This is the December 2003 Middle Kingdom Letter of Acceptances and Returns for Escutcheon’s October Letter of Intent. These decisions will be combined with the first batch of Pennsic submissions for the External Letter of Intent.
Unless otherwise noted, all clients will accept changes. {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. Commentary, rulings, etc. by Dragon are placed in small cap print.}. Thanks to Dugan MacLeod, Angelique Michele d' Herisson, Angharad Rhos Tewdwr, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Ęlfreda ęt Ęthelwealda & Mikhail of Lubelska, Caitriona, Femke de Roas, Konrad Mailander, Master John ap Wynne, and Master Thorvald Redhair et al, for their commentary this month.}
Beginning next month, I have re-instated the office of Rouge Scarpe Herald to hand the processing of the External Letter of Intent and Kingdom LoAR. Please welcome Mistress Elena de Vexin and start sending your commentary to her as well. Her address is:
Joanne Peek
306 Lively Lane
Burns Harbor, IN 46304-9748
As many commenters pointed out, there were a number of typos & other errors in the creation of this Internal Letter of Intent. Please remember that this was Lady Ana’s first letter, and I’m sure she’ll do better with time. The items have been re-numbered & re-ordered for the External Letter of Intent to match Laurel’s requirements. Now….
ON WITH THE SHOW!
1) Otto Helmsmid. (M) Device
Resubmission:
(Bellevue, MI)
It was returned 4/03 by Laurel for for conflict. It was suggested that he adds a bordure to bring it out of conflict. This is the 3rd time he's submitted this device. He is willing to accept minor changes.
We are sending this on to Laurel, with a firm reminder to the client that he draw the bordure bigger.
Device Commentary:
Ary: It's helpful to list what previous
submissions were and the specific reasons for return. His
first submission, "Gules, an amphisbaena nowed between three
anvils Or," was returned by Laurel 05/2002 because
amphisbaenae are too complex to be nowed. His second
device, "Gules, an amphisbaena between three anvils
Or," was returned as stated on the 04/2003 LoAR, for
conflict with Abraham ben Aaron, "Gules, two Sassanian
horned winged demi-lions statant addorsed conjoined
Or." The LoAR says:
"The monster so formed is almost identical to an
amphisbaena. There is thus only one CD for adding the secondary
anvils."
This resubmission gives the necessary second CD by adding the
bordure. This bordure is extremely narrow and should be
redrawn about twice as thick.
Femke: This device does seem to be out of conflict now, but the bordure is way too narrow.
Konrad: It was returned 4/03 by Laurel for for
conflict. It was suggested that he adds a bordure to bring it out
of conflict. This is the 3rd time he's submitted this device. He
is willing to accept minor changes.
Bordure looks under fed but clears the conflict with: Gules,
two Sassanian horned winged demi-lions statant addorsed conjoined
Or.
Thorvald: The blazon is missing from this submission.
2) Robert Downey of Forfar (M) New Name and Device Ermine, a tower and on a chief embattled vert three fiddles argent
Robert - Withycombe, "Oxford Dictionary of Christian Names", p 118
Downie - Black, "The Surnames of Scotland," p 606 Client prefers " Downey" but no year could be found to document its usage. Second choice: Downy - 1330 p 605
Forfar - 1057 AD - a small town in the county of Angus in eastern Scotland " Forfar" Encyclopedia Britannica (2003) http://www.Britannica.com/article?eu=35511
Client will accept minor changes and cares more for sound.
Reblazoned as: Ermine, a tower and on a chief embattled vert three fiddles inverted argent.
Name Commentary:
Ary: Since the rest of the name elements are
documented as Scots, it'd be good to doc <Robert> as Scots
as well (because English/Scots is a weirdness - why give a
submitter a weirdness if you don't have to?) Effrick's
"Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/ ) has <Robert> 17 times between 1500 and
1533. The same article also has <Downy> dated to 1506
and <Dovny> dated to 1500, 1507. Now, this is in the
grey area, and English, not Scots, but R&W s.n. Downey has
<Downey> dated to 1642.
The cited URL for <Forfar> brings up nothing but a blank
page in Britannica online (it might be because I do not have a
subscription). This is why it's crucial to accurately summarize
the docs. Can someone who actually has access to the page
look and find out whether the spelling <Forfar> is actually
dated to 1057, or whether it's just the existence of the town
that is dated?
Ahah, that might not be necessary: It appears that <Forfar>
is dated to 1199 in Room s.n. Forfar. Unfortunately, this means
it can't be combined with a 17th century English byname, because
this would be one lingual weirdness and one temporal
weirdness. He'll have to stick with one of the documentably
period forms of <Downy>, or drop the locative.
Femke: Forfar Im not sure whether the spelling
of <Forfar> has been modernized in this article.
Though a few websites containing modern pictures of this town use
the same spelling. Is there a problem of conflict with the
Actor Robert Downey? From Alisouns precendents:
We tend to take a more conservative view of name conflicts from
current events (i.e., after 1650) than most and generally would
not be too concerned about industrial conflicts. However, in this
case, where the individual [Thomas du Pont] appears in
non-specialist paperback biographical dictionaries as well as
dozens of books on industrial history of the early twentieth
century and has his name plastered on more public structures in
the mid-Atlantic than you could shake a stick at, we are inclined
to be a bit more rigorous. (LoAR 29 Mar 87, p. 16) I didnt
find anything about modern celebrities directly, but thought it
might be a concern.
Konrad: Reaney & Wilson has Downey as a
header With Downey dated to 1642 along with Dounay 1327, atte
Dunye 1330. Also, In Scotland from the barony of Duny or Downie
in Monikie (Angus).
Device Commentary:
AE & M: Device: We have not found a default posture for a fiddle, but the Glossary of Terms lists a viol as "palewise, neck to chief". Assuming the fiddle is similar, the submitter's devices contains fiddles inverted.
Femke: Device I cant find anything in the
O&A or in the Pictorial Dictionary of Herladry blazoned as a
fiddle. There is a category for violin, so maybe Ermine, a
tower and on a chief vert three violins argent. Im not sure
whether or not this is a conflict: Antonio Franco de Milano
- The following device associated with this name was registered
in April of 1992 (via the Middle):
Ermine, a tower vert and on a chief gules three lion's heads
couped argent.
Certainly one CD for the red bordure. But is there a second
for the line of division or type of charge?
Thorvald: The
fiddles are inverted.
{) Brighid inghean Finnghiala (F) New
Name and Device Barry-bendy vert and purpure, a sun or
(Shire of Silfrenmere)
Brighid - Withycombe, Oxford Dic. Of Eng. Christian Names, p 27 under Bridget
inghean - means daughter of
Fionnghuala - http://www.panix.com/~Gabriel/public-bin/archive.cgi Irish 1400-1500
Client will accept minor changes to make it Scotish/Irish
The name is being returned for insufficient documentation as well as temporal weirdnesses. The device, which would have to be returned anyway with the name, is being returned for MULTIPLE conflicts as well as a violation of RfS VIII.2.iv.
Name Commentary:
Ary: <Finnghiala> is either not
documented by the submitted docs or is a typo for the documente
<Fionnghuala>. The documentation is inadequately
summarized, so it is impossible to tell if the name is supported
by the documentation. Thankfully, other documentation can
be found. <Brigit> is found in the Irish Annals three
times in the 6th century, according to Mari neyn Brian's article
"Index of Names in Irish Annals: Feminine Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/na ). There is a note that the only person listed by
this name is a saint. OCM s.n. Brigit says that "The
name did not come into common use in Ireland until the modern
period, but as <Mel Brigte> 'devotee of St. Brigit' and
<Gilla Brigte> 'servant of St. Brigit' it was much used in
the medieval period." Mari has no examples of these as
feminine names. <Fionnghuala> is found 21 times between
1247 and 1528 in the article cited above.
There is a precedent concerning the use of matronymics in Irish
Gaelic names:
"Because the submitted byname was a matronymic using the
feminine given
name Ladan, it was changed at kingdom to use the masculine given
name
Ladnn. The ban on matronymics in Gaelic was overturned in the
July 2001
LoAR and instead ruled a weirdness. Any additional weirdness
would make a
name using a matronymic construction unregisterable.
"Upon further review, the few examples of matronymics in
Gaelic that are
currently known are in Irish Gaelic and date from after 1200.
Therefore,
barring examples that such constructions were used in Old Irish
or Middle
Irish, matronymics are only registerable for Early Modern Irish
Gaelic
(after 1200). A matronymic construction using name elements dated
only
to before 1200 would add a lingual disparity and make the name
unregisterable. [Ceara ingen u Ladnin, 10/01, A-Atlantia]."
Therefore 'daughter of Fionnghuala' is a registerable byname
(though
I have _no_ idea what the genitive of <Fionnghuala> would
be!), it
is a weirdness, and since the only evidence for the uncompounded
<Brigit> is from over 300 years earlier, there is another
weirdness
for temporal disparity, making this name unregisterable.
Unfortunately, changing the name to a compounded form would be
more than a minor change (and would necessitate a change in the
gender of the byname as well). Thus, this will have to be
returned for further work.
Femke: I could only find one instance of
<Brigit> in Index of Names in Irish Annals: Feminine Given
Names, by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/all.html . And that citation was from 524, 525, and 528 as
Saint Brigit. I havent yet found it used as an Irish given
name for a real person, rather than the saint.
According to precedent, metronymic bynames in Irish are only
acceptable for names documented after 1200. I think that
would make this a temporal problem as well. The metronymic
byname is beyond my ability to comment on whether this is in the
correct genitive form.
Konrad: Brighid - Withycombe, Oxford Dic. Of
Eng. Christian Names, p 27 under Bridget
inghean - means daughter of
Fionnghuala - http://www.panix.com/~Gabriel/public-bin/archive.cgi Irish 1400-1500
The link for the byname did not work for me. I assume
Finnghiala is a variant of Fionnghuala.
Device Commentary:
Ary: The arms must be returned for violating
RfS VIII.2.iv: "Elements evenly divided into multiple parts
of two different tinctures must have good contrast between their
parts."
The arms also conflict with Wendryn Townsend (reg. 01/73),
"Azure, a sun in glory Or," with one CD for the
field. It also conflicts with William Allan (reg. 01/73)
"Barry of six gules and argent, a sun in his glory Or,"
again with one CD for the field. Other conflicts include:
Macedonia (reg. 12/94 via Laurel)
Gules, a sun Or.
Important non-SCA flag
Macedonia, Republic of (reg. 11/99 via Laurel)
Gules, a sun of eight straight rays throughout Or.
Important non-SCA flag
Atenveldt, Kingdom of (reg. 01/73 via Atenveldt)
Per pale argent and azure, a sun in his splendour.
Wolfgang de Rotus (reg. 12/71 via Atenveldt)
Quarterly sable and argent, a sun in splendour.
The sun is Or.
The sun in the third device can also safely be assumed to be Or,
as this was the default tincture for a sun in splender in the
early 70's. So each of these only have one CD against the
submitted arms, for the field.
AE & M: Device: The field violates
RfS VIII.2.b.iv - Contrast Requirements "Elements evenly
divided into multiple parts of two different tinctures must have
good contrast between their parts."
Femke: Device The contrast between purpure and
vert in the field alone is probably enough to return this.
Beyond that, I found a number of conflicting devices that also
have a sun.
Wendryn Townsend 1973:
Azure, a sun in glory Or.
William Allan 1973:
Barry of six gules and argent, a sun in his glory Or.
Macedonia 1994 (via Laurel):
Gules, a sun Or.
Important non-SCA flag
Macedonia, Republic of 1999 (via Laurel):
Gules, a sun of eight straight rays throughout Or.
Important non-SCA flag
Atenveldt, Kingdom of 1973 (via Atenveldt):
Per pale argent and azure, a sun in his splendour.
Wolfgang de Rotus 1971 (via Atenveldt):
Quarterly sable and argent, a sun in splendour.
The sun is Or.
One CD from each for a field change.
Konrad:
Device: Barry-bendy vert and purpure violates the rule
of tincture. }
4) Constance inghean Conchobair (F) New
Name
(Barony of Illiton, Midlands)
Constance - 1273 AD, Withycombe, c 1947 p 35-36
Inghean - daughter of
Conchobair - pre 12th century, genitive form of Coachbox "100 Most Popular Men' s Names in Early Medieval Ireland," by Heather Rose Jones, http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/irish100
Client will accept minor changes in sound.
Name Commentary:
Ary: <Constance> is an English name;
combining it with a Gaelic byname is a weirdness per the 10/99
LoAR.
I think Escutcheon suffered a case of spell-check in the docs for
<Conchobair> - this is the genitive of <Conchobar>,
not <Coachbox>. :) However, this is the early period
form; to be temporally consistent with <Constance> and
<inghean>, it should be <Chonchobhair>. OCM
s.n. Conchobar say that it "is one of the most favoured
Irish names and is especially popular in the later middle ages
and early modern period."
Femke: Coachbox? English given name with a
Gaelic byname should be registerable with a weirdness. The
article Dated Names Found in Corrin & Maguire's Irish Names
by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/ocm/ , has a patronymic <Ua Conchobair> dated at 1198
and 1393.
{) Catan Rowe McConauthey (F) New Name and Device Per pale vert and argent, an artist\rquote s brush bristles in chief and a sword, point to base, counterchanged
(Barony of Shattered Crystal)
Catan (c. 700-900) Index of Names in Irish Annals - Kathleen M. O'Brien Rowe - Red Book of Ormond - Glossary of Elements by Heather Rose Jones
McConauthey - var on Donated - Red Book of Ormand - Glossary of Elements, by Heather Rose Jones
Client wants the meaning to sound like 'Kuh-tan'
The name combines English & Gaelic elements, which is a major weirdness. While the “temporal weirdness” is actually an issue that I hope the College reviews and modifies, as the rules currently stand we will have to return the name for further work. The arms are also being returned for violating the ban on marshaled arms.
Name Commentary:
Ary: Again, the documentation is inadequately
summarized. <Catan> is found as a feminine name in
Mari's article "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Feminine
Names"
(http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/ ).
It is found twice, in 853 and 855. The name is not found in
OCM. The source for <Rowe> and <McConauthey> is
Tangwystyl verch Morgant's "Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century
Irish Names and Naming Practices" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/ ). Many of these records are of Anglo-Irish (not
Irish Gaelic) families. <Rowe> is an anglicized form
of Gaelic <Ruadh> 'red'. <McConauthey> is an
anglicized form of Gaelic <mac Donnchaidh> 'son of
Donnchadh'.
This name thus combines English and Gaelic elements in the same
name, which is a weirdness per the 10/99 LoAR, and has a temporal
disparity of 500 years, which is another weirdness. Therefore,
this name is not registerable. Since she allows major
changes, this could be changed to <Catan Ruad ingen
Donnchada>, which has the same meaning. <Ruadh>
(in the later period form) is found 70 times between 1231 and
1597, in Mari's index of masculine descriptive bynames in the
Annals (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/DescriptiveBynames/ ); this is a temporal disparity of 400
years, which is a weirdness, but since there is no longer a
lingual weirdness, this is registerable. <Donnchad>
is found in the Irish Annals in 967, 974, 976, among other dates
(http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/ ).
In Tangwystyl's "100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early
Medieval Ireland" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/irish100/ ), <Donnchad> is found 48 times, and
<Donnchada> is given as
the genitive.
Femke: The given name is dated by the author of
the referenced article to 851-900. She also notes that the
names in the period 701-1050 are for the most part only used
during this period. The element <rowe> and the byname
are derived from a 14th century manuscript. This is a long
way from the 700-900 listed for the given name. Theyre also
from a document written in Latin by an English speaker, according
to the author.
So there is a temporal weirdness and a liguistic weirdness.
Id suggest changing <rowe> and <McConauthey> to their
Gaelic equivalents. The modern would be <ruadh> and
<mac Donnchadh>, but we need something meaning daughter of
rather than son of. Perhaps <Catan ruadh inghean
Donnachaidh>? Or the correct spelling for time
period, at any rate.
Konrad: Catan (c. 700-900) Index of Names in
Irish Annals - Kathleen M. O'Brien Rowe - Red Book of
Ormond - Glossary of Elements by Heather Rose Jones
I could not find this in Red Book of Ormond - Glossary of
Elements, by Heather Rose Jones.
McConauthey - var on Donated - Red Book of Ormand -
Glossary of Elements, by Heather Rose Jones
From: Red Book of Ormond - Glossary of Elements, by
Heather Rose Jones: http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/lateirish/ormond-glossary.html
Donnchadh O Donked 2; Woulfe p.505. Identification
less certain for: O Donohid 1; Woulfe p.505. Also: Doneheved,
Doncoun. See also: McGonauthy, McConauthey, Conauth[...].
Device Commentary:
Ary: The arms are not registerable via RfS
XI.3:
"Armory that appears to marshall independent arms is
considered
presumptuous.
"Period marshalling combined two or more separate designs to
indicate
descent from noble parents and claim to inheritance....Divisions
commonly
used for marshalling, such as quarterly or per pale, may only be
used
in contexts that ensure marshalling is not suggested.
"b. Such fields may only be used when no single portion of
the field
may appear to be an independent piece of armory.
"No section of the field may contain an ordinary that
terminates at
the edge of that section, or more than one charge unless those
charges
are part of a group over the whole field. Charged sections must
all
contain charges of the same type to avoid the appearance of being
different from each other."
This marshals the arms "Vert, an artist's brush bristles to
chief argent" with "Argent, a sword vert."
AE & M: Device: This violates RfS
XI.3 Presumtuous - Marshalling.
Femke: Device This looks like Vert, an artists
brush bristles in chief, argent and Argent, a sword, point to
base, vert impaled. I would think that this would violate
the RfS on marshalled arms:
Period marshalling combined two or more separate designs to
indicate descent from noble parents and claim to
inheritance....Divisions commonly used for marshalling, such as
quarterly or per pale, may only be used in contexts that ensure
marshalling is not suggested.
Thorvald: The brush is in the default position and the sword is inverted. Suggest reblazoning to Per pale vert and argent, an artist's brush and a sword inverted counterchanged.}
{) Caitriona Mac Dhonnachaidh (F) New
Device Or, a cat couchant to sinister regardant sable, on a
chief sable, a quill pen between two inkwells, or
(Barony of Illiton, Midlands)
(name re'd 2/1990)
First of all, the client is from Shattered Crystal, NOT Illiton (in fact she’s the new pursuivant from that barony). However, the cat needs to be better drawn to more clearly make it regardant or gardant….not gazing somewhere in between. Device will be returned for redrawing.
Device Commentary:
AE & M: The head of the cat is neither
gardant nor regardand, but somewhere in between. Combined
with the partially turned front, this makes the cat appear drawn
in trian aspect. Return for redrawing.
Ary: The cat is not regardant in the standard heraldic posture; it is drawn in rather trian aspect.
Femke: Device The cat looks as if its drawn in a three-quarters perspective, rather than in heraldic couchant position. I did not find any conflicts.
Thorvald: The cat is couchant contourney. The first sable is redundant. (That just does not sound right, does it?) The quill pen is bendwise sinister (well, close). We would suggest reblazoning to Or, a cat couchant contourney regardant, on a chief sable, a quill pen bendwise sinister between two inkwells, Or. However, the position of the cat's head is not clearly guardant or regardant. If I were the Wreath King of Arms (and I am not), I would return the device for that.}
7) Richardus Hruga (M) New Name and
Device Per pale sable and or, a raven displayed, in base a sun
between two crescents with points to chief, all counterchanged.
(Shattered Crystal)
Richardus - "German Given Names 1200-1250" by Brian M. Scott
Hruga - mentioned as Kolbein Hruga, Norse Chieftain c. 1142
Client will accept minor changes and would like byname to sound like ' hurga'
Name was actually submitted as Ruthardus, not Richardus.
Name Commentary:
Ary: URLs for all web documentation should be
included on the LoI; since all web articles except those on the www.sca.org
server require printouts that list the URL and the date printed,
it shouldn't be hard to find them. The URL for the given
name is http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germ13/ .
As is pretty obvious, this is a Latin form. The docs for
the byname are woefully inadequate - did the client include any
photocopies of sources for this citation? Geirr Bassi has
<hrga> as a byname, meaning 'heap'. He also has the
given name <Rkharr>, in case he wants a truly nifty Old
Norse name.
Femke: The author of the article cited for the given name notes that all names are listed in their Latin forms. If the documentation for the byname is solid (I couldnt find it, but I dont have Geirr Bassi, either), then we have a German name in its Latin form with a Norse byname. Too many linguistic weirdnesses?
Catriona: In regards to this submission, the name submitted was actually Ruthardus, not Richardus. (Again, that spell check issue.) Photocopies were included with the submission. The client cares specifically about the sound of the name.
Konrad: Richardus - "German Given Names
1200-1250" by Brian M. Scott
Hruga - mentioned as Kolbein Hruga, Norse Chieftain c. 1142
(Probably TMI) From: http://www.orkneyjar.com/history/historicalfigures/kolbein.htm
"Vigr was the homeland of
that famous Orkneyman Kolbein Hrga. In the traditions of the
natives, Kolbein became a fabulous personage, a giant who cast
stones at rocks at churches."
P A Munch 1845
Kolbein Hrga was a Norse chieftain who settled
in Orkney some time around 1142.
Described by the Orkneyinga
Saga as "most outstanding of all
men", Kolbein was born in Sunnfjord, Norway. Shortly after
arriving in Orkney he was responsible for the construction of a stronghold on the island of Wyre around 1145.
"At the time there was a very able man called Kolbein Heap
farming on Wyre in Orkney. He had a fine stone built fort, a
really solid stronghold."
The Orkneyinga Saga - Chapter 84
Kolbein's fort, the remains of which are now known as Cubbie Roo's Castle, is one of the earliest stone built castles in Scotland
and is certainly regarded as the best preserved. It obviously saw
some action in its time as it gets a mention within the pages of
Haakon's Saga. It recounts that Kolbein's stronghold was a
difficult place to attack.
Kolbein was undoubtedly a large, powerful man, attested by the
fact that "Hrga" means "Heap" in Old Norse.
From the few mentions he gets within the Orkneyinga Saga we can
see that he was a man of some influence. Indeed, it was with
Kolbein's help that King Eystein gained his kingship.
One of Kolbein's sons, Bjarni, became Bishop of Orkney and may
have inaugurated the Kirkwall Grammar School. Born in 1188,
Bjarni was responsible for the relocation of the remains of the
murdered Earl Rognvald from Caithness to their final resting
place in the St Magnus
Cathedral.
Im not sure about the compatibility of the elements.
Device Commentary:
AE & M: The primary charge should be
reblazoned as a "bird", as Franciois's precedents
state:
"The birds were originally blazoned as "ravens
displayed". Ravens are not found in the displayed posture in
period heraldry. They are close by default and almost always
found in that posture. The unusual posture makes them more
closely resemble eagles, which are usually found in the displayed
posture. Because of the difficulty of identifying these birds as
any particular sort of bird, they have been reblazoned as generic
birds. See the cover letter of January 2000 for a more complete
discussion of the interaction between bird type and bird
posture.[device return for Brangwayn Snowden, Jan 2002
LoaR]"
The sun is unidentifiable as such.
Femke: Seems to be clear of conflict. Is it possible to reblazon Per pale sable and or, a raven displayed, in two crescents and a sun, two and one, all counterchanged. Since theyre not pendant, increscent or decrescent, the points to chief seems redundant. And the sun as draw isnt so much between them as between and beneath. On a minor note, the sun as drawn looks more like a flower.
Thorvald: The sun does not look like a sun. Too few rays, and no alternating rays. It looks more like an estoile to me. Crescents have points to chief by default. If the points point in any other direction, the charge has a different name, e.g., decrescent, increscent, or pendant. We would suggest reblazoning to Per pale sable and Or, a raven displayed and in base two crescents and a sun counterchanged.
8) Alfred Usher (M) New Name
(Barony of Illiton, Midlands)
Alfred - 849 AD. Withycombe, p. 9
Usher - 1380 AD, Reaney, "Dic of Bristish Surnames," p 332 1958
Client will accept minor changes and will accept Alured and Usherhill also found in Withycombe.and Reaney
Name Commentary:
Ary: This is a fine name. I don't have Reaney, so I can't check the citation, but R&W s.n. Usher has <Ussier>, <le Usser>, <Lussier> 1243, <le Uscher> 1300, <Lusscher> 1319, <Husser> 1332, and <Huscher> 1506. S.n. Alfred, <Thomas Alfred> is dated to 1294. You can't get more temporally consistent than something like <Alfred le Uscher>.
Femke: Since <Alfred> is also listed in A
Statistical Survey of Given Names in Essex Co., England,
1182-1272, Magistra Nicolaa de Bracton, http://members.tripod.com/nicolaa5/articles/names.html
it seems that his submitted name is registerable as is.
9) Randall Clark (M) New Name and Device Per fess azure mulley of four points or and vert, a fess wavy or, surtout a dragon rampant displayed argent
(Mynydd Seren)
Randall - A diminutive of Rand; Scott., Brian, "Late Sixteenth Century Eng. Given Names, "http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/eng16/eng16alpha.html
Clark - occupational byname; Stampnitzky, Julie, "Surnames in Durham and Northumberland," http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/parish/surnames_c.html
Client will not accept changes
Reblazoned: Per fess azure mullety of four points Or and vert, a fess wavy Or, overall a dragon rampant displayed argent.
Name Commentary:
Ary: <Clark> is dated to 1540, 1582, 1598 (twice), 1599, 1608 (twice), 1609, 1610 in the cited article. This is a fine name.
Device Commentary:
AE & M: We suggest blazoning the dragon as "overall" instead of "surtout".
Ary: What is 'surtout' in the blazon? Is it supposed to be 'surmounted by'? The general term is usually 'overal', e.g. "Per fess azure mullety of four points Or and vert, a fess wavy Or, overall a dragon rampant wings displayed argent."
Femke: I dont find any conflicts, but this really looks like landscape heraldry to me.
Konrad: I would suggest using over allinstead of surtoutfor ease of understanding. (I had to look surtout up.)
Thorvald: I am not sure what surtout means, but is suspect the word we are looking for is overall.
10) Lochlainn samhach macGrioghair (M) New Name and Device Per chevron Azure and Ermine, in first a falcon rising, wings elevated and displayed argent, in base a tower vert
(Shire of Ravenslake)
Lochloinn - Scottish Gaelic Given Names: For Men by Sharon L. Krossa http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/men.shtml
Samhach: adjective; quiet, still, calm, peaceful MacFarlane's Dictionary http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MF2/mf10.html#samhach
(Note: There is no paperwork for MacGrioghair that I can find.)
Client will accept minor changes.. He is interested in 12th-14th century Highland Scots.
Reblazoned: Per chevron azure and ermine, in canton a falcon rising, wings elevated and displayed argent, in base a tower vert.
Name Commentary:
Ary: - <Lochloinn> (not <Lochlainn>) is dated to the 13th to 17th centuries in Effric's article. <Griogair> is dated to the 15th through 17th centuries. <Lochloinn mac Griogair> is a lovely Scottish Gaelic masculine name. Unless other docs for <samhach> can be found, this should be dropped from the name, since MacFarlane's dictionary gives no evidence that this is a medieval word.
Femke: The cited article for the given name
spells it <Lochloinn>, dated 1501-1600. The same
article has <Griogair> as a given name as well, dated
1401-1500. <samhach> is apparently taken from a
dictionary of modern Gaelic. <Lochloinn mac Griogair>
is probably more appropriate.
Konrad: Lochloinn - Scottish Gaelic Given
Names: For Men by Sharon L. Krossa http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/men.shtml
Samhach: adjective; quiet, still, calm, peaceful MacFarlane's
Dictionary http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MF2/mf10.html#samhach
(Note: There is no paperwork for MacGrioghair that I can find.)
From one of many hits from a GOOGLE search of MacGrioghair
(http://www.dowie.org/scottish_heritage.htm )
The Clan McGregor
Device Commentary:
Ary: The blazon needs some fu: "Per chevron azure and ermine, in canton a falcon rising wings elevated and displayed argent and in base a tower vert."
Femke: Device Seems to be clear of conflict.
Thorvald: How about dexter chief, rather than in first.
{) Ellonyia Cedicsdottir (F) New Device Sable a fess or, in chief three lettuce heads vert, fess point a bee Volant or, center base two hop plants v
With no evidence of the name being submitted, this device must be returned.
Device Commentary:
AE & M: Suggested reblazon: "Or, on a fess sable between in chief, three lettuce heads, and in base, two hop plants vert, a bee Or." The sinister hop plant is inverted; does this need to be included in the blazon?
Ary: - I can find no evidence that her name is registered or in process. Without such evidence, this must be returned. Also, the lettuce heads are not identifiable as such. They look like roses. This needs to be reblazoned: "Sable, a bee volant, on a chief Or three lettuce heads vert, on a base Or two hop plants vert." The hop plants are also not identifiable as such.
Femke: Cediscsdottir I cant find this name in the O&A or in Rogue Scarpes database. Blazon and emblazon dont match. It should blazon Or, on a fess sable a bee volant Or, in chief three lettuce heads and in base two hop plants vert. The lettuce heads arent really identifiable as such. I also cant find any examples of them in the O&A (though Im not sure what to look under), or in the Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry. Is this an acceptable charge?
Thorvald: The blazon has color on color and metal on metal. I had to look at the scanned image to determine what was going on. Suggest reblazoning to Or, on a fess sable, between three lettuce heads and two hop plants vert, a bee Or.}
Done by my hand this 29th day of December, 2003
Rory mac Feidhlimidh, OP
Dragon Principal Herald
820 E Monroe St.
Bloomington, IL 61701
Disclaimer: This page is not officially sanctioned by the SCA, Inc., the Middle Kingdom, or the College of Arms. It is a private project of the Escutcheon Herald (Ana Linch) who has based the information published here on publicly- available documentation.}