ÆTHELMEARC COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #128
Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon

                                                                              Feast of St. Austol
                                                                              28 June AS XLV                                                 
                                                                             
 
Greetings from Myfanwy!
Herein pray find commentary on Æ #128.  Everything has been conflict-checked through the March 2010 LoAR.
If there is a problem with reading the .rtf format, please let me know ASAP and I will resend in a different format.
As always, I remain your servant and the Society’s.
 
 
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morisson
myfanwy@consolidated.net
 
      1. Dairina ó Ceallaigh
Ó Corráin and Maguire don’t have the given name as such, but they do have [p. 69] the name <Dáirine>, saying:
            Dáirine and her sister, Fithir, were two daughters of the legendary king
            of Tara, Túathal Techtmar.  The foster- [sic] mother of St [sic] Colmán of
            Daire Mór was also called Dáirine.
I also did a Google search for the given name and the hits suggest that is is a modern name that variously appears to be Spanish, Russian, and Irish.  Is this the submitter’s given name?
I checked in the O&A and relevant LoAR for what it said for the registration of <Phiala O’Ceallaigh> (May 94 East); it says:
                  Submitted as Phiala O'Cheallaigh, it was stated to be a feminine form
                  of O'Ceallaigh, but the feminine form is Ní Cheallaigh. We have
                  substituted the surname form.
The docs appear to suggest that this is a very early given name with a late period byname/surname.  Additionally, ÓC &M [pp. 48-9, sn Cellach> gives the name as both masculine and feminine, and gives it as the derivation of the surname <Ó Cellaig> (O Kelly).  Several saints by this name are cited, as well as <Cellach Ua Máel Corgais> (d. 1000), said to be the principal poet of Connacht).  Jones’ “100 Most Popular Men’s Names in Early Medieval Ireland [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/
irish100/] gives the standard genitive forms as <Cellaich> or <Celaig>.  Krossa’s “The Spelling of Lenited of Consonants in Gaelic” [URL: http://www.medievalscotland.org/
scotlang/lenition.shtml] suggests that the lenited form might be <Chellaich> or <Chelaig>
What changes, if any, does the submitter allow?  To begin with, the given name might be changed to <Dáirine>, but I don’t know whether changing the byname to a feminine form is a major or minor change.  The name <Dáirine inghean Ceallaich> might be suggested to her.
 
      2. Dau mac Fáeláin -- Gules, a wolf’s head erased argent between three triquetras Or.
The docs for all name elements are as cited.  The submitter is hoping that there is not too much of a temporal inconsistency between a pre-7th century given name and and the patronymic form of a 7th-9th century name.
      probably clear of: Tatianitsa Iaroslavna (2/08 Lochac) -- Gules, a dog’s head couped argent and a chief embattled ermine.
      probably clear of: Erik Gravargr (11/88 Calontir) -- Gules, a wolf’s head couped within a bordure rayonny argent.
In each case there is a CD for adding the secondary charges and there should also be one for removing the peripheral charge.
      clear of: Ivar Krigsvin (badge for Mercenary Guild, 8/86 Caid) -- Gules, a talbot’s head couped argent, collared sable, between three bezants one and two.
      clear of: Vaisvilkas Lietuvos (5/09 Outlands) -- Gules, a wolf’s head erased and in chief three double crosses argent.
In each case there is a CD for changing the type of secondaries and one for the arrangement of the charges.
      clear of: Dolce dei Bracchi (5/99 Atlantia) -- Gules, a greyhound courant between three triquetras Or.
This should be clear by X.2, with complete difference of primary charge (both of these are simple armory.
 
      3. Étienne Renard Argent -- Azure, a fox rampant contouring [sic!] argent, on a chief Or three fir trees proper.
The online docs appear to be as cited.  I tried to find a cite for the given name closer in time period to that of the byname.  Most of the forms I found were variants of <Estienne>; however, the submitted spelling is found (both with and without the accent mark) in Elliot’s “Sixteenth Century Norman Names” [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/cateline/norman16.html], which cites names from Jonathan Dewald’s The Formation of a Provincial Nobility: The Magistrates of the Parlement of Rouen, 1499-1610.
The docs for <Argent> are more or less as cited; note, however, that the cite is actually found under the header <Arganchy>: while <Argent> is a header form, it is said [p. 27] to be a variant  of <Arganchy>.  Morlet [p. 47] gives the header form <Argentel, Argentin> and says:
            dér. de l’argent, de argent, c.à.d brilliant comme de l’argent, c’est prob. un
            sobriquet concernant la coloeur de la chevelure.
In addition, Reaney and Wilson [p. 13, sn Argent], cites<Geoffrey Argent [sic]>, dated to 1180, and <John Largeant [sic]>, dated to 1524.
Correction of blazon: Azure, a fox rampant contourny argent, on a chief Or three fir trees proper.  [This is obviously a case of relying too heavily on Spellchecker programs.... :-) ]
Artist’s note: While it doesn’t really come through on my screen, the trunks of the trees really *are* brown, not black....  Additionally, the trees are as shown in the hurst of fir trees in the PIC-DIC [fig. 749].
Nice armory.
      clear of: Rebekah Billaur of the Rain Winds (11/86 Caid) -- Azure, a Saluki bitch salient argent and on a chief Or three escallops azure.
There is a CD for orientation of the primary charge (but not of type or posture); there is also a CD for changing the type and tincture of the tertiary charges.
      clear of: Ördög Magyar Béla (11/93 Outlands) -- Azure, a demi-wolf contourny argent, issuant from a trimount proper, vorant a vol Or.
There is a CD for changing the type of primary, from a demi-creature to a full one, by Precedent; this is from Jaelle’s tenure
            [registering two demiwolves...and a dog] [sic]  The question was raised in
            commentary as to whether this violated our sword and dagger [sic] rule,
            which prohibits two (or more) form of the same charge in the same
            piece of armory, for instance a rose and a rose bud, two different
            varieties of fish, a mullet of seven points and a mullet of 8 points, etc.
            This happens when the two items are not a CD apart. We in fact give
            a CD between an animal and the same animal when it is a demi-animal
            [sic]  This change is a type [sic] change, not a posture change. Therefore,
            since there is a CD between the demi-wolves and the dog, while poor
            style, this does not violate our ban on having two different charges in
            the same submission which are less than a CD apart. (Bran of Silver
            Keep, 7/97 p. 3) [sic]
There are also CDs for changes to the type and tincture of peripheral charge, and one for adding the tertiaries to it.
      possibly not clear of: Richard of Bewcastle (4/94 Middle) -- Gules, a wolf salient to sinister argent, on a chief Or three thistles proper.
There is a CD for changing the field tincture, but nothing for type or posture.  There is only really change of type of tertiaries, but this may be considered a case of  X.4.ii.j, since these are both simple armory,
 
      4. Godfrey the Vigilant
The St. Gabriel docs are as cited.  In addition, the name is found as a header form in Withycombe [p. 136, sn Godfrey]; the submitted spelling is dated to 1273.
The docs for the byname can be found in the Compact OED [vol. II, p. 3629 (reproducing section V, pp. 196-99)]; the dated citation is for the submitted spelling.
 
      5. Katryna Robyn (badge) -- (Fieldless) A dextrochere to sinister maintaining an epee argent.
Artist’s note: I’m not sure whether an epee is a period (for lack of a better term) artifact, which (visually) is slightly different from the more usual (SCA-wise) rapier.  The bell for this one is based on what I found during a Google search [URL: http://emmawatson.
net/forum/index.php?showtopic=9772]; the blade is maybe a bit wide, but I needed it to be visible and not too thin-line.  Hmm.  Now that I look at this again, is the epee maintained or sustained?
The PIC-DIC, [sn Maunch], defines a dextrochere as “a maunch with a hand issuant from the cuff”.  Parker [p. 201, bottom] says:
            a dexter arm issuing from the sinister side of the shield, very frequently
            from clouds.  It may be bare, or armed, or bearing weapons.  It is only
            found in French heraldry.
Parker specifically does not list this in conjunction with <maunch>.  Woodward [p. 205] says:
                  An arm is often represented as issuing from the edge of the shield....
            In French blazon an arm is called a dextrochère [sic] or a senestrochère [sic]
            according as it is represented a right or a left hand.  (RIETSTAP [sic] says,
            but wrongly, according as it issues from the dexter or sinister flank.) [sic]
This will probably need to be reblazoned; there is a Precedent from François second tenure which says:
            Various reference sources give rather different definitions for the term                   
            "dextochere," [sic] many of them not involving maunches at all. Therefore
            we will refrain from using the term in SCA blazon, as there is an alternate
            blazon which accurately describes the charge. [Gisele Flambeau, LoAR
            10/2004, East-R] [sic]
Possible reblazon: (Fieldless) A maunche with hand issuant contourny maintaining an epee argent.
Possible reblazon: (Fieldless) A maunche with hand issuant contourny sustaining an epee argent.
      possibly not clear of: Caid, Kingdom of (badge for Company of Clothiers of Caid, 12/01 Caid) -- Azure, issuant from a maunche reversed, a hand maintaining a threaded needle argent.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, but there may not be a CD for the maintained/sustained charge.  This may need to have the previous registration pulled for a visual inspection, to see if the needle is really maintained (and if not, if it is too visually similar to the epee, since both are long pointy objects).
      possibly not clear of: Briana Etain MacKorkhill (5/89 Calontir) -- Vert, ermined, a maunch reversed argent.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; there may be one for removing the ermine spots on the field (but they might just count as being part of the field).  There may or may not be one for adding the epee -- it will have to be determined whether it is significant enough to considered a sustained charge (in which case there will be a CD for adding it).
      clear of: Andrew William Montgomery (badge, 2/96 Trimaris) -- (Fieldless) A cubit arm armored bendwise sustaining a flanged mace bendwise sinister argent.
      clear of: Gavine Armestrang (badge, 6/04 Trimaris) -- (Fieldless) An armored arm embowed argent.
In each case there is a CD for fieldless vs. fieldless, and one for the orientation of the charges.  There may also be one for type.
      clear of: Simona Zon d'Asolo (badge, 8/93 Outlands) -- (Fieldless) A cubit arm proper issuant from the mouth of a fish's head couped close vert, maintaining a crescent gules.
There is CD for fieldless vs. fieldless, and there should be one for orientation (according to the PIC-DIC, sn Arm, a cubit arm is upright by default).  There may be one for type, but I don’t know if the fish head is significant enough to be considered a co-primary, or is in effect a maintained charge; there is nothing for the crescent, as it is also a maintained charge.
      possibly clear of: Abel Breme (badge, 9/08 Atlantia) -- Azure, a skeletal arm fesswise embowed reversed sustaining a trident bendwise argent.
There is a CD for field vs fieldless, and possibly one for type.  There may also be one for type and orientation of the sustained charge.
      probably clear of: Wilhelm von Armfelt (10/04 Middle) -- Per chevron vert and gules, a dexter arm fesswise embowed erased at the shoulder, fist clenched, armed argent.
      probably clear of: Ursula von Bremen (11/00 Atlantia) -- Quarterly gules and pean, an armored arm fesswise embowed maintaining a rose argent slipped and leaved vert.
In each case there is a CD for field vs fieldless and there should be one for orientation; there may also be one for type.
      possibly clear of: Cecilia Warvic de Stradforde (badge, 9/98 Middle) -- Purpure, a sinister arm fesswise embowed reversed argent sustaining a jester's bauble Or, faced of skull argent, capped per pale ermine and Or.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless; there may be one for type.  But it doesn’t sound like there is a CD for orientation, and there may not be one for the maintained charge.
      possibly not clear of: Stevanna of Houghton (2/75 West) -- Vert, an arm embowed with hand to sinister argent, holding zils, with four armbands and entwined by a double-headed serpent, all Or.
There is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and possibly one for type.  But there is not one for orientation, and there are not CDs for the maintained charges (the zils) and the armbands and snake are also effectively maintained charges.
 
      6. Lavena de Franketon -- Or, three hearts each per pale gules and sable.
The online docs are as cited.  In addition, the submitted spelling is found in Withycombe [p. 192, sn Lavinia] with a citation giving the same date as Scott.
The docs for the byname are mostly as cited; it should be noted that it is found under the header form <Frankton>.
Minor blazon foo -- I’m not sure that the word “each” is really necessary, although it probably doesn’t hurt.
Possible reblazon: Or, three hearts per pale gules and sable.
      no conflicts found
 
      7. Rosalia Iuliana Andre -- Argent, a bend sinister between two mullets of seven points vert.
The docs for the given name are as cited.  Additionally, Delaney [p. 538, sn Rosalia] says that she died in approximately 1160, and was name as patroness of Palermo “in gratitude for here role in ending a plague there in 1640.”
There is a typo in the first cite for <Iuliana> (the link gets you to a bunch of file in a directory): the actual address is [URL: http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/pisa/pisa.
html].  The docs for the form <Giuliano> are as cited; the name is found on the link for the alphabetical listing of names [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/
condado/mensalpha.html].  It should be noted that the feminine name <Giuliana> is found in the same source material [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/
condado/womensalpha.html].
The docs for the byname are more or less as cited; the actual link is found at [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/condado/patroalpha.html].
Grammar question for the names people: this is a combination of Italian and Latinization of (presumably) Italian.  While the submitter does not appear to have requested authenticity, shouldn’t all the name elements be all one language or the other?sa
The bend sinister should probably be a bit thicker, as it is the primary charge (even if it makes the mullets a tad smaller in comparison).  This probably just needs an artist’s note to the submitter, however.
Nice armory.
      probably clear of: James de Sommerville (12/08 Calontir) -- Argent, a bend sinister and in canton three trefoils vert.
      probably clear of: Seamus Gilleasbuig (6/97 Ansteorra) -- Argent, a bend sinister between six Celtic crosses formy vert.
There is at one CD in each case for changing the type of secondaries, and there should be one for number as well.
      possibly clear of: Ismenia O'Mulryan (3/99 Atenveldt) -- Argent, a bend sinister vert between a hawk's head contourny erased azure, armed vert, and a skeletal hand fesswise azure.
      possibly clear of: Rhys Leonhard Pohl (8/90 Calontir) -- Argent, a bend sinister vert between a pithon displayed and a natural dolphin naiant to sinister sable.
In each case there is at least one CD for changing the type and tincture of the secondaries; however, the prior registrations are *not* simple armory, with more than two types of charges directly on the field.
      clear of: Tigernach an Chalaidh (3/10 An Tir) -- Argent, a bend sinister wavy between two quatrefoils purpure.
There is a CD for adding the complex line to the bend sinister, and at least one for changes to the secondaries.
 
      8. Rosalia Iuliana Andre  (badge) -- (Fieldless) A mullet of seven points per pale vert and argent.
Nice badge
      no conflicts found
 
      9. Vulcansmede, College of
The first docs cited are somewhat specious, in that the cite from Tacitus is not necessarily what the Germanic tribes called the gods, only to what the Romans thought their equivalents were; this is borne out in the text, which goes on to equate the Roman and Teutonic names of the weeks, and goes on [pp. 260-61] to say:
                  These Teutonic names for the days of the weeks are common to all
            the branches of Teutonic speech, and must have had a high antiquity. 
            They tell us what gods the Germans had in early times, and to what
            Roman gods these were believed to correspond; but it would be a vain
            endeavour [sic] to attempt to deduce from this, or indeed from any
            early information we possess on the subject, the origin and nature of
            these gods.... We come to know more of these gods when we find them
            in the Eddas, but it is scarcely legitimate to fill in the South German gods
            of the first century from the North German gods of the same names of
            the eleventh or twelfth.  We reserve, therefore, our description of the
            German gods till we come to the Northern mythology.
                  The Roman writers do not furnish any accurate idea of the working
            religion of the Germans of their day.  Cæsar [sic] says they were not so
            much under the guidance of priests as the Gauls were, and that they were
            not greatly addicted to sacrifice; neither statement can [p. 261] be received
            without scrutiny.  Tacitus idealises [sic] the untutored savage as Rousseau
            does, in order to rebuke the vices of a luxurious civilisation [sic]; but his
            statements of actual facts may be trusted.
The second reference is as cited, but is (as noted) not referring to Germanic practices, but rather to Anglo-Saxon ones.
The third reference is also as cited, but only appears to note that there was a cultus to Vulcan, not that places were named for him (and this could easily be in a Roman -- as opposed to a Gaulic -- context, since the dedicators are not identified by origin).
I can’t accurately evaluate the fourth and fifth cites, because I don’t know if they have read/transcribed the text accurately (and without photocopies provided no one else will be able to either).  Note that *portions* of the Duruy cite appear on Google Books (it appears to be multiple volumes in length), but I have been unable to find the specific passage cited in the submission.
None of these cites appear to identify specific places in Gaul or any other Germanic controlled area in which Vulcan is identified as the major god worshipped to the point of naming the location in his honor.  The best that can be said is that there was a cultus worshipping either Vulcan or his Teutonic equivalent.
The three cites for <-mede> appear to be as cited; however, there does not appear to be any correlation with the use of, or cultus to, Vulcan.
I can’t evaluate the docs for “forge” as they have not been provided, only attested.
In the final evaluation of all that the submitters have provided, I’m afraid that I don’t believe that they have made their case.  They have skirted around the issues which caused the return of their first attempt, without adequately resolving them.  Additionally, since some of the documentation has not been provided in hard copy form, the submission may run afoul of IV.C.2. in the Admin Handbook [URL: http://
heraldry.sca.org/laurel/admin.html#IV.C] which 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 [sic] 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.
 
Bibliography:
 
[no author]  The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary: Complete Text
      Reproduced Micrographically [2 Vol.].  Oxford, London, et. al.: Oxford University
      Press, 1971, 1981.
 
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme [Bruce Miller] and Akagawa Yoshio [Kevin Munday]. 
      A Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry As Used in The Society for Creative Anachronism,
      2nd Ed., 1992. 
 
Dauzat, A. and Ch. Rostaing.  Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieux en France,
      2nd. Ed.  Paris: Librairie Guénégaud, 1963, 1978.
 
Delaney, John J.  Dictionary of Saints, 2nd Ed.  New York: Doubleday, 1980, 2003.
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/admin.html
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/precedents.html
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/rfs.html
 
http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/loar/
 
http://oanda.sca.org
 
http://www.s-gabriel.org/                            
 
Morlet, Marie-Thérèse.  Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille, nouvelle
      édition revue et augmentée.  [??]: Librairie Académique Perrin, 1991, 1997.
 
Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, and Fidelma Maguire.  Irish Names.  Dublin: The Lilliput Press,
      1981. 1990
 
Parker, James. A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry.  Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle
      Co., Inc., 1970.
 
Reaney, P. H. and R. M. Wilson.  A Dictionary of English Surnames, Rev. 3rd Ed. 
      Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
 
Withycombe, E. G.  The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd Ed. 
      Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.
 
Woodward, John, and George Burnett.  Woodward's Treatise on Heraldry, British
      and Foreign.  Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., 1969, 1971.
 
 other URLs as cited