Greetings to Black Lion and the An Tir College of Heralds, and to all others who read these words from Ciaran Cluana Ferta, GdS, Lion's Blood Herald. I pray you are well, and those of your families and households prosper.

Well, the Kingdom Symposium was a success, thanks to Dame Zenobia and the instructors. The classes were informative and the meal was great. Harpy (Tangwystl verch Morgant GlasMyn) from Laurel's staff, came back to teach linguistics courses once again, and several local teachers (including at least one new to us) gave us the benefit of their experience and knowledge. Thanks to all the instructors. Oh, yes, and the Barony of Three Mountains who made it possible to hold it in the first place, by letting us step into their SYGC trials.

Please be advised that any submissions arriving later than the last Friday of each month will be included in the following month's Internal Letter.

There are several volumes with the words Dictionaire & etymologique in the title. Please cite the title in full (especially Dauzat's books), and remember that not all books are "quote-only". In the past three months I have received five submissions that did not document names other than to cite volumes not on the list of "quote-only" sources. I may, or may not, have the book you are quoting, so beware!

Also, commenters, PLEASE be sure to tell me which submission you are commenting on (the name and the type of submission). Some people have been leaving this information out, and it makes the meeting a bit disjointed. Thanks.

Comments on the April 1997 Internal are due no later than the 13th of June to be included in the meeting to be held on Saturday the 14th, at Dame Zenobia's home (8675 SW Avery St., Tualatin, OR [call (503) 692-0177 OR e-mail leslie@fltdyn.com for directions]).

Commentary for this letter is due July 16th so it may be included in decisions made at July Coronation. The meeting will be held on Saturday at the Herald's Pavilion, time to be announced.

Thanks to all those: who provided commentary for, or attended the April Lion's Blood meeting: Tonic Inn Bjorn [Black Lion], Vergil William de Comyn [Queue Forche], Fionn Ban MacAoidh [Astel], Dame Zenobia Naphtali [Courrone Rouge], Baron David of Moffat [Electrum], Adrianna The Fierce [Black Stag], Countess Šlizabeth de Rossignol, Mistress Rowenna de Roncesvalles [Dexter Gauntlet], Eglantine Merryweather [River's Bend], Aed Deoradhain [Fire Mountain Keep], [Vulkanfeldt], Katherine FitzAlan, Steffan von Wulfen, Selene, and any others I missed (there were a bunch of folks at the meeting!).

Old Submissions

SENT TO LAUREL:

Kingdom of An Tir, for the Crier (change/Badge)

(Fieldless) A hand bell Or.

This should be clear of the badge of the Kingdom of Meridies: Vair ancient a hawk's bell Or, with one CD for being fieldless, and another for change of primary charge (by X.4). There may also be an X.2 CD for complete change of primary charge.

Douglas Lachlan MacFarlane (new/Device)

Gules, three piles inverted and on a chief Or three war hammers palewise sable.

Girard von Bremen (new/Name & Device)

Sable, on a plate an oak leaf vert within a bordure argent.

Against Lyanna of Kerneough: Sable, a plate between four mullets in cross, all within a bordure argent, I count one CD for the removal of the mullets, and another for the addition of the tertiary. Vs. the Barony of Loch Salann: Sable, a plate within a bordure Or, there should be one CD for the addition of the ternary and one for the tincture of the bordure. And against Marged Tylluan Fach: Azure, a plate charged with an owl azure all within a bordure argent, we see one CD for the change in field tincture and another for the changes to the tertiary group.

Gisla Rodumna (new/Device)

Purpure three chevronels braced inverted and on a chief doubly enarched Or three triquetra gules.

This had been pended from the February 1997 meeting.

Glymm Mere, Barony of, for the Order of the Crystal of Glymm Mere (new/Name)

Glymm Mere, Barony of, for the Order of the Red Hart (new/Name)

Hannah Hadassah Hamil (new/Device)

Checky gules and argent, a mullet of six points voided and interlaced within a bordure purpure.

Some concern was raised regarding the advisability of using purpure charges on a checky gules and argent field but the Rules allow such combinations, even though we may not think them wise, so we have forwarded this item.

Karl von der Ostwache (new/Badge)

(Fieldless) Issuant from a wall couped sable a tower, issuant therefrom a beacon argent enflamed gules.

Laighe na GrÈine, Port of (new/Name & Device)

Per pale Or and azure, a tower argent within a laurel wreath counterchanged.

These had been pended since sometime in Dame Zenobia's tenure waiting for a petition, which was finally received.

LjÛtr Einarsson (new/Name & Device)

Per saltire vert and Or, in chief a dexter gauntlet fesswise reversed maintaining a hammer palewise argent, in fess two wolves heads erased addorsed sable.

The surname was changed to reflect the documentation in Geirr Bassi. There was a question among our some commenters as to whether or not the gauntlet and hammer are two charges or were so related that they, indeed, form a single charge, and so we have sent this up for consideration at Laurel. There seems to be precedent both ways.

Magdalen MacKenzie (new/Device)

Gules, a sun in splendor and on a chief wavy Or three roses gules,

Mary Ellen le Bret (new/Name & Device)

Or, a quatrefoil and on a chief azure a saltire Or.

The name was changed to le Bret to reflect documentation found in Reaney's Dictionary of English Surnames.

Morgaine Essex (new/Device)

Gules, two needles in saltire points to chief argent threaded and on a chief Or a domestic cat couchant sable.

This was a definite improvement over her last submission, in which the cat was in a dormant position (rendering it unrecognizable) and the thread tended to disappear into the field. Even this time, in the black-and-white mini-emblazon , the threads are hard to see, but the full-size color emblazon shows careful consideration for the problem inherent in using charges as fine as thread.

Swan the Red (change/Name & new/Badge)

(Fieldless) A keystone Or.

The locative is being dropped, but the name still has two previously documented elements, so registerability should not be affected.

Thorvald the Gentle (new/Device)

Argent, goutty a pawprint within a bordure sable.

Vasilisa Myshkin (new/Name)

A question was raised regarding the need for Russian surnames so derived to match in the given name in gender, but we were unable to resolve this at Kingdom, so we have asked for assistance from the Laurel-level commenters.

William Dermot MacPherson (new/Device)

Per bend sinister raguly ermine and purpure a cross potent sable and sea-lion erect Or.

Wyewood, Canton of (new/Device)

Or, on a pall nowy azure between three trees blasted and eradicated sable a laurel wreath Or.

RETURNED FOR FURTHER WORK:

Darbie of Ironmaid (new/Badge)

Sable a dragon statant erect to sinister argent breathing flames proper within a bordure rayonny Or.

Reblazoned as Sable a dragon segreant contourney argent breathing flames within a bordure rayonny Or, this was returned for the small size of the rays in the bordure. At any distance the bordure becomes indistinct, thus showing that big, bold and butch is good advice. One comment was that bordures are not always workable, even for fielded badges.

Gwyneth Audewyncle (new/Device)

Azure, on a pile vert fimbriated ermine a harp Or transfixed by a needle threaded argent.

This was returned for the use of ermine fimbriation. Laurel has ruled that the use of ermine as a fimbriation tincture is a non-period style, and therefore unregisterable.

New Submissions:

1) An Tir, Kingdom of, for the Honor of the Lion's Sword - new/Name

This submission would register the name of the long used Honor given to the Heavily Armored Kingdom Champion as he/she has finishes his/her year of service.

2) An Tir, Kingdom of, for the Order of Hasta Leonis - new/Name This is the proposed name for the Kingdom's new Grant-level Order recognizing war leaders. I am asking for grammar corrections and documentation. The name is intended to be Latin for Spears of the Lion.

3) Elgar of Stonehaven (Ambergard) new/Device

Lozengy argent and gules, a Thor's hammer upon a chaussÈ ployÈ sable.

His name was registered in November 1992.

4) Frederick von Innsbruck (Lion's March) new/Name & Device

Argent, on a bend gules a spear argent between six triquetra gules.

Frederick is shown from Withycombe, p. 121. Innsbruck is shown on a map of Europe (c. 1200 A.D.) from The March of Civilization in maps and pictures (C.S. Hammond & Co, Maplewood, NJ, 1963). No documentation of the preposition is included.

5) Hlutwig Ster for Ludwig M”dlesvisler (Glymm Mere) new/Alternate Name

His primary name was registered in September 1996. Hans Bahlow's Deutsches Namen Lexikon is cited for Ludwig (but no page reference is given). M”dlesvisler is also said to be found on p. 140 of the same volume, and is claimed to be a mid-13th cent. form for "skirtchaser". (If someone has a copy, could they please send me photocopies of the appropriate pages.)

6) Rupert of Runnymede (Lion's Gate) new/Name & Device

Gyronny sable and gules, a cross paty gyronny Or and argent,

Rupert is shown from The New EncyclopÊdia Britannica (15th ed., vol. 10) p. 242 (sub Rupert) as the name of the German king (b. 1352), elected to succeed Wenceslas in 1400, and also the name of the nephew of Charles I of England (b. 1619). Runnymede is shown from the same volume, p. 241 as the site in Surrey, England where King John of England signed the Magna Carta in 1215.

7) Wyewood, Canton of (Western Region) new/Badge

(Fieldless) A bat-winged hamster contourney Or winged sable.

The Canton's name was registered in April 1997, and a device is currently at Laurel on the April An Tir LoI. To document the hamster as an animal known in period the Canton provides p. 12 of Curious Woodcuts of Fanciful and Real Beasts (Dover Publications, 1971, New York) which presents a woodcut of a hamster from page 411 of Edward Topsell's The History of Four-footed Beasts and Serpents. According to the 1971 volume's Publisher's Note (p. vi) the first edition of the Beasts appeared in 1607. A petition of support signed by eleven people is provided.

An Tir College of Heralds - Internal Letter - May 1997