March 15, 1998

Greetings unto Master Dmitrii Volkovich, Dragon and the commenting members of the Midrealm College of Heralds; from Lord Paul Wickenden of Thanet, Escutcheon.

Here are the February 1998 submissions for your consideration and commenting. All commentary should be sent to our new Rouge Scarpe Herald, Alan Fairfax (see address below), early enough to arrive by May 1, 1998, with copies to Dragon and myself. Unless otherwise stated, all name submissions will accept minor changes to grammar and/or spelling.

Please Note: My address will be changing in early May. Any correspondance with this office after May 1st will need to be sent to my new address (which will appear in the next ILoI). Do not expect the post office to forward your letters to me, because my local P.O. is not prone to honoring forwarding orders.

1) Ariadne de le Corbeau Cheveux. New Name and Device. Gules, a swan rising, a bordure Or.

(F) Rimsholt.

This submission (apparently, along with a bunch of other items from Rimsholt) was sent out in 4/97 but never reached me. The name is intended to mean "Ariadne of the Raven Hair" in French. Ariadne is dated to 1523 as an Italian name in Williams, The World of Titian (108). No documentation is provided for the descriptive byname. As the client did not provide a name submission form, I have assumed all the defaults and thus the client will NOT accept changes to grammar or spelling.

The lack of documentation for the byname is a rather serious problem as it appears to be completely ungrammatical. While le corbeau is indeed a raven or a crow, this is not an adjective and there is no indication that even as an adjective that it would be used in French to describe a dark shade of hair. Furthermore, les cheveaux (while meaning "hair") is quite properly plural and thus we have a singular noun and a plural noun side-by-side. Finally, the combination of de and le creates du and the combination of de and les (I believe) creates des. Thus, a hypothetical Ariadne du Corbeau or Ariadne des Cheveux would be grammatical, but probably not what the client wants. Could someone who speaks French provide some plausible alternatives? The best I can come up with is "Ariadne des Cheveux Noires." The good news is that Withycombe (31) notes that both the Italians and the French used the given name Ariadne in (unspecified) earlier times.

2) Briana Fallon. New Device. Argent, a schnecke issuant from sinister chief azure, in canton a Kendal flower gules, barbed Or and seeded vert.

(F) Svaty Sebesta. {Name reg. 1/97}

3) Conchobar Mac Gabhann. New Name and Device. Per bend sinister azure and vert, an oak tree eradicated argent, fructed proper, charged with a mullet of five points sable, all within an annulet Or.

(M) Azure Mere.

For documentation, the client encloses a printout of an electronic correspondance he had with me about his name. He wanted Connor MacGowan, but I successfully talked him into (I think) a more period form. According to Ó Corráin & Maguire (57), Connor is an anglicization of Conchobar. MacLysaght (133) gives the older spellings of MacGowan as Mac an Gabhann and Mac Gabhann. The client has chosen one of these variants. The client cares most about language and sound and wants the grammar and spelling corrected for the indicated language and meaning.

The device needs some artistic assistance (the large emblazon is similar to the miniature) but the real problem is that the design has a complexity count of ten (six tinctures and four charges) and thus is probably not registerable due to complexity.

4) Duff MacKellar. Change of Registered Name and New Device. Gyronny sable and argent, a raven contourney close, armed gules.

(M) Rivenwood Tower.

This submision was pended on last month's LoI for insufficient funds (the problem has now been resolved). The client's previously registered name is Radbot Gunther (reg. 9/94).

Duff is documented in Black (225) as a given name and was already being used as a surname in 1275 (no dates for usage of the given name). MacKellar is in Ibid (524) as a header spelling. While a number of period McKellar are noted, there is no date provided for MacKellar. The client cares most about language, meaning, and spelling.

5) Finn Finnegan O'Flynn. New Name and Device. Or, on a bend sinister between two mullets of four points sable, three towers Or.

(M) Winged Hills.

Finn is documented from Coghlan (20) as a mythological name. Finnegan is an anglicized form of a modern Irish surname noted in Ó Corráin & Maguire (101) derived from the period given name Finnacán. O'Flynn is in MacLysaght as a modern form of the period Ó Floinn. The client will NOT permit changes to grammar or spelling.

Can someone document all these modern anglicized spellings? Finn, at least, is found in Ó Corráin & Maguire (100) and more solidly documented as period for humans as well as legends.

6) Jayme Hume of Berwick. New Name and Device. Argent semy of thistles proper, a lion passant gules.

(M) Fearanne Criche.

This was originally submitted and lost in the East Kingdom's Black Hole. There is no indication that it was ever registered and the client is resubmitting it here. Jayme is the client's modern first name and also "documented" from the banned Dunkling and Gosling (201-2). Hume is noted to be the "name of a powerful Scottish family in the East March" according to Fraser, Steel Bonnets (35). Berwick is "the largest town in the East March, often controlled by either side, with both English and Scottish inhabitants" according to Ibid. The client cares most about language (Scots Gaelic).

Jayme will have to be claimed under the Modern Name Allowance as even the enclosed Dunkling & Gosling do not support it. Hume is an alternate spelling of Home, according to Black (362-3) and is documented in this spelling to 1408. There are several period Berwicks mentioned in Mill (33), including the one that the client wants, Berwick on Tweed (as it is now called), dated to 1167 but spelled Berewich.

7) Johann Redbeard. New Name and Device. Azure semy of hammers argent, a bend sinister dovetailed Or.

(M) Wood River, IL.

Johann is documented from Brechenmacher (I: 777) from the name Waltherus filius Johannis zu Vaihingen, dated to 1323. Redbeard is documented as a "descriptive byname." The client wants the grammar and spelling corrected for the indicated (?) languages and meaning.

While the byname is essentially undocumented, Reaney & Wilson (374) have Redberd dated to c1200 and Redeberd dated to 1379. Perhaps one of these period spellings would be acceptable to the client [Elena -- check this?].

8) Padraig MacAindreis. Device Resubmission. Quarterly azure and argent a cross flory between four crescents all counterchanged.

(M) Inner Sea. {Name submitted on 12/97 ELoI}

The client's previous submission (Per chevron sable and azure, a cross flory between four compass stars argent) was returned by Dragon (acting as Rouge Scarpe) on 1/98 for design and artistic problems. The cross is really throughout but I do not know if this can be used to describe a cross flory or not.

9) Roland Wortman. Device Resubmission. Checky argent and sable, a double-headed eagle displayed Or maintaining in each talon a sword gules surmounting a wing, in chief three mullets gules.

(M) Swordcliff. {Name reg. 9/95}

The client previously submitted his device in Meridies and the device was returned by Laurel on 9/95 for contrast problems [Fairfax: Note that therefore Laurel will treat this as a resubmission and you do not have to pay for this]. By repositioning the swords (they were in bend and in bend sinister before), the client has addressed the reasons for the return.

10) Rowena of Arundel. New Name and Device. Barry wavy vert and argent, a stag's head erased proper.

(F) St Martin.

Rowena is dated by Withycombe (259) to Geoffrey of Monmouth but did not come into common use until the publication of Ivanhoe. Arundel is the name of a keep in West Sussex, dated to the 11th century, according to Humble, English Castles (42). The client cares most about the meaning and sound of the name. She wants the spelling and grammar corrected for the indicated language and meaning.

Mills (12) notes that Arundel in period was spelled as Harundel. Arundel appears to be a modern spelling.

11) Toke Magnusson. Device Resubmission. Purpure, a dexter hand inverted argent, in chief in fess a roundel between an increscent and a decrescent argent.

(M) Rokeclif. {Name reg. 4/97}

This device was originally submitted (Purpure, a hand inverted argent, on a chief sable in fess an annulet, a decrescent moon, a moon in her plentitude, an increscent, and an annulet argent) on the 9/96 ILoI and returned by Rouge Scarpe on his 12/5/96 ILoAR for slot machine heraldry. The client then resubmitted (Purpure, a dexter hand inverted argent, in chief in fess an annulet, an increscent moon, a roundel, a decrescent, and an annulet, all argent) on the 4/97 ILoI which was returned by Rouge Scarpe on his 6/97 ILoAR for slot machine heraldry (again!). The client has since learned about slot machine heraldry and now submits a design that is free of that problem.

12) Toke Magnusson. Badge Resubmission. Purpure, in fess a roundel between an increscent and a decrescent argent.

(M) Rokeclif. {Name reg. 4/97}

This badge was originally submitted (Purpure, in fess an increscent and a decrescent and in chief a roundel and in base an annulet argent) on the 4/97 ILoI and returned by Rouge Scarpe on his 6/97 ILoAR for slot machine heraldry. The client has since learned about slot machine heraldry and now submits a design that is free of that problem.

Yours In Service,

Paul Wickenden of Thanet

c/o Paul Goldschmidt
755 Siemers
Platteville WI 53818
608-348-6209
goldschmidt@uwplatt.edu

Dragon (and Acting-Rouge Scarpe):

Dmitrii Volkovich
John Polzinetti
8537 White Cedar Dr, #331
Miamisburg OH 45342-5346
John.Polzinetti@lexis-nexis.com

Rouge Scarpe [NEW]: