LoARs are published on the Laurel Archives page each month.
The Society College of Arms runs on monthly cycles and letters. Each month, the College processes name and armory submissions from all of the Kingdoms. Final decisions on submissions are made at the monthly meetings of the Pelican Queen of Arms (names) and the Wreath King of Arms (armory). Pelican and Wreath then write up their decisions in a Letter of Acceptances and Return (LoAR). After review and proofreading, LoARs generally are released two months after the meeting where the decisions are made.
An “acceptance” indicates that the item(s) listed are now registered with the Society. A “return” indicates that the item is returned to the submitter for additional work. Most items are registered without comments. Sometimes, the LoAR will address specific issues about the name or armory or will praise the submitter/herald on putting together a very nice historically accurate item.
East Acceptances
Admiranda Gower. Name change from Iulia Alba and device change. Azure, a gower sejant erect contourny argent, on a chief Or an arrow sable.
Submitted as Miranda Gower, we were unable to find documentation for Miranda as a given name in a language compatible with English. The French citation in the Letter of Intent, unfortunately, was not for a given name but refers to a Spanish place name. Although documentation exists for Miranda as a Spanish given name, Spanish and English cannot be combined under Appendix C of SENA.
With the submitter’s permission, we have changed the name to Admiranda Gower, an entirely English name.
The submitter’s previous name, Iulia Alba, is retained as an alternate name.
Nice cant! According to Bruce Batonvert, “In case anyone’s confused by the blazon, gower is in fact a period blazon alternative for the greyhound — as found in the canting arms of Gower, c.1460.”
The submitter’s previous device, Or, on a sun gules three mullets one and two Or, is retained as a badge.
Aloysius Sartore. Name (see RETURNS for device).
Nice 14th century Venetian name!
al-Y{a-}sam{i-}n al-Sard{a-}niyya. Name and device. Per bend sinister gules and sable, on a sun Or an anchor sable.
Arnaut Dupont. Name and device. Gules, in pale three bridges of two spans argent.
Nice cant!
Aurelia Teodosia del Sete. Name.
The documentation in the Letter of Intent did not support the submitted spelling of Teodosia for the second given name. The cited article instead showed Teodesia. Fortunately, in commentary, Maridonna Benvenuti supplied documentation for Teodosia, allowing the name to be registered as submitted.
Bella Tessitore. Name and device. Per pale gules and sable, two rams rampant addorsed argent.
Nice Italian name from Pisa in the 15th and 16th centuries!
Bianca di Alessandro. Device change. Per bend argent and azure, a bend Or between a rose and a goblet counterchanged.
The submitter’s previous device, Azure, a chalice and on a chief engrailed argent three roses azure barbed and seeded proper, is retained as a badge.
Bjargey Geirr Hrafnsdottir. Name and device. Per chevron argent and gules, a feather and in chief two spears in chevron sable.
Submitted as Bjargey Geirkona Hrafnsdottir, the submitter desires a name meaning “spearwoman.” However, the constructed byname Geirkona does not have that meaning; it appears to be a misspelling of Geirskona, meaning “wife of a man named Geirr.”
The Old Norse word Geirr means “spear.” A woman named Bjargey Geirr would be understood as a woman who uses or is associated with a spear. Accordingly, with the submitter’s permission, we have changed the name to Bjargey Geirr Hrafnsdottir to best reflect the desired meaning.
Brit Taillyell. Name change from Mary of the Stuwes.
The submitter’s previous name, Mary of the Stuwes, is released.
Cáirthenn Ruadh. Name and device. Per pale sable and argent, a chevron between two trefoils and a crescent counterchanged.
This name can be registered as a combination of pre-1200 and post-1200 Irish Gaelic orthography, as the elements are attested within 500 years of each other. For an internally consistent name, Cáirthenn Ruad_ is an entirely pre-1200 (Middle Irish) spelling. If the submitter prefers this form, they may make a request for reconsideration.
Catalina Beatriz de las Torres. Name and device. Vert, on a fess argent a brown bear statant proper, a chief raguly argent.
Submitted as Catalina Beatriz de la Torres, the locative byname is not correctly constructed because Torres is a feminine plural noun. Therefore, the correct construction is de las Torres. With the submitter’s permission, we have made this change for registration.
As modified, nice Spanish name from the 15th century onwards!
Cillene O Caollaidhe. Device. Per pale purpure and argent, a butterfly counterchanged, on a chief Or five trefoils vert.
Elizabeth Ivette. Name change from Elizabeth of Rivenstar and badge. Or, a weaver’s shuttle bendwise, in base two clews of yarn azure.
The submitter requested authenticity for 14th century English. This name is authentic for 13th century England through the very beginning of the 14th century.
The submitter’s previous name, Elizabeth of Rivenstar, is released.
Hedewigis Ockenfüßin. Badge. (Fieldless) On a decrescent argent an owl sable.
Hof-Úlfr hórr. Name.
Submitted as Úlfr hofhórr, the byname was not correctly constructed. Hof- is a prepended byname, which means it is properly placed before the given name. In addition, no evidence was found of compound descriptive bynames using either the elements Hof- or hórr. With the submitter’s permission, we have changed the name to Hof-Úlfr hórr, using the attested Old Norse pattern of two descriptive bynames where one is a prepended byname appearing before the given name.
The submitter requested authenticity for meaning (“Temple Whore”) and Norse culture. This request was not summarized on the Letter of Intent. Fortunately, Seraphina Ragged Staff identified the authenticity request during commentary, allowing sufficient time for research. This name is not authentic for the submitter’s requested meaning and cannot be made authentic for it as we could not find any evidence of the concept of a “temple whore” or “sacred prostitute” in Norse culture.
The name as requested by the submitter does not mean “temple whore.” The byname Hof- refers to an enclosed space for public functions, such as a temple or a court. The byname hórr means “adulterer.” Accordingly, this name means something like “Úlfr, the adulterer, who is associated with a temple or king’s court.”
Mægwynn filia Brun. Name.
Mairi Crawford. Name and device. Azure, in pale three clouds Or.
This name combines a Gaelic given name with an English or Scots byname, an acceptable lingual mix under Appendix C.
Nice device!
Margery Winthrop. Name and device. Azure, on an open book proper a domestic cat sejant azure.
Nice 16th century English name!
Matteo Genovese. Household name House of Sharp Edge (see RETURNS for badge).
Submitted as House _ Sharp Edge, this name was not correctly constructed. Sharp Edge is a compound English place name, referring to the crest of a hill or ridge owned by a family with the surname Sharp, using a pattern attested in “Compound Placenames in English” by Juliana de Luna (http://medievalscotland.org/jes/EnglishCompoundPlacenames/). However, the pattern House X is not found in English; this construction was ruled unregisterable in December 2007, [Sythe Blackwolfe, R-Calontir], and we have yet to see any new evidence that might support a change to precedent.
With the submitter’s permission, we have changed the name to House of Sharp Edge, using an attested pattern for household names based on English or Scots place names. [Edward Grey of Lochleven. Household name House of Lochleven, 7/2009 LoAR, A-East]
Micha{l/} Bia{l/}y. Name and device. Gules, a Latin cross bottony Or winged, a chief embattled argent.
Nice 16th century Polish name!
Muirgel Bera. Name.
This name combines a Gaelic given name with an Old English byname, an acceptable lingual mix under Appendix C.
Oscar Goerijs Goriszoon. Name change from Goerijs Goriszoon.
The elements Goerijis and Goriszoon are already registered to the submitter and thus are treated as neutral in time and language under the Existing Registration Clause, PN1B2g, and can be combined with the late period English given name Oscar.
The submitter’s previous name, Goerijs Goriszoon, is retained as an alternate name.
Oskar of the Wood. Household name Company of Crescent Keep and badge association. Gules, a decrescent Or within a bordure ermine.
Questions were raised in commentary about whether Crescent was a plausible surname given that it appears in England as a given name considerably after the era when literal patronymics were common. Fortunately, after the close of commentary, Jeanne Marie Noir Licorne found Crescent as a surname in a collection of London marriage licenses from 1562-63. Crescent Keep, therefore, is a plausible constructed 16th century English place name and this household name follows the attested English pattern naming groups of people after places.
Sveinn Ívarsson. Name.
Nice 9th-10th century Icelandic name!
Tashiro Kojirou Kageharu. Device. Per bend argent and sable, a mitsutomoe sable.
Please see this month’s cover letter for a discussion on mitsutomoe.
There is a step from period practice for the use of mitsutomoe.
Volmar Sollons. Device. Azure, in pale three domestic sea-cats naiant guardant between flaunches Or.
Xavier de Paulo. Name and device. Azure semy of estoiles, on a cross formy Or a cross couped azure.
East Returns
Aloysius Sartore. Device. Argent, a brown stick hobbyhorse issuant from base proper bridled argent, a bordure sable semy of increscents argent.
This device is returned for lack of contrast between the argent reins of the hobbyhorse and the underlying field. While such details may have low contrast, they cannot have zero contrast.
Upon resubmission, the submitter is advised to make the reins a tincture other than argent, and strongly encouraged to choose a color rather than a metal.
Matteo Genovese. Badge for House of Sharp Edge. (Fieldless) Two axes in saltire and overall a dagger argent.
This badge is returned for conflict with the device of Absolon of Hereford, Per pale gules and sable, a sheaf of halberds argent. There’s one DC for fielded vs fieldless armory. There’s no difference for the type of axe. We’ve changed 1/3 of the charges in the sheaf, which is less than is needed for the second DC.