This is the Middle Kingdom Letter of Acceptances and Returns for Escutcheon's November 2000 letter. Comments in braces {} were removed from the Letter of Intent sent to Laurel and the College of Arms. Names, devices, or badges in braces have been returned or pended; general comments or replies to commentary are also placed in braces.
Many thanks to Baron Talan Gwynek, Lady Adeliza de Saviniaco, Lord Mikhail of Lubelska, Lady Ælfreda æt Æthelwealda, Etienne le Couteau des Roches, Lord Kevin Ambrozijwski, Lady Phebe Bonadeci, Lord Tigernach mac Eóghain ua Áeda, Gustav Kellermeyer, and Anna Mayer for their commentary this month.
1) Anna Donnelly. New device
Per chevron argent and gules, two roses and a unicorn's head couped counterchanged.
Name submitted on 6/00 MK ELoI
{Please instruct the submitter to draw the per chevron line higher in the future.}
2) Brendoken, Barony of. New name and device
Per pale vert and sable, a compass star within a laurel wreath Or.
The name is a hypothesized compound English place name. The first element (brende) means 'burnt' and is found in such examples as <Brendewode> 1274, found in Ekwall s.n. Brentwood. The second element (oken) means 'oaks' and is found in ibid s.n. "Oake" and dated to 1327. The combination of these two elements seems plausible enough and the example of <Brendewode> follows a similar pattern.
A petition of support for the name and device are enclosed. The forms blazon the mullet as a "mullet of eight" but it is apparent in the large emblazon that the rays are long-short-long-short and not evenly-lengthed. Note that this should not conflict with the Shire of Champclair (reg 12/87 via the West), "Per fess azure and vairy Or and azure, in chief a sun within a laurel wreath Or." There is one CD for the field, and though there is no CD between a compass star and a sun, there is one for the position of the sun; the move to chief is not forced.
{Please inform the submitters to draw the laurel wreath more like a wreath and less like two crossed branches in the future.}
3) Catalana di Neri. New name
<Catalana> is found in Benicoeur, "Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427" (URL: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/ catasto), and in Lyth, "Italian Renaissance Women's Names" (URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/rhian/italian. html). <Neri> is a short form of the masculine names <Raneri> or <Guarnieri>, found in laVolpe, "Men's Names from Florence (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/ catasto) and in De Felici, Nomi, s.n. Neri. The client desires a 15th century Italian name. Submitted as <Catalana Di Neri>, we have corrected the capitalization to conform to period practice.
4) Fearran na Crìche, Canton of. Device resubmission.
Azure, an oak tree eradicated argent between three laurel wreaths Or.
Name reg'd 3/91
Their previous submission, identical to this, was returned on the 09/00 LoAR for lack of a description of the device on the petition. Because this was the only problem with the device, and because we have received a copy of a correct petition, I am sending this one on directly to Laurel.
5) Gabriel Chance. New name {and device
Sable, an armored archangel statant affronty, maintaining a sword and shield argent.}
<Gabriel> is found in England as early as the 13th century; Reaney & Wilson s.n. Gabriel have <Gabriel filius Reginaldi> 1212, <Gabriele Spyg> 1296, and <Gabriel> 1199. Reaney & Wilson s.n. <Chance> have <Robert Chance> 1209 and <Ralph Chance> 1310. Bardsley s.n. Chance has <Richard Chance> 1291/2.
{According to the LoAR 4/97 p.17 "There is…nothing for type between one winged humanoid to another." Therefore, the device conflicts with the badge of the Canton of the Guardians of the Sacred Stone (reg. 11/93 via Atlantia) "Vert, a winged man displayed maintaining above his head a spear fesswise argent," with only one CD for the field. It does not conflict with Megara di Alessandra (reg. 8/81 via Atlantia) "Sable, a Fury rampant affrontée, sinister hand lowered, proper vested argent, winged Or, maintaining in the dexter hand a torch bendwise sinister enflamed proper," as there is one CD for the tincture of the wings, and another for posture. This may conflict with SkallaGormr Berserkr (reg 2/98 via the Middle) "Per pale sable and gules, a frauenadler displayed with human arms maintaining in chief two swords argent." There is one CD for the field, but based on the precedent cited above, there is most likely not one between a harpy and an angel.}
6) Gabriella da Milano. New name and device
Per pale Or and azure, a rose counterchanged
<Gabriella> is a feminine form of <Gabriele>, noted by De Felice, Nomi, as a late-period, probably 15th or 16th century, innovation.
Submitted as <de' Milano>, <de'> is an abbreviation of Italian <dei> 'of the (plural),' and is not appropriate with a singular place-name. The surname <da Milano> is found in Talan Gwynek & Arval Benicoeur, "14th Century Venetian Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/ names/arval/venice14/venice14sur.html). The adjectival form <Milanesi> occurs twice in the Florentine catasto of 1427. (http://www.s-gabriel.org/ names/ferrante/catasto/family_names.html). Either <da Milano> or <Milanesi> would be appropriate surnames meaning "from Milano"; we have chosen the former because it is most like the original submission.
7) Gwenllian Talbot. New name
{This was pended on the 10/00 ILoAR}
<Gwenllian> is the second most common feminine given name in Glasvryn, "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th C. Welsh Names" (http:/www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/ welsh13.html).
<Talbot> is dated to 1332 in Reaney & Wilson s.n. <Talbot>. Foster, Dictionary of Heraldry, p. 189, has the Talbot arms on it. The client cares most about meaning and would like to have an authentic 13th century Welsh/English name. She will NOT permit MAJOR changes.
Submitted as <Gwenllian Rhys Talbot>, we pended the submission to contact the client, and in correspondence she said she would prefer the more authentic form <Gwenllian Talbot>.
8) Holta-Leifr Óláfsson. New name and device
Per pale purpure and vert, three pheons inverted argent
<Leifr> is in Geirr Bassi (13). <Holta-> is in ibid (23), meaning "Wood-, Forest-" and is a byname that is prefixed to the given name. <Óláfsson> means "son of Óláfr" as per ibid (17). Submitted as <Leifr Holtameistari Olafsson>, the client asked for an authentic 9th-11th century Norse name, so we have added the accents to <Óláfsson>. There is a problem with the byname, unfortunately, because <meistari> is Old Norse for 'master, lord' and is on the Alternate Titles List as the Old Norse equivalent of <Master>. Thus, according to Laurel precedent as exemplified in the 12/98 return of <Raffe Scholemaystre>, the byname <holtameistari> violates RfS VI.1 (Names Claiming Rank). We have therefore removed <meistari> from the byname and moved <Holta-> to its documented position before the given name.
{If the client is interested in a surname that means "worker with wood, forester," he might be interested in the byname <trésmiðr> 'craftsman in wood, carpenter' (literally 'tree-smith'). Other bynames simply meaning 'wood, forest' are <viðr>, <skógr>, and <mörk>.}
9) James Cunningham. New device
Vert scaly argent, a shakefork Or between three crosses crosslet argent.
Name reg'd 1/99
{This was pended on the 03/00 ILoAR}.
10) Johann von Magdeburg. New name {and device
Argent chausse embattled sable, a heart gules sustained by a pair of gauntlets aversant inverted in chevron inverted sable.}
<Johann von Würzburg> is the name of a poet who wrote in 1314, according to the ACLS, Dictionary of the Middle Ages (117). The name is most often found recorded in its Latin form <Johannes>, but <Johann> and <Johan> are reasonable vernacular forms.
<Magdeburg> was founded in 805, according to the Encyclopedia Americana (Vol ??: 80). Brechenmacher s.n. Magdeburg(er) lists a <Hinr. Magdeburg> in 1312. Magdeburg is in the part of Germany where <van> was more common than <von>, though if he moved south he might well have been known as <von Magdeburg>.
The client cares most about having a German name and would like an authentic 13th-14th century German name. He will NOT permit MAJOR changes.
{The device conflicts with Randall Baldwin, (reg. 9/92 via Atenveldt) "Sable, on a pile dovetailed argent a double-bitted axe gules." There is one CD for the difference in the tertiary charges; there is no difference between chausse and a pile, or between embattled and dovetailed. In addition, the position of the gauntlets is unblazonable and obscures the outline of the heart, and makes it indistinguishable.}
{*) Julianna de Pardieu. New device
Purpure ermined, three unicorns passant argent
Name reg'd 09/99.
This is being returned for redrawing. The ermine spots are not in any of the usual stylized forms, and as a result of this and their largeness are not distinguishable as ermine spots. In addition, the unicorns should be larger so that they fill the space of the shield better and their cloven feet, goat's beards, and lion's tales are more readily distinguishable.
{*) Nikolai of Trakai. New badge
[Fieldless] A doubled cross sable fimbriated argent.
Name reg'd 9/93
This conflicts with Lorraine Marcus (reg. 1/73 via the West) "Quarterly vert and Or, a cross of Lorraine sable." There is one CD for the field, but there is nothing for the fimbriation, and nothing between a doubled cross and a cross of Lorraine.
To Æ&M: The rule on fimbriation limits it to "simple geometric charges placed in the center of the design" (RfS VIII.3). My belief is that this is not too complex to fimbriate, especially as it is in the only charge in the design.
To Kevin & crew: I really have no idea if argent fimbriation is any more common than any fimbriation. It is my belief that fimbriation of any color is not as common in period as it is in the SCA, and was used more on ordinaries than on other charges.
11) Racheel Dominique de Brienne. New name
Submitted as <Rachelle Domonique De Brienne>, the client will NOT permit MAJOR changes and cares most about having an authentic 14th century French name.
No documentation was submitted and none could be found for <Rachelle> being a period name; Withycombe (115) says that the name wasn't common until the Reformation. <Rachel> is found in Normandy in the 16th century, according to de la Mor, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ cateline/norman16.html). Seror s.n. Rachel has the French citations <Racheel> 1406 and <Raela> 1393, as well as the Provencal <Rael> 1495, <Rahel> 1482, and the diminutive <Raheleta> 1425. We have changed the given name to <Racheel>, the most similar spelling to the submitted form in her time-period.
Dauzat s.n. Dominique notes the existence of <Dominique> as a modern surname. It is therefore not unlikely that <Dominique> could be used as a patronym in period. The Latin feminine form of the given name, <Dominica>, is found in the 11th century, according to Morlet, and the masculine form <Dimenche> is found in Dubh's "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/ paris.html). Based on this evidence for the name in use, we believe that <Dominique> is an acceptable patronymic surname. No evidence could be found for the client's submitted spelling <Domonique>.
In the Hammond Historical Atlas (H-18), there is a map of France in 1360 that lists the city Brienne.
12) Rachel bas Gershom Sternenkiker. New name and device
Azure mullety, an owl close guardant and on a chief argent, a recorder fesswise reversed azure.
<Rachel> is documented to the 11th century in Stampitzky, "Names from Hebrew Chronicles of the 10th to 13th Centuries" (http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/ crusades.html). It is also Biblical. Submitted as <Rochl bas Gershom Sternenkiker>, the client writes: "I have chosen a different spelling to dissuade SCA folk from using the modern pronunciation of 'Rachel.' Since the name is transliterated from the Hebrew, the spelling doesn't matter too much, if the College of Heralds wishes to change it." According to Talan Gwynek, <Rochl> is not a reasonable transliteration of the name in any period. Therefore, we have changed the name to a documentable form.
<Gershom> is a masculine name that is dated to the 11th century in ibid. <bas Gershom> is a patronymic and examples of the construction are found in ibid and dated to the 11th century.
<Sternenkiker> is an occupational byname meaning "stargazer" and is found in Brechenmacher s.n. Ster(n)kieker, who has a <Henrik Sternenkiker> in 1482.
The client cares most about meaning and language/culture. She would like to have an authentic 15th-16th century German Jewish name. She will NOT permit MAJOR changes.
{This does not conflict with Merric of Stormgate (reg. 4/83 via Caid), "Azure, mulletty, a legless owl and in chief a candle fesswise argent, enflamed at both ends proper." There is one CD for changing the candle to a chief, and one for adding the recorder to the chief.}
15) Thalia Baroncelli. New device.
Or vetu ploye, in fess three wyverns erect gules
Name reg'd 9/98
Done by my hand this 8th day of January,
Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Rouge Scarpe
Sara L. Friedemann
213 N. Paterson
Madison, WI 53703
sfriedemann@students.wisc.edu