Unto Francois Laurel, Mari Pelican, Zenobia Wreath, and the commenting members of the College of Arms, does Juliana de Luna, Garnet, send greetings! I apologize for the graininess of the mini-emblazons. My scanner is being cranky about something, and I just haven't had time to fix the problem. I hope to have it licked next month. I promise that the full-size images are not grainy. Thanks!

Corrections to Previous Letters of Intent:

October 15

18. Tessa la Hunter - I spoke to the submitter, and she would prefer a feminine form of the byname, specifically the Huntress. The OED dates huntress to 1386; it is used first to describe Diana, but later to describe mere women (including Belphebe in the Faerie Queene. If this is not acceptable, she will accept the submitted form.

19. Wülfer Drachenhand - I spoke to the submitter, and he really prefers the name with the preposition. If von is not acceptable, he would like to know if der Drachenhand is acceptable, or a name derived from an inn sign, such as von der Drachenhand. It is the wish of the College of Heralds of Æthelmearc that the following submissions be considered for registration. Unless otherwise noted, the submitters will accept both major and minor changes.

(Fieldless) A horse passant per pale gules and argent.

This is a new submission.

This badge is intended for the Æthelmearc Equestrian Guild. A similar label (the Equestrian Guild of Calontir) was attached to a Calontir submission in 1990.

(Fieldless) A hunting horn argent.

This is a resubmission of the order formerly submitted as The Order of the Grand Caltrop, withdrawn by the Kingdom, and an associated badge.

White - The OED dates its use as an adjective to at least 1300, with the submitted spelling occurring as early as the fourteenth century (photocopies attached).

Horn - The horn is a heraldic charge used in Society and mundane heraldry. The use of the word referring to a "wind instrument, more or less resembling a horn in shape, and originally formed of the horn of some beast" dates to at least circa 1000 AD, with the spelling "horn" coming from that time according to the OED (photocopies attached).

This name follows an period pattern (color + object) for order names; both elements of the name are found in period exemplars as well. In "Period Order Names" by Kwellend-Njal Kollskeggsson, we find:

• Order of the White Elephant (Denmark, 1478)
• Order of the Yellow Ribbon (Sweden 1523)
• Compagnie of the Black Swan (Savoy 1350)
• Le Cordon Bleu (France, 1198)
• Order of the Horn (Bavaria, no date)

We believe the badge should be clear of Nicaret Grindal de Foix Gyronny gules and vert, a spiral hunting horn reversed argent. There is clearly one CD for fieldlessness. We could find no precedent as to whether there is difference between a standard hunting horn and a spiral hunting horn (which looks a lot like a French horn). Visually, they're quite distinct, and we feel there should be a CD between the two.

(Fieldless) An open book per pale gules and argent.

This is a new submission.

The badge is intended for the "Æthelmearc Pages School;" please attach this label.

Or, a camel statant proper, saddled and bridled vert.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be feminine. She wants her name to be authentic for "1100 Middle East." The submitter will accept minor changes only. The name was originally submitted as Aminah bint Mujelid Kitab; the byname was intended to mean 'the book-binder's daughter'. It was changed on the advice of Sion Andreas to make the grammar correct.

Aminah can be found in Da'ud's "Arabic Naming Practices and Period Names List" [http://www-s.Gabriel.org/names/daud/Arabic-naming]
There are ample examples of occupational bynames being used in patronymic constructions in Cairo (my research into Jewish names there; the bynames part is unpublished, but the given names can be found in this year's KWHS Proceedings).

About the byname, Sion Andreas said:

The word for bookbinding is "tajliid al-kutub". Kutub is the plural of kitaab (I suppose that one could bind the same book over and over, but... You see the Arabic logic here.) The word tajliid is the nominal form of the Form II verb jallada. That doubled middle consonant, the L, is important.

The name for a person who jallad's kutubs would be Mujallid al-Kutub.

The camel is brown.

Argent, a griffin sejant gules, on a mount vert a tree argent, a chief raguly vert.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He will accept any changes.

Baldwin is a header form in Withycombe, and Balduin and Baldewin are dated to 1086.

Hillshire is an invented place name. Names of the form <Xshire> are normally derived from a placename that is the center of the shire, such as Lancashire from Lancaster, Yorkshire from York, Hampshire from Hampton, and Wiltshire from Willton. Ekwall and Mill cite Hilton as the name of a town which could be the center of the district. There are five places of that name cited with four dating back to the Domesday Book (book (with dated spellings of Hiltone, Hiltune and Eltone). The 'll' spelling could be derived from another entry, Hillam, dated to 963 as Hillam (in Mills).

Or, an oak tree within an orle of ravens proper.

This item is new to Laurel. Her name was registered in April 2000.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be feminine. She will not accept major changes.

All elements of this name are from "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" (by Arval Benicouer and Talan Gwynek). This name uses a common structure: <given de patronymic + byname>. The more common standard form used da, but there are many cases using de.

Catarina is a common name in fourteenth century Venice. Zaneta is given for fourteenth century Venice; we believe that the masculine Zaneto is also plausible. Rizo is a byname meaning 'curly haired' in the same source.

Per bend azure and gules, a dragon's head contourney couped, a bordure argent.

This item is new to Laurel. Her name was registered in June 2001.

Argent, a boar's head sable, a bordure embattled vert.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He requests his name be made authentic for the 8th-9th century (no location specified). He will not accept major changes.

As documented (with a given name from 7th century France and the name of a medieval Iberian kingdom), the name has a weirdness for temporal incompatibility (they're currently about 350 years apart) and one for cultural incompatibility. However, as the gap is not that great, we hope that the College can find a citation for Clovis either later or in Iberia (so that there will be only a single weirdness). Alternately, a French citation of Aragon should make this a single weirdness.

Clovis is the name of several Merovingian kings, including, Clovis I, 481-511, King of the Franks; Clovis II, 638-656, King of Neustria; and Clovis III, 671-695, King of Austrasia and Neustria. (An Encyclopedia of World History, William L. Langer ed., pg. 148). (photocopies attached)

de Aragon - My little book of kings of Spain (Tablas Cronológicas de la Historia de España by Pedro Voltes, Barcelona, Editorial Juventud, 1980) gives the earliest king of Aragón as Ramiro I (1035-1063). The name de Aragon is used for non-royal people well before the end of period.

Vert, a fess dancetty between three hearts and a laurel wreath argent.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. If the mix is acceptable, the group would prefer the submitted spelling. Otherwise, they would prefer that the second element be changed to a Dutch term equivalent to "keep." No one in Æthelmearc was able to find an appropriate term. If the College cannot find one, they would accept Cortland Keep, an entirely English form. The Shire will permit any changes. Petitions of support signed by a majority of the members of the shire are included.

Cortlandt is a Dutch name, meaning "short land," or a small or narrow piece of land. The name is found among the early Dutch settlers of New Amsterdam, now New York. Stephanus Van Cortlandt was born in New Amsterdam on 7 May, 1643. His father, Oloff Stevense Van Cortlandt was born circa 1600-1610, possibly near Utrecht. Oloff was a soldier with the Dutch West India Company, and arrived in New Amsterdam in 1638. Information about these names are found in the Encyclopedia of New York City, (Kenneth T. Jackson, ed., published by Yale University Press); and <>The New Century Cyclopeia of names, (volume 3). Photocopies of both are attached.

Cortland is plausible as an English placename. The element Cort- or Court- is relatively rare in English placenames. The most likely meaning is not 'short', but the unattested given name Corta:
Corton 'Estate of a man called *Cort(a)' Cortitone 1086
Courteenhall 'Nook of land of *Corta' Cortenhale 1086
The above citations are from Mills. Ekwall adds Corton 1226, Cortun 1130-5 and Cortes hamm 955 (s.n. Corton).

There are many words ending in -land; some mean 'region', but many mean 'area of cultivated land.' There are even two that explicitly refer to ownership:
Kirkland 'land belonging to a church' Kyrkeland c. 1140
Rutland 'Estate of a man named Rota' Roteland c. 1060

Given this, Cortland seems a reasonable modern form of a place meaning 'land belonging to a man called Corta.'

Keep - Keep is a late period word referring to "the innermost and strongest structure or central tower of a medieval castle, serving as a last defense; a tower; a stronghold, donjon." This citation comes from page 375 of volume eight of the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED dates the earliest usage of this meaning to 1586 (photocopy attached). "Keep" has been registered as part of the name for approximately thirty-six local branches in the Society. Most recently, it was registered in November 1999 to the "Shire of Crossroad Keep."

Barry wavy vert and argent ermined vert.

His name was submitted to Laurel on the June 2001 LoI.

Gules, a reindeer trippant between three pines couped a double tressure wavy intertwined Or.

Both items are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be feminine. The submitter requests that her name be made authentic for "9th century Pict/Scot;" when I contacted her about the modern form of her bynames, she also told me that that her name in the submitted form is more important to her than authenticity. The submitter will accept minor changes only. Submitted as Aethni Rannach an tEilan Dubh, the name was changed to match the documentation provided for the given name. Her original submission Rhenna de an tEileran Dubh, with an identical device, was returned in-Kingdom for a lack of documentation of Rhenna.

Eithne is an early Gaelic name. The Age of the Picts by W.A. Cummins, pg. 34, says that "in the Annals of Ulster there is a single reference to a Pictish princess ... where the death of Eithni is recorded" (photocopies attached). In addition, OC&M (s.n. Eithne) list women by that name who died in 758 and 795. If the originally submitted spelling can be documented, the submitter will be very happy.

Rannach is documented as a word meaning 'songster, bard, rhymer, story-teller'. (The Illustrated Gaelic-English Dictionary, Edward Dwelly, pg. 748) (photocopies attached)

an tEilan Dubh - This is a direct translations to Gaelic of 'The Black Isle' as cited in Lost Kingdoms: Celtic Scotland and the Middle Ages by John Roberts, pg. 40 (photocopies attached). While this is a standard modern form, it should be registerable as such.

We could find no evidence of the charge blazoned here as a "double tressure wavy intertwined." Given that a single orle wavy would be acceptable, we think that these intertwined orles might be acceptable, though they would be a weirdness.

Per pale argent and vert nebuly, six martlets counterchanged

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be feminine. She wants her name to be authentic for 13th century Norman England, and will accept minor changes only.

Giliane - R&W (sn Gillian) give SIGILL'GILIANE 'Gilian's seal' c. 1200. However, the name is in the genitive form, and so may not be appropriate as a nominative form. The most likely nominative form is Giliana, which is dated to 1198 and 1315. The name is probable to be changed to Giliana la Rousse to make it authentic, though Gilian la Rousse is a possible vernacular form.

"An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" by Colm Dubh cites Aalis la Rousse http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html

Purpure, an owl maintaining a chain fesswise and in chief three garden roses argent.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He wants his name to be authentic for the 15th - 16th century, but will not accept major changes.

Both Giovanni and Bartolomeo are found in Renaissance Italy (Rhian Lyth) (photocopies attached). Additionally, both names were found in 1427 Florence (Ferrante LaVolpe), where they were the first and sixth most frequently listed names respectively. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/catasto

Webster's Geographic Dictionary, pg. 260 lists Corleone as a city in Sicily named Qurliyum in 9th century Arabic sources (photocopies attached)

We believe that this name is justifiable for his period either with two given names, or as an unmarked patronymic.

The device is clear of Adriana Rose Sanford Purpure, a swan naiant and in chief a garden rose argent. There is one CD for change of number of the secondaries and a second for change in type of the bird. And no, the roses don't touch the top.

Argent, a dolphin haurient embowed purpure, on a chief wavy sable, a dagger reversed proper.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be feminine. She will accept any changes.

Precedent has stated that the spelling Gwendolyn is not SCA compatible:

"Therefore the name will henceforth be considered 'SCA-compatible' in the forms Guendolen and Gwendolen, but not the modern Gwendolyn ... This decision can be thought of as an extension of the Rule of Two Weirdnesses: the name itself is one weirdness, and a modern spelling is another."

R&W (sn. Dolphin) cites Adam filius Dolfin 1256 and Geoffrey Dolfin 1171.

The name is new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He will accept any changes.

Isake - Withycombe (s.n. Isaac) dates Isake to 1534.

Elford is a header form in R&W; William de Elleford is dated to 1195 and Thomas de Eleford to 1291.

Or, two dragon's head couped addorsed vert, on a chief wavy azure, three doves volant argent.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He will accept minor changes only.

Both Lodinn and Vikarr are found as given names in Geirr Bassi (p. 13 and 16 respectively). The patronymic byname was formed following the rules on pg. 17

Azure, a falcon close belled and jessed on a chief indented Or three drakkars azure.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He will accept any changes. If this is registered, his old name Ulric Axelsson and device Per pale gules and sable, two arrows in saltire argent, overall an apple Or are to be released.

Both {O,}rn and Askell are found as given names in Geirr Bassi (p. 17 and 8 respectively). The patronymic byname was formed following the rules cited on pg. 17. Clear of: Fredericka Jean Grey of Brackenridge Azure, a falcon jessed and belled, on a chief embattled Or, three horseshoes inverted azure and Elizabeth nic Dhiarmid Azure, a hawk close and on a chief Or two roses gules, barbed and seeded proper. In each case there is a CD for changes to the line of the chief and a second CD for changes to the tertiary charges.

Gules, a bend sinister between six bees Or.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He requested that his name be made authentic for "Irish language/culture." Submittted as Seóan O'Donndubán, the byname was changed to put the patronymic in the genitive form and to make it consistently Gaelic. It may mix early and later orthographies; if so, the spelling of the given name is more important.

Seóan is a variant form of Sean. OC&M (s.n. Seaan, Sean) say "[Seaan] was brought into Ireland by the Anglo-Norman settlers but it was soon adapted by the Irish. Among the variants of the name in use in the Middle Ages were Seóan..."

Ó Donndubáin - OC&M say that Donndubán (s.n. Donndubán) "occurs principally in Munster where it is borne by a number of ninth and tenth century princes. From it derives the modern surname O Donnabháin (O Donovan)"

Per chevron gules semy of compass stars argent and ermine, a wolf and a bear combattant argent.

Both name and device are new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He requests that his name be made authentic for "Slavonic/Rus" lanaguage/culture, and will accept any changes.

Wickenden, Dictionary of Period Russian Names, 3rd ed. (s.n. Sergei) cites a Father Superior Sergei 1456-1471 http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul

Bolotnikov is a byname meaning "son of Bolotnik." Wickenden (s.n. Bolotnik) lists Ivan Bolotnikov to before 1147. We believe that this is also the standard modern form, making it appropriate with the late 15th century given name.

Quarterly azure and argent, a raven perched upon a decrescent sable.

His name was submitted on the June 2001 Æthelmearc Letter of Intent. An earlier submission, repeating the raven and crescent in each quarter, was returned for marshalling.

The name is new to Laurel. The name is intended to be masculine. He wants his name to be authentic for 12th century Russian, but accepts minor changes only.

Wickenden, Dictionary of Period Russian Names (s.n. Vladislav) dates Vladisla to 1016. [http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul]

Wickenden (s.n. Nikola) dates Nikulich to 1135 (a patronymic form derived from the spelling Nikula). Nikola is only dated to 1517-8, so Nikolich should be registerable, but Nikulich is more authentic for his period.

(Fieldless) On a hurst of trees vert, a crane in its vigilance Or.

The badge is new to Laurel. The name was submitted on the June 2001 Æthelmearc Letter of Intent.

This should be clear of Kingdom of the Middle (Fieldless) Upon a hurst of pines trees vert, a pheon inverted Or. There is one CD for fieldlessness and a second for the change in type of the trees from rounded trees to pine trees.

The name is intended to be masculine. He wants his name made authentic for later period Poland. We hope that the College can help us with the form of the locative in particular. A previous submission Wladyslaus Polonus was returned by Laurel in July 2000 for conflict with various kings of Poland of that name. By choosing a specific location that is not a capital, he has removed any question of presumption.

Wladyslaus - Wladyslaw is dated to the 12th century in The Polish Way, pg. 18 (photocopies attached). We believe that this form is also appropriate.

Poznan is a town shown in a map of Poland in 1138 in The Polish Way, pg. 19 (photocopies enclosed). It may be a modern spelling but still registerable. The website [http://www.cs.put.poznan.pl/poznan/ginf.html] appears to be official and dates settlement in the area to the 10th century.