Adrienne is the submitter's legal given name.
There is a long history of rulings regarding the unregisterability of mullets voided and interlaced (also known as pentacles or pentagrams), beginning as early as 1973 by Ioseph of Locksley and including rulings or correspondence in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1990, 1994, and 1996. The ruling in 1990 was appealed to the Board of Directors, as reflected and discussed on the April 1991 Cover Letter. As specified in that Cover Letter, the primary argument against the registerability of this charge was that "the device was not returned for its specific religious content as perceived by the submitter and her co-religionists, but for the specific anti-religious content as perceived by a far larger number of people, both within and without the SCA." The 1996 ruling was an appeal of a return from 1994, and after considering the various arguments, the then Laurel King of Arms, Da'ud ibn Auda, felt "compelled to uphold the prior precedents disallowing the registration of mullets of five points voided and interlaced, whether within and conjoined to an annulet or standing by themselves. [Based on the evidence presented, s]uch charges still are perceived by a significant portion of the population as [a] "satanic symbol", and hence cannot be registered by the College."
The current submission presents extensive documentation showing that the pentacle or pentagram is no longer perceived as a specifically satanic symbol. Instead, it has become more closely recognized as a symbol of the Wiccan religion. For example, the US military services have acknowledged the Wiccan religion in their Chaplain's handbook since at least 1990, and, more recently, the association of the pentacle with the Wiccan religion was acknowledged by the US government when the pentacle became the Wiccan religious symbol allowed on the government-furnished headstones of fallen US soldiers.
We received a large amount of commentary on this submission from the College, and the consensus was overwhelmingly in favor of dropping the ban on this charge. We hereby overturn the ruling from 1996, and allow the registration of mullets voided and interlaced, both inverted and not, and both conjoined to annulets and not, so long as the overall design in which this charge is used does not otherwise violate RfS IX.2 Offensive Religious Symbolism.
Nice 15th C Italian name!
This device is clear of the device of Aranwen ferch Dafydd Mawr, Per saltire azure and sable a mullet of eight points elongated to base voided all within a bordure embattled argent. There is a CD for the changes to the field and, since Aranwen's mullet is, effectively a mullet of eight points argent charged with a mullet of eight points per saltire azure and sable, there is a CD for the multiple changes to the tertiary charge.
The submitter requested authenticity for 10th C Norse. The earliest example for a form of Ulfrekr that we could find is from 1000. It is likely that this name was used earlier, but we cannot confirm it.
Under current rules, the spear is a co-primary charge. If the proposal on the September 2008 LoAR Cover Letter is adopted, the spear will be a secondary charge. This device is clear under either interpretation. We have blazoned it as if the proposal is adopted, since this blazon will also work properly in the case where the proposal is rejected.
The submitter requested authenticity for 12th-13th C Ireland. Cainder was documented as the name of three saints. We have not found any other examples of the name. Lacking evidence that Cainder was used in the 12th or 13th C, we cannot confirm that this name is authentic for that period.
This name combines Middle and Early Modern Irish, which is one step from period practice.
This device is clear of the device of Karolus of Palehorn, Argent, a pair of bat's wings sable, surmounted by a unicorn's head affronty, erased at the shoulders, gules. Winged items are considered to be a single charge, by precedent:
A winged object is a single charge, thus there are only two types of charges in the primary charge group - the decrescents and the winged sword. [Elyas Tigar, 02/2007, A-Artemisia]
Therefore, these two designs are clear by X.2, since there is substantial difference between a bird-winged spear and a bat-winged unicorn's head.
The submitter has permission to conflict with Margarete Pomeroy, Argent, a lion rampant and in chief three apples gules, a bordure engrailed sable, registered elsewhere in this letter.
Submitted as Christina Buttermann, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th-14th C German or English. Christina can be found in both English and German contexts, but the spelling Buttermann is not appropriate for either, since it combines the English spelling Butter- with the German spelling -mann.
An authentic 13th-14th C English form would be Christina Butterman. Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames", dates Christina to 1283, 1297, 1311, 1335, and 1367, and Reaney & Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames, s.n. Butter date Butterman to 1302.
An authentic 13th C German form would be Christina Bottermann. Christina is dated to 1201, 1242, 1256, 1267, and 1292 in Socin, Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch, p. 88, and Bottermann is dated to 1251 in Brechenmacher, Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen, s.n. Bottermann.
We have changed the name to Christina Butterman_ to meet her request for authenticity because this form is closer to the originally submitted name than Christina Bottermann. We note that if the submitter prefers Christina Bottermann, it is also registerable.
The harp was blazoned on the LoI as having its forepillar in the shape of a harpy. Following the pattern of period heralds, as seen in the blazon of the arms of Ireland and others, we will not blazon details of the forepillars of harps, as they are considered artistic details.
Listed on the LoI as Ciaran Ó Tighearnaigh, precedent requires that accents in Gaelic names be used or dropped uniformly throughout. As the submitted form drops the accent from Ciarán, we have dropped the accent from Ó to register the name as Ciaran O Tighearnaigh. Since Ciaran is both the Middle Irish and Early Modern Irish form of the name, there is no lingual disparity between the elements.
This name was originally submitted as Ciaran Faolán Ó Tighearnaigh, and Faolán was dropped in kingdom in accordance with past precedent, which has ruled unregisterable the use of two given names or unmarked patronymic bynames in Gaelic. We'd like to note that if the submitter desires a name using Faolan, he might consider Ciaran mac Faolain ui Thighearnaigh, using Faolan as part of a marked patronymic byname.
Some commenters suggested that this device conflicts with the device of Culién Ó Cinnéide, Per bend sinister indented argent and gules masoned argent. There is a CD for the change in tincture of the lower half of the field, from gules masoned argent to vert. There is another CD for the change from an indented line of division to an urdy one. Indented and urdy were distinguished in period and are sufficiently visually distinct that we are granting a CD for the difference between them.
The documentation for Insterburg on the LoI did not make it clear that this was a period form of the city's name. Walraven van Nijmegen notes that "This city appears as [Insterburg] (with long-I and long-S) in the Mercator Atlas on the "Germania" map. The Atlas was published circa 1570-1572."
Please instruct the submitter to draw fewer and more prominent ermine spots.
This name combines an Early Modern Irish given name with a byname which can be documented in Old and Medieval Swedish and Danish. However, no documentation was provided showing that there was substantial contact between speakers of Early Modern Irish and those of any of Old or Medieval Swedish or Danish. This name was pended for the commenters to determine whether there was such contact. There was substantial Scandinavian influence in early Ireland, and Siren notes that, "The book An account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland, and Ireland by Jens Jakob Asmussen Worsaae (1852, http://books.google.com/books?id=G1MJAAAAIAAJ, p. 349) gives 13th century citations for Norse/Danish/whatever speakers still in Ireland." This demonstrates that there was still significant contact between Irish and Scandinavians in the 13th C, when Early Modern Irish was in use. This allows us to register the name, though there is a step from period practice for combining Early Modern Irish with Swedish or Danish.
This was pended on the July 2008 LoAR.
The submitter requested authenticity for 8th-9th C Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Unfortunately, the name is not authentic for this period. Geróit is a Gaelic adaptation of Gerald, which was introduced to Ireland with the Normans. We do not have any examples of Geróit in Scotland, and even if it was used by Scottish Gaels, it is unlikely that it would have been used at such an early date.
Blazoned on the LoI as thistles, the maintained items are inverted from the expected depiction of thistle heads, which renders them unrecognizable. Since this depiction appears to be an acceptable artistic rendering of tassels, we have so blazoned them in order to register this device.
Please instruct the submitter to draw the waterwheel slightly larger.
Nice armory!
Nice armory!
Submitted under the name Tafrara N Doukkala.
Charging a schnecke is a step from period practice.
The sword in this device is winged in an unusual fashion: usually, the wings issue from very near the quillons of swords. While we are willing to register this arrangement, it will not be granted difference from normally-winged swords.
Garran is the submitter's legal given name.
Submitted as Geoffrey le Warde, the submitter desired the spelling Geoffry if that could be documented. Black, The Surnames of Scotland, s.n. Caldcott dates Geoffry de Caldecote to a1245. We have changed the name to Geoffry le Warde to give the submitter his desired spelling.
Submitted as Gwyneth de Neutone_Hille, past precedent has ruled that compound place names are not registerable in English locative bynames:
Lyneyea of Aston-upon-Trent. The name uses a compound locative as a byname, but no documentation was submitted and none found showing any English surnames that evolved from a full compound place-name rather than just the first part of the place-name. Such bynames were declared unregisterable for Spanish names in 2002:
Lacking documentation that compound forms of placenames like Santiago de Compostela were used in locative bynames, this cannot be registered. [Beatriz de Santiago de Compostela, 01/02, R-Caid]
Barring evidence of locative bynames formed from full compound placenames in English, such names cannot be registered. We would drop the compound and register the byname as Æstun, but the submitter will not accept major changes. [March 2005 LoAR, R-Meridies]
No new evidence was provided for the use of compound place names in locative bynames in English, so they remain unregisterable. We have changed the name to Gwyneth_Neutone de la Hille, the form preferred by the submitter, to remove the problem with the compound locative so that we can register the name.
This device is not slot-machine heraldry, even though it appears to have three different types of charge in a single charge group. We consider a bow with a nocked arrow to be a single charge for purposes of determining slot-machine arrangements.
This device conflicts with that of Anna de Byxe, Azure, an owl displayed argent and on a chief indented Or three roundels gules, registered in February of 2000 (via Drachenwald). However, Anna has issued a blanket permission to conflict with her device for all items which have at least one CD. This blanket permission was registered in November 2007.
Please instruct the submitter to draw fewer and more prominent repeats on the indented line of division.
Her old device, Azure, a dance between three semiminims Or, is retained as a badge.
Her old device, Or, a sea unicorn erect contourny and in chief four escallops purpure, is released.
There were some questions as to whether or not the hexagon is considered a medium for heraldic display. It is not. Hexagons do not appear to have been used in period European armory at all. Precedent says:
The use of a pentagon is a step from period practice. We are only aware of four-sided polygons (e.g., delfs and lozenges) in period European heraldry; hexagons are found in Japanese mon. [Gustav Emile der Dunkele Rotvogel, 09/2006, A-Atlantia]
Therefore, the use of a hexagon is a step from period practice. While hexagons were used in Japanese mon, our rules are based on European heraldry.
Submitted under the name Isobella MacClure.
Blazoned when registered in January 1973 as Gules, a crow rising, pierced by an arrow, both argent, we have clarified the position of the arrow.
Nice 16th C English name!
Her previous name, Celine Violier, is retained as an alternate name.
The submitter requested authenticity for 16th C Chesham. Both elements are found in 16th C Chesham parish registers, dated within 31 years of each other. This is an excellent name.
This name was documented from Roman sources, but the forms indicate that the submitter cared most about having an Italian name. This is a fine Italian name. Juliana de Luna, "Names from Sixteenth Century Venice", lists Livia as a feminine name recorded before 1600, and her "Names in 15th Century Florence and her Dominions: the Condado" lists the family name Valentini.
Submitted under the name Marcán an Fhasaigh.
The submitter has permission to conflict with Charles de Pomerai, Or, a lion rampant and in chief three apples gules, a bordure engrailed sable, registered elsewhere in this letter.
This is clear of the device of Arthur of the Fen, Argent, a fleam sable and in dexter three gouttes de sang one and two, reblazoned elsewhere in this letter. There is a CD for the addition of the chief and a CD for the removal of the three gouttes, which are large enough in this case to be considered secondaries.
There were some commenters who called for this submission to be returned because the character is not drawn as an actual resh symbol, since the ascender is not perfectly vertical. Some research turns up a 13th century Ashkenazic Haggadah (at http://www.library.yale.edu/judaica/exhibits/haggadah/image16.html), which has non-horizontal ascenders for all the characters, other medieval Haggadah which have curved ascenders, and an immediately post-period "Venice" Haggadah (http://www.library.yale.edu/judaica/images/Venice/HVeniceTPage.jpg) has the resh characters very nearly matching this submission. They are definitely not lameds, which also appear in the text. Since the character is an abstract symbol, which we do not grant difference between, and it is close enough to period depictions of the character, it is registerable.
Please inform the submitter that they may wish to draw a more vertical ascender on the character in future depictions.
Please instruct the submitter to draw fewer, more prominent billets.
Submitted as Muirgheal inghean Dhubhghaill, the byname was not grammatically correct. In Gaelic, words beginning with D- do not show lenition in writing when they follow words ending in -n. This means the correct Early Modern Irish byname meaning 'daughter of Dubhghall' is inghean Dubhghaill. We have changed the name to Muirgheal inghean Dubhghaill to correct the grammar in order to register it.
The byname the mercenary is a lingua anglica rendering of Old Norse heiðmenningr.
The byname Dalicieux is grandfathered to her; it is the registered byname of her legal husband, Valaric Dalicieux.
The device is clear of Elspeth Turberville, Argent, on a fess between three lyres vert, a horse passant to sinister argent. There is a CD for the change of number of secondary charges, from three to two, and a CD for the change of type, from lyres to cotises.
Submitted as Seanait inghean Nessan, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish Gaelic.
The given name Seanait was documented as the Modern Irish form of the name of a saint. The standardized Middle Irish form of the name is Ségnat and the standardized Early Modern Irish form of the name is Séaghnait. Modern Irish spellings are not registerable unless they are also identical with a period Irish form, which Seanait is not.
The byname inghean Nessan violates RfS III.1.a Linguistic Consistency by combining Early Modern Irish inghean with Middle Irish Nessan. Additionally, following the word for 'daughter', Nessan needs to be in the genitive case
An authentic Irish name would use one orthography throughout. Of the two standardized period forms of the given name, the Early Modern Irish form Séaghnait is closer to Seanait than Middle Irish Ségnat. Thus, for an authentic name, an Early Modern Irish form of the byname should be used, e.g., inghean Neasáin. We have changed the name to the wholly Early Modern Irish form Séaghnait inghean Neasáin in order to register it and to partially meet her request for authenticity; because we do not have any examples of the given name apart from the saint, we cannot confirm that the name is in fact authentic. A wholly Middle Irish form of the name would be Ségnat ingen Nessáin.
The only documentation provided on the LoI for the byname Rogan was from MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland. The July 2007 Cover Letter says, "Because MacLysaght provides few if any dates, and because the forms given in this work are explicitly modern, it is no longer acceptable as sole documentation for Irish names." Pelican Emeritus provided alternative documentation for the byname. The names Patr. Rogan and Chr. Rogan appear in Public Record Office, Ireland, Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and of the Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland: presented to both houses of the Oireachtas, dated to 1596-7 on p. 47.
This name combines Gaelic and Anglicized Gaelic, which is a step from period practice.
The byname the Lost is SCA compatible. Per the May 2008 Cover Letter, as of the May 2009 decision meeting we will no longer consider any name element to be SCA compatible.
Listed on the LoI as Uhtred aet Pyttasburh, the name appeared on the forms as Uhtred æt Pyttasburh. As aet is not a plausible variant spelling of Old English æt, the originally submitted form of the preposition is the correct one.
Pyttasburh was documented as a constructed place name meaning 'Pytta's town', but the grammar is not correct. As examples from Ekwall, Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, s.nn. Pitney and Pitton show, the Old English genitive of Pytta is Pyttan, not Pyttas, which means that the correct Old English place name meaning 'Pytta's town' is Pyttanburh. We have changed the name to Uhtred æt Pyttanburh to correct the grammar in order to register it. This name combines Old and Middle English, which is a step from period practice.
We note that if the submitter's desire was to have a place name which sounds like modern Pittsburgh, then this alternative is possible. Watts, Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, s.n. Pitsford notes that this place name is "probably 'Piht's ford' from OE *Piht, gen. *Pihtes), and lists dated spellings Pidesford 1086 and Pitesford 1086-1242. These support Pitesburg as a constructed Middle English place-name. The appropriate Middle English byname based on Pitesburg would be of Pitesburg or de Pitesburg.
Blazoned on the LoI as a yew tree, the English yew has a rounded shape in all the depictions we have found. The shape of the tree here is closer to a Lombardy poplar, which the September 2007 Cover Letter says we blazon as simply a 'poplar'. Its use, as ruled in that Cover Letter, is a step from period practice.
Submitted as Wilhelm von der Schwarzstrom, Schwarzstrom was documented as a constructed German place name meaning "Black River". However, no examples were provided, and none could be found, of German place names using the element -strom. Instead, the usual word for "river" or "stream" in German place names is bach. Brechenmacher, Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen, s.n. Schwartzbach dates the place name Swartzbach to 1441. The documentation on the LoI shows that Swartz, Schwartz, and Schwarcz were all used interchangeably in the 15th C, so Schwartzbach is a plausible variant spelling of this place name. Since the submitter cares most about having a byname meaning "of (the) Black River", we have changed the name to Wilhelm von der Schwartzbach in order to register it.
The submitter requested authenticity for 12th-13th C German. Both elements are dated to the 13th C, so this is a fine German name from that period.
This was pended on the June 2008 LoAR.
This is clear of the device of Fiona Kyle, Azure, two tusks tips crossed in saltire between three coneys rampant each holding a spear argent. There is a CD for the change of type of secondary charges, from coneys to crosses, and a CD for the difference between a tusk and a bone. There is at least significant difference between the two types of charge; we are not ruling at this time whether there is substantial difference between a tusk and a bone.
Nice armory!
The original colored emblazon on the Letter of Intent was not properly colored. Six days after issuing the letter, the submissions herald posted a corrected emblazon as part of a comment. This is sufficiently timely that we do not need to pend this device for further checking.
Blazoned when registered in December 1982 as Argent, a fleam sable distilling three gouttes de sang, one and two, the gouttes are large enough to be secondaries, and we must blazon them that way, since distilled gouttes are considered maintained charges.
The consensus of the commenters was that this name does not conflict with James de Northebrok, as there is just enough aural and visual difference between brok and folke for the bynames to be clear of each other.
The submitter requested authenticity for an unspecified language/culture. As submitted, this is an excellent 14th C Venetian name.
The sword is large enough to be a secondary charge.
This is clear of the device of Malinda Angelanne Hohen van Kester, Per fess embattled azure and argent, a heart gules. There is a CD for the change of field and a CD for the addition of the sword.
It is clear of the badge of Elspeth of Harilow, (Fieldless) On a heart Or, another gules. There is a CD for the difference between a fielded and a fieldless design, a second for the removal of the tertiary heart, and a third for the addition of the sword.
It is clear of the badge of Dmitrii Volkovich, (Fieldless) A sword Or. by X.2.
This name combines Turkish and English, which is one step from period practice.
When the name Antonio Francesco de la Rosa was submitted, the LoI failed to note that this was intended to be an alternate name for Snaebjorn Haraldsson. We are making this association now.
Please instruct the submitter to draw the pile extending further down the field. According to the February 2008 Cover Letter, the use of a pile which is only 3/4 of the height of the field is a step from period practice.
Submitted as Lucas Silvertree, the submitter indicated that he preferred the spelling Silvertre if it could be justified. The Middle English Dictionary s.v. tree has many examples from the 13th to the early 16th C, including the place names Hosintre 1255 and Aylmynstre als. Elmystre 1464. Another example can be found in Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names, which has Branketre 1274 s.n. Braintree. Since these examples support the spelling Silvertre, we have changed the name to Lucas Silvertre.
There was a lot of commentary whether Silvertree or Silvertre was a plausible constructed English place name or inn sign name. Watts, Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, s.n. Silverstone 'Siulf's or Seulf's farm or village' dates Silverstone from 1260x90, and notes that "the forms with -r- are the result of early folk-etymological association of the name with ME silver." Smith, English Place-Name Elements, s.v. tr{e-}ow 'tree' notes that in compounds, this word is often combined with personal names. This information supports Silvertre as a constructed English place name meaning 'Seulf's or Siulf's tree'.
Submitted as Ogmundr hrókr, the given name was documented as a variant of Agmundr found in the Viking Answer Lady, "Old Norse Men's Names". However, Ogmundr does not in fact appear in this source. The variant spelling listed in the article is Ögmundr. Using the o-umlaut (ö) instead of the o-ogonek ({o,}) is a later convention that really only gained popularity in modern times because of the limitations of standard typefaces. We have changed the given name to {O,}gmundr to follow the normal transcription system.
The rooks depicted here are corvid birds; the chess pieces are blazoned chess rooks.
Submitted as Thaddeus Guy, the documentation for the given name supported the spelling Thadeus, not the submitted form. Pelican Emeritus notes that Ireland, Public Record Office, Deputy Keeper of the Public Records and of the Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland: presented to both houses of the Oireachtas, on p. 98 dates Thaddeus O Domyn and Thaddeus O Bannan to 1598-9, and on p. 112 dates Thaddeus or Teige Fitz Patrick to 1602. These examples support the registration of Thaddeus as an Anglicized Irish name. This name combines Anglicized Irish and English, which is a step from period practice.
Submitted as Roger_de Palermo le Conil, the submitter requested authenticity for 11th-13th C Norman. No examples were provided of Old French le conil being used as a byname in this period, and none were found by the commenters. Reaney & Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames, s.n. Coney provides examples of the Middle English cognate of coni being used as a byname, in Richard le Cony 1296 and Robert Cony 1327. Additionally, s.n. Conning, they cite Geoffrey Conyng and Ralph Konyng 1296, from Middle English and Anglo-French coning 'rabbit'. Of these, Conyng is the most appropriate for a Norman, since it is a specifically French form.
No examples were provided of locative bynames preceding descriptive bynames; lacking evidence for this pattern in Anglo-Norman or Anglo-French contexts, it is not registerable. We have changed the name to Roger Conyng de Palermo_ in order to register it and to meet his request for authenticity.
The addition of the byname Conyng clears this name of both conflict with and presumption of the two Norman kings of Sicily, Roger I and Roger II, who ruled from Palermo.
The question was raised whether the name was still presumptuous of Roger I and Roger II, because conyng is similar in sound to cyning, könig, and koning, the approved alternate titles for 'king' in Old English, German, and Dutch, respectively. So far as we can tell, conyng is not a valid alternative spelling of any of these words. Thus, any possible presumption rests solely on the pronunciation of the byname. In the past, bynames containing elements that are phonetically identical to protected titles but which are etymologically unrelated to those titles have been ruled to be not presumptuous:
There was some question whether the byname McKnight was presumptuous. It is not, as this precedent indicates:
Dorothea M'Queyn. Name. The question was raised whether the use of the surname MacQueen or its variants in an SCA name is presumptuous. This precedent is directly relevant to this question:
[Registering Mark FitzRoy.] RfS VI.1. states that "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." FitzRoy meets that criteria. RfS VI.3. states that "Names that unmistakably imply identity with or close relationship to a protected person or literary character will generally not be registered." There is no implication of "identity with or close relationship to" any protected individual or character as used here. Consequently, the surname here is not considered pretentious. [6/94, p.8]
In this case, the surname may be interpreted by English speakers as "son of the Queen", but that is because it is a phonetic rendering. The name in Gaelic is Mac Shuibhne, whose written form carries no hint of presumption." [LoAR 06/2004]
MacKnight is a variant form of MacNaught, which is mac Neachtain in Gaelic. This form clearly carries no hint of presumption. [Godfrey McKnight, LoAR 05/2008, Ealdormere-A]
The byname Conyng is etymologically unrelated to the protected alternate forms of King. Thus, the phonetic similarity of Conyng to these forms is insufficient for this byname to be presumptuous.
Submitted as House Broken Rock_, no documentation was provided that this name followed period patterns of household names. The January 2007 Cover Letter states:
In recent months, many household names have been submitted without documentation showing that they follow a specific naming pattern for organized groups of people at a specific time in a specific culture. In one instance, the submitter merely noted "the specific allowance for household names composed of a household designator and surname in the Rules for Submissions."
Folks -- this has got to stop. RfS III.2.b.iv says:
iv. Household Names - Household names must follow the patterns of period names of organized groups of people.
Possible models include Scottish clans (Clan Stewart), ruling dynasties (House of Anjou), professional guilds (Bakers Guild of Augsburg, Worshipful Company of Coopers), military units (The White Company), and inns (House of the White Hart).
The models are specific models for specific times and places, not models appropriate for every time and place. For example, House of the White Hart is an English sign name. There is ample documentation for household names based on surnames and of surnames based on sign names in England. However, to register a name following this pattern in Italian or Spanish, the submitter would need to demonstrate a pattern in these languages of names derived from inn-signs as well as household names derived from surnames (although the latter of these two should be fairly easy).
Names that are inadequately documented may be returned. Please make sure to provide documentation that the pattern used in a submitted household name is appropriate for the language and culture of that name.
The LoI tried to justify Broken Rock as a constructed English place name, but unfortunately this is not plausible. The root word of the English place names Brokenborough and Brokynhulle is Old English brocen, which when used in place names referred to broken or uneven ground, and not to broken things more generally, according to Smith, English Place-Name Elements, s.v. brocen. Siren provides documentation for a similar sounding place name:
So, a double barreled placename could be constructed using a soundalike family name plus the toponym <Rock>. <Rock> is documented in R&W (s.n. Roke); most are derived from 'oak,' but at least one is derived from 'rock.' Spellings associated with the latter are <de Rok> 1242, but other spellings from the OED ought to be OK as well. Family names that might be first elements include <Brokyng> 1525 (s.n. Brooking) and <Brekynshawe> 1500 (s.n Birkenshaw). So, that'd create a placename <Brokyingsrock> or <Brokyings Rock>.
The relevant precedent is:
The name is constructed from the family name River and the topographic Moor. When family names, as opposed to given names, are used in English placenames, the family name usually comes after the descriptive feature. However, Mills does have some examples of "family name+topographic", including s.n. Towersey, Turrisey, "of the Tower family, Towers' eg" 1240; s.n. Tey, Great, Merkys Tey, "Tege of the de Merck family" 1475; s.n. Leigh, Bessilles Lee, "Leigh of the Bessil family" 1539. None of these justifies Rivermoor, because the family name is not in the genitive (possessive) case here. Reaney and Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames cite a John Riuer in 1327, so an appropriate form of a name meaning "Moor of the River family" is Riversmor(e) or Rivers Mor(e).[05/04]
However, past precedent has ruled that the pattern House + <Place name> is unregisterable in English, barring evidence for its usage. The December 2007 LoAR says:
The question was raised whether names of the form House + [place name] followed a pattern found in English names for groups of organized people. We have found no examples of this pattern. However, we have some examples of the pattern [place name] + [house/hall/lodge]. All examples below are from John Norden, Speculum Britanniae. The first parte an historicall, & chorographicall discription of Middlesex. Wherin are also alphabeticallie sett downe, the names of the cyties, townes, parishes hamletes, howses of name &c. W.th [sic] direction spedelie to finde anie place desired in the mappe & the distance betwene place and place without compasses. Cum priuilegio. By the trauaile and vew of Iohn Norden. Anno 1593. Names include Enfielde house (located in Enfield), Northals lodge (in Northals), and Lambeth house (near Lambeth), and Westminster Hall (in Westminster). There are several other examples based on either a territorial title or the surname of the original builder (in very few cases does the name of the listed resident match the name of the house). Examples include Augustines Lodge, Buls Lodge, Bufhoppes hall, New hall, Hendon house, Bassings hall, Heneage House, Schrewsburye house, More hall, Durham house (built by the Bishop of Durham), and Burghley house (built by Lord Burghley). Given this, we would recommend late period household names following either of these patterns [surname] + [house or hall], [surname]+s + [house, hall, or lodge], [place name] + [house, hall, or lodge]. [Sythe Blackwolfe, Calontir-R]
We have changed the name to _Brokyngs Rock_House in order to register it.
Submitted under the name Tegan verch Aethric.
Her previous name, Angelina al-Jabaliyya, is retained as an alternate name.
Please instruct the submitter to draw larger, more prominent crosses.
This armory is for the Fergus MacInnes whose name was registered in July 2001 via Atenveldt, and not the Fergus MacInnes registered in June 2001 via Æthelmearc.
Submitted as Iseult Ó Treasaigh, Gaelic bynames need to match the gender of the given names they modify. The appropriate feminine form of Ó Treasaigh is inghean uí Threasaigh. We have changed the name to Iseult inghean uí Threasaigh in order to register it. This names combines French and Gaelic, which is a step from period practice
The use of hummingbirds is a step from period practice.
Josephine is the submitter's legal given name.
Commenters are reminded that winged objects are single charges, per the February 2007 precedent:
A winged object is a single charge, thus there are only two types of charges in the primary charge group - the decrescents and the winged sword. [Elyas Tigar, 02/2007, A-Artemisia]
A hand is an object, just as a sword is. Therefore, this design is not slot-machine heraldry.
This was pended on the July 2008 LoAR because no evidence was provided that the 3rd C martyred saint Tatiana was known in a culture which is compatible with Italian. Siren provides information that Saint Tatiana was venerated in Byzantium in the 15th C. This is sufficient to register Tatiana in Byzantine Greek contexts. Because there was significant contact between Byzantium and Italiy, Greek and Italian can be combined in the same name, though this combination is a step from period practice.
Her previous name, Marguerite Bouchard, is retained as an alternate name.
This name combines Middle and Early Modern Irish, which is a step from period practice.
This order name was documented as following the meta-pattern for order names of "orders whose name contains the given name of their founder or the secular person for whom the order is named" as discussed on the August 2005 LoAR. However, the name Arielle has been ruled unregisterable:
There was some question about the status of the name Arielle, both whether it was ever declared SCA-compatible, and whether it follows patterns for feminizing masculine Hebrew names. Precedent states:
The name Ariel is found in the Bible, in Ezra, as the name of a male leader. While no one could produce documentation showing that Arielle is a period name, Hebrew names of this sort are frequently feminized by adding an "a" or an "e" at the end. For instance, Rafael becomes Rafaelle, Gabriel becomes Gabrielle, Uriel becomes Urielle, Michael becomes Michaela, etc. Since our sources for period Hebrew names give us many more for men than for women, we are registering this as a compatible name. [Arielle the Golden, February 1997]
This precedent does not declare the name Arielle SCA-compatible. If it did, it would have used the phrase SCA-compatible. Instead, it says that the name Arielle is compatible with documented naming practice demonstrated by the pairs of names listed in the precedent. However, Siren notes: "research on Jewish names since 1997 has made it clear that feminine names were not formed in period by adding -a or -e to the end of masculine names. A few names of major saints were feminized *by Christians*, but none by Jews." Given this new information, barring other documentation of the name Arielle as a period name, we will discontinue registering this name beginning at the decision meeting in September of 2005. [LoAR 03/2005, Arielle Makcristyne, East-P]
The submitted order name is intended to honor Duchess Arielle the Golden by using her given name. Golden Dolphin argued that:
[S]ince we allow orders to be named using "the given name of their founder or the secular person for whom the order is named", any given name of an eligible individual that has been registered in the Society should be licit for use for this purpose whether or not that given name would be registered for an individual today.
However, as Pelican Emeritus explains, this is not allowed by the current rules:
I know when I wrote the [August 2005 CL] precedent, that interpretation was not my intent -- the intent of the meta-pattern was simply to point out that there are a few (late period) orders that used personal names to form the order name -- and to allow groups to form order names using personal given names as the descriptive element. It is a long way from that to "we can decide to honor a person and register their name as part of an order name, even if it's not grandfathered to us, and is not registerable under current rules and precedent."
We note a second precedent from June 2008 that explicitly addresses this point:
There was some discussion about the documentation required for a order name where the intention is to name the order for an admired individual from the Society. In this case, the documentation requirements are the same as they are for any other name -- the submitters must demonstrate that all elements of the name are consistent with the Rules for Submission. Unless the element used in the formation of such an order name is already registered to the branch in question, the grandfather clause does not apply. We commend the Barony of Caerthe for the fine job they did in documenting the substantive element of this order name as a name found in period, as well as making it clear that the intent was to name the order for an admired individual within the Society. [registration of Order of Evan].
Now, the current Laurel team may decide to extend the grandfather clause to cover such situations -- but the grandfather clause does not currently extend to cover it, nor, I think does the original or followup precedent support such an extension. It is not a matter of linguistic purity, it's that the rules by themselves, nor precedent, allows such a registration.
At our instruction, Palimpsest asked commenters to address whether they supported changing the rules to extend the grandfather clause in this fashion. The majority of the responses were favorable. Given the positive commentary, we are hereby changing RfS II.5 to allow branches to use the grandfather clause for elements which are part of the registered names of citizens of their branches. We are soliciting the College's commentary on the precise wording of the rules change; for more information, see the Cover Letter. However, because the precise details of the wording will not affect the registerability of the current submission, we are able to register this award name at this time.
While this normally would have been reblazoned as a paly field, the kingdom submissions herald stated that the submitter would definitely prefer this blazon. As a field with this many pallets is entirely equivalent to a paly field, we see no reason to not give the submitter her desired blazon.
Submitted as Étain inghean Maine, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish. As submitted, the name combined Middle Irish orthography in the given name with Early Modern Irish orthography in the byname. An authentic name would use wholly one or the other, not a mixture of the two. The patronym Maine was used throughout the Old, Middle, and Early Modern Irish periods, and its standardized form is the same for each. To match the language of the given name, we have changed the byname to the wholly Middle Irish form ingen Maine. Additionally, the given name was documented as Étaín, with accents on two of the vowels, and requires that accents be either used or dropped uniformly throughout a name. We are registering the name as Étaín ingen Maine in order to correct the use of the accents and to meet her request for authenticity.
Submitted as Finnech mac Labhrainn, this form of the name was two steps from period practice. According to Ó Corráin & Maguire, Irish Names, s.n. Finnech, Finnech was used as a masculine name only in what the authors refer to as "the early period". We were unable to find any examples of Finnech used as a man's name even as late as the Old Irish (c700-c900) era. The byname mac Labhrainn was constructed on the basis of the 1467 Scottish Gaelic citation of the given name Labhran in Black, The Surnames of Scotland, s.n. MacLaren. This means that the name Finnech mac Labhrainn has one step from period practice for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years between the elements, and another one for the lingual disparity of combining early Gaelic with late-period Gaelic.
However, Ó Corráin & Maguire note that Finnech was also the name of a female saint. The submitter does not care about the gender of the name, which means we can change the name to Finnech inghean Labhrainn in order to register it. This name is just one step from period practice, because of the lingual disparity. The use of the saint's name removes the temporal disparity, because saint's names are assumed to be available in the name pool of a culture at any time which the saint was known to that culture.
Their old device, Argent chaussé per pale vert and azure, a trident sable environed at the points by a laurel wreath vert, is released.
The LoI did not mention which letter was intended, nor its tincture, due to a bug in how OSCAR handled the double quotes in the blazon. Kingdom issued a timely letter of correction for both issues, so this need not be pended for further conflict checking. The OSCAR team apologizes to Golden Dolphin for the bug which caused this problem.
Baronial Guard is a generic identifier.
Listed on the LoI as Brígíða inn kyrrí, the byname was originally submitted as in kyrrí, and changed in kingdom to match the available documentation. However, the documentation cited does not support the spelling on the LoI. The byname inn kyrrí is an error for the Old Norse masculine byname inn kyrri. Additionally, because inn kyrri is a weak adjective, it needs to be in the feminine form, in kyrra, when used with a feminine given name. Normally changing the gender of an element is considered a major change (which the submitter does not allow). However, since the submitter requested a feminine name and the byname as originally submitted was at least partially grammatically correct for a feminine name, in this case, correcting the byname from in kyrrí to in kyrra is not a major change, since the original gender of the byname and the resulting gender of the byname has not changed. We have changed the name to Brígíða in kyrra in order to register it.
This device is clear of the device of Friða Sørkvisdóttir, Per fess sable and vert, in bend three suns Or. Precedent says:
Just as we grant a CD between a sun and a mullet (of 5 points), so do we grant a CD between a sun and an estoile (of 6 rays). (Monica Eve le May, July, 1993, pg. 6)
Therefore, there is a CD for the change of field and a CD for the difference between suns and these six-pointed estoiles.
This name uses an unmarked patronymic byname in Russian, which is one step from period practice.
Nice armory!
Listed on the LoI as Jyne o' the Dell, the name was originally submitted as June o' the Dell and changed in kingdom because it was two steps from period practice. June is the submitter's legal given name, and o' the Dell is grandfathered to her because it is the registered byname of her son. The use of a legal name element which is not otherwise documentable is a step from period practice, but appealing to the grandfather clause does not, by itself, introduce a step from period practice. This means that the originally submitted form of the name is at most one step from period practice, and so is registerable. We have therefore restored the name to June o' the Dell.
Listed on the LoI as Meadhbh Douglass, the name was originally submitted as Maeve Douglass, and changed in kingdom because there was no evidence for Maeve as a period name. Past precedent confirms that Maeve is not registerable:
Submitted as Maeve M'Encrogh, the submitted spelling of the given name is a modern Anglicization of the Gaelic name Meadb [sic]. Furthermore, an examination of period Anglicizations of Irish names in Woulfe, Irish Names and Surnames, shows no examples of names containing the vowel combination -ea- that is Anglicized -ae; such combinations are most commonly Anglicized as just a, but are also found Anglicized as e and, occasionally, ea. Barring documentation that Maeve is a period Anglicization of this name, this spelling is no longer registerable. [LoAR 08/2006, Mavis M'Encrogh, Altantia-A]
Rowel provided further information about period anglicized forms of Meadhbh:
Source: de Búrca, Éamonn. The Irish Fiants of the Tudor Sovereigns During the Reigns of Henry vIII, Edward VI, Philip & Mary, and Elizabeth I, Vol. 2, 1558-1586. (Dublin, Ireland: Edmund Burke Publisher, 1994).
p. 562, number 4035 (3302), year 1582: Margaret ny Worchan, Meawe ny Cologh, and Katherine ny Kee, of the same, spinsters
p. 613, number 4358 (3562), year 1584: Anthony Peppard, of Glascarricke, gent. Meave Pepparde, of same
The submitter indicated that if the name had to be changed, she cared most about keeping the given name. As Anglicized Irish Meave is closer than Gaelic Meadhbh to the originally submitted form Maeve, we have changed the name to Meave Douglass.
The submitter noted that she cared most about Celtic culture. Please inform her that no part of this name comes from a Celtic language; both elements are English.
Blazoned when registered as Per pale gules and Or, a heart voided and a bordure counterchanged, a voided and/or fimbriated heart would have a narrow band of color around the charge. Sciath's device has a much wider colored region.
This badge is clear of the badge of Feliciano Grimaldi, (Fieldless) A skull argent wearing a fool's hat with three tassels gules, erminois and azure.
Precedent says that feline heads jessant-de-lys are a single charge:
[A lion's head azure jessant-de-lys vert vs. leopard's head jessant-de-lys gules] After much thought, we decided that the leopard's head jessant-de-lys was common enough in period armory to be considered a single charge, in the same way a penner and inkhorn would be. It could equally well be considered a single group of conjoined charges. Either way, there's a single CD, for the tincture of the primary charge group. [Ginevra Cecilia da Firenze, October, 1992, R-Calontir]
At this time, we are extending this ruling to all jessant arrangements. There is, therefore, a CD for the fieldless design and a CD for the change of type of primary charge, from skull jessant-de-lys to skull-wearing-hat. Feliciano's hat has already been ruled to be half the charge, in the registration of Fabio Ventura's badge on the January 2008 LoAR.
The use of any head other than a lion's or leopard's head jessant-de-lys remains a step from period practice; non-mammal heads jessant-de-lys remain unregisterable.
None.
His previous name, Svartr Ormsson djákn, is retained as an alternate name.
The submitter issued a blanket permission to conflict with his name that included exact conflicts. However, the Rules for Submission do not allow exact conflicts. We note that the Rules for Submission and Laurel precedent overrule such letters in these cases. Therefore, this clause is null and void because the rules do not allow it. However, we feel that as the rest of the letter is valid, the invalid clause is not sufficient reason to return it.
Sheridon is the submitter's legal given name.
Submitted as Siban inghean Uí Robhartaigh, precedent requires that accents be used or dropped uniformly throughout in Gaelic names. Since the accent has been dropped from Sibán in the submitted form, we have dropped the accent from Uí in order to register the name as Siban inghean Ui Robhartaigh.
This name combines Middle and Early Modern Irish, which is a step from period practice. A wholly Middle Irish form would be Siban ingen hui Robartaig, and a wholly Early Modern Irish form would be Siobhan inghean Ui Robhartaigh.
Blazoned on the LoI as proper, the fox has gules feet, not sable as a proper fox would.
The device is clear of that of Cei Wiclif of Haewengraes, Or, a chili pepper bendwise sinister proper. There is a CD for the orientation of the pepper and a CD for the addition of the base.
The use of a chili pepper is a step from period practice. According to The Origins of Fruits and Vegetables by Jonathon Roberts, chili peppers were brought to Europe from the New World by Columbus' expedition, and presented before the Spanish court in 1493. Their first written mention by Europeans was by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera in De Orbe Novo (in Latin), published in 1530, and that capsicum peppers were a "fairly immediate hit in the Old World" and were being traded and grown in India by 1542. By our rules, the use of New World flora is a step from period practice unless evidence is presented showing that flora used in period armory. No such evidence was presented. Fortunately, that is the only step from period practice in this device, so this device may be registered.
Submitted as an appeal of a previous Laurel (Wreath) return; since the armory was changed, it is considered a resubmission, not an appeal.
The byname the Wanderer was documented on the LoI as being SCA-compatible. As ruled on the May 2008 Cover Letter, "as of the May 2009 decisions meetings, we declare that no new name elements or name patterns will be ruled SCA-compatible, that all names previously ruled SCA-compatible are no longer SCA-compatible and that in order for them to be registered, documentation meeting the same standards as for non-SCA-compatible names will be required. We note that such evidence has been provided for the following names which used to be SCA-compatible: ... the Wanderer: This is registerable as a Lingua Anglica translation of the attested Polish byname Wandrownyk, in Taszycki, S{l/}ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych, s.n. W{e,}drownik. ..."
The use of a dragon displayed is a step from period practice.
Blazoned when registered in August 1979 as Or, a woodchuck rampant proper, the woodchuck is entirely brown.
Blazoned when registered as Vert, a hedgehog rampant proper grasping in dexter forepaw a sword Or, hilted sable, and in sinister forepaw a foaming beer stein Or, headed argent, a hedgehog proper is brown with a white belly. This hedgehog is white with gray face and feet, all of which are considered argent.
In the past, Angelica has been registered as an Italian literary name on the basis of its use in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. Flintheath provides some examples of Angelica used in late-period England, including the baptisms of Angelica Cosin in 1574, Angelica Cox in 1566, and Angelica Goossen or Gosan in 1578, from the parish records of Chislet, Kent; Lillingstone Lovell, Buckingham; and Saint Paul, Canterbury, Kent, respectively. Thus, the submitted name is registerable as a wholly English name.
Blazoned on the LoI as Per chevron ployé Or and sable, in base a water-bouget gules, the field is actually sable and Or. Because a color emblazon was provided, enough commenters were able to note this issue and conflict check in the proper tinctures that we can accept this device.
As mentioned elsewhere on this letter, the use of a hexagon is a step from period practice.
The blazon and emblazon were omitted from the Letter of Intent. However, a timely correction was made (three days after the letter was issued), both to add the emblazon and to attach the emblazon in a comment. We thank Rampart for his quick response which allows the device to be registered.
Please instruct the submitter to draw the hexagon thicker.
Her previous name, Anora Marchaunt, is retained as an alternate name.
Nice armory!
Submitted under the name Walter Urban.
This is a French alternate form of the important non-SCA order, Order of the Crown, which has been protected since at least 1984.
So far as we can tell, the name under which this order was originally protected in 1984, Order of Belgian and Congo Free State Crown, mistakenly included the owners of the order (Belgium and Congo Free State) in the name of the order itself.
This is the Dutch name for the important non-SCA order Order of the Crown, which we have protected since at least 1984.
This is the French form of the important non-SCA order Order of the Golden Shield, which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
This is the French form of the important non-SCA order Order of the Prisoner's Iron (see below for the correction from Order of the Prisoner's Iron), which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
This is the French form of the important non-SCA order Order of the Golden Apple, which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
Additionally, the variant form Prisoner's Order of the Chain is released, as it is not a correct variant of the important non-SCA order name.
When first protected, in August 1987, the order's name was misspelled as Hannover, instead of the correct Hanover. We are making this correction here.
Siren's correction proposed also adding the modifier Guelphic to the designator Order. However, Guelphic Order of Hanover does not appear to be a correct name for the order. As Siren notes, the proper names of the contemporary order are Royal Guelphic Order and Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. Concerning these compounded names, Metron Ariston says:
The compounded forms of the order names appear later and, so far as I can determine, the accounts contemporary with the establishment of the Guelphic Order by the Prince Regent during the Napoleonic Wars show the name Guelphic Order and also show the name Order of Hanover, but not together. That is certainly true of most of the reasonably contemporary accounts of the awards held by Wellington and Frederick, Duke of York, both of whom are stated to be members of the "Order of Hanover" with no "Guelphic" attached.
We currently protect the Guelphic Order under that name. We are willing to consider protecting this order also under the names Royal Guelphic Order and Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order, but lacking evidence that the order is properly known as Guelphic Order of Hanover, we see no reason to protect that form.
Submitted as Ordre de la Thoison d'Or, while Thoison is the spelling used in the documents creating the order, and it is the dominant form through the latter part of the 16th century, the order is more familiar to people under the modern French spelling Toison. To reflect this familiarity and to facilitate conflict checking, we have changed the name to Ordre de la Toison d'Or.
This is a French form of the important non-SCA order Order of the Golden Fleece.
This is a later name for the order.
This is the contemporary name of the order.
This is an English translation of the French alternate form of the important non-SCA order Order of the Porcupine, which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
This is an alternate name of the important non-SCA order Order of the Porcupine, which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
This is a variant form of the important non-SCA order Ordre du Porc Espic.
This is the French form of the important non-SCA order Order of the Porcupine, which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
This is an alternate form of the important non-SCA order Order of St. Lazarus, which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
This is the more popular version of the important non-SCA order Order of the Temple, which has been included in the Ordinary and Armorial since 1984.
Listed on the LoI as Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Marien in Jerusalem, we have expanded the abbreviation to match our current registration standards and to facilitate conflict checking.
This is the modern German formal name of the order more commonly known as the Teutonic Knights.
This is the English translation of the formal name of the order.
This is clear of the device of Sengeli von Zauberberg, Or, a brown woodchuck rampant proper, reblazoned elsewhere in this letter. There is a CD for the change of tincture of the beast and a CD for the addition of the chief.
Submitted as Diane the Dauntless, the earliest citation for any form of dauntless that the commenters could find was from 1593, where it was used in reference to a person's mental capacity: "Let thy dauntlesse minde still ride in triumph" (Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 3). While the word is period, no evidence was provided, and none could be found, that it was used to describe people in our period. In the past, we have required that abstract descriptive words, such as Dauntless, be used as common terms applied to people in our period in order for them to be registerable as descriptive bynames:
Over the last few years, there have been several rulings regarding abstract descriptive bynames, including:
[returning the nickname the Arronious] Period nicknames tend to be straightforward and to use common words: Thynnewyt "thin [of] wit, stupid", le Wis "the wise", Badinteheved "bad in the head", le Wilfulle, le Proude "the proud", le Hardy "the courageous", le Sour, le Cursede, le Deuyle "the devil", Blaksoule "black-soul". The learned erroneous simply doesn't belong in this company. Although the adjective in question is not a past participle, we do not consider this case to be significantly different from those of Adam the Unexpected (East, returned 2/96) and Deirdre the Distracted (Ansteorra, returned 4/94), whose bynames were returned partly for being too abstract. Similarly, erroneous is too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname. (Aurelius the Arronious of Bikeleswade, 10/96 p. 8)
Given this ruling, the byname the Oblivious is unregisterable if oblivious is "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname"...Oblivious is an abstract term of the same type as forgetful, erroneous, et cetera, which have been ruled to be "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname". Lacking evidence that oblivious was a common term applied to people in period, this byname is not registerable. [Hannibal the Oblivious, 12/2003, R-Calontir]
It was proposed that Dauntless could be documented as a constructed byname following the examples of Earles 1295 'earless'; Kareles 1260 'free from care, careless'; Frendles 1246, Frendeless 1525 'friendless'; Loveles 1251, Lufelesse 1444 'without love, loveless'; Pereles 1377 'without peer or equal'; Peniles 1332 'pennyless'; Recheles 1273, Reklesse 1477 'reckless, negligent'; Sorweles 1226, Soroweles 1379 'free from sorrow'; and Wytles 1327 'witless, foolish', all found in Reaney & Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames (s.nn. Arliss, Carless, Friendless, Lovelace, Peerless, Penniless, Reckless, Sorrowless, and Witless, respectively). However, in each of these examples, the pattern is <noun> + -less where the noun is either a physical object or a relatively concrete emotional or mental trait. Reaney & Wilson s.n. Daunt date Daunte to 1229 and 1290, and Daunt to 1379, from Middle English daunten 'to subdue, intimidate, tame, soothe'. While the derivative noun daunt, meaning 'the act of daunting; dispiriting; indimidation', dates to c.1400, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, this is not analogous to the straightforward and relatively concrete examples from Reaney & Wilson. Thus, we cannot justify Dauntless as a constructed byname either.
As the submitter allows all changes, we have changed the name to Diane Daunt_ in order to register it.
Listed on the LoI as Drogo the Quiet, the forms show that the name was originally submitted as Drogo the quiet. No mention of the change from Quiet to quiet was made on the LoI; we remind submissions heralds that failure to note changes, and to give the reasons for those changes, is grounds for pend or return. In this case, since the name is registerable as originally submitted, we have changed the name back to Drogo the quiet.
The byname the quiet is a lingua anglica rendering of Middle English le coi.
This device is clear of that of Alexe de la Larme, Per pale argent and vert, a bend between two gouttes, all counterchanged. There is X.2. (substantial) difference between a bend and a bend sinister.
Submitted as Gerald the Tiny, no documentation was provided for the byname the Tiny. While the word tiny was used in our period, the earliest examples that could be found of the word being used to describe people all date from well after 1650. Lacking evidence that this word was used to describe people in our period, the Tiny is not registerable.
Latimer provides information about period English bynames with similar meaning:
Reaney & Wilson cite various period epithets relating to small stature: <Small> from 1360 (p.414 s.n. Smale), <Litle> from c1095 (p.281 s.n. Little), <Lesse> from 1276 (p.272 s.n. Lass, though it is noted that this might derive from 'younger' rather than 'smaller'), <le Dwarew> from 1249 (p.147 s.n. Dwarf), <le Petit> from 1228 (p.348 s.n. Pettit; see also Petty).
The submitter allows all changes and has no preferences. Of the examples provided by Latimer, Litle is the most similar in meaning to the Tiny, so we have changed the name to Gerald Litle in order to register it.
There was some question whether Colquhoun is a period form of the byname. The Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue dates Johne Colquhoun to 1617 s.v. wil and Johnne Colquhoun to 1605 s.v. persew. Colquhoun is thus registerable as a grey area spelling.
Glenna is the submitter's legal given name.
Submitted as Roric_Skaghen, the submitter requested authenticity for 9th C Norse and cared most about the sound of the name. Both elements were documented from late-period Danish contexts, so as submitted the name was not authentic for his desired period and language.
Some form of the given name Roric is appropriate for the 9th C. The Annales Vedastini, written in Latin in the early 10th C, mention Roricus Danus in an entry for 882 and Hroricus Danus in an entry for 884; Roric died in the mid-870s. The normalized Old Norse form of the name appropriate for the 9th C is Hr{oe}rekr.
The byname Skaghen is derived from the place name Skagen, the northernmost town in Denmark. Fause Losenge provides information about possible earlier forms of the byname:
[<Skagen>] takes its name from the surrounding region, which is a long, narrow point of land (called 'the Skaw' in English) projecting into strait that separates Denmark from Norway and Sweden. It would be very surprising if this name weren't related to ON <skagi> 'a low cape or ness', which figures in a number of place-names in Norway (NSL s.v. <skage>, s.n. <Skage>) and Iceland (CV s.v. <skagi>). In fact, I shouldn't be surprised if it were originally <skaginn> 'the point', with the definite article. The question is whether a locative byname derived from such a place-name is reasonable for the 9th c.
Offhand I don't see any serious objection. Landnámabók mentions a <Þorbjo,rn skagi>, whose byname is probably locative in origin, and it has names like <Þorðr í Álfsnesi> and <Þjóstarr á Álftanesi<, with locative bynames based on place-names with the generic <nes> 'a ness, a headland'. A single farm on a small, low ness might well have come to be known as <Skaginn> 'the low ness'. I've no really early example of this specific name, but there are Norwegian examples from the late 14th c. in Biskup Eysteins Jordebog (the Red Book; citations from it are indicated by 'RB' in O. Rygh's Norske Gaardnavne), a transcription of which is available online at <http://da2.uib.no/cgi-win/WebBok.exe?slag=lesbok&bokid=biskop>. On p.55 of the transcription, for instance, we find <J Skaghanom j Yxnøy>; on p.498, <J Skaghanom>; and on p.507, <j Skaghanum>. All of these are clearly late ONorw. spellings of normalized ON <í Skaginum> 'at the Point'.
We have changed the name to Hr{oe}rekr í Skaginum in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.
Nice cant.
This is clear of the badge of Chidiock the Younger, (Fieldless) A bison's massacre Or. There is a CD for the difference between a fielded and a fieldless design, and a CD for the significant difference between a stag's massacre/attires and a bison's massacre.
Please instruct the submitter to draw the per chevron line steeper, so it rises further above the per fess line.
Submitted as Safiyya bint Bulus al-Mariyyah, this used both -a and -ah to transliterate the same Arabic vowel. For registration we require that a single transcription system be used throughout the name, so we have changed the name to Safiyya bint Bulus al-Mariyya in order to register it. We note that Safiyyah bint Bulus al-Mariyyah would also be registerable.
Submitted under the name Séamus Don.
This combines Old Swedish with Old Norse, which is one step from period practice. A wholly Old Norse form of the name would be Sigfrøðr hauknefr.
The submitter requested authenticity for 16th C Germany, but did not allow major changes. As submitted, the name is not authentic; the given name Üta was documented to 1275, and the latest form of this name that we could find, Ute, is dated to 1352 in Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia". Both Kathrina and Felhamer are found in Bavaria at the very end of the 15th century, so Kathrina Felhamer is an authentic German name for her period. But we cannot change the name to Kathrina Felhamer, as dropping Üta is a major change.
- Explicit littera accipiendorum -
This badge is returned for conflict with the badge of Alyne Strangwych, (Fieldless) An acorn vert, and the badge of Muin maqq Mínaín, Argent, an acorn enflamed vert. The cap is less than half the charge, so there is not a CD for changing the tincture of only the cap, leaving a single CD for the submission being a fieldless design. The enflaming on Muin's badge is not large enough to count for difference.
This badge is returned for conflict with Helena the Fair of Ravenglass, Per chevron azure and argent, in base an escallop vert. There is the CD given to any fieldless design, but there is not a CD for the change of placement of the primary charge when compared to a fieldless badge.
Volant dragons are disallowed in Society armory by the following precedent:
The difficulty here is that the position of a winged beast volant is ill defined. We can recall instances of bodies courant and springing, and would doubtless find others if we searched the files. Since body position has been left to the caprice of the artist, we see no alternative but to disallow this, except in the most extreme cases, as a source of difference. It is our recommendation that, in the future, no winged beast be blazoned as "volant." "Passant, wings elevated and addorsed" (or whatever) -- with a stricture to the designers to place their beasts in suitably heraldic positions to begin with -- would avoid such ambiguities in future coats. [BoE, 3 Aug 86, p.17]
This precedent was reaffirmed as recently as August 2008. This device must, therefore, be returned.
This conflicts with Black Hare, Order of the, registered to the Barony of Scraeling Althing. While the two names are pronounced differently, they are not significantly different in appearance, as is required by RfS V.2. The only difference in spelling is the change of one letter and the removal of a space. Previous precedent says that the addition of the space is not a significant difference in appearance:
Stierbach, Barony of. Order name Order of the Silver Heart. Conflict with Silverhart, Barony of, registered December 1993. The two names are identical in sound and too close in appearance. [LoAR 04/2008]
Similarly, the removal of the space is not a significant difference in appearance.
Additionally, precedent from August 2008 says:
[House Steel Fang]Finally, we note that none of the examples of household names based on signs that were provided on the LoI or in commentary support the pattern House [of] X. Instead, the documented patterns include X (with no designator; note that this pattern is not registerable as it violates RfS III.2.b), X Inn, X Tavern, X Brewhouse, and Sign of X. [Mederic de Chastelerault and Ameera al-Sarrakha, LoAR 08/2008, Atenveldt-R].
Thus, even without the conflict, this household name would not be registerable as House Blackhart. Registerable forms would have included Blackhart Inn, Blackhart Tavern, Blackhart Brewhouse, and Sign of [the] Blackhart.
A fox proper has an argent tail tip, and thus cannot be depicted on an argent field, by precedent:
This device is returned for lack of contrast: the tail of a fox proper has a white tip, which is argent on argent. [Kynwric Gwent, 05-2008, R-Meridies]
This device must, therefore, be returned.
This name conflicts with Elisabetta Rosa. In Italian, Isabel(la) and Elisabetta were forms of the same name (i.e., Elizabeth), according to de Felice, Dizionario dei nomi italiani, s.n. Isabella. Additionally, we have evidence that forms of both names were used by the same person, e.g., Isabella Teotochi who was also known as Elisabetta Teotochi. Given this information, the comparison of the given names is analogous to previous rulings saying that Elizabeth and Isabel conflict in English:
Isobel de la Rose. This name conflicts with Elizabeth de Rose, registered July, 2002. According to Withycombe, The Oxford English Dictionary of Christian Names, Elizabeth and Isabel are used interchangeably in the 15th C. This makes them equivalent for purposes of conflict. [LoAR 07-2006, Lochac-R]
Concerning the bynames, while Rosa and Roja are significantly different in sound, the change of a single letter is not a significant difference in appearance. The article la also does not contribute any difference, so these bynames conflict.
Blazoned on the LoI as a bow with a dragon's head, we must blazon what we see. The head is so prominent and drawn in a way reminiscent of period snakes (which frequently had horns), that this charge is indistinguishable from a snake. This being the case, this device conflicts with the arms of Visconti (important non-SCA arms): Argent, a serpent glissant palewise azure (sometimes vert) (sometimes crowned Or) vorant an infant (sometimes a demi-man) gules. There is a single CD for the change of tincture of the field, but that is the only CD, since there is no difference granted between snakes glissant palewise and erect, and the maintained infant/man is not worth difference.
This conflicts with Elspeth MacClure. While Elspeth is most familiar as a Scots form of Elizabeth, it can also be found in English contexts (see, e.g., Aryanhwy merch Catmael, "English Given Names from 16th and Early 17th C Marriage Records", which has Elsbeth, Elsepath, Elsopeth, and Elspeth). In the 15th and 16th C, Isabel(la) and Elspeth were variants of the same name (namely, Elizabeth), and hence these two names conflict per RfS V.1.a.i.
Her device has been registered under the holding name Isobella of Æthelmearc.
The device is returned for conflict with the device of Amber Lang, Vert, on a lozenge argent, a cat sejant guardant sable. Section X.4.j of the Rules for Submission gives only a single CD for all changes to a single tertiary charge group. Therefore, changing a tertiary cat sejant guardant sable to a turtle tergiant vert is only worth that single CD.
This name is returned for incorrect construction. This name was intended to follow the standard Republic-era Roman naming pattern of <praenomen> + <nomen> + <cognomen>, but Lazarus is not a praenomen. Loyall explains:
<Lazarus> is not a praenomen (there were very few available praenomina in classical Rome). I checked The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire and found that all three instances of <Lazarus> actually appeared in Greek contexts, as some grammatical form of <Lazaros>. The form <Lazarus> is the expected Latinization, and Greek names could be used as cognomina in Latin contexts. However, in this case one would expect <Lazarus> to be the last element (following the nomen and the Roman cognomen <Severus>), not the first one.
We would change the name to _Inius Severus Lazarus in order to register it, but the submitter does not allow major changes, such as changing the order of the elements.
The device is returned for visual conflict against Iestyn ap Cadfael ap Ianto ap Danno ap Richard ap Owen ap Rhys o'r Cwm, Gyronny of ten argent and sable, on each gyron a dagger, blade to center, counterchanged. While there is technically substantial difference between arrows and daggers, in this arrangement the details are lost and all that is seen is that the design is composed of lots of long, narrow charges.
This name is returned for being two steps from period practice. First, the given name Marcán is Middle Irish, but the byname an Fhasaigh is Early Modern Irish; combining these two languages in the same name is a step from period practice. Second, there is a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years before the latest date we have for the given name, 1021, and the earliest date we have for the byname, 1581. This temporal disparity is a second step from period practice.
The LoI noted that Marcán is also the name of a saint. The saint's name allowance allows saint's names to be used in any period in which the saint was known. However, no evidence was provided, and none could be found, that Saint Marcán was known to late-period Ireland. Rowel notes that:
I just checked and the annals don't mention this saint and he's not in Clonmacnoise (which I only have in paperback, not electronic form).
Not all saints were known from the time they lived until modern times. Many died out and knowledge of them was revived only when copies of old manuscripts are made. So, just having a saint mentioned in OCM isn't proof that the saint was known in late period. In most cases, it isn't an issue because the Annals of the Four Masters mention the saint in question, showing that the saint was known (at least by the compilers of the Annals of the Four Masters) in the early 17th C.
However, in this case, that doesn't happen. No mention of any S. Marcan is found in any of the annals I have access to.
Looking at the last page of OCM, I used his listings of sources in the paragraph on saints names to go digging at Googlebooks and CELT. No saint by the name of Marcán is mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal (written 1630, 1864 edition is on Googlebooks). He's also not mentioned in the Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee. The Martyrology of Gorman has a Manchéin, a leper, noted on Oct. 21st (the date OCM gives for Marcán's feast day). The Irish text in Gorman has the name as Maincein and that may be a genitive form. I'm not sure. Anyway, Gorman was written in the latter part of the 12th C and compiled in 1630. Donegal has this guy on Oct 21st as Mainchein, lobar - lobar meaning 'leper', so it's the same guy. The only source mentioned by OCM in their paragraph on sources for saints that I was not able to grab online was "The Martyrology of Tallaght" (edition published in 1931). Maybe S. Marcán is mentioned in there. Maybe not. But based on the listings in Donegal and Gorman, I have to assume that the listing in OCM was a mistake - that <Mainchein> was mistakenly listed as <Marcan> in his notes.
Lacking evidence that Marcán was the name of a saint known to late-period Ireland, this name cannot be registered as an Early Modern Irish name under the saint's name allowance.
Her device was registered under the holding name Marcán of Æthelmearc.
This device is returned for conflict against the badge of the Teutonic Order (important non-SCA badge): (Fieldless) A Latin cross formy sable fimbriated argent. The following precedents are applicable:
[a Latin cross bottony fitchy vs. a cross bottony fitchy] There is 1 CD for the field, but none for the difference in the crosses . [Matilda Merryweather, 08/99, R-Ansteorra]
[a cross formy vs a Latin cross formy] This also conflicts with a badge of the Knights Templar (important non-SCA armory), (Fieldless) A Latin cross formy gules. There is one CD for fieldlessness. There is no difference between a cross formy and a Latin cross formy. [Michael Silverhand, 10/02, R-An Tir]
[Quarterly vert and argent, two Latin crosses argent] Conflict with ... Per pale azure and sable, two Latin crosses fitchy argent. There is a CD for changes to the field, but nothing for fitching the crosses. [Faílenn inghean Mheanmain of Ulster, 11/01, R-Atlantia]
Therefore, there is only a single CD for the difference between a fielded and a fieldless design. By precedent, no difference is granted for position when compared to a fieldless badge, nor for the length of the lower limb of a cross (Latin vs. non-Latin), nor for fitchy vs. not-fitchy crosses. Lastly, we do not grant difference for adding or removing fimbriation.
This name and device were withdrawn by the submitter.
This device is returned for a redraw. The depiction of the musical notes on the version of the form sent to Wreath had a single, narrow pen line, in black, as the stem for each note. These stems are not visible from a distance, and the musical notes become unrecognizable.
Please instruct the submitter that, on resubmission, documentation should be provided that the form of the notes, with a flag at the top of the stem, is a period depiction of notes.
This badge is returned for conflict with the device of Rónán Mac Raith, Argent, a horse passant per pale gules and azure. There is a single CD for the change of tincture of the primary charge, but no difference is granted between passant and courant.
This device could equally well be blazoned Sable, on a pile inverted throughout argent a sea horse vert. Under that interpretation, it conflicts with the device of Laurencia des Jardins, Sable, on a pile inverted argent a foxglove purpure slipped and leaved vert. There's a single CD for changes to the tertiary charge.
This is returned for conflict with the device of Gaylen the Smiling, Per bend azure and gules, a bend between two horse's heads couped reversed argent. There is a single CD for the change of type of the secondary charges. Embowed arms are not asymmetrical enough for us to grant a CD for the change of orientation.
Blazoned on the LoI as a bow with a dragon's head, we must blazon what we see. The head is so prominent and drawn in a way reminiscent of period snakes (which frequently had horns), that this charge is indistinguishable from a snake. This being the case, this device conflicts with the device of Rosemounde of Mercia, Or, a two-headed serpent erect-wavy gules. There is a CD for the change of tincture of the primary charge, but no difference is granted between erect embowed and erect-wavy, nor for the removal of a head on the snake.
This name was intended to be an Amazigh Berber name. The submitter provided quite a bit of information on contemporary Amazigh Berber names; we would like to compliment her on the work that she has done. However, as Loyall notes:
The submitter has done some interesting research and clearly appreciates the complexities of her topic, but she hasn't met the basic requirement of SCA registration: that is, she hasn't shown that the elements of her name were used in our period. I don't know whether records of early Berber names from non-Islamic contexts exist. The submitter might also need to provide information about her culture's contact with Western Europe in our period.
While the submitted name appears appropriate for modern Amazigh Berber culture, given the information provided by the submitter, this does not necessarily mean that it is appropriate for a medieval Berber. Unfortunately, without evidence that the elements of her name were used in Amazigh Berber culture before 1600, this name does not meet the requirements laid out in RfS I.1 Compatibility.
Siren notes that "There are lots of Berbers in al-Andalus, including the leaders of the Almoravid and Almohad dynasties. While most have Arab names, some have names that are linguistically Berber. In my "Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain" I include several "Magribi" (Berber) names." This shows that there was contact between the Berbers and Western Europe in our period. We recommend the submitter consult Siren's article for further information on period Berber names.
Her device has been registered under the holding name Frances of Misty Highlands.
None.
Since the gryphon is of equivalent size to the triquetrae, this device consists of a single co-primary group made up of the four charges. This device therefore conflicts with that of Ciaran ferch Marc, Quarterly sable and vert, in saltire five triquetras argent. There is a CD for the change to the field. There is not a CD for the change from four items to five, per section X.4.f of the Rules for Submission. Nor is there a CD for the change of type of less than half the charge group. There is also not a CD for arrangement between four items in pall and five items in saltire, since less than half of the charges in the group has moved.
Were the submission to be drawn as a gryphon between three triquetrae, with a large gryphon and smaller triquetrae, it would be in conflict with the device of Kathleen Mahony of Cork, Vert, a griffin passant argent maintaining a harp Or between three Celtic crosses argent. There would be a CD for changing the type of secondary charges but nothing for removing the maintained harp.
This badge is returned for conflict with the badge of Mairghread of Ryvel, (Fieldless) An urchin sejant eject proper maintaining a harp argent stringed Or. There is a single CD for a fielded badge compared to a fieldless design. The grapes, being maintained charges, do not count for difference.
It is clear of the device of Theodora von Igelheim, reblazoned elsewhere on this letter as Vert, a hedgehog rampant argent maintaining a sword Or hilted sable and a foaming beer stein Or headed argent. There is a CD for the field and a CD for the tincture of the primary charge.
This badge was submitted on a device form. Had it not been returned for conflict, the improper paperwork may have been considered grounds for an administrative return of this submission.
This is returned for lack of documentation of the byname Romanichal. The LoI documented the element from "Excerpts from Roma by WR Rishi: Names Applied to the Roma", but this webpage gives no dates for the use of this term. The earliest citation for Romanichal in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1953. Lacking evidence that Romanichal is a period term, it cannot be registered as a byname.
We would drop the problematic element to register the name as Dionisia Peregrine_, a lovely 13th C English name, but the submitter does not allow major changes, such as dropping an element.
The only example of the byname cu, more properly spelled and capitalized Cú, that was found is from the late 6th/early 7th C. During this period, the language in use in Ireland was Oghamic Irish, but Cú is an Old or Middle Irish spelling appropriate from c700 to c1200. We have no evidence that the byname continued in use into the period when an Old or Middle Irish spelling is appropriate. Current precedent, set in May 2005 and reaffirmed January 2008 (s.n. Cnes ingen Conchobuir), does not allow the registration of Irish names in orthographies which are not appropriate to the times in which they are found. The byname would be registerable in an Oghamic Irish form, but we have no information about what that form would be. Given this, the byname cu is not registerable. Because the submitter does not allow major changes, we cannot drop this element, so we must return the name.
This device is returned for being two steps from period practice. The use of the ululant posture and the use of pawprints are each considered a step from period practice.
This device is returned for multiple conflicts. It conflicts with the device of Gwenhwyvar filia Aelfric, Azure, a bend sinister between a bull rampant contourny and a bull passant argent, the device of Richard de Frayne, Azure, a bend sinister between a dragon and a tree couped argent, the device of Rhiannon of Berra, Azure, a bend sinister between a unicorn couchant reguardant contourny and another couchant reguardant argent, and the device of Gwendwyn the Silent, Azure, a bend sinister between a winged unicorn countersalient and a batwinged manticore couchant argent. In each case there's a single CD, for changing the type of the secondary charges. We do not grant a CD for posture in this case, as bells and pomegranates cannot be in the same postures as quadrupeds.
This name is returned for lack of documentation for the given name and for problems with the construction of the patronymic.
The given name Tegan was documented as an SCA-compatible given name, but its status as such was revoked effective with the May 2008 meetings. No alternative documentation was provided, so Tegan cannot be registered.
The byname verch Aethric violates RfS III.1.a. Linguistic Consistency by combining Welsh verch with Old English Aethric in the same phrase. Additionally, Aethric is not a reasonable variant form of Æthric, which was the spelling documentation on the LoI. Precedent says:
Old English names spelled with Æ are usually found in Middle English using A, Ai, E, Ei, or sometimes Æ. No examples have been found of an Æ --> Ae transition. Without such documentation, names that substitute Ae for Æ are not registerable. [LoAR 11/2004, Gwenhwyvar filia Aelfric, Artemisia-A]
Her device has been registered under the holding name Shondalae of Sentinels' Keep.
This was pended on the July 2008 LoAR to discuss whether the pheon and annulet were in the same charge group. Were they alone on the field, they would be considered a primary charge of a pheon and a surrounding secondary annulet. Commenters pointed out that the definition of a primary charge includes that it be the central, dominant motif. We are ruling that, since the pheon and annulet are not in the center of the design, they should be considered to be in the same group. Therefore, this design has three charges (pheon, annulet, and anchor) in a single charge group, and is returned for violating section VIII.1.a of the Rules for Submission, which says that "three or more types of charges should not be used in the same group."
Several other questions were asked when this device was pended; please see the cover letter for answers to those questions.
None.
Precedent says:
...there is no CD for type between a heart and a seeblatt, leaving just the single CD. [Grietje Crynes, LoAR 09/2004, Northshield-R]
Therefore, this device is in conflict with the device of Achmed of the Hill Tribes, Per pale gules and Or, a heart between two scimitars addorsed all counterchanged, with a single CD for the removal of the scimitars. It is also a conflict with the device of Ginevra Solario, Per pale gules and Or, five hearts in saltire counterchanged, with a single CD for changing the number of charges.
It is not a conflict with the device of Sciath nic an Leagha, Per pale gules and Or, a heart charged with another heart, a bordure counterchanged, reblazoned elsewhere on this letter. There is a CD for the addition of the tertiary heart and a CD for the removal of the bordure.
This device is returned for having two field tinctures that share the same underlying tincture without a separating ordinary. Precedent says:
It was the consensus of the College that a divided field in which the two parts are tinctures that share the same background is allowable if there is an ordinary to aid in the separation of the two parts, though the practice is not documented. [Thorgrimr inn kyrri, 02/2001, A-Atlantia]
It is not in conflict with the badge of John Ironstone, (Fieldless) A phoenix atop a rose Or. John's rose is as large as the phoenix, making them co-primary charges. Therefore, there is a CD for the difference between fielded and fieldless, and a CD for the addition of a primary charge.
This conflicts with Isabella Grey. Precedent says:
Isobel de la Rose. This name conflicts with Elizabeth de Rose, registered July, 2002. According to Withycombe, The Oxford English Dictionary of Christian Names, Elizabeth and Isabel are used interchangeably in the 15th C. This makes them equivalent for purposes of conflict. [LoAR 07-2006, Lochac-R]
Rowel provided examples from Gray, Irvine and J. E. Gethyn-Jones, editors, The Registers of the Church of St. Mary's, Dymock, 1538-1790 (The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, 1960) showing forms of Elizabeth and Isabel being used by the same woman in the 16th century.
This also conflicts with Elizabeth Grey, Queen of England to Edward IV, more commonly known as Elizabeth Woodeville. As Metron Ariston says, "She was one of the most prominent women of the fifteenth century, not only queen consort but queen dowager and --- through her daughter Elizabeth of York --- ancestor of the Tudor dynasty."
This device is returned for a redraw. Due to the shallowness and the unevenness of the wavy line of partition on the bordure, commenters had difficulty in identifying it. This problem causes the device to violate section VII.7.a of the Rules for Submission which requires that "Elements must be recognizable solely from their appearance."
This is returned for lack of evidence that the name follows period patterns of order names. The LoI documented the name as following the pattern "color" + "thing" in Meradudd Cethin, "Project Ordensnamen". However, the August 2005 Cover Letter section on "Patterns of Order Names" says that the patterns found in Meradudd's article can only be considered "after one of the following meta-patterns is chosen for the name of the order". The only possible meta-pattern that the submitted order name could follow is "orders named for heraldic charges or for items that, while not found in period as heraldic charges, may be used as heraldic charges." In order for an order name to be registerable following this pattern, evidence must be provided that the substantive element is such a charge. No evidence was provided, and none could be found by the commenters, to suggest that plinths meet this requirement. Without such evidence, this name must be returned.
The feather is not really brown; it is depicted as sable veined and fimbriated brown. This device is, therefore, returned for the use of a non-heraldic tincture.
Were the feather tinctured entirely as brown, it would fall afoul of this precedent:
The consensus of the commentary was that a "brown feather proper" is not an appropriate use of a non-heraldic tincture for a charge. Laurel precedent concurs. "The wing was blazoned on the letter of intent and the forms as proper and is in fact brown so it cannot be reblazoned in any heraldic tincture. If there had been any method of determining what sort of wing this was intended to be, we would have pended this for appropriate commentary and conflict-checking. However, the depiction of the wing is such that ... it was exceedingly unclear what type of wing this should be." (Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane, LoAR 31 December 1989, p. 25) We believe this to be equally true of feathers.
While we allow non-heraldic tincturing of brown beasts, their heads, and their limbs, based on period practice, we are not willing to extend this allowance to smaller parts of the animals without documentation that it is a period practice.
None.
This is returned for lack of evidence that Arcàdia is a period name. The documentation provided on the LoI noted a Roman emperor named Flavio Arcadio (395-408) and a saint Arcadio who was martyred in Mauritania and revered in Italy. The citation of the saint is sufficient to register Arcadio as a masculine name in Italian contexts. However, while we grant submitters the benefit of the doubt and register saint's names not documented in use by the general population in period, this allowance does not extend to other names constructed from the saint's name, such as diminutives or feminizations. To register a feminized form of a saint's name, the masculine name must itself be documented in use in a period appropriate for use with that pattern of feminization. This was not the case with Arcadio. Therefore, barring documentation showing either that Arcadia was used in Italian or that Arcadio was used in Italian other than as a reference to a saint that lived many centuries earlier, Arcadia is not registerable.
Additionally, the accents in de Felice's books are used to show pronunciation and are not part of the normal spelling of the names. They should not be used in the registered form of a name.
This is returned for numerous conflicts: Keystone Pursuivant, Order of the Keystone (both registered to Æthelmearc, Kingdom of), and Order of the Keystone of Lions Gate (registered to Lions Gate, Barony of). The addition of the branch name reference, of Caerthe, provides sufficient difference only in conjunction with a letter of permission to conflict. While the Barony noted that they were trying to obtain such letters, these letters had not been received by the Laurel office at the time of the publication of this LoAR.
The transfers of the name and device from Patric to Mary are returned below, and hence there is no transfer to be accepted.
This is a posthumous transfer; it is being returned for lack of evidence that (a) Patric is deceased and (b) Mary is his legal heir. The paperwork accompanying this transfer contained a letter from Mary accepting the transfer, but does not provide supporting documentation for the other two points, which information is required per past precedent:
[Transfer of name and device to Daniel del Cavallo] This is a posthumous transfer. The Laurel office was provided with (1) a copy of Caterina's real-world will, (2) a letter from Caterina's legal heir transferring Caterina's name and device to Daniel del Cavallo, and (3) a letter from Daniel accepting transfer of Caterina's name and device. [Caterina del Cavallo, 05/2002, A-Æthelmearc]
While we do not wish to unduly burden the family of the deceased in an already troubled time, and are willing to take the word of heralds attesting that the gentle is deceased, in the past there have been problems with people taking advantage of the death of a SCA member in order to initiate transfers that they are not entitled to make. We have implemented the above requirements in the case of posthumous transfers specifically to protect the families from being the victims of such situations.
Unfortunately this lovely name must be returned for aural conflict with Walter Robin. While Robin and Urban on their own are significantly different in sound and appearance, when they both follow a word ending in -r, their aural difference is drastically reduced. When comparing two names to determine whether they are significantly different in sound, we use the period pronunciations of the names, not their standard modern pronunciations. In pre-1600 British dialect, the r of Urban was significantly less pronounced than it is in modern American English. Hence, when the two bynames are preceded by a word ending in -r, effectively the only difference in sound between them is the initial vowel, which by itself is not a significant difference. The two names are, however, different enough that Walter Urban could be registered with permission to conflict with Walter Robin.
His device has been registered under the holding name Walter of the Outlands.
This important non-SCA order name was registered to both Prussia and Jerusalem in August 1987. As we do not register identical items, this must be returned.
This device is returned for the use of a garden rosebud, which has not been registerable since November 1994:
Commentary was nearly as strong in favor of banning garden rosebuds from armory. Consequently, we will accept whatever garden rosebuds may be in LoIs issued before December 1994, but no further registrations of this charge will be made. (CL 11/94)
A garden rosebud is a garden rose with the petals closed, which describes the charge in chief.
This device is returned for having two steps from period practice. Precedents say:
The use of a hummingbird is a step from period practice. The Rules for Submission (RfS) section VII.4, as published on the June 2007 Cover Letter, state:
The use of flora and fauna native to the New World, Africa, Asia, and other non-European locales will be registerable if it is reasonable to believe that Europeans knew them in period. Their use will be considered a step from period practice, unless they were used as charges in period heraldry, including crests and badges, in which case their use is not a weirdness.
Commenters provided sufficient evidence that, while native to the Americas, the hummingbird was known to Europeans in period. Thus, a hummingbird may be registered but its use is considered a step from period practice. [Isabel Ximena Galiano de Valera, 2007-12, R-Middle]
and
Additionally any bird other than an eagle in a displayed posture will be considered a ... [step from standard period practice]. [Cover Letter to the November 2003 LoAR]
Therefore, hummingbirds displayed are two steps from period practice.
Conflict with Johanna Wynter. Both Joan and Johanna are variants of the same name in English, and RfS V.1.a says "Variant spellings of the same word or name, no matter how radical, are not considered significantly different unless there is also a significant difference in pronunciation." There is not a significant difference in pronunciation between Joan and Johanna.
This device is returned for being obtrusively modern, in violation of Section VIII.4.b of the Rules for Submission. This rule says "Overt allusions to modern insignia, trademarks, or common designs may not be registered." Everyone who had any familiarity with the Nintendo Zelda series of games immediately thought of the games when shown this armory. In addition to the use of the "golden triforce", a sacred relic which continually appears throughout the series, the hearts on the chief are overwhelmingly reminiscent of the way that the games keep track of the character's health.
The overt allusion is caused by the combination of the two motifs. The use of three triangles conjoined one and two Or is explicitly registerable by precedent:
One commenter noted that [three triangles conjoined one and two Or] was frequently found as an item of insignia in artwork associated with some Nintendo games, including the Zelda series of games. However, the symbol is not copyrighted in the USA, and we have received no information that the symbol is copyrighted elsewhere. As a result, it need not be protected against conflict. [Paul O'Flaherty, 07-2003, A-Atenveldt]
Conflict with Seamus Donn.
His device is registered under the holding name Séamus of Silver Desert.
- Explicit littera renuntiationum -
- Explicit -
Created at 2009-06-08T22:40:36