Æthelmearc External Letter of Intent Æ79
July 25, 2004 (AS 39)

Letter of Correction

Unto Shauna Laurel, Margaret Pelican, Evan Wreath, and the commenting members of the College of Arms do Ailis Garnet and Roana Cornelian send greetings!

We are issuing a correction to an item from the Æthelmearc XLoI dated June 24, 2004. Originally listed as a new name and device, the name is actually a resubmission of Creador Twinedragon, which was returned by Laurel in 12/95; we neglected to note this on our External Letter. Thanks to Golden Pillar for catching this! The item should read as follows:

5. Creature Twyne Dragon – Resubmitted name, New device

Sable, a dragon's head cabossed argent.

The submitter accepts any changes and cares first about the meaning "creature" and second about the sound. The name is a resubmission of Creador Twinedragon, which was returned by Laurel in 12/95 with the following comments:

"Creador was justified in the LoI as a variant spelling of Creature, but the OED offers no support for the d; and while his form more precisely identifies it as Welsh, Y Geiriadur Mawr gives the Welsh word as Creadur. In England premature babies who were not expected to live were in fact sometimes named Creature, and Bardsley even has an example of one who survived long enough to take out a marriage license in 1579; but no evidence has been presented that in Wales a Welsh translation of the word was used, or even that the practice extended to Wales. As several commenters noted, the first element of the byname is from Old English twín 'thread, string', and 'string-dragon' does not seem to be a reasonable byname in any language. All in all, the name seems too anomalous to register."

Creature can be found dated to 1576 on page 2 of the "Marriages at Marhamchurch from Phillimore Parish Registers" (http://www.uk-genealogy.org.uk/england/ Cornwall/towns/m/Marhamchurch/index.html).

Creature was also documented thusly by Laurel in the return of Creador Twinedragon in 12/95.

...In England premature babies who were not expected to live were in fact sometimes named Creature, and Bardsley even has an example of one who survived long enough to take out a marriage license in 1579...

Twyne is found in Reany & Wilson s.n. Twine with one Edmund Twyne in 1422.

Dragon is a header form in Reany & Wilson with one Walter Dragon in 1221. Dragon can also be a locative byname, as from an inn sign: Reany & Wilson list one William Strode called atte Dragon, a brewer in 1374. The form states that "If the CoA decides that a double byname is not registerable, the submitter would prefer "Creature Twyne." We feel that the double byname is plausible as an inherited byname followed by an unmarked locative byname.

Letter of Intent

Unto Shauna Laurel, Margaret Pelican, Evan Wreath, and the commenting members of the College of Arms do Ailis Garnet and Roana Cornelian send greetings once again! It is the desire of the Æthelmearc College of Heralds that the following items be considered for registration. All reasonably standard online name articles (such as those archived at sca.org or panix.com) are fully cited in the bibliography at the end of this letter, in an attempt to keep the name documentation more visually compact.

Azure, a torii Or and in base two katanas in saltire argent hilted sable, a bordure Or.

His name was registered in 08/02.

Azure, a chevron Or and a chief embattled ermine.

Her name was registered in 08/02. If this device passes, she wishes to retain her old device (Or, a goblet azure within a bordure azure semy of decrescents argent – registered 08/02) as a badge.

Azure, a decrescent argent within an orle Or.

Her name was registered in 08/02.

Per fess argent and sable, a moon in her plentitude azure and a wolf sejant ululant contourny argent, a bordure per fess sable and argent.

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter accepts minor changes only and cares most about an unspecified language/culture.

Arik was not documented on the submission form, but we are forwarding it as a plausible spelling variant of Aric, with a c/k substitution.

According to the LoAR of 04/93, "Aric now appears to be acceptable, based on Morlet's citation of Aricus from the 10th Century." The citation referenced is from Morlet's Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siècle part II. – Les noms latins ou transmis par le latin.

Morlet's Noms de Famille also gives Aric as a header form; the entry says "var. méridian de Haric, voir Heric." Although Morlet does not seem to have an entry for Heric, in Colm Dubh's Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris there is one Hérique le merchier, suggesting that Morlet's derivation of the name Aric is supported by period evidence.

Concerning the c/k substitution: Black, sn Erikson "son of Eric or Erik," cites one Laurence Erickson in 1613. Brechenmacher, sn "Erich, nd. Erik", cites Joh. Erik in 1456. Bahlow, sn Erich, mentions King Erik Emundsson of Sweden in the 9th c. Dauzat, sn Eric, cites it as a Germanic personal name and gives the associated surnames Erikson, Ericson, and Ericsen. Withycombe, sn Eric, cites "one tenant named Iricus in [the] DB." Given the assortment of –c, -k, -ch, and –ck spellings found, we propose Arik as a variant of Aric, which is itself a common form hypothesized from the documentary form Aricus.

Woulfe is a header form in MacLysaght; the entry says "The Woulfes were among the earliest of the Norman settlers." Given that Woulfe says this is an originally Norman name (not a Gaelic one) we think it is plausible in combination with a French Aric/k.

Sable, three chevronels braced argent and in chief two eyes argent irised azure.

Gules, two axes addorsed in saltire within an orle argent.

His name was registered in 05/88.

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.

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter accepts minor changes only and cares most about the sound.

Dirk is found in Aryanhwy's article, "Dutch Names 1358-1361."

Bodkin is a header form in Reaney & Wilson, with Robert Bodekin dated to 1274.

the Sharp is submitted as a descriptive byname. Reaney & Wilson,s.n. Sharp, date Alan Sharp to 1296.

Quarterly purpure and argent, a talbot's head erased counterchanged argent and gules.

Per bend sinister azure and vert, two frogs sejant Or.

This name is intended to be feminine. The submitter requests authenticity for the 13th century Ireland time period and language/culture. She accepts any changes and cares most about the language/culture.

Étaín is found in Mari's "Index of Names in Irish Annals" as a feminine name; this is given as the c. 900 – c. 1200 form. There are instances of the name in 1104, 1188, 1225, 1243, 1263, 1328, 1392, 1393, and 1476.

ingen is the early form of the feminine patronymic marker.

Ruaidrí is found in Mari's "Index of Names in Irish Annals" as a masculine given name; this is listed as the early form. There are instances of the name from 785 to 1598. According to Tangwystyl's article, "100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland," this name does not change spelling when placed in the genitive form. Names beginning with R do not need to be lenited after ingen.

Purpure, three fleurs-de-lys argent and a bordure ermine.

This name is intended to be feminine. The submitter accepts any changes and cares most about the sound. (The submissions form states that the submitter will "take any reasonable variant.")

Submitted as Fenella McGill, Fenella is a modern Anglicized form only. (Fenella is a header form in Withycombe; there are no dated forms given.) We have changed the spelling to the closest-sounding, documentable period form of the name that we could find.

In Effrick's "Scottish Gaelic Given Names" draft updated 4Mar03 (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/) s.n. Fionnghuala, in the "Pre-1600 Latin Evidence from Scotland" there are several variant spellings: Fingola Angusii de Insulis in Jan 1342/3; Fingula de Insulis in 1447; Fingula, daughter of John Alexandir in 1450; Fyngill Lachlane Macgilane in 1454 (yes, this is a woman) and Finvola Celestini de Insulis in 1465.

All of these citations are from Munro p. 244 (marriage records), and concerning them Effrick says "Although Munro appears to have Anglicized the given names of most of the grooms, Fingola, Fingula, and Finvola are almost certainly the Latin spellings used in the original documents (with the <v> being used with the value of <u>), and Fyngill may also be the spelling used in the original, most likely a Scots spelling used in an otherwise Latin document."

Based on this data, we are submitting the form Finuola based on the Latinized Finvola, with a v/u switch.

McGill is a header form in Reaney & Wilson, with one Maurice Macgeil in 1231 and James M'Gill in 1550.

MacGill is a header form in Black with one James M'Gile or M'Gill in 1550 and one James M'Gill or Makgill in 1572. Also, "Janet Mack Gil was charged with being a disorderly person in ... 1684."

Sable, an anchor argent and in chief five mullets three and two Or.

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter requests authenticity for Irish language/culture, accepts any changes and cares most about the language/culture.

Finn is a header form before the colon (pre-12th century) in Ó Corráin & Maguire. Mari's Index of Names in Irish Annals gives Finn as a header form with Fionn dated to 1126.

Thescorre is an SCA branch name registered "at some point."

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter accepts minor changes only and cares most about the meaning "son of Gilchrist."

Gareth is a header form in Withycombe, who says there was a child of this name baptized at Wigan in 1593.

Concerning McGilchrist, MacLysaght s.n. (Mac) Gilchrist says "Mac Giolla Chríost (devotee of Christ)." Ó Corráin & Maguire s.n. Gilla Críst : Giolla Chríost say "This name was widely used in Gaelic Ireland and, in the later Middle Ages, it was much favored by the Mac Dermotts."

The submitter is the teenaged son of Gilchrist MacNaughton.

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter accepts any changes and cares most about the sound. If this name is registered, the submitter wishes to release his old name (Tigernach Mag Samhradháin, registered 05/02).

Gaston is a header form in Morlet's Dictionnaire Etymologiques des Noms de Famille; the entry says that Gaston is found both as a baptismal name and as a patronym, popularized by the viscounts of Béarn and the counts of Foix in the Middle Ages.

Morlet's Noms de Famille gives Barre(s) as a header form; the entry says that it derives from anc. Fr. "bare" with several meanings. Morlet also gives the forms Labarre and Delabarre. Under the header Barrès Morlet says "Barrès a désigné la personne originaire de Barre (Lozèrne, Tarn)." [Barrès has designated a person originally from Barre (Lozèrne, Tarn).]

Dauzat & Rostaing's Dictionnaire Etymologique des noms de lieux, s.n. Bar, gives Barre as a standard modern spelling of a place in Tarn and cites it as Bar "vers (around) 972."

Aryanhwy's article, "Names Found in Commercial Documents from Bordeaux,1470-1520" lists Gaston de Foix and Gaston de la Rac, as well as one Jacques Barre.

Gules, a fret couped argent within an orle Or.

His name and device were forwarded to Laurel on XLoI Æ76 (April 26, 2004).

We are uncertain as to whether or not this armory is in conflict with that of Anézka z Rozmitála (Gules, in dexter chief a fret couped argent). While there is one CD for the addition of the orle, the presence of the orle in Gyles' badge may essentially force it out of dexter chief and into the center of the field. Depending on interpretation, this may be a strange case of a "forced change of position." Since we are not sure whether or not a second CD for change of position is possible, we defer to Wreath's final judgment.

Per pale gules and azure, an orle of camels Or.

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter accepts any changes and cares most about the meaning "Hakim of Casablanca."

Hakim is found as a masculine ism (given name) in Da'ud's article, "Period Arabic Names & Naming Practices"

al- is a marker used in locative nisbas (bynames), according to the same article.

Dar el-Beïda appears, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, to be the Arabic name for Casablanca. Unfortunately, the article is unclear as to what names for settlements on this site were used in period and which are not; all we can tell for certain is that Dar el-Beïda is a modern Arabic name, and that settlements on this site have existed since at least the 12th century. We are passing this name to Pelican for a final ruling.

"Casablanca. Arabic ad-Dar al-Bayda' or Dar el-Beïda. Principal port of Morocco, on the North African Atlantic seaboard.

"The origin of the town is not known. A Berber village called Anfa stood on the present-day site in the 12th century; it became a pirates' base for harrying Christian ships and was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1468. The Portuguese returned to the area in 1515 and built a new town called Casa Branca ("White House"). It was abandoned in 1755 after a devastating earthquake, but the 'Alawi sultan Sidi Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah rebuilt the town in the late 18th century. Spanish merchants, who named it Casablanca, and other European traders began to settle there, and the name Maison Blanche ("White House") became as common as Casablanca."

Her name and device (Per pale sable and argent, a dragon rampant counterchanged maintaining a flame Or) were registered in 01/04. If this name is registered, she wishes to release her old name.

The submitter has no gender preferences concerning this name. She accepts minor changes only and cares most about the sound.

Iona can be found in Wickenden s.n. Ioanna; it is listed as a feminine given name and is dated in this spelling to 1356. Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Fay, Faye, Fey, list one Richard de Fay in 1242.

The submitter would prefer the spelling de Fae, but de Fae seems to be used only in Gaelic settings, where it is the borrowed-into-Gaelic spelling of an Anglo-Norman surname and, as Russian-Gaelic combinations are unregisterable, we are dubious about the registerability of a hypothetical Iona de Fae. Russian-English names are currently registerable as one step from period practice, so Iona de Fay should be registerable.

This name is intended to be feminine. The submitter accepts minor changes only and has no other preferences.

Isabella is listed in Talan Gwynek's article, "Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames" with numerous citations from 1201 to 1428.

FitzRandolph is a secondary header form in Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Randolph, FitzRandolph) with one Nicolaus filius Randulphi in 1175-1186 and one Ralph Fetzrandolff in 1498.

Although fitz- is generally associated with masculine patronyms, Reaney & Wilson include a number of examples of women with fitz-type surnames. Under FitzHerbert there is one Margery Fitzharberd in 1421; the header FItzHugh redirects to the header Fithie, where there is listed one Alice Feithew (widow of Henry, lord Fitzhugh) in 1473; s.n. FitzWilliam there is one Margaret Fethwilliam in 1509.

This name is intended to be feminine. The submitter is interested in but does not specifically request authenticity for "1400-1500's English," accepts minor changes only, and cares most about the sound.

Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Rocker, list one Juliana Rokster in 1388. The given name is also found in Mari's "Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lincolnshire, England."

The "Pre-1600 Brass Inscriptions" from the Ashmolean Museum (http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ash/departments/antiquities/brass/Counties.html) include, in the Hertfordshire section, a "Thomas Delamere, abbot" in 1370.

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter accepts minor changes only and has no other preferences.

Morgan is found in Aryanhwy's article, "Names found in the Berkeley Hundred Court Rolls." The names in the Hundred Court Rolls date from 1543.

FitzRandolph is a secondary header form in Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Randolph, FitzRandolph) with one Nicolaus filius Randulphi in 1175-1186 and one Ralph Fetzrandolff in 1498.

Argent, a bend azure between an increscent gules and a sword, a bordure sable.

His name was registered in 01/04. At that time, his device (Argent, a bend azure between an increscent gules and a sword sable) was returned by Laurel with the following comments:

"Conflict with Constance MacCallum of Hoghton, Argent, a bend azure between a jester's hat per pale gules and purpure, and a brimmed beret bendwise sinister sable, plumed purpure. There is one CD for changing the type of secondary charges. However, there is not a CD for changing the tincture of the secondary charges, as less than half the tincture of the secondary charge group has changed."

Adding the bordure should clear the conflict.

Azure, on a pile between two bees Or a bee inverted azure.

His name was registered in 10/02. At that time, his device (Azure, three piles in point Or each charged in chief with a bee rising sable, the center bee contourny) was returned by Laurel with the following comments:

"Rising is not a defined posture for insects. These bees are seen in profile with their wings addorsed and their bodies hovering in intermediate postures between bendwise and palewise. Their posture cannot be blazoned, and therefore, this device must be returned.

Note that the SCA accepts bees in a statant posture (horizontal body, legs down, wings addorsed). The SCA also accepts bees which are statant in a clearly defined bendwise or bendwise sinister posture. However, it is not acceptable to rotate a statant bee 90 degrees to a "palewise" posture. The resulting posture, with a vertical body, and legs extended to dexter, is equivalent to the previously forbidden "rampant" posture for bees and similar insects."

This complete redesign addresses all of the original problems.

Concerning the bee inverted, we believe it to be registerable according to the following precedent:

[a frog tergiant inverted]...A significant number of commenters felt that inverting a tergiant charge which is commonly found as tergiant (such as a tergiant scorpion or a frog) does not hamper the identifiability of the charge so much as to render it unidentifiable, and they felt that it should be acceptable. The frog in this submission certainly retains its identifiability very clearly in the inverted posture. As a result, inverting a tergiant charge is acceptable as long as it does not otherwise violate any basic heraldic principles, including the requirement for identifiability. Because of the lack of period evidence for tergiant inverted charges, the posture will be considered a clear step from period practice (also known informally as a "weirdness") for any charge that cannot be found in this posture in period. We explicitly decline to rule at this time on whether scorpions tergiant inverted should be considered a "weirdness". [George Anne, 05/02, A-Æthelmearc]

Azure, on a bend sinister argent between two eagles Or, three roses gules.

This name is intended to be masculine. The submitter accepts any changes and cares most about the meaning ("Really wants 'Robert' as a given name") and the sound.

Robert is a header form in Withycombe, with Robert(us) dated from 1086.

Burnhouse is cited in Reaney & Wilson s.n. Burnes, Burness, Burns; the entry states "The forefathers of Robert Burns migrated from Burnhouse in Taynuilt to Forfarshire where they were called Campbells of Burnhouse..."

This name is intended to be feminine. The submitter requests authenticity for the Tudor/Elizabethan time period and English language/culture, accepts any changes and cares most about the language/culture.

The submitter has submitted a letter (not a formal report – a copy of the letter is enclosed) from the Academy of St. Gabriel which states the following:

"The name <Rosamund Peacock> is an excellent choice. The given name appeared as <Rosemunda> (possibly Latinized) in 1549 [1] and <Rosamond> in 1609 [2]; your spelling is perfectly reasonable. The surname <Peacock> was recorded in 1597 [3]." The footnotes are as follows:

[1] Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ by Talan Gwynek (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/reaney.cgi?Rosamund)

[2] Marriages from the Heighington Registers (1570-1837) (http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/genuki/Transcriptions/DUR/HEI.html)

[3] Names in Chesham, 1538-1600/1 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/chesham/chesham-surnames.html)

Gules, three chevronels braced and in chief an apple argent.

The group's name was registered in 12/93.

Gules, a stag's head cabossed and in chief a cinquefoil argent.

The group's name was registered in 12/93.

Standard Bibliography of Sources