Æthelmearc Letter of Intent Æ99
November 22, 2006 (AS 41)

It is the intent of the Æthelmearc College of Heralds to register the following devices. Unless otherwise noted, submitters will accept any changes and will allow holding names.

The name is intended to be feminine. The submitter will accept all changes and cares most about the language and culture of 13^th century Irish Gaelic. The submitter is not requesting authenticity.

Her previous name submission of <Kiara Kavanagh> was pended at kingdom on LoR AE95 of June 22, and returned at kingdom on LoR AE96 July 20. The reason for the return was the lack of adequate documentation for the given name, and the disallowance of changes necessary to make the name registerable. An earlier name submission of <Shea Rose O'Donnell> was returned at kingdom on LoR Æ88 October 25, 2005 for lack of adequate documentation, and the disallowance of changes necessary to make the name registerable. Its accompanying device, Purpure a rose argent with leaves vert, was also returned at that time for multiple conflicts.

Ceara - OCM, p. 50, s.n. Cera, give <Cera> as the Old/Middle Irish header form and <Ceara> as the Modern header form. OCM give the possible meaning as "red, bright red" and state that "Cera was one of the wives of Nemed, legendary invader of Ireland, who, according to medieval scholars, gave her name to Mag Cera (Carra), Co Mayo. There were also three virgin saints of the name whose feast-days fell on 5 February, 8 February and 9 September."

Cháomhanach - Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Descriptive Bynames: Cáomhanach" at http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/DescriptiveBynames/Caomhanach.shtml gives <Cáomhanach> as the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c1200-c1700) nominative form of the name meaning “[somehow connected, via fostering, etc., with the] Ó Caemhain [family]” and states further that “[t]his name began as a descriptive byname but became an inherited surname.” The <h> is added as required for lenition.

2.  Desiderata Drake – New Device

Azure, a goose and on a chief wavy argent two ducks naiant azure.

Her name appears on Æthelmearc Letter of Intent AE97 dated September 21, 2006. Her previous device submission of Per chevron azure and vert, two ducks naiant argent and a goose close Or was returned at kingdom on Letter of Report AE97 dated September 21, 2006. The reason for the return was that the design violated RfS VIII.3 by the “sword and dagger” rule.

3.  Eithne ingen Muirgein – New Name

The name is intended to be feminine. The submitter will accept all changes and cares most about the meaning “Enya, daughter of Muirgen.” The submitter is not requesting authenticity.

Eithne – OCM, p. 84, header form. The entry states that <Eithne> “is one of the most popular of all early female names” and lists numerous legendary, historical and ecclesiastical figures who bore the name, including one Eithne, wife of Bran, king of Leinster, who died in 795. Another is the wife of Congalach mac Máele Mithig (died 953).

ingen – early form of the Gaelic for “daughter”

Muirgein – OCM, p. 141, header form (pre-1200). OCM states, “This early name is borne by St Muirgen, abbot of Killeshin, whose feast-day is 27 January.”

The bynme was submitted to kingdom as <Muirgen>, and the submission form states, “This masc. St.’s name needs to be put into the genetive form but [we] are unable to find it in Woulfe. It is lenited but without a change in spelling (per Effrick neyn Kenyeoch’s article).” On Albion’s suggestion we have changed the spelling to <Muirgein> as a propsed genitive form.

4.  Emilia Benitez – Change of Name from Emilia O'Madigan

The name is intended to be feminine. The submitter will accept minor changes only and does not indicate a preference for meaning, sound, spelling, language or culture. The submitter is not requesting authenticity.

The submitter wishes her new name to reflect her marriage to her husband, Iago Benitez (name registered March 1994 via the East).

Her current name was registered in June 2001 via Æthelmearc. If the requested change is approved, her old name is to be retained as an alternate name.

Emilia – no documentation was provided by the submitter. However, Æthelmearc XloI AE46 dated January 10, 2001 gave the following:

The submitter originally documented it from The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice by William Shakespeare, one of the characters is "Emilia, wife to Iago" (pce). Withycombe, pg. 103, (s.n. Emily, Emilia) cites "Boccaccio' s use of Emilia for the heroine of his Teseide helped to bring the name into use in the later Middle Ages, and Chaucer in his Knight's Tale anglicized it as Emelye."

Benitez –Elsbeth Anne Roth, “16th Century Spanish Names: Masculine Given Names Alphabetically” [http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/spanish/male-given-alpha.html] gives four occurrences of the given name <Benito> from 1560-1574. The article’s main page [http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/spanish/index.html] under Name Structure, states:

Patronymic: These are names originally derived from the given name of one’s father. For example, if, in the 10th century, Diego’s father was Rodrigo, then Diego would be called Diego Rodriguez, where Rodriguez is the patronymic. The form was the same for women: Diego’s sister Maria could be called Maria Rodriguez.

The combination of English and Spanish was ruled to be one step from period practice [Andrew Quintero, 09/99]

5.  Robert l’Etourdi – New Name

No gender is indicated for name. The submitter will accept minor changes only and cares most about the meaning “Robert the forgetful.” The submitter indicates an interest in, but is not requesting authenticity for, 15^th century French.

Robert – Aryanhwy merch Catmael’s “French Names from Paris, 1421, 1423, & 1438” [http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/paris1423.html]counts 23 occurrences of the name, and lists it as the 12^th most popular name in the data set.

L’Etourdi – Larousse’s Dictionnaire Poche, p. 137, s.n. étourdi, gives the English translation of the modern French word as “scatterbrained”.

Googling, we found the website “Généalogie en ligne d'Océane Bonningue” [URL: http://webonningue.free.fr/genealogie/acc.html] which lists on the sub-page at [http://webonningue.free.fr/genealogie/n3.htm#1046] one < Andrieu L'Etourdi DE BERNIEULLES> born c. 1370.

6.  Snæbj{o,}rn Hákonarson– New Device

Per pale wavy Or and gules, a wolf and a bear combattant counterchanged.

His name was registered in January 2005 via Æthelmearc.

Herald of record: Ice Dragon / Alheydis von Körckhingen

7.  Tristan Gueguen de Rohan – New Name, New Device

Gules, a stag springing and in chief three holly leaves bendwise argent all within a bordure ermine.

The name is intended to be masculine. The submitter will accept all changes and cares most about the language and culture of France / Brittany of 1200-1500. The submitter is not requesting authenticity.

Tristan – Dauzat, Dictionnaire des Noms de Famille et Prénoms de France, p. 578, s.n. Tristan, states:

Tristan, parfois –ant, anc. n. de bapt. mis à la mode par les romans Bretons (fréquent fin XIIIe s., Paris, Rôles de la taille), dont le premier, sur Tristan, fut l’oevre de Beroul (vers 1150). Le n. gallois était d’abord Dristan (puis Tristan), anc. n. de druide picte (Drustan).

[Tristan, sometimes –ant, baptismal name became fashionable through the Breton romances (frequent at the end of the 13^th century, Paris, Rôles de la taille), of which the first, about Tristan, was the work of Beroul (around 1150). The Welsh name was at first Dristan (then Tristan), ancient name of the Druidic[?] Picts[?] (Drustan).] – translation by Cornelian

Aryanhwy merch Catmael, “Names from a 1587 Tax Roll from Provins” (WWW: Sara L. Friedemann, 2002) [http://www.ellipsis.cx/%7Eliana/names/french/provins1587.html] gives:

Tristan de Marchey

Tristan de Noyen

Gueguen - Dauzat, Dictionnaire des Noms de Famille et Prénoms de France, p. 311, s.n. Guéguen, states:

Guéguen+, var. Guéguin, Guéguan+, n. de fam. Breton assez répandu, anc. n. de saint Breton (Uuincon, IXe s.: guen, blanc; con, haut)

[Guéguen+, var. Guéguin, Guéguan+, fairly widespread Breton family name, ancient name of a Breton Saint (Uuincon, 9^th century: guen, white; con high)] – translation by Cornelian

The article “Etymologie et Histoire de Locmalo” [Etymology and History of Locmalo] at infoBretagne [www.infobretagne.com/locmalo.htm] states in part:

A la “montre” (reunion de tous les homes d’armes) de Vannes du 4 septembre 1481, on comptabilise la presence de 4 nobles de Locmalo.

   - les héritiers d’Ollivier GUEGUEN, en la personne d’Henry Gueguen (60 livres de revenu…

[At the mustering… of Vannes of September 4^th 1481, there were present four nobles of Locmalo.

   - the heirs of Ollivier GUEGUEN, in the person of Henry Gueguen (60 pounds income)…] – translation by Cornelian

The article “Evêché de Nantes” [Diocese of Nantes] at infoBretagne [www.infobretagne.com/eveche_de_nantes.htm] gives a numbered listing of the bishops of Nantes, Brittany, which includes no. 82, <Guillaume Gueguen>, bishop from 1500-1506.

Although the spellings in Dauzat include an acute accent over the first <e>, Colm Dubh has informed us via the SCA heralds list-serve that, “Although the accent aigu appeared in the 17th century, it was not regularized until the 18th century. For authenticity's sake I would omit the accent aigu.”

Rohan – Dauzat, Dictionnaire des Noms de Famille et Prénoms de France, p. 525, s.n. Rohan, states that this is a variant of <Roan>, the name of a locality in Morbihan, Deux-Sèvres, and of an ancient ducal fiefdom (Morbihan)

Aryanhwy merch Catmael, “Late Period French Feminine Names” (WWW: Sara L. Uckelman, 2005) [http://www.ellipsis.cx/%7Eliana/names/french/latefrench.html] has <de Rohan> in 1459, 1527, 1545, 1553, 1566, and 1575.

This concludes the Æthelmearc External Letter of Intent dated November 22, 2006. We count 4 new primary names, 1 change of primary name, and 3 new devices for a total of 8 payable items. A check for $32 will be forwarded to Laurel separately.