ÆTHELMEARC COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #63
Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon

Feast of St. Viviana
2 December AS XXXVII

Greetings from Myfanwy!

Herein pray find commentary on Æ LoI #63. Sorry it's a bit late (and not quite as completely conflict checked as I would have liked) but events conspired against me, including having to type conflicts into one computer by hand while looking at another, then RE-typing them into a third (don't ask, you really don't want to know, except that the laptop nearly got pitched out the window in frustration two weeks ago.

Conflict checking was done on the SCA O&A far reaches site. I don't remember the URL offhand, but I will be REALLY happy when my computer gets networked up to the DSL line so I can tell AOL where to stick it.

Remaining your servant and the Society's
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
mka Ruth Morrisson
RMorrisson@aol.com

1. Anna Dillon -- Per chevron gules and sable, on a chevron between three crescents Or three mullets sable.
The Withycombe docs are as cited (pp. 25-6).
The Reaney and Wilson docs (p. 135) are not quite as cited; the dated citation is actually Geoffrey Dilun [sic].
Nicely drawn. However, these are decrescents.
Reblazon: Per chevron gules and sable, on a chevron between three decrescents Or three mullets sable.
- clear of: Meghan of Tara Hill (11/82 West) -- Per chevron gules and sable, a chevron Or between two winged rams combattant and a sun argent. There is a CD for changing the secondaries and one for adding the tertiaries.
- probably clear of: William de Marmoutier (10/95 Meridies) -- Per chevron gules and sable, a chevron checky Or and sable between three torches flammant Or. There is a CD for changing the secondaries, and probably one for changing the tincture of the chevron (although this might be considered a visual conflict due to the tincture of the checky).

2. Assad de Barcelona -- Sable, three mullets in bend sinister Or.

The name docs for "As(s)ad" are as given. I wasn't able to find a citation with the submitted spelling. [As an aside, I could find the article when I typed in the URL, but it doesn't seem to be listed anywhere in the St. Gabriel site's library page.]
- possibly not clear of Awilda Haeulfdan (4/85 Middle) -- Per pale gules and sable, three compass stars in bend sinister Or. There is a CD for changing half the field tincture, and possibly one for changing the mullets to compass stars.

3. Catarina di Zaneto Rizo -- Gules, a bend ermine between two dragonflies argent.
Name registered 3/02 (Æthelmearc).
According to the PIC-DIC (s. n. INSECT), the proper default blazon for winged insects is "volant en arriére" (as opposed to non-winged insects, which would be blazoned as "tergiant"). Parker (p. 626, s. n. Wings) says: "Volant en arrière [sic] seems to be used of insects rather than of birds, and signifies that they have their back to the spectator." (This is seemingly to differentiate it from "volant", of which an example is shown in an accompanying illustration.)
Possible reblazon: Gules, a bend ermine between two dragonflies volant en arriére [arrière?] argent.
- clear of conflict

4. Colin MacWilliams (badge) -- (Fieldless) A thistle per pale vert and argent.
Name registered 4/00 (Æthelmearc).
Nicely drawn.
- clear of: Charles William Drummond (5/98 Middle) -- Per bend Or and vert, a thistle counterchanged.
- clear of: Deorsa Flathail an Famhair (11/89 Atlantia) -- Per pale sable and Or, a thistle, slipped, its head environed by its leaves in annulo, counterchanged.
- clear of: Eleanor of Caithness (6/96 West) -- Per pale sable and argent, a thistle counterchanged. In each case there is a CD for field vs. fieldless, and one for changing the tincture of the thistle.
- probably clear of: Gille the Thistle the Nheil (12/71 ??) Per pale vert and Or, in fess a thistle and in pale three trefoils slipped counterchanged. If I understand the blazon correctly, this will look like marshalling, with a gold thistle on the green side and three green trefoils in pale on the gold side.

5. Finn Folhare -- Argent, a double-headed eagle displayed and on a chief gules three roundels ermine.
The Reaney and Wilson docs are as cited (p. 169). Additionally, O'C & M (p. 100, s. n. Finn) says "The name also occurs in the Leinster royal genealogies and among the Dál Cais....In the later middle ages the name remained in use especially among the O Dempseys and the O Driscolls."
Nice armory!
- clear of: John Milton (12/94 Laurel: important non-SCA arms) -- Argent, a double-headed eagle displayed gules.
- clear of: Brandenburg (12/94 Laurel: important non-SCA arms) -- Argent, an eagle displayed gules crowned Or. In each case, there are two CDs for adding the charged chief.
- clear of: Blodwen ferch Margred (6/93 Meridies) -- Argent, a phoenix and on a chief gules, a fire-arrow reversed argent. There is a CD for changing the eagle to a phoenix, and one for the type and number of the tertiaries.

6. Finn Marland O'Shannon (device change) Pean, a wolf rampant contourny between three fleurs-de-lys Or.
Name registered 4/92 (Atlantia).
The charges are a bit small, especially the wolf.
- clear of conflict

7. Katerina y Ty Isaf (name change from Katerina Ty Isaf)

8. Katrina of the Groves -- Lozengy argent and sable, in cross four orange trees fructed proper.
There are some identifiability issues when colored in on the mini -- the tree trunks, being brown, tend to disappear. I don't know how this is on the full size submission.
clear of conflict

9. Rhiannon y Bwa -- Azure, two chicken's legs inverted issuant from base embowed to center Or feathered argent.

The name does not appear to be registered. I checked the online O&A and all LoARs from 2002, as well as I could for Æ LoIs and LoRs (between the two I have most from about #43 to the present). Neither is she listed in the on-line OP as having a registered name.
- clear of conflict

10. Robert MacMahon -- Or, in pale a wyvern sejant sable and a wyvern sejant gules.
The docs for "Robert" are as cited. Additionally, Withycombe (pp. 254-55, s. n. Robert) gives ROBERT(US) [sic], dated to 1071-5.
I don't have Black, and couldn't find anything close in Reaney and Wilson.
The submitter wants authenticity, yet accepts no changes? He has an obviously modern spelling of an Irish surname, when he wants a 13th-14th century Scots name. He can't have it both ways: either he gets an inauthentic name, or we get to change it to something authentic. End of story.
I'm not sure this is really sejant. Parker (p. 527, s. n. Sejant) says:

Sejant, (fr. assis [sic]): this term when applied to beasts sig-[sic] nifies that they are in a sitting position; but the position of a squirrel [sic] sejant differs from most others, from having the fore paws raised. A lion thus borne would be sejant rampant [sic].

Woodward is no help; however, according to Brooke-Little (p. 188, s. n. Sejant):
Used to describe beasts in the sit-[sic] ting position with forepaws on the ground and facing the dexter. Variations in the position of forepaws, body or head must be noted, such as the lion in the illustration, which is sejant guardant.

If this is in fact the case, the wyverns in the submission may need to be reblazoned.
Possible reblazon: Or, in pale a wyvern sejant, dexter foreleg raised, sable, and a wyvern sejant, dexter foreleg raised, gules.
- clear of: Garrand the Silent (3/01 Atenveldt) -- Per pale argent and Or, two wyverns erect respectant tails entwined the dexter gules and the sinister sable. There is a CD for changing half the field, and one for the arrangement of the wyverns.
- clear of: Drachensheim, Shire of (badge, 1/90 East) -- Or, a dragon passant gules atop and its tail entwined about a tower sable.
- possibly clear of: Drachenwald, Kingdom of (badge for the Company of Archers, 4/98 Drachen-wald) -- Or, in pale a dragon passant coward sable and two arrows in saltire gules. There is a CD for changing one of the critters to the saltire of arrows, and possibly one for the posture of the other critter.

11. Rosalinda of Castille -- Per pale purpure and sable, a triple-towered castle between three arrows argent.
Name registered 2/02 (Æthelmearc).
The arrows are in the default orientation (c.f. PIC-DIC, fig. 19).
- clear of Roland O'Rourke (8/98 Outlands) -- Per pale sable and purpure, a tower argent, in chief two compass stars Or. There is a CD for changing the field tincture orientation [arrangement? :-) ] and one for changing the secondaries (actually probably more than one -- type, color and number)

12. Sebastian von Guggenberg -- Per pale argent and vert, three eagles counterchanged.
I don't have Bahlow. However, I found the submitted spelling in "Names from 15th Plauen" by Talan Gwynek (Brian M. Scott) [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germasc/plauen15.html].
- clear of: Mea the Bold (2/02 Æthelmearc) -- Per pale argent and vert, a butterfly counterchanged.
- clear of: Kázmér Edvárd (4/96 Middle) -- Per pale argent and vert, a wyvern statant, wings displayed, counterchanged.
- probably clear of: Marguerite de la Souche (1/92 Ansteorra) -- Per pale argent and vert, two martlets counterchanged. In each case there is X.2 for complete difference (type and number) of the charges.

13. Valentine Graye -- Argent, a chalice purpure and a tierce embattled vert.
Withycombe (p. 286, s. n. Valentine) cites "Valentinus" (dated to 1196) and "Valentine" (dated to 1553).
Reaney and Wilson (p. 203, s. n. Gray) cites various dated spellings (although none with the final "e" and says "From Graye (Calvados). Reaney, OES (p. 70, s.n. ) gives "Graye" as a place in Calvados in Normandy, giving rise to the surnames "Gray" and "Grey", dated to the Domesday Book (1086). Dauzat and Rostaing (p. 331, s. n. Gray), gives "Graye, [sic] Calv. (Graeium, 1086; Graia, 1172; Gray, 1183) [sic]."
According to the PIC-DIC (fig. 731 and s. n. Tierce), tierces issuing from dexter are the default, but may be explicitly blazoned). They are allowed to have complex lines. Note, however, that according to Parker (p. 541), a "side" is only one-sixth of the width of the field, which may imply that a "side" is in fact a diminutive of a tierce (which does not seem to be a charge in of itself). In addition, Parker (p. 573 n.) calls something entirely different a "tierce": "Tierce, (fr.): a charge occurring in some French arms, consist-[sic] ing of three triangles arranged generally in fesse [sic]. There may be two tierces in the same shield."
- clear of: Mons Tonitrus, Barony of (badge, 1/92 Atenveldt) -- Argent, a thunderbolt sable and a tierce vert.

References
Brooke-Little, J. P. _An Heraldic Alphabet_. London: Robson Books; 1973, 1975.
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme and Akagawa Yoshio [Kevin Munday and Bruce Miller]. _A Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry_, 2nd ed., 1992.
Dauzat, A., and Ch. Rostaing. _Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de lieux en France_, 2nd Ed. Paris: Librairie Guénégaud, 1989.
O' 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., 1970.
Reaney, P. H. _The Origin of English Surnames_. London and New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul; 1967, 1987.
Reaney, P. H., and R. M. Wilson. _A Dictionary of British Surnames_, 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995, 1997.
Withycombe, E. G. _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press; 1977, 1988.
Woodward, John, and George Burnett. _A Treatise on Heraldry: British and Foreign_. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle Co., 1969.
URLs and Academy of St. Gabriel letters as cited.