August 15, 1999

Greetings unto Lady Clarissa Wykeham, Dragon; Lord Alan Fairfax, Rouge Scarpe; and the commenting members of the Midrealm College of Heralds; from Lord Paul Wickenden of Thanet, Escutcheon.

Here are the July 1999 and some August 1999 submissions for your consideration and commenting. All commentary should be sent to Rouge Scarpe Herald, Alan Fairfax, early enough to arrive by October 1, 1999, with copies to Dragon and myself. Unless otherwise stated, all name submissions will accept minor and major changes to grammar and/or spelling.

You may have noticed that Lord Fairfax has a new address in the August Pale. He is moving. However, the address in the Pale is a temporary address. He will let us know his permanent address when he knows it and hopefully I will be able to let you know it in a future LoI. For now, he asks that you continue to use his old address (which appears at the end of this Letter)

Finally, we expect the September 1999 LoI to be LARGE as it will include all (or most) of the Pennsic submissions. Be prepared!

1) Alicia MacQuaid. New Name and Device. Quarterly, 1 and 3 azure bendy Or, 2 Or, a lozenge azure, 4 azure a lozenge Or.

Alicia is in Black (723 [under "Shiplaw" and dated to 1259] and 771 [under "Thriepland" and dated to 1374]). MacQuaid is a "modern English spelling of an Irish Gaelic patronymic based on a Gaelic adaptation of the English given name, Wat". The source is either MacLysaght or Woulfe (but it is not indicated which one is used or what the page numbers are). The client cares most about sound and would like to have a period 12-16th century name, but will NOT permit MAJOR changes.

The arms appear marshalled to me (I could have dealt with Quarterly azure bendy Or, and azure a lozenge Or, but by changing the fields in the 2nd and 3rd, I think these arms are in trouble - but please bear in mind that I know little of these matters).

2) Aurich Greim. New Badge. Argent, a vol gules.

{Name submitted on 2/99 MK ELoI}

The wings run outside of the roundel on the large emblazon as well.

3) Ceridwen verch Gruffydd. New Name.

Ceridwen is in Hanks and Hodges, First Names (59) as the name of a Welsh goddess. Gruffydd (dated to 1063) is in ibid (142). Ceridwen is also found in Dunkling and Gosling (46) and Gruffydd is given as a Welsh origin of the English Griffith in ibid (110). the construction "verch" is documented in Sierra, Celtic Baby Names (59). Ceridwen is listed again in ibid (n.p.), as is Gruffydd (n.p.). FINALLY, Gruffudd [but not Gruffydd] is in Withycombe (139). And the client adds that Ceridwen is in The New Century Cyclopedia of Names (877). The client cares most about meaning and sound and claims to want a period Welsh name, but will NOT permit MAJOR or MINOR changes.

To sum up, we need documentation that Laurel will accept. These sources are not acceptable. The fact that the client has found four sources that tell us that Ceridwen was a Welsh goddess does not remove the reality that we have no proof it was used to name humans. The choice of sources is also unfortunate as it makes up a virtual who's who of name sources that one should never used.

4) Charles Buchanan. New Name and Device. Per bend vert and argent, semy of lucy bend sinisterwise, a boar rampant to sinister counterchanged.

Charles is dated to 1273 in Withycombe (62-3) and is the client's modern name. Buchanan is dated to c1270 in Reaney and Wilson (54). The client would like an authentic English name.

5) Cynfyn ap Rhiwallon. New Device. Sable, a phoenix Or issuant from an open book argent.

{Name reg'd 1/96}

6) Egil Thorkelsson af Bröberg. New Name and Device. Or, an eagle displayed gules, on a chief azure three winged boots Or.

Egil is (of course) found in Egil's Saga. Gellir Thorkelsson is a character in Laxdæla Saga. The client also includes a cite to Garmonsway, An Early Norse Reader (124) which indicates that "af" means "of" and adds the following comment: "Broberg [sic] is part of my middle name and is my mother's maiden name. The name is Swedish. The name translated mountain bridge [sic]. I understand that the 'of Mountain Bridge' is not period in Old Norse, precedent has been set with my mother's name, Thorhalla Carlsdottir af Bröberg." The client wants a period 9th century Norse (Swedish) name.

I'm not sure what the client means by "precedent" - I would guess that he is claiming the "af Bröberg" is grandfathered. Egill [note the extra l] is in Geirr Bassi (9) and Þorkell is in ibid (16). Can we use this to document Egil?

7) Espeth O'Seaghdha. New Name and Device. Quarterly of six, gules and Or, three swans couchant Or and three estoiles gules.

Elspeth is attested by Withycombe (100) to be a Scottish variant of Elizabeth. Ó Séaghdha is the older spelling of O Shea, according to MacLysaght (269). I believe that the client has anglicized the Gaelic spelling. The client cares most about sound.

The proposed blazon was "Quarterly of six, gules and Or, a swan couchant countercharged with an estoile" which is certainly incorrect, but I cannot say if I have improved it all that much.

8) Fire Oaks, Barony of. New Branch Name.

The client's documentation is the following: "This name is constructed in the English style and is similar to a number of other group names in our area: Red Spears, Winged Hills, Flaming Gryphon, Roaring Wastes, Shattered Crystal, Stormvale and Middle Marches being just a few examples.

"In addition, the Domesday Book [Hinde, The Domesday Book -- copies not enclosed] shows several similar names that are either descriptive of the area in which the city/town/hamlet is located, or a corruption of earlier Saxon (or other languages) names. Some examples (with page # from the text) are: Goldington Highfields (#29) in Bedfordshire, One Ash (#70) in Derbyshire, Oak and Rose Ash (#84-5) in Devonshire, Gold Hill (#94) in Dorset, Oakhangar and Sunwood (#124-5) in Hampshire, Cold Newton and Holyoaks (#160-1) in Leicestershire, Cold Ashby (#200) in Northamptonshire, Ash Priors (#235), Monksilver (#240) and White Ox Mead (#242) in Somerset as well as numerous combination [sic] involving "Oak", all over the island, such as Oakton, Oakley, Oakford, etc." They will NOT accept MAJOR changes.

A petition of support and a statistical survey of the Barony (!) is enclosed.

9) Gunther Friedrich von Bodenheim. Device Resubmission. Lozengy azure and argent, a lion's head cabossed gules, on a chief argent three crosses formy sable.

{Name reg'd 2/99}

The client's previous submission (Lozengy azure and argent, a lion's head cabossed gules) was returned by Laurel on 2/99 for conflict with Khaalid al-Jaraad (Lozengy erminois and pean, a Bengal tiger's head cabossed gules). The client has added a chief to clear the conflict.

10) Ia ingen A/eda. New Name.

This is how the name is spelled on the form, but I believe (from the documentation) that the client wants to be Ia ingen Áeda. The distinction might not seem important, but Laurel does NOT have to make such assumptions (and previous ones have not) about client intentions. It would be wise to contact the client in advance. There is no indication that the client realizes the A/=Á in the documentation and it is entirely possible that the client does not realize that her source was using an SCA-invented system for translating diacriticals across 7-bit text [Ary! Please be more careful in the future!]

For the given name, the client includes copies from Attwater, Names and Name-Days (54) which dates Ia to the 6th century.It is also found in Weidenhan, Baptismal Names (284) but is undated. Ingen is asserted by the client's letter to be the correct spelling for "daughter [of]" in 8-9th c Irish/Gaelic but is undocumented. Áed is documented from Ó Corráin & Maguire as the older spelling of a name which became Aoidh. The client cares most about having a name which means "daughter of Aoidh/MacKay/Ma ca." She would like to have a period 8-9th century Irish/Gaelic name but will NOT permit MAJOR changes.

11) Jacobus Tallon of Greenwich. New Name.

Jacobus is in Withycombe (169) as a form of Jacob. Tallon is in Reaney and Wilson (439) as a header spelling, but this exact spelling is not dated. The client encloses copies from two tourism guides for Greenwich which tell us it dates back to 9th century or before. The client is interested in having an authentic 16th century English name but will NOT permit MAJOR changes. While he is not submitting a device, he will not permit the creation of a holding name. He also encloses an (unnecessary) permission to "conflict" with his wife who is submitting "Rebekah Tallon of Greenwich" on this same ILoI.

12) Meave de Clare for Vermoncourt. New Household Name and Badge. Per pale gules and vert, a maltese cross Or.

{Name reg'd 10/97}

Vermoncourt is postulated as a French placename from the element Vermon- (found in Vermonsey - dated to 1390 in Morlet [III:465b, 477-8]) and -court which is found in numerous examples in French place names in ibid, including Varricort (dated 1201), Warnuncort (dated 1131-42). The documentation concludes, "The compound <Warmon> + <cortem> meaning "Warimund's estate" could very easily have evolved into a 13th or 14th century place name <Vermoncourt>." The client cares most about sound and would like a period 13th-14th century French name.

13) Meave de Clare. New Badge. Per pale gules and vert, a monster displayed composed of the forequarters of a raven and the hindquarters of a rat argent, in chief three maltese crosses in fess Or.

{Name reg'd 10/97}

The badge is to be associated with her household submitted above.

14) Pawel Blini od Kraj. Name and Device Resubmission. Quarterly argent and sable, a goat's head erased counterchanged.

The client's previous name (Pawel, the twin of Birchwood) and device (Quarterly argent and sable, a buck goat's head erased counterchanged) were returned by Rouge Scarpe on 10/97 for lack of documentation for the name (the device was returned with the name -- with no other stated problems). The client says that he was never informed of the reason for the return or even that it had been returned.

The client is attempting to construct a name in Polish which means "Paul the twin of the outskirts (or edge-land)." Pawel is given as a Christian name (equivalent to Paul) in Chorzempa, Polish Roots (178). The client includes a page on place names from ibid (158) but ignores its instructions on how placenames were constructed. The other elements are taken from a Polish-English Dictionary (copies of which are included). The client cares most about meaning, and wants an authentic Polish name.

My take: Pawel is fine and found in the SSNO (IV: 201) and dated to 1204. Blini looks wrong for a given name. SSNO (I:169) has Bliznicz (as in Iohannis Blisnicz, dated 1399) which appears to be a patronymic ("son of a twin") and there is also the much closer Blisnecz ("the twin") (as in Domini Blisnecz or Blizsznecz, dated 1390) which might work as well. Kraj has two meanings that are only slightly related "1) region; and 2) edge" and not the meaning the client wants in either case. "od" means "of/from" but only in use with certain animate proper nouns. What the client wants (and what his source tells him to use) is "z" (followed by the noun in the genitive case). "z kraja" would have been grammatically correct but does not carry the client's desired meaning. Furthermore, it seems to me that the client would be better served with a adjectival locative (ending in -ski) instead of the cumbersome literal translation he attempts. Zagorski ("beyond the hills" ) (dated 1398) in SSNO (VI: 253) or Zagrodski (which can be created from Zagroda - dated 1450 in SSNO [VI: 255] -- meaning "beyond the city" or "of the outskirts") would be closer and more period. Something like Pawel Blisnecz Zagrodski would convey the meaning the client wishes and be a documentably period Polish name. Perhaps the item could be pended and the client contacted?

15) Rebekah Tallon of Greenwich. New Name.

Rebekah is in Withycombe (251). Tallon is in Reaney and Wilson (439) as a header spelling, but this exact spelling is not dated. The client encloses copies from two tourism guides for Greenwich which tell us it dates back to 9th century or before. The client is interested in having an authentic 16th century English name but will NOT permit MAJOR changes. While she is not submitting a device, she will not permit the creation of a holding name. She also encloses an (unnecessary) permission to "conflict" with her husband who is submitting "Jacobus Tallon of Greenwich" on this same ILoI.

16) Simon Justus for The Church of St Thomas and St Mary Magdalen. New Household Name.

{Name reg'd 12/98}

There is no documentation included, only the following note: "This is to be a vehicle or area of exchange for information on medieval clerical and religious life. It is for discussion of research information and development of religious personas. It is not connected with a particular religion other than being medieval Christian using Whitby, England as its historical base-model. There is no doctrine."

The name sounds period enough but probably needs some documentation and consideration of presumptuousness.

17) Ulrich von Landstuhl. Device Resubmission. Vert, a wolf rampant argent, on a chief Or, a halberd fesswise sable.

{Name reg'd 9/98}

The client's previous submission (Per chevron vert and azure, a wolf rampant maintaining a halberd within a bordure argent) was returned by Rouge Scarpe on 6/99 for conflict with Stephan de la Sauvage (Quarterly gules and sable, a wolf rampant within a bordure argent). Prior to that, his submission (Per chevron vert and azure, a wolf rampant maintaining a halberd, a bordure argent) was withdrawn by the client on 3/99. Prior to that, his submission (Per chevron vert and azure, a wolf salient maintaining a halberd argent) was returned by Rouge Scarpe on 9/98 for conflict with Johnathan Crusadene Whitewolf (Gules, ermined argent, a wold rampant argent).

In his latest valiant attempt, he has chosen a plain field and taken the halberd away from his wolf and placed it in the chief.

18) Vladislav de Jaffa. Device Resubmission. Per chevron ermine and sable, a lion's head erase argent.

{Name reg'd 1/97}

The client's previous submission (Argent, a paw print counterermine) was returned by Laurel on 1/97 for conflict with Igor Medved (Argent, a bear's dexter paw print azure). This is a complete redesign.

The following submission has been PENDED and the client notified:

Brighid Inghean Murcatt. New Name and Device. Per pall inverted gules, Or, amd sable, two bat-winged lions combattant counterchanged and in base a glove palewise argent.

This has been pended for lack of payment.

Yours In Service,

Paul Wickenden of Thanet

c/o Paul Goldschmidt
3071 Cimarron Trail
Madison WI 53719
608-288-0255
goldschp@uwplatt.edu

Dragon:

Rouge Scarpe: