Unto Olwynn Laurel; Aryanhwy Pelican; Istvan Wreath; and the commenting Members of the College of Arms,

Greetings of the Holiday Season and the Approaching New Year from Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy, Parhelium Herald!

The Atenveldt College of Heralds requests the consideration and registration of the following names and armory with the College of Arms.

Please note: Unless specifically stated, the submitter will accept any spelling and grammar corrections; all assistance is appreciated.

1. Beatriz Teixeyra Drago: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Gules, a flame and on a chief Or three gouts azure.

The name is 16^th C. Portuguese. Beatriz is a feminine given name found in "Portuguese Names From the 16th C." Juliana de Luna ( http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/portugal16.htm ).

Teixeyra is a surname found in "Portuguese Names From Lisbon, 1565," Aryanhwy merch Catmeal ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/portuguese/lisbon1565.html )

Drago is a common surname also found in Juliana's article.

The introduction to Aryanhwy's article comments briefly of name construction of the time, and that double bynames were not common, but that there are examples of such, including a <descriptive> + <descriptive>; she cites the documented Manoel Lobo Teixeyra; as Drago is Portuguese for "dragon," this appears to fix that construction. The client desires a female name and is most interested in the language/culture of the name; she wishes it authentic as 16^th C. Portuguese.

(I'm sure there's a lot of Scrabble points here for a name with a Y. And a Z! AND AN X!)

2. Bella Donna Wynter: NEW NAME

Bella Donna is a feminine Jewish name found in "Names of Jews in Rome In the 1550's," Yehoshua ben Haim haYerushalmi ( http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/Jewish/rome_article.html ).

Wynter is an English surname dated to 1543 in "Names found in the Berkeley Hundred Court Rolls," Aryanhwy merch Catmael ( http://heraldry.sca.org/names/english/berkeley100.html ).

The client's legal given name is Wynter, and she would like to use that as some aspect of her SCA name, so while this isn't the same usage (given name vs. byname), she has demonstrated that it is a period byname. Although this is a Roman Jewish name, Katherine Throckmorton, Brymstone College Herald, comments that it is quite well established that Jewish women's names tended to reflect the naming practices of the dominant culture. I think it's fairly clear that it borrows heavily from Italian ("beautiful lady/woman"); a mixed Italian-English name is one step from period practice.

She desires a female name and is most interested the spelling of the name. She will not accept Major changes to the name.

3. Björn the Navigator: NEW DEVICE

Per chevron azure and argent, a tree blasted and eradicated counterchanged.

The name appears in the 20 October 2008 Atenveldt Letter of Intent.

4. Edeline du Diekirch: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per bend sinister Or and azure, a bee sable and tower argent.

Edeline appears as a French feminine given name as Edeline l'Enragiée (and the similar Edelinne l'ouvrière) in "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris," Colm Dubh ( http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html#E ).

Diekirch is the capital city of the canton Diekirch and the district of Diekirch in Luxembourg. It is situated on the bands of the Sauer River and is in the modern region of The Ardennes ( http://www.visitluxembourg.com/maps.htm#Ardennes ). I think the name might be more accurate as de Diekirch, as the given name Edeline is French.

The client desires a feminine name. She will not accept Major changes to the name; she will not accept a holding name.

5. Jerome the True: NEW NAME

St. Jerome was a scholar an translated the Bible into English; he was much revered in the Middle Ages, with the French form of his name Jerome, and Jeronimus in Latin writings in England at the end of the 12^th C. (Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3^rd edition, p. 175 s.n. Jerome). It is found nearly a dozen times in "Late Sixteenth Century English Given Names," Talan Gwynek ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/eng16/ ).

While Reaney and Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames, 3^rd edition, doesn't date True, Truue appears as a byname in 1180 and le Trewe in 1327 as meaning "loyal, trustworthy" (p. 455, s.n. True) .

Additional information on the byname: "This long-established surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and has three distinct possible sources, each with its own history and derivation. Firstly, True may belong to that sizeable group of early European surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. These nicknames were originally given with reference to a variety of personal characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities, and mental and moral characteristics. The derivation, in this instance, is from the Olde English pre 7th Century "treowe" (Middle English "trow(e)", faithful, steadfast), denoting a loyal, steadfast person. Early examples of the surname from this source include: Ralph Truwe (Kent, 1185), and Henry le Trewe (Wiltshire, 1327). The second possibility is that True is a topographical name from residence by some prominent tree, deriving from the Olde English "treow" (Middle English "trew, trow"), tree, or from Trew (Cornwall), or True (Devon), localities named with this word. One Hugo de la Truwe, and a Laurence atte Trowe were noted in the Subsidy Rolls of Somerset and Sussex in 1250 and 1332 respectively. Finally, the name may be topographic for someone who lived near a depression in the ground, from the Middle English "trow", trough, hollow, or from Trow Farm (Wiltshire). On April 10th 1551, Anne, daughter of William True, was christened at St. Martin Ludgate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Rannulfus Truue, which was dated 1180, in the "Pipe Rolls of Wiltshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling." [ The Internet Surname Database, http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=True ] We aren't sure how reliable this source is, but it does state"On April 10th 1551, Anne, daughter of William True, was christened at St. Martin Ludgate, London." Unfortunately, the site doesn't state sources, but at least the spellings do not appear to be normalized, and since the date and location are listed, it may be possible to track down the parish record via the files at http://www2.nationalarchives.gov.uk/default.htm .

The client desires a male name. He will not accent Major changes to the name.

6. Karl Wilhelm Singer: CHANGE OF HOLDING NAME Wilhelm Singer from Laurel July 2008

Originally submitted as Bjorn Wilhelm Singer, the submission was returned "for administrative reasons because no summary of the documentation for Bjorn was provided on the LoI, and no photocopies were provided to Laurel. The given name Bjorn was documented from Siebicke, Historisches Deutsches Vornamenbuch; this source is not listed on Appendix H, so copies of the relevant pages are required. Because this is an administrative return, we are explicitly not addressing the registerability or authenticity of the name at this time. His device was registered under the holding name Wilhelm Singer."

The client has chosen another given name.

Karl is a masculine German given name dated 1501-1550 in "Late Period German Masculine Given Names: Names from 16th Century Plauen," Talan Gwynek ( http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/germmasc.html#plauen16 ).

Wilhelm is a masculine German given name dated 1451-1500 in "Late Period German Masculine Given Names: Names from 15th Century Plauen," Talan Gwynek ( http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/germmasc.html#plauen16 ).

Singer is a German family name dated to 1285 in Brechemach's Entymologisches Worterbuch der Deutshen Familiennamen K-Z, p. 616.

The client desires a male name, is most interested in the meaning and language/culture of the name (German) and wishes the name authentic for language/culture (German).

7. Seamus mac Raibert: CHANGE OF HOLDING NAME from James of Windale from Laurel, July 2008

Originally submitted as Seamus mac Raibert, it was returned for administrative reasons, as no summary of the documentation was provided on the LoI, and no name submission can be considered without a proper summary. His device was registered under the holding name James of Windale. Documentation for both elements of the name are found in Black's The Surnames of Scotland.

Seamus is the Scots Gaelic version of James, p. 382 s.n. James.

Raibert is the Scots Gaelic form of Robert, p. 695 s.n. Robert.

The construction of the name follows the guidelines seen in "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names Formerly Published as "Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames," 3rd Edition, Sharon L. Krossa ( http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/#simplepatronymicbyname ), for a simple patronymic byname.

The client desires a male name and would like the name authentic for language/culture and time period (12th-14^th C. Scotland); he wants this particular combination, as his legal given name is James and his father's given name is Robert.

8. Titus Babudius Cicero: NEW NAME

The name is Latin. The first two elements are found in LEGIO XX--The Twentieth Legion's "Roman Names" ( http://www.larp.com/legioxx/nomina.html ). Titus is shown as a praenomen. Babudius is demonstrated as a nomen. Cicero is a cognomen found in Nova Roma's "Choosing a Roman Name" ( http://www.novaroma.org/wiki/Choosing_a_Roman_name ). The client desires a male name and is most interested in the language/culture of the name (none given, but I suspect that it's Latin/Roman).

Originally submitted as Babudius Titus Cicero, the name was returned at the Kingdom level for reconsideration by the client, as there are very few Roman praenomina, and Babudius is not one of them. On the other hand, Titus is one of the documented praenomina, and slightly adjusting the order of the name elements resolves this issue. The client found switching the name elements acceptable.

9. Umm Ma'bad Amirah al-Zahra bint_'Abd al-Aziz al-Azhar ibn Malik ibn_Mansur (Atenveldt): CHANGE OF HOLDING NAME Erin of Atenveldt from Laurel July 2008

Submitted as Umm Ma'bad Amirah al-Zahra bint al-Azhar 'Abd al-Aziz ibn Malik al-Mansur, the name was returned because "There are two problems with this name. First, in Arabic names, laqabs (descriptive bynames) do not precede the isms (given names). Since al-Azhar is being used as a laqab, it needs to follow the ism 'Abd al-Aziz. Second, the byname al-Mansur is a regnal name, used only by kings. Its registration is not allowed because it is an implicit claim to rank and so violates RfS VI.1 Presumptuous Names: Names Claiming Rank. The ism Mansur is found in Da'ud ibn Auda, "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices"; its use is not presumptuous as its use was not restricted to kings. We would change the name to Umm Ma'bad Amirah al-Zahra bint_'Abd al-Aziz al-Azhar ibn Malik ibn_Mansur in order to correct these issues, but the submitter does not allow major changes."

The client is "absolutely fine with Umm Ma'bad Amirah al-Zahra bint_'Abd al-Aziz al-Azhar ibn Malik ibn_Mansur." She is also fine if they need to change "al-Zahra" to "al-Zahrah" though she would very much prefer if they didn't have to do that (if a spelling change is necessary for registration, she'd prefer al-Zahrah, not Amira). The suggestion by the College of Arms did maintain the spelling of al-Zahra, even with the spelling of Amirah, and she'd be very happy if these were the final spellings.

As mentioned in the College of Arms commentary, Mansur is a masculine given name/ism, and its use is not presumptuous as its use was not restricted to kings, as noted in "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices," Da'ud ibn Auda

( http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm ).

The client desires a feminine name.

If registered, this is to be associated with the registered armory Azure, on a fess argent between a crescent and two scimitars in saltire Or a lotus flower in profile azure.

10. Willelmus cum manu: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Vert, on a seven-pointed mullet argent a hand vert all within an orle argent.

Willelmus is a masculine given name found in the Domesday Book 1086 and Curia Rolls 1199-1220, according to Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Given Names, 3^rd edition, pp. 293-4, s.n. William.