine" heraldry violating RfS VIII.1.a. The longbow drawn and nocked is in a "standard, expected" position for a bow and arrow. Thus, the combination of the bow and arrow is considered a single charge for purpose of RfS VIII.1.a:
[considering a strung bow and arrow along with another charge] The question was raised as to whether or not this is considered slot machine since it has three dissimilar charges in one group. While it is true that it has three charges, when a bow and arrow are in their standard, expected position they are considered one charge, just like a sword in a scabbard is considered one charge. It is only when they are separated, or put into non standard positions for their normal use, such as being crossed in saltire, that they become two separate charges. (LoAR April 1999 p. 6)
Conflict with Boniface de Tennequay, Sable, a coney rampant argent, maintaining a torch Or. There is one CD for changing the field, but no difference for changing the maintained charge.
As noted by Siren, "This conflicts with [a badge of] England '(Fieldless) A Tudor rose.' The most typical depiction is 'A rose argent charged with a rose gules.' In this depiction, there is a CD for fieldlessness, but no CD for the change in tincture only of the tertiary charge."
This name has multiple problems.
The given name is documented from a Web page that asserts that Ogar was the name of a king of Urhai (modern Edessa) who Eusebius says corresponded with Jesus. Nebuly provided this information:
The relevant portion [of the website] concerns an account of "Ogar, kind [sic] of Urhai" whom Eusebius records as corresponding with Jesus. The bit that helped me trace back to the original material is in the preceding paragraph, where Urhai is identified with Edessa.
The account in question is related near the end of Book 1 of Eusebius' History of the Church in a story about the apostle Thaddeus: "Thus it happened that when King Abgar, the brilliantly successful monarch of the peoples of Mesopotamia...heard continual mention of the name of Jesus and unanimous tribute to His miracles, he sent a humble request to Him, begging for relief from his disease."
Jesus is said to have replied with a personal letter. Eusebius visited the archives at Edessa and translated the letter from Syriac, in which the recipient is named Abgar Uchama the Toparch. My edition footnotes that Abgar ruled from 13 A.D. to 50 A.D. Thus, the spelling in Eusebius (Abgar) does not match that used in the cited web page (Ogar). This appears to be an error on the part of the authors, or perhaps in the source they used. We therefore have no support for the given name in the submitted spelling.
As the documentation does not support Ogar as a period spelling, it is not registerable.
Drakon, rather than Dracon, is a Greek given name. However, no documentation was presented that it was also a reasonable byname construction in Greek. Barring that evidence, it cannot be registered as a byname.
The submission combines a 1st C A.D. name of unclear origin with a Greek name from the 7th C B.C. The LoI did not discuss the language spoken in Urhai/Edessa; Nebuly's and Siren's research suggests that it was probably Syriac but may have been Greek. If Syriac, the name clearly has two weirdnesses, one for mixing Syriac and Greek and a second for combining elements with over 600 years between them. As the College did not have the opportunity to consider the evidence for this lingual mix or for the language(s) spoken in Urhai/Edessa, this combination cannot be registered.
The trident was not drawn identifiably. It is drawn solely with right angles. The shaft and all three arms/tines of the trident are of the same uniform width. The tines of the trident have blunt squared-off ends, which lack the barbs which allow the trident to function. The charge is, in general, too stylized and geometric a depiction to be perceived as a trident. This thus violates RfS VII.7.a, which requires that "Elements must be recognizable solely from their appearance."
The submitter requested authenticity for 9th to 10th C Irish. The submitted byname Lách is a modern form of a period word that, before 1200, took the form lagach. Fause Lozenge was kind enough to research this word, and said:
<Lách> is a modern (mid-20th c. and later) spelling of <lághach>, from early <lagach>. According to the Dictionary of the Irish Language Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 1990, s.v. <lagach>, the word was an adjective 'with vaguely laudatory sense (always alliterating) gentle, pleasant, etc.'.
As this word was only used in alliterating contexts (where the modified noun begins with L), it is clearly not the kind of generally used word that might have led to a byname. Therefore, barring evidence that it was used in a more general context, or as a byname rather than simply a poetic description, it is not registerable.
The submitter might wish to know the submitted given name is a Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) spelling. In the 9th or 10th C, the given name would have been spelled Sétna.
The lily of the valley plant is too tall and thin to be counterchanged along its long axis. The slip, in particular, loses its identifiability. Previous precedent has returned similarly wide charges for similar reasons, for example, "[a mace ... counterchanged] There was discussion as to whether the mace was wide enough to be counterchanged along its long axis. Previous cases have decided that winged swords are not, and that double-bitted axes and comets are. The issue is identifiability such counterchanging was banned precisely because the charge became unidentifiable. After examining the emblazon, we decided that the charge was just barely too narrow to be counterchanged like this" (LoAR of August 2000).
This name is being returned for a combination of linguistic and temporal compatibility issues.
Both elements of this name were documented from Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "Early Irish Feminine Names from the Index to O'Brien's Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/irish-obrien.html). The author has requested that this article be withdrawn, as it does not distinguish between legendary names and names known to have been used by real people in history, and other articles are now available covering this area of interest. However, the College was able to find other documentation for these elements.
As Colm Dubh's article, "The Ban-Shencus: A Dated Index", KWHS 2003 Proceedings (pp. 1-4), dates a Conandil to the 7th C, Conandil is registerable in that context.
Going to the source for Tangwysytl's article cited above, and comparing these entries to those in annals, it is possible to identify that the men who had Glass as a byname lived in time periods that must be considered legendary. One appears in the "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 1, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005A/) in entries M4291.1 and M4296.1, which roughly correspond to 903 B.C. and 898 B.C. The earliest example of a non-legendary man with Glas as a byname occurs in the 14th C. Lacking evidence that this byname was used during the Old Irish (c. 700 to c. 900) period, the Old Irish form Glass is not registerable.
Based on this information, Conandil is supported as an Old Irish (c. 700 to c. 900) form of a name dated to the 7th C, and Glas is supported as an Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) byname dated to the 14th C. Therefore, this name has one weirdness for combining elements that are dated more than 300 years apart. A form of this name that would combine these documented forms would be Conandil Ghlas, which uses the documented form of this byname and adds lenition. However, it has been previously ruled that the differences between Early Modern Irish Gaelic and Middle Irish Gaelic are sufficient that a name mixing these forms of Gaelic carries a weirdness. Therefore, the form Conandil Ghlas would have a second weirdness for combining Early Modern Irish with Old Irish and, so, would not be registerable.
There was a significant mismatch between the full-sized emblazon and the mini-emblazon on the Letter of Intent. This mismatch masked a style problem present in the full-sized emblazon: the head in the full-sized emblazon is not clearly identifiable as a bear's head.
As noted in the June 2003 LoAR, "A significant discrepancy between the full-sized and mini-emblazon can be reason for return in itself, and is certainly a reason for return when the mini-emblazon's depiction masks a significant style issue with the armory on the full-sized emblazon. The Administrative Handbook requirements for preparation of letters of intent state that 'An accurate representation of each piece of submitted armory shall be included on the letter of intent.'"
No forms were received for this submission.
Siren summarized the main concerns with this submission well:
Previous rulings have suggested that excessive inversion may be grounds for return:
[Gules, on a chalice inverted between two roundels Or a wooden spiked mace inverted proper] As far as we know, maces were not made entirely of wood; therefore, there is no support for the head being brown. Furthermore, both cups and maces were rarely inverted in period, so inverting both may be excessive. (LoAR November 2000)
The helmet is particularly difficult to identify, between the inverted posture and the issuant rabbit. As I looked, I thought at first it was a pot.
The issues with identifiability and period style combine to be sufficient reasons for return.
In addition, the College expressed significant concerns that the combination of allusions to modern sleight-of-hand may cause this armory to be obtrusively modern. This issue should be addressed on resubmission.
No documentation was presented, and none was found, for the cross pattée concave in period armory. This cross has ends that are straight throughout most of their length, and flare out only at the very ends of the arm. As far as we are aware, period crosses formy flare out along the entirety of their length.
The term concave, as found in a few previous SCA registrations, appears to apply to a cross that is somewhat nowy lozengy (or nowy of a lozenge). This cross is only slightly nowy of a lozenge. Because the blazon term concave is not well-defined in real-world or SCA armory, it should be avoided in the future.
- Explicit littera renuntiationum -
Nebuly and Brachet requested that we pend this armory for consideration of whether the Russian Naval Flag (before 1917) should be protected by the S.C.A. as an important flag. Nebuly stated:
At the end of the 17th century, Peter the Great of Russia visited western Europe. Following this visit he decided to adopt a variation of the Dutch flag as a civil ensign for Russian ships. [This is now the national flag] ... Peter the Great also adopted a flag for the Russian navy, which was white with the blue diagonal cross of St. Andrew.
The flag was used by the Russian navy until the Communist Revolution of 1917. The flag is historically significant and deserves to be protected.
Brachet stated:
Walraven notes that the Imperial Navy of Russia flew "Argent a saltire Azure." This will be familiar to those who are from Europe and also those who play [the game] Diplomacy(TM), of which there are quite a few in the SCA. (Note - he came up with the identification without use of references.) We feel that this at least ought to be pended for a decision on whether or not the Imperial Russian Navy is important enough to protect.
If the Russian Naval Flag is protected, this armory will conflict with it, with only one CD for adding the secondary charge group.
Submitted under the name Elena Woods.
(This submission was item 11 on Calontir's LoI of November 8, 2003.)
The leaves were tinctured vert on the Letter of Intent, and no correction was received until February 2004, after the end of the primary commentary period for this November 2003 Calontir LoI. The commenters were not able to accurately deduce the correct tincture so this must be pended for further conflict research.
Some questions were also raised about the blazon of the holly leaf "cluster." We have reblazoned this design so it may be accurately reproduced from the blazon.
(This submission was item 27 on Calontir's LoI of November 8, 2003.)
The woman is not exactly "vested" (clothed) in the cloak, as blazoned. She is (from the front view) almost entirely naked; the cloak only 'clothes' her shoulders and arms, and otherwise hangs down behind her. It is not clear whether this, or any other, blazon will adequately reproduce the emblazon. RfS VII.7.b states in pertinent part, "Elements must be reconstructible in a recognizable form from a competent blazon."
There are identifiability issues concerning the snake. The woman isn't exactly "maintaining" (holding) the snake in her hand, which would imply a view of almost the entire snake (head and neck on one side of the hand, tail dangling from the other side.) Instead, the snake's head and neck are extending out from under the place where the cloak overlays her shoulders and arms, through her fingers, and the head is peeking out from between her fingers. RfS VIII.3 states in pertinent part, "Identifiable elements may be rendered unidentifiable ... by being obscured by other elements of the design."
Concerns were raised that this armory might be overly modern style. RfS VIII.4.d states in part, "Generally modern style in the depiction of individual elements or the total design may not be registered."
Lastly, concerns were raised as to whether the armory had excessive religious allusions to neo-Pagan goddess symbolism. RfS IX.2 states in pertinent part, "Magical or religious symbolism that is excessive ... will not be registered."
We feel it is necessary for the College to discuss these issues further before rendering a decision, particularly the matter of excessive religious allusion. This is thus being pended for further consideration.
(This submission was item 24 on Drachenwald's LoI of September 25, 2003.)
And in a lovely metaphor for the continuity of the Laurel office (and such subsidiary offices as it may have), the last item ruled on during this Wreath's tenure (and listed last in the LoAR) is pended for further research. The blazon on the Letter of Intent had the vert and sable tinctures on the field inadvertently switched, and the College could not detect this error.
(This submission was item 14 on the Outlands LoI of November 27, 2003.)
Created at 2004-06-20T16:38:05