Society for Creative Anachronism
College of Arms
For the December 2012 meetings, printed Friday, February 1, 2013
To all the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive, from Gabriel Laurel, Juliana Pelican, and Emma Wreath, greetings.
Items listed below in square brackets have not been scheduled yet. For information about future scheduling, please review the status table located on the Web at http://oscar.sca.org/index.php?action=137.
The December Laurel decisions were made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in December 2012. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Æthelmearc (02 Sep, 2012), Laurel LoPaD (08 Sep, 2012), Northshield (16 Sep, 2012), Caid (17 Sep, 2012), Middle (19 Sep, 2012), Outlands (23 Sep, 2012), Atenveldt (25 Sep, 2012), East (27 Sep, 2012), Gleann Abhann (27 Sep, 2012), Trimaris (28 Sep, 2012), Atlantia (29 Sep, 2012), Ealdormere (29 Sep, 2012), Lochac (29 Sep, 2012), An Tir (30 Sep, 2012), Ansteorra (30 Sep, 2012), Calontir (30 Sep, 2012), Meridies (30 Sep, 2012), and West (30 Sep, 2012). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Friday, November 30, 2012.
The January Laurel decisions were made at the Wreath meeting held on Saturday, January 19, 2013 and at the Pelican meeting held on Sunday, January 20, 2013. These meetings considered the following letters of intent: Middle (10 Oct, 2012), Middle (12 Oct, 2012), Northshield (21 Oct, 2012), Gleann Abhann (24 Oct, 2012), Atenveldt (25 Oct, 2012), East (26 Oct, 2012), Caid (27 Oct, 2012), Middle (27 Oct, 2012), Meridies (30 Oct, 2012), An Tir (31 Oct, 2012), Ansteorra (31 Oct, 2012), Atlantia (31 Oct, 2012), Drachenwald (31 Oct, 2012), Lochac (31 Oct, 2012), and Outlands (31 Oct, 2012). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should have been entered into OSCAR by Monday, December 31, 2012.
The February Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in February 2013. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: Æthelmearc (25 Oct, 2012) (pushed due to lack of packet), Artemisia (30 Oct, 2012) (pushed due to lack of packet), Æthelmearc (31 Oct, 2012) (pushed due to lack of packet), Laurel LoPaD (03 Nov, 2012), Northshield (07 Nov, 2012), Middle (08 Nov, 2012), Atlantia (09 Nov, 2012), Caid (11 Nov, 2012), Calontir (12 Nov, 2012), An Tir (20 Nov, 2012), Ansteorra (21 Nov, 2012), Outlands (25 Nov, 2012), Ealdormere (26 Nov, 2012), Æthelmearc (30 Nov, 2012), Drachenwald (30 Nov, 2012), Gleann Abhann (30 Nov, 2012), Lochac (30 Nov, 2012), and Meridies (30 Nov, 2012). All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Thursday, January 31, 2013.
The March Laurel decisions will be made at the Pelican and Wreath meetings held in March 2013. These meetings will consider the following letters of intent: [Atenveldt (30 Nov, 2012)] (pushed due to lack of packet), Laurel LoPaD (04 Dec, 2012), [Trimaris (08 Dec, 2012)], [Caid (09 Dec, 2012)], Middle (13 Dec, 2012), Palimpsest Rules Letter (15 Dec, 2012), Northshield (17 Dec, 2012), East (21 Dec, 2012), Laurel (21 Dec, 2012), Lochac (27 Dec, 2012), [Ansteorra (29 Dec, 2012)], Meridies (30 Dec, 2012), Æthelmearc (31 Dec, 2012), An Tir (31 Dec, 2012), Artemisia (31 Dec, 2012), Atlantia (31 Dec, 2012), Ealdormere (31 Dec, 2012), Laurel LoPaD (31 Dec, 2012), Outlands (31 Dec, 2012), and [West (31 Dec, 2012)]. All commentary, responses, and rebuttals should be entered into OSCAR by Thursday, February 28, 2013.
Not all letters of intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this cover letter. The date of posting of the LoI, date of receipt of the Laurel packet, or other factors may delay consideration of certain letters of intent. Additionally, some letters of intent received may not have been scheduled because the administrative requirements (receipt of the forms packet, receipt of the necessary fees, et cetera) have not yet been met.
REMINDER: Until all administrative requirements are met, the letter may not be scheduled.
Household name patterns are something that many people, including many commenters, find confusing. Essentially, a household name is a name that refers to a group of people instead of a single individual (order names also do this, of course). It may be a family group, a guild, a military unit, or something else. As such, we allow household names to be created from a variety of models.
We have been relatively flexible about models for registration. For example, we have allowed the registration of names derived from the name of a building in which a household might be located (like a name derived from an inn-sign or house name). However, we require that any given household name submission follow a pattern specific to a given time and place. A great resource in getting started with patterns is Sharon Krossa's "A Brief, Incomplete, and Rather Stopgap Article about European Household and Other Group Names Before 1600" (http://medievalscotland.org/names/eurohouseholds/index.shtml). Next month we'll talk about some of those patterns in more detail.
This month, the question of whether Mathias Blaket conflicts with Mathias Blackwell created confusion for commenters. The names clearly are different in appearance, as the differences affect two syllables and several letters. Differences in sound only affect the second syllable of the byname. However, they affect all sounds of that syllable. Some commenters argued that the sound of the two vowels, both represented as e, was the same. However, the letter used to represent the sound is not important; comparisons to sound are made only on the basis of the sound itself.
Commenters agreed that even if the changes only affected the consonants of the second syllable, the difference would be sufficient to render the two items clear of conflict. We would like further discussion on this question: should two syllables be substantially different if changes affect both the initial and final consonant clusters of the syllable but not the vowel?
Under the Rules for Submissions, matronymics in Gaelic were a step from period practice because they were relatively rare and seem to have only appeared in descriptions after a patronymic byname. Under the Standards for Evaluation, steps from period practice no longer exist in names. Instead, each pattern must be ruled registerable (and compatible with period practice) or unregisterable.
We hereby rule matronymics in Gaelic compatible with period practice. This is based on two lines of evidence. The first is the number of examples using matronymic descriptions/bynames in the Annals. More details about these names can be seen in Mari Elspeth nic Bryan's "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Matronymic Bynames" (http://medievalscotland.org/kmo/AnnalsIndex/Matronymic.shtml). This is further supported by Anglicized Irish sources that have Gaelic-derived matronymic bynames. Diademe was able to identify a few from "Names Found in Anglicized Irish Documents" by Mari ingen Briain meic Donnchada. Two examples are Katherine ny Joan ny Acheim and Andrew m'Grany fitz James (where Grany is a spelling of Grainne). Given this variety of data, matronymic bynames in Gaelic will remain registerable.
SENA says "In general, designators which are used for household and association names cannot be used for orders and awards.... Similarly, Company of the Levrier is registerable as a household name, but not as an award or order name."
Company is an odd designator: it was used in period both to refer to orders (as in the period Companie du Cigne Noir, Compaignie de la Gartier, or compagnia dell'Argata, all from Juliana de Luna's "Medieval Secular Order Names") and to military groups (such as the grey period Military Company of the City of London).
We would invite commentary on this piece of SENA: is it desirable to maintain a distinction between the designators for household names and for orders? Or should we allow the use of terms like company to serve as the designators for order names?
Precedent from July 2006 (Amy verch Rychard, Acceptances - An Tir) says:
The documentation for this name, an Academy of Saint Gabriel letter, was not properly summarized. Because Saint Gabriel letters are built from a variety of sources, it is important to know where the Academy got the information in their letter. We remind submissions heralds that summarizations of Saint Gabriel letters must include the sources the Academy cites for its information -- this is important to the commenters when trying to decide whether the Academy's analysis is valid.
This precedent requires more detail in the summary of Academy of Saint Gabriel letters than for any other sources. We do not require that the summary of a published article include its sources, nor that a summary include the location from which the OED, the MED, or Reaney and Wilson took their information. Therefore, we are removing the requirement that summaries of an Academy of Saint Gabriel report include the sources cited.
We note that this does not remove the requirement that the conclusions of the letter be summarized. You must still include information about the time and place from which a name element is documented, as well as what sort of name element it is. It also remains true that early Academy of Saint Gabriel reports (those numbered under 1000) do not meet the Academy's later standards and should be used with caution, as they themselves warn.
A submission this month raised the issue of whether or not multiple charges in annulo, where the charges are arranged and turned in a circle so that each charge has a different orientation, is found in period armory. Evidence provided suggests that in fact it is not a period motif at all. Multiple charges arranged in annulo or in orle are typically only found palewise in period armory.
However, that design motif has a long history in Society heraldry, and so we are not inclined to banish it at this time. Therefore, the motif of multiple charges in annulo or in orle, where the charges are not in their default orientation is henceforth considered a step from period practice.
Two submissions this month had us making registerability rulings:
Orles charged with orles or tressures will not be registered after the June 2013 decision meeting without evidence of period practice.
Annulets with complex lines will not be registered after the June 2013 decision meeting without evidence of period practice.
Saturday, January 5, was a busy day among several kingdoms:
In the kingdom of Drachenwald, as their second-to-last order of business in court before stepping down at 12th Night, Their Majesties Paul and Aryanhwy elevated Thomas Flamanc de Kelsale to the rank of Herald Extraordinary and charged him forthwith to choose a personal title.
In the kingdom of Drachenwald, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, former Pelican Queen of Arms, stepped down as Queen of Drachenwald and was created a Countess and inducted into the Order of the Rose by Thorvald and Tofa, king and queen of Drachenwald.
In the East Kingdom, at 12th night, immediately after succeeding Rowen Cloteworthy as Brigantia Principal Herald, Ríán Mac Faoitigh, known as Ryan Mac White, elevated Rowen to the rank of Herald Extraordinary and bestowed on him a personal heraldic title. Immediately following Ryan's actions Their Majesties of the East, Edward and Thyra, bestowed on Rowen a Royal Augmentation of Arms.
Also, Their Majesties of the East inducted Ása in svarta, recently retired Blue Tyger Herald, into their order of the Maunche. This is the East's highest non-peerage arts & sciences order.
Also, Their Majesties of the East, in keeping with a writ delivered at their coronation, elevated Brunissende Dragonette, a former Blue Tyger Herald, former Ivy Pursuivant, and a well-known CoA commenter, into the Order of the Pelican.
And finally, as their last order of business in court at 12th Night, Their Majesties of the East, also in keeping with a writ from their coronation, elevated Marie de Blois, Palimpsest and Clarion Herald, former White Stag Principal Herald and Rampart Herald into the Order of the Pelican.
In the kingdom of Lochac, at their Twelfth Night Coronation, Their Majesties Felix and Eva elevated Teffania de Tuckerton, former Canon Herald (precedence), into the Order of the Laurel.
Also, Their Majesties of Lochac elevated Tamsyn Northover, former Crux Australis Principal Herald and former Rocket Herald, into the Order of the Pelican.
Also, Their Majesties of Lochac elevated ffride wlffsdotter, also known as Ásfríðr Úlfvíðardóttir, another well-known CoA commenter, into the Order of the Laurel.
Also, Their Majesties of Lochac made Domhnall na Moicheirghe, Rocket Herald, a Baron of the Court of Lochac.
And finally, The Majesties of Lochac bestowed upon Paul de la Ville, Mortar Herald (IT support), membership in the Order of the Golden Tear. The Golden Tear is an AoA-level award given for substantial and considerate service to the Kingdom.
Please send information about happenings to major heralds and major happenings to all heralds to Laurel, so that it can be published here.
Letters of Intent, Comment, Response, Correction, et cetera are to be posted to the OSCAR online system. No paper copies need be sent.
Submission packets (one copy of each name form plus documentation, including petitions; two colored copies of each armory form plus two copies of any associated documentation, including petitions) to the SCA College of Arms, 3101 Lee Hwy Ste 18/19 #178, Bristol VA 24202.
Cheques or money orders for submissions, payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms" are to be sent to David Duggar, Attn: Laurel Chancellor of Exchequer, 1705 Holiday Pl, Bossier City, LA 71112-3706.
Send roster changes and corrections to Laurel. College of Arms members may also request a copy of the current roster from Laurel.
For a paper copy of a LoAR, please contact Laurel, at the address above. The cost for one LoAR is $3. Please make all checks or money orders payable to "SCA Inc.-College of Arms". The electronic copy of the LoAR is available free of charge. To subscribe to the mailings of the electronic copy, please see the bottom of http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/lists.html#lists for more instructions.
For all administrative matters, please contact Laurel.
Pray know that I remain,
In service,
Gabriel Kjotvason
Laurel Principal King of Arms
Created at 2013-02-01T23:34:04