From Ailis Garnet and Roana Cornelian, greetings one last time to our colleagues in the Æthelmearc College of Arms and elsewhere! This is (really!) the last Internal Letter of Intent that we will be writing as Kingdom submissions heralds. We want to thank you all for the hard work you have done, as consulting heralds and as commenters, and we hope that you will offer the same support to our successor, Christopher Harper, who will be taking over this office effective February 1. To that end, please attend! All correspondence for the Æthelmearc Submissions Office should henceforth be directed to Christopher Harper, Garnet Herald <<address deleted by webmaster>>. His e-mail address is ckomar1 [AT] yahoo [DOT] com. Please welcome him to his new office, and please help to make this transition as smooth as possible.
And with no further ado, we present the latest Internal Letter of Intent:
It is the intent of the Æthelmearc College of Heralds that the
following items be considered for registration.
1. Æthelmearc, Kingdom of - New order name Ordre du Cheval de
Fer and new badge
(Fieldless) A horseshoe argent.
The Kingdom's name was first registered in 09/1989.
The submitters accept any changes and care most about the meaning 'order of the iron horse.' Sorry for the lack of documentation, but this landed in our laps literally just as we were finishing up this Internal Letter of Intent and we decided to get it out there for further research/commentary.
Cheval is French for 'horse.' (If someone can find a period citation of this spelling, that'd be wonderful.) In the Project Ordensnammen we find a variety of 'Order of the <animal>,' including the Order of the Bear; Dove; Eagle; Elephant; Lion; Lioness; Porcupine; Swan.
Fer is French for 'iron.' (Again, a period citation of the word would be ideal.) In the Project Ordensnammen order names referencing a metal include the Order of the Golden Buckle; Golden Knights; Golden Rose; Golden Spur; Golden Unicorn.
Please assist us in researching order names of this pattern.
Herald of Record: none
2. Alric of the Mists - Resubmitted device
Per bend sinister purpure and sable, a wyvern sejant within a bordure embattled Or. [color]
His name was registered in 10/2002. A previous device, Per bend sinister sable and purpure, a wyvern sejant Or, was returned at the Kingdom level in July 2003 for multiple conflicts.
Herald of Record: none
3. Chière une Clergesse - New name, New device
Argent, on a chevron cotised sable three crosses clechy argent. [color]
This name is intended to be feminine. The submitter accepts minor changes only and cares most about the meaning 'member of clergy; not a priest' and the language/culture (presumably French).
Chière is a feminine given name found in Colm Dubh's "Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris."
clergesse is a feminine occupational byname from the same Census. In Colm Dubh's article "Occupational By-Names in the 1292 Tax Roll of Paris" its meaning is given as 'clerk: clergy below priest level.'
Colm Dubh's transcription of names includes many examples of <feminine given name> [une] <byname>, although it is unclear as to whether or not the [une] actually appeared in the original document.
Herald of Record: none
4. Coeddu, Shire of - Resubmitted name and device
Argent, a tree blasted and eradicated sable within a laurel wreath vert and on a chief sable three mullets argent. [color]
The submitters accept any changes and care most about the meaning 'dark/black woods.'
A previous name, Tywyll Coetir, was returned at the Kingdom level in December 2004 for lack of documentation. This armory was also returned at that time for lack of a registerable branch name.
The construction is proposed based on the examples of Coity/Coytif, where 'wood' comes first, and of Cwmdu and Honddu, in which the adjective comes second.
"Y Coed-Duon" appears to be a real place in Wales; we found a listing about their library at http://www.cymru.gov.uk/keypubinfolink/content/locations/blackwood-w.htm (Welsh) or http://www.wales.gov.uk/keypubinfolink/content/locations/blackwood-e.htm (English).
Herald of Record: Roana d'Evreux
The submitter accepts minor changes only and cares most about the meaning 'Maxwell Clan.'
In July 2004, the household name was returned with the following comments: "Conflict with the modern day Clan Maxwell. Maccuswael is a proposed spelling variant of Maxwell and the two are nearly identical in sound."
(Pelican also made the following comments when registering Donecan's primary name: "The submitter proposed the form Maccuswael as a variant of Maccuswel based on the statement in Black, Surnames of Scotland, that wael is the Old English word for well or pool. In this instance, Black is mistaken. According to the OED wael is an Old English word for a ridge or wale; the Old English word for pool is wæl. As there is no evidence that the "Æ" and "ae" are interchangable in Old English, this variant is not a valid spelling for this name. Black, s.n. Maxwell lists a John de Maccuswel in 1210; we have changed his name to Donecan de Maccusel in order to register it.")
The text of Donecan's appeal is as follows:
"I, Donecan de Maccuswel, hereby respectfully request an appeal to the decision not to register the household name of Clann Maccuswael for the following reasons:
I - According to the Rules of Submission specifically section 2 b. iv. - Household Names, the name of Clann Maccuswael and its variants (Maccuswel, Maxwell) follow the rule guidelines pertaining to toponymic clan names.
II - Precedents (2 JUL 1992 Cover Letter (June, 1992 LoAR), pg.3) of Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme state that in reference to household names "Some were taken from the founder's surnames—which in turn, might be derived originally from a patronymic (Clan MacGregor), a toponymic (Clan Kerr), or an occupation (Clan Stewart)."
III - I am assuming that the ruling on Clann Maccuswael was based on the following precedent that supercedes the above. (WVS [71][CL18 JUN 82], pp. 2-3) by Wilhelm von Schlussel which states, "Household names may not be the surnames of actual families or clans as that would imply that the head of the household was the head of that family or clan."
V - That no other additional rulings have been made in support of the precedent listed in item III above that grandfathered those items in IV A-G.
His original documentation is as follows:
At electricscotland.com, a page about The Maxwells (http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/families/maxwells.htm) says:
"THE founder of the Maxwell family is said to have been a certain Maccus, the son of Undwin, a Saxon noble, who at the Norman Conquest took refuge in Scotland. He was a distinguished person in the reigns of Alexander I. and David I., and received from the latter a grant of fertile lands on the banks of the Tweed, near Kelso, which from him received the appellation of Maccuswell, and, abbreviated into Maxwell, became the designation of his descendants. He witnessed an inquest which David ordered to be made about the year 1116. A Herbert de Maccuswel, who died in 1143, made a grant of the Church of Maccuswel to the monastery of Kelso. A Sir John de Maccuswel was Sheriff of Roxburgh and Teviotdale in 1207, and held the office of Great Chamberlain from 1231 to 1233."
(Excerpted from The Great Historic Families of Scotland, James Taylor 1887)
Another page (http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/m/maxwell2.html)says:
"The Maxwells are a Border clan and were active during the turbulent Border wars. The first leader was Maccus, son of Undweyn who lived in the 12th Century who appears to have given his name to Maccuswell, a pool of the Tweed near Kelso Bridge; Wael is old English for pool."
In a publication by the Clan Maxwell Society of the USA:
"The name became Maxwell from a salmon pool on the Tweed (near Kelson Bridge) called Maccus' Wiel. A 'wael' or 'wiel' or 'well' (Saxon 'wylle') designated a pool or whirlpool, thus the transition from Maccusweil to Maccuswell to Maxwell can easily be rationalized."
Black, s.n. Maxwell, says, "… and from the fishery attached thereto, called Maccus' Wiel (OE. wael, a pool, whirlpool), the lands obtained their name."
Given all this data, the submitter is proposing Maccuswael as a variant of Maccuswel.
Concerning the construction of the household name:
The Rules for Submission, III.2.b.iv. Household Names:
Household names must follow the patterns of period names of organized groups of people. Possible models include Scottish clans ( Clan Stewart ), ruling dynasties ( House of Anjou ), professional guilds ( Bakers Guild of Augsburg , Worshipful Company of Coopers ), military units ( The White Company ), and inns ( House of the White Hart ).
Elsbeth's precedent:
[Clan Caer Lonn] The name mixes two languages, Welsh (Caer) and Gaelic (Lonn) in one phrase, violating rule III.1.a, "Linguistic Consistency." Brian should also be informed that Clans were named after personal names and nicknames, not places. Lastly we would prefer to see some evidence that "Strong" is a reasonable adjective to apply to keeps. [Brian Brock, 07/99, R-Atenveldt]
And Bruce's precedent:
Some house names were taken from the place of origin: House of York, House of Lorraine, House of Valois. Some were taken from a personal epithet of the founder, shared by neither his father nor siblings: House Capet. Some were taken from the founders' surnames -- which, in turn, might be derived originally from a patronymic (Clan MacGregor), a toponymic (Clan Kerr), or an occupation (Clan Stewart). Guild names were straightforward descriptions of their crafts. Mercenary units might be more fanciful, and inn names most fanciful of all; but these still referred to livery or signboards -- in short, to a badge, which was a tangible thing.
House names in period don't seem to have been overly fantastic. For the most part, they come from the same linguistic well as period bynames. In particular, since a period house name was so often simply the surname, byname, or epithet of its founder, any such epithet that is acceptable in a Society personal name should be acceptable as a Society household name. This is the rule of thumb I've formulated for determining the acceptability of household names henceforth. If we would register John X, we should register House X as well. We would not permit John Starwalker, so we should not permit House Starwalker. We would register John of the Red Sickles (wincing, perhaps, but we would), so we should register House of the Red Sickles. (2 July, 1992 Cover Letter (June, 1992 LoAR), pg. 3)
Although Maccus' Well originated as a placename, it seems to have been eventually adopted as an hereditary surname, and thus we are forwarding it as a plausible household name.
We invite commentary as to whether or not Donecan's appeal is justified. Specifically, can folks look into whether or not the clans named in section IV of Donecan's appeal are active clans?
Herald of Record: none
6. George Anne - New badge
(Fieldless) A frog tergiant inverted argent.
Her name (yes, really!) was registered in 01/2000.
Herald of Record: Robert O'Connor
7. Keran Roslin - New badge
(Fieldless) A heart per pale azure and argent. [color]
Her name was registered in 09/2001.
Herald of Record: Robert O'Connor
8. Keran Roslin - New badge
Argent, a heart gules within a bordure invected azure. [color]
Her name was registered in 09/2001.
Herald of Record: Robert O'Connor
This name is intended to be feminine. The submitter requests authenticity for 12th century Japan (Gempei Wars) time period and Japanese/Heian Jidai language/culture, accepts minor changes only and cares most about the meaning 'beloved child.'.
Minamoto: The submitter references www.sengokudaimyo.com/miscellany/names.html and writes "A table on this page titled 'Some surnames of families active prior to 1600' includes the name Minamoto."
"The vast majority of surnames consist of two kanji; a few names use three or more, and there is a handful of one kanji names as well. Some of the latter — though by no means all, as such native Japanese names as Katsura, Minamoto, and Kusunoki show — point to possible Chinese or Korean ancestry, where single-kanji surnames are the rule.
Ex:
Minamoto"
From Barbara Nostrand's "Name Construction in Medieval Japan":
"The College of Arms has in the past discouraged the use of historically significant surnames such as Fujiwara. Minamoto, Taira, Hojo, Ashikaga, and Tokugawa. These names were used by many people and probably should be admissible for use in the Society for Creative Anachronism... Only Yamato and Toyotomi should be reserved surnames."
The submitter also writes: "As well, within the era that contains The Gempei Wars (1181 - 1185 AD), the Heian Jidai and into the Kamakura Jidai, one could take the clan name, Minamoto¸ in return for swearing fealty to a daimyo of the clan. This surname does not fall under the restrictions of Presumptuous Names."
Taikawa: The submitter references Barbara Nostrand's "Name Construction in Medieval Japan" and writes:
"Using the place-name construction chart in Barbara Nostrand's Name Construction in Medieval Japan, I have constructed the name Taikawa using the prefix Tai, meaning 'big,' and -kawa, meaning 'river.'"
Minamoto no Taikawa: From www.sengokudaimyo.com/miscellany/names.html we read:
"During the Heian and early Kamakura periods, the names of the aristocracy would be rendered as Surname no Given name. The 'no' is analogous to the German 'von' or the French 'de' (yes, and the English 'of'). Literally, the name Minamoto no Yoritomo is 'Yoritomo of the Minamoto.' By the 1400s the particle was falling out of use. Technically, this naming structure reflects the use of clan names as surnames. When more and more people began adopting their own surnames (e.g., the Ashikaga, Saitô, Ichijô) rather than using ancient clan names, the use of the particle died out."
In this case, Minamoto is a clan name and Taikawa is proposed as a given name.
Saiaiko: From www.sengokudaimyo.com/miscellany/names.html we read:
"Most of the 'names' of women known in early Japan are not the actual names of the women in question. Sei Shônagon, for example, the author of Makura no Sôshi (The Pillow Book) and other writings, is known by the Chinese pronunciation of the first kanji in her family's name (Kiyowara) and a court-title sobriquet. Likewise, the true name of Murasaki Shikibu, author of the Tale of Genji, is unknown. The latter seems to have been called Tô no Shikibu in earlier sources; the 'Tô' is the first character from the name 'Fujiwara,' into a cadet branch of which she had been born; the 'Shikibu' comes from the title of an office held by her father and brother; the 'Murasaki' was a nickname given her owing to the lead female character in her book, Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji)."
A table on this page titled 'Common elements in women's names' includes the suffix -ko/shi, meaning "child."
The submitter states that this name element is constructed from Saiai 'beloved' and -ko 'child.' No documentation was provided at this time for 'Saiai.'
Herald of Record: Magariki Katsuichi
10. Thorin bjarnkarl - Resubmitted device
Or, a bear rampant maintaining a mace and on a chief gules three Edelweiss blossoms argent. [color]
His name was registered in 07/2004. At that time his device was returned for redrawing; Wreath's comments added up to "this is unidentifiable as a bear." Hopefully this redrawing addresses the identifiability of the bear.
Herald of Record: Roana d'Evreux
