Unto Ailis Garnet, Roana Cornelian, and the commenting Heralds of AEthelmearc and beyond does Cadell Comet send greetings! Enclosed, please find our commentary on AE79. I was assisted in the formation of this commentary by THL Kieran MacRae, Vrouw Odriana vander Brugghe, and Aurenca Mouly.

Unless otherwise specified, please assume that we found all name documentation to be as cited and sufficient, and that all pieces of armory to be free of conflict and style problems.

4. Arik Woulfe
MacLysaght's documentation of the name leads us to believe that "Woulfe" as a surname is of Norman (i.e. French) origin. Morlet lists "Aric" (as a header form) as "var. m{e/}ridion. de Haric, voir Heric." Unfortunately, there seems to be no "Heric" header in Morlet (nor is there "Haric," before anyone asks), so we cannot verify the history of this name at this time. If the French history of "Aric" can be verified, we believe that "Aric Woulfe" may be a viable name of Norman origin. When all is said and done, however, we could find no documentation for "Arik" or "Aric" as a period name; the closest dated form we could find was the Norse "Eirikr." As the submitter will only accept minor changes, we feel that this name should be returned for further research. If the consulting herald wishes to consult the Society at large for further research, we suggest the Academy of St. Gabriel (http://www.s-gabriel.org/) or the SCAHRLDS mailing list (SCAHRLDS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM).

7. Dirk Bodkin the Sharp - name
R&W lists Bodkin as a header form, and dates "Robert Bodekin" to 1274. "Sharp" is also a header form in R&W, with "Alan Sharp" dated to 1296. Although there is no example of "Sharp" with a leading article ("le," "the," etc.), the derivation of the name given in R&W ("OE /scearp/ 'sharp, quick, smart') leads us to believe that the submitted construction is at least registerable.
There were some giggles within the commentary group regarding the name, which, when translated, means "Dirk Dagger the Sharp."

10. Fenella McGill
Name: [a] Withycombe is not a reliable authority when it comes to names of non-English origin. OC&M, on the other hand (s.n. "Finnguala: Fionnghuala, Fionnuala") lists the first form as "extremely popular in Ireland in the later Middle Ages."
[b] This name is attempting to combine a feminine Gaelic given name with a masculine patronymic Gaelic byname. This needs to be changed. We suggest "Fionnuala inghean an Ghaill" (the spelling of the byname is listed in Woulfe, s.n. Mac an Ghaill).
Device: We would like to include an artist's note to draw fewer and larger ermine spots.

11. Finn of Thescorre
Name: [a] Bad Mathilde, document your submissions!
[b] There is, unfortunately, no way to make a name that includes an SCA branch completely authentic. "Finn," however, is listed as an early period header form in OC&M (sn. "Finn: Fionn") and is dated in the Annals to 900-1200; "Fionn" is dated in the Annals (s.n. Finn) to 1126.

16. Iona de Fay
[a] "Iona," while a header form in Wickenden, is actually listed as a variant of "Ioanna," with the submitted spelling dated as on the form.
[b] This is not the proper use of the Grandfather Clause. The Russian/Gaelic combination would still have to be registerable (or already in use by her or a member of her mundane family) for her to use "de Fae" in combination with "Iona." Therefore, we suggest the submitted "de Fay."

17. Isabella fitzRandolph
Once again, this name combines a feminine given name with a masculine-constructed patronymic byname. However, R&W date "Margery fitzharberd" to 1421 (s.n. Herbert)and list FitzRandolph as a sub-header form (s.n. "Randolph"), with "Ralph Fetzrandolff" dated to 1498; therefore, this name should be registerable as is.

18. Juliana Delamere
Good name!

19. Morgan FitzRandolph
R&W list FitzRandolph as a sub-header form (s.n. "Randolph"), with "Ralph Fetzrandolff" dated to 1498. The Berkeley Hundred Court Rolls entries are dated to 1543.

20. Morgan of Caer Graeme
We feel this device needs to be redrawn before it can be submitted to Laurel. As drawn, this is "Azure, a fess embattled on the upper edge Or and overall on a flame gules a sword proper," and has two problems:
* the gules flame has low contrast against the azure field
* the device has too many layers (as we remember, an overall charge cannot be charged).

21. Mustafa the Red
We feel this device should be returned for being overly complex. It has four tinctures (argent, azure, gules, and sable) and four types of charges (bend, sword, crescent, bordure) (for a total complexity count of eight) and we feel that for several reasons, it fails to follow period style.
Additionally, some members of the group felt uncomfortable with the combination of a red crescent on an argent field with the color combination of "red, white and blue" given the current global political situation, especially when also combined with a sword.

22. Patrick Oleson
The fact that the tertiary charge was drawn larger than the secondary charges caused us a minor bit of consternation, but not enough to warrant recommending the redrawing of the device.

23. Robert of Burnhouse
We note, of course, the potential mundane conflict with Robert Burns (1759-1796), national poet of Scotland. However, given the difference between the two names, combined with the fact that Robert Burns is 150 years outside of our period, we are inclined to say that these two names are not in conflict, given the new "case-by-case" rules for Mundane Name Conflict announced in the January 2003 Cover Letter. The rest of the commenting group would like to thank Aurenca for her freak-like recollection of cover letters. :-)

24. Rosamund Peacock
Nice name.
Unfortunately, as Cnute as already pointed out, this lovely device conflicts with Tavia of Persia, "Azure, a simurgh close Or," (09/03 Outlands). Tavia's device can be viewed at http://www.wombatinfestation.org/rampart/2003-03-lop/tavial.gif, and there does not seem to be sufficient difference between her simurgh and the submitted peacock to warrant a CD. This, unfortunately, leaves but a single CD for the number of primary charges.

26. Sylvan Glen, Shire of
Unfortunately, this badge must be returned for multiple conflicts. First, it conflicts with Aryana Silknfyre, "Argent, three chevronels braced gules, in chief a compass-star sable" (07/81 West), with only one CD for the removal of the secondary charge. Second, it conflicts with Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal de, "Argent, three chevrons gules" (12/94 Laurel), with one CD for the arrangement of the primary charges.

Thus ends our Commentary. As usual, any questions or concerns can be directed to me.

In Service,
Cadell