20 September 2002, A.S. XXXVII

                                                                                                                                                                                Kingdom of Atenveldt

Unto Their Royal Majesties Aaron and Alisandra; Mistress Magdelen Venturosa, Aten Principal Herald; the Heralds in the Atenveldt College of Heralds; and to All Whom These Presents Come,

Greetings from Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy, Brickbat Herald!

This is the September 2002 internal Atenveldt Letter of Intent. It contains local submissions, asking questions of submitters and local heralds who have worked with them; if these questions are not addressed, the submission may be returned by the Atenveldt College of Heralds. You are welcome to comment both on submissions being considered for a future LoI and those already in an LoI; mistakes do get made, and I can correct ones, even on those submissions already at the Laurel level. Please have your comments to me 10 October. I accept online commentary, in addition to questions pertaining to heraldry: brickbat@nexiliscom.com.

The dates on the internal LoIs are being doodled with a bit, in order to produce the external LoIs in a timely fashion. Please bear with me; I’ll try to keep you posted so that if you have comments, you can make them and I can receive them in good time.

Consultation Table at Southern Collegium: The Table was a lot smaller than at Kingdom Arts and Sciences, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing! We did more consulting than actual accepting of submissions, but there was a great deal of consultation and “talking shop,” particularly with Lord Bertrand, Thunderbolt Pursuivant, and a number of folks from Mons Tonitrus (I think Bertrand is going to be sending a lot of paperwork my way soon!). Thanks to HL Robin of Rhovanion and Lord Symond Bayard for their assistance, particularly when I snuck off to attend a few classes (woohoo!).

I don’t know when the next Consultation Table will be held. It may not be until the “big one,” at Estrella War, but this isn’t too early to begin thinking about volunteering at that one (the Consultation Table will be run there at least Thursday-Sunday, and it might be open one or two evenings as well, so there are a lot of hours that it needs to be covered). There are a lot of members of the College of Arms who usually attend the War, and a number of kingdoms are represented heraldically. This is a wonderful opportunity how kingdom Colleges of Heralds are alike and different (Pani Stefania of Iron Wood Loch worked at the Consultation at the September Potrero War, and she got some interesting insights in how the Caid CoH functions!). There will be cookies and junk food in abundance (no, wait, high-energy foods) to keep you motivated, too.

Keep the Submissions Rolling: Local Heralds should hold a submission no more than a month before sending it on for kingdom review. A few groups have been remiss in this; illness, real life, etc., does give a bit of leeway, but in the event that you cannot process submissions in that amount of time (looking for conflicts and the like), send them up! Things can get a bit sticky if someone is fighting (or being fought for) in the Crown Lists, and their submissions are “somewhere” in the process, and banks give a hairy eyeball to old checks.

Letters of Acceptance and Return: submissions processed at the June 2002 (they were in the February 2002 Atenveldt LoI) and the July 2002 College of Arms meetings (the Estrella Letter!). Sorry for the SMALL type font, but there is all manner of interesting decisions contained. If you can’t squint quite enough to read the small font, this letter is also found online at the atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com site.

Submissions Website: You can send electronic commentary on the most recent internal LoIs through the site, in addition to any questions you might have. Current submission forms can be found there. Please let your local populace know about it: atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com.

Please consider the following submissions for the October 2002 Atenveldt Letter of Intent:

Deborah Hawkins (Atenveldt): NEW DEVICE

Argent, chaussé azure, a sprig of oak leaves vert fructed proper.

This appeared in last month’s IloI, with a bee (Argent, chaussé azure, a bee inverted proper.). I was somewhat concerned that a “proper” bee has a significant amount of argent on it, primarily from the rather large wings. I’ve contacted the submitter, and she prefers not to use the bee at all and instead go with this choice of primary charge.

Eric Haukeseye (Tir Ysgithr): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per bend sable and gules, a bow bendwise and a hawk’s head erased Or.

Eric comes from Old Norse and is the submitter’s legal given name. Haukeseye, “one who has hawk’s eyes,” although this might be a local byname; this spelling dates to 1346, with a Will. Haukseye (p. 110, Studies on Middle English Nicknames, I. Compounds, Jan Jonsjo, Lund Studies in English, 1979).

Rurik Levushka Ul'ianov (Tir Ysgithr): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, December 2001

Ermine, a lion dormant contourny gules and a bordure azure.

The name was registered December 2001.

The previous submission, identical to this, was returned for the following reasons: “The ermine spots are far too small and numerous for identifiability. As few as ten ermine spots would be perfectly acceptable.... In addition, the posture of the lion blurs the distinction between couchant and dormant. The head should clearly be raised and alert (as in couchant) or should rest on the forepaws and sleep (as in dormant).” The gentleman has addressed both issues. PLEASE NOTE THIS–too many “particles” on a semy or an ermine treatment continue to be a reason for return by the College of Arms (there was one return below, and one warning); make sure your submitters aren’t too generous!

Wolf Strongarm (Tir Ysgithr): NEW NAME AND DEVICE

Per pale sable and Or, a death’s head counterchanged.

Wolf is a German given name, dating to 1558 and found in “Medieval German Given Names from Silesia,” Talan Gwynek (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/), and it can be found earlier as the Flemish given name Wulf, in “Flemish Names from Bruges,” Luana de Grood (http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/bruges/). Strongarm is a coined physical attribute name. The separate elements of the byname can be found in Studies on Middle English Nicknames, I. Compounds, Jan Jonsjo, shows Strongbow as “archer or maker of bows” (evidently well-made, strong ones), p. 173., in addition to the documented Armstrang/Armstrong, “one who has strong arms,” p. 50. Additionally, there are three instances in which the byname Strongarm has been registered by the CoA, most recently June 1991.

The Pictorial Dictionary comments that a human skull can be described as a death’s head, particularly when it is missing the lower jaw as is seen here (and is it any wonder that the 10-year-old submitter really likes that blazon? :). This can be alternately blazoned as a jawless skull.

The following submissions appear in the September 2002 Atenveldt Letter of Intent:

Adam Carlos Diaz de Castile (Atenveldt): NEW DEVICE

Pean, an heraldic tyger rampant Or, a bordure embattled Or charged with six crosses Espada gules.

The name appears in the 20 August 2002 Atenveldt Letter of Intent.

Against Christiana Ann Steen: Quarterly azure and ermine, a tyger rampant regardant, a bordure raguly Or., there is 1 CD for difference of field and 1 CD for the addition of tertiary charges. There is no CD for change to the orientation of the monster’s head, and raguly and embattled are too similar to use them as a difference The submitter has provided a rendering of a cross Espada, taken from The Knights of Christ, by Terence Wise, ISBN# 0-85045-604-5, pp. 28-29, 32-33, 34, 36. For easier rendering, the submitter should consider widening the bordure and making the crenellations fewer and larger, to accommodate the charges upon the bordure.

Aleyn Randwulf (Atenveldt): NEW DEVICE

Per pale azure and gules, a pair of eyes Or.

The name was registered May 2001.

Consider the armory of Melisande Shadow: Sable, two cat's eyes vert pupilled sable and fimbriated argent. There is 1 CD for the difference in field tincture and 1 CD for the difference in tinctures of the sole primary group of charges.

Atenveldt, Kingdom of: TRANSFER OF HERALDIC TITLES, to the Outlands resubmission from Laurel, January 2002

The heraldic titles include Aspen Pursuivant (for the Barony of Caerthe), Fretty Pursuivant, Liber Pursuivant (for the Freehold of Great River/Shire of Nahrun Kabirun), Palmer Pursuivant (for the Deputy to White Stag), Rook Pursuivant (for the Barony of Citadel of the Southern Pass), and Scalene Pursuivant (for the Barony of Dragonsspine).

The submission was originally returned by the CoA in January 2002 because a letter of acceptance was not received from the Kingdom of the Outlands.

Bertrand de Lacy (Mons Tonitrus): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, February 2002

Per bend sinister Or and vert, a Lacy knot and an orle, all counterchanged.

The name was registered February 2002.

The original submission, Per bend sinister Or and vert, a Lacy knot counterchanged., was returned for conflict with the protected badge of the Lacy family (important non-SCA armory) (Tinctureless) A Lacy knot. There is only 1 CD for fieldlessness. Adding the orle provides the second CD. Additional his son, Thomas de Lacy, provides a Letter of Permission to Conflict with his registered armory, Per bend sinister Or and vert, a Lacy knot counterchanged and a label sable.

Bláithín inghean Bhradaigh (Tir Ysgithr): NEW NAME, DEVICE, and BADGE

Per bend sinister Or and argent, a gilly flower purpure, slipped and leaved vert, and a human footprint sable.

(badge) Argent, semy of hawks bells purpure, a frog vert.

The name is Irish. Bláithín is a feminine given name (p. 32, Ó Corráin and Maguire). Bhrádaigh is constructed from Mac Brádaigh (p. 24, MacLysaght, under (Mac) Brady), which seems to be a reasonable way of constructing a genitive form of that name; while I’ve been unable to find Brádaigh “standing alone” as a Irish masculine given name, it would seem that at some point in Irish history, it might’ve been a masculine given name. The submitter will not accept major changes to the submission

Catelin Munro of Ailsa (Atenveldt): NEW BADGE

Per saltire sable and argent, a Catherine wheel and a bordure gules.

The name was registered April 1998.

Cuilén Gordon of Tir Ysgithr (Tir Ysgithr): NAME RESUBMISSION from Laurel, January 2002

The submitter’s original submission, Cuilén of the Gordons, was returned for failure to show this as a period name construction; while Cuilén Gordon was cited as registerable style, it would be in conflict with Colin Gordon, registered in June 1998. The submitter has added a locative, his home barony, to clear the conflict with Colin Gordon.

Cuilén is an Irish masculine given name (p. 66, Ó Corráin and Maguire). Gordon is a Scottish surname popular in Ireland (p. 132, MacLysaght).

Katheryn Slegel (Mons Tonitrus): NAME APPEAL for registration of the name Katheryn von Schlegel; DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Kingdom, November 2001.

Purpure, a mulberry branch fructed Or between flaunches argent.

In the November 2001 LoAR, in which the name was registered as Katheryn Slegel, commentary notes that “The submitter’s name was originally submitted as Katheryn von Schlegel, the submitter requested authenticity for the 13th to 16th C (no language/culture specified) and allowed any changes. Schlegel is not a placename...All period examples of this byname found by the College are spelled Sl-. To comply with the submitter's request for authenticity, we have changed the byname to the form Slegel dated to 1309 in Bahlow, Deutsches Namenlexikon, (s.n. Schleg(e)l).”

I think that the request was somewhat misleading, as the submitter desired to use her legal maiden name Schlegel, with that spelling, moreso than it being a period form, as an element of her SCA name, and she had thought it was a place name in Germany (or a surrounding country); I also did less than sterling job at promoting this for her. We’d cited Friedrich von Schlegel (1772-1829), a German writer, critic and philosopher, as a post-period use of the name and have found a little closer (but still post-period) example of von Schlegel with Katharina Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel (1697-1768), a courtier of the ducal court in Cöthen and a hymn-writer (http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/v/o/vonschlegel_kad.htm). The submitter has provided a copy of her birth certificate (to Laurel) demonstrating the surname spelling Schlegel, and she also supplies a listing of German municipalities, which shows a municipality of Schlegel in the state/land of Thueringen, and two in Sachsen, suggesting that these are places that would support the von Schlegel construction (http://www.faerber.muc.de/dmoz/de-gemeinden/s.html).

Her original submission used a post-period tincture (murray) and a post-period charge (the sixth). She has done a slight redesign of the original device, which now uses the period heraldic purpure and is more heraldically symmetrical.

Lochlan MacBean of Ashie Moor (Atenveldt): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Kingdom, December 2000

Argent, a bird’s talon erased bendwise sinister sustaining a thistle bendwise proper.

The holding name was registered December 2000. His name resubmission appears in the August 2002 Atenveldt LoI.

The submitter’s original device submission, Argent, a wildcat sable, marked argent, bearing up its foreleg a targe gules., was returned for conflict with Houri the Savage, Argent a lion rampant sable armed, orbed and langued gules. This is a complete redesign. The design has been redrawn so that the thistle has leaves, which helps in its identifiability, and has been made large enough to be truly considered a sustained charge, and by doing so, making it a co-primary, with the talon.

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy (Tir Ysgithr): NEW AUGMENTATION OF ARMS

Per chevron vert and Or, in base a satyr dancing and piping proper and as an augmentation on a canton azure a sun in glory and a bordure Or.

The name was registered August 1979.

The original armory, minus the augmentation, was registered in August 1979. The Augmentation of Arms was granted in August 2002. The augmentation follows the style registered to Hastini Chandra, in order to give the greatest contrast between the registered armory and the elements of the augmentation.

Molon Munokhoi Tsagaan (Atenveldt): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, March 2001

Or, four roundels two and two, a bordure gules.

The name was registered March 2001.

The submitter’s original submission, Gules, on a bezant four roundels two and two gules., was returned for violation of RfS XI.4 Arms of Pretense, “Armory that uses charges in such a way as to appear to be arms of pretense or an unearned augmentation of honor is considered presumptuous. Period and modern heraldic practice asserts a claim to land or property by surmounting an individuals usual armory with a display of armory associated with that claim. Such arms of pretense are placed on an escutcheon. Similarly, an augmentation of honor often, though not necessarily, takes the form of an independent coat placed on an escutcheon or canton.” It has been determined by the CoA that a roundel was a period means of displaying arms of pretense, and the use of multiple charges on a roundel is a reason for return. Modifying Molon’s original design slightly, using the four roundels as the primary charges, resolves this problem.

Stefania Krakowska (Iron Wood Loch): NEW DEVICE

Vert, a spider and a bordure, argent.

The name was registered June 2002.

This is clear of Jaime da Acores: Sable, a spider extended argent within a bordure compony argent and gules. There is 1 CD for the field difference and 1 CD for partial change of the secondary’s tinctures. Also based on the armory of Karin of the Golden Web: Azure, a spider extended depending from a spiderweb throughout in chief Or., it would seem that extended could suggest that the spider is head down, as webbing comes from the spinnerets located in the abdomen of a spider. If so, there is an additional CD for posture change of the primary charge.

Wilhelus le Cassé (Sundragon): NAME CHANGE RESUBMISSION, Kingdom 3/02

The original name change, Wallace the Broken (from the submitter’s currently–registered name is Padraig Dillon of Liaththor, registered in August 1993), had problems because Wallace is a Scottish surname, and its use as a given name, most likely to commemorate the hero William Wallace, is post-period (p. 291, Withycombe). The submitter has rendered the name entirely into French, choosing a given name with a similar pronunciation to Wallace. Wilhelus is found in “Names Found in Commercial Documents from Bordeaux, 1470-1520,” Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.sit.wisc.edu/~sfriedemann/names/bordeaux.htm). le Cassé, while French for “broken,” also appears to be a locative byname, “a man from Cassé,” a region in southwestern France (p. 92, Dauzat). If registered, he wishes his currently-held name released.

The following submissions were registered by the College of Arms, June 2002:

Áedán Mac Néill. Name.

There was some discussion regarding whether Mac should be capitalized in this byname. Given the amount of discussion and varying opinions, a clarification of this issue has been included in the Cover Letter accompanying this LoAR. As the submitter did not indicate a preferred meaning, we have registered this name as submitted.

Alianora Alexandra da Lyshåret. Device reblazon. Sable, three narcissi affronty one and two slipped and leaved proper.

The previous blazon, Sable, three narcissi one and two slipped and leaved proper, did not specify the posture of the flower.

Alianora Alexandra da Lyshåret. Badge reblazon. Per fess sable and Or, on a narcissus blossom affronty argent a Celtic cross Or.

The previous blazon, Per fess sable and Or, on a narcissus blossom argent a Celtic cross Or, did not specify the posture of the flower.

Angelica des Montagnes. Device reblazon. Purpure, on a bend sinister argent between two daffodils affronty and two decrescents Or, a hummingbird palewise displayed gules.

The previous blazon, Purpure, on a bend sinister argent between two daffodils and two decrescents Or, a hummingbird palewise displayed gules, did not specify the posture of the flowers.

Barbara of Levedia. Device reblazon. Argent, on a pile ployé throughout vert, a daffodil, bell to dexter base, slipped and leaved, argent.

The previous blazon, Argent, on a pile ploye throughout vert, a daffodil, slipped and leaved, argent, did not specify the posture of the flower, and lacked the accent on the last letter of ployé.

Dawen the Dark. Name and device. Per fess Or and pean, a demi-sun sable charged with a demi-eagle Or.

Submitted as Dayone the Dark, no documentation was provided and none was found that Dayone is a plausible name in period. Black Pillar found some similar-sounding names in period, which we are including here for the submitter's information: I note the masculine name "Deo" from the article "Italian Men's Names from Florence, 1427" by Ferrante laVolpe. There is the masculine name "Dion" from Wickendon's Dictionary of Period Russian Names, online 2nd edition. There is also the Welsh masculine name "Deyo," given as a variant of "David" in "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names" by Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn. Those are the closest that I have found in looking through my resources. The LoI specifically noted that if the submitted name was not registerable, the submitter would accept Melissa Dawn the Dark. Dawn was documented as a header form in Reaney & Wilson (p. 128 s.n. Dawn). In most cases, header forms are plausible for period and so are registerable. However, precedent (most notably regarding modern forms in Ó Corráin & Maguire) has ruled that header forms which are modern might not be registerable. This has been handled on a case by case basis. In this instance, the only example given under this header in Reaney & Wilson is Roger Dawen, dated to 1332. Dawen is derived from Daw/Dawe, a diminutive of David, via an -en diminutive ending. Lacking evidence that the e would have been dropped in period, Dawn is not registerable. As Dawen is a diminutive of a given name, it is registerable as a given name and does not require Melissa to be added as a given name to make this name registerable.

The bird was originally blazoned as a demi-hawk but it is clearly drawn as a stylized eagle. We have therefore reblazoned it.

Fiona Ann the Fair. Name and device. Ermine, three crescents inverted sable.

Note: Fiona was ruled SCA compatible in April of 1981 and upheld in the December 1995 cover letter.

This device does not conflict with Aébfhinn ni Thigearnaigh, Ermine, an alphyn passant between three crescents inverted sable. The standard comparison between these two devices would be that Fiona's device has deleted a primary charge, the alphyn, from Aébfhinn's device. The alphyn is clearly primary in Aébhfhinn's device because it is a central charge surrounded by an group of identical charges. Just as the hypothetical arms Ermine, a chevron between three crescents inverted sable would have the chevron as a primary charge group, the alphyn in Aébfhinn's device is also a primary charge group. Addition/deletion of primary charge is sufficient difference between two pieces of armory by RfS X.1.

Flannacán Ó Duinnín. Name and device. Azure, a fess between three trefoils and a lion's head cabossed argent.

Haley Óláfsdóttir. Name change from holding name Haley of Atenveldt.

An issue regarding holding names arose in reviewing this submission resulting in a policy change discussed fully in the Cover Letter accompanying this LoAR. Beginning with the January 2003 decision meeting, elements of a holding name which were not documented in the original submission are not grandfathered for use in a new submission or resubmission. Most notably this addresses mundane name elements taken from the submission form in order to create a holding name. If such an element was not submitted with proper documentation as required under the Legal Name allowance (RfS II.4), it is not grandfathered. If the submitter wishes to use that element in an SCA name, it may be submitted as normal under the Legal Name allowance.

Isabeau Gagnon. Name and device. Argent, a chevron purpure between three lions rampant gules within a bordure purpure.

Marceau de Valcourt. Badge. (Fieldless) A pair of rapiers crossed in saltire Or surmounted by a fleur-de-lys purpure.

Marcus Christian. Name and device. Per saltire purpure and argent, in pale a comet bendwise sinister Or headed of a mullet and a single-horned anvil argent.

Submitted as Marcus the Christian, all of the documentation found for Christian as a byname show it as a patronymic byname. Therefore, we have removed the from the byname.

Michel der Riese. Name and device. Per bend sinister Or and vert, a talbot passant sable and a bordure counterchanged.

Stefania Krakowska. Name.

Suzanne du Soleil. Name.

Listed on the LoI as Suzanne du Soliel, this name was submitted as Suzanne du Soleil. There was some question about the plausibility of the byname du Soleil, 'of the sun'. Clarion found support for this form of the byname: Morlet, Dictionnaire Étymologique des Noms de Famille (the updated Dauzat), pg. 905, s.n. Soleil, gives Soleil as a hamlet name, which makes du Soleil plausible.

It is important to note that this entry in Morlet lists Le Soleil as a variant of this placename. Therefore, du Soleil (du being a contraction of de le) is a valid locative byname based on the placename referenced in Morlet.

Victoria of the Vales of Barnsdale. Badge reblazon. Erminois, a daffodil blossom bell to sinister base purpure slipped vert.

The previous blazon, Erminois, a daffodil blossom reversed purpure slipped vert, did not specify the posture of the flower.

The following were returned by the College of Arms for further work, June 2002:

Brian macSeyfang. Name and device. Azure, three chevronels argent between three mullets of six points Or.

The byname macSeyfang is in violation of RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a single name phrase. It combines mac, which can be viewed as Gaelic, Anglicized Irish, or Scots, with Seyfang, which is a German byname. Removing mac from the byname would not make this name registerable since the earliest date provided for Seyfang was 1864. Lacking evidence that Seyfang is a period name, it is not registerable.

This device conflicts with Katherine Mercer, Azure, two chevronels argent between three mullets Or. There is a CD for changing the number of chevronels but there is no difference between mullets of five points and mullets of six points. There is a wealth of period evidence showing that mullets may be drawn either with five or six points as artist's license, with Continental armorists showing a preference for six-pointed mullets and British artists showing a preference for five-pointed mullets. The general SCA practices for difference of mullets of various numbers of points have been unchanged for some years but were summarized in the February 2002 LoAR: "The rules for change of type of mullets follow the rules for change of number of charges. Mullets of n points will get a CD from mullets of m points if RfS X.4.f gives a CD for changing the number of charges from n to m." RfS X.4.f does not give difference between groups of five charges and six charges, and therefore our general SCA practice for determining difference between these types of mullets conveniently matches the period practice.

Jehanne le feu du Christ. Name and device. Gules, a fireball within an annulet Or.

No documentation was provided and none was found that le feu du Christ, 'the fire of Christ', is a plausible period byname in French. The LoI cited examples of Christopher as a byname and put forth the theory that since Christopher meant 'Christ-bearer', Christopher as a byname supported the submitted le feu du Christ. However, Christopher is a patronymic byname, not an epithet byname. It indicates that the person's father was named Christopher, not that the meaning 'Christ-bearer' would refer to this person. Lacking support for the construction of this byname, it is not registerable.

The device conflicts with Christian du Glaive, Gules, a grenade Or, enflamed proper, within a bordure rayonny Or. There is one CD for changing the type of secondary charge from a bordure rayonny to an annulet. There is no difference for changing less than half the tincture of the primary charge from mostly Or to entirely Or. There is no difference between a grenade and a fireball: [Argent, a chevron rompu sable between three grenades proper.] This conflicts with... Argent, a chevron sable between three fireballs of the last fired proper. There's a CD for making the chevron rompu, but not another for type of secondary charge. (LoAR September 1992)

This does not conflict with Eachann na Beinne Léithe, Gules, a horse rampant to sinister within an annulet Or. The annulet functions here as a surrounding secondary charge, like a bordure. This is therefore clear by RfS X.2, as the type of the primary charges has substantially changed, and this is simple armory for purposes of that rule ("no more than two types of charge directly on the field and has no overall charges."). Please advise the submitter that the center circle in a fireball is generally proportionally larger than in the fireball drawn in this submission, and that the flames of a fireball are conjoined to the central circle. The flames in this emblazon are slightly separated from the circle.

Uilliam Gibson. Name.

This name conflicts with William Gibson, author of the sci-fi novel Neuromancer in which he coined the word "cyberspace", as he has his own entry in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

The following submissions were registered by the S.C.A. College of Arms, July 2002:

Ahlrich von dem Türlin. Name and device. Gules, two chevrons argent each charged with three water bougets sable.

Alan of Atenveldt. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per bend azure and purpure, a bend dancetty Or between a lit candle in a flat candleholder and a basket argent.

Submitted under the name Tiarnán del Sarto.

Aron the Falcon. Device. Argent, a bend sinister bretessed vert between an eagle displayed and an arrowhead inverted azure.

Atenveldt, Kingdom of. Badge for the Brewers' Guild. (Fieldless) A wooden tankard proper charged with a sun in splendor Or all within and conjoined to an annulet azure.

A number of commenters noted that there was some overlap between the tankard and the annulet. Overlap between a charge and the charge to which it is conjoined may be reason for return. In the full-sized colored emblazon the degree of overlap is negligible, so this may be accepted.

Atenveldt, Kingdom of. Badge for the Office of Regalia. (Fieldless) A wooden chest proper charged with a sun in splendor Or.

Brighid ní Sheachnasaigh. Device. Per pale argent and sable, three escarbuncles counterchanged.

Nice arms!

Cadogan map Cado. Name change from Cadogan map Cado Blaidd (see RETURNS for device).

His previous name, Cadogan map Cado Blaidd, is released.

Caterina Amiranda della Quercia. Household name House Flagon and Dragon and badge (see RETURNS for second badge). Azure, three tankards and on a chief argent a dragon passant sable.

Ceara inghean Chárthaigh. Name.

Submitted as Ceara MacCárthaigh, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish. This name combined a feminine given name with a masculine form of a byname. As bynames were literal in Gaelic, this combination has not been registerable for some time. We have changed the byname to a feminine form in order to register this name.

Cecily d'Abernon. Name.

Coilean Mac Caiside. Name.

Conall mac Rónáin. Name.

Dagun Karababagai. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Damian of Ered Sûl. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per bend gules and argent, two rapiers in saltire argent and a caravel proper sailed Or.

The ship, like most ships, has sails which are roughly half the charge. The ship, therefore, is equally divided of a color (the dark brown wood proper of the hull) and a metal (the Or of the sails). RfS VIII.2.a.ii provides that "Good contrast exists between ... an element equally divided of a color and a metal, and any other element as long as identifiability is maintained." The ship is acceptably identifiable, and therefore, has good contrast with its underlying field. Submitted under the name Damian Blackthorne.

Darius Xavier Drake. Device. Sable, a skull Or and on a chief triangular argent two roses in saltire gules slipped and leaved vert.

Dmitrii Ivanovich Rostovskii. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Dolcina da Laurito. Name and device. Purpure, two elephant trunks issuant from the flanks argent.

Dorothea Micola d'Isigny. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Dorothea was submitted under the Legal Name Allowance as it is the submitter's legal given name. Elements of a submitter's legal name are registerable under the Legal Name Allowance. However, if the other elements in the name, when combined with the element from the submitter's legal name, produce a combination that is excessively obtrusive, the name may be returned per the precedent: While we allow real-world name elements in SCA names without further documentation, this is restricted to cases where "such elements are not excessively obtrusive." Combining a Gaelic Irish given name with what appears to be a non-European surname falls afoul of this restriction. [Ciarmhac Sayenga, 07/00, R-Æthelmearc]

Dorothea is documentable as a German given name and a late period English given name. Either way, this submission combines three languages. There was considerable discussion about the registerability of a name with this lingual combination. A name combining three languages is registerable, so long as the lingual mix complies with RfS III.1, which states: Names should generally combine elements that are all from a single linguistic culture, but a name may be registered that combines languages. As a rule of thumb, languages should be used together only if there was substantial contact between the cultures that spoke those languages, and a name should not combine more than three languages. Each name as a whole should be compatible with the culture of a single time and place.

So, the question is whether a mix of English, Italian, and French or a mix of German, Italian, and French is plausible for "the culture of a single time and place". Neither of these combinations have been demonstrated to fulfill this requirement. Lacking such documentation, these combinations are not registerable. However, because Dorothea was submitted under the Legal Name Allowance, the question becomes whether combining Dorothea in an otherwise Italian and French name is excessively obtrusive. Given that the Italian name Doratea is documented to 1427 in Arval Benicouer's article "Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/catasto/), the inclusion of Dorothea is not excessively obtrusive and this combination is registerable.

Eibhilin ni Mhaghnuis. Badge. Vert, a boot and a bordure embattled Or.

Elizabeth de Rose. Name and device. Azure, a pale argent between two roses slipped and leaved Or.

Submitted as Ealusaid Rose, the submitter requested authenticity for "mid to late 15th century" and allowed any changes. The submitted form mixes Gaelic and Scots (a language closely related to English) in a single name. In period, this name would have been written all in Gaelic or all in Scots depending upon the language of the document in which the name was recorded. Black (p. 773 s.n. Tod) dates Elizabeth Tode to 1467, and (p. 699 s.n. Rose) Andrew de Rose to 1440. We have changed the name to a completely Scots form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Eric the Hun of Alta. Name.

The LoI supported the submitted phrase the Hun by documenting the Old Norse term húnar: According to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, the ON term is Húnar, and they are referred to in written literature c. 900 A.D. Therefore, the Hun is a Lingua Anglica form of húnar. Eiríkr húnar would be a fully Old Norse form of the first two elements in this name.

Eva le Fayre. Name and device. Per pale gules and purpure, two Great Danes couchant regardant respectant Or.

Fintán Mac Con. Name and device. Per bend sinister vert and gules, a bend sinister argent between a wolf rampant Or and a flame argent.

Genevieve Gabrielle Plubel d'Avon. Device. Purpure, a unicorn doubly queued rampant regardant argent armed and gorged of a collar Or within a bordure Or semy of bunches of grapes purpure slipped and leaved vert.

Gerold the Bald. Name.

The submitter requested authenticity for 11th C German but allowed no changes. As the submitter's request for authenticity was not mentioned in the LoI, the College did not have the opportunity to comment on an appropriate form of this name in 11th C German that we would have included here as a courtesy to the submitter.

Igor of Throckmorton. Device. Gules, three lightning bolts in pile Or and in base a gauntlet aversant argent.

Ívarr bjarnherðar. Name.

Submitted as Ivarr Bearshoulders, the LoI noted that the submitter "would gladly accept [the byname] being translated into Old Norse, Icelandic or Norwegian". Multiple members of the College found bynames using elements meaning 'bear' and 'shoulders' in Old Norse, along with descriptive bynames that support a byname meaning 'bear-shoulders' as being plausible in Old Norse. Therefore, we have changed the byname to the form bjarnherðar as suggested by the College. We have also added the accent to the Í in the given name, as accents should be used when ð is used in the name.

James MacCoag. Name.

Submitted as James MacCuagh, the submitter requested authenticity (by checking the language/culture box), but did not specify a language or culture. Presumably his desired culture is Irish based on the submitted documentation. MacCuagh is a Modern Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form. In period, the name took Mac Dh- forms such as Mac Dhabhóc. An authentic name in period would have been written all in Gaelic or all in Anglicized Irish depending upon the language of the document that the name appeared in. A fully Gaelic form of this name would be Séamus Mac Dhabhóc or Séamas Mac Dhabhóc. Woulfe (p. 347 s.n. Mac Dhabhóc) dates the Anglicized forms M'Cawque, M'Cavoke, M'Cavog, M'Coag, and M'Coke to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. Therefore, a fully Anglicized Irish form of this name would combine James with one of these forms. Of these forms, M'Coag is the closest to the submitted form. Examples have been found of Anglicized Irish bynames using Mac- and Mc-. Therefore, MacCoag and McCoag are logical variations of the documented M'Coag. Therefore, we have changed the byname to MacCoag to meet the submitter's request for authenticity.

Johann Hieronymus von Leipzig. Name.

Kedivor Tal ap Cadugon. Badge. (Fieldless) A tyger passant argent enflamed azure.

Kharra Unegen. Name and device. Sable, a chevron between a label dovetailed throughout and a horse's head couped contourny argent.

Note: The wording on the LoI was not explicitly clear that Unegen means 'fox'. Inadequate summarization of submitted documentation on the LoI has been, and continues to be, a reason for return. In this case, the documentation was provided, just not clearly. Submission heralds, please make sure to clearly summarize all submitted documentation in the LoI.

A peculiarity of SCA blazon is that the standard label is throughout by default, but the dovetailed label is couped by default. The blazon in this submission label is both dovetailed and throughout, and both these details must be blazoned.

Lazarus Artifex. Badge. Per pale Or and azure, a phoenix and a bordure counterchanged.

Maredudd of Atenveldt. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Argent, a holly leaf bendwise sinister vert between two needles bendwise sinister sable.

Submitted under the name Maredudd Gryffydd.

Marguérite de Toulouse. Name change from Rose of the Forest (see PENDS for device change).

Her previous name, Rose of the Forest, is released.

Masala of Atenveldt. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Purpure mullety of six points, a decrescent argent.

Submitted under the name Masala bint Humayun al Delhi.

Masala of Atenveldt. Badge. Purpure, a fess Or overall a decrescent argent.

Nicolete la Rossa. Name.

Submitted as Nicolete La Rossa, the submitter requested authenticity for French. We have put la in lowercase to match documented forms.

Rhodri ap Gruffudd. Badge. (Fieldless) A cross formy per pale argent and gules.

Rhodri Longshanks. Badge. Per fess azure and gules all ermined argent, two billets in fess Or.

His previous badge, Per fess azure and gules, in fess two billets Or within ermine spots sans nombre in annulo argent, is released.

Rhys Ravenscroft. Device. Per bend sinister gules and sable, a bend sinister erminois between two horses' heads couped respectant Or.

Please advise the submitter to draw larger ermine spots. Please also advise him that, in period, ermine spots on a bend generally tilt to follow the bend. We would expect ermine spots on a bend sinister to follow the bend sinister, instead of being drawn palewise as with this submission.

Rose Blackthorne. Device. Argent, a bend sinister engrailed sable between a cat couchant gardant and a rose gules.

Sibilla of Atenveldt. Name and device. Sable, two chevrons inverted argent each charged with three water bougets gules.

Steffan von Hessen. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Submitted as Stefhan von Hessen, the submitter requested authenticity for "German of the Holy Roman Empire about 1550." No documentation was provided and none was found that Stefhan is a plausible period variant of this name. To meet the submitter's request for authenticity, we have changed the given name to the form Steffan, which is dated to 1508 in Talan Gwynek's article "Medieval German Given Names From Silesia" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/).

Twin Moons, Barony of. Order name L'Ordine della Luna Crescente and badge. Azure, a pall inverted bretessed between two increscents argent.

The following are returned by the College of Arms for further work, July 2002:

Ana ní Muireáin. Name.

The byname ní Muireáin was submitted as a matronymic byname in Irish Gaelic.

The registerability of matronymic bynames in Gaelic has fluctuated over time. Currently, only a few rare examples of matronymics have been found in Irish Gaelic, only two of which include a reference to a mother's given name. In both of these examples, the mother's given name and the father's given name are included in the person's byname. Additionally, all of the examples known at this time date from after 1200. This date is important because of the changes in which given names were popular, partially due to the Anglo-Norman influence which was growing at that time. Given the rarity of matronymics, and the narrow time and cultural frame in which they occur, they have been ruled registerable (though a weirdness), so long as they match the time and cultural frame in which the few known examples appear. Specifically, that results in two restrictions:

- The matronymic byname must be in Irish Gaelic.

- The mother's given name used in the matronymic byname must be documented as having been used after 1200.

Regarding the submitted byname, Muireann is listed in Ó Corráin & Maguire (s.n. Muirenn) and in Woulfe (s.n. Muireann), and is a form consistent with Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) and Modern Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) spelling conventions. However, the only dated examples of this name that have been found in period date to the 7th to 10th centuries. Lacking evidence that any form of Muireann was used after 1200, it is not registerable in a matronymic byname. Additionally, the particle ní was not used in Gaelic in period. The pre-1200 form was ingen uí and the post-1200 form was inghean uí. The few examples of matronymics in Gaelic are literal. No evidence has been found of clan names (including those using forms of ua/Ó) referring to a female ancestor. Therefore, the particle inghean is registerable in a matronymic construction, while inghean uí is not. If evidence were found of Muireann being used after 1200, then this byname would be registerable using inghean and with Muireann put into the genitive case and lenited.

Cadogan map Cado. Device. Sable, on a plate a wolf statant gules and on a chief argent three flames gules.

The device conflicts with Cartismandua Natione Veniconum, Sable, on a plate a hedgehog statant gules, on a chief argent three hedgehogs statant gules. This armory does not qualify for RfS X.4.j.ii because it is not a simple case as defined by the subsections of that rule: both the primary and peripheral charges are themselves charged. Therefore there is no difference for changing the type only of either of the two groups of tertiary charges: the tertiary group consisting of the charge on the plate or the tertiary group consisting of the charges on the chief.

Caterina Amiranda della Quercia. Badge. (Fieldless) A tankard argent.

Conflict with Giles MacManus, registered in the Atlantian section of this LoAR, Per bend sinister sable and gules, a tankard argent. There is only one CD, for fieldlessness.

The cover letter for the March 1993 LoAR (dated 8 May 1993) stated: “At their April 93 meeting, the Board of Directors decided to accept my recommendation on how to prevent SCA members from being disadvantaged by non-members during the heraldic submission process. Corpora explicitly forbids us to consider the membership status of an armory's owner, once the armory is registered; the Board agreed that the only time a member's submission could be returned for conflict by a non-member's armory is when the two were considered at the same Laurel meeting. Beginning immediately, therefore, if two submissions at the same meeting are deemed to conflict, we will give preference to the submission from the paid member. If both submitters are (or aren't) paid members, then the first received takes priority, as before.

“This gives an advantage to members' submissions, without requiring anyone to check every submitter's membership status. Laurel need only call the Registrar, on those rare occasions when membership becomes important; this happens seldom enough to impose no undue burden on Laurel, the Registrar, or the College.”

This policy has not been rescinded. It has been upheld a number of times since:

“Since both submissions were from the same month, we followed the strictures from the Board which meant that we had to determine the membership status of the two submitters, since if one was a member and one was not, the member would get priority (LoAR September 1996).”

“According to the registry, both submitters were members in August 2001, and thus priority is determined by the date on the LoI (LoAR August 2001).”

Wreath therefore telephoned the registry. The registry indicated that Giles MacManus's membership was current at the time of the Wreath meeting, and that Caterina had not been a member since March 2000. Since the armory of a member takes precedence over armory of non-members, Giles's armory takes precedence.

Cosimo Orsini. Name and device. Argent, on a bend vert between two brown bears statant proper three fleurs-de-lys Or.

The submission was withdrawn on the July 2002 Atenveldt Letter of Intent.

Dagun Karababagai. Device. Gules, on a bend sable fimbriated between two bear's paw prints argent a comet inverted headed of a roundel Or charged on the head with a torteau.

This must be returned for charging a tertiary charge. RfS VIII.1.c.ii, Layer Limit, states "All charges should be placed either directly on the field or entirely on other charges that lie on the field." Here, the roundel lies on the comet, which does not lie on the field. There were some other concerns about the artwork. Pawprints do not show this degree of disarticulation in nature: generally the 'toes' may be separated from the 'pads' but there is no separation between the joints of the toes in the pawprint. This emblazon shows too many separate pieces of the toes to be a pawprint. Charges should be drawn either in a period heraldic stylization (where available) or in a recognizable naturalistic style. Since pawprints are not found in period heraldry, it is all the more important that they be drawn recognizably. Some commenters felt that heading a comet of a roundel, rather than a mullet or an estoile, might be an additional problem with this armory. However, given the different period depictions of comets, a comet headed of a roundel is a reasonable variant.

Damian Blackthorne. Name.

This name conflicts with Damon Blackthorn (registered February 1992). The differences between the sound and appearance of the given names is insufficient. His armory has been registered under the holding name Damian of Ered Sûl.

Dmitrii Ivanovich Rostovskii. Device. Ermine, on a pile gules a demi-sun issuant from base Or.

A demi-sun is a semi-circular charge. If a demi-sun is drawn from the bottom of a pile, it should subtend an arc of a circle. This charge subtends an arc of some tall thin oval and is not clearly recognizable as a demi-sun: it's too elongated. (It's so difficult to describe an unusual shape in words. The best I can do here is "an ice cream cone with some small sun rays issuant from the top of the ice cream scoop".) The rays of the charge are too short to allow this charge to be reblazoned as rays of the sun issuant from base (as can be seen in Parker's A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry under Ray). Because this charge cannot be blazoned, it must be returned for redrawing. It is not clear whether a demi-sun can be correctly drawn issuant from base on a charge as narrow at the base as a pile. On resubmission, the submitter should be careful to avoid conflict with Emrys Montgomery, Barry azure and Or, on a pile gules fimbriated argent a sun in his splendor Or.

Dorothea Micola d'Isigny. Device. Gules, a castle and on a point pointed Or three pellets two and one.

As drawn, this is neither a point pointed nor a per chevron field. This must therefore be returned for redrawing. A point pointed should go less than halfway up the shield. A per chevron field should balance the top and bottom halves of the field.

Farisa Ramia Hameedah bint Kathoum. Name.

This name is being returned for multiple issues. Farisa, which the submitter intended to mean 'horsewoman', is the feminine form of Faris, which is listed as an Arabic form of Knight in "The List of Alternate Titles as approved by the College of Arms" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html). Therefore, Farisa (like Knight) is a restricted title and may not be registered as part of an SCA name.

The element Ramia was documented on the LoI as follows: "The Arabic word rama/ramy means 'to shoot' or 'to fire' (pp. 360-361, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Arabic-English, Hans Wehr, McDonald and Evans Ltd., London, reprinted 1980); the submitter's husband was raised and educated in Iraq, and Arabic is his first language." Unfortunately, knowledge of a modern language does not necessarily imply a knowledge of the same language in period. As a result, a simple statement by a native speaker has not been sufficient documentation for a number of years. One precedent that outlines the issue is: Most of us wouldn't trust the average English-speaker to get Early Modern English correct (witness the number of people who have trouble understanding Shakespeare!); anything earlier is even more unlikely. And there is no reason to believe that English is peculiar in this. We have no more cause to trust a modern German speaker's knowledge of Middle High German than to trust a modern English speaker's knowledge of Middle English. Native speakers of English submitting English names frequently 'know' that they are correct -- even when they are altogether wrong. Without sufficient information with which to judge the reliability of the source, or the background and training of the speaker, we cannot assume any special knowledge about period naming practice or grammar. When the documentation boils down to "because I said so", it cannot be accepted on its face. [6/94c, p.3]

Lacking documentation that Ramia would have been used in an Arabic byname in period, it is not registerable.

The element Kathoum, used in the byname bint Kathoum, was submitted as the father's legal given name. The Legal Name Allowance only applies to elements of the submitter's own name. At the same time as this submission, the submitter's father submitted an Arabic name using Kathoum as his given name via the Legal Name Allowance. (That submission is returned this month for other issues.) The Grandfather Clause allows elements of immediate family members to be used in the same manner and exactly the same spelling as in the registered name regardless of the current registerability of that element, so long as no new violations of the Rules for Submissions exist in the new name that did not exist in the registered name. In Arabic, given names used in a patronymic byname have the same case as given names used in given name positions, so the spelling of Kathoum used in a patronymic byname would not change from the spelling Kathoum used as a given name. Therefore, if the submitter's father registers Kathoum as the given name in his SCA name, the submitter may register bint Kathoum as an Arabic byname in her SCA name. Since Kathoum is a modern Arabic masculine given name, the byname bint Kathoum complies with RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a byname.

An additional issue is that this name uses inconsistent transliteration. Al-Jamal wrote: Okay, first off, either drop the final "h" from Hameedah (which we can't do if she's applying the legal name allowance, which only permits the exact legal name) or add it to Farisa and Ramia. "Submitted as Khadijah bint Mika'il al-Zarqa, it combines two different forms of transliteration. We have changed the spelling of the byname to make the entire name consistent." (Elsbeth Anne Roth, LoAR September 2000, p. 12)

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding another issue with this name: Finally, the name is not constructed as names were in period. Hameedah bint Kathoum al-Ramiah (were all of the elements documented) would be the expected period form; Hameedah al-Ramiah bint Kathoum (the same caveat) might also be registrable. But the submitted form is unlike period names (or modern, so far as I can see) in structure and grammar.

Lacking evidence that a byname would precede a given name in this manner in a period Arabic name, this construction is not registerable.

Hawk's Rest, Shire of. Badge. Or, on a tower pean a hawk's head erased Or.

Conflict with Torrin the Wanderer, Or, on a tower per pale gules and azure, a compass star Or. There is one CD for changing the tincture of the tower but nothing for changing the type only of tertiary charge by RfS X.4.j.ii, because a charged tower will not qualify for this rule. According to X.4.j.ii, "A charge is suitable for the purposes of this rule if (a) it it simple enough in outline to be voided, and (b) it is correctly drawn with an interior substantial enough to display easily recognizable charges." Towers are not simple enough in outline to be voided. In addition, the badge may not be accepted for administrative reasons. The name of the branch was returned in April 2002, so the badge must be returned for lack of a name to which to register it in any case.

Maredudd Gryffydd. Name.

This name conflicts with King Maredudd ap Gruffydd (d. 1155), son of King Gruffydd ap Rhys, who retook most of the Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth from the Normans. Though Maredudd does not have his own entry in the online Encyclopedia Britannica, we protect rulers of countries who do not have their own entries in general encyclopedias. This practice was demonstrated with the return of the name Gruffydd ap Gwineth, which was judged as conflicting with Gruffudd, King of Gwynedd to 1137 (December 1997 LoAR). Just as Gruffudd does not have his own entry in a general encyclopedia, yet is protected, so Maredudd is also protected. His armory has been registered under the holding name Maredudd of Atenveldt.

Masala bint Humayun al Delhi. Name.

The submitted name mixes Arabic and Indian languages within name phrases, which is prohibited under RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency within a name element. Humayun was documented as the "name of a Mughal ruler of northern India, 1515-1556". al-Jamal notes that "technically the name is not truly 'Arabic', in that Humayun may be Mughal, a form of Mongol, rather than Arabic." The byname bint Humayun therefore combines the Arabic bint, meaning 'daughter', with the non-Arabic name Humayun. There is also some question whether the name Humayun was in common use. If it is unique to this ruler, then use of this name in a byname is presumptuous and is cause for return. In order to be registerable, this phrase needs to rendered in a single language and Humayun needs to be shown to be a name that is not unique to this ruler.

The byname al Delhi combines the Arabic element al with the Indian placename Delhi. In order to be registerable, this phrase needs to be rendered in a single language and put in a proper locative byname form. al-Jamal explains: Al Delhi is neither proper grammar nor the correct gender. As it stands, her father is claiming to be Delhi. If locatives are formed in Mughal India according to Arabic rules of grammar, something I cannot confirm, I would expect the masculine form from someone from Delhi to be al-Delhiwayyi, and the feminine form to be al-Delhiwayyia.

The form that locative bynames take in Mughal would need to be documented as matching those in Arabic, or Delhi would need to be documented as an Arabic form of this placename, for the forms mentioned by al-Jamal to be registerable. Her armory has been registered under the holding name Masala of Atenveldt.

Mu'Alim Rami Kathoum ibn Abdul Majeed. Name and device. Per fess vert and sable, on a fess argent between the Arabic words "Allah Akbar" Or and a scimitar fesswise argent a bow sable.

This name is being returned for multiple issues. Mu'alim, which the submitter intended to mean 'teacher', is listed as an Arabic form of Master, in the form Mu'allim, in "The List of Alternate Titles as approved by the College of Arms" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html). al-Jamal explains: Mu'allim is a restricted title, the Arabic equivalent of master. (That it also has the connotation of "teacher" was a bonus to those of us who researched the Arabic alternate titles list.) Therefore, Mu'Alim (like Master) is a restricted title and may not be registered as part of an SCA name.

The element Rami was documented on the LoI as follows: "The Arabic word rama/ramy means 'to shoot' or 'to fire' (pp. 360-361, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Arabic-English, Hans Wehr, McDonald and Evans Ltd., London, reprinted 1980); I am trusting the submitter on this, as he was raised and educated in Iraq, and Arabic is his first language." Unfortunately, knowledge of a modern language does not necessarily imply a knowledge of the same language in period. As a result, a simple statement by a native speaker has not been sufficient documentation for a number of years. One precedent that outlines the issue is: Most of us wouldn't trust the average English-speaker to get Early Modern English correct (witness the number of people who have trouble understanding Shakespeare!); anything earlier is even more unlikely. And there is no reason to believe that English is peculiar in this. We have no more cause to trust a modern German speaker's knowledge of Middle High German than to trust a modern English speaker's knowledge of Middle English. Native speakers of English submitting English names frequently 'know' that they are correct -- even when they are altogether wrong. Without sufficient information with which to judge the reliability of the source, or the background and training of the speaker, we cannot assume any special knowledge about period naming practice or grammar. When the documentation boils down to "because I said so", it cannot be accepted on its face. [6/94c, p.3] Lacking documentation that Rami would have been used in an Arabic byname in period, it is not registerable.

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding other issues with this name: Abdul Majeed is more usually transliterated 'Abd al-Majid.

Finally, the name is not constructed as names were in period. Kathoum ibn 'Abd al-Majid al-Rami (assuming that rami can be documented) would be the expected form. The submitted form is unlike period names (or modern, so far as I can see) in structure and grammar. Lacking evidence that a byname would precede a given name in this manner in a period Arabic name, this construction is not registerable. As the submitter does not allow major changes, we were unable to drop the problematic elements in order to register this name.

The words "Allah Akbar" in the device are not written in a standard Arabic form: a diacritical marking is misplaced. For examples of this phrase, see http://www.islaam.org/Taqwaa/taqwaa.html or http://members.lycos.co.uk/islaam/. Because we do not know what the altered writing means, it has the potential to either be nonsensical or offensive. The phrase "Allah Akbar" means roughly "God is Most Great". The phrase is acceptable if spelled correctly.

Mu'Alimah Ramia Jameela Ghafoor. Name.

Mu'allimah, which the submitter intended to mean 'teacher', is listed in the form Mu'allima (an alternate transliteration) as an Arabic form of Mistress in "The List of Alternate Titles as approved by the College of Arms" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/titles.html). al-Jamal explains: Mu'allima is a restricted title, the feminine Arabic equivalent of mistress. (That it also has the connotation of "teacher" was a bonus to those of us who researched the Arabic alternate titles list.) Therefore, Mu'allimah (like Mistress) is a restricted title and may not be registered as part of an SCA name.

The element Ramia was documented on the LoI as follows: "The Arabic word rama/ramy means 'to shoot' or 'to fire' (pp. 360-361, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Arabic-English, Hans Wehr, McDonald and Evans Ltd., London, reprinted 1980); the submitter's husband was raised and educated in Iraq, and Arabic is his first language." Unfortunately, knowledge of a modern language does not necessarily imply a knowledge of the same language in period. As a result, a simple statement by a native speaker has not been sufficient documentation for a number of years. One precedent that outlines the issue is: Most of us wouldn't trust the average English-speaker to get Early Modern English correct (witness the number of people who have trouble understanding Shakespeare!); anything earlier is even more unlikely. And there is no reason to believe that English is peculiar in this. We have no more cause to trust a modern German speaker's knowledge of Middle High German than to trust a modern English speaker's knowledge of Middle English. Native speakers of English submitting English names frequently 'know' that they are correct -- even when they are altogether wrong. Without sufficient information with which to judge the reliability of the source, or the background and training of the speaker, we cannot assume any special knowledge about period naming practice or grammar. When the documentation boils down to "because I said so", it cannot be accepted on its face. [6/94c, p.3] Lacking documentation that Ramia would have been used in an Arabic byname in period, it is not registerable.

No documentation was provided in the LoI for the element Ghafoor and the College found none. Lacking documentation that this element is plausible as part of a period name, it is not registerable.

Padraig Dillon of Liaththor. Device. Sable, a maunch fracted in pale and issuant from base a demi-sun argent.

The maunch fracted is not identifiable. It appears to be two slightly different styles of maunches addorsed rather than a single fracted charge.

Rami Hussein ibn Kathoum. Name.

The element Rami was documented on the LoI as follows: "The Arabic word rama/ramy means 'to shoot' or 'to fire' (pp. 360-361, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Arabic-English, Hans Wehr, McDonald and Evans Ltd., London, reprinted 1980); I am trusting the submitter's father, as he was raised and educated in Iraq, and Arabic is his first language." Unfortunately, knowledge of a modern language does not necessarily imply a knowledge of the same language in period. As a result, a simple statement by a native speaker has not been sufficient documentation for a number of years. One precedent that outlines the issue is:Most of us wouldn't trust the average English-speaker to get Early Modern English correct (witness the number of people who have trouble understanding Shakespeare!); anything earlier is even more unlikely. And there is no reason to believe that English is peculiar in this. We have no more cause to trust a modern German speaker's knowledge of Middle High German than to trust a modern English speaker's knowledge of Middle English. Native speakers of English submitting English names frequently 'know' that they are correct -- even when they are altogether wrong. Without sufficient information with which to judge the reliability of the source, or the background and training of the speaker, we cannot assume any special knowledge about period naming practice or grammar. When the documentation boils down to "because I said so", it cannot be accepted on its face. [6/94c, p.3] Lacking documentation that Rami would have been used in an Arabic byname in period, it is not registerable.

The element Kathoum, used in the byname ibn Kathoum, was submitted as the father's legal given name. The Legal Name Allowance only applies to elements of the submitter's own name. At the same time as this submission, the submitter's father submitted an Arabic name using Kathoum as his given name via the Legal Name Allowance. (That submission is returned this month for other issues.) The Grandfather Clause allows elements of immediate family members to be used in the same manner and exactly the same spelling as in the registered name regardless of the current registerability of that element, so long as no new violations of the Rules for Submissions exist in the new name that did not exist in the registered name. In Arabic, given names used in a patronymic byname have the same case as given names used in given name positions, so the spelling of Kathoum used in a patronymic byname would not change from the spelling Kathoum used as a given name. Therefore, if the submitter's father registers Kathoum as the given name in his SCA name, the submitter may register ibn Kathoum as an Arabic byname in his SCA name. Since Kathoum is a modern Arabic masculine given name, the byname ibn Kathoum complies with RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a byname.

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding other issues with this name: Finally, the name is not constructed as names were in period. Hussein ibn Kathoum al-Rami (were all of the elements documented) would be the expected period form; Hussein al-Rami ibn Kathoum (with the same caveat) might also be registrable. But the submitted form is unlike period names (or modern, so far as I can see) in structure and grammar. Lacking evidence that a byname would precede a given name in this manner in a period Arabic name, this construction is not registerable.

Rami Muhammad ibn Kathoum. Name.

The element Rami was documented on the LoI as follows: "The Arabic word rama/ramy means 'to shoot' or 'to fire' (pp. 360-361, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Arabic-English, Hans Wehr, McDonald and Evans Ltd., London, reprinted 1980); I am trusting the submitter's father, as he was raised and educated in Iraq, and Arabic is his first language." Unfortunately, knowledge of a modern language does not necessarily imply a knowledge of the same language in period. As a result, a simple statement by a native speaker has not been sufficient documentation for a number of years. One precedent that outlines the issue is: Most of us wouldn't trust the average English-speaker to get Early Modern English correct (witness the number of people who have trouble understanding Shakespeare!); anything earlier is even more unlikely. And there is no reason to believe that English is peculiar in this. We have no more cause to trust a modern German speaker's knowledge of Middle High German than to trust a modern English speaker's knowledge of Middle English. Native speakers of English submitting English names frequently 'know' that they are correct -- even when they are altogether wrong. Without sufficient information with which to judge the reliability of the source, or the background and training of the speaker, we cannot assume any special knowledge about period naming practice or grammar. When the documentation boils down to "because I said so", it cannot be accepted on its face. [6/94c, p.3] Lacking documentation that Rami would have been used in an Arabic byname in period, it is not registerable.

The element Kathoum, used in the byname ibn Kathoum, was submitted as the father's legal given name. The Legal Name Allowance only applies to elements of the submitter's own name. At the same time as this submission, the submitter's father submitted an Arabic name using Kathoum as his given name via the Legal Name Allowance. (That submission is returned this month for other issues.) The Grandfather Clause allows elements of immediate family members to be used in the same manner and exactly the same spelling as in the registered name regardless of the current registerability of that element, so long as no new violations of the Rules for Submissions exist in the new name that did not exist in the registered name. In Arabic, given names used in a patronymic byname have the same case as given names used in given name positions, so the spelling of Kathoum used in a patronymic byname would not change from the spelling Kathoum used as a given name. Therefore, if the submitter's father registers Kathoum as the given name in his SCA name, the submitter may register ibn Kathoum as an Arabic byname in his SCA name. Since Kathoum is a modern Arabic masculine given name, the byname ibn Kathoum complies with RfS III.1.a, which requires linguistic consistency in a byname.

al-Jamal provided commentary regarding other issues with this name: Finally, the name is not constructed as names were in period. Muhammad ibn Kathoum al-Rami (were all of the elements documented) would be the expected period form; Muhammad al-Rami ibn Kathoum (with the same caveat) might also be registrable. But the submitted form is unlike period names (or modern, so far as I can see) in structure and grammar. Lacking evidence that a byname would precede a given name in this manner in a period Arabic name, this construction is not registerable.

Romanus de Castelyn. Name.

The submitted byname de Castelyn combines the locative particle de 'of' with the occupational byname Castelyn, which is not a plausible combination. Metron Ariston explains: Actually, the listing for Castellan in Reaney and Wilson has two etymologies cited with rather different orthographies listed. The one which contains Walter Castelyn is occupational from the Old French chastelain and the earlier forms have the article le not a preposition. The forms with the preposition derive from Castellion in France: William de castellon, Hugo de Castelliun and Robert de Chastellun. As the submitter allowed no changes, we were unable to either drop de and register the byname simply as Castelyn or change the spelling of Castelyn to a documented locative form.

Steffan von Hessen. Device. Or goutty de sang, a pall inverted engrailed between two eagles displayed heads to sinister sable and a rose gules.

The gouttes are too numerous and too small to be identifiable. There was a significant discrepancy between the emblazon on the forms and the mini-emblazon on the Letter of Intent. There are approximately 130 gouttes on the form, and approximately 40 gouttes on the mini-emblazon. Forty charges is a large number to have on the field compared to the standard period depiction of a group of strewn charges (which often has as few as ten charges on the field). As long as the charges in a group of strewn charges maintain their identifiability, they are acceptable regardless of the exact number of charges in the emblazon.

Theodericus Lucem Quaeror. Name.

The submitter requested authenticity for 6th to 7th C Central Europe. No evidence was presented and none was found that a byname meaning 'light seeker' would have been applied to a person in period. Metron Ariston found evidence of a Latin word, lucipetus, with this meaning: To my great surprise, there is actually a Latin word for "light seeking" and, what is more, it occurs in a work that would be familiar to educated men for most of our period, the Etymologies or Origines of Isidore of Seville (560-636). It even has an antonym (lucifugus). Mind you, the term is applied to a fly by Isidore who was dealing with the natural world at that point [...] As we have no evidence that lucipetus, or a different phrase meaning 'light seeker', would have been used to describe a human in period, a byname with this meaning is not registerable. If evidence were found that a byname with this meaning would have been been used to describe a human in period, then Theodericus Lucipetus would be a registerable form of this name.

Tiarnán del Sarto. Name.

This name combines the Irish Gaelic Tiarnán with the Italian del Sarto. Mixing Anglicized Irish and Italian in a single name was ruled unregisterable in April 2000. As mixing Irish Gaelic and Italian in a single name is less likely than mixing Anglicized Irish and Italian, this combination is similarly unregisterable. Additionally, Tiarnán is a Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form, and so is not registerable. Registerable forms include the Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) Tigernán and the Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200-c. 1700) Tighearnán found in Ó Corráin and Maguire (s.n. Tigernán). His armory has been registered under the holding name Alan of Atenveldt.

Tieg ap Gwylym. Device. Sable, a rabbit sejant erect affronty paly argent and azure on a chief argent two fleurs-de-lys azure.

The identifiability of the rabbit is unacceptably compromised by the combination of the unusual sejant erect affronty posture and the paly tincture of the rabbit. While there is period armory depicting animals in multiply divided tinctures such as barry and checky, the period animals so tinctured are in their most identifiable postures. Sejant erect affronty is not such a posture. In addition, period examples of sejant erect affronty, such as the crest of Scotland, are generally drawn with the forepaws displayed. Such a rendition is more identifiable than the depiction in this emblazon, where the forepaws lie entirely on the rabbit's body.

The following submission was pended by the College of Arms, July 2002:

Marguérite de Toulouse. Device change. Argent, on a bend sinister vert an ivy vine throughout argent in dexter chief a butterfly sable.

The tincture of the ivy vine was omitted in the letter of intent, leading the College to surmise that it was sable. This must be pended for further research.

I remain,

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy

c/o Linda Miku

2527 East 3^rd Street, Tucson AZ 85716

brickbat@nexiliscom.com; Atenveldt Submissions Website: atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com

References

Bahlow, Hans. Deutsches Namenlexicon. 1967.

Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland. The New York Public Library Press, NY.

Ó Corráin, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire. Irish Names. The Lilliput Press, Dublin, 1990.

MacLysaght, Edward. The Surnames of Ireland. Dublin, Irish Academic Press, 1991.

Morgan, T. J. and Prys Morgan. Welsh Surnames. Cardiff, University of Wales Press, 1985.

Reaney, P.H. and R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames, 2nd Edition, 1976 (reprinted 1979).

Withycombe, E.G., The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd Edition. London, Oxford University Press, 1977.