January 2003 (Anno Societatis XXXVII)
Unto the College of Heralds of the Kingdom of Lochac, and all others who may read this missive, from Baron Uberto Renaldi, Herald Extraordinary and Crux Australis Emeritus, greetings!
This is not a CAMeL, but rather a CETL (Crux Emeritus Temporary Letter) - or "kettle" if you prefer. I have produced this in order to bring you up to date with Laurel's decisions on Lochac submissions as printed in the Letters of Acceptances of Returns for the meetings of April through September 2002.
Lochac submissions from the April 2002 Letter of Acceptances and Returns :
REGISTEREDÁedán óc mac Rónáin h-Úi Fáeláin. Device. Argent, a saltire purpure overall a wolf rampant sable.
Please advise the submitter to draw the wolf so that it lies more on the field and less on the saltire. This saltire is a fine, wide saltire for a charge lying on the field without an overall charge, but it could easily be drawn thinner without being too thin, allowing more of the wolf to lie on the field. Moreover, the wolf's legs should be disposed to make them lie more on the field and less on the saltire. This can be done without distorting the rampant posture of the wolf.Aldwin Seguin. Device. Argent, a saltire embattled counter-embattled azure between four hedgehogs statant gules.
Collette de Harecourt. Name (see PENDS for device).
Submitted as Collette de Harcourt, the submitter requested authenticity for 14th to 16th C English and allowed minor changes. All forms of Harcourt that were found dated to her period were spelled Harecourt. We have made this change to meet her request for authenticity.Dafydd ap Iorwerth ap Rhodri de dena. Name (see RETURNS for device).
This name includes a Latin form of a locative byname in an otherwise Welsh name. While not common, this practice did occur. Harpy found Jovan ap Ysaac de tribus castris in Abergavenny court records of 1256 (A. J. Roderick & William Rees, Ministers' Accounts for the Lordships of Abergavenny, Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle: Part I-The Lordship of Abergavenny).Gregory Tortouse de Sloleye. Name.
Toirdhealbhach Ó Corráin. Device. Azure, a griffin segreant contourny and a chief rayonny Or.
Tostig atte Scelga. Name and device. Gyronny sable and argent, on a lozenge gules a sword inverted Or.
Submitted as Tostig Scelga, no documentation was provided and none was found for unmarked locatives in Old English. We have added atte in order to register this name.Willoughby Vale, Canton of. Device change. Argent fretty, on a chief vert two laurel wreaths argent.
They have permission to conflict with the Barony of Altavia, Argent, a fret sable and on a chief vert a laurel wreath argent. Their previous device, Ermine, a tower sable within a laurel wreath gules, all within a bordure embattled sable, is released.
RETURNED
Dafydd ap Iorwerth ap Rhodri de dena. Device. Per bend sinister sable and vert.
Conflict with Marguerite Lofftus, Per bend sinister sable and gyronny from the line of division Or and vert. This is not clear by RfS X.4.a.ii(a), Substantial Change of Partition, as both fields are divided per bend sinister. This is analogous to the example in the rule which states "Barry and per pale argent and vert... has only a clear difference from Bendy and per pale argent and vert."This must therefore be considered under RfS X.4.a.ii(c), which states "In any case, independent changes to the tincture, direction of partition lines, style of partition lines, or number of pieces in the partition may be counted separately when comparing two pieces of field-primary armory." We have one of the necessary changes, for changing the partition lines, because the bottom half of Marguerite's field is gyronny. However, there is no additional difference for tincture change since only one-fourth of the field has changed tincture. RfS X.4.a only allows difference for tincture "if the tincture of at least half the field is changed".
Laufey rauðrefr. Name. [NOTE: but see ERRATA from August below.]
The only documentation found for Laufey was as the name of the non-human mother of the Norse god Loki. Lacking documentation of Laufey used by humans in period, it is not registerable.The closest name to Laufey that the College was able to find was Ljúfa which is listed on p. 13 of Geirr Bassi. As the submitter did not allow major changes, we were unable to change the given name to a different name in order to register this name.
Lochac submissions from the May 2002 Letter of Acceptances and Returns :
No Lochac submissions were considered at the May 2002 meetings.
Lochac submissions from the June 2002 Letter of Acceptances and Returns :
REGISTEREDAlycie Stirling. Device. Per saltire sable and purpure, two ferrets combattant Or.
Esteban de Quesada. Device. Sable, a valknut inverted argent.
The Letter of Intent asked us to rule on whether the valknut should continue to be registered. As noted in the LoAR of September 1993, the valknut is a period artistic motif which was not used in period heraldry. It was incorporated into SCA heraldry and has been registered infrequently but steadily thereafter. The September 1993 argument in favor of the valknut's registration appears to continue to hold true. It is identifiable when inverted, just as a triangle is identifiable when inverted.Would-be users of the valknut should take note of the fact that its "thin-line" nature can make it difficult to identify. Poor contrast, small size or overlying charges are all likely to render it unidentifiable. Since this device uses the valknut as the only charge on a high contrast field, it maintains its identifiability splendidly.
Griffin Rede. Name.
Submitted as Griffin Reid, the submitter requested authenticity for 12th to 14th C (unspecified language/culture). Kingdom noted that they had been unable to find a dated example for Reid and said that "If this spelling is unacceptable then the submittor will accept Rede instead, which Reaney [2nd ed.] dates to 1327." Black (s.n. Reid) dates Reide to 1555 and Reyd to 1548. From these examples, Reid is a reasonable 16th C form. Black lists several forms of this name in the submitter's desired time period, including John Reed dated to 1362, William Rede dated to 1389, and Red dated to 1317. We have changed the byname to the form Rede to make this name appropriate for the submitter's requested time period.Gwalchmai ap Llywelyn Llanfyllin. Device. Ermine, a bend sinister wreathed sable and Or.
Laufey rauðrefr. Device. Argent, a fox passant proper and on a chief vert a compass star elongated to base argent. [NOTE: but see ERRATA from August below.]
RETURNED
None!
Lochac submissions from the July 2002 Letter of Acceptances and Returns :
REGISTEREDCatalina Ximena Villanova de Santa Maria. Name change from Caterina Ruzzini.
Listed on the LoI as Catalina Ximena de Villanova y Santa Maria del Cami, this name was submitted as Catalina Ximena Villanova de Santa Maria del Cami and changed at Kingdom. The LoI did not note a reason for the change. The submitter requested authenticity for 15th to 16th C Spanish or Catalan.Several issues were raised in commentary on this name. This name, as originally submitted, had the form [given name] [given name] [locative] de [compound locative]. As it was comprised of only four name elements (including a compound element), it did not violate the ban on five element names in Spanish established in the LoAR of October 1997.
Regarding double given names in Spanish, precedent states, "The use of double given names was unheard of until the end of period." (Elsbeth Anne Roth, LoAR March 2000, p. 4)
However, no evidence has been provided and none was found that a person from Santa Maria del Cami would have been known as de Santa Maria del Cami rather than simply as de Santa Maria. The similarly constructed de Santiago de Compostela has been ruled unregisterable:
No documentation was presented, nor could the College of Arms find any, that de Santiago de Compostela was used in a locative byname. Previous precedent states:As the submitter explicitly allowed dropping of del Cami in order to register the name, we have dropped this element.This name is returned because no documentation can be found for the name de Compostela. People from Santiago de Compostela were known as de Santiago. [Livia Teresa de Compostela, 09/99, R-Atlantia]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, Caid-R, 01/2002]
Her previous name, Caterina Ruzzini, is released.
Dareios Rossos the Vigilant. Name and device. Chevronelly vert and argent, on a chief indented sable a badger statant argent.
The LoI stated that "The submittor desires a masculine 14th-15th century 'Byzantine' (Greek?) name. He will accept minor changes only, but will allow Rossos to be dropped and the Vigilant to be translated to it's Greek equivalent if either or both of these changes are necessary for registration." The documentation provided for the Vigilant in the LoI wasReaney does not list Vigilant as an English surname, but the submittor argues that it is no more abstract than 'le Téméraire' (French for 'the Bold') that was used as an eptithet for a 15th century Duke of Burgundy (although no evidence was presented to show that this was used of him in his lifetime). According to the Oxford Learner's English/Greek Pocket Dictionary, the equivalent word in modern Greek is agrupnos. As to whether or not agrupnos (or an earlier variant) is an appropriate epithet, we must rely on advice from anyone in the College who knows something about Greek names and who wishes to enlighten us.Metron Ariston found a descriptive byname that can plausibly have the Lingua Anglica form the Vigilant:
The modern Greek form noted on the Letter of Intent actually means "without sleep" (as in Sleepless in Seattle...) However, one could use [pi rho omicron mu nu theta {nu'} sigma] as and adjectival byname: Dareios Rossos Promethes. (Yes, this is cognate with and almost indistinguishable from Prometheus in both Greek and English. The name Prometheus actually referred to his forethought or wary mind.)Therefore, Dareios Rossos the Vigilant is registerable since the Vigilant is a Lingua Anglica rendering of Promethes. Dareios Rossos Promethes may be an authentic form of this name. However, given the few resources available for Byzantine Greek, we were unable to confirm that a person would be referred to by two descriptive bynames simultaneously in a written name. Since there are so few resources currently available, we are giving the double descriptive byname the benefit of the doubt at this time. Future research may confirm or refute this construction. As the submitter did not allow major changes (except as noted for registerability), we did not change this name to a fully Greek form.
Magdalena di Franco. Name.
Robert of Strathconan. Device. Argent, a fess azure between three mullets and a lion's head erased gules.
RETURNED
None!
Lochac submissions from the August 2002 Letter of Acceptances and Returns :
REGISTEREDEleanor of Orkney. Name.
Gabriel de Beaumont. Device. Per pale sable and azure, a dexter wing and a sinister wing and a bordure argent.
Mynjon du Jardin. Name and device. Quarterly sable and Or, a cross raguly between four roundels all counterchanged.
Thomasina l'Estrennere. Name.
Listed on the LoI as Thomasina l'Estranier, this name was submitted as Thomasine l'Estranier. The given name was changed at kingdom to a form documented to 1346 in England as the submitter requested authenticity for 14th C "Anglo-French".The submitted byname l'Estranier is a masculine form of this French byname. Since the given name is feminine, the byname needs to be in a feminine form. Marie-Thérèse Morlet, Étude d'Anthroponymie Picarde (p. 417), dates Jehan l'Estranier (a man) to 1438 and Jehenne l'Estrennere (a woman) to 1324. We have changed the byname to the feminine form dated to 1324 in the example above in order to register the name.
Though much information was found by the College in regards to this name, we were unable to place both desired elements of the submitter's name in a single country (either France or England) in the 14th C. Lacking that ability, we have registered the name with forms dated to the 14th C, the given name form found in England and the byname form found in France, to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity. As a courtesy to the submitter, we have provided information found by the College regarding forms of this name authentic for France or England.
By the submitter's desired time period, the forms an Anglo-French name would take in England and France had diverged. We have an example of the submitter's desired byname used with a woman's name in in England. Dr. David Postles, "Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy: Colsterworth" (http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/pot/colst.html), line 3, dates Alice le [sic] straunge to 1332. This supports Thomasina le straunge as a form this name would take in the 14th C in England.
In the case of the given name, we were unable to find any form of Thomasine used in France in period, though the feminine given name Thomasse was found in Paris in Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "French Names from Paris, 1423 & 1438" (http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sfriedemann/names/paris1423.htm), making Thomasse l'Estrennere a likely form of this name for the late 14th C in France.
The College only found examples of forms of the given name Thomasine (also Thomasina) in English contexts in England. The spelling originally desired by the submitter, Thomasine, is documented to 1485 in Julian Goodwyn's article "English Names from Pre-1600 Brass Inscriptions" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/brasses/). This article also dates the surname Lestrange to 1485, making Thomasine Lestrange a form of this name as it would appear in England in 1485. Bardsley (p. 836 s.n. Butts) dates Thomasine Bedell to 1536 and (p. 479 s.n. L'Estrange) dates Nicholas Lestrange to 1546-7. At this time, Lestrange would have been an inherited surname, indicating that Thomasine Lestrange is also appropriate as a 16th C English form of this name.
Wakeline de Foxley. Name and device. Per pale azure and gules, three foxes rampant Or.
Good name!
Nice device (and nice cant)!
RETURNED
Caterina da Napoli. Name.
This name conflicts with Catalin di Napoli (registered March 1980). Precedent states that the names Caitlin and Katerine conflict because they "sound almost identical when pronounced correctly." [Katerine MacGregor, 10/99, R-Middle] Likewise, the pronunciations of Caterina and Catalin are similar enough that they conflict.
ERRATA
Ruth of Innilgard. Holding name correction from Laufey rauğrefr.
Submitted under the name Laufey rauğrefr, that name was returned in the April 2002 LoAR.
Lochac submissions from the September 2002 Letter of Acceptances and Returns :
REGISTEREDBain de Saint Florian. Name and device. Argent goutty de larmes, a rose proper and a bordure azure.
Llewelyn ap Dafydd. Name.
Sabine du Bourbonnais. Device. Azure, three bees in pale Or marked sable between flaunches Or ermined azure.
RETURNED
Eleanor of Orkney. Device. Per bend embattled vert and purpure, a compass star and a chief indented argent.
RfS VIII.3, Armorial Identifiability, states, "For instance, a complex line of partition could be difficult to recognize between two parts of the field that do not have good contrast if most of the line is also covered by charges." We have such a case here: the compass star covers much of the per bend embattled line.In addition, the per bend line is not correctly drawn. The per bend line should bisect the portion of the field which shows beneath the chief. The chiefmost point on the per bend line should be where the bottom of the chief meets the dexter side of the shield.
Humphrey de la Pole. Device. Per chevron wavy argent and gules, three roses counterchanged.
The line of division is neither clearly per chevron wavy nor per fess enarched wavy. This needs to be drawn in an identifiable fashion.Some commenters felt that the wavy was drawn in a way that could be confused with nebuly. However, the wavy as drawn here is similar to early period wavy, and is acceptable.
The submitter should be advised to draw the roses somewhat larger to better fill the space.