ÆTHELMEARC
COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #106 Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Feast of St. Kenelm
17 July, AS XLII
Greetings from Myfanwy!
Herein pray find commentary on the first half of Æ #106 (I was
afraid
that I would exceed the mailing list character limit if I sent it out
all at once). I tried to be as thorough as possible, given that I was
trying to get this done relatively early in the month, so as to have
more time to do pre-Pennsic stuff (packing, sewing, food prep) as the
month went on. All the armory has been conflict-checked through the
April ‘07 LoAR (which was posted online on the 15th or 16th of July). I
remain your servant and the Society’s.
I remain your servant and the Society’s.
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morrisson
myfanwy@nauticom.net
1. Aurelio di Baldasare -- Gyronny gules and argent, a bull passant
guardant Or within a bordure sable.
The bull is almost (but not quite) trian aspect -- any more so, and
there would have probably been a problem. Note that it sort of looks
more like an auroch [c.f., URL:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.grotte-de-han.be/assets/Image/Animaux/aurochs.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.grotte-de-han.be/index.php%3Fdoc
ID%3D305&start=2&h=600&w=800&sz=167&tbnid=IqVnfnFA9y3AtM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=143&hl=en&prev=/images%3Fq%3Daurochs%26gbv%3D1%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG]
for an image of a “recreated” auroch (back-bred by a German zoologist;
apparently aurochs became extinct in the early 1600s). I also checked
for images of buffalo (“real” ones -- i.e., as opposed to bison); both
water buffalo and cape buffalo have very differently shaped horns
[c.f., URLs:
http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/sevcik/water-buffalo--bubalus-arnee-buvol-5.jpg
and http://www.ots.duke.edu/images/en/usap/sudafrica/water_buffalo.jpg
respectively].
Complexity count of six (four tinctures, two types of charges.
Additionally, the “gules” seems to be (at least on my screen) almost a
tomato red, rather than a true red.
no conflicts found
2. Corbinus de Cuvae -- Vert, on a bend azure fimbriated argent a
flanged mace Or.
I don’t have,that volume of Morlet or the Fanning article, but the
other docs for the given name are as cited. Additionally, Delaney [p.
155, lists a St. Corbinian (670-725 CE, feast
date September 8).
The docs for the byname are as cited.
Complexity count of six (four tinctures, two types of charges.
no conflicts found
3. Faith of Rayne (resub change from holding name)
The docs for the given name are as cited. In addition, Withycombe [p.
115, sn Faith] says:
first used as a christian name after the Reformation. Lyford 1655
calls it
‘a name commonly used’ [sic]. In the 16th and 17th C [sic] it was
given to boys as well as girls.
The docs for the locative are not quite as cited; the URL cited gets
one to the “frontice-piece” page; the actual citation is found in the
Introduction [URL: http://www.
rayne-info.org.uk/history/page5.htm}. Rayne as a place dates back to
at least the 11th century and there are several references to it in
the Domesday Boke:
[p. 1009, under the listing of lands held of Hugh de Montfort]
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD
Ealhhere holds Rayne of Hugh [de Montfort], which Guthmund held as a
manor and as 2 hides less 20 acres.... Then and later it was worth
£6; now 7.
[p. 1010, under the listing of lands held of Hamo the Steward]
Ralph [de Marcy] [sic] holds [Black and White] [sic] Notley of
H[amo] sic],
which Æthelstan, a free man, held as a manor and as half a hide
and
30 acres....
The same R[alph] [sic] holds Rayne of H[amo] [sic], which Goding
held as
a manor and as half a hide.... It is worth 20s.
[p. 1032, under the listing of lands held of Roger de Rames]
HUNDRED OF HINCKFORD
Roger holds Rayne in desmesne, which Alwine, a free man, held T R E
[i.e., Tempus Rex Edwardi -- “in the time of King
Edward”] as a manor and
as 1 hide and 20 acres.... Then as now it was worth £4.....
R[oger] [sic] holds Rayne in demesne, which Eadric, a free man,
held
T R E as a manor and as 1 hide.... Then as now it was worth 60s.
Has the submitter requested authenticity, or allow any changes? Given
that the given name is very late period, I suspect that <Faith
Rayne>
might be a better construction; if she’s claiming the mundane name
allowance, she should have provided documentation to that effect.
4. Garrett Williamson
The documentation for both name elements are as cited.
Nice name!
5. Gille MacDhonuill (badge) -- (Fieldless) An oak leaf
bandwise [sic] sinister inverted gules.
I presume that it’s a typo for “bendwise”....
clear of: Merouda Pendray
(badge for Sept Pendray, 3/97 Middle) -- (Fieldless) A seablatt [sic]
inverted gules. [There is a note in the O&A questioning whether it
is
a blazon typo for “seeblatt.]
There is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless, and one for the type of
leaf (there may also be one for the leaf’s orientation as well).
clear of: Thorvald
Ingvarsson (1/99 Meridies) -- (Fieldless) An oak leaf bendwise
sinister Or.
There is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless, and
one for tincture; note
that there is nothing, however, for type or orientation.
clear of: Alistair Malcolm MacAlpine (badge, 5/86 East) --
Argent, an oak leaf fesswise reversed gules.
clear of: Gareth Kenwrick (1/02 Middle) -- Gyronny of six sable and
argent, an oak leaf gules.
In each instance, there is a CD for field vs.
fieldless, and one for
the orientation of the leaf.
6. Gille MacDhonuill (badge) -- (Fieldless) Three oak leaves
in pall inverted stems joined to center gules.
Possible reblazon: Three oak leaves conjoined in pall inverted, stems
to center, gules.
probably clear of: Teleri Talgellawg (badge for Celli Caregl, 11/91
Atlantia) -- (Fieldless) Three oak leaves stems conjoined in pall
gules surmounted by a chalice Or.
There is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless; there
should also be one
for removing the overall charge.
7. Hildegardis quae et Berthegund -- Checky Or and Sable [sic], on a
pile indented Sable a bee volant Or.
The name docs all as cited; the footnotes for the St. Gabriel report
are:
[1] Academy of S. Gabriel report #2353
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2353
[2] Stark, Franz, _Die Kosenamen der Germanen_ (Wiesbaden: Dr.
Martin
Sa:ndig oHG., 1967 [1868]). pp.150-1.
[3] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire
de
l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, volume 1 (Paris: Centre
National
de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972). 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, 23a, 29b,
32a, 32b, 43a,
43b, 50b, 52b, 53b, 56a, 65a, 67a, 67b, 69b, 70a, 77a, 77b, 80a,
82b, 83a, 90a,
95a, 99a, 99b, 104b, 105b, 110b, 126a, 127a, 129b, 131b, 135a, 136a,
140a, 165b,
176a, 182b, 183b, 185a, 185b, 197a, 197b, 199a, 213b, 221a, 224b,
230a, 230b.
Note that one name (as well as the construction, are 9th century, but
the other name is much earlier (5th-7th centuries). There may well be
a temporal disparity here of several hundred years: I checked in
Gregory of Tours, and the person cited seems to date to the time of
Childebert II (d. 595).
This is *not* a pile. It *might* be a weird version of a chief grady
(it doesn’t even get to be a chief triangular indented, but it most
certainly isn’t a pile. A pile should come down much further on the
field, and would come to a point at its tip. I’m not sure whether
this is even legal (i.e., having either a pile or a chief of one of
the field tinctures). It might also be reblazoned as “per chevron
inverted sable and checky Or and sable” but would have to be redrawn
so that the sable checks were not along the line of division; in this
case, the bee would become a primary charge, rather than a tertiary. I
have conflict checked it for all considerations (i.e., assuming it
was a charged pile, a charged chief triangular, and as a per chevron
inverted/chaussé field with a primary charge).
The blazon for the bee’s posture may also be at issue. In the PIC-DIC
[sn Insect] it says:
All winged insects are volant en arriére [sic] by default; this
posture
may also be blazoned simply “volant” [sic], and in the SCA is
sometimes
blazoned “displayed” [sic] as well. Unwinged insects are in general
tergiant by default, with heads to chief....
However, Parker [p. 626, sn Wings] says:
Volant [sic] is a term used to signify that the
wings are ex- [sic] tended
in a horizontal position, and repre- [sic] senting the bird
in full flight [sic].
The head should be towards the dexter [sic], unless
other- [sic] wise
expressed....
Volant en arrière [sic] seems to be used of
insects rather than of birds,
and signifies that they have their back to the spectator.
A similar definition for the term “tergiant” can be found on p. 571,
sn Tergiant (located in the notes at the bottom of the page). It is
unclear which blazon, i.e., “tergiant” vs. “volant en arrière”
are the
SCA default; a Precedent from François’ tenure as Laurel
suggests the
former:
[(Fieldless) A bee statant proper ] [sic] This
badge does not conflict with
Aideen the Audacious, (Fieldless) A bumblebee fesswise
proper . [sic] There
is one CD for fieldlessness. Aideen's bumblebee is in its default
tergiant
posture, and then rotated fesswise. There is a CD between a bee
tergiant
fesswise and a bee statant. Both postures show the bees with
fesswise
bodies, but a bee tergiant fesswise has wings visible on both sides
of the
bee's body, while a bee statant only has wings visible on the
chiefmost
side of the body. This difference is worth a CD, analogous to the
difference
between a bird rising wings displayed and a bird rising wings
addorsed.
[ Catríona nic Theàrlaigh ,12/02 [sic]
, A-An Tir]
Possible reblazon: Per chevron inverted sable, and Or and sable, a bee
[tergiant] Or.
possibly not clear of:
Joseph of Silver Oak (7/89 Caid) -- Per chevron inverted sable and
chequy sable and argent, in chief a trefoil within and conjoined to an
annulet argent. (This may require a visual comparison). There is a CD
for significant changes to the primary charge group, but possibly not
one for changing the field, since less than half the field is
effectively changed.
possible conflict:
Elizabeth Braidwood (badge, 11/98 An Tir) -- (Fieldless) A bee Or.
There may only be a single CD for field vs. fieldless (assuming that
this is in fact *not* a pile, but part of a per chevron inverted (or
chaussé) field division.
possible conflict: Rhydderich Hael, Barony of the (badge, 5/04
Æthelmearc) -- Per pale vert and sable, a bee Or.
There may only be a single CD, for change of field; the position of
the bee in the submission might be construed as a forced change due to
field tincture (again, this is assuming that the submitted armory is
in fact per chevron inverted, making the bee the primary charge).
Note that in each of the previous cites, you can’t blazon your way out
of a conflict (especially when the blazon doesn’t really match the
emblazon).
possibly clear of: la Anna Kazimova (4/90 Atlantia) -- Per pale and
barry wavy argent and sable, on a chief triangular sable, a sealion
naiant Or.
There is a CD for changes to the field, and possibly one for changing
the type of complex line on the chief (i.e., from from triangular and
and indented to merely triangular). There may or may not be a CD for
the tertiary charge, however: there is change of type (and possibly of
posture), but not number or tincture.
Feast of St. Kenelm
19 July, AS XLII
Greetings from Myfanwy!
Here is the rest of the commentary on #106, including bibliograpy
stuff.
As always, I remain your servant and the Society's.
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morrisson
myfanwy@nauticom.net
8. Lasairfhíona inghean Uí Ghallchobhair
The docs for the given name are as cited. If I understand the raw
data correctly, the submitted spelling is dated to 1381 (with several
other citations omitting the accent mark but otherwise the same).
I don’t have MacLysaght, but the other byname docs appear to be as
cited
9. Marian of Blackwood -- Quarterly argent semy of trefoils sable and
sable, a rose proper.
The docs for the given name are as cited.
I don’t have either Ekwall or Mills; Reaney and Wilson [p. 47, sn
Blackwood] cites William de Blacwode [sic], dated to
1327, and Robert Blakwode [sic], dated to 1384.
Given that the submitter has requested authenticity for 16th century
English, I suspect that <Marian Blackwood> might be a better
construction; however, I am uncertain whether dropping the preposition
is considered a major or minor change.
The per fess part of the quarterly division is a bit too far down on
the field (remember: the partitions should be roughly equal, visually
speaking; while the tick marks are, IMO, a bit too high up, this
overcompensates too much the other direction). As a result, the rose
is also a bit too far down visually as well. I presume that this was
done because of the trefoils, but making them larger and a fewer would
solve the problem (when I started conflict-checking this, I looked at
“Field-Quarterly-Fur” because of the size and number of trefoils]. This
is probably okay, but should have an artists’ note to the
submitter (i.e., to both fix the line of division and non-centered
rose, and to make larger and fewer trefoils).
Complexity count of seven (5 tinctures, 2 types of charges).
possibly clear of:
Rosemounde of Mercia (8/79 ??) -- Per chevron azure and Or, in base a
rose gules, barbed and seeded proper.
There is a CD for changing the field, and --
assuming that it is
actually identified as a semy and not as a weird version of ermine --
one for the semy; given the age of this registration, it is unclear as
to whether or not the rose is in a forced position due to tincture.
possibly clear of: Sonja of Atenveldt (1/73 ??) -- Per
chevron azure and sable, a rose gules en soleil argent.
There is a CD for changing the field, and possibly one for adding the
semy (depending upon whether or not it is ruled to be visually
indistinct from ermine). I checked in Parker for the term “en soleil”
which says [p. 502, sn Rose]:
The use of the Rose [sic] as a political emblem
may be traced to the wars
between the rival Houses of York and Lancaster, the former of which
used
the device of a white rose, while a red one was the
badge [sic] of the other,
and these came to be blazoned occasionally as the Rose of
[sic] York and
Lancaster respectively.... Both these roses were sometimes
surrounded with
rays, and termed en soleil [sic]....
I presume that in this registration the “en soleil” is effectively
being used as a type of fimbriation.
clear of: Deirdre ingean
Dhomhnaill (1/03 Æthelmearc) -- Per pale sable and Or, a trillium
inverted gules barbed vert.
There is a CD for changing the field, and one for the type of flower
[there is a Precedent from Bruce’s tenure as Laurel giving a CD
between the two types of flowers:
[A trillium flower vs. a rose ]
There is a CD for type of flower, but not
the substantial difference required by Rule X.2. (Gwyneth MacAulay,
October, 1992, pg. 29).
There may also be one for the semy, depending on whether or not it is
ruled to be visually indistinct from ermine.
10. Marija Kotok (badge) -- Per saltire sable and gules, a lion
couchant argent.
The lion is much too small. This probably doesn’t need a redraw,
since it’s obvious that it’s a couchant lion, but it does warrant an
artist’s note that it should fill the space better -- in this
instance, it should be about half again as large.
probable conflict: Kareina Talvi Tytar (7/86 West) -- Azure,
vetû, a
long-haired domestic cat dormant argent.
probable conflict: Ellen of Caer Seiont (7/83 An Tir) -- Pean, a
domestic cat dormant guardant argent.
In each case, there is a single CD, for change of field; there is not
one for cat vs. lion. There is also probably not one for the posture:
a Precedent from François’ term as Laurel that says:
[a lion dormant vs. a lion couchant guardant ]
[sic] There is no difference
for the minor posture changes to the lion (affecting only the head).
[ Sesildi
Garces de Leon ,04/03 [sic] , R-Trimaris]
possibly clear of Trude Lacklandia (1/80 Atenveldt) -- Sable, a
domestic cat couchant guardant chased argent.
There is a CD for changing half the field. If I understand the
definition of “chased” correctly, the cat is basically a white
outline: Parker [p. 572, sn Thunderbolt] says:
a bearing derived from the classic mytho- [sic] logy, in which the
emblem
is ascribed to Jupiter. In one instance it is only outlined of
chased [sic] in the
escutcheons....
Azure, a chevron between three escutch- [sic] eons or [sic], on
each a
thunderbolt chased -- EDMONDS [sic].
possibly not clear of: James Winter of White Forest (4/89
Calontir) -- Per fess sable and ermine, in chief a lion dormant argent.
There is a CD for changing the field. As
previously noted, there is
probably not one for change of posture. This armory is sufficiently
old that it isn’t clear whether the lion is in chief due to a forced
move due to tincture; it was registered without comment (under the
name Niccolo Corvino -- the name was changed in July 1990).
probably clear of: Alienore di Paravano (6/81 Atlantia) --
Per saltire gules and sable, a winged lion rampant, wings elevated and
addorsed, argent.
There is a CD for changing the lion’s posture; there is probably also
one for removing the wings.
possibly clear of: Aziza al-Labu’a bint Ibrahim ibn Rashid al-Rahhala
(badge, 3/07 Atenveldt) -- (Fieldless) A lion couchant argent charged
on the shoulder with a decrescent sable.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; depending
on how prominent it
is, there should be one for adding the decrescent as a tertiary.
11. Sionn, the Lost -- Per band [sic] azure and vert, on a bend
sinister between a compass rose and a candle argent with candlestick
Or three question marks sable.
Sigh. Where do I begin? (There are problems with the name, and
problems with the armory -- he was warned about the issues with both,
but wanted to go forward anyway). A persona story is involved --
i.e., don’t ask. :-( At least the magic authenticity box does not
appear to have been checked. It isn’t clear why the comma is part of
the name -- i.e., rather than submitting <Sionn the Lost>.
I checked the documentation provided. The first URL is as cited;
however, the home page {URL: http://www.
namenerds.com/scottish/] says:
This site is [sic] dedicated to First Names
[sic]with Scottish roots. It
includes Scottish names [sic] from traditional Gaelic to modern
Scots. If
you're looking for the perfect name [sic] for your baby, dog,
character
in your novel or anything else, We hope this will [sic] be a good
resource!
(Note that the text was cut and pasted from the website, and only the
font and size were changed -- the extra space between words was just
how it transferred.). This leads me to suspect that this is not a
particularly good source.
The second URL seems to only cite <sionn> as a word, and not
necessarily as a name (at least not as I could find); I don’t have
access to the third, but it sounds like a baby name, book from the
title, so again, I am dubious about its scholarship. I have not found
<Sionn> in any other source, Scots or Gaelic. The closest I have
found is the Welsh <Sion>; Morgan and Morgan [pp. 135-36, sn
Ieuan]
says:
The change that took place to E j [sic] (= dzh)
and initial g [sic]
(= dzh) in words borrowed in the early med [sic] period is dealt
with
in EEW 226-7 [T.H. Parry-Williams, The English Element in
Welsh.] and
the personal names Jasper, Jerome, John, Joachim, Jonas, Joseph,
Jenkin, George are quoted. As the sounds of E j
[sic] (and E ch and sh) [sic] were not included the Welsh system of
sounds the j [sic]
became si [sic] -- not merely as a matter of
orthography; the si [sic]
represented the Welsh pronunciation, a normal s
[sic] sound given
the palatal quality of i [sic] but without making
a vowel of it. Two
lines are quoted from the poems of Dafydd ab Edmwnt [sic]in which
the name ‘Siôn’ [sic], written in the E form John
[sic] makes consonantal
identity with the s [sic] of
eisiau [sic] and swllt [sic]:
‘Eissiau neb i John
abad’ [sic], (s-n- [p. 136] b = J-n-b), ‘I’r byd swllt yw’r abad
John’ [sic]
[r- [sic] b-d-s- = r-b-d-j; obviously the j [sic]
is meant to be sounded as
if s(i)] [sic]. Despite this spelling, the
standard form of the med [sic]
period was Siôn [sic], the i [sic]
being the palatal quality of the s [sic],
the name being a monosyllable, and it is worthy of special notice,
that
the vowel o [sic] is long and closed, the
o [sic] expected before a single n [sic]. English words with initial E
sh [sic] and E ch [sic] were treated
in the same way, shop/siop, chalk/sialc [sic]. In
the early modern period
a change took place which was the converse, Welsh dev- [sic] eloped
the sound of English sh [sic]. Therefore the
borrowed ‘John’ [sic] went
through these stages, becoming Siôn [sic] (normal
s [sic] with just a
touch of i [sic] sound), then becoming
Shôn [sic]. This form of name
appearing in an English context or document is bound to become
‘Shone’ [sic], and a mixture of ‘Siôn’ [sic] and ‘Shone’ [sic]
will
at times
become ‘Shione’ [sic].
Unfortunately, the earliest dated citations in Morgan and Morgan with
with the spelling <Sion/Siôn> appear to be seventeenth
century, with
<Gwen Siôn> dated to 1684 and Owen Sion appearing to date
from either
1627 or 1668; have not found anything closer than this in other Welsh
name sources.
The specific ruling that deems “the Lost” as SCA compatible dates to
Elsbeth’s tenure as Laurel:
... we are reluctantly making the byname the Lost
[sic]SCA compatible.
[ Jordan the Lost ,07/01 [sic], A-Calontir]
That takes the submitted name one step from period practice. Given
that the documentation seems to point to <Sionn> as Gaelic,
rather
than Scots (which is also a weirdness) the name may have to be
returned (barring any better documentation for
<Sion/Sionn/Siôn> in a
Welsh context with would be registrable with English).
Artist’s note: The documentation submitted for the question mark is
indeed from Drogin (I’m fairly sure that I photocopied the title page
to send along to the submitting herald along with the finished drawing
-- if you need, I can scan the title and publisher pages, and send
them up as attachments); what the submitter brought to us showed a
fairly early style one that looks like a tilde or a largish sideways
(and mirror-image) “s”. I went through my copy to find something that
looked more like a “standard” question mark -- as something more
identifiably one, at any rate -- and found what *looked* like a modern
question mark. Other punctuation was noted in the caption for the
figure, but that wasn’t; however, it also didn’t appear to be a
letter. Unfortunately, while Drogin discusses various types of
punctuation in the text that accompanies the discussions on the
different hands, he doesn’t actually show most punctuation marks in
the ductus for any of them. I found this one by just leafing through,
page by page, examining the various samples (if it really *is* a
question mark that I found, that seems to contradict the ualberta.ca/
citation, which claims that this is a “seventeen-century invention”.
I agree that the other material seems extraneous. The first URL has
a typo, BTW [the actual URL is:
http://www.ualberta.ca/~sreimer/ms-course/course/punc.htm]., and does
not seem to provide illustrations. The second cited URL shows forms
that would not be identifiable as question marks without the glossed
text/captions; and the Wikipedia article (as quoted in the submission
documentation) does indeed not have an actual citation for the
assertion as to early forms.
That being said, the submitter was warned that we weren’t certain what
current rulings concerning punctuation marks and/or abstract symbols
were.
Complexity count of nine (five tinctures, four types of charge); this
is an additional problem with the device (the submitter was warned
about the complexity count issues as well). While -- admittedly --
there are probably real world, period armory that has complexity
counts higher than eight, they are not hampered by both an unusual
(and possibly illegal) charge and by the fact that the other charges
are so disparate.(as opposed to, say, a piece of armory that has a
charged chevron surrounded by three of the same type of secondary, in
conjunction with a charged chief (that has yet a different set of
tertiaries from what are on the chevron, especially if all the
tertiaries on one or the other ordinaries are not all the same).
Instead, what is submitted here is a TSCA device with two different
secondaries surrounding the bend sinister.
clear of: Aileen McDonagh (4/93 Atlantia) -- Per bend sinister azure
and vert, on a bend sinister between two crosses fleury argent, a rose
vine vert flowered gules.
There is a CD for changing the type of secondaries, and one for
significant changes to the charges on the bend sinister.
Bibliography
Black, George F. TheSurnamesofScotland:TheirOrigin,Meaning,andHistory.
Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd., 1999, 2004 [copyright: The New York Public
Library, 1946].
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme [Bruce Miller] and Akagawa Yoshio
[Kevin Munday]. APictorialDictionaryofHeraldryAsUsedinTheSocietyforCreativeAnachronism,
2nd Ed., 1992.
Dauzat, A. and Ch. Rostaing. DictionnaireétymologiquedesnomsdelieuxenFrance,
2nd. Ed. Paris: Librairie Guénégaud, 1963, 1978.
Delaney, John J. DictionaryofSaints, 2nd Ed. New
York: Doubleday, 1980, 2003.
Gregory of Tours. TheHistoryoftheFranks (trans. Lewis
Thorpe). Harmondsworth
and New York: Penguin Books, 1974, 1983.