Alys Mackyntoich

13 July 2014

Unto the East Kingdom College of Heralds, upon the Feast of Saint Margaret, greetings and every good thing! Here is the Letter of Decisions for the Internal Letter of Intent issued on June 2, 2014. I am omitting the original documentation from my write-up in an effort to streamline the decision-making process. Please let me know your thoughts on this format as opposed to the traditional format.

Many thanks to the following commenters who provided assistance this month: Alana O'Keefe, Alexander Revenscroft, Andreas von Meißen (Rowel), Aryanhwy merch Catmael (Schwarzdrachen), Beatrice Domenici della Campana, Brenna Lowri o Ruthin, Charitye Dale (Diademe), Christian af Hilsonger, Conall an Doire, Daniel the Brock, Donovan Shinnock, Dorcas Whitecap (Gold Falcon Emerita), Elsbeth Anne Roth (Garnet), ffride wlffsdotter (Goutte d'Eau), Gawain of Miskbridge (Green Anchor), Gunnvor silfraharr (Orle), Herveus d'Ormonde (Morsulus), Isabella Delfino (Opal), Jethro Stille, Juetta Copin, Kirsa Oyutai, Maridonna Benvenuti, Marie de Blois (Palimpsest), Matilda Wynter, Mithgiladan the Herald (Bell), Modar Neznanich (Volk), Muirenn ingen Dunadaig, Owyn Greenwood, Ryan MacWhite (Brigantia), Scolastica la souriete, Tanczos Istvan (Non Scripta), Thorfinn Hrolfsson, Þórý Veðardóttir, Vettorio Antonello, Violet Hughes, Victoria Sapko and Yehuda ben Moshe (Elmet). I very much appreciated this month's lively commentary when the time came to make decisions. Please come back next month and in months after!

Always your servant,
Alys Mackyntoich
Blue Tyger Herald

1: Áine an Doire - New Name Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Per pale sable and azure, in pale a thistle and a crescent argent

I do not believe that Anna Tarr or Eoin an Doire conflict with this name. There are multiple differences between this name and Anna Tarr -- the addition of the 'an' and the different consonant and vowel sounds in Tarr vs. Doire. Likewise, Áine is a two-syllable name pronounced rather like 'Ahn-ya' whereas Eoin is a single syllable name pronounced like 'own.' Therefore, I am forwarding this name.

2: Alana Snowe - New Name Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Gyronny sable and Or, a dogwood flower and an orle azure

Commenters pointed out that the flower is a New World dogwood. By precedent, New World dogwood flowers are registerable:

"[T]he dogwood depicted here is a New World species Cornus florida, but [] its native range includes the area of St. Augustine, Florida, which has been continuously occupied since 1565, and the area of the Roanoke settlement, in the 1580s. While it was first discovered in the South in 1773 by William Bartram, we can find no record of when it was known near Roanoke. We will give submitters the benefit of the doubt that the Europeans that settled in these locations knew of this species. There is, therefore, a step from period practice for the use of New World flora not found in period armory." [Úrsúla of Rouen, 4/2011 LoAR, A-Aethelmearc]

3: An Dubhaigeainn, Barony of - New Order Name Forwarded

Order of the Silver Egg

4: Brick James Beech - New Name Forwarded

Commentary was sharply divided as to whether this name is offensive and/or obtrusively modern. When spoken with a certain cadence, the name references a sketch from The Chapelle Show in which a character introduced himself with the phrase "I'm Rick James, bitch". Only about half of the commenters identified the reference without its being pointed out. Those who did catch the reference to the show frequently commented that they could not "un-hear" the modern reference.

Those who thought the name should be registerable pointed out that The Chapelle Show sketch is several years old, and that the cultural awareness of this meme is on the wane. Female commenters were more sensitive to the use of a byname that sounds like "bitch," particularly in a context where that epithet seems to be addressed to the listener.

Questions of offensiveness and obtrusive modernity are best addressed by Pelican after Society-wide commentary. Therefore I am forwarding this name unchanged. Should Pelican conclude that the name in this form is not registerable, the submitter will accept the alternate form Brick James.

5: Cassandra Grey of Loch Leven - New Device Forwarded

Quarterly vert and azure, a compass rose and a chief argent

6: Duggmore Dunmore - Resub Device Change Forwarded

Argent, an owl contourny within an orle vert

7: Eginhard d'Aix la Chapelle - New Name Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Per pale sable and azure, a lion Or and in chief two mullets of four points argent

The device appears to be clear of the armory of Angelique de Beauvais (11/98, Æthelmearc): Per pale sable and azure, a lion rampant maintaining an arrow Or, its sinister rear paw shackled with a broken chain, atop a mountain argent There are DCs for the type and number of secondaries charges.

8: Ernst Nuss von Kitzingen - New Household Name Forwarded and New Badge Forwarded

Haus zum Kitzingen

(Fieldless) On a chalice Or a blackletter letter K sable

9: Ernst Nuss von Kitzingen - New Badge Forwarded

(Fieldless) On a chalice Or a blackletter letter E sable

10: Estefania del Bosque - Resub Device Forwarded

Quarterly gules and argent, in bend two maple leaves Or, a bordure counterchanged

11: Étaín Brecc - New Name Forwarded

12: Jean Louis Lecocq - New Name Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Or, a cock purpure enflamed gules and on a chief purpure three crosses clechy Or

13: Lisa of An Dubhaigeainn - New Name Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Vert, a sword fesswise proper between three apples Or

Lisa is the submitter's legal given name. It is also a period name found in, among other places, Arval Benicoeur's "Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/catasto/), and in the Family Search Historical Records for England.

14: Magnus the Red - New Name Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Sable, an arrow inverted Or and overall a stag at gaze argent

15: Medhbh inghean Uí Cheallaigh - New Name Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Argent, a triskelion of spirals purpure and on a chief embattled vert three towers argent

16: Miriam Giant Killer - Resub Name Forwarded

Commenters were divided on whether this name is offensive, obtrusively modern and/or a claim to supernatural powers. The name is not necessarily a claim to the supernatural power to kill monsters, as there is evidence that the word "giant" was used in late period English to refer to very tall people. Some commenters found a combination of bynames implying killing people to be offensive. However, Viking bynames such as skull-cleaver (clearly implying killing people) have been registered by the College. Finally, the fairy tale of Jack the Giant-Killer is post-period and some commenters found that the name yanked them out of a medieval mindset. The majority commenters had no problem with the name. All of these issues are best handled by Pelican after Society-wide commentary. Therefore I am forwarding the name.

17: Olivia Baker - New Name Forwarded and New Badge Forwarded

(Fieldless) On a lily Or a musical note gules

During commentary, the submitter requested that her byname be changed from Bakere to Baker. Baker is an English surname found in "Names found in Cam, Gloucestershire, Marriage Registers 1569-1600" by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://heraldry.sca.org/names/english/cam.html) dated to 1570, 1577, and 1590. I have made this change at the submitter's request.

18: Rennata of Landstuhl - New Name Change Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Quarterly purpure and vert, a fret couped argent and an orle of dogwood blossoms argent seeded Or

The submitter requested a period spelling of the locative if it could be identified. No commenters addressed this request.

Commenters pointed out that the flower is a New World dogwood. By precedent, New World dogwood flowers are registerable:

"[T]he dogwood depicted here is a New World species Cornus florida, but [] its native range includes the area of St. Augustine, Florida, which has been continuously occupied since 1565, and the area of the Roanoke settlement, in the 1580s. While it was first discovered in the South in 1773 by William Bartram, we can find no record of when it was known near Roanoke. We will give submitters the benefit of the doubt that the Europeans that settled in these locations knew of this species. There is, therefore, a step from period practice for the use of New World flora not found in period armory." [Úrsúla of Rouen, 4/2011 LoAR, A-Aethelmearc]

19: Sorcha Dhocair inghean Uí Ruairc - Resub Device Forwarded

Vert, on a bend sinister between one heart and two hearts Or, three frets couped palewise vert

Commenters were uncertain about whether the blazon properly reflected the image as drawn. I have tweaked the blazon as suggested by Yehuda Elmet.

20: Sunnifa in hialtlenzka Tókadóttir - New Name Change Forwarded and New Device Forwarded

Argent, in fess a mouse sejant erect contourny sable playing on a harp proper

Gunnvor Orle explained the derivation of the byname as follows:

Hjaltlendingr is a strong adjective meaning "Shetlander". Finnur Jónsson's Tilnavne i den Islandske Oldlitteratur (Copenhagen: H. H. Thieles Bogtrykkeri. 1908. http://books.google.com/books?id=KWkSAAAAYAAJ or http://heimskringla.no/wiki/Tilnavne_i_den_islandske_oldlitteratur) gives us a weak masculine adjective form, hjaltlenzki. Weak adjectives may (or may not) use the particle inn (masculine) or in feminine. Converting to the feminine form of the adjective gives us hjaltlenzka, and adding the feminine in gives us in hjaltlenzka.

21: Þórý Veðardóttir - New Badge Forwarded

(Fieldless) On a Thor's hammer sable, in fess the runes Thorn, Othila, Raido, Eoh argent

I have clarified the blazon to indicate that the runes are drawn in fess on the head of the hammer.

22: Volu-Astriðr Tryggvadottir - New Name Forwarded