ÆTHELMEARC
COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #98
(part 2) Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Feast of St. Edward the Confessor 13 October, AS XLI
Greetings from Myfanwy!
Herein pray find commentary of the second half
of Æ LoI
#98 (#21-43). Again, I
have not had time to do any conflict-checking, but tried to be
relatively thorough in checking the names. Please note: due to the
current problems with the Saint Gabriel site, the Medieval Names
Archive and any St. Gabriel Reports have been accessed through a
mirror site [URL:
http://s-gabriel.scadian.net}]
-- thanks in advance to Margaret Makafee, the Pelican Queen of Arms,
for providing this information (as well as whoever set it in motion).
Lady Myfanwy ferch Rhiannon
Ruth Morrisson
myfanwy@nauticom.net
21. Madelina Bennett
The docs for the given name are as cited.
The Reaney and Wilson docs are as cited. While the exact spelling of
the byname is not cited, there are enough variants with either the
<nn> or <tt> spellings that this is probably okay.
22. Marianna Molin di Salerno
The docs for all the name elements are as cited.
The name elements are all over the map (literally!). However, since
the submitter has not requested authenticity, there should be no
problems with registering the name.
23. Mariia Kotokova (name change from Mariia Kotova)
The Wickenden docs are as cited. Additionally (ibid.) the name Pavel
Iur’evich Kotovich [sic], dated to 1556, is cited under
<Kot> as a patronymic form. Note, however, that in the Grammar
[p.
xxi] Wickenden says:
Confusion is sometimes created when modern forms are applied to
period
names. Although the familiar patronymics ending in “-ovich” (m) and
“-ovna”
(f) do appear in period documents, they are exceptions, rather the
[sic] rule.
They are almost exclusively late period and merit heightened
scrutiny. The form
was popular in Novgorod and Pskov in the 15th century (and into the
early 16th
century in Pskov as well), but became the exclusive privilege of the
upper
nobility in Muscovy in the 16th and 17th centuries (laws were
created to protect
this privilege and to punish offenders). Superanskaia (1977: 21)
states that the
-ovich [sic] form was used by a prince’s oldest son and heir of the
land. She also
adds that this form was not the only one used even by those who had
a right to
it, and that Petrovich (for instance) could be used interchangeably
with the
more common Petrov. As a result, it is recommended that the
“-ovich/-ovna”
forms of the patronymic be used with care, as it may place a
late-period persona
in a situation where he or she would be claiming presumption --
although, at this
time, they are registerable with the SCA’s College of Arms.
24. Mariia Kotova (device resub) -- Azure, in pale a
lion-dragon passant Or and on [sic] open book charged with a flower
and a quill pen gules.
There’s a couple of typos on the LoI -- I presume that it’s supposed
to actually say “...and an open book...”. Furthermore, while shown in
the color html version as argent, the book’s tincture was left off the
blazon.
I looked up to see what the LoAR said about this, since the LoI merely
says this is a resubmission. The original device was returned (Mar
06, Æthelmearc) because the charges on the book were originally
argent
on an argent book (i.e., metal on metal). Changing the flower and the
quill pen to gules fixes this problem.
Possible reblazon: Azure, in pale a lion-dragon passant Or and on an
open book [argent?] a flower [slipped sable?] and a quill pen gules.
25. Mathias syn Kotok (name change from Mathias Kotov)
The Wickenden docs are as cited [the information in the Grammar about
the use of <syn> is found on p. xxii].
26. Mathias Kotov (device resub) -- Quarterly argent and Or, a dragon
gules winged sable breathing flames proper.
Um, <Her> request? [Yeah, I know -- it’s late and Pennsic is over
and
we’re all tired and have way too many things to catch up on as well as
keeping the LoI schedule on track. :-) ]
I’m not sure what the posture/position of the dragon is -- it seems to
be sort of rampant bendwise.
Note that in the color html version, the wings look like a misshapen
black blob (fortunately, in the B&W html version, the wings are
obviously dragon wings).
I’m also not sure if the flames are colored in correctly -- my
understanding of current practice is that the tongues of flame should
alternate tinctures, rather (than is in the color html version)
appearing to be per fess. Is this what the actual submission color
copies look like, or just a matter of Alheydis doing her best in a
really small space?
27. Míchél Ó Murchadha -- Per pale gules and
argent, a
chalice and a lion counterchanged and on a chief vert, three harps Or.
This has the unfortunate impression of being marshaled arms. I’m not
sure whether the addition of the the chief is enough to clear that
impression. I checked in the Rules for Submission; XI.3. states: 3. Marshalling. - Armory that appears to marshall
independent arms is
considered presumptuous.
Period marshalling combined two or more separate designs to
indicate
descent from noble parents and claim to inheritance. Since members
of the
Society are all required to earn their status on their own merits,
apparent claims
to inherited status are presumptuous. Divisions commonly used for
marshalling,
such as quarterly or per pale, may only be used in contexts that
ensure
marshalling is not suggested.
a. Such fields may be used with identical charges over
the entire field, or with
complex lines of partition or charges overall that were not used for
marshalling
in period heraldry.
b. Such fields may only be used when no single portion of
the field may
appear to be an independent piece of armory.
No section of the field may contain an ordinary that terminates at
the edge of
that section, or more than one charge unless those charges are part
of a group
over the whole field. Charged sections must all contain charges of
the same type to avoid the appearance of being different from each
other.
I then did a Precedent dive to find any examples of usage similar to
what is being submitted here. I could not access the Precedents from
François’ tenure -- the farreaches site appears to still be
down. I
did find a relevant precedent from Bruce’s tenure:
[Per pale, a harp and a cross of four lozenges, a chief
embattled ] [sic] The chief was
a mark of primary cadency in period (Gayre's Heraldic Cadency
[sic], p.153),
and it became part of the Stodart system of cadency used today in
Scotland.
Thus, the addition of a chief to quartered armory would not remove
the
appearance of marshalling. However, the chief's use as a brisure was
never as
widespread as the bordure's; where the bordure would be used to
cadence all
forms of marshalling, the chief would only be used to cadence
quartering. In the
case of impalement --- which implies a marital coat, not an
inherited one --- the
addition of the chief is sufficient to remove the appearance of
marshalling.
(Æthelstan von Ransbergen, September, 1992, pg. 1)
Complexity count of eight (four tinctures, four types of charges.
28. Myra Frogbayn -- Per pale vert and argent a frog
counterchanged.
The Withycombe and Black docs are as cited.
Hmm. I looked at this name and immediately thought “My-ra”, not
“Mee-ra” (I went to college with someone named Myra and she definitely
didn’t pronounce it with a long <e> sound, but rather the
standard
long <i> sound.) While the *use* of <Myra> as a (perhaps
allegorical) name is obviously period, it isn’t clear from Withycombe
that it was used in period as the name of a real person.
Personally, I’m not sure I would want to be known as “frog-legged” --
I got teased enough growing up for being skinny as it was. Most
people would not know the derivation of <-bayn> and (with the
pronunciation the submitter wants) think of it as more like
“frog-killer”; I’m not sure I’d want to be known *that* way either.
YMMV.
According to the PIC-DIC [sn Frog], this is the default posture.
29. Rhiannon of Ravenglass -- Sable, three mullets of five
points and an increscent argent.
Somehow, I just don’t see the need for adding the middle name (one
goddess name per submission is quite enough -- we don’t need two).
I don’t have either Mills or Ekwall; however, the “Index of Places”
in the DomesdayBook [p.
1392] lists several places with <Raven-> as an element, including
Ravensthorpe, Ravenstone and Ravensworth.
The blazon needs to be fixed to correct the fact that, as emblazoned,
the crescent is the primary charge. Five points is the default for
mullets [c.f. PIC-DIC, fig. 514] and need not be blazoned.
Reblazon: Sable, an increscent and in chief three mullets argent.
30. Robert ap Hywel ap Dewi -- Argent, a stag at gaze sable,
a chief embattled vert.
The docs for all name elements are as cited .(Note that <Hywel>
is a
header form in Morgan and Morgan [pp. 125-28] but that the header
spelling is not actually documented in of itself.)
Nice device. However, the chief should come down further on the field
(this is probably, not a redraw, just an artist’s note to the
submitter).
31. Selime Berna
The docs for the given name are as cited.
The byname can be found in a list of female Turkish names and their
meanings [URL:
http://www.20000-names.com/female_turkish_
names.htm]. I have no idea whether this is a good source or not (it’s
a website called “20,000 Names from Around the World). There are also
a number of Google hits
[http://www.google.com]
about various people for whom <Berna> is apparently their first
name,
including Berna Yilmaz, the wife of a Turkish Prime Minister (his name
being Mesut Yilmaz, I presume that word order for Turkish names is
similar to Western European ones). St. Gabriel Report #2204 gives a
(very) little bit of information about Turkish bynames for women:
We don't know much about surname practices, but it appears that
Turkish
women either used descriptive bynames in the Turkish language or
were known
only by a single name. Such descriptives that we have found
applying to
women usually were related to childbearing; some that we have found
mean
"pregnant," "barren," "tall," and "of the forty lovers." [3]
Unfortunately,
the evidence that we have for this type of byname is from works
translated
into English, so we cannot suggest appropriate Turkish forms of these
bynames.
The source material appears to be Geoffrey L. Lewis (ed.) _The Book of
Dede Korkut_. (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974).
Unfortunately, it isn’t clear whether <Berna> can be used as a
descriptive byname. As it stands, the name as submitter seems to have
two given names (one documentably period, one modern). This might
need to be forwarded to Laurel with a request for further assistance.
32. Sion ap Rhainallt
My copy of the CA cited for the given name appears to have gone
walkabout, and the name does not appear to be in “Names and Naming
Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3”. Morgan and
Morgan [pp. 130-38, sn Ieuan] gives <Siôn> as a subsidiary
header
form, and says [pp. 135-36]:
The change that took place to E j (= dzh) [sic]
and initial g (=dzh) [sic] in words
borrowed in the early med {sic] period is dealt with in EEW 226-7
and the
personal names Jasper, Jerome, John, Joachim, Jonas, Joseph, Jenkin,
George are
quoted. As the sounds of E j (and E
ch and sh) [sic] were not included
in the
Welsh system of sounds the j [sic] became
si [sic] -- not merely as a matter
of
orthography; the si [sic] represented the Welsh
pronunciation, a normal s [sic]
sound given the palatal quality of of i [sic] but
without making a vowel of it....
[p. 136]] the standard form of the med [sic] period was
ˆSiôn [sic], the i [sic] being
the palatal quality of the s [sic], the name being
a monosyllable, and it is worthy
of special notice.
The Morgan and Morgan docs for the byname are as cited (note that
<Reinalld ap Ieuan> is the only name with an obviously
identifiable
dated citation (time of Henry VII), with <Raynallt ap Evan> in
the
grey area (time of James I); it is unclear from context whether the
other citations are dates or page numbers.
33. Safiye bint Kara Sun’üllah -- Azure, a fess wavy Or ermined
azure
in chief three thistles Or.
I would add a comma to the blazon after the second “azure” (or is this
just a typo?)
There probably should be a couple more ermine spots on the fess (on
it’s edges, even if they wind up “bleeding” off the sides of the
shield so it doesn’t look like “on a fess wavy Or five ermine spots
azure”. This is just a note to the artist -- it probably doesn’t need
a redraw.
34. Sultana bint Mihail
The docs for the given name are as cited; note that <Sultana> is
also
listed as a Jewish name.
The docs for the patronymic and byname are also as cited.
Examining the “Full List of Names” in the same article [URL;
http://www.s-gabriel.
org/names/ursula/ottoman/turkishnames.html] the patronymic form
<bint> seems to have been used with Christian names as well as
Turkish ones.
35. Tristán Isidro de Alcaçar (badge) -- [Fieldless] On a
tower sable
masoned argent, a pair of shears Or.
According to the PIC-DIC [sn. Shears] this is the default orientation
for shears (interestingly enough, the SCA default for scissors “seems
to be with points to chief”).
This is a rare (exceedingly rare, if you know me
at all) case in which
I would have to say that the shears may be a bit *too* large.
36. Tymnes the Scythian
The docs for the given name are as cited.
As for the docs for the byname, Wikipedia is not always the most
reliable source, although in this instance the information about
Scythia seems pretty reliable. I did not find the Herodotus quote
listed anywhere on the site; however, the article does say: “It was
no coincidence that Scythia was a first state north of the Black Sea
to collapse with the invasion of the Goths.” Additionally, I did a
Google search [URL:
http://www.
google.com] and found very detailed (and more scholarly) information
about what Herodotus says about Sythia and the Scythians on a website
called “Love to Know: Classic Encyclopedia
[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Scythia#History]
which says “Based on the 11th Edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica
(pub. 1911). Another website [URL:
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/uj/ujf.html]
shows photographs of metal and textile finds, said to be from Sythia
and dated 10th-4th century BC).
37. Ulrich von Baden -- Sable, seven mullets sable on a chevron
throughout Or, in base a spear palewise entwined by a serpent Or.
The docs for the given name are as cited.
The docs for <Baden> are as given. Since, however, Wikipedia is
not
always the most reliable site, I did some more looking to find
something better. Siebmacher [p. 242 (Pl. 222)] shows the armory for
various “Städte”, including Baden; additionally [p. 28 (Pl. 8),
Siebmacher shows the arms for the Margrave of Baden. While Siebmacher
is, IIRC, dated to 1605 (i.e., later than the submitter’s desired time
period) this should be okay, especially given a website I found
entitled “History of Baden-Württemberg: The Margraviate of Baden
and
the County of Württemberg at the beginning of the 15th century”
[URL:
http://www.pantel-web.de/bw_mirror/history/bw304_e.htm],
which says in part:
From the 13th to the 15th century Baden and Württemberg developed
independently of one another. The margraviate received in 1387 a
part of the
County of Eberstein. Württemberg enlarged itself continually. Both
territories
acquired far-flung possessions: Baden the County of Sponheim in the
Hunsrück
(15th century and later).... The sovereignties of Hachberg and
Sausenberg fell
back to the Baden main line.
The chevron needs to be thicker, even if the charges in base need to
be somewhat smaller as a result.
The secondary charge group is similar looking to a caduceus However,
there is a Precedent from Da’ud’s second tenure as Laurel lifting the
restrictions on the use of a caduceus:
The proposal lifting the restriction of the use of the caduceus,
rod of
Aesculapius, and bowl of Hygeia to those with medical credentials is
affirmed.
These charges are available for use by anyone wishing to do so,
regardless of
their medical background, experience, or credentials. (CL 10/95)
Marianna appears to be new, so I’m going to cut her some slack.
However, I’m also going do serious reblazoning of this device.
Reblazon: Sable, on a chevron throughout Or, seven mullets sable, in
base a spear palewise entwined by a serpent Or.
38. Umm Khalida Naila bint Abd al-Rahim -- Per pale sable and
gules, a cat sejant reguardant and in chief a roundel and a sun Or.
The docs for the honorific are as cited. Note that in “Period Names
and Naming Practices” [URL:
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm]
it says:
Married persons (especially married ladies) are, as a general rule,
simply called
by their kunya [sic] (abu [sic] or
umm [sic] + the name of their first son). When
using a person's full name, the kunya [sic]
precedes the personal name: Abu Yusuf
Hasan [sic][the father of Joseph, Hasan], Umm
Ja’far Aminah [sic][the mother of
Ja’far, Aminah].
The docs for the given name are *not* as cited. <Khalida> is in
fact
listed as a feminine ism, not a masculine one; in the
introduction, the article says:
As is the case with many medieval societies, not many women were
specifically
named in period sources and references. However, many of the
masculine given
names can be feminized by the addition of "a" or "ah" to the end
(for example,
the masculine Khalid [sic] can be found feminized
as Khalida(h) [sic]). The docs
for <Naila> are as given.
The docs for <Abd al-Rahim> are also as cited. Note that this is
listed as a man’s given name.
There seems to be some problems with this name as it is constructed.
The form appears to be kunya + feminine
ism + feminine ism + masculine name
(possibly a laqab/ism, if I understand the Da’ud
article correctly. It isn’t clear whether multiple
isms
are used (especially this many). In addition, because <Khalida>
is
not a masculine ism, the honorific may not be
correctly used. From my (admittedly limited) understanding of the
source material, <Um Khalid Naila bint Abd al-Rahim> might be a
better construction (“Naila, the mother of Khalid, the daughter of Abd
al-Rahim”). The submission should probably be forwarded to Laurel
with a request for assistance with the grammar.
Possible reblazon -- Per pale sable and gules, a cat sejant reguardant
and in chief a bezant and a sun Or.
39. Werner Barg -- Azure, on a fess between two mullets
argent, a mastiff statant sable between two mullets azure.
I don;t have Bahlow, but the online docs for the given name are as
cited.
40. William de Duglas
Most of the Black citations for the given name are *not* under [sn
William} (except for <William the Lion>); rather they are under
the
following article [sn Williamson]. Otherwise they are as cited.
The Black citations for the byname are more or less as cited (note
that the article actually begins on p. 217).
Is this name a conflict with the <William de Duglas> cited in
Black?
(being, as Black says: “the first of the family in record”)? More
importantly, is there a conflict with William O. Douglas (the famous
Supreme Court justice)?
41. Wolfgang Güntherssohn (household name) -- Eberhaus
42. Wolfgang Güntherssohn (badge) -- (Fieldless) A boar courant
per
pale gules and sable.
Nice badge!
Note that this would probably not be a CD away from a boar passant,
and would not be a CD from a boar statant. In the RfS [URL:
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/rfs.html],
X.4.h reads in part:
Changes in the position of the head, for instance, are not
significant, nor is the
change from statant to passant, which essentially moves only one
leg.
Additionally, there is a François Precedent from February 2004
that
there is not a CD between passant and courant (since the farreaches
site still appears to be down, I had to go back through the actual
LoARs for his tenure):
Otel Altunat. [sic] Device. Azure, a horse courant to
sinister Or.
... This also conflicts with the Kingdom of the West, badge for the
Equestrian
Arts office, Azure, a horse passant Or [sic]. There
is one CD for turning the horse
to sinister.
43. Wulfstanus le Strange
The docs for both name elements are as cited.
Note that Anglo-Saxon/Old English with Middle English is one step from
period practice [URL:
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/sca/weirdness_table.html],
but the submitter does not request authenticity.
Bibliography:
Appuhn, Horst (trans.). JohannSiebmachersWappenbuchvon1605. München,
Orbis
Verlag für Publzistik, 1999.
Black, George F. TheSurnamesofScotland:TheirOrigin,Meaning,andHistory.
Edinburgh: Birlinn Ltd., 1999, 2004 [copyright: The New York Public
Library, 1946].
Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme [Bruce Miller] and Akagawa Yoshio
[Kevin Munday]. APictorialDictionaryofHeraldryAsUsedinTheSocietyforCreativeAnachronism,
2nd Ed., 1992.
Morgan, T. J., and Prys Morgan. WelshSurnames. Cardiff: University
of Wales Press,
1985.
Reaney, P. H. and R. M. Wilson. ADictionaryofEnglishSurnames, Rev.
3rd Ed.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Tangwystyl verch Morgan Glasvryn (formerly Keridwen ferch
Morgan Glasfryn)
[Heather Rose Jones]. “Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth
Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3.”
(YCamamseriad, #1,
Summer, 1992.
Paul Wickenden of Thanet [Paul W. Goldschmidt]. ADictionaryofPeriodRussian Names, 3rd.Ed. Normal, IL: S.C.A. Inc. --
Free Trumpet Press West, 2000.
Withycombe, E. G. TheOxfordDictionaryofEnglishChristianNames, 3rd Ed.
Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.