1 Barony Beyond the Mountain - Resub Order Name forwarded
Submitted Name: Order of the Defenders of the White Oak

Their previous submission, Order of Defenders of the White Oak, was returned on the June 2007 LoAR: "There is an article missing in the designator of this name ... We would add the missing article, but the submitters will not accept changes." This submission corrects the designator to Order of the. Either the branch name or arms (or both) were registered in Sep. 1973.

2 Brenwen the Fair (f) - New Name forwarded & New Device forwarded

Quarterly sable and argent, four acorns counterchanged.

She cares most about sound. Brenwen is a constructed Old English name formed from the elements Bren- and -wen. Both elements are found in Searle. -wen as a feminine name ending is on p. 482. Examples of feminine names using this ending include Wulfwen (p. 521) and Saewen (p. 408). Bren- is found on p. 114, where it cross-references to Beorn-. Searle does not give any clear examples of names formed using Bren-, but there are numerous examples of names using Beorn-. Alternatively, the submitter will accept Brynwen, formed from the elements Bryn- and -wen, also found in Searle. Bryn- is on p. 118. Names possibly using this root include Brynca (p. 118), Bryne (p. 118, dated to 772), Brynia (p. 119), and Bryning (p. 119 dated to c. 1034). the Fair is a Lingua Anglica rendering of an Old English byname. R&W p. 160 s.n. Fair says the modern surname derives from Old English fæger meaning 'fair, beautiful'. Dated examples include Edeua Faira 1066 and Robert faier 1191.

I share the doubt expressed in commentary about support for the prototheme Bren-, especially given Searle's tendency for wishful thinking. There is a Problem Names article on a similar name ("Concerning the Names Branwen, Bronwen and the Like" by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, http://medievalscotland.org/problem/names/branwen.shtml), but it doesn't help, as it doesn't discuss any Old English names. That said, the cited documentation makes the constructed name (or something like it) seem at least somewhat plausible, so I'm forwarding this for the experts to tackle.

This device is clear of Edana of Hawk's Hill (Jan. 1988 West): Azure, in bend two acorns argent, with one CD for the field and another for adding two acorns.

3 Corwin Silvertongue - Resub Household Name forwarded
Submitted Name: White Wolfe Tavern

No major changes. His previous household name submission, Whitloup Tavern, was returned on the May 2007 LoAR for combining English and French in a single name phrase. This submission changes all elements to English to correct this problem. His name was registered in Sep. 2006, via the East. The OED s.v. white dates whyte to 1390, and s.v. wolf dates wulf as early as c. 725 and c. 1000. "English Sign Names" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/inn/) has White Horse and White Lamb under 'Color + Animal'. Wolfe is listed under 'Inns/Taverns for which I have found a listing, but no dates'. The Laurel return mentioned Wolfes Head Taverne and White Wolfes Head Taverne as plausible inn names based on Mari's article.

4 Freydis Thorsteinsdottir (f) - New Name forwarded & New Device forwarded

Gules, a tree Or seme de pommes.

No major changes. Freydis was the daughter of Erik the Red, according to "Sailing to Vinland", a site written by various Icelandic high school students about two Icelandic sagas (http://www.fva.is/~vinland/english/e_personur/e_freydis.html). Thorsteinnsdottir is meant as a patronymic. Thorsteinn is found in the Landnamabok, according to Aryanhwy merch Catmael: "Viking Names found in the Landnámabók" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/landnamabok.html).

Better documentation for the given name can be found in Academy of S. Gabriel report 2487 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/2487), which identifies Freydis as the daughter of Erik the Red, based on Lind (Dopnamn) s.n. Freydís and on Kruken, Kristoffer, ed.: Norsk personnamnleksikon, 2nd ed. (Oslo: det Norske Samlaget, 1995), s.n. Frøydis. Freydís is also listed in Lena Peterson's Nordiskt runnamnslexicon, as an Old West Norse form of the header Frøydís. (The original Swedish is online at http://www.sofi.se/servlet/GetDoc?meta_id=1472, and the Viking Answer Lady's translation is linked from http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNames.shtml.) The 'i' has an acute accent in both Lind and Peterson, but Norse names may be registered with all accents dropped.

Both Ary's cited Landnamabok article and Geirr Bassi have the masculine name with a thorn, not 'th': Þorsteinn. As far as I can tell, it's registerable either way, but the sources should be cited correctly. Note that according to Geirr Bassi, names ending in -nn form genitives in -ns. The submitted Thorsteinnsdottir has therefore been corrected to Thorsteinsdottir.

5 Jost von Aichstadt - Resub Device forwarded

Lozengy bendwise argent and azure, on a chief gules three seeblatter Or.

His name was registered in May 2005, via the East. His previous device, Lozengy argent and azure, on a chief gules three hazelnut flowers Or, was returned at the same time for redrawing of the flowers, because they were not recognizable. This resubmission replaces the hazelnut flowers with seeblatter. It also changes the lozengy to lozengy bendwise.

This is clear of Bavaria: Lozengy bendwise azure and argent, with one CD for adding the chief, and another for the charges on the chief.

6 Katerinka Lvovicha (f) - New Name forwarded & New Device forwarded

Per chevron azure and vert, a chevron argent and in base a lion dormant Or.

She cares most about Russian language and preserving 'Katerinka'. Katerinka is a diminutive dated to 1538-9 under Ekaterina in Wickenden's online edition. Lvovicha is a feminine patronymic found in the same article under Lev, dated to 1533.

The paper (3rd) edition of Wickenden has the same citations (and no new ones) under the relevant headers.

There are a few close calls for this device, but it appears to be clear. Versus Emory MacMichael (Oct. 1981 Caid): Per chevron azure and vert, a chevron and a chief embattled argent, there's one CD for the type (chief vs. lion) and another for the tincture of the secondary charge. Maeve Kilkieran (Jun. 1990 East): Per chevron azure and vert, a chevron argent above three garbs, one and two, Or gets one CD for the number and another for the type of the secondaries. Caryn Isolde Clothilde von Katzenberg (Jun. 1975): Per chevron azure and vert, a chevronel argent between in chief a sun in glory and a domestic cat dormant argent has one CD for the sun (which is Or, according to Istvan's check of the scanned emblazon), and another for the tincture of the cat.

7 Mélanie de la Tour (f) - New Name forwarded & New Device forwarded

Per chevron gules and argent, two dogs couchant respectant argent and a tower sable.

Mélanie is found in Dauzat p. 427 s.n. Mélanie, as a feminine given name derived from Saint Melania. Withycombe (2nd ed.) p. 206 s.n. Melanie also mentions two saints named Melania, and says "Mélanie is not uncommon in France, and probably was first introduced into England by Hugenot refugees." She gives the dated English examples of Melloney 1655 and Melanie 1660, suggesting that the name appeared earlier in France. The submitter would prefer the name without the accent on the first 'e' if possible. de la Tour is also found in Dauzat, p. 573 s.n. Tour, undated. "French Names from Paris, 1421, 1423, & 1438" by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/paris1423surnames.html) gives an example of de la Tour dated to 1421.