[Table of Contents |Previous Page (Names - Surnames) |Next Page (Names - Two Element Requirement)]
The sennachie, or seanchaidhe, were more than simply historians; they studied and told the old tales and legends, and were the keepers of genealogy and tradition in Ireland and the Scottish highlands. The sennachie became a semi-hereditary class, similar to bards; and it's worth noting that the office of the High Sennachie was the precursor to the Lyon King of Arms. As such, seanchaidhe is a title and rank, not merely the Irish for "historian"; it may not be registered as a household name. (Seonaid of Nairn, September, 1992, pg. 46)
Baatour is a Mongolian title analogous to "knight;" in the variant spelling Bahadur, it has been reserved as a Society title, for use by Mongol-persona Knights, on the LoAR cover letter of 13 Sept 89. As such, it may not be registered in a name. (Timur Baatour Khitai, September, 1992, pg. 47)
[Sara Annchen Baumeister] Until such time as the Board of Directors releases the title Master for use by the populace, it must be considered a title of peerage in the Society; we will not register any name that claims to be a "Master [anything]". In the case of the Master Bowmen of the East (LoAR of July 90), it was ruled: "We cannot, in good conscience, register a title reserved by Corpora to peers to any non-peerage group, no matter in what form they propose to use it." The same argument applies to individuals. (Sara Annchen Baumeister, October, 1992, pg. 24)
It is an ancient and honorable tradition to name heraldic offices after orders: Garter and Toison d'Or (Golden Fleece) are well- known medieval examples, while the classic Society example is (ahem) Laurel. (Kingdom of the East, March, 1993, pg. 5)
[Taurine Pursuivant] While most heraldic titles in period are nouns (Garter, Lyon), there are a few examples taken from war-cries (Montjoie) and adjectives (Volant) [name accepted]. (Taurine Pursuivant (Middle Kingdom), March, 1993, pg. 13)
[Falkemeister]Meister (master) is a reserved title in the SCA, and may not be registered --- either alone, or in combination. (David Falkemeister, March, 1993, pg. 19)
[Table of Contents |Previous Page (Names - Surnames) |Top of Page |Next Page (Names - Two Element Requirement)]
A large part of the Society's re-creation involves titles: bestowing them, earning them, using them. A fundamental axiom is that title, rank and honor may not simply be claimed; John can't call himself Sir John unless he is, in fact, a Knight of the Society. The College's Rules on presumption (in particular, Rule VI.1) follow from this axiom: we won't register any name that sounds like a claim to title, rank or honor.
If someone were to submit an obvious titular claim --- say, Michael Rex --- then the need for return is fairly clear-cut. It's the less straightforward cases that give us headaches: when the "claim" is ambiguous, or when a title evolves into a documented period name. How can we judge which borderline cases are truly presumptous, and which are acceptable?
Examples of period usage help, but don't settle the matter; we also deal with SCA usage, and the perceptions of folk within the Society. (If period usage were our sole guide, then Lord wouldn't be our lowest-ranking title, nor Master one of our highest.) Our lodestar may be found in the Corpora section on Titles (VII.C): our main concern is the appearance of landedness, and of noble or hereditary rank. That, and the list of Society titles, provide some guidelines for judging names, to be balanced with period documentation.
Let me give some concrete examples of the balance we try to keep. The classic example is the given name Regina: a documented given name, but also the Latin for "queen", and on the College's list of titles for use in the Society. If it weren't documented as a name in period, it probably wouldn't be registerable at all (the current case for its masculine counterpart Rex); but as it is documented, it can be used so long as it doesn't violate Corpora's ban on the appearance of landedness. Regina the Baker is acceptable; Regina of Germany is not.
Other names may be acceptable because, even interpreted as titles, they don't interfere with the Society's official title structure. Mary the Apprentice would be registerable because the name implies neither landedness nor official SCA rank. Robert Abbot would be registerable because the "title" is a documented byname, and again implies no official SCA rank. (However, Robert Abbot of Lincoln would imply territoriality, and would be returned.)
Our biggest headache to date has been the title Master/Mistress. Its Society usage as a title of peerage would prevent anyone registering, say, Peter the Master --- despite Master being a documented byname in a number of cultures. Peter the Brewing Master or Peter the Falconry Master are likewise unacceptable, as would be translations into other tongues. This is a case where Society usage takes precedence over such documented bynames as Baumeister. Short of a time machine set for A.S. II, when the first Masters of the Laurel were created, I don't see that anything can be done about the problem at this late date.
The submission that prompted this discussion (Lucius Thayne) was one of these borderline cases. Thaine, Thayne is a documented surname; it's also a rank and title, both in period and in the Society (the OE alternative title for Baron). Its etymology, and literal translation, is "servant"; but that's also the literal translation of knight, so the fact didn't help much. Thane certainly implied landedness in period. The fact that a period thane would have used his title as [Name] thegn, the exact structure of the submitted name, was the deciding factor for me; it gave the submission the appearance of a claim of rank, exactly what our Rules are meant to prevent. Without that final point, the period documentation might have sufficed to make the name acceptable; I really don't know. But you see, now, what sort of juggling act we have to perform --- and why universal satisfaction is impossible. (20 August, 1993 Cover Letter (July, 1993 LoAR), pp. 3-4)
[Table of Contents |Previous Page (Names - Surnames) |Top of Page |Next Page (Names - Two Element Requirement)]
[Lucius Thayne] A thane (or thegn) was a free retainer in pre-Conquest England, and in Scotland up to the 15th Century; the term denotes a member of territorial nobility corresponding to the Norman baron or knight. The title was one step below the eorl, and might be either earned or inherited. In the SCA, the term is used as the Old English equivalent of "baron", and is therefore reserved. Old English usage puts the title after the name: Ælfred cyning, Leofric eorl, Lyfing arcebisceop. The submitted name is thus exactly in the form that would have been used by a period thane. That fact, along with the Society use of the title, and its hereditary nature in period, outweighs the documented use of Thane, Thaine as a surname later in period. It must therefore be returned as presumptuous. (OED, under the entries for earl, king and thane; '93 E.Brit., vol.11, p.672; Reaney DBS II, pp.112, 345). (Lucius Thayne, July, 1993, pg. 15)
Short mottos sometimes became became heraldic titles in period. Franklyn and Tanner's Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Heraldry cites the following: the Ich Dien Pursuivant who served the Prince of Wales, c.1475 (p.179), and Il Faut Faire Pursuivant; maintained by Sir John Falstaf and from his word or motto (p.180). We will accept such heraldic titles on a case by case basis. (East Kingdom, September, 1993, pg. 11)
It is poor policy to give a canton, and an incipient canton at that, an heraldic title, but this is an internal matter for the kingdom involved. (East Kingdom, September, 1993, pg. 11)
[Table of Contents |Previous Page (Names - Surnames) |Top of Page |Next Page (Names - Two Element Requirement)]