ÆTHELMEARC
COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #119 Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
6/12 -- St. Eskil
12 June AS XL!V
Greetings from Myfanwy!
Herein pray find commentary on Æ LoI # 119. For a change, I
decided
to get it done *before* the deadline. Which is pretty impressive,
considering that I didn’t do *any* work on it until after the Siege at
Harlech Castle II.... :-) :-)
The armory has been conflict-checked through the March 2009 LoAR.
I remain your servant and the Society’s.
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morrisson
myfanwy@nauticom.net
1. Angellino the bookmaker
The docs for the given name are as cited. Individually, I’m not sure
that they support the submitted spelling -- especially since the
“support” for the <ll> seems to be invariably with the
<-us> ending
(I suspect that these are Latin, or at least Latinized, forms).
However, taken all together, the documentation seems to suggest that
this may be a plausible spelling for a diminutive form of the name
<Angello>.
The docs for the byname are as cited, but do not in of themselves
support it. My initial gut reaction for <bookmaker> was to
imagine a
guy with a broken nose chewing on a cigar (i.e., in the modern sense
of a “bookie” or “tout”). That being said, however, I checked the
Compact OED [p. 248, reproducing pp. 989-992] for the
term. The first definition [p. 992], for <Book-maker>, which is
said
to be obsolete is:
“One who makes a book (as a material pro- [sic] duct); a printer
and
book-binder [sic].
The definition’s usage is period; the OED goes on to
say:
1515 [sic] in Glasscock Rec. St. Michaels, Bp.
Stortford [sic] 34 Item
pd. to th [sic] bokemaker and his servaunt...xxxiijs
iiijd [sic].
Note that the meaning of “bet-maker” is only the third
definition in the OED; it is post-period, only dating
to the 1860s.
2. Avelina filia Isolda
The docs for all name elements are as cited. I kept thinking that
there *should* be a cite in R&W somewhere specifically for
<filia>
(i.e., as well as for <filius>, and eventually, after some random
checking, I found one [p. 7, sn Alis]: there is a cite for
<Alicia [sic] filia Engrami>, dated to 1219. In
addition to what was cited in the documentation, in the raw data for
the online docs I found the names <Christiana filia Emmæ>,
<Emma
filia Andreæ filii Gilberti>, and <Margareta, filia
Adæ de
Lemmecton>, all of which appear to have metronymic forms.
3. Biorn Vestarson -- Vert, two axes per saltire and a chief
embattled Or.
The online docs for both name elements are as cited.
Are these battle-axes or pole-axes [c.f. PIC-DIC, figs. 24a and 577b,
respectively]? Why are they disjointed? (I would perhaps call them
“dismembered”, except for the fact that they are inanimate objects; I
found no relevant Precedent rulings on the subject). They may need to
be blazoned as being addorsed, as well as in saltire.
Additionally, the B&W and color emblazons seem to be completely
different drawings (the axes in the color version are significantly
larger -- a *good* thing, BTW -- than in the B&W, but the
angle/orientation also seems to be very different. The chief is a
drawn a bit too high, especially in the B&W version.
I’m not certain whether the aggregate issues are enough to warrant a
redraw, but the submitter/artist should be advised as to them. The
different drawings alone are probably grounds for an administrative
return, by V.B.2.e in th Admin Handbook [URL:
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html#IV.B]:
e. Emblazon - An accurate representation of each piece of submitted
armory shall be included on the letter of intent. Such emblazons
must be
clear enough that all elements of the design may be clearly
distinguished
in the OSCAR-generated miniature. Submissions heralds are encouraged
to use full-size scans of the emblazons, so that enlarged details
may be
examined by the entire College of Arms. Both the black-and-white
[sic]
and colored emblazons must be included in OSCAR. The colored copy
must be a scan of the original; altering the scan in ways that
change the
appearance of the submission (through an image editing program, for
example) [sic] is grounds for return. If there are discrepancies
between
the original and the scan, please note them in the summary.
This was reiterated in an Administrative Precedent from
François’
second tenure [URL:
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/sca/armoryprec.html#ADMIN]:
[...a pall wavy sable fimbriated...] [sic] On the full-size
emblazon, the
waves of the wavy pall are much too small and too numerous, which
hinders identifiability...On [sic] the miniature emblazon there are
fewer
cycles (about half as many), so it was impossible for commenters to
comment on this. Such discrepancies between the mini and the
full-size
emblazons are also independent cause for return per Administrative
Handbook V.B.2.e, Miniature Emblazon: "An accurate representation
of each piece of submitted armory shall be included on the letter of
intent." [sic] In this case, the miniature is not a sufficiently
accurate
representation of the full-size emblazon. [Michael de Multon, LoAR
10/2004, Meridies-R] [sic]
Let me know if you want this redrawn.
Possible reblazon: Vert, in saltire two [battle] axes [addorsed] and a
chief embattled Or.
Possible reblazon: Vert, in saltire two pole-axes [addorsed] and a
chief embattled Or.
no conflicts found
4. Edmund Griffith
The name docs for both elements are as cited. Note that in the
introductory material to the Scott article, it says:
If the Latinized form ended in -us [sic], the
ending in the ablative case
was -o [sic], and conversely. From a recorded
Alano [sic], for instance,
we can deduce a nominative case Alanus [sic]. In
these cases I have
restored the nominative case with the ending in parentheses. Thus,
the
name that appears in this table as Alan(us) [sic]
actually occurs in the roll
as Alano [sic].
Thus, he lists the form <Edmund(us)>.
5. Ekaterina Volkova (badge) -- [Fieldless] In pale a baronial
coronet argent conjoined to a Cyrillic letter “E” vert.
There are no examples of baronial coronets shown in the PIC-DIC, which
says [sn Crown], that such depictions in are post-period. The coronet
in the emblazon is somewhat similar to what is shown in von Volborth
[p. 142, figs. 831-33] for British barons, but without the cap of
maintenance. Other, related types of baronial coronets in von
Volborth are an “older form“ of coronet with five pearls (i.e., rather
than the four on the coronet in the submission) for a German baron
(“Freiherr”) [p. 146, fig. 842]; and [p. 148, fig. 850] a “more
recent” style of coronet for French barons, which has three pearls.
A depiction of the Cyrillic letter “E” is found on Wikipedia [URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_(Cyrillic)]; according to the article,
it originated in the twelfth century as a variant of <Ye>
(represented as a normally oriented <E>).
no conflicts found
6. Esa Baird (device change) -- Azure crusilly, three owls Or.
probably clear of: Timotheos Vlastaris (7/97 Lochac) -- Azure fretty
and crusilly clechy Or.
There is at least one CD for the changes to the primary charges (type
and possibly number) and there is probably a CD for the change of the
type of crosses.
7. Lasairíona Ó Ceallaigh
The docs for the given name are as cited. Note that the submitted
spelling is the post-1200 header form in ÓC&M, but that all
the cited
forms in the raw data in Mari’s article are for variants of
ÓC&M’s
pre-1200 header form.
I don’t have Wolfe or MacLysaght, but the other docs for the byname
are as cited. In addition, ÓC&M [op. cit.] gives
<Cellach> as both
a masculine and feminine name, and says:
...it was much more common as a male name and gave rise to the
surname Ó Cellaig (O Kelly) [sic].
Note, however, that all the dated forms in the raw data in Mari’s
article are nominative forms, and masculine ones at that. It isn’t
entirely clear whether changing <Ó> to <inghean
Uí> (i.e., changing
the gender form of the byname) is a major or minor change; I suspect a
major one, given that the byname would also have to be lenited;
according to Krossa’s article “The Spelling of Lenited Consonants in
Gaelic” [URL:
http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotlang/lenition.shtml], the lenited
form should probably be <Cheallaigh> or <C.eallaigh>,
depending on
whether it is before or after approximately 1200 AD. This should make
the name <Lasairíona inghean Uí Cheallaigh>; since
the submitter does
not allow major changes, this may have to be returned.
8. Vulcan’s Forge, College of (branch name)
There are two questions at hand. One is whether this name follows RfS
III.2.b.i.: which states:
i. Branch Names [sic] - Names of branches must follow
the patterns
of period place-names.
Some good Society examples are: Shire of Carlsby
[sic], Standonshire
[sic], Barony of Jararvellir [sic] , College of
Saint Carol on the Moor [sic],
all of which closely resemble period place-names.
In addition, it will have to be determined whether or not this
submission runs afoul of RfS VI.2:
2. Names Claiming Powers. [sic] – Names containing
elements that
allude to powers that the submitter does not possess are considered
presumptuous.
Society names may not claim divine descent, superhuman abilities,
or other powers that the submitter does not actually possess. Such
claims include divine patronymics, like Vulcanson
[sic]; epithets
peculiarly associated with divinities or superhuman beings, such as of the Valkyrie [sic]; given names that were never
used by humans,
like the names of some Giants or Dwarves in Norse mythology; or
descriptive epithets like Worldblaster [sic].
This is an expansion of I.3.b. which says:
b. Presumptuous Claims [sic] - A name or piece of
armory which
expresses or implies presumptuous claims to status or powers that
the submitter does not possess will not be registered.
No name or armory will be registered that could be considered
presumptuous and thereby cause offense to a significant segment
of the Society.
In addition to the lack of a petition, this is currently lacking in
documentation and paperwork: in the Administrative Handbook IV.C.2.
URL: http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html#IV.C] it says:
2. Documentation - Documenting evidence must be included
for all name elements, constructions, and patterns, as well as any
non-standard [sic] armorial elements or practices. Such documentation
must include references to specific pages and/or entries in the
source
material. Citations must be sufficiently complete to allow
identification
of the source and its usefulness, which generally includes author,
title,
and publication information (for print sources) [sic] or URL (for
online
sources) [sic]. Except for documentation from items in Appendix H
(the No-Photocopy List) [sic], such documentation must include
copies
of cited source material. While the kingdom college and College of
Arms may assist with research and documentation, the submitter bears
responsibility for providing documentation for all submissions.
Documentation must also be presented for any elements allowed
under the mundane name allowance or by mundane relationship under
the grandfather clause.
If the herald of record is listed as (submitter) and is for a branch
name, why *isn’t* a petition included? Someone needs to sit them down
with a copy of the RfS and/or the Admin Handbook and walk them through
the process of what paperwork is required (including copies of
documentation that are not on the Do Not Photocopy list -- are they
even aware of what this is?).
It sounds as if some of us in the general vicinity of C.U.P. (yeah,
this probably means I’m volunteering us up here in Debatable Lands,
because I think we’re the closest bunch of relatively senior heralds)
need to arrange to go down there for one of their group meetings, like
some of us did last year for Ballachlagan (? the group in the Wheeling
area) last summer, and walk them through the process (as well as
possibly running a general consult table for them).
All that having been said, I will attempt to create something faintly
resembling documentation, and to double-check their docs as far as I
am able.
Information about the _Nuremberg Chronicle_ (also known as the
Liber Chronicarum) can be found on Wikipedia Commons
[URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Nuremberg_Chronicle],
where there is a .jpg of the illustration of Ovid and Plato [URL:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plato_and_Ovid_(together).jpg];
this is apparently from an edition of the text at the Morse Library of
Benoit College. The image of Ovid appears to be mirror image, given
that the text caption is written backwards {There is also a .jpg of
just the Ovid image, which appears to have the correct orientation to
the woodcut.]
An English translation of the text of Vitruvius’s De
architectura can be found online [URL:
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/1*.html];
in chapter 7, section 1, it says in part:
The lanes and streets
of the city being set out, the choice of sites for
the convenience and use of the state remains to be decided on; for
sacred
edifices, for the forum, and for other public buildings....
According to the
regulations of the Hetrurian º [sic] Haruspices, the temples of
Venus,
Vulcan, and Mars should be so placed that those of the first not be
in the
way of contaminating the matrons and youth with the influence of
lust;
that those of Vulcan be away from the city, which would consequently
be freed from the danger of fire; the divinity presiding over that
element
being drawn away by the rites and sacrifices performing in his
temple.
[A gloss on “Hetrurian º “ says “(sic) Etrurian, of course”.] Note
that this does *not* support the claim in the documentation about
Vulcan’s attributes or his assistance to humankind.
I did a Google search on Heinrich von Waldech (or
Waldeck), and found a site about Wartburg
Castle [URL:
http://www.travelgermanyinenglish.com/wartburgminne.html]. According
to the text, there was supposedly a competition at the Castle in 1207
between five of the Minnesingers, including Wolfram von Eschenbach
(author of Parzival) and Walter von der Vogelweide. One of the
other competitors was said to be Heinrich von Waldeck]. That dates him
to the early thirteenth century, but does not
specifically date the illustration from an original edition on the
blacksmithing website cited in the documentation (the Brueghel
painting is post 1600, but falls within “grey area”, as does the
Velasquez painting, which according to a website called “the Artchive”
[URL: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/V/velazquez/vulcan.jpg.html] is
dated to 1630.
The docs from Maridonna’s article are are cited. Note, however, that
most of the other docs appear to be for an English context. The
combination of English and Italian have been ruled one step from
period practice (in the name <Veronica de Holloway>), as is the
combination of German and Italian (in the name <Richenza
d’Assisi>;
the combination of Anglo-Saxon/Old English and Italian is not
registrable [URL:
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/sca/weirdness_table.html].
The online docs about Ashford, Kent are also as cited; the implication
given is that “Forge Lane” is period. Unfortunately, I cannot verify
the information; Domesday lists the town in the
section on Kent, but does not give enough detail about streets:
[p. 32]:
IN LONGBRIDGE HUNDRED [sic]
Maintou holds SEVINGTON [sic] of Hugh. Bresibalt held it of King
Edward....
The same Maintou holds ASHFORD of Hugh. Thorgisl held it of
Earl Godwine, and it is assessed at 1 sulung. There is land for
half a
plough. Yet in demesne is 1 plough; and 2 villans have 1 plough. There
are 2 slaves, and 8 acres of meadow. TRE [sic] it was worth 25s;
when
received, 20s; now 30s.
.....
Maintou holds another ASHFORD of Hugh. William held it of King
Edward. It is assessed at 1 sulung. there is land for 4 ploughs. In
demesne are 2 [ploughs] [sic]; and 2 villans with 15 boarders have 3
ploughs. there is a church, and a priest, and 3 slaves, and 2 mills
rendering
10s2d. TRE [sic] it was worth 70s, and afterwards 60s; now 100s.
The Compact OED [p. 1057, reproducing pp. 449-52]
dates the use of <forge> in the sense of “a smithy” to Chaucer,
in
“The Miller’s Tale” (c. 1386):
A smith .. [sic] That in his forge smithed plough-harneys.
I checked for references <Vulcan> as well as <forge> in
Chaucer
[URL: http://www.canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html]. The god
Vulcan(us) is mentioned in the Knight’s Tale [lines 1356-72] as the
husband of Venus:
Whan Palamon the lsrke herde synge,
Al though it nere nat day by houres two,
Yet song the larke, and Palamon also.
With hooly herte and with an heigh corage
He roos, to wenden on his pilgrymage,
Unto the blisful Citherea benigne,
I mene Venus, honurable and digne.
And in hir houre he walketh forth a pas
Unto the lystes, ther hire temple was,
And doun he kneleth, with ful humble cheer,
And herte soor, and seyde in this manere.
Faireste of faire, O lady myn, Venus,
Doughter to Jove, and spouse of Vulcanus,
Thow glader of the Mount of Citheron,
For thilke love thow haddest to Adoon,
Have pitee of my bittre teeris smerte,
And taak myn humble preyere at thyn herte.
(When Palamon the earliest lark heard sing,/Although it lacked two
hours of being day,/Yet the lark sang, and Palamon sang a lay./With
pious heart and with a high courage/He rose, to go upon a pilgrimage/
Unto the blessed Cytherea's shrine/(I mean Queen Venus, worthy and
benign)./And at her hour he then walked forth apace/Out to the lists
wherein her temple was,/And down he knelt in manner to revere,/And
from a full heart spoke as you shall hear./Fairest of fair, O lady
mine,
Venus,/Daughter of Jove and spouse to Vulcanus,/Thou gladdener of
the Mount of Citheron,/By that great love thou borest to Adon,/Have
pity on my bitter tears that smart/And hear my humble prayer within
thy heart.)
There does not, however, appear to be any specific reference in
The Canterbury Tales to Vulcan as a blacksmith.
There is a very old Precedent, from Wilhelm’s tenure which states in
part:
The rule of the College is that a place name must be a place
primarily
inhabited by ordinary mortals, not a place where occasionally a
mortal
was invited to visit. I point out that Dante visited Hades and
Arthur dwells
on Avalon, and yet neither is acceptable.... The claim to come from
such
a place would be to imply either that you were non-mortal, or that
you
were a hero, since in Celtic mythology anyone coming from such a
place
would be treated as an extra-ordinary [sic] person worthy of great
respect.
This is too presumptuous. Please take the name of a real place. WVS
[25]
[LoAR 16 Sep 80], p. 7
There was also a return (for conflict) from Daud’s second tenure, for
the Household name <House Vulcan> :
Conflict with the fictional planet Vulcan, which plays a major role
in various episodes of the two Star Trek television series, several
of the
Star Trek movies, and many of the Star Trek books. It is certainly
famous
enough to warrant protection under the Rules. (3/94)
I could not find any more recent Precedents, even though I heard
rumors of this exact name being returned previously. I also checked
back through LoARs and in the O&A. There was a device change for
the
Barony of Vulcanfeldt (2/08 An Tir), but the name was originally
registered (for the then Shire of Vulcanfeldt) 6/82 without comment
[URL:
http://oanda.sca.org:80/oanda_np.cgi?p=Vulcan&b=narrow&c=caseinsensitive&l=25&s=name+only&d=modern&g=enabled&a=disabled]
and no other names using the element <Vulcan> could be found
except
for one instance of <Vulcanfeldt> itself being used in a holding
name.
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme [Bruce Miller] and Akagawa Yoshio
[Kevin Munday]. APictorialDictionaryofHeraldryAsUsedinTheSocietyforCreativeAnachronism,
2nd Ed., 1992.
Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, and Fidelma Maguire. IrishNames.
Dublin:
The Lilliput Press,
1981. 1990.
Parker, James. AGlossaryofTermsUsedinHeraldry. Rutland,
VT: Charles E. Tuttle
Co., Inc., 1970.
Reaney, P. H. and R. M. Wilson. ADictionaryofEnglishSurnames, Rev.
3rd Ed.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Thorn, Caroline and Frank, eds., from a draft translation prepared by
Margaret
Newman. DomesdayBook:7Dorset. London and
Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore
& Co., Ltd., 1983; Domesday Book Series: John Morris, General
Editor.
von Volborth, Carl-Alexander. Heraldry:Customs,RulesandStyles. Poole,
Dorset:
Blandford Press, 1981, 1984.
Withycombe, E. G. TheOxfordDictionaryofEnglishChristianNames, 3rd Ed.
Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.