Unto Their Royal Majesties Edward and Asa; Dame Anita, 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 and Parhelium Herald for the Kingdom of Atenveldt!

This is the February 2010 Atenveldt Letter of Presentation. It precedes the external Letter of Intent (another itty-bitty LoI, unless some Estrella submissions land on it) that will contain the following submissions that are presented here, 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. I accept online commentary, in addition to questions pertaining to heraldry and consultation. You can send commentary to me privately at brickbat@nexiliscom.com or join “Atenveldt Submissions Commentary” at Yahoo! ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Atenveldt_Submissions_Commentary/ ) and post there. (Any commentary is likely be included in the next month's Letter of Presentation so that all may learn from it, and we can see how additional documentation or comments may have influenced a submission.) Please have commentary to me by 20 February 2010.

Heraldry Hut: The next Heraldry Hut will be held Friday, 19 February 2010. This will likely include completing Estrella submissions packets.

Estrella War: Yes, there will be a Heralds' Point, complete with a Consultation Table! Very likely the days and times will be Wednesday-Sunday, 10:00 AM-5:00 PM. We're trying a “new thing” this year; on Sunday, there will be no walk-in consultations. People who wish to consult will have had to sign up before Sunday to do so. Records show that our “worst day” for consultation (in the matter of submissions being returned) is Sunday, most likely because we're all tired and cranky and the collective heraldic brain isn't working so well. It also doesn't help that there's often a big crunch of people arriving at the Consultation Table mid-afternoon, when we're beginning to wind down. Discouraging “last minute” drop-ins might avoid less-than-sterling and/or rushed ones. Of course, if we're there twiddling our thumbs, all of this could change and walk-ins might be welcome – we'll have to see how this works out. (Cutting off sign-ins at 4:00 PM every day has worked very well in making sure that the Table can be closed at 5:00 so people don't miss court/dinner/other activities.)

Please, consider spending a few hours or a few days at the Consultation Table! There always seems a place for just one more herald!

Also at Estrella this year: Knowne World Heralds' Pot Luck Social. This will take place at 7:00 PM Friday. All heralds are welcome! Come and meet other Heralds, both in Atenveldt and from around the Knowne World. Bring your own goodies and something to share. Eat, drink, be merry!

Submissions Website: You can send electronic commentary on the most recent internal LoIs through the site, in addition to any questions you might have. Current submission forms (the ONLY forms that can be used) can be found on the site. Please let your local populace know about the site, too: atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com.

Please consider the following submissions for the February 2010 Atenveldt Letter of Intent:

Cynewyn Deux Chevaux (Tir Ysgithr): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Azure, two horses' heads erased, addorsed and conjoined, and a chief triangular argent.

Cynewyn is a feminine given name found in “ Anglo-Saxon Women's Names from Royal Charters,” Marieke van de Dal ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/marieke/anglosaxonfem/ ); this is listed as the standardized spelling. Cynewynne is demonstrated in the charter dated 990, amended in 1001. While Deux Chevaux (“two horses”) is not found as a dated period byname, similar bynames are found as:

Boncheval, “good horse,” found in England 1212, according to Academy of S. Gabriel report 695, via Jonsjo's work on Middle English nicknames (http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?695+0 ). This is a reference to a horse itself, and is close temporally with the given name.

la Chevaucheor or la Chevaleresse, from 12th-13^th C. France, meaning “the horse-woman” or something similar, in S. Gabriel Report 1371 ( http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?1371+0 ). This refers to an individual associated or working with horses.

le Chat, “the cat,” S. Gabriel Report 1576 ( http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?1576+0 ). This is an example of an animal byname, most likely a descriptive of the individual bearing it.

Deux dens, “two teeth,” descriptive name c. 1340, S. Gabriel Report 2230 ( http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?2230+0 ).

des Quiens, “of/with the dogs,” specific period is not noted, although the report address a party look for a name appropriate to around 1400, in S. Gabriel Report 2588 ( http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?2588+0 ).

de Trois Moutiers (“of/from the three monasteries”) is a locative surname from 1408. Additionally, de Treis Molins (“of/from the three mills”) is found in 1309, according to S. Gabriel Report 2640 ( http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?2640+0 ).

Deux Ponts (“two bridges”) is also a locative name from 1170, found in S. Gabriel Report 1170 ( http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?1170+0 ). This is close temporally with Cynewyn.

There are also a number of bynames in Aryanhwy's “Draft: Names from the 1292 Paris Census” that refer to animals, such as Chat-Blanc (white cat), le Leu (the wolf), etc. P. 146 shows aus Chevax (“to the horses”). Old French sometimes spelled chevaux as chevaus and also sometimes substituted the final -x to replace -us, resulting in chevax.

There seems to be a strong plausibility of Deux Chevaux as a locative byname (bring from a place with two noteworthy horses). The client would also accept Des Chevaux (“of/with two horses”), constructed along the lines of Des Quiens, although it is not as appealing as Deux Chevaux.

The client desires a female name and is most interested in the meaning of the name (“two horses”).

Fiordalisa Elena di Tommaso (Barony of Atenveldt): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per bend sinister gules and azure ermined throughout on a bend sinister argent four butterflies alternating azure and gules.

Fiordalisia is a feminine given name found in “Italian names from Imola, 1312,” Sara L. Uckelman ( http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/italian/imola.html ). Fiordelise found in, as is Elena as a feminine given name and Tommaso as a masculine given name, in “Names from Sixteenth Century Venice,” Juliana de Luna ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/16thcvenice.html ).

The client desires a female name and is interested in it being authentic for language/culture of 11^th C. Lombardy. (I think this is more accurate, or at least more documentable, as a later period name.) She will not accept major changes to the name.

Marek the Jew (Twin Moons): NEW DEVICE CHANGE

Argent, a Star of David gules and a bordure embattled per saltire sable and gules.

The name was registered March 2005.

The client has obtained a Letter of Permission to Conflict from Thorvald Redhair, to avoid possible conflict with Thorvald's registered device, Gules, a sun within a bordure embattled gules.

If this is registered, the client wishes to release his currently-registered device, Gules, two leopard's faces jessant-de-lys and a standing balance Or.

Roana le Broc (Wealhhnutu): NEW NAME and DEVICE

Per pale vert and sable, in pale a badger's head cabossed argent marked sable and an oak sprig argent.

The name is English. Roana is a feminine given name dated to 1212 in “Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames,” Talan Gywnek ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ ). le Broc is found in Reaney and Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames, 3^rd edition, dated to 1222 for a Joel le Broc, s.n. Brock.

The client desires a female name and is most interested in the meaning of the name (a reference to badgers).

The following submissions appear in the January 2010 Atenveldt Letter of Intent:

This month's commentary is provided by Helena de Argentoune [HdA], Maridonna Benvenuti [MB] and Marta [MMM].

Barberella le Rede (Tir Ysgithr): NEW NAME and DEVICE: Quarterly wavy per fess argent and azure.

The name is English. Barberella is a feminine given name found in “Feminine Given Names in
A Dictionary of English Surnames: Barbara,” Talan Gwynek ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/reaney.cgi?Barbara ), with the citation reading “c.1210 Barbarel”. The client's legal given name is Barbara, and she is interested in keeping at least part of that, along with the name Ella; this seems like a very nice compromise. The byname le Rede is dated to 1220 in Reaney and Wilson, 3^rd edition, p. 374, s.n. Read. The client is interested in a female name.

The client's husband is Robert Lyons of Kilkenny, and she is interested in reflecting elements of his registered device, Quarterly per fess rayonny azure and argent., in her submission.

Francesca Marchesi (Brymstone): NEW BADGE: Purpure, a natural seahorse and in chief three mullets, all within a bordure Or.

The client will be informed to draw the bordure wider. [MMM]

Isabella Ponce (Brymstone): NEW NAME AND DEVICE: Quarterly vert and sable, on a cross Or between four gouttes argent, a leaf vert.

(The documentation notes that Isabella is the English version of the Spanish Isabel.), and Isabella is an English feminine given name documented a number of times from 1202 through 1428 in “Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames: Isabel,” Talan Gwynek ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/reaney.cgi?Isabel ). The combination of English and Spanish elements is one step from period practice. [MMM]

Ponce is a locative surname documented in Academy of Saint Gabriel Report #2822), as both the Bahia and the Rio de Juan Ponce (Bay of/River of Juan Ponce).

Here is another piece of documentation for the byname Ponce: Diez Melcon, R. P. Gonzalo. Apellidos Castellano-Leoneses, p. 56, section Origen de Latino, Genitivo Fonte'ciamente Evolucionado, s.n. Pontius lists Sanchia Ponce, 1185; Maria Ponce, 1193; Pedro Ponce, 1285 and 1287.

I believe that Juan Ponce in the Academy report is Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon (1474–1521), from whom the American bay and the river are named. [MB]

Lora of Four Paws (Ered Sul): NEW NAME

The definition of a paw being the foot of an animal with claws or nails, as opposed to hooves, goes back to 1082, although the spelling of the plural seems to favor pawes through the end of period (Compact Oxford English Dictionary). In “English Sign Names

by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/inn/ ), most dismembered parts of a living creature used as a sign appear to be heads (human, bull and boar), although “horns” might or might not refer to a bull's horns. The Eagle's Foot (Eagles foote) is found in “Comparison of Inn/Shop/House names found London 1473-1600 with those found in the ten shires surrounding London in 1636,” Margaret Makafee ( http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~grm/signs-1485-1636.html ). Numbers, as in the Sevensterre are rare but seen. [MMM]

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy (Tir Ysgithr): NEW BADGE: (Fieldless) A billet fesswise gules, bat-winged sable.

The name was registered August 1979.

This is the client's sixth piece of armory. The client is seriously considering downsizing (anyone want a badge with a silver walnut on it?).

Rose Ella Duvanovich doch' Sychevna (Brymstone): NEW NAME

The name is English and Russian. Rose Ella is the client's legal mundane given name, and a copy of her Driver's License is provided for Laurel. [Rose is a feminine English given name dated 1202 though 1525 in “Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surname: Rose,” Talan Gwynek ( http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/reaney.cgi?Rose ). Ella is a feminine given name dated 1196, 1200 by Withycombe, 3^rd edition, pp. 100-101, s.n. Ella.]

Duvan is a masculine given name dated to 1521 in “A Dictionary of Period Russian Names,” Paul Wickenden of Thanet (http://heraldry.sca.org/paul/ ). -ov is the most commonly-used suffix to create a masculine patronymic, “son of Duvan” (“Paul Goldschmidt's Dictionary of Russian Names – Grammar,” http://heraldry.sca.org/paul/zgrammar.html ), hence Duvanov. In later period, -ich appears, usually among the upper classes in late period Russia, and is appended to the patronymic, so Duvanov + ich becomes Duvanovich. The feminine versions would be Duvanova and Duvanovicha. Additionally, modern (and very late period/grey area) feminine forms can take -ovna/-evna endings.(Two examples cited by Paul, Marfa Ivanovna (1618) [RIB II 357] and Princess Evdokeia Luk'ianovna (1643) [RIB XII 227] are both pre-1650, so in the grey area.) This would make the name Duvanovna.

In late period, the familial form appears (patronymic + doch'), and a father's byname can proceed after this construction.

Sychev is a byname meaning “brown owl,” dated to 1212 in Paul's name dictionary, and also cross-referenced in his “Zoological Bynames in Medieval Russia,” Paul Wickenden of Thanet ( http://www.goldschp.net/archive/zoonames.html#birds ), where it is dated c. 1495; it comes from the masculine given name Sych'.

This construction, using a woman's father's full name with the element doch', is found in "A Chicken Is Not A Bird: Feminine Personal Names in Medieval Russia,” Paul Wickenden of Thanet ( http://www.goldschp.net/archive/femnames.html ). All elements of the patronymic need to be feminized to reflect the gender of the individual bearing the name, and I believe that since the elements are late period, the endings might be more correct as Duvanovicha doch Sychevna. (I keep thinking that the more accurate form would be Duvanovicha doch' Sychevicha or Duvanova doch' Sycheva or Duvanovna doch' Sychevna. However, there seems to be so much leeway and variation in Russian names that the combination of these suffixes might be reasonable. Anyway, one of Paul's examples in his Grammar is for the daughter of Ivan Guba, Ol'ga. Her name and their relationship could be rendered 15 different ways (aargh!), with six of those being the “most common” forms.) Paul notes in the Grammar portion of his Dictionary that the -vich and -ovna/-evna endings are usually found attached to “Christian” names, and I don't know if Duvan and Sych are Christian/canonical names or Old Russian names; again, Russian names are so fluid that by late period, this might no longer be the case.

The combination of English and Russian name elements is one step from period practice.

Safiya bint Ahmad ibn Abdullah (Barony of Atenveldt): DEVICE RESUBMISSION from Laurel, May 2009

Azure, a rose Or barbed vert within and conjoined to the horns of a decrescent argent and an orle of roses Or barbed vert.

The name was registered May 2009.

The original submission, Azure, in pale an ostrich plume quill pen fesswise and a decrescent argent, an orle of roses Or., was

returned for lack of identifiability. “The charge in chief was blazoned as an ostrich plume quill pen on the Letter of Intent, but none of the commenters could identify it as such. The resemblance of the charge to an alembic flask was far too strong.” The submission has been redesigned, removing the quill pen altogether.

Safiya bint Ahmad ibn Abdullah (BoAtenveldt): NEW BADGE

(Fieldless) A rose Or barbed vert within and conjoined to the horns of a decrescent argent.

The name was registered May 2009.

Twin Moons, Barony of: NEW BADGE: Azure, on a pall inverted embattled between two increscents argent, a mace azure.
The branch name was registered April 1993.

Marta as tu Mika-Mysliwy

c/o Linda Miku

2527 East 3^rd Street

Tucson AZ 85716

brickbat@nexiliscom.com

atensubmissions.nexiliscom.com