1 May 2001, A.S. XXXVI

Kingdom of Atenveldt

Unto Their Royal Majesties Johnathan and Etain; Their Royal Highnesses Gallochbhar and Haley; Mistress Magdelen Venturosa, Acting Aten Principal Herald; the Heralds in the Atenveldt College of Heralds; and to All Whom These Presents Come,

Greetings of the New Year from Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy, Brickbat Herald!

This is the May 2001 internal Atenveldt Letter of Intent. It precedes the external LoI that will contain the following submissions, asking questions of submitters and local heralds who have worked with them; if these questions are not addressed, the submission may be returned by the Atenveldt College of Heralds. You are encouraged to comment upon these submissions, whatever your experience level. Please have your comments to me on the submissions being considered for the 1 June LoI by 30 May. I accept online commentary: brickbat@nexiliscom.com.

Aten Principal Herald: There is a new Aten Principal Herald, Mistress Magdalen Venturosa, MP (Monique Lyon). I suspect that you will be hearing from her, but this is probably a good time to drop her a line (or an email: monique67@juno.com), introducing yourself-hey, that way we know you're out there in the hot noonday sun. Or better, the slightly cooler, noonday shade.

Direct-to-Kingdom Submissions: To repeat what was said in the April report, anyone can make a submission directly to this Office. I strongly suggest that individuals who live in a Barony, and those who live in smaller groups with a functioning Herald's Office, go through those offices. It will be noted that this "bypass" of the local office will not necessarily speed up a submission. I will see that copies of the submissions, for the local heralds' files, are provided to the submitters' local heralds.

Laurel Notification: As seen below, a number of notifications are being sent out to Atenveldt submitters, informing them of the final decision made at the most recent College of Arms meeting...the Laurel office is now current and there is no backlog of Letters of Acceptance and Return! Hopefully, this rapid notification of CoA meeting decisions will continue so that our local submitters don't get too worried as to the status of their submissions at the Laurel level.

Submissions Website: You can send electronic commentary on the most recent internal LoIs through the site, in addition to any questions you might have. Please let your local populace know about the site, too: atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com.

Please consider the following submissions for inclusion in the 1 June 2001 Atenveldt Letter of Intent:

Elizabeth (Mons Tonitrus): NEW NAME

Elizabeth is dated to this spelling in England as early as 1205 (Withycombe, p. 100). The submission runs afoul of Rules for Submission III.2.a Personal Names - "A personal name must contain a given name and at least one byname; each of these components will be called a name phrase. A byname is any name added to the given name to identify its bearer more precisely." (There are over 300 names registered with the CoA that contain Elizabeth as a name element!) The lady will need to implement her name to make it unique to her. Remember that bynames generally fall into one of four styles: patronymic (family association), personal traits (physical or other attributes), locative (place names), and occupational.

Hawk's Keep, Incipient Shire of (Meadview AZ): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Or, on a tower sable a hawk's head erased Or, environed in base by a laurel wreath vert.

While the proposed group name would be more period as Hawkskeep (note how Dragon's Lake was registered ultimately as Dragonslake), I think there is a problem with Rules for Submission V.2.a.: Difference of Descriptive Elements - "A descriptive element is a word other than a designator, an article, a preposition, or the name of abranch of the Society. Two descriptive elements are considered significantly different if they differ significantly in both sound and appearance. Descriptive elements that are not significantly different are said to be equivalent." Keye and Keep LOOK very similar, and except for the final "-p," the name would sound identical. Also bear in mind that if a group name is returned, the group armory is automatically returned ("holding names" cannot be assigned to a group by the Laurel Sovereign of Arms). There is a Kestrel's Keep in Atlantia, but according to the Armorial, it was disbanded and its name and armory released in March 1992, which permits a new group from registering the name.

[Late-breaking news: I contacted Laurel Queen about the potential conflict of the group names; she thinks that there would probably be a conflict called on Hawk's Keep. If this is the case, the entire submission would be returned, as holding names are not assigned to groups.]

As for the armory, most of the niggles are artistic. It has been determined that laurel wreaths have to be nearly circular so as to retain their identifiability, and this one looks more like two sprigs of laurel (such depictions have been returned in the past year). Against the Shire of Drachensheim, Or, a dragon passant gules, atop and its tail entwined about a tower sable, the whole within a laurel wreath gules., there should be 1 Clear Difference for the dragon, 1 CD for the addition of the tertiary charge (the

hawk's head) and 1 CD for the placement and tincture of the wreath; against the College of St. Carol on the Moor, Or, a tower sable environed of in chief three bells, one and two, azure and in base a laurel wreath vert., there is 1 CD for the addition of the tertiary and 1 CD for the addition of the secondary charges; and against Mirhaxa of Morktorn, Or, a tower sable with seven mullets in annulo

vert., there is 1 CD for the addition of the tertiary and 1 CD for the replacement of mullets (and their orientation) with the laurel wreath. A populace consent form also needs to be included with these submissions.

Katlin von Kappel (Tir Ysgithr): NEW BADGE

Per saltire sable and gules, four fleurs-de-lys, bases to center, Or.

The name was registered December 1996.

Saint Felix, College of (University of Arizona): NEW CHANGE OF DEVICE and NEW CHANGE OF BADGE

Per pale gules and azure, a scroll bendwise argent, ribboned sable, within a laurel wreath Or.

(badge) Per pale, a scroll bendwise argent, ribboned sable.

The name was registered January 1991.

The populace wishes to release the College's current device, Per pale argent and sable, two closed books palewise counterchanged, on a chief triangular Or a laurel wreath vert. The populace also wishes to release a badge currently registered to the College,(Fieldless) A closed book bendwise sinister sable, clasped and pendant from a chain Or.

The ribbon seems to be a maintained feature more than an important element of the armory, so its tincture is probably not an issue (its darkness against the dark field). I need a populace consent form stating that the majority of the populace agrees to these changes.

Saint Vladimir, Incipient College of (Northern Arizona University): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Argent, an angel argent, winged and garbed gules, crined, cuirassed and shod sable, maintaining in its dexter hand a spear bendwise and in its sinister an open book argent, in chief a laurel wreath gules.

Saint Vladimir was the first Christian sovereign of Russia, accepting Christianity (and marrying the Byzantine emperor Basil II's sister) in 987 (Encyclopedia of Russian and Slavic Myth and Legend, Mike Dixon-Kennedy, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara CA, 1998, p. 303).

According to the illustration in the Pictorial Dictionary, this is more appropriately an angel, which has its body seen, rather than a seraph, which is essentially "clothed" by one pair of folded wings. (Without a halo, one might argue that this isn't an angel, either, but merely a winged man. :) The submission does come with a populace consent form-huzzah!

The following submissions appear in the 1 May 2001 Atenveldt Letter of Intent. A number of these were received in April or involved recent Laurel returns, and required only "tweaking," rather than holding them a month for comment:

Ailill Lockhart (St. Felix): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per pale vert and gules, a falcon statant contourny argent.

Ailill is a masculine Irish Gaelic given name (pp. 17-18, O Corrain and Maguire). Lockhart is undated in Black (p. 436), but the citation mentions that the family name, originally Locard, was changed to the Lockhart spelling in the mythology of Robert the Bruce, in which an ancestor of the Lockharts secured the heart of Bruce which Douglas perilled in the fight with the Saracens in Spain (hence, "lock heart").

The blazon originally blazoned the sinister portion of the field as murray, a post-period tincture. We have reblazoned it as gules, leaving it to the submitter to choose a wide palette of shades, from a deep burgundy to a brighter scarlet, as he prefers.

Angelica Blauschild (Atenveldt): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, August 2000

Azure, a pair of wings argent conjoined by a Hungerford knot Or, a bordure ermine.

The name was registered January 1998.

Her previous submission, Azure, a pair of wings argent conjoined by a Hungerford knot Or, pendant from the knot a needle and a quill pen argent, a bordure ermine., was returned for a complexity count of nine, which is over the rule-of-thumb limit, and the inability to identify the needle and quill pen. It was also noted that the knot should be drawn thicker. The lady has dropped the maintained charges, and made the knot bolder, as requested.

David de Cochrane (St. Felix): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per fess wavy vert and azure, four scrolls bendwise sinister, two and two, argent, ribboned sable.

David is the submitter's legal given name and a Biblical name which is found in England as early as 1086; St. David (Dewi) is also the patron saint of Wales (Withycombe, pp. 79-80). de Cochrane is dated to c. 1360 (Reaney and Wilson, p. 77).

The ribbon seems to be a maintained feature more than an important element of the armory, so its tincture is probably not an issue (its darkness against the dark field).

Dirk van het Muiderslot (Tir Ysgithr): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, March 2001

The submitter's original name submission, Dirk de Tovenaar, was returned because the byname means "Wizard" and thus violates RfS VI.2: "Names containing elements that allude to powers that the submitter does not possess are considered presumptuous". His device was held under the holding name Dirk of Tir Ysgithr. The by-name, van het Muiderslot, is Dutch, "from the Castle of Muiden". Het Muiderslot is an 11th-century castle located near Amsterdam, restored in 1370 (http://www.muiderslot.demon.nl).

Elzbieta Rurikovna (Tir Ysgithr): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per pale azure, ermined argent, and argent, ermined azure, a cross formy counterchanged.

Elzbieta is cited as a feminine given name, the Polish equivalent of Elizabeth; and Elzbieta av Polen (1153-1209) is cited in http://www.charlamov.com/gen/vendela.kat/sida0/h_____re.htm (5 underscores). The byname indicates that the submitter's husband's name is Rurik and that this construction shows their relationship. However, according to "Paul Goldschmidt's Dictionary of Russian Names-Grammar," this most likely means, "daughter of Rurik"; the article zhena is included in the name to connote a husband's name ( http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/zgrammar.html). Whatever the case, this is a well-constructed Slavic name.

A few less ermine spots might be appealing to the submitter when she has to draw this over and over and over again. :)

Iosobail de Lockford (Tir Ysgithr): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Agent, a unicorn couchant and on a chief double-arched purpure, three lilies argent.

Isobail is a Gaelic form of Isobel, cited in "Some Scottish Gaelic Feminine Names," by Arval Benicoeur ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/scotgaelfem/). Johannes de Lokforde was a juror (1398), and an Adam de Loukforde is also mentioned living c. 1455, in Black's Surnames of Scotland, p. 436). We hope that the more modern spelling of the family name with the particle de is considered a reasonable varient.

John Michael Midwinter (Tir Ysgithr): NEW BADGE

(Fieldless) A mascle per fess gules and Or.

The name was registered October 2000.

Although similar to other very simple pieces of armory, including Daniel de Lincoln, (Fieldless) A mascle gules., and Aveline Guillemot, (Fieldless) A mascle per pale Or and gules., there are the necessary two CD's, one for fieldlessness, and the other for differences in tincture of the sole primary charge.

Katherine Tapester (Ered Sul): NEW NAME CHANGE and DEVICE CHANGE

Vert, on a maunch argent, a domestic cat dormant sable.

The name is English. Katherine is an undated form of the popular saint's name (p. 186, Withycombe). Tapester is an occupational byname, referring to a woman who taps or draws ale or other liquor for sale at an inn (OED Online, http://diciontary. oed.com/).

The submitter's currently registered name is Katrin Aerenlae and bears the device Per bend sinister wavy azure and vert, a bend sinister wavy between an eagle rising and a windmill Or. If the submissions are registered, she wishes to release the currently-held name and device.

Mons Tonitrus, Barony of, Ordo Stellae Argentae: ORDER NAME RESUBMISSION from Laurel, November 2000

The name is Latin (in keeping with the language of the Barony's name), "Order of the Silver Star." The original name, "Order of the Silver Stars of Mons Tonitrus," was returned because plural nouns are not allowed in order names. Also, according to RfS V.2.a, names of SCA branches are not descriptive elements; they are invisible when determining whether a conflict exists. This name therefore conflicts with the US military decoration of Silver Star. Translating the name should clear the conflict. If registered, it should be associated with the registered badge, (Fieldless) On a pile inverted within and issuant from an annulet sable, in base a mullet of eight points argent.

Nathaniel Constantine of Saxony (Tir Ysgithr): NEW BADGE

Argent, a sun sable charged with a mullet of four points.

The name was registered November 1991. The mullet is an element from his registered device. The sun would benefit from being a little smaller and having its rays a little longer so that it couldn't be mistaken for a very peculiar bordure treatment.

Rebekah Rose O'Kelly (Mons Tonitrus): NEW NAME

Rebekah is a Hebrew name that became commonly used in England after the Reformation (by Christians-the Jews were using it long before!) (Withycombe, p. 251). Rose is dated back to 1316 with this spelling (Withycombe, p. 258). O'Kelly is the Anglicized form of the Irish family name Ó Ceallaigh (MacLysaght, p. 175). While this name has been "Englished," given the Irish origins of the surname, it is reasonable to justify this as a late period Irish name (some Englishman has muddled in and changed the spelling, but for most of us, having the English form permits a more accurate pronunciation of the name!).

Sebastiana Gerynot Fanelli. (Atenveldt): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, December 2000

Per pale gules and purpure, on a pale Or between two rapiers inverted proper, a wooden-handled jester's bauble proper, hooded alternately purpure and gules.

The name was registered July 1997.

His previous submission, Per pale gules and purpure, on a pale Or between two rapiers inverted proper, a jester's bauble proper, staffed bendy sinister argent and alternately gules and purpure, and hooded alternately purpure and gules., was returned because

no evidence has been presented for the coloration of the staff. Treatments of the field were not necessarily used as treatments for charges, and therefore are not sufficient documentation to register this treatment of the staff. He has changed the tincture of the staff.

Steffan le Stalkere (Tir Ysgithr): NEW BADGE

Per pale argent and azure, a sun counterchanged.

The name was registered February 1997.

This is based on his device, also registered February 1997, Per pale argent and azure, a sun between four mullets, two and two, counterchanged. Although the sun is big and beefy, it is not throughout.

Tyock MacKay of Marwode (Tir Ysgithr): CHANGE OF HOLDING NAME, February 1997

The original name submission, Tigra McKay of Marwode, was returned because no documentation was provided, nor could any be found, documenting Tigra as a period given name; an ongoing search has resulted in nothing. Her armory was registered under the holding name Karen McKay of Marwode

Tyock is the non-Gaelic spelling of an unidentified Gaelic name; it is cited in "Some Scottish Gaelic Feminine Names," by Arval Benicoeur ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/scotgaelfem/).

The following Atenveldt submissions were registered by the S.C.A. College of Arms at its February 2001 meeting:

Ailionóra inghean uí Echmarchaigh. Name change from holding name Ailionora of Tir Ysgithr.

Submitted as Ailonóra ni Echm ercach, the byname mixed Anglicized and Gaelic orthographies. We have made it entirely Gaelic and changed it to the genitive case to be grammatically correct. We have also changed the given name back to the form used in the holding name, as that matches the submitted documentation.

Ásta Þorvaldsdóttir. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Submitted as Ásta Torvaldsdóttir, we have changed the spelling of the byname to match the submitted documentation.

Bartolo di Benci. Name and device. Gules, on a lozenge between in cross four horses rampant Or a horse rampant gules.

Cecilia Kandzierzawa. Name and device. Azure, a swan rousant contourny wings elevated, inverted and addorsed argent maintaining a lute Or, a bordure ermine.

Submitted as Cecilia Kedzierzawy, the byname was in a misspelled masculine form. She requested an authentic name, so we have changed it to a period form in addition to making it feminine. The device is clear of Martin le Harpur of Faulkbourne, reblazoned elsewhere in this letter, Azure, in pale a falcon rising wings displayed argent perched on a harp Or, a bordure ermine. As the harp also one of the primary charges and there is a CD for type between a falcon rising and a swan rousant, there are two CDs for number and type of primary charges, as well as a third for the difference in posture ( wings addorsed vs. wings displayed) between the two birds.

Danyel Vendredi de Lyon. Name and device. Per pale vert and argent, a compass star counterchanged, on a chief sable a spear argent.

John Turner of Kingsbridge. Name.

Jonete Malisoun. Device. Per bend sinister indented sable and vert, a bend sinister indented between two roses argent.

Li Ming Fa. Device. Vert, in fess a lotus flower affronty argent between two lions sejant respectant guardant each with a forepaw raised Or.

Maria Elena Hurtado de Mendoza. Name and device. Per pale azure and purpure, a triquetra Or between the wings of a winged horse's head couped argent.

The following submissions were returned by the College of Arms for further work, February 2001:

Ásta Þorvaldsdóttir. Device. Purpure, a chevron couched from dexter interlaced with a chevron couched from sinister Or between two arrows, overall an arrow inverted argent.

This violates the ban on depictions of the same charge in two different sizes on the field. As drawn, it is unclear if the arrows on the sides are intended to be secondaries or overall charges.

Franziska Geredrudis Kesselheim. Name.

Withycombe, used to document the given names, does not date Franziska . The closest period form we could find was Francesca, in Italy. However, as no forms were received we have to return this submission.

Kayleigh von Brückenheim. Device. Or, an artist's brush and a reed pen inverted in saltire sable between flaunches azure each charged with a tower Or.

The new submission does not solve the problem from the previous submission. There are still two similar but non-identical charges on the device (the pen and the brush), a practice which has been prohibited for some time. Making them primary charges does not change the problem.

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy. Alternate name Baga Bagbaazai.

The documentation for the name was insufficient: while the construction was cited as period, nothing was said about the words used. Also, the source used is not on the no-photocopy list, but we received no copies. ( AAARGH!)

The following Atenveldt submissions were registered by the S.C.A. College of Arms at its March 2001 meeting:

Brenda MacGhie of Kintyre. Name and device. Per pall Or azure and purpure, a heart gules and two crossbows Or.

Brenda is her legal given name.

Charles the Bull. Badge. Sable, on a Celtic cross argent a thistle purpure.

Christoffel van Bovingne. Name and device. Per chevron Or and sable, a chevron and in chief two bulls rampant addorsed gules.

Submitted as Christoffel von Bovisse, the byname was originally submitted as Bovine. While the College was not able to find documentation for either of these bynames, there is a town of Bovingne in Belgium. As he wished to retain the sound of the name we have changed the name accordingly.

Constantina von Ravenna. Name and device. Per pale azure and Or, an escarbuncle between in bend sinister an increscent and a decrescent counterchanged.

While the byname would appear to mix German and Italian in a single name element, it turns out that Ravenna is also the German form of the name.

Dirk of Tir Ysgithr. Holding name and device. Gules, two bendlets wavy and in sinister chief a natural dolphin naiant embowed argent.

Submitted under the name Dirk de Tovenaar

Erik the Relentless. Name and device. Purpure chapé ployé, a standing seraph argent.

Etain of Atenveldt. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per fess azure and vert, on a plate a raspberry fesswise gules slipped vert.

Submitted under the name of Etain und Ruprecht von Tielwasser.

Garrand the Silent. Name and device. Per pale argent and Or, two wyverns erect respectant tails entwined the dexter gules and the sinister sable.

Submitted as Garran the Silent, the LoI argued that the byname MacGarran implies that there was a Garran to be Mac of. Unfortunately for the submitter, this appears not to be the case: Woulfe, in Irish Names and Surnames, suggests that the byname means either "son of Arachán" or "son of Farachán". However, Morlet, Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de L'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siècle vol. III, lists Garrandus; this is Latinised, and Garrand is a reasonable vernacular form. We have made this change.

Honor Catlin MacCurtain. Name change from holding name Honor of Sundragon.

Submitted as Honor Caitlin MacCurtain, this name was a resubmission. The earlier submission, Honor Caitlin nic Curtin , was returned for the two weirdnesses of using a double given name in an Irish name and mixing Gaelic and Anglicized spellings. Unfortunately, the submitter misread the return. Instead of dropping the Gaelic second given name, as suggested by Laurel, she changed the patronymic, which was already in an Anglicized form. We have changed the second given name to a Middle English form found in Withycombe's The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names.

Jonathan Crusadene Whitewolf the Younger. Name change from Jonathan the Younger.

Submitted as Johnathan Crusadene Whitewolf e the Younger, we have changed the spelling to match his father's registered name. His former name is released.

Mara Toole. Name and device. Purpure, on a pale between two harps argent two harps purpure.

Mikolaj de Bracy. Name and device. Argent semy-de-lys, a bend sinister gules.

Molon Munokhoi Tsagaan. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Rhys Ravenscroft. Name.

Sebastian Wolff. Device. Or, a saltire sable surmounted by two battleaxes addorsed gules, a bordure sable.

Shelley of Windale. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Azure, a scimitar fesswise argent between in pale two camels statant Or.

Submitted under the name Asmarani al-Aswan.

Tehmuginn Burgudjerekh. Device. Purpure, a heart and on a chief wavy argent three mullets inverted azure.

William of Ravenscroft. Device. Purpure semy of rivets Or, a goldsmith's framesaw bendwise argent, on a chief Or, three Bowen crosses sable.

The submitter provided documentation for this depiction of a saw.

Wulfstan Egweald. Badge (see RETURNS for household name). Per pale Or and sable, a tower between two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.

The following submissions were returned by the College of Arms for further work, March 2001:

Asmarani al-Aswani. Name.

The only documentation for the given name was the assertion of a native Arabic speaker that it was a name. However, in most cases a native speaker does not know very much about period naming practice. This, therefore, is not sufficient documentation -- it would be similar to accepting the word of the submitter as documentation for an English name. Since the College could not find documentation for the name we have to return it. Her device has been registered under the holding name Shelley of Windale.

Dirk de Tovenaar. Name.

The byname means "Wizard" and thus violates RfS VI.2: "Names containing elements that allude to powers that the submitter does not possess are considered presumptuous". Barring evidence that he is a wizard, or that this byname was used by normal humans in period, we have to return this. His device has been registered under the holding name Dirk of Tir Ysgithr

Etain und Ruprecht von Tielwasser. Name.

This name has several problems. First, it mixes German and Gaelic elements. Second, the submitter provided no evidence that und, which is the normal German word for "and", was used in a patronymic construction. The College was not able to find such evidence either. Finally, as Metron Ariston put it, "As far as Tielwasser is concerned under Tilbeck, Bahlow (Deutschlands geographische Namenwelt, pp. 482 - 483) shows the river T(h)iele, but I have been unable to find a clear pattern for the use of wasser as the second element in this formation. Most of those in Bahlow use something like beck or bach. If she used a similar-sounding German feminine name like Adine, I could buy into something like Adine Ruprecht von Tiele." Her device has been registered under the holding nameEtain of Atenveldt.

Franziska Geredrudis Kesselheim. Device. Gules, a pall inverted Or between two unicorns combattant argent and a natural tiger couchant argent marked sable.

The name was returned in February 2000, in part because we received no name forms. Without the name forms it is not possible to know if the submitter will allow the formation of a holding name. Therefore we must return the device as well.

Molon Munokhoi Tsagan. Device. Gules, on a bezant four roundels two and two gules.

The device is in technical violation of XI.4, Arms of Pretense, "Armory that uses charges which themselves are charged in such a way as to appear to be arms of pretense is considered presumptuous. Period and modern heraldic practice asserts a claim to land or property by surmounting an individual's usual armory with a display of armory associated with that claim. Such arms of pretense are most commonly placed on an inescutcheon or lozenge, but may also appear on other geometric charges such as roundels, cartouches, etc. For this reason, such charges may not be charged in such a way as to suggest independent arms. Such charges may not contain an ordinary that terminates at the edge, or more than one charge." As the device contains a roundel charged with more than one charge, it must be returned.

Wulfstan Egweald. Household name House Darkspire.

No documentation was provided that either this name or similar constructions were used in period; the College was not able to provide such documentation either. Also, the issue was raised whether the name sounds like something from a role-playing game to such an extent that it should be considered obtrusively modern.

I remain,

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy

c/o Linda Miku

2527 East 3^rd Street

Tucson AZ 85716

bagbaazai@nexiliscom.com