SCA - College of Arms
P.O. Box 742825
Dallas, TX 75374-2825
(214) 276-2129
[email protected]

June 18, 1996

Unto the members of the College of Arms and all others who may read this missive do Shayk Da'ud ibn Auda, Laurel King of Arms, and Baron Talan Gwynek, Pelican King of Arms, send Greetings!

The June 1996 Laurel meeting was held on Saturday, June 8, 1996, and considered the following Letters of Intent: Caid (2/2); Middle (2/7); An Tir (2/13); West (2/16); and East (2/21). Two Letters of Intent will be considered at the Laurel roadshow meeting on Sunday, June 23, 1996, at the Known World Heraldic Symposium: Outlands (2/6) and Atlantia (2/11). Original commentary on these LoIs must have been in the College's hands no later than April 30, 1996. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must have been in the College's hands no later than May 31, 1996.

The July 1996 Laurel meeting is scheduled for Sunday, July 14, 1996, and will consider the following Letters of Intent: Ansteorra (February 29 but postmarked March 8), Atlantia (March 10), Middle (March 5), Drachenwald (February 21), An Tir (March 16), Atenveldt (March 20), West (March 20), Caid (March 24) and Calontir (March 30). Original commentary on these LoIs must have been in the College's hands no later than May 31, 1996. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the College's hands no later than June 30, 1996.

The August 1996 Laurel meeting is scheduled for Sunday, August 25, 1996, and will consider the following Letters of Intent: An Tir (April 11), Drachenwald (March 24), East (April 18), Atlantia (April 14), West (April 24), and Caid (April 5). There will be a Laurel roadshow meeting at Pennsic on Thursday, August 16. Original commentary on these LoIs must be in the College's hands no later than June 30, 1996. Responses and rebuttals to commentary must be in the College's hands no later than July 31, 1996.

Not all Letters of Intent may be considered when they are originally scheduled on this Cover Letter. Date of mailing of the LoI, date of receipt of the Laurel packet, or other factors may delay consideration of certain Letters of Intent. Additionally, not all Letters of Intent received have been scheduled because the administrative requirements (receipt of the forms packet, receipt of the necessary fees, etc.) have not yet been met.

The offices of Laurel and Pelican will change at the Known World Heraldic Symposium. After that time, Jaelle of Armida (currently on the Roster as Argent Snail, Atlantia) will be Laurel Queen of Arms, and Sionyn Muirgen ní Dhomnall (currently on the Roster as Mereswine, Meridies), will be Pelican Queen of Arms. Da'ud ibn Auda, currently Laurel, and Talan Gwynek, currently Pelican, will, I believe be remaining on Laurel staff as commenters.

The mailing address for Da'ud ibn Auda (Laurel staff) should be changed to: 1610 Vinecrest Circle, Garland, TX 75042-5358.

Beacon (Meridies) notes that Godfrey of Huntington has stepped down as Pennon, being succeeded by Rory ua Riada (David Duggar), 1705 Holiday Place, Bossier City, LA 71112; (318) 747-4939. Please add Rory to the Roster and mailing list as Pennon.

Hrodbeart MacBeath, added to the mailing list in the last LoAR as a commenter, is Atlantia's Drakkar Pursuivant.

Asterisk (Ansteorra) has a new address. He has moved to: 11402A Whitewing, Austin, TX 78753; (512) 873-8407

Having received only one bid to host the 1997 Known World Heraldic Symposium (and an extremely good bid it was, too!), the decision was easy: next year's KWHS will be held in June in Rochester, New York. They submitted a detailed and very attractive bid, and as the time gets closer, we expect to be hearing more from them regarding specifics of the Symposium and calls for teachers and papers to be presented.

What Names Are 'SCA-Compatible'? I have two reasons to discuss this topic this month. Having found that my own baronial herald was slightly confused on the subject of 'SCA-compatibility', I thought that it might be helpful to list the status of some of the most common names that have been considered under this rubric. The post-period English name Fiona, which is not to be confused with the period Irish name Fíona (earlier Fíne), has long been considered 'SCA-compatible'. So have the names Cer(r)idwen (Ker(r)idwen), Rhiannon, Bronwen, Branwen, Rowen(a), and Rhonwen, all of which may be found in Welsh myth and legend, but none of which seems to have been in actual use by real people in our period. Guendolen/Gwendolen, a name based on a misreading of a masculine name and attested only in fiction, was declared 'SCA-compatible' in the 8/95 Cover Letter; more modern spellings of the name were disallowed. Brian(n)a, a modern feminization of Brian that follows no known period model, was declared 'SCA-compatible' in the 12/95 Cover Letter.

The name Amber has had a checkered history in the SCA, but at present it is not considered 'SCA-compatible', and its use was disallowed in the 3/94 Cover Letter. Three months later the use of Cedric was also disallowed, and in the 4/96 Cover Letter Myrddin was disallowed. (In each case the reasons can be found in the appropriate Cover Letter.)

My other reason for discussing the topic is a piece of unfinished business. 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. The first of these has been declared 'SCA-compatible' on account of its great popularity. As I noted in December, the other two have enjoyed less popularity and are represented by significantly fewer registrations. I called for commentary on whether to continue to allow these and other similarly-formed names for which there is no evidence of period use, promising a decision in May. As things turned out, May was an uncommonly busy month, and the matter was delayed until this month. At any rate the question stimulated little controversy (or even discussion), so a decision is not difficult: the 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. (The new Laurel Sovereign may wish to make an allowance for any names now in the Laurel pipeline, though this policy does not appear to affect any name submission through the Meridian LoI dated 5 June 1996.)

Some Thanks. Now that I am stepping down as Pelican, it seems appropriate to offer public thanks to a number of people who have made my life easier, starting with the regular name specialists, Ensign, Harpy, Hund, and Shield; commentary is a wonderful thing. I am grateful to Green Crown for assiduously checking for SCA name conflicts. I thank Lions Blood for her superb name documentation, which invariably had one of two diametrically opposed effects: either it made my job very easy, or it made me work like the devil to explain what was wrong with it! And above all I am grateful to Da'ud, who could not have been easier to work with. Splitting the decision-making worked well, and I strongly recommend the practice to future Laurel Sovereigns.

With that it's time to say goodbye - and thanks for all the fish!

No one who holds this office ever does it alone. While those who assisted were many, there are some who deserve some special thanks for all of the extra effort they put in which helped to keep everything operating the way it is supposed to.

First, I have to thank my wife, who really didn't fully understand what she was getting into when she told me, three weeks after we were married, that yes, I could take the office again when Bruce had to retire unexpectedly. Jo Ann, bless you.

Master Iulstan Sigwealding, for doing one of the very best jobs as both Morsulus and Free Trumpet Press West that I have seen. His excellent efforts at producing, and improving upon, the Armorial and Ordinary and producing regular updates to them have made it easier for everyone in the College to keep up with what's been registered. Iulstan, thank you so very much.

Mistress Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy and Master Symond Bayard le Gris, along with Robin of Rhovanion and the remainder of their crew, who so faithfully -- and for so long -- have printed and mailed the LoARs, relieving me of a lot of time, effort, and worry. I cannot tell how much your able work in doing this has made my life so much easier.

Daniel de Lincoln (yes, him of the bagpipe playing bunnies), who served so long, regularly, and faithfully (until leaving for the wilds of Peoria(!) for a job that actually paid wages) as chief clerk and filing wizard, sounding board, occasional notifier of interesting discussions on the Internet, provider of humor, and good friend. Daniel, thank you.

Borric, who took up the reins when Daniel left, and provided some really great snack foods for some of the Laurel meetings. Borric, we didn't know you could cook so well.

David van dem Storm, who has driven more miles in support of the Laurel office than anyone, including Laurel, and who didn't let rain, snow, tornadoes, at least three different changes of residence, or even the demise of "Van-steorra" slow him down too much.

Talan Gwynek, who, more than anyone, demonstrated that the very heavy workload of this office could be split and still work efficiently and on time half a continent apart; who listened to my complaints, offered advice when I asked for it and occasionally when I didn't, and served as a friend at all times. Talan, it would have been a lot tougher without you. I thank you more than I can adequately say. (At least you got a free t-shirt out of it! J )

And finally, to Jaelle of Armida, a friend of many years, an occasional verbal sparring partner who has agreed with me, disagreed with me, and generally kept me on my toes, and who is going to make it possible for me to get half my garage and a good 100 hours a month back to myself again. Jaelle, I wish you the very best in this office.

The College has accomplished a lot since I first succeeded Mistress Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane at the end of June 1990, and I thought it might be worthwhile to take a minute to look back at some of the accomplishments since then.

Not bad for an organization which some have labeled as reactionary, hide-bound, and nearly impossible to change! I look forward to the changes we will make in the next six years with equal enthusiasm.

"Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprx11116." The name of a five-year-old Swedish child, which his parents say is pronounced "Albin". An appeals court the week of June 2 upheld a lower court's ruling that the name was unacceptable.

Newsweek, June 10, 1996, p. 21

My friends, pray believe that I am, and remain,

Your faithful servant,


Da'ud ibn Auda
Laurel King of Arms