The Heralds' Page Newsletter of the College of Heralds of An Tir   Volume 1, Number 9 ~ February 24, 2003

• Black Stag
• A 13th Century Heraldry Quiz
• D'eau, a goutte, a silver goutte  
• A Heraldic Crossword (solution)
  
• The An Tir Internal Letter of Intent
• Download This Issue of the Heralds' Page (Disabled until further notice)
• Microsoft Word document
• Adobe PDF document
  
• Return to the IL Archive Page

Annie Zupanic
71 Surfside Drive
Campbell River, BC
Canada
V9H 1H7

• Red Lion Hotel at the Quay Downtown Vancouver  -  100 Columbia Blvd.  -  Tele: 360-694-8341
• Shilo Inns: Downtown Vancouver  (2nd closest)  -  401 E 13th Street  -  Tele: 360-696-041 I/or 800-222-2244
• Hazel Dell, Vancouver off 1-5  -  13206 Hwy 99  -  Tele: 360-573-051 I/or 800-222-2244
• Riverside Motel Vancouver  -  4400 Columbia House Blvd.  -  Tele: 360-693-3677
• Salmon Creek Motel  -  11901 NE Hwy 99  -  Tele: 360-573-0751
• Best Inn & Suites Vancouver  -  7001 NE Hwy 99  -  Tele: 360-696-0516
• DoubleTree Hotels Portland/ Jantzen Beach (Across the river)  -  909 N Hayden Drive  -  Vancouver Tele: 360-892-7684   DoubleTree Reservations line  -  1-800-222-8733

  A 13th Century Heraldry Quiz

by Maister Iago ab Adam, Pursuivant at Large
In 13th Century English blazon

1)  when blazoning a quarterly field, the first tincture mentioned is usually:

a - the dexter chief	c - the metal
b - the sinister chief	d - the colour

2)  a "fess engrailed" would be normally emblazoned as:

a - a horizontal stripe with semicircular notches taken out of both edges	c - a small number of lozenges joined together in a horizontal line
b - a horizontal stripe with triangular notches taken out of both edges	d - a horizontal zig-zag

3)  a bordure with semicircular notches taken out of it would be blazoned as: 

a - a bordure engrailed	c - a bordure dancetty
b - a bordure indented	d - a bordure embattled

4)  a crusily field would be strewn with:

a - crosses crosslet	c - both a and b
b - crosses crosslet fitchy	d - either a or b

5)  a "mascle" is: 

a - a diamond shape	c - a pierced diamond shape
b - a voided diamond shape	d - not found in heraldry

6)  the field division "per fess" is: 

a - used for marshalling	c - the most common field division
b - used only with a colour on one side and a metal on the other	d - never used

7)  the fur "vair" is: 

a - only used for fields	c - used in many tincture combinations beyond white and blue
b - only used for charges	d - never used

8)  a "bar" is:

a - a fess	c - a bend
b - a diminutive of a fess	d - a fish

To find out the answers, see next month's Heralds' Page, or take my class on 13th Century Blazon at the upcoming Heraldic Symposium.

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D'eau, a goutte, a silver goutte...

A couple of years ago, a submission made it through several heralds, including a former Laurel, and was signed off by a senior herald at Pennsic, and was on a Letter of Intent before someone realized that the special term for the gouttes meant that they were blazoned argent on an argent background.  Proponents of special terms notwithstanding, if such a thing can happen with very experienced heralds, it is perhaps best to go for clarity and avoid the special terms.  Nevertheless, they have been used in registered blazons, therefore it is important to know what they all mean.  Noting that Lions Blood will probably change "goutte d'larmes" to "a goutte azure", here are the special terms for gouttes and roundels:

Tincture	Colour	Goutte Name	Represents	Roundel Name	Represents
gules	red	goutte de sang	blood	torteau	tarts
azure	blue	goutte d'larmes	tear	hurt	hurtleberry
argent	white or silver	goutte d'eau	water	plate	silver coin
Or	yellow or gold	goutte d'Or	molten gold	bezant	gold coin
sable	black	goutte de poix	pitch	pellet / ogress / gunstone	cannon shot
vert	green	goutte d'huille	olive oil	pomme	apple
purpure	purple	goutte de vin	wine	golpe	grape

And if that doesn't help, try this:

The Sangue des Goutes
by Iulstan Sigewealding
(To the tune of "Doe, a Deer")

D'eau: a goute, a silver goute
D'or: a drop of golden sun
D'huile: a name for olive goutes
Poix: a pitch-drop on the run
Sangue: a needle-prick that's bled
Larmes: the tears of blue that flow
Vin: a drink with thou and bread
That will bring us back to d'eau d'eau d'eau d'eau…

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A Heraldic Crossword
The solution to last month's puzzle

The March Lions Blood meeting will be held on Sunday, March 23rd, 1pm, at the home of Gwenlian Catharne: 505 Division St. NW #57, Olympia, WA.
Directions from I-5: take Exit 104 (Hwy 101).  Take the second exit (Black Lake Blvd)and turn right.  Stay on Black Lake Blvd over the hill, past the mall, around the corner, and past the Grocery Outlet store until you see Evergreen Villages Apartments on the left.  Turn into the apartments, then turn right immediately and go over three speedbumps, park anywhere you can (including alongside the road) and look for signs...I am in "Juniper Court" #57, in case my neighbors take down the signs.  Phone is (360) 570-8033 just in case.

The April Lions Blood meeting will be held on Sunday, April 13th, 1pm, at the Columbia Arts Center, 400 W. Evergreen Blvd, Vancouver WA. This is the Kingdom Heraldic Symposium site.  Directions are in event copy above.

 

Greetings from Teceangl Lions Blood!

A reminder to consulting heralds, branch heralds, and submitters:
If someone moves between submitting and getting their results letter, I'll only find out if I'm told, or when the letter returns to me undeliverable.  This is happening distressingly often, that I'm getting letters returned, and then the submitter never knows what happened to his or her submission.  When the paperwork is initially filled out, remind submitters that they'll need to keep Lions Blood apprised of address changes, please.   
Additionally, Lions Blood needs a complete and legible address in order to assure that mail sent is deliverable.  Please remind clients to use their full mailing address, postal code, and a readable handwriting or font on each of the submission forms.  Printing is better than cursive and ink is far better than pencil.
And finally, the submitted name should be in both upper- and lowercase print.  Without a change in case the College cannot know if the submission is for Aerne or Ærne, for mac Meanma or Mac Meanma, for de Meuse or De Meuse.

We remind the College that we rule on an emblazon's acceptability based on the appearance of the emblazon on the form at the Wreath meeting. This includes determining whether all the tinctures on the form are acceptable heraldic tinctures. We have multiple people at the meeting looking at the forms and helping to make this decision. This policy is in accordance with previous practices:
We want to remind the College that we register what is submitted, and not the blazon. We are getting more and more submissions that were done using color copiers or color printers. While we have nothing against using modern technology (Laurel has been known to use it now and then), the colors must be identifiable. If the copier/printer can not produce recognizable tinctures, it shouldn't be used. If it is used, the submission may be returned. (Cover Letter June 1997)

Color Computer Printers: the colors may change even in the few months between the time the forms leave the kingdom and when they are ruled on by Wreath. Computer printer colors sometimes continue to change while the forms are in the files.

Metallic Markers and Paints: These tend to oxidize over time, so that what began as gold or silver ends up as dull brown or dark grey. If the marker or paints are used to detail an underlying dark charge, this oxidation may cause the details to be almost invisible when the form is viewed in later years.

Colored Pencils: The pale shades of color pencil cause difficulties in identifying tinctures and charges on the forms. Colored pencil is the only standard medium in which a 'light grey' (and thus argent) tincture is often difficult to distinguish from a 'black' (and thus sable) tincture. The pale shades also make it hard to get good identifiability of charges due to the low contrast between tinctures when viewing the form. We try hard at the Wreath meetings to keep any emblazon's medium from interfering with our decisions about identifiability and visual difference, but it is best to choose a pigment that avoids the problem.

Wax Crayons, Oil Paints, Oil Pastels, Other Sticky Pigments: These pigments can cement paperwork together in the files. It is hard to do a visual comparison with a form which is stuck ineradicably to the paper in front of it, or has had half its pigment peel off onto the paper in front of it.

The following people were present at the January Lions Blood meeting or sent commentary: Marya Stepanova Kargashina, Thomas Sinclair, Meadhbha Dragon's Mist, Earc Mountain Edge, Gwenlian Catharne, Ciaran Goutte de Sang, Eglentyne Æstel, Teceangl Lions Blood, Guillermo Seagirt, Anthony Hawke, Francesca Dragon's Mist, David Electrum, Brighid Cold Keep, Christopher Red Tree, Frederic Queue Forchee, Wenyeva atte grene, Rogez du Pont, Knute, Li Ban Northern, Tadgg h-úa Faelan of Clan MacNessa, Emma Randall, John Kane of Kent, and Iago ab Adam.

The following names and armory have been sent to Laurel (January LoI) --

NEW SUBMISSIONS:  

3. Annys Bradwardyn	Montengarde	Name and Device, New
	Checky argent and azure, a cross bottony sable. The submitter accepts any changes, cares most about sound, and desires a feminine name authentic for 1400's England.  Submitter will accept a holding name. Annys is cited from E.G. Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, sub Agnes, and dated to 1440. Bradwardyn is cited from "The Agincourt Honor Roll" at http://www.familychronicle.com/agincourt.htm linked from the Medieval Names Archive.  This spelling is dated to 1415. Remember, only articles that have URLs beginning with www.sca.org do not require photocopies; all other sites must have copies sent in with the submission. When a web page is cited, the URL must be included in order for the College to be able to check the documentation.

4. Cordelia Talbot	Dragon's Laire	Badge, Resubmission to Kingdom
	Vert, a talbot's head erased argent, bordure embattled argent. The submitter's previous submission, (Fieldless) A talbot's head erased argent, was returned from kingdom in September of 2002 for multiple conflicts.  This submission adds both a field and bordure. Her current registered name is Elianor Talbot of Wynchestre, registered in August of 1996.  Her change of name to Cordelia Talbot appears on the An Tir IL of December 2002 and LoI of February 2003.

5. Damien Wynter	Three Mountains	Name and Device, New
	Per pale dancetty sable and argent, a goblet counterchanged.    The submitter accepts minor changes, cares most about sound, and desires a masculine name.  Submitter will accept a holding name. Damien is cited from E.G. Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, as a header spelling and dated to 1205. Wynter is cited from "English Names Found in Brass Enscriptions" by Julian Goodwyn found at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/brassses/  Wynter is dated to 1470.

6. Frederic Badger	Saint Bunstable	Device, Change
	Sable, a chalice within an orle argent. The submitter's name was registered in May of 1998. His current device, Per bend sinister wavy sable and argent, a bend sinister wavy between a decrescent and chalice all counterchanged, is to be retained as a badge upon registration of this change.

7. Frederic Badger	Saint Bunstable	Badge, New
	(Fieldless) A badger rampant contourny sable. The submitter's name was registered in May of 1998.

8. Greylond of Trealoch	Cae Mor	Name and Device, New
	Sable, on a plate an owl closed perch sable, a point pointed. The submitter accepts minor changes, cares most about sound, and desires a male name.  Submitter will accept a holding name. Greylond is cited from "A Statistical Survey of Given Names in Essex Co., England, 1182-1272", by Nicolaa de Bracton of Leicester, http://members.tripod.com/nicolaa5/articles/names.html  Greylond appears in the listing of men's names from the Essex Feet of Fines.  Copies of the article are included. Trealoch  is cited as an SCA shire, Shire of Treloch, (San Angelo TX).  Lions Blood can find no record of the registration of this branch name; assistance from the College in documenting the byname would be appreciated. The point pointed is argent and the roundel upon it is sable.

9. Jacques Deleau	Stromgard	Device, Resubmission to Kingdom
	Gules, on a pile between two fleurs de lys Or a stag's head cabossed sable. The submitter's name appears on the December 2002 An Tir LoI. His previous device, Or chausse gules, a stag's head cabossed sable, was returned from kingdom in December 2002 for conflict with Bjorn Rhys - Per bend sinister argent and sable, in dexter chief an elk's skull cabossed sable. This resubmission addresses that conflict with the addition of secondary charges. No blazon was submitted with this device; the blazon given is Marya's.

10. Julianne Cardenell	Cae Mor	Name and Device, New
	Gules, on a plate cardinal gules, issuant from base three chevronels braced argent. The submitter accepts any changes, cares most about sound, and desires a female name.  Submitter will accept a holding name. Julianne is cited from "Given Names from Brittany, 1384-1600", by Heather Rose Jones, http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/latebreton/, and dated 1530,1559, and 1584. Cardenell is cited from "Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521-1615", Julie Stampnitzky, http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/parish/surnames.html  and dated to 1577. Copies of both articles are included.

11. Kadic Godeboldus	Fire Mountain Keep	Name and Device, New
	Per bend sable & argent, a goblet Or & a sword gules. The submitter accepts minor changes, cares about the meaning of the name, stated to be 'dirt or ground', and desires a German masculine name.  He will allow a holding name. The submitter wishes the personal name Kadic but will accept Kade, Kadel or Kädig, all cited from Edda Gentry's translation of Hans Bahlow, German Names, 2nd. Ed, pg 255, and apparently dated to 1408. Godeboldus is cited from Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames, pg 194 sub Godebold, dated to 1086, also 'Wm. Godebold 1206 from OG "god-bold"'.

13. Nicolette Thomas	Madrone	Name and Device, New
	Argent, an open pair of shears sable, and on a chief gules two open books fesswise argent. The submitter allows minor changes, and desires a feminine name authentic for Elizabethan England.  Submitter will accept a holding name. Nicolette is cited from Withycombe, E.G., The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, pg. 217, sub Nicola, Nicolette;  "Italian and French forms of Nicholas (q.v.). Nicholaa is not infrequent in medieval Latin records, but is no doubt merely a latinization of Nicholas when borne by a woman, who would in the vernacular have been simply Nicol or Nicolas. Nicole, Nicolette, Colette are fairly common in France and are occasionally borrowed in England."  The name is also cited from Dauzat, Dictionaire des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France, pg 451 s.n. Nicolas;  "The feminine "Nicole+, -olle" (baptismal name returned to popularity and a matronym) is very old, as is the diminutive Nicollette (12th Century)." Thomas is cited from Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames, pg 443 sub Thomas of which spelling is said, "...dates to 1086 DB. Walter Thomas 1275, Hugo Thomas 1317."

14. Prudence Charbonnel	Wyewood	Name and Device, New
	Argent, a lion passant guardant vert, a chief counter-ermine. The submitter accepts any changes and desires a feminine name.  Submitter will accept a holding name. Prudence is cited from Withycombe, E.G., The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, pg 247, and dated to the 13th century. Charbonnel is cited from Dauzat's Dictionaire des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France, pg 111, sub Charbon.

15. Rhonwen Wynterbourne	Glymm Mere	Badge, Resubmission to Kingdom
	Fieldless, an oak leaf fesswise gules conjoined in annulo with an oak leaf fesswise reversed Or. The submitter's name and device appear on the January 2003 An Tir LoI. The previous badge of the same blazon was returned from Kingdom in January of 2003 for not having the leaves truly in annulo, being in an unblazonable position.

16. Sonnet Manon	Saint Bunstable	Device, Change
	Argent, a dragonfly and on a chief engrailed azure three fleur de lis argent. The submitter's name was registered in June of 1999. Her previous device, registered in September of 1999, Argent , a dragon fly azure winged sable and on a chief engrailed azure three estoiles argent, is to be released upon registration of this change.

17. Sonnet Manon	Saint Bunstable	Badge, New
	(Fieldless) A triangle inverted voided ployé fleury at the points azure. This charge appears in Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch von 1605 on plate 104 in the arms of Eberstein and again on plate 205 in the arms of Stromer.  In each case the triangle conjoining the fleurs is voided.  Additionally, in Das Grosse Buch der Wappenkunst by Walter Leonhard shows the charge, still voided, on page 256.  Not being very good with German text, Lions Blood asked Guntram, Albion Herald (Drachenwald) to translate the text for me.  Here's what he said: The charge is blazoned as a 'Dreipass mit Gleven'.  'Gleve' (or 'Cleve'/'Kleve') is the upper part of a fleur-de-lys.  'Dreipass' usually means 'in pall', though Leonhard also occasionally uses it to describe three charges joined in a triangular formation (see eg p225, #5). Elsewhere, a similar triangular formation with trefoil points (p249, #23) is blazoned as 'mit Waldkleeblaettern besetzter, gestuerzter, durchbrochener Spickel', which, as best as I can translate, would be an 'inverted voided triangle, the points ending in trefoils'. This would indicate that the charge is recognized in German heraldry as its own entity, and therefore is suitable for voiding as a fieldless badge (the requirements for voiding on a fieldless badge being that the voiding is part of the definition of the charge, such as a mascle).  Further support would be appreciated.

18. Sonnet Manon	Saint Bunstable	Badge, Resubmission to Laurel
	(Fieldless) A triangle voided ployé fleury at the points argent. The submitter's name was registered in June of 1999. Her previous badge, (Fieldless) A fleur-de-lys vert, was returned for conflict from Laurel in August of 2002. This is a complete redesign. This is a rotation of the charge described above.

19.Wenyeva atte grene	Madrone	Badge, New
	(Fieldless) On a cushion per pale azure and sable, a mullet of eight Or The submitter's name appears on the August 2002 An Tir LoI.

Written by: Marya Stepanova Kargashina

HTML by: Anthony, Lord Hawke c/o Michael Dowd