Feast of St. Martial of Limoges
30 June, AS XXXVIX

Greetings from Myfanwy!
Herein pray find commentary on Æ #79. No conflict checking this month, I'm afraid – life, and Known World, intruded [and not a few minutes fighting with Microsoft Word, which doesn't seem to understand that I really don't want its formatting, especially for URLs, or that I'm finding Master Christofano's added in sound effects extremely irritating, especially the "paste" sound, which is too much like the "screen snapshot" sound on my old computer. L].

At any rate, I tried to be relatively thorough with what I did do. I take back anything I previously thought or said about having the color JPGs with the online LoI. It turned out to be incredibly useful, since I didn't get the Aesh until fairly late in the month.

Remaining your servant and the Society's,
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morrisson
myfanwy@nauticom.net

1. Adachi Masamori (resub) -- Azure, a torii Or and in base two katanas in saltire proper, a bordure Or.
The color version of the submission on the website [http://www.aeheralds.org/Letters/AE79/ adachi_color.JPG] shows the torii being argent, not Or.
The katanas are secondaries, but they are still extremely small.

2. Alheydis von Körckhingen (device change) -- Azure, a chevron Or and a chief embattled ermine.
The chief is awfully high up on the field. Otherwise, nice device.

3. Alheydis von Körckhingen (badge) -- Azure, a decrescent argent within an orle Or.
If this was a device, the orle would be either reblazoned as an annulet, or have to be redrawn as a real orle (i.e., following the shield shape. Being on a badge form, I'm not sure what would be correct, although I'm inclined to reblazon.
Possible reblazon: Azure, a decrescent argent within an annulet Or.

4. Arik Woulfe -- Per fess argent and sable, a moon in her plenitude azure and a wolf sejant ululant contourny argent, a bordure counterchanged.
I can't find the supposed registration of "Arik" from 1994. A name pattern search, sorted by date, [URL: http://oanda.sca.org/cgi-bin/oanda_np.cgi?p=Arik&b=narrow&c=caseinsensitive&l=30&s=last+action+date&d =modern&g=enabled&a=disabled] gives the most recent (in fact the ONLY) name being that of Arik Alton (4/83 Atenveldt), with a badge registered to same in 1989. As for "Aric" a similar type search yielded:
Aric Arundel of the Mist (8/85 East)
Aric McBride (12/89 Outlands)
Aric Gewehr (10/92 Atenveldt)
Aric Pfeilschmidt (4/93 Atenveldt)
Aric Thomas Raven (2/94 Outlands)
I checked the Archive of Laurel Letters to see if there was anything in the relevant acceptance letters [URL: http://www.sca.org/heraldry/loar/]. There was no information or commentary for the most recent of these, nor for the 1992 registration. The commentary on the 1993 registration says:
Aric [sic]now appears to be acceptable, based on Morlet's citation of Aricus [sic] from the 10th Century. (It has nothing to do with Eric, however.)
The 1989 commentary says:
His mundane given name appears to be "Aric".
I have not found anything else remotely relevant for "Arik". I did a Google search [URL: http://www.google.com] and found a lot of people who seemed to be Israeli or of Israeli descent (some of the sites seemed to reference Ariel Sharon, implying that "Arik" is a diminutive form of the "Ariel"). With over 50,000 hits, and that was after I refined the search a LOT, I very quickly gave up. The only other hit I found even remotely relevant was that of a place "Ain Arik": it appears to be a village in the West Bank, near Ramallah [URL: http://www.lpj.org/lpsainarik.htm].
Given this lack of information, I'm not sure if "Arik" is at all registerable. There appears to be a minimum of documentation for "Aric", but whether a French 10th century name is good with an (undated) Irish byname is not a call I want to be the one to make.
I presume they mean counterchanged of the field? Or do they mean it to be "per fess argent and azure? Looking at the color version online [URL: http://www.aeheralds.org/Letters/AE79/arikd_color.JPG] suggests the former, but someone who didn't have access to the Web and was only seeing the LoI as hard copy wouldn't necessarily be able to tell.
Yes, I know the fess line was drawn where the tick marks are, but it seems awfully top heavy.

5. Arik Woulfe (badge) -- Sable, three chevronels braced argent and in chief two eyes argent irised azure.
Much as I'd like to see more braced chevrons, and much as I object to really flat chevrons, I think these may be a bit *too* acute of an angle. I think they should be spaced out more across the entire area, and not all crammed into the middle (c.f., Woodward, Plate XIII, fig. 12). Yes, the ones shown in the PIC-DIC (fig. 109) are about this steep, but they are also filling up most of the shield area – these don't.
The eyes are pretty much as drawn in the PIC-DIC (fig. 268), but it isn't clear whether they should be as a left eye and a right eye. All the examples given in Parker (p. 245, sn Eye) have either a single eye or three eyes, and there is no illustration given for any of the armory. Woodward (p. 201 and Plate XX, fig. 11) gives the armory for the Dutch family Heshuysens, with what appears to be a pair of eyes, but the armory is undated. This feels like modern, and not medieval, notions of symmetry, and is not particularly good style.

6. Boris Dragons Bane (badge) -- Gules, two axes addorsed in saltire within an orle argent.
Again, as in #2, I am not sure whether the orle should be reblazoned as an annulet.
Nice armory -- it would be even nicer if it were not a badge, but actually a device.
Possible reblazon: Gules, two axes addorsed in saltire within an annulet argent.

7. Dirk Bodkin the Sharp -- Quarterly purpure and argent, a talbot's head erased contourny counterchanged argent and gules collared sable between 3 tygers rampant contourny counterchanged argent and gules.
So the guy wants to be "sharp pointy thing, sharp pointy thing, the sharp pointy thing". (Sigh).
Is Dutch and English okay, a weirdness, or right out?
The docs for "Dirk" are as given [URL: http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/earlydutch14.html]; this, according to the Introduction, is the most common spelling of the name, and in fact, she says: "Header spellings listed in red [sic] are more common than others."
The Reaney and Wilson docs for "Bodkin" are more or less as given (p. 51). Dated citations include Robert Bodekin [sic], dated to 1274, and Peter Bodekyn [sic], dated to 1331. Additionally, it says:
ME bodkin, bodekin [sic] 'a short pointed weapon or dagger'. Metronymic for a maker or seller of these.
Reaney and Wilson (p. 402, sn. Sharp) cites Alan Sharp [sic], dated to 1296, and says: "OE scearp [sic] 'sharp, quick, smart'."
Note that none of the cited forms in Reaney and Wilson are of the "le Sharp/the Sharp" format.
Complexity count of six (seven if you count the collar).
Nicely drawn.

8. Dirk Bodkin the Sharp (badge) -- Quarterly purpure and argent, a talbot's head erased contourney [sic] counterchanged argent and gules.
The head is *not* contourny.
Possible reblazon: Quarterly purpure and argent, a talbot's head erased quarterly argent and gules.
Possible reblazon: Quarterly purpure and argent, a talbot's head erased counterchanged argent and gules.

9. Étaín ingen Ruaidrí (name and device resubs) -- Per bend sinister azure and vert, two frogs sejant Or.
The docs for "Étaín" are as given [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/Etain.shtml].
The docs for "Ruaidrí" are also as given [URLs: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/Ruaidhri.shtml and http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/irish100/].

10. Fenella McGill -- Purpure, three fleurs-de-lys argent and a bordure ermine.
The ermine spots should be somewhat larger and fewer; otherwise, nice device.
The Withycombe docs are as given (p. 117). The ÓC & M docs appear to be for "Finnguala" (p. 103, sn Finnguala: Fionnghuala, Fionnuala), which also says: Finola [sic] which has been growing in popularity, is perhaps the best anglicized [sic] form.
I'm not sure which form, "Finnguala" or "Finola", is closest in sound to "Fenella". Both Withycombe and ÓC & M cite "Fenella" as the Scottish form, but only given the Sir Walter Scott citation.
I don't have Black, but Reaney and Wilson (p. 292, sn McGill) gives Maurice Macgeil [sic], dated to 1231, and James M'Gill [sic], dated to 1550; both of these are cited from Black.

11. Finn of Thescorre -- Sable, an anchor argent and in chief five mullets three and two Or.
Unless there is some way to document "Thescorre" I don't see how it will be possible to make this name completely authentic. That being said..... :-)
ÓC & M (p. 100, sn Finn: Fionn) 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.
Reblazon: Sable, an anchor argent and in chief five mullets inverted three and two Or.

12. Gareth McGilchrist -- Per fess rayonny gules and sable, a gauntleted fist argent.
The Withycombe docs are as given (pp. 125-25).
The ÓC & M docs are as given (p. 111). "Gilchrist" is a header form in Reaney and Wilson (p. 190), but doesn't seem to have a "Mc" form of the name.
This is possibly not legal. There is a low contrast complex line with a charge over it. In the Rules for Submission VIII.3 Armorial Identifiability [URL: http;//www.sca.org/ heraldry/laurel/rfs.html#8.3] it says:
Identifiable elements may be rendered unidentifiable by…being obscured by other elements of the design. For instance, a complex line of partition could be difficult to recognize between two parts of the field that do not have good contrast if most of the line is also covered by charges.
In addition, there is return from Francois' tenure as Laurel, for a similar submission [URL: http://home.earthlink.net/~mranc/sca/wreath.html#ID]:
[Per bend sinister rayonny gules and purpure, a swan naiant argent gorged of a ring between three trefoil knots Or] RfS VIII.3 states that "A complex line of partition could be difficult to recognize between two parts of the field that do not have good contrast if most of the line is also covered by charges." Here we have a complex line of partition between two parts of the field that do not have good contrast, and where the line is partially covered by the swan. As drawn here, only some of the line is covered by the swan, due to very careful placement of the swan and its neck, but in most emblazons the swan would cover a much larger portion of the line. The sinister chief portion of the line is also obscured by one of the charges (the sinister chief trefoil knot). On the whole, the identifiability of the complex line is too obscured in this design by the charges which cover it to be registerable. [Anne Maguier of Kylharnon, [sic] 07/03, R-Lochac].
It will have to be a judgment call as to whether or not the red and black complex line is sufficiently distinguishable with a charge over it.

13. Gaston de Barre (name change from Tigernach Mac Samhradháin)
The Morlet cite for "Gaston" appears to be as given (p. 447).
The Morlet cites for "Barre" also appear to be as given (both p. 79). Additionally (p. 74, sn Bar) Morlet says: "de localité d'origine (Ardennes, Aube, Meuse), forme latin." The Dauzat and Rostaing (p. 51) are as given.

14. Gyles de Blair (badge) -- Gules, a fret couped within an orle Or.
Possible reblazon: Gules, a fret couped within an annulet Or.

15. Hakim al-Dar el-Beïda -- Per pale gules and azure, an orle of camels Or. The docs for "Hakim" and for "al-" are as given [URL:http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm].
The docs for the locative are somewhat as given [URL: http://www.britannica.com/eb/ /article?eu=20917&tocid=0&query=casablanca ]: the partial article available says it is a Moroccan port on the North African Atlantic seaboard, and seems to suggest that the original name is Anfa (it isn't clear whether the 1515 date is for "Dar el- [sic] Beïda" or for the Portuguese–built Casablanca). I did a Google search and found a different site [URL: http://medcom2.tripod.com/casablancaeng.html] that seems to suggest that Dar el-Beïda may just be the Arabic name for the place, rather than the European Casablanca. Additionally I found a couple of different Dar el-Beïdas: one is the airport outside of Algiers, Algeria [URL: http://www.thebtr.com/pages/africa/cities/algeria/algiersgeneralinformation.htm]; another is the name of an 18th century palace in Marrakesh [URL: http://www. dmcity.com/slarty/narr/113.htm].
Nice device!

16. Iona de Fay (name change from Ríoghnach de Fae)
The Wickenden docs are more or less as given: "Iona" is indeed a header form (p. 121) but is listed as a variant of "Ioanna" which is on the same page, earlier in the column; the dated citation is found there.
The Reaney and Wilson docs are as given (p. 165).

17. Isabella FitzRandolph
The Talan cite is as given [http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/reaney.cgi?Isabel].
The Foster cite is as given. In addition, "FitzRandolph" is a subsidiary header form in Reaney and Wilson (p. 371, sn Randolph), which cites Ralph Fetzrandolff [sic], dated to 1498, Nicolaus filius Randulphi [sic], dated to 1175-86, and Randolphus [sic] de Brachenberch, dated to c1155.

18. Juliana Delamere
The docs for "Juliana" are as given (Reaney and Wilson, p. 381 and [URL: http:// www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/GivenFeminineAlpha.html].
The docs for the byname are also as given, although it's a little hard to find: according to the link information with the Julian Goodwyn "English Names from Pre-1600 Brass Inscriptions" on the Medieval Names Archive [URL: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/eng1300to1450.shtml] the Ashmolean Library Monumental Brass Index is at a new location (clicking on the "new location" link gets you there; then scroll down by county to Hertfordshire [URL: http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ash/departments/antiquities/brass/counties/Hertfordshire.html]). Additionally, Reaney and Wilson (p. 130, sn Delamar) gives the submitted spelling as a subsidiary header form; the closest dated citation is for William de la Mere [sic], dated to 1260.

19. Morgan FitzRandolph
The docs for "Morgan" are as given (the citation is for Morgan Griffyn), and the date for the Berkeley Hundred Court Rolls is 1543 [URL: http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/berkeley100.html].
The Foster cite is as given. In addition, "FitzRandolph" is a subsidiary header form in Reaney and Wilson (p. 371, sn Randolph), which cites Ralph Fetzrandolff [sic], dated to 1498, Nicolaus filius Randulphi [sic], dated to 1175-86, and Randolphus [sic] de Brachenberch, dated to c1155.
The "Fetzrandolff" cite is within 50 years of the cite for the given name.

20. Morgan of Caer Graeme (badge) -- Azure, a fess embattled on the upper edge Or and overall a sword proper enflamed gules.
Fesses are only embattled on the upper edge normally. They have embattlements along both edges, that is when it is specifically blazoned (i.e., as either " (embattled) counter-embattled" or "bretessed"); c.f., PIC-DIC, sn Fess, and Parker (pp. 222-24, sn Embattled).
Complexity count of seven (eight if you include the complex line on the fess).
This is not particularly good style.

21. Mustafa the Red (resub) -- Argent, a bend azure between an increscent gules and a sword, a bordure sable.
The bend, as the primary charge, should be a bit larger, even if the crescent is made smaller as a result (I would not make the sword any smaller than it already is).
Complexity count of eight.

22. Patrick Oleson (resub)-- Azure, on a pile between two bees Or a bee inverted azure.

23. Robert of Burnhouse -- Azure, on a bend sinister argent between two eagles Or, three roses gules.
The Withycombe docs are as cited (pp. 254-55).
The Reaney and Wilson docs are as given, but there is not a dated citation (p.75).
Complexity count of seven.
Nice armory.

24. Rosamund Peacock -- Azure, in fess three peacocks close Or.
The Talan cite from the footnotes in the letter provided are as given.
The cite from the Heighington Registers is also as given:
"21 May 1609 Richard Clarkeson = Rosamond North".
The Chesham cite is as given; additionally, the byname is also found in the Heighington Registers, although out of period: "
9 Dec 1658 Robert Peacock = Margrat Peacock".
According to the PIC-DIC (sn PEACOCK) these may be considered to be pavanated:
When the tail is other than expanded, Society practice blazons it as "pavanated" in that way: e.g. a peacock "pavanated to base" has its tail to base, close and sweeping the ground. In such cases the peacock's body faces dexter, as with any other bird. This too is a period posture for the peacock, as seen in the arms of the Princes of Wiedt c. 1600.
However, Parker does not give the term "pavanated", as far as I can tell. Most of the blazons given (pp. 448-49, sn Peacock) are for peacocks in their pride, or for peacock's heads. There is however, one piece of armory that is in fact blazoned as "close": Argent, a Cross [sic] gules between four peacocks close proper -- SMITH [sic], Baron CARRINGTON [sic], co. War- [sic] wick, 1643.

25. Sylvan Glen, Shire of (badge) -- Gules, three chevronels braced and in chief an apple argent.
This is a much better representation of braced chevrons than on #5 above – the chevronels fill the space well.
Does the apple need to be blazoned as "slipped and leaved"? It isn't clear from the PIC-DIC (fig. 308 and sn FRUIT). There are a couple of coats listed in Parker (p. 14, sn Apple) that have the slip/stem blazoned, while others listed don't, and there are no illustrations one way or the other. Note that in one case, the stem is specifically another tincture from that of the fruit, but the other is not (neither blazons leaves one way or the other):
Argent, a fesse [sic] sable, between three apples gules stalked vert. – AP- [sic] PELTON.
Argent, on a bend sable, three app slipped or. – APULBY.

26. Sylvan Glen, Shire of (badge) -- Argent, three chevronels braced gules.

27. Sylvan Glen, Shire of (badge) -- Gules, a stag's head cabossed and in chief a cinquefoil argent.

Bibliography:
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.
Foster, Joseph. _The Dictionary of Heraldry: Feudal Coats of Arms and Pedigrees_. London: Studio Editions Ltd., 1992 [previously published in black and white as _Some Feudal Coats of Arms_. [??]: James Parker and Company, 1902.
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_, revised 3rd. Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Paul Wickenden of Thanet [Paul W. Goldschmidt]. _A Dictionary of Period Russian Names_, 3rd. Ed. Normal, IL: S.C.A. Inc. -- Free Trumpet Press West, 2000.
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