1 October 2000, A.S. XXXV
Kingdom of Atenveldt

Unto Their Royal Majesties Mathias and Sarolta; Lady Isabel d'Avron, Aten Principal Herald; the Heralds in the Atenveldt College of Heralds; and to All Whom These Presents Come,

Greetings from Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy, Brickbat Herald!

This is the October 2000 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, even if you fear that you might not have enough "experience" to offer your opinion. Please have commentary to me by 25 October. I accept electronic commentary: brickbat@nexiliscom.com.

Heraldic Consultation Tables: There will not be a Consultation Table at the Southern Crusade as originally intended. I will be going out of town that Sunday (in the opposite direction), and getting ready for that trip while spending half the weekend at the Crusade is a little too much for me.

The Consultation Table run Saturday at Kingdom Collegium was very popular; all submissions taken at the Table appear below, in those submissions to consider for next month's LoI.

Notification Letters: Several local heralds have told me that they do not mind downloading these ILoIs when they appear on the submissions website (yeah, a bit of change saved for photocopying and postage!). However, these heralds will continue to receive copies of the letters of notification that I send to any submitters in their group; these office copies should be kept, in the event that the submitter loses his/her copy of notification, and so the local herald knows what the final resolution of a local submission is.

Also, if a local herald has an e-mail address and has not contacted me as to preference of receiving a hard or a soft copy of these letters, I will be sending them the electronic copy only, until otherwise advised.

Name Documentation: I am being inundated by thick packets of name documentation, much of it useless. If one GOOD source of a name is found (e.g., articles in the Medieval Names Archive online or from the sources listed in the College of Arms Administrative Handbook), I don't need one or two other pieces of documentation for the same element! I am going to try and remember to include a bibliography at the end of my internal LoI's which will list "good" sources.

You might note, if you are a local herald passing on a submission, that I might not use a piece of documentation that you know was sent with the submissions packet; in all likelihood, that was a poor name source (such as Kolatch, Younge, or Hanks and Hodges); I have replaced the provided documentation with something that the College of Arms will accept.

Submissions Website: The online site is up and running! You can send electronic commentary on the most recent internal LoIs (like this one) through the site. Please let your local populace know about the site, too: atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com.

Please consider the following submissions for inclusion in the November LoI (if I bring up questions or comments about a submission, local heralds or anyone who knows the submitter should attempt to contact them for clarification, so that the submission process is not delayed...thanks):

Camilla Anthea Ó Rioghbárdáin (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Gules, on a Latin cross extended throughout palewise argent, a shamrock vert.

The first two elements were used as English given names (in that Withycombe documents a single citation of Camilla to 1205 (p. 57), and Anthea as a Greek epithets used by 17^th C. pastoral poets like Robert Herrick (p. 27). The byname is the Old Irish spelling for the more modern Riordan (p. 258, MacLysaght). Since the Old Irish spelling is being used, I am assuming that an Irish name is desired. Period Irish names did not use double given name. Since Anthea is post-period as well, the best way of solving the double-given name issue and the use of a non-period name element is to drop Anthea. (I doubt that Camilla was any more common in Ireland than it seems to be in England at the time, and I might suggest a more "modern" use of the byname, like Riordan, which comes closer to the use of classical names, at least in some parts of Western Europe, during the Renaissance-I'd be happy to see Anthea dropped.)

There is a conflict with the Robert Roundpounder: Gules, upon a Latin cross argent a sword inverted argent, hilted sable, enflamed radiant from the blade gules. There is only one Clear Difference for the tertiary charges (a black and red sword vs. a green shamrock gives at least two differences needed between them, for tincture and for type). There is also a conflict with Norway: Gules, on a cross argent another azure., for the same reason. RfS X.2.b (simple armory) only applies to charges that themselves are not charged. When resubmitting, the submitter might wish to consider using a true Latin cross (a charge) or a true cross (that extends throughout the field with all arms): the CoA might consider this "halfway" cross too visually confusing ("is it an ordinary? is it a Latin cross?").

Christoffel van de Bovine (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per chevron Or and sable, a chevron and in chief two bulls rampant addorsed gules.

The name is German. Christoffel is found in "Late Period German Masculine Given Names," by Talan Gwynek, a name found in 15^th C. Arnsburg (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germmasc/arnsburg15.html). Unfortunately, the submitter includes a lot of other documentation that doesn't address the byname. Van de looks Dutch (a German locative is more likely to be von dem or vom or something similar, based on the gender of the placename). Locatives mean that there is a place with this name, not that someone is associated with a living thing (like being part of a family); if one were a cattleherd or dealt with cattle, it is more likely that this would be an occupational byname (der (German term for cattleherd)). Livestock associated with geographical places are seen in names like Oxford, but in an internet search, I didn't find a period placename with Bovine. There is a Bovisse, Belgium. The bottom line is that unless a Bovine placename is found (or something similar), the name doesn't make sense. Please bear in mind that while the name is a Germanic, terms such as bovine, ovine, etc., are Latin in derivation and unlikely to have been used as a Germanic name element. The very similar-sounding Beauvin has been recently registered to someone in this kingdom, and the submitter might consider that (it is a French-derived byname, so van de would need to be dropped).

Constantina von Ravenna (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per pale azure and Or, an escarbuncle between in bend sinister an increscent and a decrescent counterchanged.

Constantina was the daughter of the emperor Constantine; the submitter provides documentation for the name of this 4^th C. woman in Art and the Roman Viewer by Jas Elsner (Cambridge University Press), pp. 255. Ravenna is a northern Italian city, which fell under the "German" rule of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Medieval Civilization, Aryeh Grabois, Octopus Books, p. 740). The submitter wishes to use the German preposition von ("from") to show that she is an Italian woman from Ravenna living in Germany.

This is teetering on the edge of slot-machine heraldry, with three dissimilar charges in an arrangement one would expect to see identical charges (in period armory); however, increscent/decrescent combinations are usually granted some leeway in this regard, given the modern concept of mirror symmetry.

Dascha Alexandrovna Rostova (Atenveldt): NEW NAME CHANGE, from Dasiya Alexandrovna Rostova, August 1992

The name is Russian. She wishes to use a diminutive of the given name Dorofei; her original name submission (which has had the documentation go south) cited Dascha as a nickname for Dorofei; at that time, the College of Arms did not register nicknames/diminutives, and the name was registered as Dorofei.... January 1987. She submitted a name change, Dasiya...., in 1992, and it was registered August 1992. (Neither of these were holding names.) Our current standard for period Russian names is Paul Wickenden of Thanet's Dictionary of Period Russian Names, and Dascha is not shown as a nickname for Dorofei in it; the closest name to it is a masculine nickname, Dasha, dated to 1633. I've no idea if the original documentation for Dascha is accurate, since the submitter's file is very thin and is missing any name documentation whatsoever. Also, this should be treated as a new name submission, as there is no indication that either Dorofei... or Dasiya... were considered to be "holding names." I will go through online Russian name sources and see if I can find anything there.

Etain und Ruprecht von Tielwasser (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Vert, on a plate a raspberry gules slipped vert, a chief wavy-crested azure.

Etain is the Anglicized form of the Irish Etaoin (Withycombe, p. 107), or the old Irish woman's name Étaín (Ó Corráin and Maguire, p. 90). und Ruprecht is stated to be German and is "common usage," meaning "daughter of Ruprecht" (Ruprechht itself comes from the Old German Hrodebert and is the German form of Robert, p. 260, Withycombe, under Rupert). I have never seen this use of "und X" as a patronymic indicating a daughter's relationship, and some solid documentation would be appreciated (and needed). Von Tielwasser is German, "of Tiel water" or "of the water of Tiel". Documentation is provided that shows Tiel as a medieval port city in the Netherlands on the Waal River (http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/printable/5/0,5722,74305,00.html). While I suspect a German might refer to someone living in Tiel as von Tiel, using his own language's preposition, I don't think that Tielwasser makes much sense.

As mentioned below in the submitter's first device submission, there are a number of problems that have not been addressed. Again, this design must be returned for tincture conflict: the chief is a charge, and as such, violates the rule of tincture by having color (azure chief) on color (vert field). This particular depiction also uses a complex line of division that is not period, and the way that the chief is drawn, somewhere between a chief and a fess line, would most likely have this returned for ambiguity. In addition, this is in conflict with a badge registered to the Barony of Naevehjem: Vert, on a plate within an annulet Or, an ermine spot gules. There is 1 CD for change of secondary charges (annulet to chief), but no CD for the tertiary charge on the plate (ermine spot vs. raspberry). The lady might consider, among changing the tincture of the chief, to dividing the field Per pale vert and azure, or using multiple plate/raspberry combinations on the field, perhaps Per fess azure and vert, three plates, each charged with a raspberry... As always, any modifications would need to be checked for other conflicts.

(The good news is HRH Etain has spoken with us, and I think we're going to have "something" all by next month!)

Johnathan Crusadene Whitewolfe the Younger (Atenveldt): NEW NAME CHANGE from Jonathan the Younger

The name is English. The submitter provides permission to conflict with the registered name of his father, Count Johnathan Crusadene Whitewolfe.

Mikoaj de Bracy (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Argent, semy-de-lys, a bend sinister gules.

Mikoaj is found as the name of a 16^th C. Polish prince (Historical Dictionary of Poland, George Sanford and Adriana Gozdecka-Sanford, The Scarecrow Press, Inc., London, 1994, p. 162). Robert de Bracy was a Norman, c. 1080, who held three knights' fee in Cheshire (The Norman People, Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc., Baltimore, p. 171).

Molon Munokhoi Tsagaan (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Gules, on a bezant four roundels, two and two, gules.

The name is Mongolian; all elements are taken from "Mongolian Naming Practices," by Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy. The second and third elements mean "bad dog" and "white," respectively, and it seems that if the submitter wants the byname "Bad White Dog", he might consider Tsagaanmunokhoi or Munokhoitsagaan-name elements are often run together, and the second option allows the name to be alliterative, a common theme in Mongolian names.

This is the usual arrangement of four identical charges, but adding "two and two" removes any uncertainty. This might run afoul of RoS XI.4, Arms of Pretense (the reason for Dougal's return below), with multiple charges on a charge that could be construed as a armorial display, but these are identical charges. (In case you might've been wondering, the submitter's legal surname is Button...)

O'Mara Toole (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Purpure, on a pale between two harps argent, two harps purpure.

Both names are Anglicized forms of Irish Gaelic family names Ó Meadhra and Ó Tuathail (p. 212 and p. 288, respectively, MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland). FOLKS! PLEASE STOP USING A DICTIONARY OF SURNAMES BY HANKS AND HODGES! IT IS A POOR SOURCE! While either is acceptable, the name submission is lacking a given name, and there is no edivence that double surnames were used in Ireland in period (this might be somewhat different, given that the names are Anglicized, but late period English names with double surnames were most likely based on English surnames, and I can't say when this transliterating Irish family names came into practice). However, Mara is a woman's Biblical name and can be registered as a name from a Bible source (rather like saints' names), so if the submitter might consider Mara Toole, or Mara O'Toole, the problem would be solved.

Rhys Ravenscroft (Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per bend sinister gules and sable, a bend sinister between two horses' heads respectant, heads erased palewise, Or.

Rhys is a popular Welsh masculine name (p. 185, Welsh Surnames, Morgan and Morgan). The byname is found in A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames by C. W. Bardsley, p. 637; Ravenscroft designates a resident of this township Middlewich, County Chester, and the reference sites a Martin Raynscrofte living there in 1565. This is excellent name documentation, provided by the submitter.

This might be in conflict (and, unfortunately, I think it is) with Zinaida Likhitovna Umanskaya: Per bend sinister gules and sable, a bend sinister between a pomegranate and a bear's head erased Or. There might be only one Clear Difference for changes to the secondary charges. Barring conflict, the submitter might consider cotising the bend sinister or making it erminois or Or, ermined gules. Also, the period depiction of a horse head, whether couped or erased, appears to be with the edge placed along a horizontal axis, so that it looks like chess knights; we had a resubmission run afoul of this and be returned by Laurel. It would be a shame to have a submission returned for that type of reason.

Wulfstan Egweald (Mons Tonitrus): NEW HOUSEHOLD NAME "House Darkspire" and NEW BADGE

Per pale Or and sable, a tower between two fleurs-de-lys counterchanged.

The submitter's primary persona name was registered December 1992.

The household name is made up of common English elements; while a thing might be more likely to have been blazoned as "black" in period, the concept of something gloomy, non-illuminated, devoid of light is a fairly period concept (there are similar examples of its use in SCA names, none too recent, going back to 1990 (Dark Oak, Dark Glen) and 1993 and 1995 (Dark Woods). There is a named registered to Jumare of the Dark Spire in January 1974. I ask that you look through the RfS to see if, since the submitter does not know Jumare (and there are good odds that Jumare is no longer active in the SCA) whether he might be able to use the household name or whether it would conflict with Jumare's name, or if this is a non-issue. There is nothing in the Armorial to suggest that Jumare registered a household name with these elements.

The following submissions appear in the 1 October 2000 Atenveldt Letter of Intent:

Asmarani al-Aswani: NEW NAME and DEVICE (Azure, a scimitar fesswise, blade to base, argent between two camels statant Or.)

The submitter was contacted about her name and has chosen a locative to serve as the second element of the submission; Aswan is an ancient Egyptian city on the Nile. I think, according to some examples in Da'ud ibn Auda's Arabic naming practices articles, that this is the correct way to form a locative.

Brenda MacGhie of Kintyre: NAME RESUBMISSION from Laurel, April 2000; NEW DEVICE (Tierced per pall Or, azure and purpure, a heart gules and two crossbows Or.)

Erik the Relentless: NAME and DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, September and July 2000 (Purpure, chape ployé, a standing seraph argent.)

Franziska Geredrudis Kesselheim: NEW DEVICE (Gules, a pall inverted Or between two unicorns rampant combattant argent and a natural tiger couchant argent, marked sable.)

The name appears in the 1 September 2000 Atenveldt LoI.

Prism Pursuivant informs me that the unicorns' posture and accouterments (beard, cloven hooves, lions' tails, in addition to the horses) had gone wandering through reconstruction of this device on a computer; the submitter happily accepts the beast in a standard heraldic posture and depicted as heraldic unicorns.

Garran the Silent: NAME and DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Kingdom, August 1998 (Per pale argent and Or, two wyverns combatant, the dexter gules and the sinister sable, tails interlaced.)

Honor Caitlin MacCurtain: NAME CHANGE from HOLDING NAME (Honor of Sundragon), Laurel, April 2000

The submitter has chosen MacCurtain as her family name.

Sebastian Wolff (Atenveldt): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Kingdom, June 2000

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

The name appears in the 1 June 2000 Atenveldt Letter of Intent.

The original submission (Gules, a chevron and a chevron inverted conjoined at the points sable, surmounted by two battle-axes addorsed (or, hafts to center) Or, a bordure sable.) was returned by the Atenveldt CoH for tincture violation (plus an unusual use of and potentially confusing use of two ordinaries). The submitter has modified the design slightly (using a saltire) and rearranged the tintures to solve that problem.

Teh-Mu-Ginn Burgud Jerekh: NEW DEVICE (Purpure, a heart and on a chief wavy argent three mullets azure.)

The name appears on the 1 July 2000 Atenveldt Letter of Intent.

The original device submission, with purple stars, was held at kingdom (July 2000), as there was a very close piece of armory in the Ordinary that might've posed a conflict; the submitter has changed the tincture of the mullets to clear this potential conflict.

William of Ravenscroft: DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, April 2000 (Purpure, semy of rivets Or, a goldsmith's framesaw set bendwise argent, on a chief Or, three Bowen crosses sable.)

The name was registered April 2000.

The greater question was the documentation of the saw. We are greatly indebted to Baron Ranulf of Waterford (Gary Halstead) of the Barony of Ponte Alto in Atlantia, for providing photocopies of this type of saw, dated to 1565. They are taken from Walther Bernt's Altes Werkzeug (München: Callwey, 1977, Tables 36 and 37). It is called a fretsaw (laubsäge) in the text. Now, the term fretsaw doesn't enter the English language until the 19^th C., according to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, and a common modern term for it, a " jeweler's" framesaw enters in the 17^th C. However, the concept of a fret, being an interlacing or decorative ornament, is used by Chaucer. We ask that the College of Arms consider using a more modern term for this period tool, so that Anachronists will be more likely to develop an accurate vision of the tool. The submitter suggests a "goldsmith's framesaw," as in period, makers of ornamentation were more known by the metal of their trades (gold, tin, iron) than as jewelers. (Years ago, the beasts in Philip of Loch Shelldrake's armory were blazoned as Great Danes, since although the breed was a period one, the term "Great Dane" was not-the dogs were known as butchers' dogs, a term that is unknown to all except the most avid breeder or dog-lover. We feel that William's blazon fits into this argument.)

The following submissions were returned by the Atenveldt College of Heralds, September 2000:

Treasa Callan (Sundragon): NAME RESUBMISSION from Laurel, January 1999, and DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Kingdom, August 1998

Argent, a natural leopard's head erased purpure, marked argent.

Prism Pursuivant is going to speak with the lady concerning problems with the given name. The submitter is happy with the redrawn leopard's head, and when the resubmission is made, this is the design that will be used.

RETURNED pending documentation/change of given name; device okay.

Etain und Ruprecht von Tielwasser (Atenveldt): NEW DEVICE

Vert, on a plate a raspberry gules, capped vert, a chief azure.

The device is being returned for tincture conflict: the chief is a charge, and as such, violates the rule of tincture by having color (azure chief) on color (vert field). In addition, this is in conflict with a badge registered to the Barony of Naevehjem: Vert, on a plate within an annulet Or, an ermine spot gules. There is 1 CD for change of secondary charges (annulet to chief), but no CD for the tertiary charge on the plate (ermine spot vs. raspberry). Several heralds commented that the raspberry looked like a strawberry, but that really isn't a problem-the badge cited above is. The lady might consider, among changing the tincture of the chief, to dividing the field Per pale vert and azure, or using multiple plate/raspberry combinations on the field.

RETURNED for multiple problems with device (along with the one near the beginning of this letter); I will contact the lady and offer some potential options for her. (Again, I am consulting with the lady on several similar designs.)

The following submissions were registered by the College of Arms at its June 2000 meeting:

Gunnarr Gunnlaugsson af Bláskógi. Device. Sable, a saltire triply parted and fretted argent between four mascles Or.

Rowan of Clonmacnoise. Name and device. Purpure, an opinicus statant Or and in chief a crescent argent, a bordure engrailed Or.

Please instruct the submitter to draw a thicker bordure with larger and fewer engrailings.

Sabine Bryght of Ash. Name.

Simon Kerbouchard. Name.

Submitted as Simon Ker Bouchard, no evidence was given for the combination of an Irish byname followed by a French surname of apparently patronymic origin. Dauzat (Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille et des prénoms de France) tells that the initial element ker is a Breton word meaning "village"; Morlet (Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille) notes further that it is cognate to the caer found in Britain. It is stated to frequently appear in toponymic formations for the names of domains followed by the name of an ancient owner. As Bouchard is an ancient baptismal name, Kerbouchard would seem to follow such known examples as Kerdavid and Kerjean.

Thomas Alaric. Name and device. Per pale azure and Or, two elephants salient addorsed, a bordure counterchanged.

The following submissions were returned for further work by the CoA at its June 2000 meeting:

William of Ravenscroft. Device. Purpure, semy of nails Or, a jewelers saw set bendwise argent, on a chief Or three Bowen crosses sable.

This is the defining instance of a jewelers saw; therefore, the item must be documented as a period artifact and evidence must be given showing that this emblazon matches period forms. The only documentation given for this artifact dates to the 18th century, well out of our period. In addition, the nail appears to be a cross between a nail and a rivet. This type of nail must also be documented as a period artifact before it can be used in arms.

The following submissions were registered by the CoA at its July 2000 meeting (the Estrella Consultation Table submissions!):

Brian Broadaxe. Device. Argent, goutty inverted, a demon and on a chief azure two winged boars passant argent.

Briged O'Daire. Household name House Kegs End.

Submitted as Keg's End, Smith, English Place-Name Elements, under ende lists Sewards End. Forming a hypothetical place name in the form <surname>s + End seems therefore reasonable. We have, however, removed the apostrophe, to conform with period usage. Similarly we have added the household designator as required by the Rules for Submissions III.2.b.

Caitlín inghean uí Shirideáin. Name.

Submitted as Caitlin O'Sirideain, we have changed the gender of the clan designator to match the given name. Since she is interested in an authentic 16th century Irish name, we have also added the accents to the given and clan names.

Charles the Bear. Name and device. Argent, two bear's heads erased, addorsed, and conjoined proper.

Christian of Sundragon. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per fess azure and vert, a swept-hilt rapier argent impaling a heart Or.

Submitted under the name Ashir al-Zahir.

Damiana da Firenze. Name and device. Bendy sinister sable and Or, a horse's head cabossed and wearing a chamfron gules.

Submitted as Damiana Forenze, she requested an authentic Italian name. We have therefore changed the spelling of the byname to a documented form and added the preposition to make it a typical locative byname.

David Macalpin of Dalcross. Name and device. Azure, a lion's head cabossed Or pierced of a sword inverted, on a chief enarched argent two crosses of Cleves gules.

Deille of Farnham. Device. Or, on a saltire vert a cat sejant guardant Or, overall an orle counterchanged. Dougal O'Sirideain. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Egan of Atenveldt. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Argent, a rapier inverted bendwise sinister between two dumbeks sable headed Or.

Submitted under the name Egan Taitnyssagh Smilebringer.

Elspeth Flannagann. Name and device. Per chevron argent and gules, two hands couped sable and a foi throughout argent.

Gallchobar macc Faelchon. Name and device. Per pale gules and argent, two dragons combattant counterchanged, on a base embattled Or a Celtic cross sable.

Submitted as Gallchobar MacFaelechoin, he requested an authentic 6th-8th century Irish name. This time period is problematical, since it falls right in the transition between Ogham inscriptions and Old Irish documents. Since no direct precursors of either name were found in a search through the Ogham material, we have changed the name to a form suggested by the most archaic Old Irish forms. Please ask submitter to draw more embattlements on the base.

Gareth of Bloodwine Gorge. Badge. (Fieldless) A sword inverted entwined by a serpent argent.

This is clear of Barbara Fitzhugh de Brandhard, Azure, a sword inverted proper entwined widdershins of a poppy proper. As with the snake, the poppy is large enough to count as a co-primary charge and therefore there are CDs for changing the type and tincture of half the primary charge group.

Giovanna Beatrice di Grazia. Name and device. Vert, three bees within an orle Or.

Gõcauo Diego Ramiriç. Name and device. Per bend argent and Or, two crescents gules, a bordure charged with the words "Verdade Honra E Sobretudo" argent.

Please inform the submitter that a translation of the text should be included with the submission. In this case members of my staff were able to provide the translation of the original phrase "Verdade Sobretudo E Honra" as "Truth Overall and Honor." As blazoned the words do not make a sensible phrase, but they are not required to make sense, only to be non-offensive.

Griffith Ash the Archer. Device. Per pale sable and azure, a griffin segreant contourny argent winged Or.

Guillaume Beauvin. Name and device. Argent, a cow salient and a chief purpure.

Submitted as Guillaume de Beauvin. Since Hund provided us with examples such as Beaupain 'good bread' we feel comfortable with the hypothetical construction 'good wine'. The preposition, however, is not attested in period documents so we have dropped it.

Gunnar of Jomsborg. Badge. Or, a bend sable between a dragon's head couped vert and a drakkar sable. Gwenhevare Holleran. Name and device. Vert, a unicorn rampant between in cross four dumbeks Or.

Submitted as Gwynhevare Holleran, we have changed the given name to a documented spelling.

Haley of Atenveldt. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per pale gules and Or, a comet throughout headed of a compass star between a decrescent and an increscent counterchanged.

"The comet has sufficient width to keep it from falling under the ban on 'long skinny charges' counterchanged along their long axis, which was meant to apply to charges more like swords and spears and arrows." (Da'ud ibn Auda, November 1994 LoAR, p. 9, s.n. Shire of Steren Codha) Submitted under the name Haleya Olofsdottir.

Jerusha a'Laon. Name and device. Sable, in pale a hanging balance Or and an open book argent.

Johannes von Helmstedt. Device. Azure, a winged lion salient contourny, a bordure embattled Or.

Julian Faith McCabe. Name.

Katherine Bradon of Carlisle. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Kedivor Tal ap Cadugon. Badge. (Fieldless) In pale a peacock close perched atop a hawk's bell Or.

Lí Ban ingen uí Dhuinnín. Name.

Submitted as Li Ban O Duinnin, we have changed the clan affiliation to the proper feminine form and added back the accents, dropped in kingdom, to match the forms and documentation.

Maliusha Sepukhovicha. Name and device. Per pale argent and azure, on a fess between three annulets, three crosses crosslet, all counterchanged.

Submitted as Maliusha Sepukhov, we have changed the locative byname to a grammatically correct feminine form.

Moira O'Droogan. Name and device. Per pale vert and argent, two dragonflies counterchanged.

Morann of Conamara. Name and device. Per bend gules and sable, two Latin crosses raguly argent.

Phoebe MacGregor. Name and device. Quarterly vert and Or, a horse passant argent caparisoned azure.

Rhys ap Gwylym. Device. Per bend Or and sable, a bear's paw print sable and a mouse rampant argent.

Robert Delion. Name.

Sabine Bryght of Ash. Device. Purpure, a dragonfly argent within a snake involved in annulo argent lozengy purpure.

Seaan Mac an Ghabhann. Device. Argent, on a single-horned anvil reversed vert a Celtic cross Or.

Sean Holden. Name (see RETURNS for device).

Sverrir Valthjofsson. Name change from holding name Robert of Tir Ysgithr.

Théophile de Jonchere. Name and device. Or, a scarpe vert and a scarpe azure between a fleur-de-lys azure and a trefoil vert.

Submitted as Theophille De Younkiere, the documentation for the given name had been slightly misread and the byname was not documented at all. We have changed the spelling of the given name to that supported by the submitted documentation; the byname we have changed to a period spelling provided by Nebuly. The use of two colors in the scarpes constitutes a weirdness, but it is the only one.

Tieg ap Gwylym. Name.

Waldham af Torshavn. Name.

Submitted as Waldham von Torsvan, the byname had two problems. First, the spelling of the place name (and the spelling Tørsvan used in the forms) is undocumented; second, the name changes languages within one element. We have therefore changed the locative to the documented spelling and made it entirely Norwegian.

The following submissions were returned by the CoA for further work, July 2000:

Akilli Asian Sarolta. Name change from holding name Sarolta of Tir Ysgithr.

This name has several problems. First, Hurrem/Roxelana, cited in the submission, was known by her original Russian name only to the West; to Turks, she was known by the Turkish harem name. Combining the two names seems to be restricted to modern history books. Second, an epithet is not acceptable simply because a native speaker says so; modern-day people do not normally have that kind of knowledge about period naming practices. Third, Sarolta is incompatible with the rest of the name: it is only known from 10th century Hungary, and by the time of the Turkish invasion, pagan-era Hungarian female names had already disappeared.

Arnak Haifisch der Laut. Name and device. Sable, a shark haurient affronty argent.

This name has several problems. First, no dated evidence was submitted for the given name. Second, neither was evidence given for the unusual byname Haifisch, meaning

'shark.' Third, the second byname der Laut does not mean 'the Loud' but 'the Tone'; this doesn't fit with our knowledge about period bynames. Finally, no evidence was submitted for using two descriptive bynames in German. No device forms were included for this submission. In addition, we would like evidence of this posture's use in period armory. In redesign beware of Gest Grimsson, Vert, a narwhal hauriant embowed argent, and Balin the Fairhaired, Sable, a whale hauriant argent.

Christian of Sundragon. Holding name and device (see RETURNS for name). Per fess azure and vert, a swept-hilt rapier argent impaling a heart Or.

His device has been registered under the holding name Christian of Sundragon.

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

Conflict with Keii Gerard de Courtenay, On a Celtic cross argent, a candle vert, lit proper. There is a CD for fieldlessness, but Charles' thistle is primarily vert, so there is not a second CD for changing only the type of the tertiary charge.

Dougal O'Sirideain. Device. Per saltire sable and gules, on a plate a Celtic cross conjoined to a Thor's hammer gules.

The device technically violates rule 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." The device contains two charges on a roundel. In addition the conjoining of the Celtic cross and the Thor's hammer made both charges hard to identify.

Egan Taitnyssagh Smilebringer. Name.

The name has several problems. First, the first byname is not really documented except as a modern Manx word. Second, the combination of Manx with Anglicized Irish, while registerable, is not generally found as a period practice. Third, and most importantly, the last byname does not really follow the cited examples of Norse bynames; it looks like something out of a modern fantasy novel. The submitter might consider the English byname Smiles, found as a header spelling in Reaney and Wilson. His device was registered under the holding name Egan of Atenveldt.

Haleya Olofsdottir. Name.

Unfortunately for the submitter, Geirr Bassi does not actually say that all Old Norse male names can be feminized. His example of Helgi ~ Helga is especially irrelevant in this case since Helgi is a weak masculine and Háleygr is a strong one; that is, their declinations are quite different. Since none of our sources show a feminine form of Háleygr or a pattern of similar feminizations we have to return this.

The submitter should know that metronymics, like the submitted one (which would be grammatically correct as Ólöfardóttir), were extremely rare in the Viking culture. Essentially, a metronymic byname signifies not only a bastard but one whose father is not even known. She might consider the similar-sounding patronymic Óláfsdóttir instead. Her device has been registered under the holding name Haley of Atenveldt.

Juliette de Deuxmont. Device. Argent, a compass rose sable within and conjoined to a mascle azure, in chief a sprig of holly vert, fructed gules.

The holly in chief is not in a blazonable position as it is neither fesswise nor is it chevronwise (which itself is not a position typically found in period armory). In addition, the conjoining of the mascle and the compass rose reduces the identifiability of both charges.

Katherine Bradon of Carlisle. Device. Argent, a spiderweb throughout azure charged with a spider sable, a bordure embattled azure ermined argent.

The spiderweb is unidentifiable as drawn. It does not match the examples of spiderwebs in Guillim's Display of Heraldry, nor does it match any standard depiction.

Seamus McDaid. Device. Per bend sinister argent and gules, a bend sinister cotised sable between an equal-armed Celtic cross and a trefoil counterchanged.

The device has an entire sable cotise on the gules field. As cotises are treated as a secondary charge group, this violates RfS VIII.2, Armorial Contrast.

Sean Holden. Device. Argent, a wooden guillotine proper bladed sable.

Guillotine-style machines are permissible in medieval forms, such as the Halifax Gibbet. This submission is of a modern guillotine, which did not exist until the mid-seventeenth century. In particular, we found no period examples using a slanted blade. The submitter should be informed that in no depiction of guillotine-style machines is the blade freestanding. All depictions showed the blade running along guides on each side.

Sean of the South. Device. Vert, on a pile argent a mullet of six points elongated to base vert.

Conflict with Nicholos of the Hill Folk, Vert, on a pile argent, a dragon rampant gules. There is only a single CD for multiple changes to the tertiary charges.

I remain,

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy

bagbaazai@nexiliscom.com

References

Bardsley, C. W. A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1967 (from an original 1901 publication).

Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland.

O Corrain, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire. Irish Names.

MacLysaght, E. The Surnames of Ireland. Dublin, Irish Academic Press, 1991.

Morgan, T. J. and Prys Morgan. Welsh Surnames. Cardiff, University of Wales Press, 1985.

Reaney, P.H. and R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames.

Withycombe, E.G., The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd Edition. Londone, Oxford University Press, 1977.