Unto Olwynn Laurel; Aryanhwy Pelican; Istvan Wreath; and the commenting Members of the College of Arms,

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

The Atenveldt College of Heralds requests the consideration and registration of the following names and armory with the College of Arms.

Please note: Unless specifically stated, the submitter will accept any spelling and grammar corrections; all assistance is appreciated.

1. Alaric von Bern: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per bend vert and argent, a hammer bendwise argent and an anvil reversed sable, a bordure counterchanged.

Alaric is a masculine given name that comes from the Old German Alaricus; it was the name of several West Goth king, and Alaric I sacked Rome in 410 AD (Withycombe, 3^rd edition, p. 8 s.n. Alaric). The registration of Alaric Wintour in May 2004 notes: “The given name is documented as the name of a King of the Goths and dated to 410. Combined with the 16th C spelling of the surname, there is a more than 1000 year gap between the dates for the names. This is an unregisterable combination; in such cases either documentation must be found that lessens the dates between the names, or the name must be returned. In this case, documentation was found that lessens the gap in dates. Morlet, Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle dates Alaricus to the 12th C. This is a Latin form, but the vernacular would be Alaric.”.

von Bern appears as a surname in "German Names from Rottweil, Baden-Württemberg, 1441,” Aryanhwy merch Catmael ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/german/rottweilsur.html ).

These references close the temporal gap between the name elements to some degree (12^th C and 15^th C, which is much better than 5^th C). It was noted that the vernacular, when applied to the Morlet citation, would be French. Combining French and German in a name is one step from period practice ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/sca/weirdness_table.html ), and this could be a problem when considering it with the temporal consistency of the name elements.

The client will not take Major or Minor changes to his name.

The style of hammer closely follows that of a smith's hammer, as shown in the Pictorial Dictionary, and the blazon should probably include this for great accuracy.

2. Alianora Alexandra da Lyshåret: NEW BADGE

(Fieldless) On a narcissus blossom affronty argent a Celtic cross Or.

The name was registered July 1981.

The client is registering the fieldless version of Per fess sable and Or, on a narcissus blossom argent a Celtic cross Or., which was registered to her in January 1973 and reblazoned in June 2002. (Affronty was added to the blazon to more accurately descrbe the orientation of the blossom.)

A copy of the client's badge in the Archives reveals what appears to me to be a lazy reconstruction of the original submission. The blossom looks like a multi-petaled flower (e.g., a simple daisy) rather than a trumpet-like flower. It's not on any “official” form, but rather a single piece of paper. If my memory serves me correctly, even when I joined the SCA in 1975, there were standard submission forms, although there is the chance that this may have not been the case two years earlier or in a different kingdom (I find that a little hard to believe). Considering that the client's device shows snub-nosed/snub-trumpeted narcissus flowers, and in discussion with the client, she has always used narcissus, nothing close to a daisy, I can only conclude that this was a reconstruction done by a person who didn't know what a narcissus blossom looks like.

If the blossom needs to be reblazoned as a sexfoil, the client is agreeable to that. If the registered badge Per fess sable and Or, on a narcissus blossom argent a Celtic cross Or., needs to have a correct emblazon provided for the Archives, we are happy to supply that as well.

3. Alianora Alexandra da Lyshåret: BADGE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, November 2007

Per pale argent and sable, a chevron rompu and in base a lozenge, all counterchanged.

The name was registered July 1981.

The original submission, Per pale sable and argent, a chevron rompu and in base a lozenge barry, all counterchanged., was returned for lack of contrast. “Each half of the barry lozenge shares a tincture with its field: i.e., it's a lozenge barry argent and sable, on the sable part of the field, and a lozenge barry sable and argent, on the argent part of the field. The total effect makes the lozenge look like a series of oddly couped bars, rendering it unidentifiable. A simple counterchange of the lozenge, as was done with the chevron, would solve the problem, assuming no conflicts.” The client is taking the CoA's suggestion of using a simple counterchange of both charges. She is also reversing the tinctures to avoid conflict with Magnus the Black, Per pale sable and argent, a chevron rompu within a bordure counterchanged.

4. Ascelina Alánn ingen Ailella: NEW BADGE

(Fieldless) A demi-wyvern wings displayed argent.

The name was registered December 2008.

This could be alternatively blazoned as “a dragon's head couped at the shoulder and wings displayed” or even “a winged dragon's head couped” (the second alternative lifted from the blazon for Maria Elena Hurtado de Mendoza's device: Per pale azure and purpure, a triquetra Or between the wings of a winged horse's head couped argent.).

Considering Middle, Kingdom, (Fieldless) A demi-dragon rampant argent., there's one CD for fieldlessness, and a second CD for wing posture (the Midrealm's dragon has its wings addorsed, as verified in the Laurel archives by Ragged Staff). Considering Chabi of Burkhan Khaldun: Per bend sinister sable and vert, a reremouse argent., there's one CD for the field: is there a second CD for the argent, bat-winged charges? We hope so. (I'm a big bat fan, and I don't see a problem, with the monster's long, snaky neck vs. a typical bat's head, which is attached to its body by a very short neck.)

5. Atenveldt, Barony of: NEW ORDER NAME, “Order of the Red Hurlebatte,” and NEW BADGE

Argent, two palm tress couped, trunks crossed in saltire, and in chief a hurlbat gules.

The name is English. Red, as a color associated with fire and blood, is seen with this spelling in 1296 (COED). The LoAR May 2009 Cover Letter state that “Order names which follow the <color>+<charge> pattern must use the ordinary color term for a heraldic tincture appropriate for the language of the order name. If “red” in that spelling is unacceptable, then the client will accept the appropriate equivalent color term that means “red” in modern English.

A hurlebatte is a weapon. According to the COED, this particular spelling is first seen c. 1440 and seems popular through the end of period. According to one source, this seems to be “an entirely metal throwing axe sharpened on every auxiliary end to a point or blade, practically guaranteeing some form of damage against its target” ( http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Axe#encyclopedia ). This citation refers to battle-axes as described in Mittelalterliche Kampfesweisen. Band 2: Kriegshammer, Schild und Kolbe, Andre Schulze (Hrsg.), Mainz am Rhein.: Zabern 2007. ISBN 3-8053-3736-1. However, this reference is unavailable at Google Books.

Other weaponry sources and even the COED cannot come to a definitive description of the weapon: various citations suggest it might refer to the Roman cæstus (spiked hand straps used in boxing), some form of club, a small javelin, or a short bat with spikes of iron. Even though a consistent emblazon of a hurlebatte is most likely not possible, the Barony really likes the name of the Order (I'm lead to believe that the name of the Order came up first and the armory second), and I don't feel that the name cannot be registered.

The client is most interested in the meaning of the name, that of a weapon.

This Order is intended for youth fighters in the Barony, and the name evokes the existing “Order of the Sable Axe of the Barony of Atenveldt,” for adult fighters.

The badge design (two palm trees in saltire with a secondary charge in chief) follows a number of those already registered to the Barony. If the charge in chief needs to be reblazoned as an axe to solve any ambiguity, allowing the Order name to be registered as submitted, I think this would please everyone.

6. Bella Emiliana da Monte: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Argent, two chevonels azure between three roses azure barbed and seeded proper.

The name is Italian. Bella is a feminine given name found in “Feminine Given Names from Thirteenth Century Perugia,” Arval Benicoeur ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/perugia/ ). It persists throughout period and is also found “Online Catasto of 1427” ( http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/catasto/newsearch/first_names.html ), which places it in Florence in the 15th C, and in “Names from Sixteenth Century Venice,” Juliana de Luna ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/16thcvenice.html ).

St. Emiliana was a 6^th C. virgin saint, an aunt of St. Gregory the Great, a Doctor of the Church and a Pope; she and her sister renounced the world and led contemplative lives, living in their father's home in Rome; her feast day is 24 December, and she is named in the Roman Martyrology ( http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=865 ).

In addition, Emiliano is a masculine given name found in Dizionario Onomastico Della Siclia (G. Caracausi, 1994, Palermo), s.n. Miliano, variant, apheretic form of the personal name Emiliano. <Miliano>, a. 1550. It is not uncommon for a masculine Italian name to be feminized by changing the terminal -o to an -a: “ Submitted as Amanita Villarosa, the documentation showed a masculine name, Amannito in 15th C Florence. We have changed the given name to Amannita to match the submitted documentation. [Amannita Villarosa, LoAR 07/2004, Middle-A]” The client's legal given name is Emily, and she'd like to include an element similar to that in her SCA name.

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 3225 ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/3225 ) says, "Double given names or middle names were common in some parts of Italy in [the 15th or 16th century] and later. . . .The most common pattern was for one of the names to be a saint's name, usually the second. . .." The cited references relate to Palermo and Florence.

da Monte is a locative surname, “from the hill, mountain,” found in "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names," Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek's ( www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14/venice14sur.html ). This example predates the period to which the overall name construction is documented, of course, but "15th Century Italian Men's Names,” Talan Gwynek's ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/italian15m.html ) says that da was the normal preposition for 15th-century locative bynames.

7. Bjorn Bloodax: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Quarterly gules and sable, a double-bitted axe argent charged with three gouts in fess gules.

The name is Old Norse. Both elements are found in “The Old Norse Name,” by Geirr bassi Haraldsson. Bjorn is a masculine given name, p. 8.

It was noted in internal commentary that while ON names can be registered with or without accent marks, o-ognek isn't an accent mark so it can't simply be dropped. The relevant precedent (for Bjorn Zenthffeer, January 2007) states: “There was some question about whether the given name could be registered as "Bj_o_rn". Haraldsson, The Old Norse Name, shows the name as "Bj_{o,}_rn"; in this case the o-ogonek is not an accent but a distinct character separate from a plain o. However, Lind, Norsk-Isl{a:}ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fran Medeltiden, s.n. Bi{o,}rn, shows several examples of "Biorn", one of which dates to 1334. This makes the form temporally consistent with the byname. The name mixes Norwegian and German; this is one step from period practice.”

Bloodax is a descriptive byname, “blood-ax,” p. 20. This is the lingua anglica spelling of the name and would appear in period manuscript as blóðøx.

This is clear of Bjorn Blodøx Thorgrimson by the removal of the patronymic. The client desires a male name and will not accept Major or Minor changes to the name. Citing the non-o-ognek form as 14^th C. Norwegian would permit its registration, unless the -j- to -i- shift presents a new problem.

8. Duncan Drax: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Quarterly vert and sable, a griffin contourny erminois.

Duncan is a masculine Scots given name dated to 1591-1596 and found in "Names from Papers Relating to the Murder of the Laird of Calder," Margaret Makafee ( http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~grm/calder.html ) . Black lists a Duncan Campbell dominus de Gaunan date c. 1390 (p. 130 s.n. Campbell).

Drax is an English surname dated to the 15th-16^th C: John Drax (1406), Lambert Drax (1509). It is also seen as de Drax, in Bernard de Drax of Marmande, c. 1303 (all citataions from the National Archives, www.nationalarchives.uk.gov ). John Drax was a serjeant of arms cited in a legal document, http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/details-result.asp?queryType=1&resultcount=1&Edoc_Id=7708540 .

Scots/English is not considered a step from period practice, so that both elements occur less than 20 years apart (Duncan to 1390 and Drax to 1406). Woohoo!

The client desires a male name and will not accept Major or Minor changes to the name.

Griffins are segreant by default.

9. Eogan Britannicus: CHANGE OF HOLDING NAME from “Geoffrey of Atenveldt”

The holding name was registered December 2008.

His original name submission, Eogan of the Breton March, was returned for the following reasons: “The byname of the Breton March was documented from "About Song of Roland" (http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/roland/about.html) which indicated that Roland was called "Lord of the Breton Marches" in Einhard's Vita Karoli Magni, written c. 830-833. However, this is not quite the case. Section 9 of Einhard's Vita calls Roland Hruodlandus Brittanici limitis praefectus 'Hruodland prefect of the territory of Brittany/the Bretons'. The translation of Brittanici limitis as 'of the Breton March' is, as far as we have been able to determine, modern. What is modernly referred to as the "Breton March" is an administrative region in Neustria, the western part of the Frankish kingdom. The administrative region was first created under the rule of the Merovingian dynasty in the late seventh or early eighth century. This is the march where Roland was prefect. The Carolingians recreated this administrative region in 861, and the area was united with the neighboring Norman region in 911. So far as we have been able to tell, the phrase Brittanici limes is an administrative label rather than a geographical name. If it is primarily an administrative term, then it is not appropriate for use in a locative byname. The distinction between an administrative label and a geographical name is, for example, the distinction between 'the county of York' and York or Yorkshire. A man who lived in the county of York would use the byname of York or of Yorkshire, not of the county of York. Similarly, someone who lived in the Brittanici limes would not be known as de Brittanici limite but rather de Brittania 'of Brittany' or Brittanicus 'the Breton'. We would change the name to Eogan de Brittania or Eogan Brittanicus, but the submitter does not allow major changes.”

The client is amenable to one of the CoA's suggestions, that of Brittanicus.

He desires a male name and is most interested in the sound of the name. He wishes it authentic for language/culture and time period (none given, but the original submission and the suggestions offered by the CoA indicate a pre-Conquest time).

10. `Ijliyah bint Rashid: CHANGE OF HOLDING NAME, “Kelli of Tir Ysgithr”, Laurel January 2009

The original name submission, Ainaiyra al-Rashna, was returned “for problems with the documentation and construction. First, no documentation was provided on the LoI, and none was found by the College, that Ainaiyra is a period given name in any culture. The LoI documented Ainairya (note spelling) from "Avesta: Zoroastrian Archives" ( http://www.avesta.org/znames.htm ), but this website gives no evidence either Ainairya was used before 1600 or that, if it was, Ainaiyra is a plausible variant spelling. Lacking such evidence, neither Ainairya nor Ainaiyra is registerable.

“Second, the byname al-Rashna was intended to mean 'the just'. Rashna was also documented from "Avesta: Zoroastrian Archives" as a masculine Parsi given name. Loyall notes: The Parsi names from the submitter's source are dated to the nineteenth century; unless they can be shown to have been used in our period by another source, they are not suitable for use in the SCA..

“Even if Rashna was shown to be a period masculine given name, al-Rashna is not a correct construction. Da'ud ibn Auda, "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices", lists various laqabs ("a combination of words into a byname or epithet, usually religious, relating to nature, a descriptive, or of some admirable quality the person had (or would like to have)") of the form al-X, e.g., al-Rashid 'the Rightly-guided' and al-Fadl 'the Prominent'. “These examples show that the pattern was used in Arabic, but not that it was used in Persian. Because Arabic and Persian are distinct languages with different grammar, orthography, name construction, and name pools, patterns which are plausible in one language are not necessarily plausible in the other. Lacking evidence either that Persian words were used in Arabic al-X laqabs, or that Persian used the construction al-X 'the X' to form bynames, al-Rashna would not be registerable even if Rashna was shown to be a period Persian word.” This is a complete reworking of her name.

(Might it be requested that this paper, which appears in the Medieval Names Archive, be deleted, as it appears the name forms seen are post-period and do more to mislead potential clients than to help them?)

The name is Arabic. All elements and construction pattern come from “Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices,” Da'ud ibn Auda

( http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm ).

`Ijliyah is a feminine given name/`ism.

Rashid is a masculine given name/`ism. The name means “`Ijliyah daughter of Rashid.”

The client desires a feminine name and is most interested in the sound (she'd like a name that sounds as close to Inara as possible).

11. Ingvarr ørrabein: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Gyronny of six argent and gules, a Thor's hammer between three valknuts sable.

The name is Old Norse. Ingvarr is a masculine given name found in “Viking Names found in Landnámabók,” Aryanhwy merch Catmael

( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/landnamabok.html ).

ørrabein, “scar-leg,” is found in “Viking Bynames found in the Landnámabók,” Aryanhwy merch Catmael ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/vikbynames.html ).

The client desires a male name and will not accept Major changes.

The use of valknuts is one step from period practice. The use of a gyronny field with the gyrons centered on the corners (rather than the line of division) with a central charge may be a second step from period practice. The precedent, as it applies to gyronny arrondi, seen in the July 2005 LoAR Cover Letter, under “From Wreath: Gyronni Arrondi,” which concludes: "Given this information, gyronny arrondi may be drawn so that the corners of the shield are in the center of a gyron rather than having the line of division issue from the corner. This emblazon of gyronny arrondi has no heraldic difference from the standard gyronny arrondi or from gyronny. The use of a central charge on a field drawn in this manner is one step from period practice."

12. Ingvarr ørrabein: NEW BADGE

Per pale wavy argent and gules, all semy of Thor's hammers counterchanged.

13. Isbera Beradóttir: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Gules, a tree stump eradicated and on a chief double-arched argent three lozenges gules.

The name is Old Norse. The given name is coined, from Is-, “ice,” and bera, “little bear.” Bera is a feminine given name on its own, found in “A Simple Guide to Creating Old Norse Names,” Aryanhwy merch Catmael ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/sg-viking.html ), as are the feminine names Ísgerðr, Valgerðr, Hallabera and Hallbera. The Viking Answer Lady website ( http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONWomensNames.shtml ) notes for this name Ísgerðr: “The first element Ís- is probably from Old Icelandic íss, "ice on sea or water"... This name appears in Landnámabók for Ísgerðr Þórsteinsdóttir in ch. 46 and Ísgerðr Hunda-Steinardóttir in ch. 55.” Valgerðr has a similar construction as Ísgerðr, with the first elements changed. While Bera can stand on its own, it is also found as the second element, as in the names Hallabera and Hallbera, so that it's reasonable to suggest that the first element Ís- can combine with a second element -bera as a coined name.

The byname means “Bersi's daughter.” The masculine given name Bersi is found in “Viking Names found in Landnámabók,” Aryanhwy merch Catmael ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/landnamabok.html ).

In “A Simple Guide to Creating Old Norse Names,” the genitive form of a masculine name like Bersi becomes Bersa, and the female child ending added: Bersadóttir. It appears that this is the correct formation, not Beradóttir. (Only the terminal vowel is affected, not the -s- preceding it). On the other hand, if the formation of a metronymic were permitted, using Bera as the mother's name, the construction of a name ending in -a changes to -u for a son's byname (Sturla becomes Sturluson), but doesn't seem to be affected for a daughter's byname (Sturladóttir). The result would be Beradóttir, and this would maintain the submitted spelling.

The client desires a female name and will not accept Major changes.

There may be a step from period practice for using the double-arched chief: “Chiefs double arched have been acceptable in the S.C.A. for over twelve years. According to J.P. Brooke-Little, the first use of this line of partition seems to have been in 1806 in a grant to William Proctor Smith: Gules, on a chief double arched Or, three trefoils proper. (Fox-Davies, A Complete Guide to Heraldry, 1969 revision, footnote, p. 75) Therefore, there is no period evidence upon which to base a decision. However, from this example, we can infer that nineteenth century heralds viewed double arching to be different from a straight line of partition; at least a blazonable difference. (Richard Stanley Greybeard, September, 1993, pg. 13)” .

14. Kali Amman: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per pale gules and sable, the symbol Om between three lotus blossoms in profile Or.

The name is Tamil or Tamilized Sanskrit, from the Indian subcontinent.

Kali is found in “Female Chola Names,” from A Concordance of the Names in the Cola Inscriptions (3 vols.), Karashima, Noboru, et al., Madurai: Sarvodaya Ilakkiya Pannai, 1978 ( http://sites.google.com/site/vairavisca/Home/creations/indian-name-research ). This is a very large collection of personal names found in southern India before 1400. It is also found in “An Analysis of South Indian Female Names found in Donors, Devotees and Daughters of God” ( http://sites.google.com/site/vairavisca/Home/creations/dddog-names ).

Amman is an element in many womens' names and is found in “Women's Names from (Mostly) 16th Century Inscriptions at Tirupati (India),” Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/india/tirupati_f.html ).

All of these articles are found on the Medieval Names Archive.

The client desires a female name and is most interested in the culture/language of the name (East India/Tamil).

Om (Aum) is the most well-known mantra (a sequence of sounds used as a meditational device) in Hinduism. This sound is believed to be an aspect of the creation of the cosmos ( http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/religionet/er/hinduism/HGLOSSRY.HTM#Mantra%22 ); it is common as a decorative motif in temples, in writings and as personal adornment.

15. Mariyah al-Mediniah: NEW NAME CHANGE and NEW DEVICE CHANGE

Per pale azure and Or, a crescent and between its horns a mullet of four points all counterchanged.

The name is Arabic. All elements and construction information is found in “Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices,” Da'ud ibn Auda ( http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm ).

Mariyah is a feminine given name/'ism

al-Madini is a masculine cognomen/nisba, indicating place of origin or birth, “from Medina.” (The Arabic name is transliterated as Madinah.)

To feminize the byname, the ending -ah is added, hence al-Madiniah, “the woman from Medina.” (It does appear that the submitted name is incorrectly spelled, and the byname ought to be al-Madiniah.) The masculine nisba, in addition to the demonstration of an < 'ism + nisba > construction for a woman's name, are also found in Da'ud's article.

The client is most interested in the meaning and language of the name, “Mariyah from Medina.” If this is registered, she wishes to retain her currently-registered name Marina de Medina (registered January 2009) as an alternate name.

The blazon is based on the blazon for the flag of Mauritania, Vert, a crescent and between its horns a mullet Or.

If the new device is registered, the client wishes to retain her currently-registered device, Erminois, a demi-lion gules. (registered January 2009), as a badge.

16. Nikita Dobrynia Kievich: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Sable, a St. Peter's cross throughout gules fimbriated and cotised argent.

The name is Russian. Nikita, dated before 1147 and Dobrynia, dated to 1591, are both masculine given names found in "A Dictionary of Period Russian Names (and some of their Slavic roots)," Paul Wickenden of Thanet ( http://heraldry.sca.org/paul/ ). The cited article also lists Nikitich as a patronymic derived from Nikita and indicates it was found in a record dating from 1423. That puts the given name in use (by the recorded man's father) in the 15th Century and eliminates a potential temporal problem. Double given names (usually one Christian/baptismal, the other Russian) are found in period, documented in "Paul Goldschmidt's Dictionary of Russian Names – Grammar,” Paul Goldschmidt ( http://heraldry.sca.org/paul/zgrammar.html ): "From the adoption of Christianity in 988 onward, most Russians used Christian names, but many also had a Russian name. . .. The result was an apparent double given name.. . .In such cases, the first element in the Russian's name was usually the 'Christian' (i.e., baptismal) name and the second was the 'Russian' one. Semenova. . .notes that there are exceptions to this pattern, with both names being Christian in origin or both Russian, or with the order simply reversed. . ..". However, if this double given name is considered unregisterable, the client is agreeable with modifying it to the patronymic Dobrynskii, dated to 1486.

Kievich is a toponym meaning "from Kiev," dated to 1564, in Paul Goldschmidt's “ Grammar."

Precedent allows the registration of a Latin cross inverted (Aaron Graves, 10/98 p. 4), sometimes known as St. Peter's cross. The client specifically wants this form of cross used. There is no difference between a plain cross and a Latin cross (May 2009 LoAR Cover Letter), so there's like no difference between a plain cross and a Latin cross inverted.

17. Ragnarr the Lefthand: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per saltire gules and sable, an axe head Or.

Ragnarr is an Old Norse masculine given name found in Gerri bassi Haraldsson's “The Old Norse Name,” p. 14.

The byname is a descriptive epithet; while not listed per se in the Geirr bassi, a number of bynames refer to the bearer's physical attributes (squinting, black-beard, black-tooth, clumsy-foot, long-chin); the client is not interested in having the byname rendered into ON.

According to Jeanne Marie Lacroix' "'Misplaced' Names in Reaney & Wilson" ( http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/misplacednamesbyname.htm ), "Lefthand" can, as an English byname, be dated to 1258. Mixing Middle English and Old Norse has been ruled one step from period practice ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/sca/ weirdness_table.html ). There's nothing weird about either name phrase, in and of itself, so the only place a second step might come from is a temporal inconsistency. Aryanhwy merch Catmael's "Viking Names found in Landnámabók" ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/

norse/landnamabok.html ) supports Geirr bassi's assertion that Ragnarr appears once in the Landnamábók and indicates the first version of the book was created no earlier than 1068. That puts the recording of the name close enough to the date for the English "Lefthand" to avoid a temporal issue. If the date at which the earliest surviving edition was penned is considered, instead, the two are even closer, as it's from the second half of the 13th C "or a little later".

The client desires a male name, is most interested in the language/culture of the name (none specified) and will not take Major changes to the name. Dropping “the” would be considered a Major change. Further consultation with the client resulted in his allowing “the” to the dropped from the name if necessary for the name to be registered.

There was some comment whether the primary charge is identifiable. I believe if not at first, a little bit longer look shows it to be a clean, clear rendering of an axe head. Assuming there is a CD between an axe and an axe head, the following are clear: James Odo: (Fieldless) A pickaxe Or., with a CD for fieldlessness and a CD for axe vs. axe head; and Sean Ruabarua MacGillaphaidraic: Vert, an axe Or., with a CD for fieldlessness and a CD for axe vs. axe head.

18. Rober le Rous: NEW NAME and DEVICE

Azure, a turtle and a base engrailed Or.

The name is French. Rober is a masculine given name found in “An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris,” Colm Dubh ( http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/paris.html#R ).

The byname is also found in Colm's article. Originally submitted as Le Rousse, it was determined that Rousse is a feminine form, which would use the article la. The cited article includes le Rous and le rous, both of which are masculine. Upon further consultation, the client was even happier with the byname le Rous, and the submission has been amended to reflect the change.

I was assisted in this month's Letter of Intent preparation by Coblaith Muimnech, Helena de Argentoune, Jeanne Marie Lacroix and Michael Gerard Curtememoire.

This letter contains 10 new names, 1 new Order name, 1 new name change, 10 new devices, 1 new device change, 4 new badges, 2 holding name changes, and 1 badge resubmission. This is a total of 30 items, 27 of them new. A check to cover fees will be sent separately.

Thank you again for your great indulgence and patience, your expertise and your willingness to share it.

I remain,

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy

c/o Linda Miku

2527 East 3rd Street; Tucson AZ 85716

atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com

brickbat@nexiliscom.com

Commonly-Cited References

Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland.

Medieval Names Archive. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/

Names Articles. SCA College of Arms. http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names.html

Ó Corráin, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire. Irish Names.

Reaney, P.H. and R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames, 2^nd Edition, 1976, reprinted 1979.

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