Unto Gabriel Laurel; Juliana Pelican; Emma Wreath; and the commenting Members of the College of Arms,

Greetings from Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy, Brickbat Herald and Parhelium Herald for the Kingdom of Atenveldt!

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

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

1. Anya Neledina: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Quarterly vert and Or, a cross and overall on a roundel sable a peacock in his pride vert, tailed Or.

The original documentation provided by the client comes from an online Russian culture site, demonstrates the name as Anna, not Anya. Anya does not appear in Paul Goldschmidt's "Dictionary of Period Russian Names," http://heraldry.sca.org/paul/, but under the header Anna, Annya is dated to 1554-1556. Considering the numerous spellings for this name, including Anna/Ana, it does seem that Anya could be a reasonable variant of Annya.

Neledina (a river in Russia) is found in "Locative Bynames in Medieval Russia," Paul Wickenden of Thanet

( http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/toprus.html ); Neledinskii-Meletskii dates to the 15th C. It seems that the byname needs to be modified to form a correctly-constructed byname – Neledinskaia or possibly Neledinskaya might be appropriate for a woman who came from a region near/adjacent to this river.

The client desires a female name. She is most interested in the sound of the name.

Internal discussion suggested that the roundel was too large to justify calling the cross a cross nowy. There is no excessive layering here, however (field, cross, roundel, peacock), since there are only three: overall charges are considered to lie on the field (the roundel on the cross is an overall charge). It is acceptable to have tertiary charges on overall charges. The new blazon was suggested by Gunnvor.

2. Arianwen ferch Arthur: HOUSEHOLD NAME RESUBMISSION from Laurel, April 2012, Tyddyn Caer Mab

The client's name was registered June 2001.

The original household name submission Teleu Caer Mab, was returned because “this is not the sort of place name that was used to create the name of groups of people using Teleus. The places used to create such names are of regions and other larger places. No evidence of a type of group that could be registered with that sort of place name was offered either. Barring such evidence, this name cannot be registered.”

The client has chosen Tyddyn to demonstrate a group/household of people associated with a homestead. “Within the gwely [a set of descendents of a common great-grandfather], a particular family would have its tyddyn or homestead (with buildings and enclosed fields) [Jenkins 1986 p.99] and the use of a share of the rhandir ("share land"), which was the collection of lands in which a kin group had an interest. [Owen 1989 p.64]” Documentation is found in Period Welsh Models for SCA Households and the Nomenclature Thereof,” Heather Rose Jones, http://www.heatherrosejones.com/welshhouseholdname/family.html.

Caer Mab was found for the original submission as a grey-area place in Eifionydd: a study in landownership from the medieval period to the present day, in which Caer Mab is cited in the Eifionydd rental of 1631 ( http://books.google.com/books?id=6n08AAAAMAAJ&q=%22caer+mab%22&dq=%22caer+mab%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TTYZT-XSHeSniQLOuOnBCA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA ).

If this cannot be registered, the client would accept plant Arianwen Caer Mab or gafael Arianwen construction (from the same source as Tyddyn), using the client's registed name and Caer Mab as a locative byname to form the name portion.

The client is most interested in the use of the Caer Mab element. She will not accept Major Changes to the submission.

When registered, the household name should be associated with the registered badge Per pale argent and azure, a lozenge counterchanged.

3. Aurelia Nomadikη: BADGE RESUBMISSION from Laurel September 2011, and NEW HOUSEHOLD NAME, Domus Scorpionis Aurei

Gules, a Roman helmet Or between four scorpions in cross paly sable and Or.

The personal name was registered January 2008.

The household name is Latin, “House of Gold Scorpions.” The translation was provided via private correspondence with Metron Ariston (I think. Of course I cannot locate it now). Domus, as a term for house/household has been registered as recently as 2006 for Domus Montis et Solaris and 2010 for Domus Minervae.

The client's original badge submission, Gules, a Roman helmet within an annulet Or., appeared in the June 2011 Atenveldt LoI but was withdrawn at the client's request September 2011. This replaces that submission.

4. Fiona inghean Mheg Uidhir : NEW DEVICE CHANGE

Or, a cow statant and on a chief gules an arrow inverted and a filled drop spindle crossed in saltire Or.

The name was registered September 2008.

If this submission is registered, the client wishes to release her old device, Vert, a cow statant and in chief three annulets enfiled by an arrow fesswise reversed Or. (I hate to see the “three annulets enfiled by an arrow” go!)

5. Isabella Evangelista: EXCHANGE OF DEVICE and BADGE

(current device) Per chevron gules and sable, two thistles and a lion dormant contourny argent.

(current badge) Per bend sinister ermine and checky gules and Or.

The name was registered September 2004.

The client provides a letter requesting that her badge become her device, and her device a badge.

6. Kata the Forthright: BADGE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, July 2007

(Fieldless) A looped tress of hair Or surmounted by a single-sided comb sable.

The name was registered July 2003.

The client's previous badge submission, (Fieldless) A giant panda sejant erect gardant proper within and conjoined to an annulet sable., was returned by Laurel July 2007: “This badge is returned as a panda is not registerable. As al-Jamal noted: By current precedent, it is not acceptable to use a species of flora or fauna in armory which was not known to Europeans in period: "The primary charge is the leaf of a vanillaleaf plant (genus Achlys). Europeans did not discover it until the 18th century so [it] cannot be used in SCA armory" (LoAR February 2000). The most recent precedent explicitly concerning pandas notes in pertinent part that the panda was not known to Europeans in period: "Lanner provided some distinct evidence that the panda was not seen by an European until this century and that its furs were not known to Europeans until the last century" (LoAR December 1989). The panda is therefore not acceptable for registration. (LoAR February 2002, cf. Zubaydah az-Zahra)” This is a complete redesign.

The tress is found in Banners, Standards and Badges from a Tudor Manuscript in the college of Arms with an Introduction by Lord Howard de Walden, the De Walden Library, MCMIV. They are seen in a hand-drawn illustration of a standard for John Zouche de Codnore, his being encircled by a coronet (and with a badger standing within each braided loop). The accompanying caption notes “...white badgers (or grays) encircled by a golden cordon (originally a tress of hair), enfiled by a golden crown.” (Emphasis mine) Batonvert graciously provided the documentation. Orle notes “...and hair is depicted like this on a lot of women in German armory. I think it's identifiable as a tress.”

7. Kollsvein bloð hrafn: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Argent, two chevronels per pale gules and sable between three raven's heads erased sable.

The name is Old Norse. Kollsveinn is a masculine given name found in “Viking Names found in Landnámabók,” Aryanhwy merch Catmael, http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/landnamabok.html; it was suggested that the spelling be corrected to match the documentation (it appears that the genitive formation would be affected by a difference in spelling).

No commenters could justify the compound construction of the byname, which is intended to mean “blood (of the) raven,” according to the client. It was suggested that the easiest fix would be to make it into two distance bynames, bloð and hrafn. Gunnvor noted that only one of the sources she checked for all bynames containing either “blood” or “raven” showed a byname formed with -hrafn, <Hrafnkell skáldhrafn> in Landnámabók.; most of the others use a prefix byname form, as Hrafna- (Finnur Jónsson's Tilnavne i den Islandske Oldlitteratur (Copenhagen: H. H. Thieles Bogtrykkeri. 1908. http://books.google.com/books?id=KWkSAAAAYAAJ))

Upon consultation with the client (at this point, he is amenable to some changes), he'd much rather have Kollsvien(n) bloð hrafn than Hrafna-Kollsvien(n) bloð, because it's much closer to his original submission.

The client desires a male name and is more interested in the meaning, sound and language/culture of the name. He will not accept Major or Minor Changes to the name.

8. Michaelis Maximus: NEW NAME CHANGE and DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, June 2010

Sable, a ram rampant between four mullets in cross argent and a chief Or.

The name was original submitted as Michaelis Maximus Erasmus but was registered by Laurel June 2010 as Michaelis Erasmus: “Submitted as Michaelis Maximus Erasmus, this name mixes elements typical of a Latinized Renaissance name with an element, Maximus, that could only be found in a Classical or Byzantine Roman name. Michaelis Erasmus is a lovely Latinized Dutch name. Without evidence that Maximus might have been used in a time and place compatible with the late medieval or Renaissance Erasmus, it cannot be registered as part of this name. Therefore, we have dropped that element. Michaelis Maximus would alternately be registerable as a Byzantine name.” The client prefers Michaelis Maximus as was suggested and is submitting that as his new name. If it is registered, his old name is to be released.

Michael is a Biblical masculine name, dated 1196-1215, 1303 and 1346 (with the Michael spelling) in Withycombe, 3^rd ed., pp. 218-219. Maximus is a cognomen found in “Roman Names: Selecting and Using your Roman Name,” http://www.legionxxiv.org/nomens/.

The client desires a male name and will not accept Major Changes to the name.

The client's original device submission, Sable vêtu Or, four compass stars in cross argent., was returned by Laurel (not Kingdom, as noted on the submission form) June 2010: “This device is returned for conflict with the device of Gerhard Helmbrecht von Offenbach, Gyronny azure and argent, four compass stars argent. There is a CD for the field, but the position of the compass stars in Gerhard's device is forced. The device is also returned for conflict with the device of Shirazuki Yoshitaro, Sable, vetu Or, within a torii gate argent a tricune Or. Both must be considered as Or, on a lozenge throughout sable..., and under that blazon, there is a single CD for the multiple changes to the tertiary charge group. The device is also in conflict with the badge of Isabel Dancere, Sable vetu ployé, a bowen knot crosswise Or. When compared as charged lozenges, there is a single CD for the changes to the tertiary charges. On resubmission, please inform the submitter that the use of a compass star is a step from period practice.”

9. Seki Tora: NEW DEVICE

Sable, a pair of tantō argent hilted gules crossed in saltire and surmounted by a natural tiger's cabossed Or marked sable.

The name was registered April 2011.

The tantō ("short sword") is a fixed-blade Japanese knife; it can have a single or a double edge. It is the shortest of the Japanese blades, usually under 12 inches in length (Japanese Sword Visual Glossary, http://home.earthlink.net/~steinrl/glossary.htm), so it can be/is considered a dagger rather than a full-length sword. The tantō first surfaced between the years 794-1185 as just a standard weapon, a practical blade. It became an artifact of higher quality and artistry between 1185 and 1333, before reverting to a more utilitarian, fighting weapon 1336-1573. Women carried an even smaller version of the tantō called a kaiken, used for self-defense (A Brief History of the Tanto, http://www.japanesejujitsu.org/a-brief-history-of-the-tanto). Of course, it can also be blazoned as a knife, as was mentioned by several internal commenters.

While naturalistic in depiction, reducing the tinctures to Or and sable (without a lot of white/argent that most tigers have around their mouths and on their ruffs) prevent it from being overly so. I'd consider the open vs. closed mouth a matter of artistic license. This does not violate A3D2c. Unity of Posture and Orientation, since the swords and the head are not in the same charge group.

10. Thaddeus the Legless: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Vert, on a roundel argent a Tiwaz rune vert.

Thaddeus is cited as the name of one of the apostles, found in Mark 3:18 (Bible History Online, http://www.bible-history.com/links.php?cat=45&sub=1935&cat_name=Bible+Names+N-Z&subcat_name=Thaddaeus). In documenting the alternate name Thaddeus Guy for Otnand Vettich, the 9/2008 Outlands LoI notes that Thaddeus is a masculine given name found in Academy of St. Gabriel Report 2306: The name "Thaddeus is found in Footnote 8 of this report, as a common Anglicised form of "Tadhg", from an article on Late 16th Century given names. This would put the name as being in the 1500's.” (http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/2306.txt). It would seem that Thaddeus was an English masculine name common enough to be used as a substitute for a similar-sounding foreign name.

Legless: Bynames referring to a human leg are found in Reaney and Wilson, 3rd edition, p. 276, s.n. Legg, Legge (Leg 1176, 1185, Legg(e) 1327). Various forms of Lawless from 1350 and 1533 are indicative of an individual who is an outlaw or one uncontrolled by the law (R&W, p. 273 s.n. Lawless); it seems the -less suffix in conjunction with leg could be used to connote an unfortunate but obvious physical condition of an individual. Middle English Dictionary demonstrates legles c1390 Vrn.Mir.Virg.(Vrn) 156/50:
He was Counseyled hewe of his leg Þen longe to suffre so..Þerfore hym þou3te beter legles Þen so to suffre þer-wyþ. And the Oxford English Dictionary Second edition, 1989; online version June 2012 <http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/107127>; accessed 02 August 2012 and the earlier version first published in New English Dictionary, 1902. has legless from 1597: T. Middleton Wisdome of Solomon Paraphr. ix. iv. sig. L3, A leglesse body is my kingdomes mappe.

The client desires a male name and is most interested in the sound of the name.

The Tiwaz (or Týr ) rune is found in the Elder Futhark, http://www.arild-hauge.com/efuthark.htm.

There are 3 new names, 4 new devices, 1 new name change, 1 new device change, and 1 new household name. There is 1 device resubmission, 2 badge resubmissions and 1 household name resubmission. There is 1 exchange of badge for device. This is a total of 15 items, 10 of them new.

I was assisted in the preparation of the Letter of Intent with commentary provided by Alana O'Keeve, Andreas von Meißen, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Daniel de Lincoln, Eldrich Gaiman, Gunnvor silfraharr, Jeanne Marie Lacroix, Magnus von Lübeck and Taran the Wayward

Thank you again for your great indulgence and patience, your expertise and your willingness to share it.

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy
c/o Linda Miku
2527 East 3rd Street; Tucson AZ 85716
atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com; brickbat@nexiliscom.com