| Laurel: | Date: (year.month.date) | Precedent: |
| Shauna of Carrick Point | 2004.05 | As there is an Early Modern Irish descriptive byname, Maol, which means bald, this name is registerable under the Lingua Anglica allowance. A fully Early Modern Irish form of this name is Coileán Maol. [Cuilén the Bald, 05/04, A-Meridies] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | 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. [Jebe of Sugdak, 03/2004, A-Æthelmearc] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | 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". [Robin of Dalriada, 03/2004, R-Drachenwald] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.01 | This name is being returned for multiple problems. These include:
Another problem was the construction for the byname of the Sauromatae. The construction for this byname was of the [tribe name]. Bynames referring to tribe or clan names are formed in different ways in different languages. No documentation was provided and none was found to support of the [tribe name] as a plausible form in whatever language is appropriate for the term Sauromatae. Lacking such evidence, this byname is not registerable. This byname could be considered a Lingua Anglica rendering of a byname formed from a tribe name. However, to appeal to the Lingua Anglica allowance, documentation must be provided to support the byname in the original language. Only then may a Lingua Anglica form be determined. [Tomyris of the Sauromatae, 01/2004, R-East] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.10 | The byname the Silent is a reasonable Lingua Anglica form of the Old Norse descriptive byname �egjandi 'silent'. [Varr the Silent, 10/2003, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.09 | Submitted as Waldemar Stanislav of White Mountain, the submitter requested authenticity for Czech and allowed minor changes. [...]
The only documentation providied in the LoI for the byname of White Mountain was the statement: "Place name. English form of Czech name of famous battle." This is insufficient documentation. This statement does not provide evidence of a placename dated to period, in either Czech or English. Were documentation provided for a Czech placename that meant 'white mountain', it would not support a byname of White Mountain. As recently explained:
As noted by Nebuly, the byname of White Mountain is registerable because of the registered SCA branch name White Mountain. Therefore, this byname refers to the branch in question, not a period Czech placename. [...] [Waldemar Stanislaw of White Mountain, 09/2003, A-Trimaris] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.07 | Submitted as Karchar of the Blue
Eyes, the submitter requested authenticity for 12th to 15th C Turkey and allowed any changes.
The LoI stated that "Karchar is a Turkish masculine name, which appears in the Book of Dede Korkut, which was recorded between the 12th and 15th Century" and that "'of the Blue Eyes' is the English Translation of the Arabic epithet 'al-Azmaq', which is dated to 1230." No indication was provided on the LoI of where in The Book of Dede Korkut the name Karchar is found. Additionally, no reference was provided in the LoI at all for where the information regarding the byname al-Azmaq was found. This is a case of inadequate summarization of documentation on the LoI and is cause for return. The College cannot judge information that is not provided to them, hence the requirement of proper summarization of all documentation on LoIs. al-Jamal provided an evaluation of this name. It illustrates clearly why proper summarization is necessary for documentation referenced in LoIs: [...] "'of the Blue Eyes' is an English Translation of the Arabic epithet 'al-Azmaq'". Really? Where? The LoI gives no indication of the source or much of anything else, simply making the bald statement and citing, without reference to its source, a date. This is inadequate documentation. [...] The documentation provided for the byname al-Azmak was insufficient to support it as a plausible byname in period. Lacking better documentation, it is not registerable. Additionally, no support was found that of the Blue Eyes is a reasonable Lingua Anglica translation of any Turkish or Arabic byname in period. Lacking such support, the byname of the Blue Eyes is not registerable. As noted by al-Jamal, the Blue-eyed is a reasonable Lingua Anglica rendering of the feminine descriptive byname al-Zarqa'. It is reasonable to believe that a masculine form of this byname is also plausible and that the Blue-eyed would be an appropriate Lingua Anglica translation of this masculine form as well. [Karchar the Blue-eyed, 07/2003 LoAR, A-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.07 | The byname the Fierce is a Lingua Anglica translation of the Old Norse byname greypr. [Æsa the Fierce, 07/2003 LoAR, A-Middle] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.03 | The byname the Stout is a Lingua Anglica translation of the Old Norse byname inn digri. [Br{o,}nd�lfr the Stout, 03/2003, A-Middle] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.09 | Submitted as Agnieszka the Wanderer, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Polish. Nebuly found information about period forms of this name:
We have changed the given name to the form recommended by Nebuly in order to register this name and to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity. As she only allowed minor changes, and changing the language of the byname from the English the Wanderer to the Polish Wandrownyka is a major change, we were unable to change the name to the completely Polish form recommended by Nebuly. The byname the Wanderer is a Lingua Anglica translation of the Polish byname found by Nebuly and therefore does not count as a weirdness. [Agneszka the Wanderer, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Meridies] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | The LoI supported the submitted phrase the Hun by documenting the Old Norse term húnar:
Therefore, the Hun is a Lingua Anglica form of húnar. Eiríkr húnar would be a fully Old Norse form of the first two elements in this name. [Eric the Hun of Alta, 07/2002, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | Submitted as Ivarr Bearshoulders, the LoI noted that the submitter "would gladly accept [the byname] being translated into Old Norse, Icelandic or Norwegian". Multiple members of the College found bynames using elements meaning 'bear' and 'shoulders' in Old Norse, along with descriptive bynames that support a byname meaning 'bear-shoulders' as being plausible in Old Norse. Therefore, we have changed the byname to the form bjarnher�ar as suggested by the College. We have also added the accent to the Í in the given name, as accents should be used when � is used in the name. [Ívarr bjarnher�ar, 07/2002, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | The LoI stated that "The submittor desires a masculine 14th-15th century 'Byzantine' (Greek?) name. He will accept minor changes only, but will allow Rossos to be dropped and the Vigilant to be translated to it's Greek equivalent if either or both of these changes are necessary for registration." The documentation provided for the Vigilant in the LoI was
Metron Ariston found a descriptive byname that can plausibly have the Lingua Anglica form the Vigilant:
Therefore, Dareios Rossos the Vigilant is registerable since the Vigilant is a Lingua Anglica rendering of Promethes. Dareios Rossos Promethes may be an authentic form of this name. However, given the few resources available for Byzantine Greek, we were unable to confirm that a person would be referred to by two descriptive bynames simultaneously in a written name. Since there are so few resources currently available, we are giving the double descriptive byname the benefit of the doubt at this time. Future research may confirm or refute this construction. As the submitter did not allow major changes (except as noted for registerability), we did not change this name to a fully Greek form. [Dareios Rossos the Vigilant, 07/2002, A-Lochac] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.06 | From Pelican: Some Issues Regarding the Lingua Anglica Allowance
In the November 2001 Cover Letter, I called for comments regarding aspects of the Lingua Anglica Allowance. Specifically at issue were:
Much commentary was received on this topic and opinions were split on all of the issues. As Laurel, Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme outlined the purpose behind the Lingua Anglica Allowance (otherwise known as the Lingua Franca Allowance) in the Cover Letter that accompanied the January 1993 LoAR:
Keeping this purpose in mind, the fairest way address the current issues is to not count the use of the Lingua Anglica Allowance as a weirdness and to view it as the original language when examining the name for lingual mixes. This policy upholds the precedent
Similarly, there would be no weirdness for use of the byname of Saxony as a Lingua Anglica version of the German byname von Sachsen. In the case of William of Saxony, this name would be considered a mix of the English William and the German von Sachsen. As mixing English and German in a name is registerable with a weirdness, this name has one weirdness for the lingual mix. Rendering von Sachsen as of Saxony via Lingua Anglica does not carry a weirdness. Therefore, this name has one weirdness and is registerable. In the case of Wilhelm of Saxony, the name combines the German Wilhelm with the German byname von Sachsen. Rendering von Sachsen as of Saxony via Lingua Anglica does not carry a weirdness. Therefore, the name has no weirdnesses and is registerable. In the case of Rhys of Saxony, this name combines the Welsh Rhys with the German byname von Sachsen. As mixing Welsh and German in a name is not registerable, this name is not registerable under the Lingua Anglica Allowance. To quote Bruce's ruling again, this policy "seems to be the best compromise between the needs of authenticity and ease of use." (March 28, 1993 Cover Letter (January 1993 LoAR), pp. 2-3). [Cover Letter for the 06/2002 LoAR] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.06 | [Turtle Ship Herald] In addition to the issues discussed so far, there is the fact that limitations have been placed on the use of the Lingua Anglica Allowance:
The Lingua Anglica Allowance has been used in conjunction with only one household name, one branch name, and one order name. Of these, only the household name is more recent than the Lingua Anglica ruling quoted above. The household name was for the Brotherhood of the Seven Holy Sleepers of Ephesus (registered May 1996). While the household name was submitted as a Lingua Anglica form of the same household name in Finnish that was also registered at that time, the legend of these saints was likely known in England, making this a plausible household name in English, regardless of the Lingua Anglica Allowance. [Trimaris, Kingdom of, 06/2002, R-Trimaris] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.05 | [Bear Clan] The submitter requested authenticity for a 10th C Norse Clan and allowed minor changes. The submission form gave the submitted household name as "Bear Clan (Bjarn Aett in Old Norse)". The LoI presented Bear Clan as the submitted household name, based on a Lingua Anglica equivalent of a Norse Bjarn Aett. In order to determine both registerable and authentic forms of this name, there are several steps that need to be addressed:
The vast majority of the documentation for this submission came from two sources: Mark Harrison and Gerry Embleton, Viking Hersir, 793-1066AD, volume 3 of Osprey Military Warrior Series; and Nurmann, Schulze, & Verh�lsdonk, The Vikings, "Europa Militaria Special No. 6". These are tertiary sources at best and their purpose is not onomastics. Therefore, they must be used with care when used as documentation for name submissions. A number of Norse sagas were mentioned in the LoI, but no photocopies of any of them were provided. As none of them are included in the Admin Handbook under Appendix H, "Name Books That Do Not Require Photocopies to Laurel", these mentions may not be considered documentation. Additionally, no sections of those sagas were cited with specific references to "Norse clans". Such references would be necessary as part of documentation from these sagas. Viking Hersir (p. 6) defines an aett as an "extended family group". However, no documentation was provided that aett would be included as part of the name of such a family group. The Vikings (p. 53) defines the term Vikinge-lag as "brotherhoods of mercenaries". On the same page, it specifically mentions a particular group whose name includes this term:
Based on this example, vikinge-lag (as in Jomsvikinge-lag) is an acceptable designator for an SCA household based on the model of the Jomsvikings. The Lingua Anglica equivalent for this designator would be the suffix -vikings, as in the example Jomsvikings. The submitted documentation implies that Jomsvikinge-lag is a reference to the location Jomsburg. Geirr Bassi (p. 20) lists the descriptive byname Bjarneyja- meaning 'Bear Island-', which documents this location in Old Norse, and so dates it to period. A household name referring to this island, based on the Jomsvikings example, would be Bjarnavikinge-lag in Old Norse. Lingua Anglica equivalents for placenames are based on their English rendering, not on a literal translation of the meaning of the placename. For example, the Lingua Anglica form of Tokyo (which means 'Eastern Capital') is Tokyo, not Eastern Capital. The submitter's documentation shows Bjarn Isle as the English form of the place referred to in the byname Bjarneyja-. Therefore, a Lingua Anglica form of Bjarnavikinge-lag would be Bjarnavikings, not Bearvikings or Bear Clan. [Erik the Bear, 05/2002, R-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.04 | The submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Byzantine. The College was unable to find a Byzantine form of the byname of Varna, though examples of Byzantine locative bynames were found. Maridonna Benvenuti's article "14th Century Names of Lay Proprietors in the Themes of Thessaloniki and Strymon" (http://www.maridonna.com/onomastics/lay.htm) dates the names Demetrios Doukopoulos to 1300 and Petros Doukopoulos to 1324 and 1327. In these names, -poulos indicates a Peloponnese person. Since examples of locative bynames were found, of Varna may be considered to be a Lingua Anglica translation of the corresponding Byzantine locative byname. [Milica of Varna, 04/2002, A-Middle] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.03 | The LoI provided hypothetical Old Norse bynames (suggested by Mistress Gunnora) meaning 'long arm'. However, the LoI did not included any indication of what sources she used to assemble this information. It has long been the policy of the College that we require supporting documentation, even when the there is no doubt regarding the expertise of the individual:
In the case of this name, had the missing documentation been provided, it would have been of little help since the submitter does not allow major changes. Changing the language of the byname is a major change, so we would not be able to change this to an Old Norse form even if the documentation had been provided. Lacking the supporting documentation, Longarm cannot be considered a Lingua Anglica translation of a Norse descriptive byname. [Rognvald Longarm, 03/2002, A-Outlands] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.02 | The English byname the Lost has been ruled SCA compatible. Use of an element which is only SCA compatible is a weirdness. Mixing English with Old English in the same name was ruled registerable, though a weirdness, in the LoAR of October 2001 (Meridies acceptances, Saxsa Corduan). Therefore, this name has two weirdnesses, one for use of an SCA compatible element and one for the lingual mix, and so must be returned. If the Lost could be shown to be a translation of an Old English byname, this name would be registerable via the Lingua Anglica Allowance. [Ælfric the Lost, 02/02, R-An Tir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.02 | The byname the Lame is a Lingua Anglica translation of the Russian byname Khromoi, which Wickenden dates to circa 1495. Therefore, a fully Russian form of this name would be Radigost Khromoi. [Radigost the Lame, 02/02, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.01 | De Felice, dizionario dei cognomi italiani, (s.n. Sicilia) lists the form Siciliano. Thus, the Ramiro the Sicilian is a Lingua Anglica translation of Ramiro Siciliano or Ramiro il Siciliano. [Ramiro the Sicilian, 01/02, A-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.11 | Corwin was ruled SCA-compatible in the cover letter for the December 1985 LoAR. There was some question about the registerability of this name. The use of an SCA compatible name carries a weirdness. As stated by Gage, The byname of Saxony is only plausible as a Germanic name translated under the lingua anglica rule. At this time, there is not a weirdness for using the Lingua Anglica allowance. Also, there is no clear precedent whether the Lingua Anglica byname of Saxony should be viewed as English or as German. Therefore, we are giving the submitter the benefit of the doubt at this time and registering the name. [Corwin of Saxony, 11/01, A-Ansteorra] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.11 | [Neuschel Consort of Musicke] Documentation included with this submission dates the term Consort of Musicke to 1575. In context in the documentation, this term meets the requirement for a household-that it describe an organized group of people. As such, Consort of Musicke is acceptable as a designator for a household name. Regarding the lingual mix, the designator in a household name may be rendered either in the language appropriate to the submission or in English. Just as House Neuschel is registerable, so Neuschel Consort of Musicke is registerable. [Wolfgang Neuschel der Grau, 11/01, A-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | It was suggested that the byname the Traveler was registerable in this instance per the Lingua Anglica allowance. However the Lingua Anglica allowance requires documentation of the descriptive byname in the original language. The cover letter that accompanied the January 1993 LoAR included a clarification of the Lingua Anglica allowance, including:
Less codified, but of long practice, has been the translation of epithets into our lingua franca. Again, this follows a common historian's usage: Harald I of Norway, for instance, is far better known as Harald Fairhair than by the untranslated Harald Haarfagr. Eric the Red, Philip the Good, Charles the Fat, all are translations of the period names, not the period names themselves. SCA names are permitted a similar translation: a simple epithet, documented as a period form, may be translated into English. (We prefer to register the untranslated form, but I concede that such rigor doesn't always serve our clients' best interests.) [Cover Letter for LoAR January 1993]As no documentation of a Turkish byname meaning 'the Traveler' was presented, the Lingua Anglica allowance does not apply. If such documentation had been presented, this name would be registerable in its current form under the Lingua Anglica allowance. [Mihrimah the Traveler, 10/01, R-Ansteorra] [Ed.: returned for two weirdnesses] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Submitted as Skade från Disavi, the submitter wished to use the Lingua Anglica Allowance to use the modern Swedish particle från meaning 'from' with Disavi, a placename from the Viking era. The submitter wished to use this particle since it is in the modern language spoken by her group.
The Lingua Anglica allowance allows registrations of certain name elements in the official language of the SCA which is English: A few recent registrations have left some commenters wondering about the exact status of the College's lingua franca rules. Originally, these were simply the acknowledgement of a hard fact: that the grand majority of SCA folk speak modern English, not Russian, Saxon, Latin, Old Norse, or whatever. The principle was first expressed as a Board ruling (after they'd received correspondence written in medieval Latin!), and codified in the 1986 edition of the Rules for Submissions:As the Lingua Anglica allowance is limited to the official language of the SCA (which is English), it cannot be applied to other languages. Therefore, we have changed the particle to the period frá, which is the submitter's second choice. [Skade frá Disavi, 10/01, A-Drachenwald]"The official language of the Society is and shall be correct modern English ...Simple particles, such as 'of', may be used without necessarily increasing the counted number of languages contained in the name. The formula, whatever the original languages, is acceptable. This is the usual historian's manner, and therefore Otto of Freising is a familiar form, though he would have been Otto von Freising or some other more Geman or Latin version in most contemporary documents." [NR1]The same allowance for of is found in the current Rules (Rule III.2.a), though not spelled out in such detail. (28 March, 1993 Cover Letter (January, 1993 LoAR), pp. 2-3) |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Since de was used regularly in 16th C England with English placenames, de Caid is as registerable as of Caid. [Lucas de Caid, 10/01, A-Outlands] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | [Mihrimah the Traveler] It was suggested that the byname the Traveler was registerable in this instance per the Lingua Anglica allowance. However the Lingua Anglica allowance requires documentation of the descriptive byname in the original language. The cover letter that accompanied the January 1993 LoAR included a clarification of the Lingua Anglica allowance, including:
|
| François la Flamme | 2001.09 | Documentation was provided with this submission for locative bynames referring to rivers in Russian. The locative byname of the Kuma is therefore registerable via the Lingua Anglica allowance. [Mikhail of the Kuma, 09/01, A-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.08 | The byname the Butcher is registerable in this instance via the lingua Anglica allowance. The Greek form of this name (transliterated) would be Xenos Mageiros. [Xenos the Butcher, 08/01, A-Ansteorra] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.03 | [Griffin of Lochlan] The submitter documented Lochlan as Scots Gaelic for Norway and thus requested the byname as a lingua anglica form. The problem is that Gaelic did not use bynames of the form "of <placename>." In Gaelic, nationality was shown by using an adjectival form, e.g., instead of "of Norway" they used "Norse". Thus, there is not a Gaelic version of the byname that can be translated. As the submitter allows no changes, we must return the name. Given that Griffin is English and Scots, we recommend two possibilities. If the submitter wants to be from Norway, a Scots form of the locative is of Norroway. If the submitter wants Lochlan, then Lachlann is a period Scots byname derived from the Gaelic given name Lachlan. Thus Griffin Lachlann would be registerable, but the name would mean either that Griffin was the son of Lachlann or, depending on the time, that Lachlann was an inherited surname. [Griffin of Lochlan, 03/00, R-Atlantia] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 1999.11 | The letter of intent justified gamesmen as a "modernized singular form" of gememen. While we do accept modern English forms of bynames through the lingua anglica rule, the documentation given lists the modern form as game-man. [Wolfgang the Gamesman, 11/99, R-Atlantia] |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.08 | [Caitlin of Drogheda] Submitted as Caitlin OÆDrogheda, the given name has been previously ruled as requiring an Irish byname. The preposition "oÆ" here, while it emulates the patronymic particle, is actually an abbreviated form of English "of". We have changed it to Caitlin of Drogheda under the lingua Anglica allowance for place names since Drogheda is the English form of the placename. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1998) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.07 | [David Dr islav] Submitted as Daor Dr islav the Procrastinator � No documentation was presented for the Procrastinator being a period Croatian byname, or for it being period English usage. Therefore, we have dropped it. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR July 1998) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.11 | This name is being returned for non-period style. It appears to be invoking the lingua Anglica rule on the byname, but that still requires that the element be demonstrated to be a valid byname in one or the other of the languages involved. (Pelacho the Kindhearted, 11/97 p. 14) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.10 | [Eoin the Modest] While this combines both English and Gaelic in the same name, it is permissible under the lingua Anglica allowance. In the January 1995 acceptance of Grainne the Wanderer, Laurel (Da'ud ibn Auda) said "Since we treat the Wanderer as if it were an attested period English byname, this name is registerable by virtue of the lingua Anglica allowance." (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR October 1997, p. 6) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.10 | [Muirgheal of Cashel] While this combines Gaelic and English in the same name, since Cashel is a place name, this is registerable under the lingua Anglica allowance, as was in done in the January 1996 registration of Catriona of Downpatrick. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR October 1997, p. 5) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.08 | [Caíntigern of Ainsley] This combines Gaelic and English orthography in the same name. An argument was made that the lingua angelica rule should apply to topographic bynames. If "Ainsley" is a reasonable place name in English, the result is as registerable as, say "Caítigern of Dublin", would be. Unfortunately, the lingua angelica rule does not work that way. The relevant passage in the rules comes at the end of RfS III.1.a (Linguistic Consistency): `In the case of place names and other name elements frequently used in English in their original form, an English article or preposition may be used. For example, of Aachen might be used instead of the purely German von Aachen.' This submission does not meet that standard. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1997, p. 16) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.02 | [returning Haki Longswimmer] The byname obviously requires the lingua anglica allowance. This may be used provided that one of two conditions is met. The byname may be an English translation of a documented period byname in the source language, here ON, so long as the translation is chosen so as not to be obtrusively modern; or it may be a fairly generic period English byname in a period form. (See the discussion of the name Arianna othe Windisle (An Tir) in the 2/96 LoAR.) Longswimmer meets neither of those criteria: it's not a normal ME form of byname, and it's not a translation of a known ON byname. The attested byname skjótandi `shooter, archer' is a present participle corresponding to English shooting; an ON byname modelled on this one would be langsvimmandi, literally `long-swimming'. Haki Langsvimmandi, however, is probably reasonable enough. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1997, p. 25) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1997.02 | [Robert de Cynnabar] Cynnabar is the registered name of an SCA group. Since de was the most common medieval documentary locative preposition in both England and France, the two places where Robert is most likely to be found, we allow him to register the name of an SCA group with it. This was first done with the 11/92 registration of Robert de Cleftlands. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1997, p. 4) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1996.05 | [registering Brotherhood of the Seven Holy Sleepers of Ephesus] The submitter has chosen to protect the household name in English as well as in Finnish. Since they differ markedly in sound and appearance, the names would be independently registerable even if they were exact translations of each other, which they are not. (The English version is a trifle more explicit than the Finnish, which has nothing corresponding to of Ephesus.) No evidence has been offered for the use of such names in English, but even in the worst case the household name would be allowable as a lingua anglica version of its Finnish translation. (Peter Schneck, 5/96 p. 5) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1996.02 | In period Arianna is Italian, so the locative, which was submitted as of the Windy Isles, is best interpreted as a translation, permitted under the lingua anglica allowance. The extent of this allowance was discussed in detail in the 12/95 return of Ananda the Fiery (Middle); according to the precedent there cited, it covers translations of 'documented period epithets', provided that the translation has been chosen to minimize any intrusive modernity. Actual practice has been somewhat looser: not only has the College allowed non-intrusive translations of epithets thought to be compatible with the naming practices of the source language, but it has even allowed fairly generic English epithets without requiring a demonstration that they were plausible translations of period epithets from the language of the rest of the name. This latter practice can easily result in names that have very little to do with period practice in any language. Consequently, we have no qualms about requiring in such cases -- of which this is one - that the epithet be put into a period English form. (Arianna othe Windisle, 2/96 p. 1) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1996.01 | [Brighid the Red] The lingua anglica allowance permits the combination of Irish Brighid with the English byname. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR January 1996, p. 2) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.12 | Since we treat the Wanderer as if it were an attested period English byname, this name is registerable by virtue of the lingua anglica allowance. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR December 1995, p. 2) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.12 | The lingua anglica allowance is not intended to allow the use of English phrases as bynames in combination with given names of another language without regard to the naming practices of either language. Its only expression in the Rules for Submissions is found at the end of RfS III.2.a (Linguistic Consistency): `In the case of place names and other name elements frequently used in English in their original form, an English article or preposition may be used.' Precedent extends the allowance somewhat further, as explained in the 28 March 1993 Laurel Cover Letter:
Less codified, but of long practice, has been the translation of epithets into our lingua franca. Again, this follows a common historian's usage: Harald I of Norway, for instance, is far better known as Harald Fairhair than by the untranslated Harald Haarfagr. Eric the Red, Philip the Good, Charles the Fat, all are translations of the period names, not the period names themselves. SCA names are permitted a similar translation: a simple epithet, documented as a period form, may be translated into English. (We prefer to register the untranslated form, but I concede that such rigor doesn't always serve our clients' best interests.) The use of lingua franca translation is extended only to single, simple descriptives. Given names, for instance, may not normally be translated into their putative meaning: e.g. Bear may not be used as a given name, even though it's the lingua franca translation of the given name Björn. Placenames, hereditary surnames, and bynames from different languages (e.g. French and German) likewise don't fall under the lingua franca allowance. The English translation should be chosen to minimize any intrusive modernity: e.g. the Old Norse byname kunta is better translated as "wench" than as the intrusive "bimbo". (Well, actually, neither of those is exactly right, but there may be children reading.) Period terms are always preferable, but when necessary, we will translate documented period epithets into the Society's common tongue. That seems to be the best compromise between the needs of authenticity and ease of use. Note that the discussion refers to documented period epithets. No evidence has been submitted to suggest that the Fiery is a reasonable English translation of an epithet from any period culture in which the Sanskrit name Ananda was used, or even that it is a believable period English epithet. (The 9/94 registration of Ananda of the Bells, noted in the LoI, seems to rest on the judgement that of the Bells is a reasonable English byname. Though the actual form should probably be with the Bells, it is at least close.) In view of the problem with the byname, the question of whether Sanskrit Ananda is within the domain of the Society is moot. (Please see the Cover Letter for further commentary on this point.) (Talan Gwynek, LoAR December 1995, pp. 21-22) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.10 | [registering Rígnach of Argyll] The byname is registerable by virtue of the lingua anglica allowance. (Rígnach of Argyll, 10/95 p. 14) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1993.05 | We have in the past returned such epithets as Fyrlocc, on the grounds that they didn't follow known period models for English bynames. However, given the recent documentation of Pyrsokomos "flame-hair" as a valid Greek epithet, we are now inclined to permit its lingua franca translation -- but only for names where the original Greek epithet would be acceptable. The submitter will have to demonstrate regular period interaction between Ireland and Greece before this name meets that criterion -- or else show the construction follows period English models. (Fiona Flamehair, May, 1993, pg. 14) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1993.01 | [Anthony Iron Skull] The byname is a translation into our lingua franca of the Old Norse epithet járnhauss. Given analogous epithets in Latin (testifer, "iron head", 1297) and English (brasenhed, "brass head", 1434), this is not unreasonable even in translation. While [Ironskull] would be a more authentic construction, the above form is acceptable. (Anthony Iron Skull, January, 1993, pg. 3) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1993.01 | A few recent registrations have left some commenters wondering about the exact status of the College's lingua franca rules. Originally, these were simply the acknowledgement of a hard fact: that the grand majority of SCA folk speak modern English, not Russian, Saxon, Latin, Old Norse, or whatever. The principle was first expressed as a Board ruling (after they'd received correspondence written in medieval Latin!), and codified in the 1986 edition of the Rules for Submissions:
"The official language of the Society is and shall be correct modern English ...Simple particles, such as 'of', may be used without necessarily increasing the counted number of languages contained in the name. The formula , whatever the original languages, is acceptable. This is the usual historian's manner, and therefore Otto of Freising is a familiar form, though he would have been Otto von Freising or some other more Geman or Latin version in most contemporary documents." [NR1] The same allowance for of is found in the current Rules (Rule III.2.a), though not spelled out in such detail. Less codified, but of long practice, has been the translation of epithets into our lingua franca. Again, this follows a common historian's usage: Harald I of Norway, for instance, is far better known as Harald Fairhair than by the untranslated Harald Haarfagr. Eric the Red, Philip the Good, Charles the Fat, all are translations of the period names, not the period names themselves. SCA names are permitted a similar translation: a simple epithet, documented as a period form, may be translated into English. (We prefer to register the untranslated form, but I concede that such rigor doesn't always serve our clients' best interests.) The use of lingua franca translation is extended only to single, simple descriptives. Given names, for instance, may not normally be translated into their putative meaning: e.g. Bear may not be used as a given name, even though it's the lingua franca translation of the given name Björn. Placenames, hereditary surnames, and bynames from different languages (e.g. French and German) likewise don't fall under the lingua franca allowance. The English translation should be chosen to minimize any intrusive modernity: e.g. the Old Norse byname kunta is better translated as "wench" than as the intrusive "bimbo". (Well, actually, neither of those is exactly right, but there may be children reading.) Period terms are always preferable, but when necessary, we will translate documented period epithets into the Society's common tongue. That seems to be the best compromise between the needs of authenticity and ease of use. (28 March, 1993 Cover Letter (January, 1993 LoAR), pp. 2-3) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1992.06 | [Shire of Fire Mountain Keep] Given that the Latin and Old Norse terms for volcano translate more-or-less to "mountain with fire", we can consider this name a translation into the Society's lingua franca. (Shire of Fire Mountain Keep, June, 1992, pg. 1) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd year, 1st tenure) | 1991.09 | [Registering Ruantallan, Barony of. Name for Order of the Iceberg] While the English term "iceberg" is clearly post-Period, given the large number of cognates in so many northern European languages we feel that the name is probably acceptable. (LoAR 9/91 p.10). |