Unto Black Lion, Queue Forchee, and to all the College of Heralds of the Kingdom of An Tir and others to whom these words come, GREETINGS, from Ciaran Cluana Ferta, Lion's Blood. I pray that you all are well and prospering, and that your families and households are also faring well. We have a rather full set of submissions this month, and these bring up a few comments.

First, the money thing. As you know, Black Lion has announced the fee increase that will take place November 1st. This will make the fee $12.00 per item (name, device or badge). As it is, some people have sent in submissions without money (not many but a few). The money collected from submitters ALL goes to pay the costs of processing the submissions (photocopying, mailing costs, and Laurel fees), and none of it goes to run the Herald's offices.

Second, the forms. Several submitters have not sent the correct number of forms and corresponding documentation. While not all of them seem to have received assistance from their local heralds, some advance education (at branch business meetings) would not hurt. Please remember that we need THREE sets of ALL forms and documentation sent to me, and you should receive a set from the submitter, as well. And lastly the submitter needs to keep a set. Also, those people getting their forms from the Web must see that they are printed out FULL size. The forms were designed to take up the FULL page, not 80% (or less). I have had to correct this fault in no less than six submissions this month.

Third, the mini-emblazons. The black-and-white emblazon forms (and ALL the mini-emblazons) are meant to be line drawings, so please don't color in the parts of the submission that are black.

Comments on this letter are due no later than Friday, December 12th, for inclusion in the decisions made Sunday December 14th, at the home of Red Tree, Frederic Badger (10511 Phinney Ave, N, Seattle). Contact him for directions via phone (206-367-2030) OR via e-mail: badger@nwlink.com The meeting will be at 1pm.

Comments on the September letter are due no later than November 7th. They will be used at the meeting held at Crown Council (in Wilsonville, OR, see the Crier for directions to the site) on Sunday November 9th at 11am.

Without further ado, the new submissions:

Old Submissions

No old submissions were included in this Letter of Intent.

New Submissions

1) �thelfrith se Hlude (Three Mountains) new/Name

�thelfrith is shown in English Historical Documents c. 500-1042 (ed. D Whitelock, 2nd ed.… Oxford Univ Press, New York) p. 166 where, noting the death of Oswiu, Ring of Northumbria (in 670) it states "Oswiu was the son of �thelfrith, the son of �thelric...". The article is shown from A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (4th ed. J.R.C. Hall, Univ. of Toronto Press, 1960), p. 299, where it is listed as the definite article. The surname is intended to be anironic Anglo-Saxon epithet meaning "the loud", and is shown from the above dictionary, p. 187, sub hlude, which says it is an adverb meaning loudly, aloud. He accepts changes to preserve the meaning.

2) Aleksei Zateev (Glymm Mere) new/Badge

Vert, a bezant within a bordure argent.

His name was registered in February 1995.

3) An Tir, Kingdom of (Populace Badge) new/Badge

(Fieldless) A lion's head erased contourny sable,

The Crown has approved and signed this submission, which is designed to replace the badge currently in use.

4) An Tir, Kingdom of (Ensign) new/Badge

Checky Or and argent, a dexter tierce sable.

The Crown has approved and signed this submission.

5) Barbara de Bayard de Montchesne (Briar Oak) Change/Device

Argent, two bars vert overall two piles in point inverted gules.

Her current device (Argent, two bars vert overall two piles inverted in point between in chief two acorns inverted gules) passed in April 1995 would be released upon passage of this submission, which was an earlier attempt. It failed at Kingdom in October 1991 for a mundane conflict (Ayburge [Argent, two bars vert], found in Papworth's p. 16) which no longer an issue.

6) Draga Drevo (Wyewood) new/Name & Device

Vert, a hurst of three trees blasted and eradicated on a bordure argent an orle of ivy vert.

Draga is asserted to be found in Bela Kalman's The World of Names: A Study in Hungarian Oronatology (Akademini Krado, Budapest, 1978) p. 42, with the meaning of dear. Drevo is also asserted to be found on p. 356 of Trinka Slovak-English Dictionary, meaning wood. The submitter would like to retain the meaning. Since no photocopies were provided, I would appreciate your assistance in documenting this name.

7) Eleanor of Leycestershyre (Aquaterra) new/Name & Device

Or, a phoenix purpure rising from flames proper on a chief purpure three suns in splendor Or.

The name is intended to be English. Elizabeth Jenkins' Elizabeth the Great (Coward-McCann, New York, 1958) p. 208 mentions an Eleanor Bridges, who was associated with the Privy Chamber of Elizabeth I c. 1576. All the Queen's Men: Elizabeth I and her Courtiers (No publication data)p. 209 shows a letter from the Earl of Leicester (apparently his last, written 28 August 1588) to Elizabeth I where the name is spelled Leycester. The Horizon Book of the Elizabethan World (American Heritage Publishing, New York, 1967) p. 83 shows a wood-cut featuring shepherds and the name Glocester Shyre, from Michael Drayton's Poly-Olbion. She accepts no changes.

8) Eleanor of Leycestershyre (Aquaterra) new/Badge

Or, a phoenix purpure rising from flames proper.

Her name is submitted above.

9) Elen Blade (Three Mountains) new/Name & Device

Per fess urdy azure and argent, a sea-dragon naiant contourny , in base a rose purpure. (NOTE: the barbs on the rose are vert.)

The name is intended to be English. The given name can be found in Withycombe (3rd ed p. 101, sub Ellen). Blade may be found in Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames (2nd ed., p. 37, sub Blades). Changes which maintain the meaning are allowed.

10) Elizabeth Stafford (Windwyrm) new/Name & Device

Purpure, a seal couchant and on a chief Or three harps purpure.

Ann Hoffmann's Lives of the Tudor Age 1485-1603 (Osprey Publishing Ltd., no date or city) sub Stafford gives a short biography of Edward Stafford 3rd Duke of Buckingham (1478-2521). Changes to retain general sound are accepted.

11) Frederic Badger (Madrone) new/Name & Device

Per bend sinister wavy sable and argent, a bend sinister between a decrescent and a chalice all counterchanged.

The surname is shown from Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed. p. 23, sub Badger) which dates an Adam Badger to 1324. He accepts changes to preserve general sound.

12) Guinevere Morton (Lyonsmarche) new/Name & Device

Per pale azure and vert, a thistle within a bordure embattled argent.

Donald Attwater's Names and Name-Days (Burns, Gates & Washbourne Ltd, London, 1939) sub Guinevere, states this name is the English form of the Welsh Gwenhwyfar (meaning white wave). Morton is shown from Black's Surnames of Scotland pp. 613-4 sub Morton, where various spellings are given.

13) Huszar Ferenc (Windwyrm) new/Name & Device

Purpure a stag springing and on a chief Or three awls inverted purpure.

Ferenc is asserted to be the Hungarian form of the given name Francis (or Frank). Huszars are asserted to have been the light cavalry used by the Magyars in the 15th Century (the word being derived from husz, meaning twenty, and ar, meaning pay). It is said that every twentieth house in a village provided one mounted soldier. He accepts no changes.

14) Lescelyn of Kailzie (Glymm Mere) new/Badge

(Fieldless) A buckle argent.

Her name was registered in December of 1996.

15) Lisette Cantalamesse (Wyewood) new/Name & Device

Azure, on a bend sinister between two crosses clechy Or three musical notes sable.

The name is intended to mean Lisette, singer of the mass, in French. Withycombe (3rd ed. sub Elizabeth) says that Lisette is occasionally used in England (but gives no date). Lisa Steele's Medieval France (White Rose Publishing, Amherst, MA, 1994) asserts that Lisette is a name in use from Toulouse. Dauzat's Dictionnaire Šlymologique des Noms de Famille et PrÈnoms de France p. 84, is cited to show the use of Cantalamesse. She wishes to keep the general sound.

16) Magnus Draca (Lyonsmarche) new/Name & Device

Per pale azure and sable, a dragon's head couped contourny argent.

The name is intended to be English, meaning great dragon. Magnus is cited from Hanks & Hedges A Dictionary of First Names p. 218, sub Magnus. Draca can be found in Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames, sub Drake.

17) Melyssande Dunn (Glyn Dwfn) new/Device

Per pale azure and gules, a wyvern rampant within a bordure argent.

Her name was registered in April 1992. We will request a copy of her file from Aten.

18) Patricia Grey (Aquaterra) new/Name & Device

Per pale gules and sable, a horse's head erased and a swan naiant contourny wings elevated and addorsed and on a chief Or three escallops inverted sable.

Patricia is documented by a copy of her Washington state driver's license. The Cambridge Biographical Dictionary (Cambridge Univ. Press) p. 629 gives an entry about Lady Jane Grey (1537-1554).

19) Richard Sparhawk (Borealis) resub-L/Device

Or, a horse rampant within a bordure embattled sable.

His name was registered in October 1992. His previous device submission was returned by Laurel in September 1996 for conflicts and artistic problems. This is a complete redesign.

20) St. Bunstable, College of, (Western Region) new/Badge

(Fieldless) A chalice purpure enflamed Or.

The College's name was registered in August of 1981 or earlier.

21) Seth Starr (Seagirt) new/Name & Device

Per fess argent and gules, between two swords the dexter inverted a garden rose sable in chief a goutte de sang.

Seth is shown from Hanks & Hedges A Dictionary of First Names where it is said to be the name of the third son of Adam and Eve, and a name favored by the Puritans. Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames (sub Starr) shows three spellings of this name (but not this one) including Sterre (dated to 1066, 1130, 1221, & 1305-6), Sturre (1221) and Starre (1305-6). He wishes to keep the general sound.

22) Tegan de Raveley (Glymm Mere) change/Name

Her currently registered name (Tegan y Telynores) was registered in March of 1989. Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed. p. 372 sub Ravel) dates a Nicholas de Ravele to 1287-8, where it is stated that the name is "probably from ...French place-name Ravel, but sometimes .... from Great, Little Raveley. These English place-names can be found in Ekwall's DEPN, p. 381. She accepts no changes.

23) William Geoffrey the Rogue (Glyn Dwfn) new/Name & Device

Ermine, a griffin segreant contourny within a bordure sable.

William is shown from Black's Surnames of Scotland p. 816, sub William. Geoffrey is shown from Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames, sub Jeffray, where it is shown in various spellings. The OED (2nd ed., v. XIV, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1989) sub rogue, says the word came into use in the 16th cent. to designate a beggar or vagabond and may be related to Roger.

Well, that's all for this month. If you have questions, or if I can help in some way, please feel free to e-mail, write, or telephone me.

I remain yours,

In Service to Crown & Heraldry,

Ciaran, Lion's Blood

An Tir College of Heralds - Internal Letter - October 1997