Collected Precedents of the S.C.A.: Welsh

Name Precedents: Welsh

Laurel:	Date: (year.month.date)	Precedent:
Shauna of Carrick Point	2004.05	This name combines Welsh and Anglicized Gaelic elements, which is one step from period practice.[Kendal Macalpin, 05/04, A-Middle]
Shauna of Carrick Point	2004.05	[Household name Plant y Ddraig] While a large amount of documentation was submitted showing that Plant y Ddraig, meaning "Children of the Dragon", is a reasonable name for a group of people in modern Wales, none of it addressed the issue of whether this is a reasonable name for a group of people in pre-17th C Wales. When asked about Welsh names for groups of people, Harpy had this to say: Especially in genealogical texts, it's moderately common to find "Plant <personal name>" as a term describing the common descendents of <personal name>. It doesn't have the same legalistic sense as Irish "clann", although you can find something vaguely resembling that sense for "wyrion <personal name>" (literally "grandsons of <personal name>"). But these would always be used with a personal name of the common ancestor, not with an abstract totem or symbol. These findings are consistent with clan names in Scotland and Ireland, which are based on either the surname or given name of a common ancestor. In none of these cultures are names for groups of people formed using an epithet or totem as the descriptive element. Barring documentation of such group names in Welsh, such a combination is not registerable. A Welsh household name using the form Plant + <Welsh personal name> or Wyrion + <Welsh personal name> should be registerable. [Zara the Quiet, 05/04, R-Aethelmearc]
Shauna of Carrick Point	2004.03	This name uses the form "given name + kingdom", which was regularly used in Welsh to indicate a member of the ruling family of that kingdom. However, Laurel made the following ruling in registering Myfanwy Gwynedd in August 2001: The evidence indicates that the usage "given name + kingdom name" is regularly used in Welsh to indicate a member of the ruling family of that kingdom (e.g., Owain Gwynedd). (LoAR 14 Jun 87, p. 6) However, more recent research (particularly Morgan & Morgan, p. 118 s. n. Gwynedd) has provided evidence of use of this byname by non-royals. As such, we are overturning that precedent and registering this name. It seems reasonable to extend this precedent to Deheubarth. [Ieuan Deheubarth,  03/04, A-Caid]
François la Flamme	2004.03	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. [Aeddan ap Cai, 03/2004, A-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2004.03	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. [Rhydderch ap Erwin, 03/2004, A-Æthelmearc]
François la Flamme	2004.03	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. [Rys Morgan Owen, 03/2004, A-Middle]
François la Flamme	2004.03	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://heraldry.sca.org/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. [Mevanwy Methig, 03/2004, A-Drachenwald]
François la Flamme	2004.03	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. [Caer Byrbryd, Shire of, 03/2004, R-Middle]
François la Flamme	2004.02	This name combines a Welsh given name with a Spanish byname. No evidence was presented, nor could the College find any, that there was significant contact between Welsh speakers and Spanish speakers in our period. Barring such evidence, a name combining Welsh and Spanish elements is not registerable. [Gweneth Sastre, 02/2004, R-Outlands]
François la Flamme	2004.01	Submitted as Gwenlliana  Iohannes, the submitter requested authenticity for Welsh and allowed any changes. Clarion provided commentary regarding an authentic form of this name: Given the use of both Wen and Gwen in the 13th century guide [Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Names", http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html], Gwentliana is probably a reasonable variant of Gwenllian for the 13th century. Taking the suggestion from the LoI that the name be normalized to the 13th century, this form is closer to the submitter's originally desired name. Probably the best for this period would be Gwentliana filia Iohannes. We have changed this name to the Latinized form suggested by Clarion in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. Gwentliana filia Iohannes is a Latinized form, which would have appeared in documents from Wales in the submitter's desired time period. This is close to, but clear of, Gwenllian ferch Owain (registered in January 1998). While both Owain and Iohannes are forms of John, they are being used in bynames and are in different languages (Welsh and Latin, respectively). As a result, the two bynames must only be significantly different in both sound and appearance, which they are. [Gwentliana filia Iohannes, 01/2004, A-Outlands]
François la Flamme	2003.11	Submitted as Deiniol ap Gwrgwst, both elements are found as masculine names in Tangwystyl verch Morgan Glasvryn's "Names of Women of the Brythonic North in the 5-7th Centuries." At this time, the Latin filius was used in Welsh patronymic bynames rather than the later ap. We have therefore made this change. [Deiniol filius Gwrgwst, 11/2003, A-East]
François la Flamme	2003.10	Submitted as Arthur of Ballan Moor, the submitter allowed minor changes only. The placename Ballan Moor was justified as the modern name of a ruined castle in Wales. The College could find no documentation that the name was used in period. However, it is possible to construct a possible placename using these elements. The period form of the surname appears to be Ballon; the College could not find evidence that the spelling Ballan was used before 1600. Based on similar placenames, the byname needs to take a possessive form, and the most likely spelling for the second element is -more, giving the spelling Ballonesmore. We have changed the location Ballan Moor to the plausible period spelling Ballonesmore in order to register this name. [Arthur of Ballonesmore, 10/2003, A-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2003.10	Submitted as Catell filius Matuc, the submitter requested authenticity for 4th C Wales and allowed any changes. Harpy provided information about an appropriate form of this name for the submitter's desired time and culture: In the 4th century, you're still talking about late Brittonic rather than Welsh of any flavor. The forms <Matuc> and <Catell> are from the Old Welsh period (7th and 10th centuries respectively, in this case). While I don't have Brittonic-era examples of either, the reconstruction appears fairly straightforward. Both names appear to involve a root + suffix rather than a prototheme + deuterotheme, which means that I don't have to guess quite so much about composition vowels. Looking at the spellings in the earliest names from Jackson (Language and History in Early Britain) which go back to the 5th century but are reasonably similar to what you'd expect a century earlier, I'd reconstruct a Latinized nominative <Catellus> (the same you'd expect in Latinized Old Welsh) and a Latinized genitive <Mataci>. The suffix here starts out as <-ac-> in Brittonic, begins shifting to <-oc-> in the 7th century, then to <-auc-> in the 8th. The Old Welsh form <Matuc>, if it's a variant of Madog, represents a variant of this last stage. (It's also possible that it's the same root with a different suffix -- the one found in later Welsh as <-wg>. It's hard to tell, since I don't have any other evidence for Madwg and Madog is incredibly common.) In the 4th century, a written form would definitely be Latin-context, so putting it all together, we've got <Catellus filius Mataci>. (These particular names happen to be quite similar in their Brittonic and Old Welsh forms, but this is pure chance.) We have changed this name to the form suggested by Harpy in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Catellus filius Mataci, 10/2003, A-Middle]
François la Flamme	2003.09	Listed on the LoI as Meurig Oglyn, the form listed this name as Meuric Orglyn. The given name was changed at Kingdom to match a documented form. Metron Ariston found that: Reaney and Wilson (Dictionary of English Surnames, s.n. Merrick) show Meurich filius Rogeri from 1187, Meuricus from 1207 and Jeuan Eigon ap Meuric from 1391. Given these examples, the submitted form Meuric is reasonable as a given name. No documentation was presented and none was found that the submitted byname Orglyn is a plausible period form. Therefore, we have changed this byname to o'r glyn to match the submitted documentation in order to register this name. [Meuric o'r glyn, 09/2003, A-Ansteorra]
François la Flamme	2003.09	The submitter requested authenticity for 10th C Welsh and allowed any changes. There was some discussion whether the byname map Guoillauc was properly constructed or whether the byname should use the Latin filius 'son', as described in Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "The First Thousand Years of British Names" (http//www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/british1000/). Harpy provided information about the use of filius and map in records from this era: On the matter of <map>, it's certainly true that written records of this era overwhelmingly use Latin patronymic markers, on the other hand, if the client wants the vernacular form (which is certainly more likely to reflect spoken practice), it can be supported by rare examples such as the Harleian MS 3859 genealogies (in Bartrum EWGT), composed in the 10th century, which use <map> and <merch>. Based on this information, we have registered this name in the submitted form. [Riguallaun map Guoillauc, 09/2003, A-Ansteorra]
François la Flamme	2003.09	This name is being returned for combining German and Welsh in a single name which has previously been ruled reason for return (Anton Cwith, August 2001) barring evidence of significant contact between these two cultures. The name Alaric was documented from Withycombe (p. 4 s.n. Alaric). However, this entry gives no indication that the name Alaric was used in English in period. The only period information regarding this name provided by Withycombe is the statement that Alaric was "the name of several kings of the West Goths, notably Alaric I who sacked Rome in A.D. 410." This statement only supports Alaric as an early Germanic name. Lacking evidence that the name Alaric was used in a language whose speakers had significant contact with Welsh speakers, this name is not registerable. No documentation was presented and none was found to support Morganygg as a variant of the placename Morgannwg found in Morgan & Morgan (s.n. Morgan). Lacking such evidence, Morganygg is not registerable. [Alaric Morganygg, 09/2003 LoAR, R-Ansteorra]
François la Flamme	2003.09	The submitter requested authenticity for 12th C French/Welsh, requested changes for the meaning 'Chiere, wife of Maredudd', and allowed minor changes. In most cases, an authentic name in period that combined elements from two languages (in this case, French and Welsh) would be recorded all in one language or all in the other language depending upon the language in which the name was recorded. Clarion provided information regarding Welsh names that appeared in France: The article "Welsh Names in France in the Late 14th Century" [KWHS Proceedings, 1994] looks at Welsh names in French contexts. In that context names were as the above article indicates that in a French context they "Frenchified" the Welsh names. Thus if the "wife of X" pattern is used in French names (and I do not know if it is), then Chiere <wife of> Mereduc would be a reasonable French name of a woman married to a Welshman and living in France. Mereduc is one of the forms found in the above article. In a Welsh context, the given name would probably be converted to either a Welsh or English form. I am not certain what that would be. Hercule Geraud, Paris sous Philippe-le-Bel: d'aprés des documents originaux et notamment d'aprés un manuscript contenant Le R�le de la taille imposée sur les habitants de Paris en 1292 lists a number of entries that use fame to mean 'wife of', including Ameline, fame Phelipe, de Pontaise (p. 7, column 1). Based on this information, a fully French form of this name, appropriate for the late 14th C, would be Chiere fame Mereduc. Lacking information regarding how the French feminine given name Chiere would be recorded in Welsh, we are unable to suggest a fully Welsh form of this name. Lacking evidence of significant contact between French speakers and Welsh speakers in the 12th C, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time period. As the submitter only allows minor changes, and changing the language of a name phrase is a major change, we were unable to change this name to the fully French form Chiere fame Mereduc in order to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Chiere wreic Maredudd, 09/2003, A-Trimaris]
François la Flamme	2003.08	[Household name Gwely Caradoc] Listed on the LoI as Clann Caradoc, this name was submitted as Clan Caradoc. The LoI stated that "The submitters note that 'If Clan is unacceptable, please change to correct Welsh designator.'" RfS III.1.a requires linguistic consistency in a name phrase. As a household name is a single name phrase, the entire household name must be in a single language. As Caradoc is Welsh, it may not be used with Clann, which is Gaelic, or with Clan, which is Scots or Anglicized Irish. Harpy provided information regarding a word in Welsh that has a close meaning to clan: In my research, the type of name that seems to correspond best to the Gaelic "clan", in the sense of a group of closely-related individuals with mutual legal and economic obligations, uses the element "gwely", which literally means "bed", but in this context means "a group of closely-related individuals who hold land in common (also the land held by such a group)". These group/place names are normally constructed as "gwely <personal name of common ancestor>" where the ancestor may be identified by a given name or a full personal name or much more rarely by some other descriptor. Some examples of this type of name from the mid 14th century rental in the Black Book of St. Davids include: gwele Cradoc ap Duryn~ gwele Ieuan ap Kediuor gwele Gwylbrid' gwele redwyth' Harpy explained that the form gwele found in the examples below is a non-standard spelling used in this source, and that the standard spelling for this time period would be gwely. She also provided the correct form of this household name using Gwely as a designator: Gwely Caradoc (the near descendents of Caradoc who hold land in common, also the land they hold) As the submitters allow any changes, we have changed this household name to Gwely Caradoc as recommended by Harpy to make this name completely Welsh in order to register this name. [Mat of Forth Castle and Adekin Caradoc, 08/2003 LoAR, A-Caid]
François la Flamme	2003.06	Listed on the LoI as Flavia Elena Glamorganshire, this name was submitted as Flavia Elena ab Glamorganshire. The particle ab 'son' was removed at Kingdom because it is a patronymic marker and would not be used in a locative byname. [...] Some documentation exists that -shire was included in locative bynames based on English shire names. For example, Bardsley, s.n. Derbyshire, dates Idonia Darbyschyre to 1379. However, no evidence was found that this trend existed for names of Welsh shires. Therefore, we have dropped -shire from the byname in order to register this name. [Elena Glamorgan, 06/2003 LoAR, A-Atenveldt]
François la Flamme	2003.06	Listed on the LoI as Gwineth Llyn  Lloyd, this name was submitted as Gwineth Llyn Brith. The LoI noted that the constructed placename was intended to mean 'Gray Pond'. Kingdom found that brith more usually means 'speckled', rather than 'gray', and so forwarded the name using llwyd 'gray' which appears more frequently in placenames. Unfortunately, the hypothecized Llyn Lloyd combines Welsh and English in a single name phrase (in this case, the placename Llyn Lloyd) and, so, violates RfS III.1.a. Metron Ariston explains: The locative is analogous to the actual Llyndu, but needs a bit of grammatical work since Lloyd is an anglicized form. The actual Welsh word for grey is in fact Llwyd, as noted in the documentation on the letter of Intent. And, following usual place name formation, the two elements would coalesce into something like Llynllwyd. We have changed the locative byname to use the form of this placename suggested by Metron Ariston in order to place the entire byname in a single language and to make its construction follow period examples. [Gwineth Llynllwyd, 06/2003 LoAR, A-Ealdormere]
François la Flamme	2003.06	The submitter requested authenticity for 10th C Welsh/Norse. As the College was only able to find forms of Gawain in English, we were unable to make this name authentic for either Welsh or Norse. As this name is registerable as a mix of English and Old Norse, the question of whether a name mixing Welsh and Old Norse is registerable is not an issue. Therefore, we are declining to rule on such a combination at this time. [Gawain Ivarsson, 06/2003 LoAR, A-An Tir]
François la Flamme	2003.04	The submitter requested authenticity for 14th C Welsh/English. The name Rhiannon is SCA-compatible, but no evidence has yet been found of it being used as a given name by real people in period. Lacking such evidence, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture. [Rhiannon of Shrewsbury, 04/2003 LoAR, A-An Tir]
François la Flamme	2003.04	This name is being returned for combining a Welsh given name with a Hungarian descriptive byname. al-Jamal addressed the documentation for Welsh-Hungarian contact provided in the LoI: The closest to real documentation for a combination Welsh/Hungarian name that the LoI comes is a statement about the plausibility of an assumption "that there was, at least one, Welshman who went on Crusade to Jerusalem amongst the plethora of English" or "that there was, at least one, Welshman who went on Pilgrimage to the Holy Land ... most likely via Hungary", and alluding to the presence of the Benedictine Order in both the British Isles and in Hungary (without taking into consideration at all the likely or even possible nationality of its members). RfS III.1. states that: "As a rule of thumb, languages should be used together only if there was substantial contact between the cultures that spoke those languages...." (Emphasis added) Assumptions, even without arguing their plausibility, are not evidence of "substantial contact". Lacking evidence that Welsh and Hungarian cultures had substantial contact, this name is not registerable. [Aneirin Nevetség(es), 04/2003 LoAR, R-Trimaris]
François la Flamme	2003.04	This name was submitted as Angharad o'r Rhosyn ferch Rhain and changed at Kingdom to use y, as it is typically used with objects while o'r is usually used with generic locations. This name was intended to mean 'Angharad of the Rose, daughter of Rhain'. The question was raised regarding whether a byname meaning 'of the Rose' was presumptuous, and so was not registerable. Indeed, previous precedent has ruled: [returning the byname of the Rose] The byname [of the Rose] implies membership in the Order of the Rose as much as 'of the Laurel', 'of the Chivalry', or 'of the Pelican' imply membership in those orders. (Da'ud ibn Auda, 1/95 p. 13) However, the point was raised that we have recently registered the bynames de la Rosa and de la Rose. Therefore, a clarification is in order. RfS VI.1 "Names Claiming Rank" states in part: Names containing titles, territorial claims, or allusions to rank are considered presumptuous. [...] Names documented to have been used in period may be used, even if they were derived from titles, provided there is no suggestion of territorial claim or explicit assertion of rank. For example, Regina the Laundress is acceptable but Regina of Germany is not. Bynames meaning 'lord', 'master', 'knight', etc., have been ruled to be presumptuous in multiple languages. The reason is that use of these bynames is an "explicit assertion of rank", which is prohibited in RfS VI.1 cited above. However, unlike Master, Knight, etc., and their associated alternate forms found in the List of Alternate Titles (http://heraldry.sca.org/titles.html), 'of the Rose' is not used as a title in the S.C.A., though it can be interpreted as claiming membership in the Order of the Rose. The key is whether such a byname is an "explicit assertion of rank". Reaney & Wilson (p. 383 s.n. Rose) date Robert de la Rose to 1242 and Adam atte Rose to 1305. Berm�dez Plata, Don Cristóbal, Catálogo de Pasajeros a Indias Durante los Siglos XVI, XVII, y XVIII (vol II, p. 131, #2206) dates Francisco de la Rosa to 1535. David Herlihy, R. Burr Litchfield, Anthony Molho, and Roberto Barducci, ed., "FLORENTINE RENAISSANCE RESOURCES: Online Tratte of Office Holders 1282-1532" (http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/tratte/) lists the byname DELLAROSA. As this article normalizes bynames, this listing most likely represents the period form della Rosa. From these sources, we have documented period use of the bynames de la Rose and atte Rose in English, de la Rosa in Spanish, and della Rosa in Italian. Use of these bynames was not an "explicit assertion of rank" in period. Nor, given the number of times they have been registered without comment, both from the College of Arms during commentary and in the LoARs, use of these documented period bynames is not generally seen to be an "explicit assertion of rank" within the S.C.A. Therefore, like the given name Regina, these bynames are registerable so long as there is no suggestion of rank implied by this element in conjuction with another element in the name, or in the name as a whole. In the case of the submitted byname in this name, the element Rhosyn was documented from a modern English-Welsh dictionary. No evidence was found that it would have been used part of a descriptive byname in Welsh in period, though Metron Ariston found evidence of a period placename of Glyn Rhosyn (http://www.wku.edu/~rob.harbison/david.html). Lacking evidence that a byname meaning 'of the Rose' existed in period Welsh, the byname y Rhosyn must be seen to be a claim to membership in the Order of the Rose and so is not registerable. As the submitter allows no major changes, we were unable to drop the problematic byname in order to register this name. [Angharad y Rhosyn ferch Rhain, 04/2003 LoAR, R-East]
François la Flamme	2003.03	Submitted as Gwenllian of Tenby, the submitter requested authenticity for Welsh and allowed any changes. Since locative bynames in Welsh typically did not include a preposition, we have dropped of in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Gwenllian Tenby, 03/2003, A-Middle]
François la Flamme	2003.03	No documentation was provided and none was found to support Rhysling as a name used in period. The LoI summarized the submitted documentation as: Rhysling: Welsh masculine given name. Withycombe, pg. 253 states that this is "a common Welsh Christian name, the origin of the surnames Reece, et al." However, this statement in Withycombe (s.n. Rhys) is referring to Rhys, not Rhysling. This entry makes no mention of Rhysling. The College was unable to find support for Rhysling as a name used in period. Lacking such support, it is not registerable. It was generally felt that changing the given name to Rhys was a major change, which the submitter does not allow. [Rhysling of Westover, 03/2003, R-Trimaris]
François la Flamme	2003.02	Ifanwy was documented from Gruffydd (p. 60). However, this entry gives no date for this name. Undated names in Gruffydd are generally modern. Regarding this name, Metron Ariston stated that "[t]he only instances I could find were relatively modern (nineteenth and twentieth centuries)." Lacking evidence that Ifanwy was used as a name in period, it is not registerable. [Ifanwy ferch Morien, 02/2003 LoAR, R-Caid]
François la Flamme	2003.01	Bronwen is a modern Welsh name that is registerable as an SCA-compatible name. The LoI stated that "an Druaidh is the registered last name of submitter's mundane husband (Conall Mac an Druaidh - 8/1994 Atlantia)". However, Conall's byname is not an Druaidh. The elements an Druaidh are simply part of his byname, which is Mac an Druaidh, 'son of the druid'. Only entire elements of name phrases may be used under the Grandfather Clause. Therefore, since Mac an Druaidh is the grandfathered element, it is not eligible to support a submitted byname inghean an Druaidh 'daughter of the druid'. Since patronymic bynames are literal in Gaelic in period, Mac an Druaidh may not be used as a woman's byname, because she is a daughter, not a son. This name also combines Welsh and Gaelic in a single name, which has previously been reason for return. [Bronwen inghean an Druaidh, 01/2003 LoAR, R-Atlantia]
François la Flamme	2003.01	Maelona was documented from a Web site (http://www.crosswinds.net/~daire/names/celtwmale.html). However, this Web site is a "name your baby" type of Web site and should be avoided for SCA purposes. The College found Maelona listed in Gruffudd (s.n. Maelona). However, Gruffudd gives no date for this name, saying only that it is a feminine form of Maelon. As noted in previous rulings, undated names in Gruffudd are usually modern names. Additionally, the name Maelona is implausible as a Welsh name in period as explained in the precedent: In December I noted that in period Latin inflections do not appear to have been used to change the gender of Welsh (and for that matter Gaelic) names. That is, such feminizations as Briana, Morgana, and Alana are, so far as we know, post-period inventions. [...] [T]he names Morgana and Alana, as well as any other similarly feminized masculine names for which there is no evidence of period use (and which have not already been declared 'SCA-compatible'), are not considered 'SCA-compatible'. In other words, the argument based on the Latin/Romance practice of using inflectional endings to change the gender of a name is not automatically valid; it must be supported either by evidence of period use of the specific name or by evidence that the practice was in general use in the linguistic culture of that name. (Talan Gwynek, Cover Letter to the June 1996 LoAR, p. 2) Lacking evidence that Maelona was used in period, it is not registerable. [Maelona ferch Gareth, 01/2003 LoAR, R-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2003.01	The LoI stated that Brigid was documented "from Withycombe under 'Bridget' dated to 1480 in England p 54." However, Brigid is a Gaelic form. Metron Ariston provided information regarding the person mentioned in Withycombe who is dated to 1480: All the genealogical and historical sources I could find for the daughter of Elizabeth Woodville and King Edward IV who was born in 1480 give her name as Bridget rather than the spelling used. Withycombe in the place cited does say that that daughter was the first documented case of Bridget as a given name in England, but does not in fact say that this is the spelling used. As a matter of fact, this spelling is given as a specifically Irish form which would not be allowed according to the table of permissible language combinations in the January, 2002, cover letter which says that Gaelic and Welsh cannot be combined. Combining Gaelic and Welsh in a name has previously been ruled unregisterable. Aryanhwy merch Catmael found English forms of Brigid: Withycombe does not give a date for the spelling <Brigid> in English; as far as I know this is a purely Gaelic form. Gaelic/Welsh combinations were ruled unregisterable on the 08/01 LoAR. While English/Welsh combinations are not even a weirdness (per the 08/99 cover letter), the combination of an English given name adopted from Irish Gaelic with a Welsh byname is certainly unlikely. Here are some English forms of the name: From "16th C Ormskirk Names" (http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sfriedemann/names/ormskirk/): Brichet 1581, 1585 Brychet 1589 From "16th C Gloucestershire Names" (http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sfriedemann/names/late16/): Bridgett 1573, 1590, 1596 Bridget 1593 Bridgret 1590 Withycombe gives <Brigitte> 1563 as the earliest occurrence of the name in English contexts. Changing Brigid to any of these forms would be a major change, since it changes the language of this element. The submitter allowed major and minor changes, but noted on her form that she requested she be called first. Given the number of submissions that are processed at the Laurel level each month, it is not feasible to individually contact submitters. Therefore, we are interpreting her form as "no major changes". As changing Brigid to an English form is a major change, this submission must be returned. Bynames used in women's names in Welsh need to be lenited. The lenited form of the submitted bynames Gwyllt Glas would be Wyllt Las. [Brigid Gwyllt Glas, 01/2003 LoAR, R-East]
François la Flamme	2003.01	Listed on the LoI as Emrys ap Tudur, this name was submitted as Emrys Tudur and changed at Kingdom (with the submitter's consent) to make the byname a patronymic rather than an inherited surname. As noted in the October 2002 LoAR (Rhonwen verch Tuder, Middle acceptances): Evidence has been found that Welsh forms of Tudor (specifically Tuder and Tedder) were not limited to the royal family. [...] Given these examples, the Welsh forms Tuder and Tedder fall into the same category as Stewart (used as an example in RfS VI.1). Since use of these forms "does not link one unmistakably to the royal house" (RfS V1.1), they are registerable. The LoI noted that Reaney & Wilson (p. 456 s.n. Tudor) dates Tudur ap Llywelyn to 1391, which gives support for the submitted spelling as a Welsh form. Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names (in English Contexts)" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh16.html) shows examples of Welsh patronymic bynames that omit the particle (in this case, ap). Given this information, we have returned this name to the submitted form. Some commenters mentioned a possible issue of presumption due the combination of the name and the device. According to their research, there is a story of Merlin seeing a vision of a battle between red and white dragons in a pool, symbolizing the struggle between the Saxons and the Britons. Merlin was also known as Ambrose or Emrys. The LoAR of August 1992 stated: For those names that are well documented as period human names, that also happen to be the names of gods, one armorial allusion to the god will no longer be considered excessive. This precedent has been extended to mythological figures other than deities. Since Emrys is a period given name, one allusion is not presumptuous, and may be accepted. [Emrys Tudur, 01/2003 LoAR, A-Caid]
François la Flamme	2003.01	Seona is a modern Scottish Gaelic form of Joan. Lacking evidence that it was used in period, it is not registerable. Additionally, this name combined Gaelic and Welsh in the same name, which has previously been reason for return. [Seona ferch Angharad, 01/2003 LoAR, R-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2002.11	Submitted as Gwenhwyvar verch Llewelyn y meddyg, the submitter requested authenticity for 16th C Welsh. The phrase y meddyg was submitted as meaning 'the doctor' based on examples in Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names (in English Contexts)" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh16.html). Used in this context, it describes her father. This complete byname means 'daughter of Llewelyn the doctor'. In Welsh occupational bynames, y 'the' is typically omitted. Cases where it is included in the name are rare. Additionally, as meddyg is being used as an element in a woman's byname, it should be lenited (though lenition is sometimes omitted in Anglicized records in the 16th C). Tangwystyl's article "Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/) lists Vethike as a lenited Welsh form of this byname. We have changed y meddyg to Vethike to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Gwenhwyvar verch Llewelyn Vethike, 11/2002, A-Æthelmearc]
François la Flamme	2002.10	Submitted as Margiad verch Llywelyn, the submitter requested authenticity for Welsh and allowed any changes. Black Pillar clarified that the submitter was actually most interested in the sound of the name and had originally wanted Margate, "a place name that was unsuitable for a given name", and so chose Margiad as a similar sounding Welsh name. Margiad was documented as a Welsh form of Margaret from Withycombe (pp. 206-7 s.n. Margaret). When Withycombe is discussing languages other than English, she is usually referring to modern forms unless she specifically states otherwise. Gruffudd also lists Margiad, but gives no dates for this name. When Gruffudd does not list dates for a name, he is normally referring to modern forms. The College was unable to find any evidence that Margiad was used in period, though period Welsh forms of Margaret were found. Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html) lists Margareta and Marured as Welsh forms of Margaret. This article also lists Lewelin and Lewelyn as forms of Llywelyn found in this time period. From this information, authentic 13th C forms of this name would be the Latinized Welsh form Margareta filia Lewelin and the Welsh forms Marured verch Lewelin and Marured verch Lewelyn. Lacking evidence that Margiad is a plausible period form, it is not registerable. Since the submitter originally desired Margate as a given name, it is important to note that Margate, listed as a form of Margaret, is dated to 1598 and 1600 in Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "Names found in Quedgeley, Glouchestershire Marriage Registers 1559-1600" (http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sfriedemann/names/quedgeley.htm). Quedgeley is a location in Gloucestershire, England, which bordered Wales in the 16th C. A form of Llywelyn used as a surname also appears in Gloucestershire. Irvine Gray and J. E. Gethyn-Jones, ed., The Registers of the Church of St. Mary's, Dymock, 1538-1790 (p. 24) dates Antony Fluellyn to 1563. So, Margate Fluellyn would be an authentic form of this name for 16th C Gloucestershire. Since Black Pillar has had contact with the submitter and has clarified that the sound of her name is most important to her, we are registering this name as Margate verch Llywelyn. [Margate verch Llywelyn, 10/2002, A-Artemisia]
François la Flamme	2002.10	Submitted as Rhonwen Lili'r dyffrynnoedd ferch Tewdwr, the submitter requested authenticity for Welsh and allowed any changes. Rhonwen was ruled SCA compatible in November of 1995. No documentation was provided and none was found that Lili'r dyffrynnoedd, 'Lily of the Valley', is a plausible byname in Welsh. Lacking such evidence, it is not registerable. We have dropped this element in order to register this name. There is a precedent against registration of forms of the name Tudor: I have strong reservations about permitting either Tudor or Tudora. I'm afraid that no matter how harmless or common these may have been in period, most SCA members will see only an association with the House of Tudor, which they will perceive to be a claim "that one is a member of a royal family or is of royal birth. [Baldwin of Erebor, 12 May 85, p.4] [The name was disallowed.] Evidence has been found that Welsh forms of Tudor (specifically Tuder and Tedder) were not limited to the royal family. For example, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/) includes the names Meredith ap David ap Tuder, Llewelyn ap Tuder, Tuder ap Robert, and Margaret verch Ieuan ap Tedder. In her article, Tangwystyl gives the source of this data as "legal cases found in An Inventory of the Early Chancery Proceedings Concerning Wales, compiled by E. A. Lewis (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1937)." Given these examples, the Welsh forms Tuder and Tedder fall into the same category as Stewart (used as an example in RfS VI.1). Since use of these forms "does not link one unmistakably to the royal house" (RfS V1.1), they are registerable. The submitted form Tewdwr was documented from Davies, A History of Wales (p. 82-83), and Gruffudd (p. 89). In the case of Davies, as this is a history book, not a study on names or naming practices, the form Tewdwr in this location is almost certainly a standardized modern form. Gruffudd does not list a date for the form Tewdwr, which generally indicates a modern form. The College was unable to find any evidence that the form Tewdwr was actually used in period. Without such evidence, it is not registerable. We have changed the byname to verch Tuder, following the examples from Tangwystyl's article cited above, to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity. Lacking evidence that the name Rhonwen was actually used as a feminine given name in Wales in period, we were unable to make this name completely authentic. [Rhonwen verch Tuder, 10/2002, A-Middle]
François la Flamme	2002.09	Submitted as Madryn Newmarch, Madryn was documented from Gruffydd (p. 66). However, this entry gives no date for this name, dating only Madrun to the 5th C as a feminine given name. Undated names listed in Gruffudd are usually modern names. Lacking evidence that the form Madryn is a plausible period form, it is not registerable. Sommelier found support for a form of Madrun as a feminine given name in the 13th C: Tangwystyl's "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html) lists Madrun as the "standard" spelling and Maderun as the form appearing in manuscript. It is listed as a feminine name. As the submitter allows all changes and has specified no desired gender, we have changed the spelling of the given name to Madrun in order to register this name. [Madrun Newmarch, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Outlands]
François la Flamme	2002.09	Submitted as Nest Verch Tangwistel, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Welsh. We have lowercased the particle to follow documented examples. [Nest verch Tangwistel, 09/2002 LoAR, A-East]
François la Flamme	2002.09	Heulwen was documented from Gruffydd (p. 59). However, this entry gives no date for this name. Metron Ariston notes that "[u]ndated feminine names in Gruffudd are usually not period names. In this case, where the translation given is 'sunshine', I would say that the odds are very long that this is not a period name." Lacking evidence that Heulwen was used in period, it is not registerable. [Heulwen ferch Lloid, 09/2002 LoAR, R-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2002.09	Submitted as Gwenlyn ferch Ithel, Gwenlyn was documented from Gruffydd (p. 50). However, this entry gives no date for this name. Metron Ariston notes that "[u]ndated feminine names in Gruffudd, particularly those with geographic translations, are usually not period names." Lacking evidence that Gwenlyn was used in period, it is not registerable. We have changed the given name to the second form listed in the LoI, Gwenllyen, which is dated to the 16th C in Morgan & Morgan (p. 111 s.n. Gwenllian) in order to register this name. [Gwenllyen ferch Ithel, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2002.09	Submitted as Iain mac Caradoc, the submitter requested authenticity for 15th C Scots and allowed any changes. Iain is a Gaelic masculine given name, ruled SCA compatible in April 1997. However, no evidence has yet been found that it was used in period. The submitted byname mac Caradoc combined the Scots or Anglicized Irish particle mac with the Welsh name Caradoc. RfS III.1.a requires linguistic consistency in a single name phrase. Therefore, the phrase mac Caradoc is in violation of this rule and is not registerable. No examples were found of any form of Caradoc in either Gaelic or Scots (a language closely related to English). Therefore, we have changed the byname to the form Cradoc, which is a plausible form based on the examples of Philip Craddoc dated to 1205 and Robert Cradock dated to 1301, both in England, in Reaney & Wilson (p. 114 s.n. Craddock). Morgan & Morgan (p. 67 s.n. Caradog) explain that the change in this name from Caradoc to Cradoc forms is due to an accent shift in early Welsh. Use of an element that is only SCA compatible (Iain in this case) counts as a weirdness. Combining English and Gaelic in a single name is also a weirdness. To avoid having two weirdnesses in this name, which would cause the return of this name, we have changed the given name to the form Ian, which is also SCA compatible. Since Ian is Scots, and mixing Scots and English in a single name carries no weirdness for the lingual mix, Ian Cradoc is a registerable form of the submitted name. [Ian Cradoc, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Atenveldt]
François la Flamme	2002.09	Nantyronnen was documented from p. 34 of Dewi Davies, Welsh Place-names. However, this source is not on the "No Photocopy" list specified in the Administrative Handbook (Appendix H - Books That Do Not Require Photocopies to Laurel). As photocopies were not provided so that this source may be evaluated, and this element was not supported from other sources, it is not registerable. [Morwen Nantyronnen, 09/2002 LoAR, R-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2002.08	The submitter may wish to know that a fully Welsh form of this name would be Gwenllian Emlyn, since locative bynames in Welsh typically do not include a preposition. As she has made no request for authenticity, we have left the name in the submitted form. [Gwenllian of Emlyn, 08/2002, A-Meridies]
François la Flamme	2002.08	Note: Angharad is used as an unmarked matronymic in this name, not as a second given name (or "middle" name). To date, no examples have been found of double given names used in Welsh. Documentation from Harpy was provided with this submission supporting Tangwystl verch Angharad verch Rhys, meaning 'Tangwystyl daughter of Angharad daughter of Rhys', as a name following period Welsh name construction patterns. Documentation was also provided that it was not uncommon to omit one or more of the particles meaning 'son' or 'daughter' in a Welsh name in late period, supporting the submitted form as a variant of Tangwystl verch Angharad verch Rhys. [Tangwystl Angharad verch Rhys, 08/2002, A-Outlands]
François la Flamme	2002.08	This name combines a Welsh name dated to the 5th to 9th C with a Scots byname dated to 1590. Therefore, this name has two weirdnesses (one for mixing Welsh and Scots, and one for a temporal disparity of more than 300 years), which is cause for return. [Rhain McHenrik, 08/2002, R-Outlands]
François la Flamme	2002.08	Submitted as Morgan MacOwain of Staghold, MacOwain combined the Scots (a language closely related to English) or Gaelic Mac with Welsh Owain. This is in violation of RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a name phrase. As the submitter allows minor changes, we have dropped Mac in order to register this name. [Morgan Owain of Staghold, 08/2002, A-Atenveldt]
François la Flamme	2002.05	Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names (in English Contexts)" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh16.html) says that it is "extremely rare, although not unheard-of, for a mother's name to be used" in a relationship byname. Anna is documented as a feminine given name in Tangwystyl's article "Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/). Therefore, the byname ferch Anna is documentable as a Welsh byname and is registerable. [Rebekah ferch Anna, 05/2002, A-Middle]
François la Flamme	2002.05	The byname verch Bertram does not violate RfS III.1.a, which requires lingual consistency. Though verch was documented as Welsh and Bertram 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). Since verch is a 16th C form of ferch, the byname verch Bertram is registerable as a Welsh byname that incorporates an English name, which follows documented period practice. [Gwladyse verch Bertram, 05/2002, A-Outlands]
François la Flamme	2002.04	Submitted as Cassandra o'r gwaun, the byname was not lenited. We have made this correction. [Cassandra o'r waun, 04/2002, A-Caid]
François la Flamme	2002.04	This name includes a Latin form of a locative byname in an otherwise Welsh name. While not common, this practice did occur. Harpy found Jovan ap Ysaac de tribus castris in Abergavenny court records of 1256 (A. J. Roderick & William Rees, Ministers' Accounts for the Lordships of Abergavenny, Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle: Part I-The Lordship of Abergavenny). [Dafydd ap Iorwerth ap Rhodri de dena, 04/2002, A-Lochac]
François la Flamme	2002.04	Submitted as Tanwen verch Gruffydd, no documentation was presented and none could be found that Tanwen was used as a name in period. Therefore, the following precedent still applies: No documentation was given for Tanwen except as a possible spelling variant for Tonwen or Tangwen; however, such spelling variants do not appear to be valid for Welsh names. [Tanwen Glyn Helfarch, 02/00, R-An Tir] As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the given name to Tonwen, which is found on p. 32 in Complete Anachronist #66: A Welsh Miscellany, in order to register the name. [Tonwen verch Gruffydd, 04/2002, A-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2002.04	Listed on the LoI as Cerridwyn Eurgledde ferch Owain ap Bychan ap Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyllt ap Meredudd, the name was submitted as Cerridwyn Eurgledde ferch Owain Glyn Dwr ap Bychan ap Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyllt ap Meredudd. The element Glyn Dwr was dropped at kingdom (with the submitter's permission) to prevent conflict with the historical Owain Glyn Dwr. While the historical Owain Glyn Dwr did not have the exact genealogy represented here, the combination of Owain and Glyn Dwr is so closely associated with the historic figure that use of Owain Glyn Dwr in a patronymic byname is presumptuous. Therefore, it is in violation of RfS VI.3, "Names Claiming Specific Relationships. - Names that unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person or literary character will generally not be registered." While four generations in a Welsh name (a given name and three generations in the byname) is uncommon, it occurs often enough to be registerable without a weirdness. However, only one example of more than three generations in the patronymic byname has been found outside of genealogies: [Iestyn ap Cadfael ap Ianto ap Danno ap Richard ap Owen ap Rhys o'r Cwm] Lord Hund has noted the use on a Welsh gravestone of a similarly lengthy name (John ap Robert ap Porth ap Daffyd ap Gruffydd ap Daffyd Vaughan ap Blethyn ap Gruffydd ap Meredith ap Jerworth ap Llewellyn ap Jerom ap Heilin ap Cowryd ap Cadwan ap Alawgwa ap Cadell of Powys, born 1547). The gravestone is as much a legal "document" as a birth record. (Iestyn ap Cadfael ap Ianto ap Danno ap Richard ap Owen ap Rhys o'r Cwm, September, 1992, pg. 33) Given this example, a Welsh byname containing more than three generations is registerable. However, since only one example has been found outside of genealogies, it is a weirdness. Genealogies serve a special purpose, and so do not solely represent a person's name. Rather they identify a person's lineage, which is not necessarily part of their name. Therefore, the number of generations represented in a genealogy is not support for that number of generations in a normal name. This name has a weirdness for use of Cerridwyn, which is registerable only because it is grandfathered to the submitter. The spelling Cerridwyn is not SCA compatible; only the spellings Ceridwen and Cerridwen were ruled SCA compatible in August 1995. The six generations in the byname in this submission is a second weirdness which costs the name the benefit of the doubt and makes it unregisterable in this form. As the submitter allows any changes, we have dropped the last three generations in the byname in order to register the name. The submitter also requested authenticity for Welsh. As there is no evidence that any form of Cerridwyn was used by humans in period, we were unable to make this name authentic as requested by the submitter. As submitted, this name had an additional problem. Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyllt was a king of Gwynnedd and Powys who extended his control and effectively became king of Wales. As a ruler, his name is protected. The submitter documented these elements from a royal genealogy that included this Gruffudd. The question would be whether use of these three elements in this order would "unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person" which is prohibited by RfS VI.3. The removal of the last three generations of the patronymic byname in order to remove the weirdness for the large number of generations in the patronymic also resolves this problem. Therefore, at this time, we are declining to rule on whether the submitted byname would be presumptuous. [Cerridwyn Eurgledde ferch Owain ap Bychan ap Gruffudd, 04/2002, A-Calontir]
François la Flamme	2002.03	Submitted as Eigen of Black Diamond, no documentation was presented and none was found that Eigen is a plausible variant of the period Welsh name Eigon. Lacking such evidence, Eigen is not registerable. The submitter indicated that if Eigen was not registerable, he preferred the variant Eigan found in Morgan & Morgan (s.n. Eigon). We have made this change. [Eigan of Black Diamond, 03/2003, A-Outlands]
François la Flamme	2002.03	Submitted as Angharat ver' Reynulf, ver' is a scribal abbreviation for verch. As we do not register scribal abbreviations, we have spelled out verch. [Angharat verch Reynulf, 03/2002, A-An Tir]
François la Flamme	2002.03	Argus was documented from Y Saint Greal, the Welsh version of the Grail story, as the name of another son of Elaine, the mother of Galahad. The registerability of names from literary works was discussed in the Cover Letter with the February 1999 LoAR. Among the points it outlined was: 4. And this is subjective - minor characters from minor works may or may not be acceptable. Especially if they do not fit the naming patterns of the time period. (Jaelle of Armida, CL with the February 1999 LoAR, p. 2) While the Arthurian tales are certainly significant, it is important to note that the character of Argus has only been documented as appearing in the Welsh version. As such, he is even less significant than minor characters who appear in multiple versions of the tales. Given this single reference to this character, he is not significant enough to be registerable under the literary name guidelines, especially combined with the fact that the characters named Argus from Greek legend (neither of whom are human) were certainly much more widely known in period as well as today. [Argus Caradoc, 03/2002, R-Meridies]
François la Flamme	2002.03	Submitted as Gwen Gwirion, the descriptive byname was not lenited. We have made this correction. [Gwen Wirion, 03/2002, A-Meridies]
François la Flamme	2002.03	The submitter requested a feminine name. However, in all documentation provided for the given name, Meredith is masculine. Therefore, while this name is registerable, it does not match the submitter's requested gender. [Meredith Stafford, 03/2002, A-Drachenwald]
François la Flamme	2001.11	Branwen was ruled SCA compatible in June of 1996. Reaney & Wilson (p. 61 s.n. Brangwin) date Brangwayna to 1250, and various surname forms to later. However, this is not a form of Branwen, but rather of Brangwain, which is a different name. Therefore, Branwen is not registerable as a documented name, thought it remains SCA compatible. There was some discussion that Gwythyr might be a name that was not used by real humans in period. Morgan and Morgan (p. 119 s.n. Gwythyr) date Rees Gwither to 1584, so the submitted name is registerable. It has one weirdness for using an SCA compatible given name. [Branwen ferch Gwythyr, 11/01, A-East]
François la Flamme	2001.10	Submitted as Ygrainne ferch Rhun, the spelling Ygrainne is not registerable, since no documentation was presented and none could be found that a spelling with a double "n" is plausible. Therefore, we have changed it to the standard form Ygraine. Precedent allows registration of Arthurian names: Current precedent is to accept the names of significant characters from period Arthurian literature as there is a pattern of such names being used in England and France in period. [Bedivere de Byron, 06/99, A-Atlantia] As such a pattern has not been documented in Welsh, Ygraine ferch Rhun is registerable as a mix of an English given name and a Welsh byname. [Ygraine ferch Rhun, 10/01, A-Artemisia]
François la Flamme	2001.10	Submitted as Daffydd Whitacre, no documentation was provided and none could be found that Daffydd is a reasonable variant of the Welsh Dafydd. We have changed the spelling to a documented form. [Dafydd Whitacre, 10/01, A-Ansteorra]
François la Flamme	2001.08	[Myfanwy Gwynedd] There is a Laurel precedent: The evidence indicates that the usage "given name + kingdom name" is regularly used in Welsh to indicate a member of the ruling family of that kingdom (e.g., Owain Gwynedd). (LoAR 14 Jun 87, p. 6) However, more recent research (particularly Morgan & Morgan, p. 118 s. n. Gwynedd) has provided evidence of use of this byname by non-royals. As such, we are overturning that precedent and registering this name. [Myfanwy Gwynedd, 08/01, A-Meridies]
François la Flamme	2001.08	Morgan was used as a masculine, not a feminine, given name in our period. [Morgan Fellwalker, 08/01, A-Caid]
François la Flamme	2001.08	The submitter requested authenticity for 16th C German-Welsh. No documentation has been provided of substantial contact between German and Welsh cultures. Therefore, a name combining German and Welsh elements is not registerable. [Anton Cwith, 08/01, A-Ansteorra]
François la Flamme	2001.08	The combination of Scots and Welsh is registerable, though it is considered a weirdness. As such, Anton Cwith is registerable as a mix of Scots and Welsh. Note: this ruling does not alter previous rulings prohibiting mixed Gaelic/Welsh names, as Scots is a different language than Scottish Gaelic. [Anton Cwith, 08/01, A-Ansteorra]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	2001.07	Submitted as Morwenna teg y Caernarvon, no documentation was provided for the article y (the) in the locative byname. We have dropped it. [Morwenna teg Caernarvon, 07/01, A-Atenveldt]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	2000.08	Submitted on the LoI as Gwineth of Iona, the given name was originally submitted as Gwyneth. As Jaelle of Armida, then Laurel, wrote in the November 1997 LoAR, Morgan & Morgan note the feminine Welsh given name Gwineth in 1577. Therefore, Gwyneth is acceptable as a plausible variant of that name. We have therefore chagned the name back to the submitted form. [Gwyneth of Iona, 08/00, A-Caid]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	2001.03	Submitted as Morwenna ferch y Pennaeth Ceinewydd, the name means Morwenna daughter of the chieftain of Ceinewydd. This, unfortunately, violates Rfs VI.1: Names containing titles, territorial claims, or allusions to rank are considered presumptuous. We have therefore dropped the patronymic. [Morwenna Ceinewydd, 03/01, A-An Tir]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	2000.10	Submitted as Morgan Defecta, the byname had a slight problem. The combination of an English or Welsh given name and a Latin descriptive byname is common, and the name as submitted would be registerable. [Morgan Defector, 10/00, A-Caid]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	2000.05	According to Metron Ariston, Aeron appears in some sources as the name of a Welsh battle goddess and it is certainly the name of a river in Wales; however, no one has been able to find it as a given name for a human in period. Furthermore, the construction of Clan X has been disallowed since June 1998. [Aeron Aschennen of Clan MacKenzie, 05/00, R-Ansteorra]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	2000.04	The point was made whether the locative was so closely associated with Owain Glendower that its use should be considered presumptuous. There is, however, no evidence for such a claim; on the contrary, Glendower is an entirely ordinary Welsh place. [Constance Glyn Dwr, 04/00, A-Æthelmearc]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	2000.02	No documentation was given for Tanwen except as a possible spelling variant for Tonwen or Tangwen; however, such spelling variants do not appear to be valid for Welsh names. [Tanwen Glyn Helfarch, 02/00, R-An Tir]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	1999.12	Submitted as Eleri Mywn, the byname lenites after a feminine name. [Eleri Vwyn, 12/99, A-Atlantia]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	1999.12	Submitted as Bronwen Gwehyddes y Anglesey, ... Welsh names rarely used locatives in their names, ... we have dropped the preposition as there is no evidence that it would be appropriate in either Welsh or English. [Bronwen Gwehyddes Anglesey, 12/99, A-Atenveldt]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	1999.07	[Clan Caer Lonn] The name mixes two languages, Welsh (Caer) and Gaelic (Lonn) in one phrase, violating rule III.1.a, "Linguistic Consistency." Brian should also be informed that Clans were named after personal names and nicknames, not places. Lastly we would prefer to see some evidence that "Strong" is a reasonable adjective to apply to keeps. [Brian Brock, 07/99, R-Atenveldt]
Elsbeth Anne Roth	1999.06	Welsh names did not include more than one direct relationship in a name. [Tanglust wraig Brychan, 06/99, A-Atlantia]
Jaelle of Armida	1999.06	[Gweneth ferch Morgan] No acceptable documentation was presented for Gweneth. However, since Morgan and Morgan's Welsh Surnames has Gwineth dated to 1577 and Gwentt dated to 1629, Gweneth is a reasonable period form. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR June 1999, p. 2)
Jaelle of Armida	1999.02	[Catrin Gwynystlum] The byname, Gwynystlum means white bat. While there is no evidence of Welsh descriptive names using bats, enough other types of animals were used that this is no more than one weirdness. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1999, p. 5)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.11	[Myfanwy ferch Gerald] 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. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR November 1998, p. 4)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.08	[Brand Glendower] Submitted as Brand ap Glynd_r, ap is not used with a placename so we have removed it. Furthermore, we have changed the spelling of the placename to Glendower to match the given name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1998)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.08	[Megan of Westfield] Submitted as Tadgán of Westfield, the LoI states that the submitter preferred the name Megan but had no documentation. Since documentation has been provided from William Salesbury's A Dictionary of English and Welsh Names, we have changed it to the submitter's preferred form. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1998)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.07	[Rhael Anedd] Submitted as Rhael Anedd Dal Riata, this combines Welsh and Gaelic in the same name. Since Gaelic wasn't combined with other Welsh in period, we have dropped the Gaelic elements in order to register the name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR July 1998, p. 4)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.06	[Taliesin Flynn] Submitted as Taliesin Fhloinn, this combines a Welsh given name with a Gaelic byname. Therefore we have substituted the Anglicized form of the byname. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR, June 1998)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.05	[Dyddanwy Canwr] This is being returned for lack of a documentable given name. While the LoI tried to construct Dyddanwy from Harpy's articles on constructing Welsh names, you cannot just randomly take one from column A and one from column B and come up with a valid Welsh given name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR May 1998, p. 25)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.02	[Cain Saethydd] Submitted as Cain y Saethydd, however when used as a byname, an occupation usually will not be preceded by the definite article. Therefore, we have eliminated the inappropriate "y". (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1998, p. 1)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.02	[Lleulyth o'r Cymry verch Llewfron mab Dafydd] While the submitter says that Welsh adopted names from the bible, and that Lleulyth is Welsh version of Lilith. However Lilith is not a Biblical name -- she appears in non-canonical Jewish folklore, but not the version of the texts generally available in Europe during the medieval period. Nor does she fall in the class of figures whose names were borrowed for use. It is possible that somewhere in a period Welsh text, there is a reference to Lilith, however it does not occur in any of the texts cited by the submitter. No one in the college has any documentation for Lleulyth as a period Welsh name (whether connected with Lilith or not), nor can it be justified on the basis of existing compound name elements. And, the submitter did not provide any documentation for it, outside of her assertion. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1998, p. 21)
Jaelle of Armida	1998.01	[Cerian Dafydd] Since Welsh does in fact use unmarked patronymics we are removing the ferch and restoring the name to the form originally submitted. ((Jaelle of Armida, LoAR January 1998 p. 8)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.11	Morgan & Morgan note the feminine Welsh given name Gwineth in 1577. Therefore, Gwyneth is acceptable as a plausible variant of that name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR November 1997, p. 1)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.10	[returning Llewelyn de Granville of Gwent (Known as Cadno)] The two locatives are a serious anomaly. Locatives are pretty rare in Welsh names in the first place and we have yet to find a single example of a double locative. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR October 1997, p. 12)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.10	[returning Llewelyn de Granville of Gwent (Known as Cadno)] We have never seen any period records that use known as X, much less Welsh ones. The personal nickname belongs in its normal position right after the given name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR October 1997, p. 12)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.09	The preposition o is not normally found with proper names of places in Welsh names. On the other hand, it should be noted that in written records, the Latin preposition de more often than not is -- at least in the medieval period. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR September 1997, p. 12)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.08	[Ceridwen Eurgledde ferch Owain] Submitted as Ceridwen o'r Eurgledde ferch Owain, the element o'r isn't a preposition; it's a contraction of the preposition o and the definite article, yr. However, it appears on p. 26 of Harpy's (Heather Rose Jones) Compleat Anachronist only in the context of topographical locative bynames with generic nouns, e.g., o'r glyn `of the valley'. Eurgledde `golden sword' is a completely different sort of byname, the type discussed on p. 27 under the heading Descriptive Bynames. Therefore, we have deleted the unnecessary element. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1997, pp. 4-5)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.08	[Cynric y Tarianlas ap Moran ap Cadog] This combines Old English, Welsh and Irish in the same name which, barring evidence of such combinations in period, is too unlikely to be registered. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR August 1997, pp. 21-22)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.08	Submitted as Morgaine nic Gavin, the only non-literary citation for Morgaine is Morgaine Hubble, who in 1583 had a license to marry Tomison (i.e., Thomasine) Halestone (Bardsley s.n. Hailstone). In other words, Morgaine as a real name is attested only as a variant of the masculine Morgan. A Morgaine therefore cannot be nic Gavin `daughter of a Mac Gavin'. We have therefore dropped the "nic" in order to register the name. (Morgaine Gavin, 8/97 p. 9)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.07	Welsh does not normally use an article with simple adjectival nicknames. We have deleted the inappropriate article. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR July 1997, p. 5)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.05	[registering Branwen Brynglas] Submitted as Branwen o Bryn-glas, the place name was incorrectly constructed. We have corrected this. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR May 1997)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.05	[returining Geoffrey Glassceld] A compound of Gaelic and Welsh glas with OE sceld is unlikely to say the least. It's also against the rules unless evidence for period use of such bilingual compound bynames can be produced. Modern blue is borrowed from French bleu, but it was apparently borrowed by the 13th c.; Blewsheld is a reasonable 13th c. spelling. (If he really wants glas, Welsh ysgwyd las is `blue shield' and is analogous to the ysgwyd hir `long shield' mentioned by Harpy in her Compleat Anachronist pamphlet.) (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR May 1997, p. 9)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.03	[Owain ap Einar] Although Einar is a Scandinavian name, we are allowing the use of ap, which is Welsh in front of it, since the spelling would be reasonable in Welsh. Welsh has a habit of adopting non-Welsh names as is into Welsh, and there is a long history of Welsh/Scandinavian cultural proximity and contact. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR March 1997, p. 1)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.02	[Denison ap Morgan] Pwyll is strictly a mythological name, and therefore not suitable for use in SCA names. We have dropped Pwyll in order to register the rest of the name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR February 1997, p. 17)
Jaelle of Armida	1997.01	Prydwen is given in the form that Gruffudd uses for modern names; it is also clearly described as the name of Arthur's ship. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR January 1997, p. 21)
Jaelle of Armida	1996.12	Submitted as Gwendolyn Kirkcaldy of Fawdonside, Gwendolyn is a modern form that has been ruled unacceptable. We have substituted the spelling which has been ruled SCA-compatible. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR December 1996, p. 11)
Jaelle of Armida	1996.12	The submitter asked for a review on the use of the name Myrddin, which had been previously ruled unacceptable for SCA usage, and provided information that was hoped would result in the overturn of this ruling. I can do no better than to quote some of Harpy's (copious) commentary on the name. "As with just about everything with Arthurian associations, you can find books out there that will claim just about anything. Frankly, I'm very skeptical about any book with John (or Caitlin) Matthews as an author -- their work is highly speculative. Geoffrey Ashe is considerably more respected, but his actual reference in the cited work is to Geoffrey of Monmouth's knowledge of "traditions of a more or less historical bard named Myrddin". This is a considerable step away from Ashe claiming that there actually was a historic bard by that name, as opposed to a story about a supposedly historic bard by that name. I have not found evidence of any period use of the name for any individual other than the highly suspicious poet/prophet. In short, the submitter's evidence, while presented in perfectly good faith, is nothing new and does not affect the conclusion that Myrddin was not an actual Welsh given name in ordinary use in period." (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR December 1996, p. 13)
Jaelle of Armida	1996.12	While Rhiain is found in Gruffudd's Welsh Personal Names, no one was able to provide evidence that it is a period Welsh name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR December 1996, p. 13).
Jaelle of Armida	1996.09	Note: the name Bronwen has been ruled to be SCA compatible. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR September 1996, p. 3)
Jaelle of Armida	1996.07	Please inform the client that while the name Rhiannon has been ruled SCA compatible, it does not seem to be a name used by humans in our period. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR July 1996, p. 14)
Jaelle of Armida	1996.07	Submitted as Rowena Caer Linne, we have put the name in the proper Welsh, since Caer is Welsh and the spelling Linne is Gaelic. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR July 1996, p. 7)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1996.05	Ceridwen is a goddess name that does not seem to have been used by human beings in our period; however, it has been declared 'SCA-compatible', and the name is registerable. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR May 1996, p. 29)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1996.04	According to Harpy, Myrddin is a unique legendary name. Henceforth it will not be acceptable (unless, of course, evidence of actual period use can be found). (Talan Gwynek, Cover Letter to the April 1996 LoAR, p. 3)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1996.04	Not Another 'SCA-Compatible' Name. According to Harpy, Myrddin is a unique legendary name. Henceforth it will not be acceptable (unless, of course, evidence of actual period use can be found). (CL 4/96)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1996.04	Please let her know that Morgan is a man's name in our period. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR April 1996, p. 11)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1996.04	The name was submitted as Bryn y Pobydd, intended to mean 'Bryn the Baker', Bryn being the submitter's modern given name. However, bryn is also Welsh for 'hill', and the name is a Welsh phrase meaning 'the baker's hill'; it would have made an excellent place-name. In this context the modern name Bryn is unusually intrusive; if the language involved were as widely known as French, say, we would have returned the name. (Thus, for example, we would not register Champ des Croix 'field of the crosses' even to someone whose modern given name was Champ.) Welsh being much less familiar, we have given the name the benefit of the doubt, but we have also thought it desirable to bring the name closer to normal Welsh naming practice by dropping the definite article and leniting the byname. (Bryn Bobydd, 4/96 p. 2)
Da'ud ibn Auda	1996.03	[Gwynneth] The only period evidence available for the given name is the citation Gwineth ver' Robert 1577 given by Morgan & Morgan, s.n. Gwynedd. However, they show that the surname Gwynedd occasionally appears with nn in the 16th century. The names are probably not related, but this orthographic variation still offers some support for the possibility that Gwynneth is an acceptable variant of the attested given name. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR March 1996, p. 4)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1996.02	Morgaine is apparently an English spelling of the masculine Welsh name Morgan, as may be seen from Bardsley's mention (s.n. Hailstone) of the 1583 marriage of Morgaine Hubble and Tomison (Thomasine) Halestone. Morgaine therefore cannot well be the daughter of Cadwr. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR February 1996, p. 21)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1996.02	Rhiannon is a name from Welsh mythology that does not seem to have been used by human beings in period; it has been ruled 'SCA-compatible', however. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR February 1996, p. 15)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.12	[Eleri y Gwibddyn Dyrys] According to Harpy, y Gwibddyn Dyrys `the wild vagabond' is a correctly constructed Welsh phrase that resembles period Welsh bynames as little as the Melancholy Procrastinator resembles their English counterparts. The latter was returned last month (Judith the Melancholy Procrastinator, Middle) for failure to follow period models, and we do not think that the inability of most SCA folk to understand Welsh is sufficient reason to treat the present submission more leniently. Please compliment her, however, on using a period Welsh-English dictionary to document the elements of the phrase. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR December 1995, p. 19)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.11	Double descriptive Welsh bynames are rare but not unknown; Harpy provides the example Gwen Vaur Goch `Big Red Gwen' 1292-3. (Morwenn Ddu Wystl, 11/95 p. 7)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.11	Rhonwen ... has been found in period only as that of a fictional character in Geoffrey of Monmouth's writings (and those who used his material), but it has been declared SCA-compatible. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR November 1995, p. 5)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.10	The name was submitted as Cáelán ap Llwyd, in which Cáelán is Irish, and the rest, Welsh. There is a reasonable amount of evidence for Welsh/Irish combinations in names, but they should still follow one spelling convention or the other, so we have removed the distinctively Irish accents to produce what Harpy calls a `plausible Welsh borrowing of an Irish given name'. (Caelan ap Llwyd, 10/95 p. 8)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.09	[registering the household name Ty Gafrewig Wen] 'House of the White Antelope' does not seem to follow period Welsh practice in naming families and buildings, but it is well within our rather loose standards for household names. (Bronwen o Gyeweli, 9/95 p. 7)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.09	Please inform her that Rhiannon is a goddess-name not known to have been used by human beings in period. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR September 1995, p. 17)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.06	[Ieuan ab y Ddraig goch] The format of the name (it means "Ieuan, son of someone called `the Red Dragon'") is not as peculiar in Welsh as it might seem. It is possible to find examples of patronyms using the father's nickname rather than given name (often using the definite article) (the best example for this name as a whole, in fact, is that of the 13th century poet Gruffudd ab yr Ynad Coch "Gruffudd son of the Red Judge"). In spite of the appearance at first blush to pretention (the Red Dragon is one of the two premier national symbols of Wales), it isn't really correct to say that the byname is "presumptuous" in a technical sense because there is no evidence for it being used historically as a personal byname, and thus there can be no assumed importance attached to it. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR June 1995, p. 4)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.06	Submitted as [N] Mandragon [M], according to his own documentation the submitter was attempting to combine the Welsh man (freckled or spotted, but which was documented only in the English surname Man and the German name Mann) with the English dragon (dragon). We have substituted a documentable form of the combination byname [Mandrake], which was also a form he specifically noted he would accept. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR June 1995, p. 9)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.06	Submitted as Ceridwyn [N], the spelling with a "y" is a hypothetical masculine version which does not appear in any documentation. (You might also let her know that Ceridwen was never used by humans in period, but was only the name of the Welsh goddess.) (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR June 1995, p. 3)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.02	Submitted as Bronwyn [N], all of the submitter's own documentation (save one) gave the given as Bronwen; that one (Dunkling and Gosling's The Facts On File Dictionary of First Names) notes only that "Bronwyn is a common variant. Both forms steadily used since the end of the 19th century." There is no evidence that Bronwyn is a period variant of Bronwen. (It would in any case be a masculine name, having the masculine -wyn ending.) (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR February 1995, p. 6)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1995.01	[Cerridwen Maelwedd] Several commenters stated some concern about the use of the name Cerridwen with a charge which could be perceived as a moon. However, even had the crescent been a moon, the standard in effect is excessive allusion, not just allusion. To paraphrase Baron Bruce when he instituted this more relaxed standard: One allusion to the name is not considered excessive, two allusions may be, three or more is probably right out. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR January 1995, p. 1)
Da'ud ibn Auda	1994.12	The English "of" is entirely out of place in an otherwise all-Welsh name. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR December 1994, p. 12)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1994.11	RfS III.1.a. requires that "Each phrase must be grammatically correct according to the usage of a single language." Here we have a Welsh patronymic particle (merch) combined into a single phrase with an Anglicized variant of an Old Irish surname (Ó Donndugháin), which itself appears to be from a compound meaning "brown Dubhán". The combination is unlikely in the extreme, and it does not follow "the usage of a single language" as required by the RfS. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR November 1994, p. 14)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1994.11	Trevor is a locative surname, from the Welsh tref fawr, "large homestead". The client needs a given name here. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR November 1994, p. 16)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1994.10	The usual use of bynames (such as colledig) and of proper names in locative bynames (such was Abertawe) in Welsh is without the article or preposition. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR October 1994, p. 10)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1994.10	Welsh does not normally use the definite article for placenames in names. We have therefore dropped it. (Daffydd ap Owain ap Cadell Caer yn Arfon, 10/94 p. 3)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year)	1994.09	Artos is not a name; it is a word. While there are Welsh names that use arth- as an element, none of the commenters has found it used uncompounded. (Gruffudd's reference is to a possible derivation of the name Arthur, not to an independent name.) We need evidence for its use as a name in period before we can register it. (Da'ud ibn Auda, LoAR September 1994, p. 21)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)	1994.05	[Registering Aaron Direidus.] Submitted as Aaron ir Direidus, we have modified the name to drop the article, which appears from all the evidence not to have been used in Welsh bynames in period. [5/94, p.4]
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)	1994.05	[Registering Gwenhwyvar Ainsley.] Submitted as Gwenhwyvar Ainsley a'Ghio, ... an additional problem is the dearth of evidence that a Welsh forename, an English locative surname, and a Gaelic locative surname could have come together in the name of a single individual. Gaelic, in particular, seems to resist mixed language combinations. As a consequence, we have dropped the most unlikely element in order to register the name. [5/94, p.5]
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)	1994.05	[Returning Mredyth Vetrgaupa.] There are no compounds of the form vetr-{name of animal}, and the examples cited in the LoI are not support for this form. Nor does the byname have any likely signification on its face. [5/94, p.14]
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)	1994.03	[Registering Siani Euraid.] Submitted as Siani y Euraidd, we have dropped the intrusive particle, which was not used in Welsh when the given name is present. We have also modified the byname to the period form. [3/94, p.3]
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)	1994.03	Submitted as ... o Tatershal, the Welsh "o" is out of place with the English placename. The simplest course was to simply drop it. [3/94, p.2]
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)	1994.01	[Registering ferch Rhys.] Submitted as ... ni Rhys ...; we have modified the patronymic particle to match the language of the patronym. [1/94, p.7]
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year)	1993.12b	[Returning Gwynedd Fairfax.] Gwynedd, though found in Withycombe's Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, is only noted there as an undated, modern form. The closest documentable period given name is Gwineth. [12b/93, p.13]
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1993.10	[Household name Teulu Ffynnon Ddu] Lady Harpy has noted that the use of teulu ("family") with a toponymic household name does not fit Welsh name structure. However, teulu also means "warband" which makes the name more plausible. (Giovanni Fontananera, October, 1993, pg. 9)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1993.07	[The name] was submitted as Caer Daibhidh, combining Welsh and Scots Gaelic in a single phrase. This isn't normally permitted, per Rule III.2.a, and has been the reason for the last three returns of their name. The submitters provided evidence (augmented by Lady Harpy) that the element caer- is found in many Scots placenames: e.g. Caerlaverock, Caerlanrig, Caer Ruther. However, in those cases caer- doesn't seem to be from Welsh; the prefix derives either from the Gaelic cathair or from the extinct Cumbric cair, and is only spelled Caer in its modern form, due to the Welsh influence. It could be argued that, even if Caer were derived from the Gaelic cathair, the submitted name would still seem acceptable, given the cited examples. Most of those examples, though, are anglicized forms; and while an anglicized Caerdavid would be perfectly acceptable, the submitted Gaelic spelling of Daibhidh requires a plausible construction for that language. Not only must Daibhidh be put into the genitive case, but an unanglicized form of Caer must be used. The submission forms do not forbid grammatical corrections, so we've substituted the correct Gaelic spelling; the pronunciation is nearly unchanged from their submitted form. If they prefer the spelling Caer, they may resubmit Caerdavid or the fully Welsh Caer Ddafydd. (College of Cathair Dhaibhaidh, March, 1993, pg. 3)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1993.07	The submitter has documented a pattern of use involving Gaelic names with the Welsh patronymic particle ap. It's reasonable to extend this exception to Rule III.2.a to the feminine equivalent ferch. (Mwynwenn ferch Maelsnectain, July, 1993, pg. 10)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1993.06	There was some question over whether Blodwen ...is a period given Name. Hanks & Hodges (Dictionary of First Names, p.43) unequivocally date it to the Middle Ages. However, Lady Harpy could find no period examples of the name's use in all her sources; she quotes the opinion of a professor in Medieval Welsh that Blodwen as a name dates from the 19th Century. I'd trust Lady Harpy's expertise in this area far more than that of Hanks & Hodges; but either I must declare Hanks & Hodges completely unreliable, even in their most authoritative statements (as we've done for Yonge), or else give the submitter the benefit of the doubt. Since Blodwen has already been accepted for Society use (LoAR of Sept 92), the latter seems the more generous course. (Blodwen ferch Margred, June, 1993, pg. 10)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1993.03	It could be argued that, even if Caer were derived from the Gaelic cathair, the submitted name would still seem acceptable, given the cited examples. Most of those examples, though, are anglicized forms; and while an anglicized Caerdavid would be perfectly acceptable, the submitted Gaelic spelling of Daibhidh requires a plausible construction for that language. Not only must Daibhidh be put into the genitive case, but an unanglicized form of Caer must be used. The submission forms do not forbid grammatical corrections, so we've substituted the correct Gaelic spelling; the pronunciation is nearly unchanged from their submitted form. If they prefer the spelling Caer, they may resubmit Caerdavid or the fully Welsh Caer Ddafydd. (College of Cathair Dhaibhaidh, March, 1993, pg. 3)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1992.12	When used as a patronymic particle, the Welsh merch mutates to ferch. There are some early-period texts where the particle didn't mutate in its written form, but did in its spoken form --- i.e. written "merch" but still pronounced "ferch". We've changed the submitter's spelling, to better match the correct pronunciation; she may resubmit with merch if she wishes, but it seemed best that she do so with full knowledge of its orthoepic niceties. (Rhonwen ferch Alun, December, 1992, pg. 13)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1992.11	[verth Evan] Apparently, verth is a rare but acceptable variant of the Welsh patronymic particle verch (ferch). However, it is in effect a period misspelling; and the submitter's own documentation gives verth Jevan as the consistent form of this byname [name registered]. (Eona verth Evan, November, 1992, pg. 2)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1992.10	[Rhiannon de Licorne] "It is a long-standing policy that the name Rhiannon may not be coupled with horses or unicorns, in view of Rhiannon's function as a horse goddess." [AmCoE, 27 Sept 86] (Rhiannon de Licorne of Carreg Cennen, October, 1992, pg. 27)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1992.09	[Iestyn ap Cadfael ap Ianto ap Danno ap Richard ap Owen ap Rhys o'r Cwm] Lord Hund has noted the use on a Welsh gravestone of a similarly lengthy name (John ap Robert ap Porth ap Daffyd ap Gruffydd ap Daffyd Vaughan ap Blethyn ap Gruffydd ap Meredith ap Jerworth ap Llewellyn ap Jerom ap Heilin ap Cowryd ap Cadwan ap Alawgwa ap Cadell of Powys, born 1547). The gravestone is as much a legal "document" as a birth record. (Iestyn ap Cadfael ap Ianto ap Danno ap Richard ap Owen ap Rhys o'r Cwm, September, 1992, pg. 33)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1992.08	Briallen is the Welsh for "primrose", and does not seem to have been a given name in period; nor does it belong to a class of common nouns that were regularly used as names in period Welsh. (Briallen o Llanrwst, August, 1992, pg. 22)
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme	1992.08	Dafyd ...doesn't appear to be a valid variant of the Welsh Dafydd; the two are pronounced quite differently. (Dafydd son of Donwald, August, 1992, pg. 18)
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd year, 1st tenure)	1991.12	[<name1> priod o <name2>] "Lady Harpy presented evidence of several period names formed in this manner. However, a more common and possibly more correct form would be <name1> gwraic <name2>." [Lady Harpy only presented evidence for the formation <name> priod <name>. Lord Laurel inferred the acceptability of the form <name> priod o <name>] (LoAR 12/91 p.13).
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd year, 1st tenure)	1991.11	[Pryddwyn] "The Welsh experts in the College find this dithematic name to be highly unlikely. Even were it a likely combination, it would most likely be Prytddwyn. Additionally, it remains too close in appearance to the name of King Arthur's boat, which has previously been disallowed." (LoAR 11/91 p.22).
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd year, 1st tenure)	1991.08	"Though there was some question regarding the construction of Tanarian, several commenters noted that 'Arian' is found (as a protheme) in Welsh, and that this construction did not seem unreasonable." (LoAR 8/91 p.13).
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd year, 1st tenure)	1991.07	"Lady...Harpy presented evidence that Ceidrych is probably a reasonable compounded name." (LoAR 7/91 p.7).
Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd year, 1st tenure)	1991.07	"Submitted as <name> Griffith of Gwynedd, we have dropped the problematic locative. As submitted the name appears to be a claim of descent from Gruffudd, King of Gwynedd to 1137. Rule V.5 disallows any such claim." (LoAR 7/91 p.15).
Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)	1991.02	[Gryffn] "There seems to be no justification in dropping the second vowel in Gryffin; it does not appear that this would be done in Welsh." (LoAR 2/91 p.21).
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1990.03.31	Arianrhod was the Welsh moon goddess and, failing evidence for human use of the name in period, may not be used in the Society. (LoAR Aug 87, p. 13) (See also: LoAR 31 Mar 90, p. 6)
Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)	1990.11	"The use of 'ap' in a feminine name is late period usage and not all that common, but not unheard of." (LoAR 11/90 p.5) "Lady Harpy lent some support for the use of a Welsh patronymic particle with the Old English Ulfin." [the name was registered] (LoAR 11/90 p.5).
Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)	1990.10	[Cainwen] "Lady Harpy found additional documentation for this name." (LoAR 10/90 p.8).
Da'ud ibn Auda (1st year of 1st tenure)	1990.10	[Keriwyn] "The given is not a reasonable variant of Keridwen. No one could demonstrate that the 'd' would have been dropped in any variant of the name." (LoAR 10/90 p.21).
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1989.12.31	[A commenter] has documented ... the less usual but permissible usage of unmutated "merch" in a name. (LoAR 31 Dec 89, p. 12)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1989.08.27	While there can be (and has been) some debate as to whether the name "Olwen" is the unique perquisite of the lady with the unusual powers in Welsh myth, certainly the conjunction of the trefoils with the name is excessive, given the origin of the name itself in her stated power of "perfloration". (The Laurel staff really liked that terminology for the ability to have clovers spring from your footprints!) (LoAR 27 Aug 89, p. 26)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1989.02.26	The name Gwydion may be used in the Society so long as there is no other reference to the Gwydion of Welsh legend. (LoAR 26 Feb 89, p. 8)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1988.02.21>	The use [of an Anglicised form of an Irish given name] with the Welsh patronymic particle "ap" is inappropriate. (LoAR 21 Feb 88, p. 12)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1988.07	[Lloyd] The given name has now been documented as a given name in period from Morgan and Morgan (pp. 151-154). (LoAR Jul 88, p. 12)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1988.07	While NR10a is somewhat ambiguous, the more general requirement of a primary language in NR3 also applies and there was prior precedent for applying the naming practises of the primary language to a made-up name. As the name was stated to be constructed according to Welsh practise, it had to be judged in those terms. [The principal herald] noted in the submission that medieval Welsh did not form dithematic names. If this is interpreted ... to mean that it does not form "mix and match" names as did Old English, for instance, this is correct.... We do feel that constructs in Welsh must be approached with a greater degree of care, not merely because of the requirements of mutation, but also because the dithematic constructs which are documented in period appear to have recoverable meaning: a name like "war peace", which is perfectly acceptable in the Germanic tradition, would apparently not have occurred.... We have been persuaded by additional evidence that the summarized evidence originally presented led us to conclude erroneously that the component portions of the names were not separable name elements in period Welsh. If the components appear in multiple Welsh names, then the name becomes considerably more plausible. We ... conclude that the new evidence has nudged it this side of "compatibility". (LoAR Jun 88, p. 13)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.07.26	The submittor stated that "Dryw" was a Welsh given name meaning "sight". Not only could this not be documented, but the word is the "Welsh" title for a druid as well as a Welsh term for wren (the two meanings are related). If the gentle wishes, he can use the documented period English form "Drew" from Old German "Drogo". (LoAR 26 Jul 87, p. 11)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.03.29	"Merch" regularly mutates [to "ferch"] when used as a feminine patronymic particle. (LoAR 29 Mar 87, p. 2)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.02.28	As it is usual practice in period (and modern) Welsh to omit the article used in English before a modifying adjective, we have dropped the article. After some research we came to the conclusion that, although it is rather more common for adjectives after a masculine personal name to mutate, it is possible for the name to retain the "radical" form. The primary criteria for this decision seem to be euphony and clarity of the identity of the original adjective. In this case, both would seem to dictate that the original "[adjective]" be retained. (LoAR 28 Feb 87, p. 1)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.02.28	The form of the patronymic is not correct since the particle [ap] is Welsh and "[Name]" purely English. (LoAR 28 Feb 87, p. 22)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.02.28	The name Gwyneth was almost certainly a late derivation from the geographic name Gwynedd and was not a given name in period. I have to agree that Gwynedd, which is the usual spelling for the place, should not be allowed in the Society as a given name. However, the name Gwyneth seems to have acquired a separate existence in the Society and has been registered at least twenty times (as Gwyneth or Gwynaeth) including more than one occurrence within the last year. I have to conclude that Gwyneth should belong to that select group of non-period names like Corwin or Fiona that the Society at large has elected as being "compatible". (LoAR 28 Feb 87, p. 2)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.06.14	The evidence indicates that the usage "given name + kingdom name" is regularly used in Welsh to indicate a member of the ruling family of that kingdom (e.g., Owain Gwynedd). (LoAR 14 Jun 87, p. 6)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.08	[ferch Ollam] "Ollam" is a rank of bard and is not appropriate for a patronymic in the Society. The submittor's own documentation defines the word to mean "a learned man of the highest rank" so that the use of the patronymic may be interpreted as a claim to rank and therefore fall afoul of NR13. (LoAR Aug 87, p. 12)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.08	Arianrhod was the Welsh moon goddess and, failing evidence for human use of the name in period, may not be used in the Society. (LoAR Aug 87, p. 13)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.08	It would appear that the form Eirianwen is a modern backformation on the analogy of the period name Arianwen. (LoAR Aug 87, p. 10) [Returned for this combined with problems with the byname]
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1987.08	The name Trevor is a Welsh place name (generally spelled "Trefor" in Welsh) which does not seem to have been used as a given name until the middle of the nineteenth century. (LoAR Aug 87, p. 15)
Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane	1986.12.28	The family name was submitted as [Name]sson. However, [Name] is an English mispronunciation of the Welsh family name [Name] and thus is inappropriate for use in such a patronymic. (LoAR 28 Dec 86, p. 10)
Baldwin of Erebor	1985.12.29	I regard Rhiannon and Ceridwen as exceptions to the general ban on names of deities that have not been shown to have been used, in period, by humans. They should probably never have been allowed in the first place; but having been allowed, and frequently, they have gained some degree of acceptability. We had the opportunity to disallow them as the result of the October 1981 edition of the Rules for Submissions, and Master Wilhelm even attempted to do so..., but this effort obviously did not succeed. I do not see anything to be gained by attempting to do so now. The effort did succeed in the case of Gwydion, so the latter is no longer an exception. [BoE, cvr ltr, 29 Dec 85, p.6]
Baldwin of Erebor	1985.08.25	The only instance of Lleu of which we are aware is the demi-god Lleu (or Llew) Llaw Gyffes, whom Charles Squire equates with the Gaelic sungod Lugh Lamhfada. [BoE, 25 Aug 85, p.15] [The name was disallowed for SCA use.]
Baldwin of Erebor	1985.08.10	Bryn is the Welsh word for 'mountain' or 'hill'; it was not used as a given name until recent times. [BoE, 10 Aug 85, p.1]
Baldwin of Erebor	1985.06.09	Caer Dathyl, the home of the godlike wizard Math in the Welsh Mabinogi, is not the sort of place from which ordinary mortals would be expected to hail. [BoE, 9 June 85, p.1]
Baldwin of Erebor	1985.06.09	The name of the Welsh goddess Rhiannon should not be used in conjunction with horses or birds, both of which are strongly associated with her in legend. [BoE, 9 June 85, p.1]
Baldwin of Erebor	1985.03.10	The name Ceridwen should not be used in conjunction with a cauldron or kettle -- the cauldron of Ceridwen was the fount of poetry and knowledge. [BoE, 10 Mar 85, p.16]
Baldwin of Erebor	1985.01.05	Prydwen, as a number of commenters noted, was the name of King Arthur's ship in Welsh folklore. This does not necessarily mean that it is not a given name (I believe ships were sometimes given women's names in period), but in this case a period example of its use as a given name seems to be in order. [BoE, 5 Jan 85, p.2]
Baldwin of Erebor	1984.10.31	[The Welsh] Merch 'daughter of' mutates to ferch following a given name. [BoE, 31 Oct 84, p.7]
Wilhelm von Schlüssel	1982.02.26	[Rhiannon.] A Book of Welsh Names, by Trefor Rendell Davies (London: Sheppard Press, 1952), lists Rhiannon as a common Welsh given name. Therefore, even though it is the name of a goddess, it may be used so long as the name and the device sufficiently differentiate the person from the goddess. WVS [63] [LoAR 26 Feb 82], p. 6
Wilhelm von Schlüssel	1981.07.29	Diana was the goddess of the moon and of wild animals (including the horse). Rhiannon was a Celtic goddess also linked to the moon and specifically to a white horse. Coupled with the white horse's head, crescent and stars, this is a clear claim to divinity, and is thus not allowed. WVS [48] [LoAR 29 Jul 81], p. 11
Wilhelm von Schlüssel	1981.07.29	Pryderi was a demi-god, the son of Rhiannon and either Pwyll or Manawyddan, all of whom were immortals. You cannot use Pryderi unless you can show that it was used as a given name in period. WVS [48] [LoAR 29 Jul 81], p. 12
Wilhelm von Schlüssel	1981.10.26	Rhiannon is the name of a goddess and does not seem to have been used as a given name in period. Therefore, it may not be used under the new rules. WVS [55] [LoAR 26 Oct 81], p. 10
Wilhelm von Schlüssel	1980.08.27	[Macsen.] The name of any mortal can be used so long as it is not a title or absolutely unique, and so long as it is adequately differenced from the famous usage by the rest of the Society name. The names of non-mortal beings may not be used unless they were used by people in the real world in our period ([e.g.] Jesus, Gabriel, and Diana). Examples of titles are Charlemagne and Amenhotep. An absolutely unique name is one that was only used by the one famous person and is not derivable from other common names. Cuchulain is an example. Macsen is the Welsh form of Maximus, a common Roman name. Although there is only one recorded use of Macsen, it could easily have happened more than once if another Maximus had moved to Wales. Macsen is therefore derivable from Maximus. WVS [23] [LoAR 27 Aug 80], p. 6
Wilhelm von Schlüssel	1980.09.16	The rule of the College is that a place name must be a place primarily inhabited by ordinary mortals, not a place where occasionally a mortal was invited to visit. I point out that Dante visited Hades and Arthur dwells on Avalon, and yet neither is acceptable. Caer Pedryvan is a famous Castle of the Otherworld, and so is not acceptable as a place name in the SCA. The claim to come from such a place would be to imply either that you were non-mortal, or that you were a hero, since in Celtic mythology anyone coming from such a place would be treated as an extra-ordinary person worthy of great respect. This is too presumptuous. Please take the name of a real place. WVS [25] [LoAR 16 Sep 80], p. 7
Karina of the Far West	1977.08.11	Pendragon is not a surname but a title, Chief of the Dragon (i.e., Wales). Even without the Red Dragon it would be unacceptable. (KFW, 11 Aug 77 [14], p. 7)
Harold Breakstone	1972.01.16	Rhiannon N.... wishes to know if her name is all right or if she should go back to being M. No one seems to know; she must prove that the name was used by humans, not gods only, and before the nineteenth century when anything went. The College operates under the Napoleonic code: otherwise we would never get anywhere. (KFW, 16 Jan 72 [22], p. 1)
Harold Breakstone	1971.02.07	N. reports that the name Rhiannon is a female name, but a mythological one, belonging to a great and famous lady. (HB, 7 Feb 71 [12], p. 8)
Harold Breakstone	1970.12.02	[Rhiannon.] Let her be told that the arms are acceptable but her name is not only used in myth and fiction, but is a male name; Rhiannon was one of the bards of Wales. (HB, 2 Dec 70 [9], p. 3)