This is the August 2005 Middle Kingdom Letter of Acceptances and Returns for Escutcheon’s June 2005 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, devices, or badges in braces have been returned or pended. Commentary, rulings, etc. by Rouge Scarpe are placed in CAP PRINT. Thanks to Knut, Thomas Haworth, Mikhail and AElfreda (A&M), Blaise, Thorvald, Gunnvor, Bronwen, Talan, and John ap Wynne for this month’s commentary.
1) Bernhard von Goslar (M) -- New Name
(Cleftlands)
Client will accept all changes and cares for a German name.
[Bernhard] -- Bahlow, Hans. " Deutsches Namenlexikon," p. 62 (no citations given)
[von] – of, from
[Goslar] -- town in central Germany founded in the 10th Century, most known for its nearby mines. "Goslar, German Political Geography," (http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/G/Goslar.html)
Name Commentary
Bronwen - German Names;
Bahlow-Gentry; P.42; s.n. Bernhard(t) reads "'brave like a
bear'; besides Arnold, B. was the most popular Christian name in
N Germany in the Middle Ages." B-G also mentions "Saint
Bernhard of Clairvaux, founder of the Cistercian monastic order,
was very influential". B-G doesn't give dates for St.
Bernhard, but a little checking shows him being born in 1090 and
dying in 1153.German Names; Bahlow-Gentry; P.182; s.n. Gosslar:
"according to old documents the name derives from the name
(of the town) Goslar at the Harz Mountains. Brun van Gosslere,
Haldsl. 14th century."
Does he have a particular century in mind?
Talan - Bahlow s.n.
<Bernhard(t)> notes that this was one of the most popular
names in medieval Germany, especially in the north. Goslar
is in Eastphalia (German Ostfalen). From R. Zoder,
Familiennamen in Ostfalen, 2 vols. (Hildesheim: 1968), with page
numbers in parentheses:
Bernhardus 1327 (27)
Bernhardus 1373 (28)
Bernhard 1563, 1585 (28)
Bernhardt 1576 (65)
It's worth noting, however, that <Bernd> and similar forms
are much more common. The five citations above are all of
the <Bernhar-> forms that I noticed while scanning pages
25-143. In contrast, what follows is a partial listing,
more complete than not, of citations of other forms of the name
appearing in the same pages; the citations are from pp. 27, 28,
39, 44, 56, 59, 63, 65, and 80.
Bernd 1360, 1407, 1448, 1449, 1466, 1492, 1574
Bernt 1419, 1460, 1476
Berndt 1577, 1578
Berntt 1584
Bernndt 1552
Berendt 1528
In short, <Bernhard> should be acceptable from the 14th
century through the end of the SCA period, but in that span
<Bernd> is much more characteristic of the part of Germany
in which he wants to set his persona.
Bahlow s.n. <Gossler> says that early official documents
show this surname to represent what is now the place-name
<Goslar> and has a 14th century <Brun van Gosslere>
from Haldensleben; since Haldensleben is not too far east of
Goslar (a little to the northwest of Magdeburg), it is indeed
plausible that this byname refers to the city of Goslar.
Note the Low German form of the preposition, <van> rather
than High German <von>; Goslar is within the Low German
dialect region, specifically, the Eastphalian dialect area
(Wilhelm Schmidt et al., Geschichte der Deutschen Sprache, Volk
und Wissen Volkseigener Verlag, Berlin, 1969, Karte 8, p. 147).
However, I was also able to find evidence for the spelling
<Goslar>. From Zoder, p. 50:
Hinrik van Goslar 1399
relicta Carsten Goslars 1600
Carsten Gosler 1606
Hans Goslar 1614
Friederich Goßler 1677
(Interestingly enough, all five of these people actually lived in
Goslar.) The Latin adjective <Goslariensis> 'of
Goslar' is found already in the 12th century (ibid., 60,
80):
Volcmarus Goslariensis advocatus 1186
Eilbertus Goslariensis ecclesie prepositus
1129
All in all, <Bernhard van Goslar> would appear to be very
reasonable for the 14th century.
NAME CHANGED TO <Bernhard van Goslar> AND PASSED TO LAUREL.
2) Damiana Tereasa Isabel Cardona (F) -- New Name and
Device -- Vert, a fox sejant affronty, holding a thistle
proper in his mouth, on a chief double enarched argent two
thistles proper in saltire
(Iron Oak)
Client will *not* accept major changes and cares for 14th century Iberian/Spanish
REBLAZON: Vert, a fox sejant affronty argent, holding in his mouth a thistle proper, on a chief double enarched argent two thistles in saltire proper
[Damiana] -- "Catalogo de la Cancilleria de Enrique IV de Castilla Señor Del Principado de Cataluña," by Jaime Sobrequés Callicó , p.465, s.n. Gamicans "Damiana, hija de, p. 98"
"Saints Cosmas" (http://www.stdamian.com/Church/saints_cosmas.htm), lists: ". . . Cosmas and Damian were brothers. . . were apprehended by order of Lysias, governor of Cilicia. They underwent various torments and were beheaded about the year 283."
"Patron Saints Index: Damian," (http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd06.htm), . . .died by ". . . tortured and beheaded c, 287-303,"
"Name Database: Girls," (http://www.darksangria.com/girls/d.html) s.n. Damien: French, partron saint of surgeons [Damiane, Damina, Damia]
"16th Century Spanish Names Feminine Given Names Alphabetically," by Elsbeth Anne Roth (http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~kvs/heraldry/spanish16/fem-given-alpha.html) s.n. [Damiana]: Damiana de Jerez 1560, IV.82
[Cardona] -- "Parador de Cardona," (http://www.paradores-spain.com/spain/pcardona.html), "The 2nd century Minyona tower is reputedly have been the prison of Adeles, the daughter of the Duke of Cardona. . ."
" Apellidos.biz," (http:apellidos.biz/ver/527.html) Juan-Juan-Ramo'n Folch de Cardona, 1491
"Duchy of Segorbe (http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/S/Se/Segorbe.htm)," ". . . His son Lluis Folc de Cardona-Arago was count of Prades, but he predeceased his mother in 1596. . ."
(Esct. Note: No documentation was given for Tereasa or Isabel.)
Name Commentary
Bronwen – I realize
that double given names are acceptable of late period Spanish,
but triple given names? Somehow (though I can find no precedent
regarding this) I doubt it.
Talan - <Tereasa> is
a highly non-standard form that I strongly suspect is modern
English spelling of the modern English pronunciation; the
<ea> makes no sense in any other context. Elsbeth's site
cited above for <Damiana> has:
Teresa de Salbatierra (1539, III.67)
Teresa de Azinega (1560, IV.35)
Teresa Jiménez (1571, V.3060)
Teresa Díaz (1571, V.3188)
Doña Teresa de Vargas (1574, V.3697)
Isabel Cabello (1539, III.4)
Isabel Alemán (1560, IV.18)
doña Isabel de Carvajal (1571, V.3119)
Isabel López (1574, V.3629)
Isabel de Navarrete (1578, IV.8)
However, a triple given name is extremely unlikely. From
<www.s-gabriel.org/2382>:
[2] In one study of the titled nobility in the
16th century, less than 3% of the people had double
given names. In most lists of names, less than 1% of
people have double given names (Juliana de Luna,
publication pending).
Device Commentary
Knut – suggested blazon: Vert, on a fox sejant affronty a thistle
blossom inverted purpure slipped and leaved vert pendant from the
mouth, on a chief double enarched argent two thistle blossoms
purpure slipped and leaved in saltire vert.
There is a weirdness for the non-period SCA compatible doubly
enarched treatment of the chief.
The sejant affronty posture is unusual and might be worth a
weirdness.
The unusual posture, odd proportions, and tail position which
obscures a large portion of the body's outline combine to make
the fox difficult to identify.
The unusual slipping and leaving make the thistles difficult to
identify.
Bronwen - Much blazon work needed. Let's try something like Vert, a fox sejant affronty <argent?> maintaining in it mouth a thistle proper and on a chief double-enarched argent two thistles in saltire slipped and leaved proper. If the fox is argent, this looks clear to me.
Thorvald - Blazon correction: Vert, a fox sejant affronty argent, holding in his mouth a thistle proper, on a chief double enarched argent two thistles in saltire proper
Talan - The tincture always
goes last in describing a charge:
Vert, a fox sejant affronty argent holding in its
mouth a thistle proper and on a chief doubly enarched argent
two thistles in saltire proper.
The fox could be made much more recognizable by wrapping his tail
around his paws; the uplifted tail camouflages him a bit by
distorting the silhouette.
NAME AND DEVICE PASSED TO LAUREL. CLIENT WILL BE ADVIDED ABOUT POSSIBLE PROBLEMS WITH TRIPLE GIVEN NAME.
3) Issobell de Montchrestien -- New Device -- Purpure,
a gyno-sphinx argent couchant, hair sable winged Or, a bordure
Or.
(Marion, IN)
(Name passed RS Nov '04 and is at Laurel)
REBLAZON: Purpure, a gyno-sphinx couchant argent crined sable winged and within a bordure Or
Device Commentary
Knut - Purpure, a
gyno-sphinx argent couchant crined sable winged within a bordure
Or
The hair hurts the identifiably by visibly separating the face
from the rest of the charge.
The bordure is too thin.
Bronwen - Suggested
possible re-blazon: Purpure, a gynosphinx couchant argent
crined sable and winged Or and a bordure Or
Clear of Edward Geoffry de Montaign of Huntington registered in
January of 2001 (via the Middle): Purpure, a Greek sphinx
sejant Or. One CD per Rfs.X.4.h. for the posture of the
sphinx and a second by Rfs.X.4.b. for adding the bordure, and a
third per Rfs.X.4.d. for the tincture of the sphinx.
Also clear of Mora Ottavia Spadera
registered in August of 2003 (via Caid): Quarterly gules and
purpure, a gyno-sphinx couchant contourny within a bordure
rayonny Or. One CD per Rfs.X.4.a. for changes to the field,
a second CD per Rfs.X.4.h. for posture/orientation of the sphinx,
a third CD per Rfs.X.4.d. for tincture of the sphinx, and a
fourth CD per Rfs.X.4.e. for type of bordure.
These were the closest I found.
Thorvald – Blazon correction: Purpure, a gyno-sphinx couchant argent, hair sable, winged, a bordure Or.
Talan - The tinctures are
again out of order:
Purpure, a gyno-sphinx couchant argent winged or
crined sable within a bordure or, if one prefers to
blazon the details in decreasing order of importance, or
Purpure, a gyno-sphinx couchant argent crined sable
winged and within a bordure or if one wants to be
maximally efficient.
DEVISED PASSED TO LAUREL.
4) Issobell de Montchrestien -- New Badge -- [Fieldless],
A gyno-sphinx argent cuchant, hair sable, winged Or.
(Marion, IN)
(Name passed RS Nov '04 and is at Laurel)
REBLAZON: [Fieldless], A gyno-sphinx argent couchant
winged Or crined sable
Badge Commentary
Knut – suggested reblazon: [Fieldless], A gyno-sphinx argent couchant
winged Or crined sable
Bronwen - Let's try
re-blazoning as [Fieldless] A gyno-sphinx couchant argent
crined sable and winged Or
Looks clear.
BADGE PASSED TO LAUREL.
5) Iustinos Tekton –{New Badge -- [Fieldless],
A sword and a quill, points to base, in chevron inverted vert}
(Name reg'd July '02)
(co-owner Milica of Varna, name reg'd Apr '02)
Badge Commentary
Knut – [Fieldless],
A sword inverted and a quill in chevron inverted vert
Return for violating RfS VIII.5.
Bronwen - Suggested
re-blazon, perhaps [Fieldless] In chevron inverted a sword
inverted and a quill pen vert.
Another pen and sword device I see. Looks clear though.
A&M - This badge will have to be returned, because the
elements are not conjoined.
"RFS VIII 5. Fieldless Style. - Fieldless
armory must form a self-contained design.
A fieldless design must have all its elements conjoined, like the
three feathers issuing from a crown used by the Heir Apparent to
the throne of England. Since there is no field in such a design,
it may not use charges that rely on the edges of the field to
define their shape, such as bordures and orles, nor to cut off
their ends, such as ordinaries or charges throughout."
Thorvald - This badge will need to be returned because the charges are not conjoined.
BADGE RETURNED FOR VIOLATING RfS VIII.5, CHARGES ARE NOT CONJOINED.
6) Katerina Mähler (F) -- New Device --Per pale
gules and azure, a chevron ermine between three compass stars
argent.
(Concord, OH)
(Name reg'd Jul '02)
DEVICE PASSED TO LAUREL. NICE DESIGN
7) Kyferin Sachsson (F) -- New Name and Device -- Argent,
a skunk sable marked argent within a bordure gules
(Westmere)
Client will accept all changes and cares for late 15th through 16th century Germany
REBLAZON: Argent, a skunk statant sable marked argent, within a bordure gules
[Kyferin] -- German tax roll from 1495, [Kyferin] was found one time as a female given name. "Schmid, Peter, "Der Deutsdhe Orden und die Reichssteuer des Gemeinen Pfennigs von 1495: Die Grundherrschaft des Deutschen Ordens im Reich an der Wende 15. zum 16 Jahrhundert," (Neustadt: Degener in Kommission, 2000)
[Sachsson] -- Surname/last name -- [Sachsen] was found through the museum in Vienna, Austria as a reference in a 15th Century German Armor exhibition. (There is a photocophy of the photo of the museum plaque and translation)
Name Commentary
Talan - > (Neustadt: Degener in
Kommission, 2000)
Names from this book can be found at
<http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/german1495.html>,
which is likely the submitter's source. Unfortunately, it's
quite likely that the entry is not in fact a feminine name:
<Kyferin> is not readily identifiable with any known
forename, and it is the feminine form of <Kyfer>, an Upper
German byname meaning 'quarrelsome or surly person' derived from
Middle High German <kifen> 'to quarrel, to speak in a surly
or grumpy fashion' (Brechenmacher s.n. <Ki(e)fer>).
(These data are from the Upper German dialect area.) It is
not uncommon in tax rolls of this period to find a woman,
especially a widow, identified solely by a feminized form of her
husband's byname. (It's not entirely out of the question
that we have here a late instance of a woman whose own byname has
replaced her forename in common use, so that she's known only by
that byname, but that appears to be considerably less
likely.) In any case, we really need to see Aryanhwy's raw
data, if she can still put her hands on it, before accepting
<Kyferin> as a genuine forename.
This isn't the only example of a possible byname in that list of
feminine forenames, by the way: other good candidates are
<Kreylingere>, <Osterlerin>, <Betzolte>, and
perhaps <Reusin>.
Device Commentary
Thorvald - Blazon correction: Argent, a skunk statant sable marked argent, within a bordure gules
Talan – The skunk
appears to be statant. The second comma needs to
disappear. The border isn't gules on my monitor; it's
closer to magenta.
NAME AND DEVISE PASSED TO LAUREL. HOPEFULLY ARYANHWY WILL BE ABLE TO SHED SOME MORE LIGHT ON THE NAME DOCUMENTATION.
8) Mael Duin mac Giolla Eanna (M) New Name and {Device
-- Sable, on a lozenge argent, a wolf's head erased vert.}
(Shadowed Stars)
Client will *not* accept changes.
[Mael Duin] -- found in "Irish Names," O'Corrain and Maquire, p. 129, [Mael Duin] means "warrior of the fortress."
[Eanna] -- found in "Irish Names," O'Corrain and Maquire, p. 86, [Eanna] is a name of various popular secular heros.
According to the paperwork: "The construction used is found in Woulfe, pp. 366-381, "it follows the pattern of 'mac' ('son of') plus "Giolla" ('servant/follower') plus the name of a Saint, noble, lord, king, etc. As examples: Mac Giolla Eáin (p. 372) ['son of a man named <Giolla Eáin>', where <Giolla Eáin> is a forename that originally signified ‘devotee of St. John’], Mac Giolla Earna (p. 373), Mac Giolla Curraig (p. 369) [son of a bald youth], Mac Giolla Seanáin (p. 380) [son of a servant of St. Senan]"
(Esct. Note: The client's handwriting made it hard to read, so forgive me if I misquote anything.)
Name Commentary
Talan - > Client will
*not* accept changes.
Then the name will have to be returned, since <Máel Dúin>
and <Giolla Eanna> are from two different periods of the
Irish language and use two different spelling conventions:
<Máel Dúin> is pre-1200, and <Giolla Eanna> is
post-1200.
The early (pre-1200) form of
<Giolla Éanna> would be <Gilla Énnae> or <Gilla
Énna>: in this construction <Gilla> (and later
<Giolla>) is followed by the genitive case of the personal
name, and the genitive of <Énnae> is <Énnae>, later
<Énna>. (In early Old Irish it was <Énnai>,
but the <Gilla X> type of name doesn't appear until the
late 10th century.)
If we grant that <Gilla Énnae> is a reasonable
hypothetical <Gilla X> formation, then <Máel Dúin mac
Gilla Énnae> is a reasonable 11th or 12th century Irish
name. Mari's Annals pages show that the name is mentioned
in annals for the years 661, 669, 680, 885, and 1090
(<http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/MaelDuin.shtml>),
so the 11th century is a genuine possibility.
Device Commentary
Knut - Meryk the Rogue -
April of 1997 (via the East): Sable, on a lozenge argent a
sea griffin contourny purpure.
Njáll the Wanderer - June of 2000 (via the Middle): Sable, a
lozenge fesswise per pale gules and purpure fimbriated argent.
Considered as Sable, on a lozenge argent a lozenge per pale gules
and purpure
Novia the Widow - July of 1990 (via the East): Argent vetu, a
spider sable between in cross four hourglasses gules.
Considered as Sable, on a lozenge throughout argent a spider
sable between in cross four hourglasses gules
Magnus Boskin - January of 1992 (via Caid): Argent, vetú
ployé, a sword fesswise sable.
Considered as Sable, on a lozenge throughout ployé argent a
sword fesswise sable
Single CDs for multiple changes to the tertiaries.
Cealmhain Realt Dubh - November of 1981 (via the West): Argent,
vêtu-ployé sable.
Considered as Sable, a lozenge throughout ployé argent
Single CD for the added tertiary
Return for multiple conflicts.
Bronwen – Conflict
with Meryk the Rogue registered in April of 1997 (via the East): Sable,
on a lozenge argent a sea griffin contourny purpure.
We can only get a single CD for changes to tertiary charges. Here
we get one Per Rfs.X.4.j. for changing the type and tincture of
the tertiary, but all else remains the same and the lozenge is
the primary charge here.
Return for conflict.
Blaise - It has a conflict: Meryk
the Rogue
* The following device associated with this name
was registered in April of 1997 (via the East): Sable,
on a lozenge argent a sea griffin contourny purpure.
One CD for aggregate changes to the tertiary.
NAME CHANGED TO <Máel Dúin mac Gilla Énnae> AND PASSED TO LAUREL. DEVICE IS RETURNED DUE TO CONFLICT.
9) Thomasine Greenwell (F) -- New Name
(Cleftlands)
Client will accept all changes and cares for 13-14th century English.
[Thomasine] -- Withycombe, "The Oxford Dic. of Eng. Christian Names, 3rd ed.," p. 280 (No citation given)
[Greenwell] -- Reany & Wilson, "A Dic. of British Surnames, 2nd ed.," p. 156 (No citation given)
(Esct. Note: According to my copy of Withycombe, [Thomasine] ". . . fem dim of Thomas, medieval" and Reaney & Wilson, [Greenwell] s.n. [Greenwell]-- Thomas de Grenewille 1279 )
Name Commentary
Bronwen - Withycombe states
that the name (Thomasine) is a feminine diminutive of Thomas,
"found from the middle of the 14th C. Thomasinus and
Thomasina both occur in FA 1346. Thomas was occasionally given to
girls (Thomasia occurs in 14th- and 15th-C records), but the
diminutive Thomasin soon became the usual f. form of the name. In
the 16th and 17th C it appears as Thomson, Tomson, Thomasing,
Thomison amongst other variants. Lyford (1655) gives it as
Thamasin or Thomasin. As Tamasine of Tamsin it still survives in
Cornwall."<Thomasine> is a header form, but is not a
dated form. Likewise, the only dated form in Reaney & Wilson
of the surname is for Thomas de Grenewille 1279. Greenwell
is the header form. <Thomasina Grenewille> might be a more
period form, especially if she really wants a 13th-14th century
name as stated on the ILOI. That would place the given name in
1346 and the byname in 1279 with only a 67 year temporal gap.
Talan - All but one of my
examples of this name (in any form) are from the 16th century;
however, Reaney & Wilson s.n. <Thomazin> have
<Thomasina> 1346. This is from a Latin source -- the
masculine counterpart appears in the same source as
<Thomasinus> -- so we can't be quite sure what the
vernacular spelling would have been. Judging from other,
better documented names, however, <Thomasine> is indeed a
likely choice.
<Greenwell> is a thoroughly
unlikely spelling for the 13th or 14th century: in
that period the first element almost always appears as
<Grene->, with <Gren-> as a rare alternative.
The second element is likely to appear as <-welle> or, in
the West Saxon dialect area, as <-wille>, though the final
<-e> is often lost or replaced by a scribal mark.
<Grenewelle> is probably the most typical form for her
period; <Grenewille> has the virtue of being attested (from
1279: Reaney & Wilson s.n. <Greenwell>). Either
should be fine, and the former is closer to what was submitted,
so I'd make it <Thomasine Grenewelle>.
NAME CHANGED TO <Thomasine Grenewelle> AND PASSED TO LAUREL.
At your service,
Phebe Bonadeci