Greetings unto the An Tir College of Heralds from Maryn Lion's Blood!

Sorry for the extreme lateness of this letter; between seasonal obligations and transferring all of the September packet (that we reviewed in November) onto new forms before it could go to Laurel, I'm a little behind.

I hope that your holidays were merry, whichever Solstice celebration you observe!

The January meeting will be at my house in Bremerton on Sunday the 3rd of January. I'm sorry; I know a lot of people would prefer to have it at 12th Night, but I find big Kingdom events just too full for Lion's Blood meetings to work well.

We'll start at 11 o'clock. Here are directions to my house:

Coming from the south, take 16 to Bremerton. After you pass Port Orchard, follow the signs for Highway 3 North and Bremerton. There is a "V" split as you come into Bremerton - the signs will assure you that the right hand fork on 304 is Bremerton, and the left hand fork (North on 3) is something else entirely; Poulsbo or Silverdale, I think. Ignore this sign propaganda, stay to your left and take 3 North. Very shortly you will come to the Kitsap Way exit; take it and go east (to your right, coming from the south). Kitsap Way bends around and turns into 6th Street. It will intersect fairly soon with Naval Avenue. Turn left/north, and proceed a few blocks. At the light at 11th street the center lane is the through lane, and the right hand lane is a forced turn; this isn't well marked, so I don't want it to come as a surprise. You'll pass 13th Street to your right only. Right across from the gate to the cemetery is my house. The number is 1324, it's white, porch in front, small dogwood tree in front yard (not too relevant at this season..).

From the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton: contact me ahead of time, and I'll come pick you up. From the North, I'm betting that you can find Highway 3; come into Bremerton as far as Kitsap Way and follow the directions above.

February's meeting will be held again at the Honorable Lady Natasha Orionova Zateeva's house on Valentine's Day, the day after Glymm Mere's Court of Love. To reach HL Natasha's house at 6820 4th Way SE: exit from I-5 at Martin Way, turn north toward the fairgrounds and go straight through the light at Carpenter Road. Take the next right (Kinwood); the second left off Kinwood is 4th Way. Take the first left from 4th Way into the cul-de-sac.

We had a good meeting in November. For the meeting I received a fine large stack of comments from Eglentyne Merryweather, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Ciaran Cluana Ferta with Teceangl Bach and Aethelfrith Hluda and Sebastian Sterne, Elisabeth de Rossignol, Teceangl Bach, David of Moffat with Natasha Orionova Zateeva, Frederick Badger, Beatrice Domenici della Campana, Rafaella d'Allemtejo, Zenobia Naphtali, Tegan Conwy, Vasilisa Myshkina and Catrin ferch Dafydd. Wow!! Present at the meeting at Natasha's were Natasha herself, David of Moffat, Elisabeth de Rossignol, Teceangl Bach, Stalwart (Lorn Stark), Sebastian Sterne and Ciaran Cluana Ferta.

Speaking of this list of commenters; some of you will have received a letter with your copy of the Internal letter, warning that I have not received either a) regular commentary, or b) a subscription. If I have sent you a letter, and you say, 'Hey! I've been sending commentary - what's up?' or some variant thereof, please contact me. Among other things, I lost both my chart of commenters, and a fair amount of commentary in the 'crash' a few months ago, so you could have made the 'letter list' by mistake.

All right, then; here we go!

Old Submissions

The following have been sent to Laurel:

1. Aidan O'Toole Name New (see Returns for Device)

(Wastekeep)

<Aidan> is documented by the submitter from The Book of Saints, compiled by the Benedictine monks of St. Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate; on page 17 is shown <Aidan>, from the years 651, 626 and 768 CE. ² Corr·in and Maguire, on page 13 of Irish Names, sub '¡ed·n', show <Aidan> as "the commonly anglicized form of the Irish spelling." The name also appears in Withycombe.

Name documentation for the surname <O'Toole> is supplied from Edward MacLysaght's Irish Families; the O'Tooles are shown on page 276, dated, among other dates, as St. Laurence O'Toole (1132-1182). It also appears in MacLysaght's Surnames of Ireland on page 288. As you can see, we added extra name documentation in Kingdom.

2. Antonio Giovanni Pecoraro Device Change

(Port de L'eau)

Per pale and per chevron argent and azure three crosses clechy counterchanged

This was, in fact, a device change, and not a new device. His old device is to be released upon registration of this one. We changed the blazon slightly, to the more usual per pale and per chevron from per chevron per pale. Since the field division is unusual, the submitter tendered documentation for the use of just such a field. Well done! Some commenters wondered about the disparity of sizes of the charges; we do not register, as a rule, different sizes of the same charges, as stars and suns. However, in this arrangement, these charges are only drawn differently for artistic reasons, and could just as easily be drawn all the same size by repositioning the chevron a little bit. Therefore, they are not 'swords and daggers' or charges that are necessarily different sizes, and so quite allowable.

3. Antonio Giovanni Pecoraro Badge New

(Port de L'eau)

(Fieldless) A cross clechy per pale argent and azure

His name was registered in November of 1993. Against Katriona Silverswan, Per pale azure and argent an ankh counterchanged we count 1 CD for the difference in field/fieldless and 1 CD for the change to the type of cross.

4. Aurora Kaspar Name and Device New

(Stonewolf)

Per fess azure and vert in pale a sun in his splendor and a swallow volant Or

We tinkered with the name docs, but not a great deal. <Aurora> is found in Withycombe, sub "Aurora", as the Latin name for the goddess of the dawn, used occasionally in England and Germany since the Renaissance. <Kaspar> is found in Bahlow's Deutches Namenlexicon, where, under "Kaspar" it says that the name was used as a given name in the Middle Ages. It seems probably that the name <Kaspar> could have become an unmarked patronymic by the Renaissance.

We had some mild concerns about the posture of the bird, but decided that it was probably registerable as artistic variation or as a single 'weirdness'. Against Aelfred Greybeard, Per fess indented azure and vert fretty Or in chief a sun Or we count 1 CD for the change to the field from plain line to complex line, and 1 CD for the change of the base half of the charge group from a bird to a fret(ty).

5. Bartholomew Reynold Codlin Name New (see Returns for Device)

(Stonewolf)

We are viewing this submission as a given name - unmarked patronymic - sobriquet. <Bartholomew> is shown in Withycombe, sub 'Bartholomew', in this spelling from 1273, and the name is said to have been common in England from the 12th century onwards. <Reynold> is also shown in Withycombe, sub Reynold, from 1273 in this spelling; it also appears in Reaney and Wilson, sub Reynold, as a surname in 1299. <Codlin> is found in Reaney and Wilson and dated from the 13th century on in a number of forms; it appears to have several possible derivations, all sobriquets ('small fish', 'lion-heart' or 'small, hard apple').

6. Darbie of Ironmaid Badge Resubmission to Kingdom

(Wealdsmere)

Argent, goutty sable, a crab gules a base azure

We removed the word 'Dungeness' from the blazon, and up it went!.

7. Grecia Tavernier, change to Grecia Percival Name Change, Device New

(Coeur du Val)

Argent chausse lozengy vert and argent a toad rampant azure

The name <Grecia Percival> was registered by Laurel on the July 1998 LoAR. <Tavernier> is found in Reaney and Wilson's 2nd edition, under 'Taverner'.

We had concerns about the shared tincture, but based on the following Precedent, decided that this submission was probably registerable:

Precedents of Master Da'ud ibn Auda, 2nd Year, July 1991-June 1992

[Lozengy gules and Or, on a pile gules a <tertiary charge>] "This particular design is just acceptable. Because of the nearly parallel lines of the lozengy field and the pile, the outline of the primary is almost too badly broken up to be identifiable. The best analogy for allowing this is an ordinary counter-compony or checky sharing a tincture with the field. But it would have been better on a field whose division lines did not so closely follow the line of the ordinary." (LoAR 11/91, p.9)"

8. Marcus Griffin Name and Device New

(Dragon's Laire)

Per chevron azure and vert a griffin segreant argent maintaining a sword Or a base embattled argent

All we did was add a citation from Withycombe re: Marcus. Some commenters found the device reminiscent of the Summits, but not in conflict.

9. Rafaella d'Allemtejo Name and Device New

(Dragon's Mist)

Sable, on a chevron throughout argent an escallop vert

Nice documentation; we just sent it up.

10. Rafaella d'Allemtejo Badge New

(Dragon's Mist)

(Fieldless) On an escallop vert a rose argent barbed and seeded Or

Nothing to add here, either.

11. Rowan O Moroghoe Device Resubmission to Laurel

(Three Mountains)

Per bend Or and vert an acorn inverted slipped and leaved proper and an owl argent

The acorn was, by SCA rules, inverted.

12. Summits, Principality of the, for the Consort Device Resubmission to Laurel

(Summits)

Azure a griffin passant on a mountain issuant from base argent a goblet azure environed by two barberry sprays vert fructed azure

Error correction: the sprays were fructed azure, not gules, as on the letter. Laurel has been informed of this error; it should not effect registerability one way or the other. One commenter suggested that this should be 'THE Summits'; however, it is registered as 'Summits, Principality of the', so I have left it as it was.

13. Tegan Th–rbergsdÛttir Name New (see Returns for Device)

(Montengarde)

<Tegan> is found in Heini Gryffudd's Welsh Names for Children, sub Tegan, as: "Early saint;" also, "Legendary heroine, wife of Caradog Freichfras." <ThorbergsdÛttir> can be found in Geirr Bassi, pages 16 and 17.

The College has reservations about a name composed of a Welsh given name and a Norse surname; however, we were not sure that the name was NOT registerable, and so have sent it to Laurel.

The following have been returned for further work:

Aidan O'Toole Device New

(Wastekeep)

Per bend sinister vert and argent, in cross five annulets sable all enflamed Or

There were several reasons for return. First, and most important, the way this submission is drawn would have to be blazoned 'a cross couped of flames Or charged with five annulets (or roundels pierced)', and a cross of flame is not allowable by Laurel Precedent:

…Without evidence that ordinaries of flame were used in period armory, or that such are compatible with period armory, we will not register ordinaries of flames. [2/94, p. 22]

If this were really five annulets enflamed, they would have to be drawn with little tongues of flame issuing from them at intervals, again by Laurel Precedent:

…On the first point, enflamed charges weren't normally depicted in period armory as enveloped of flames. Discounting the fiery charges whose flames have a defined placement (e.g., the beacon), a period enflamed charge would be drawn with tiny spurts of flame issuant from several points. (CL 7/24/93)

Next, these annulets were adjudged by the College to be so "thick" - that is, more like roundels pierced than like annulets - that we believe that Laurel would return them for redrawing.

And last, many commenters remarked that a flaming cross is offensive to many people, no matter how innocently meant.

Bartholomew Reynold Codlin Device New (Stonewolf)

Per pale azure and sable, a lion's head erased, a falcon's head erased contourny and two rapiers in saltire Or

The way that the charges are arranged on the field causes this submission to be in violation of rule VIII.1.a in the Rules for Submission:

…three or more types of charges should not be used in the same group.

As these are arranged, there are three charges in the same charge group; the lion's head, the falcon's head and the pair of rapiers all have approximately the same visual weight. We usually refer to this as a 'slot-machine' arrangement.

David Visdelu le Wrothe Device Resubmission to Kingdom

(Valley Wold)

Argent a wolf's head cabossed sable issuant flames from the ears and mouth vert, on a bordure per saltire sable and vert an orle argent

Darn it, darn it, darn it! This was a 'fix' we suggested (last time the bordure was divided into more than four, all colours), but the device had to be returned anyway. Actually, there is a slight possibility that this device is registerable; we returned it because we think that Laurel would return it. A senior commenter found the Laurel Precedent:

The division of the bordure (per saltire) of two colors makes it very hard to recognize what is going on with the bordure. We would prefer some documentation that bordures were divided this way in Period before we register it in the SCA. (LoAR 4/92, p.17)

As Lion's Blood, I decided that if Laurel found a per saltire bordure confusing, Laurel would certainly find a per saltire bordure charged with an orle unregisterable.

We decided to try and help as a group. The following options were proposed and checked for conflict at the Lion's Blood meeting; all three appeared to be clear of conflict when checked. And of course, all were passed along to the submitter!

Argent, a wolf's head cabossed sable issuant flames from the ears and mouth vert within an orle vert

Argent, a wolf's head cabossed sable issuant flames from the ears and mouth vert, on a bordure per pale sable and vert an orle argent

Argent, a wolf's head cabossed sable issuant flames from the ears and mouth vert, on a bordure vert an orle argent

It was also suggested at the meeting that Laurel may (since we register the pictures, not the descriptions) reblazon the wolf's head as a fox's head, due mostly to the narrowness of the muzzle; also suggested was narrowing the orle a little.

Indigo Hall Name and Device New

(Madrone)

Per bend sinister dovetailed gules and argent two rapiers bend sinisterwise counterchanged

I have so far assumed that failure to send fees with a submission is an error or oversight. However, I have had no response from this submitter to two letters and a telephone message about his failure to include the necessary fees; therefore, his submission must be returned.

Richard Bullock Name and Device New

(Lion's Gate)

Or a natural tiger rampant sable marked argent on a chief azure issuant from chief a demi-sun Or

Unlike Indigo Hall's submission, this packet contained the necessary fees; however, the check was made out incorrectly, and had to be returned for a replacement. I fully expect to receive a replacement, since money was included the first time; however, since it has not yet arrived, I am holding this submission for next month, to discuss or return.

Ross Schweinkopf Name and Device New

(Dragon's Mist)

Argent a boar's head erased close contourny sable

The An Tir College of Heralds was unable to document <Schweinkopf> as a surname in period; we were also unable to document a pattern of animal + head surnames in German. The submitter's branch herald should be able be to help find an attested name implying stubbornness.

The device submission is unfortunately in conflict with the registered badge of Andrew Dexter, (Fieldless) A boar's head erased contourny sable transfixed by a spear head argent. While there is one CD available for the difference in fields, the spear head is not enough to grant a second CD.

Tegan Th–rbergsdÛttir Device New

(Montengarde)

Argent, a horse rampant azure, on a chief invected gules 2 fleams argent

We reblazoned as a horse, not a stallion, as the stallion's obvious characteristics are not in evidence. The scallop-y bits belong to the chief, and not to the field, so the chief is invected, not engrailed. When drawing an invected line, such as the one on this chief, the standard number of "invects" (?!) or scallops is three to five across a shield. This has about 10, and Laurel has usually been known to return submissions so drawn. I received a telephone message from the submitter remarking that she originally drew the device with only about five 'puffs', but was afraid that more would be needed, and so redrew it!

No conflicts were found.

New Submissions:

1. An Tir, for the Deputy Kingdom Calendar Badge New

(An Tir, by Darbie of Ironmaid)

Per pale raguly sable and checky Or and argent, an hourglass Or with sand gules and a feather gules bendwise sinister

This is the first of two hourglasses we have this month!

2. Conchobar Mac Muirchertaig Device Resubmission to Kingdom

(Three Mountains)

Argent, a dog sejant erect gules, bearing a torch and a heron in its vigilance contourny azure

His name is currently before Laurel. His previous device submission, Or in fess a dog sejant erect gules and a crane in its vigilance contourny azure was returned for conflict with that of James the Fox, Or a fox rampant guardant gules. He has changed the tincture of the field in this submission.

3. Dana Charthair Saibhin Device Resubmission to Kingdom

(Aquaterra)

Or on a bordure vert three Celtic crosses Or, a dragon purpure rampant coward playing an Irish harp proper

Her name was registered in November of 1997. Her previous submission, Argent, a dragon rampant purpure playing a wooden harp proper was returned for conflict with Megwyn of Glendwry's Argent a unicorn headed dragon with lion's forepaws segreant purpure armed and orbed Or tail to base entwined about a garb sable.

The blazon order is a little awry, but I think all the charges and tinctures are there.

4. Elena de Maisnilwarin Device New

(Lion's Gate)

Per bend sinister vert and purpure, a bend sinister between a unicorn's head erased and a rose bendwise sinister slipped and leaved argent

Her name was registered on the LoAR of November 1998.

5. Erennach ingen Cormeic Device Resubmission to Kingdom

(Three Mountains)

Per chevron inverted argent and azure a rose and two wolves rampant reguardant all within a bordure counterchanged

Her name is currently before Laurel. Her device was returned for a redraw, to correct the fact that the per chevron inverted field division was drawn very, very high on the field, and fairly shallowly. This submission has corrected that problem.

6. Gideon de Noirville Device Resubmission to Kingdom

(Aquaterra)

Argent a bend sinister vert, overall a griffin dismembered contourny sable

His name was registered in May 1998. His previous submission was returned for conflict with Charles the Traveller's Argent, a bend sinister vert, overall a drakkar sable, its sail paly gules and argent. With this submission, he has included a letter of permission to conflict from Charles the Traveller.

7. Heilyn de Highwater Name and Device New

(Madrone)

Per pale azure and argent on a chief seven gouts counterchanged all

The submitter declines to accept major changes to his name; he will accept minor changes, and cares more about the sound. He wishes the name to be 13th century Welsh/English. <Heilyn> comes from A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, using material from The Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3 by Keith Williams-Jones.

The surname construction is documented from the same source, under 'Bynames Based On Location':

The typical nickname based on location simply uses the proper name of a place after the given name. In this document, Latin de is sometimes placed before the place-name.

E.g. Tuder Glyne

Alan de Ruthin

Further documentation for <Heilyn> is included from page 10 of The Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3 by Keith Williams-Jones.

<Highwater> is a constructed surname using elements from English Place Name Elements by A. H. Smith:

'water' p. 235 vol.2 gives us 'waeter', OE water, meaning water or an expanse thereof, usually denotes a lake, pool, stream or river. Blackwater, Freshwater, Loudwater, Shallow Water, Southwater (all actual placenames).

'high', p. 238 vol.1 we find the OE 'heah' yields such place names as Highbury, Highgate, Highbridge, etc.

Thanks are included to Aestel for assistance in documenting the constructed placename.

No line drawings were included in this submission packet, which makes LB cranky, pretty name notwithstanding.

8. Heilyn de Highwater Badge New

(Madrone)

(Fieldless) A gout per pale azure and argent

See above for name and device. Still no line drawings. Hrumph.

9. Kirstin Macbeath Name and Device New

(Borealis)

Sable, a pile argent, a phoenix overall counterchanged emergent from flames proper, and in chief three compass stars gules

She declines to accept major changes to her name; she will accept minor changes, and cares most about the language/ culture, particularly the culture of Scotland. Documentation is included from A Dictionary of First Names by Hanks and Hodges for <Kirstin>:

(f.) Scottish: vernacular form of CHRISTINE, now quite widely used in the English-speaking world.

<MacBeath> is from Black's Surnames of Scotland, as a header spelling on page 458, and dated to 1504.

In the color device submission, the flames are gules in the center, Or around the edges.

10. Madrone, Barony of, for the Order of the Red Branch Badge New

(Madrone)

(Fieldless) A madrone tree branch bendwise gules leaved vert

This submission is signed by Baron Trahaearn. Remember, fieldless badges are no longer represented by a dashed circle.

11. Rory Woulfe of Kildare Badge New

(False Isle)

(Fieldless) A wolf's head erased contourny vert

His name and device were registered on the LoAR of November 1998. He writes a lovely cover letter.

12. S·rnat ingen Chormeicc, from Sarra Fairfax Name Change

(Three Mountains)

Her previous name was registered in November, 1990. She includes the complete email text of a conversation with Tangwystyl, Harpy Herald, which cites <S·rnat> as occurring in ² Corrain & Maguire's Irish Names on page 161. <Cormac(c)> is found in the same source, and Harpy states that the genitive case and lenition will produce <Chormeic(c)>, the whole to be pronounced, roughly, as SAR-nitch IN-yen KHORR-mik.

13. Sonnet Manon Name and Device New

(Saint Bunstable)

Argent, a dragonfly azure winged sable and on a chief engrailed three estoiles argent

<Sonnet> can be found on the Academy of Saint Gabriel site in An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris, at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html .

<Manon> is found on page 412 of Dictionnaire etymologique des noms de famille et prenoms de France by Albert Dauzat.

The dragonfly's body is blue, the wings are white, outlined and veined in black, not solid black.

14. William Percival Device Resubmission to Kingdom

(Terra Pomaria)

Gules, a griffin segreant Or, a border compony sable and Or, the sable traits charged with a rose Or

His name was registered in October 1988. His previous submission, Gules, a griffin segreant Or within a bordure sable fimbriated charged with roses Or was returned at Kingdom, as it is not permitted to fimbriate a bordure, a one-sided ordinary, in the SCA.

15. Williamsgate, Borough of Household Name and Badge New

(Madrone)

(Fieldless) An hourglass sable

Reaney and Wilson's 3rd edition shows <William> in one form or another to as early as 1086, sub 'Williams'. <Gate> as a placename element in English derives from the Scandinavian or, alternately, from Old English, to mean 'way, path, road, street' or 'hole, opening, gap' and is found in Smith's English Place-Name Elements. Aestel cites several 'personal name + gate' formations, as Goodramgate, Hartergate, or Walmgate.

<Borough> "is a term used for an unofficial SCA group at a college or institution; the name has had long usage in the Barony of Carolingia in the East Kingdom (see Duncorlach, Borough of, among others) and has been adopted by Madrone for the same purpose. Williamsgate is, obviously, the SCA community at Microsoft Corporation. If the use of the term Borough blocks acceptance, the name "Williamsgate" may be registered on its own, and the "Borough of" prepended in common usage."

The submitter is most concerned to preserve the sound, and permits unspecified changes.

An Tir College of Heralds - Internal Letter - December 1998