25 September, 2000
Greetings and Commendations unto the Heralds and Pursuivants of the East Kingdom from Lyle FitzWilliam, Eastern Crown Herald
This is the Letter of Report (LOR) on Internal Letter of Intent (ILOI) number 1999-05. Accepted submissions listed in this letter will be sent to Blue Tyger Herald, to be included in an External Letter of Intent (XLoI) to Laurel and the College of Arms.
In Service,
Lyle Eastern Crown
1. Aleksandr Ruslanovich Yevsha - new name accepted & new device accepted
Per pale gules and argent, a sinister hand apaumy couped sable.
Appaumy couped would appear to be the default for a hand, but is included for completeness.
2. Anders Bootman - new name accepted & new device accepted
Vert, an owl displayed, wings inverted, argent.
Bahlow p. 15 under ‘Anders’ dates ‘Anders von der Wiede’ to 1372.
Despite the submitter’s desire to submit ‘Boutman’ over ‘Bootman’, we cannot find support for that spelling of the name. We can find ‘Bootmann’ (Random House German Dictionary, c. 1983, pp 26, 86) and ‘Botman’ (Bahlow p. 58 under ‘Bothmann’ lists ‘Friedr. Botman’ to 1296). Therefore, I am accepting this submission in its original form of ‘Anders Bootman’.
Consider Sebastion Alexander Stormmane (Oct 91): Sable, an owl displayed argent holding on its breast a rose gules. There is one CD for the change in tincture of the field. The question becomes, how significant is the rose in Sebastion’s device? If it is significant enough to be considered a tertiary charge, then this has a second CD under X.4.i. Since I do not have a copy of Sebastion’s device to compare with, I will need to defer this to Laurel’s judgment.
3. Arden of Icomb - new name returned & new device returned
Sable, a corbie passant wings addorsed argent.
The name is being returned for further work. I was unable to verify the documentation for ‘Arden’ (no photocopies were provided), and none of the commenters were able to provide separate documentation for ‘Arden’. The closest found with a similar sound was ‘Harden’, which I will suggest to the submitter as a possible alternative. ‘Icomb’ was found as ‘Iccomb’, ‘Iccombe’, and ‘Iccacomb’.
No conflicts were reported for the device. It will be held pending receipt of a resubmission of the name.
4. Artos of Skara Brae - new name returned & new device pended
Per bend sinister azure and argent, a bear statant contourny and a dolmen counterchanged.
The name is being returned for further work, for lack of documentation.
Citations were found for ‘Artos’ in the Brigantia files (thanks to Ulric Elmet), as follows:
‘Artos. "Facts on File of First Names", by Dunkling and Gosling list "Artos" as a derivative of the Welsh "Arth" meaning bear, Romanized. "Artorius" is listed as a Roman name. The Domesday survey lists "Arthur", "Artos", and "Artor". The name was popular in the 6th century, died out of popularity by the 14th century.’
There were no photocopies, and I do not have access to a copy of this text. Dunkling and Gosling’s The New American Dictionary of First Names is listed in the Administrative Handbook, Appendix F, under ‘Names Sources to Be Avoided in Documentation’ (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html#APPENDIX_F), but that is a different title.
Although several commenters cited Skara Brae as the name of a Neolithic settlement on the Orkneys in Scotland (as well as the setting for the computer game Ultima), it was apparently discovered after a storm in the mid-19th century, and there were no citations provided that it was known between those two time periods. Although the SCA is purportedly pre-17th century, with ‘no early cut-off date’, using a Neolithic location in combination with a 6th-13th century given name cannot be supported.
There were no conflicts found for the device; it will be held pending resubmission of the name.
5. Caitlin Davies - new badge accepted
[Fieldless] A cross patonce gules.
No conflicts found.
Please note: The apparent majority of pilgrim badges (which some commenters thought should be considered with this badge) were not crosses.
6. Connor MacGillivray - resub device accepted
Argent, a chevron rompu azure between three pawprints sable.
Device is clear of conflict with Ursula de Faymonville (1192 Caid), Argent, a chevron rompu azure between three brown bears statant proper, by type and tincture of the secondary charges.
7. Cynan ap Gould - new device returned
Per chevron azure and argent, two lions rampant Or and a cross couped gules.
The device is returned for having a cross couped gules on a field argent (symbol of the International Red Cross). This is a reserved motif.
8. Deonna von Aachen - new badge returned
[Fieldless] A dove ascending argent, in its beak an oak sprig fruited gules.
Name was registered previously (November 1985, via the East).
Conflict is found against Vert, a chimney swift migrant palewise argent (John of Ean Airgead, Oct 1979): There would be one CD for the field, but probably not a second CD for the type of bird (the sprig being discounted as a maintained charge). Laurel has recently ruled that different birds can be granted a CD when they are in their normal postures. A dove migrant is probably in its default posture; I don’t know what the default posture would be for a chimney swift, if any.
The ‘oak sprig’ is blazoned as fructed, but there are no acorns in the emblazon. Also, two of the leaves are, indeed, oak leaves, but one appears to be an aspen leaf. By themselves, these problems may not be cause for return, except perhaps for a slight redraw. The submitter will be instructed to draw the third leaf as an oak leaf for a resubmission, and to decide whether to include acorns.
Note: The ‘dove of peace’ carries an olive branch, not an oak sprig, although this is quite reminiscent of that motif. Adding the acorns to the sprig will further separate this submission from the motif.
9. Gabriel of Maccuswell - new name accepted & new device returned
Sable, in bend sinister three gurges proper.
Note: In my copy of Withycombe’s Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names (3rd edition paperback, 1988 printing), ‘Gabriel’ as a man’s name is on pp 123-124, with examples from 1199, 1200, 1210, 1273, and 1316. ‘de Maccuswell’ is also cited in 1221 in Reaney and Wilson’s Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd edition paperback, 1991 printing) under the heading ‘Maxwell’ (p 304), from Maxwell, a salmon pool on the Tweed near Kelso Bridge, and Black under Maxwell shows John de Maccuswell dated to c. 1120 (p. 589).
The device is being returned for style problems. A gurges is generally accepted as a spiral that covers the entire field, rather than as a roundel that is [roughly] gyronny arrondy azure and argent. However, the charges aren’t exactly that, either, and when colored, there was no clear line between the azure and argent sections of the charge. Lacking a good way to blazon the charges, this device submission is being returned.
10. Gabriel of Maccuswell - new badge accepted
[Fieldless] A winged trumpet palewise Or.
No conflicts found.
11. Guillaume de Clarent - resub device accepted
Gyronny Or and sable, on a bend gules, to chief a Maltese cross argent.
No conflicts were found.
12. Líadan ní Laoghaire - new name accepted & new device accepted
Per pale azure and gules, a mascle knot Or.
While I vastly believe that the submitter would be better served by using ‘inghean uí’ over ‘ní’, the submission form has been checked to not allow major changes, and I believe that this would be a major change to the name as submitted. Therefore, I am going to accept the name submission, with the belief that, if Laurel believes that it is not a major change, that it will probably be changed to ‘inghean uí’, and that if it is a major change, it will probably be returned as not being a period naming style.
There were no conflicts found with the device. The mascle knot is an SCA invention, noted in the PicDic.
13. La Grande Compagnie des Coqs Blancs - new household name accepted & new badge accepted
Gules, a cock rising to sinister argent.
The badge is similar to Jehan de la Marche, Gules, a crow rising, pieced by an arrow, both argent (7301). There is a CD for dexter vs. sinister facing. It is also similar to Allesandra La Piccolo, Quarterly gules and sable, a dove rising to sinister, wings displayed, argent, with one CD for the field. In both cases, the question of whether there is a conflict depends on whether a CD can be called between for Crow/Rooster or Dove/Rooster. Also, there may be a CD for posture of the dove (wings displayed vs. wings elevated and addorsed). I believe that this judgment is best handled by Laurel and the College of Arms.
As far as any bad puns or other comments related to the name and badge combination: I assume that Mitchell is well aware of the possible connotations, and I leave it up to Laurel and the College of Arms to decide if this submission falls under IV.1, ‘Vulgar Names’, or IX.1, ‘Vulgar Armory’, or both.
14. Mycghalh, Shire of - new branch name accepted & new branch device accepted
Argent, a bee sable within a laurel wreath vert.
Since someone asked: A "midge" is a tiny flying insect. In my experience, they tend to get into everything…
No conflicts were found with the name or device.
15. Otgon the Bemused - new name returned & new device returned
Sable, a human ribcage argent.
While I have received anecdotal support for ‘Otgon’ as a Mongolian name (male or female), I have not received written documentation of the name. Without that, we cannot support this name submission to the College of Arms.
The device submission received several stylistic comments, suggesting that it be drawn more recognizably as a rib cage. The design is based on a practice of adorning clothing with bones to [apparently] represent the skeleton underneath -- the documentation does not support the use of bones as personal heraldry, but there is support of the use of skeletons and parts of skeletons in Western heraldry, so that in itself is not a problem. I will advise that the device be redrawn and resubmitted with the name.
16. Rüdiger Lutz - resub device accepted
Per fess azure and Or, a scorpion tergiant counterchanged and in chief an axe fesswise Or.
Clear of Sable, a scorpion tergiant displayed Or and in chief a battle axe fesswise reversed argent by tincture of field, primary, and secondary charges. The orientation/posture of the axe is also worth a CD.
17. Samme of the Towers - new name accepted & new device accepted
Quarterly argent and azure, a cross clechy counterchanged.
Name submitted as ‘Sam of the Towers’.
The submitter’s first name (according to the check that accompanied the submission) is ‘Samuel’, not ‘Sam’, and he therefore cannot use ‘Sam’ under the mundane name allowance. Changing the name to ‘Samuel’ would constitute a Major change, which the submitter has disallowed. However, Cateline la souriete, Brown Mouse Herald, was able to find ‘Samme Parvus’ in Reaney & Wilson under ‘Sam’, dated to 1275. I consider changing the spelling of ‘Sam’ to ‘Samme’ to be a Minor change, and am therefore accepting the name as "Samme of the Towers".
No conflicts were found with the device.
18. Tammarion de Sidana - new name returned & new device pended
Per bend sinister rayonny vert a fox sejant argent and argent semy of bunches of grapes purpure.
Name returned for lack of sufficient documentation of "Tammarion". Documenting "Tam[m]ara" is not sufficient.
The device should have been blazoned per bend sinister, not per bend.
19. Tammarion de Sidana - new badge returned
Purpure, a fox sejant argent.
Conflict with Freydís ór Thelamörk (Feb 92, via East): Purpure, a fox sejant within a bordure argent. There is one CD for the addition of the bordure.
20. Uileag mac Amhairghin - new name pended & new device returned
Quarterly argent and azure, in the first quarter a wolf rampant to sinister & in the fourth quarter a satyr maintaining a trident gules.
Photocopies of the documentation were not provided for the name submission, and none of the commenters supplied any other documentation. I am going to take the action of pending the name submission until I can obtain those photocopies and evaluate them. Receiving this documentation is not a guarantee of passage.
The device submission is being returned for further work. It is disallowed for giving the appearance of marshalling (Rules for Submission XI.3, ‘Marshalling’), using a quarterly field with plain lines of division with unrelated charges in the 1st and 4th quarters.
21. Uther of Elgin - new name accepted & new device accepted
Azure, on a pile Or, a thistle proper.
‘Elgin’ is a town in the Spey Valley of Scotland (AA Big Road Atlas of Britain, 5th edition, 1985). It can also be found in the 1847 Gazetteer of Scotland (PCA), pp 492-493
‘Uther’ is known from the Arthurian legends, used in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History, and is, I believe, consistent with previous SCA registrations. It is listed in The Encyclopaedia of Arthurian Legends by Ronan Coghlan (PCA, no date, no page number).
The device submission was incorrectly blazoned in the ILoI: It is colored as Azure, on a pile Or a thistle proper. With that blazon, it does not conflict with the badge of Scotland: [Fieldless] A thistle proper. It is clear by X.1, Addition of Primary Charges (the pile). I am accepting the submission on that basis (the reblazon) mostly because the thistle is completely on the pile. However, Laurel may decide that the original blazon using per pile is accurate, in which case it will conflict with A thistle proper.