Outlands College of Heralds

From the office of the Rampart Herald
Lady Alia Marie de Blois (Lillith Lesanges)

July Line Emblazon Sheet
July Color Emblazon Sheet
July 2003 Letter of Presentation
August Line Emblazon Sheet
August Color Emblazon Sheet
August 2003 Letter of Presentation
September 2003 Letter of Intent
January 2004 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

Please note! This is the mega-September Letter of Response, covering both the July and August Letters of Presentation.

Unless otherwise specified, the submittor allowed all changes, wanted a name with the "common sense" gender (or did not specify), and had no authenticity requests.

The following submissions were passed on to Laurel and the College of Arms for final consideration:

Angus Montgomery the Forester. New badge. (Fieldless) An arrow palewise Or, overall a hound passant ermine.
His name was registered in April of 1991.
Ástriðr Ketilsdóttir. New name.
Ástriðr is found as a female name in The Old Norse Name by Geirr Bassi, on page 8. Ketilsdóttir is a patronymic byname meaning ‘daughter of Ketill’, where Ketill is found on page 12 of the same source as a male name and Ketilsdóttir is one of the examples of how to form a patronymic byname listed on page 17.
She is interested in a name authentic for "Viking" language/culture. Looks spot on to me.
Ástriðr Ketilsdóttir. New device. Or, a popinjay vert and a chief double-enarched azure.
The name is submitted on this letter.
Birgitta Andersdotther. New name.
Birgitta is found in the article "Swedish Feminine Names from ca. 1300" by Lindorm Eriksson (Christer Romson) at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/swedish1300female.htm Birgitta is also found in various spellings (including "Birgitta") in "Swedish Feminine Given Names from SMP (Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn, Vol I) by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (Sara L. Friedemann) at http://www.ellipsis.ex/~liana/names/smp/ There are a number of instances of the desired spelling dated between 1404 and 1530. Andersdotther is a patronymic byname formed from the genitive case of the name "Anders" and the suffix "dotther" as indicated in "Swedish Feminine Given Names" (as above). Anders was documented as a masculine Swedish given name in Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn, Vol I found at http://www.dal.lu.se/sofi/smp/smp.htm This name is shown in this spelling in both nominative and genitive cases (nominative to 1378 and 1427, genitive to 1471).
She cares most about the language/culture and is interested in a name authentic for "14th-15th C Swedish" language/culture.
Birgitta Andersdotther. New device. Azure, a dance argent between two seahorses respectant and a handbell Or.
Name is submitted on this letter.
Caer Galen, Shire of. New badge. Per pale Or and azure, a harp counterchanged.
This name was registered in May of 1980.
Fionn mac Dubhghaill mhic Cuill. New name.
Fionn is found in O’Corrain and Maguire’s Irish Names on page100, under the header Finn. Dubhghaill is found in ibid. on page 79, under the header Dubgall. Cuill is taken from Woulfe's Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames, under the header Mac Cuill. This name is formed based on information in "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names" (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/#twogeneration), under the section "Two Generation Patronymic Byname", which gives the formation of the name as "{single given name} mac {father's given name (in genitive case and sometimes lenited)} mhic {grandfather's given name}".
He will not accept major changes, cares most about the sound and language/culture, and is interested in authenticity for "9-12th Irish" time period and language/culture.
Fionn mac Dubhghaill mhic Cuill. New device. Per bend sinister vert and azure, a sealion argent sustaining in its forepaws an anchor Or.
Gwenlliana Iohannes. New name.
Gwenlliana is a variant found under the header Gwenllian in "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names" by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn (at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh16.html ). Iohannes is a variant found under the header John in "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Names" (at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html ). This name follows the {given name} {father's given name} pattern described in "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names".
Based on commentary, this should probably be made wholly 13th Century as Wentliana verch Iohannes (Wentliana is found in the 13th Century source) or wholly 16th Century as Gwenlliana John. I believe that she would prefer to keep a name that indicates a relationship to Iohannes Kynith (also in this letter).
She cares most about the language/culture and is interested in a name authentic for "Welsh" language/culture.
Iohannes Kynith. New name.
Both parts of this name are documented from "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Names" (at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html). Iohannes is a variant under the heading John. Kynith is listed on that page as an occupational byname meaning "hunter". The forms had the form Kythin, but in consultation with the submittor and the submittor’s herald, they confirmed that that was a typo and that this is the desired form.
He will not allow major changes, and is interested in a name authentic for "Welsh" language/culture.
Ivar MacGuiness. New Name.
Ivar is found in “Manx Christian Names” (http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/manx/famhist/kpn.htm), and is described as “Ivarr (Yngvarr), ‘young spring’, A name of two Mx. Knights, one of whom slew King Reginald II in a meadow near Kirk Christ, Rushen.” Irish Names by Ó Corrain & Maguire also lists an Ibor on page 116. MacGuiness is listed as a variant of Mag Aongusa, on page 74 of Irish Family Names by Kelly.
He will not allow major changes, cares most about the sound, and is interested in a name authentic for “10th-16th Century Manx/Irish” language/culture.
Jacques Lambert. Name resubmission.
His previous name submission was returned by Laurel on the September 2002 LOAR for conflict with John Lambert (1619-1683), English general and political leader during the English Revolution. This resubmission addresses the conflict by changing the given name. Both portions of this name are documented from "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" by Lord Colm Dubh (at: http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html ), where each portion may be found as the appropriate type (given, byname).
Kaleriia Andronikova. Change of Holding Name from Gail of the Outlands.
All parts of this name are documented from “A Dictionary of Period Russian Names” (Online Edition, http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/) by Paul Wickenden of Thanet. Kaleriia is dated to the 13-14th Century. Andronikov is listed as a patronymic of Andronik, dated to the middle of the 15th Century.
She will not allow major changes and cares most about the sound.
Submitted as Kaleriia Andronikov, it was changed in kingdom to a feminine form of the patronymic.
Kristana Tancz. New Name.
Kristana is documented from “Medieval Latvian Given Names” (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/latvian.html) by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, which dates this name to 1503. Tancz is found on page 500 of the Edda Gentry translation of Bahlow’s German Names, under the header Tanz, dated to 1295 and 1307.
She will not allow major changes, cares most about the sound and is interested in a name authentic for “13-16th century Latvian/German”.
Lorcan Mac Colla. Device resubmission. Per chevron argent and purpure, two cows statant respectant sable and a battle axe argent.
His name was registered in November of 1999, and his original device submission was returned at that time.
Mac Con mac Conaill. New name.
Mac Con is found in Ó Corráin and Maguire’s Irish Names (2nd ed.) on page 127, which says: "Mac Con was a favourite name amongst the O Driscolls, MacNamaras and other families in the later middle ages." mac Conaill is a patronymic byname constructed from the element ‘mac’ meaning ‘son’, and the genitive case of ‘Conall’ (genitive is the possessive, so includes the ‘of’). This construction is documented from information in the article "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names" by Sharon L. Krossa at http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames . The name Conall is given as the 9th most frequent masculine name in the listing "100 Most Popular Names in Early Medieval Ireland" compiled by Heather Rose Jones (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn) at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/irish100.html which lists Conaill as the genitive form.
He will not accept major changes, cares most about the meaning of the name (which he gives as: Mac Con="son of wolf", Conall="strong as wolf"), and is interested in being authentic for "Celtic" language/culture.
Mac Con mac Conaill. New device. Per bend sinister azure and argent, in bend three wolves passant counterchanged.
Otto van Aaken. New name.
Otto is found in "Late Period German Masculine Given Names" by Talan Gwynek ( http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/germmasc.html), under the section "Names from 14th Century Plauen".
Aachen is a city in the north Rhine region of Germany, and is also found in Bahlow's German Names (Edda Gentry translation) on page 1 under the header Aaken, van Aaken, Acken, which says "from the city of Aachen (doc.: Aken), cf. Aken on the Elbe, also Heinrich Aken of Beelitz 1484. In Lüb., Ro., Strals., Greifsw. around 1300 de Aken meant the city of Aachen as place of origin"
He will not allow major changes, cares most about the language/culture, and is interested in having a name authentic for "1350-1400" time period and "German (Rhine land)" language/culture.
Submitted as Otto von Aachen, it was changed in kingdom to a documented form as close as possible to the submitted form.
Otto van Aaken. New device. Per pale argent and sable, a chevron enhanced and in base a tower counterchanged.
His name is submitted on this letter.
Rebekah Tynker. New name.
Rebekah is her legal first name (her birth certificate is included). Withycombe's Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names under the header Rebecca lists Rebekah, but says that it was not much used until after the Reformation. Tynker is found in "An Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lincolnshire, England" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/ ) in the section of Full Names sorted by byname under "T", which lists "Thomas Tynker". Tinker is also a header form in Reaney and Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames, with spellings dated to the 1240's.
She will not accept major changes, cares most about the sound, and wishes a female name authentic for "14th-15th Century" time period.
Submitted as Rebekah of Clan Tynker, in consultation she agreed to drop "of Clan" so that it would be registrable.
Rebekah Tynker. New device. Per pale azure and ermine, a dove displayed within an orle, all counterchanged.
Her name is submitted on this letter.
Samuel Tynker. New name.
Samuel is his legal first name (his birth certificate is included). Withycombe's Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names under the header Samuel says that it "was rare as a Christian name in the Middle Ages".
Tynker is also found in "An Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lincolnshire, England" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (mka Kathleen M. O'Brien) (at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/ ) in the section of Full Names sorted by byname under "T", which lists "Thomas Tynker". Tinker is a header form in Reaney and Wilson's Dictionary of English Surnames, with spellings dated to the 1240's.
He will not allow major changes, cares most about the sound, and wishes a name authentic for "11th - 12th Century" time period.
Submitted as Sam of Clan Tynker, in consultation he agreed to drop "of Clan" and use "Samuel" (instead of the diminutive) so that it would be registrable.
Sergius Oppius Scaevola. New Name.
Both Sergius and Oppius are documented from Livy, Early History of Rome (translation by Selincourt), pages 223 and 240 respectively. Sergius is mentioned as "Marcus Sergius" in the chapter on "Arbitrary Conduct of the Decemvirs". Oppius is mentioned as "Malius Oppius" in the chapter "Demand for Restoration of Tribunate". Scaevola is mentioned as "Mucius Scaevola" and is dated to approximately 130B.C.. Scaevola is documented from History of Rome by Cary and Scullard, on page 59.
He will not accept major changes, cares most about the language/culture, and is interested in a name authentic for "1st century AD" time period and "Rome" language/culture.
Thalia Ruggenall. New name.
Thalia is found in the Collected Precedents of the SCA under the heading Greek, from the tenure of Laurel Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year), 1995.09 ( http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/Greek.html ), which says:
" In Greek mythology Thalia `bloom; good cheer, wealth, plenty' was the Muse of comedy and one of the three Graces; the other two Graces were Euphrosyne `cheerfulness, mirth, merriment' and Aglaia `splendor, beauty, brightness'. Evidence for period use of the names of the Muses is slight, but Praerie's Dictionary of Period Russian Names cites Evfrosin 1481 and a 4th century martyr Aglaii, whose names are clearly masculine forms of the names of the other two Graces. De Felice mentions several saints Eufrosina and indicates that Aglaia was used during the Italian Renaissance, while Withycombe notes a legendary saint Aglaia. Thus, the names of at least two of the three Graces were in use in Europe toward the end of our period; and since 16th century England seems to have been relatively open to new names of Classical origin, we are willing to grant the possibility that the remaining name, Thalia, might have been used then." Ruggenal is found in "Fairenames for English Folk: Late Sixteenth Century English Names" at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/christian/fairnames/surnames.html
She will not accept major changes.
Thalia Ruggenal. New device. Per chevron argent and vert, two dragonflies vert and an oak tree couped and fructed Or.
Her name is submitted on this letter.
Thyra Ulfsvina. New name.
Thyra is the name of a Danish Queen found on two stones found at Jelling, in Denmark. The older stone (c. 950) reads “King Gorm made these monuments in memory of his queen, Thyra, the adornment of Denmark” The second stone, (c.983-985) reads “King Harald made these monuments in memory of Gorm his father and Thyra his mother. It was this Harald who won all Denmark and Norway, and made the Danes Christian.” The translations and dates are from several sources, and photocopies were provided ( Cultural Atlas of the Viking World by Colleen Batey, Helen Clarke, R.I. Page,and Neil S. Price, edited by James Graham-Campbell - pg 118 includes information on the stones, and their inscriptions; Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, edited by William W. Fitzhugh and Elisabeth I. Ward pg. 73 includes a picture of one of the stones. Pages 67 and 77 include information on the inscriptions; The Vikings and their Origins: Scandinavia in the First Millenium by David M. Wilson page 130 has another translation of the 2nd stone (c 985)). All references to both stones translate the name of Harald’s mother as “Thyra”. The Royal Danish Embassy's website ( http://www.denmarkemb.org/kngsquns.html ) also lists "Thyra (Tyre) Danebod (?-935)" as the wife of Gorm the Old. ulfsvina is intended to be a descriptive byname meaning “wolf’s friend”. The Old Norse Name, by Geirr Bassi Haraldsson indicates that nicknames are a common part of Norse names, and while most people did use a patryonymic, it was not unknown to go without one. The client documented this byname through the use of an on-line dictionary of Old Icelandic: A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic (1910, 551 pp), by Geir T. Zoëga found at http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/ Vina (h491.html) is defined as "female friend” and for Ulf is listed as (h458.html) “úlfr (-s, -ar), m. wolf; ala e-m úlfa, to breed wolves for one, plan mischief (spyr ek {th}at frá, at Danir muni enn ala oss úlfa); fig. enemy.” Photocopies of this were also provided. In Geirr Bassi, there are several descriptive bynames or nicknames which demonstrate that this sort of construction and meaning are plausible. barnakarl - “friend to children” (pg 19) feilan - “wolf-cub” (pg 21) gyl{dh}ir - “howler, wolf” (pg 22)
She cares most about the meaning of the surname, which she gives as "wolf's friend", and is interested in a female name authentic for "Norse/Icelandic" language/culture.

The following submissions were returned for further work:

Anora Maledysaunt. New name.
Anora is found in Withycombe on page 154 under the header Honor. Maledysaunt is documented from an online copy of Syr Thomas Malory’s Le Morte dArthur which appears to be found on a site titled "Corpus of Middle Engligh Prose and Verse" (http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/c/cme/cme-idx?type=header&idno=MaloryWks2). In Book Nine: the hystorye of La cote male tayle, on leaf 171v (paragraph two), it says "What dost thou here in my felauship saide the damoysel maledysaunt / thou canst not sytte no knyghte".
The most useful and full explanation of the issues came from one commentor, who said:
"There are a couple of relevant precedents concerning taking elements from Malory and other works of this ilk

" Period literature such as histories, romances, sagas, legends and myths occupy a slightly unusual position as sources for period names. While the documents themselves are undeniable period themselves, the names in them range from names that can be clearly documented as being used by humans from other, more prosaic sources, to names assigned to humans in literature that appear to be unique to a particular character and cannot be documented to have been used by real medieval humans to names which are clearly assigned to supernatural creatures in the literature. Given this range of possibilities, period literature must be used cautiously as a source for medieval names.
"A researcher must look carefully at the source, its purpose and the character that bears the name. As a rule of thumb, a literary work whose purpose is historical is going to be more accurate about naming practices in that culture and time than a mythological source, with the caveat that the further back a "historical" source goes from the writer's own time, the more fantastical elements may creep in. The fidelity of the translation must also be considered. The modern editions of many medieval sources are translated or the spelling regularized or modernized. This means that a documentable name may appear in a translated or modernized source in a form inappropriate to the period and culture from which the source originates. It is also generally necessary to look at the actual naming practices of the time period in which the work of literature was produced and thereafter, as some works have affected subsequent naming practices. If you can document the name from a more standard source, it is usually better to use the standard source rather than the literary work as documentation. However, names from period literature may be used, with some caveats.

"1. Try other sources first - often better documentation can be found.
" 2. It has to be a name of a human being in the story. God/dess, elf, dwarf, etc. names aren't usable.
" 3. Beware of allegorical names in sources such as the English mystery plays. It is extremely unlikely that we would register Everyman as a name, even though it is found as a name of a human being in period mystery plays, unless actual documentation is found for it as a name for a real person.
" 4. And this is subjective - minor characters from minor works may or may not be acceptable. Especially if they do not fit the naming patterns of the time period. (Jaelle of Armida, CL with the February 1999 LoAR, p. 2)"

Maledysaunt in the citation from Malory is being used to describe a person, but it is not used to name the person. Even if it was part of her name, this would be a minor character, and we previously have not registered the names of minor characters from Malory. (Even though Malory can't be considered a minor work). Therefore, I doubt that Maledysaunt is registerable based on the documentation provided. Dauzat has nothing like Maledysaunt, and he has alot of bynames beginning with 'Mal-'"
Additionally, another commentor says:
"The second name (meaning evil [speech?])doesn’t seem to appear anywhere except as the name of this fictional character, which is clearly symbolic. It gets changed twice in the story, first to Bien Pensaunt (good thoughts) when she quits badmouthing the hero, and then to Beau Vivante (good living) when she marries him."

The combination of these two pieces of commentary back up my initial feeling that the byname Maledysaunt is not appropriate or registrable, because it is not a "real" name, but is instead an allegorical name applied to someone (especially since it changes over the time covered by a literary work).

Additionally, I spent some time researching on the Internet to see if I could turn up anything about this, even if only the existence of the word in period. In general, my searches found similar results to those of the second commentor quoted above, or referred to a mythical celtic person (most likely originating from the Arthurian legend), or were references to the submittor.
However, I took a look at http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/efts/ARTFL/newhome/ref/ which has online French (French/French, Latin/French, French/English) dictionaries ranging in date from 1552 to 1932. In the section Dictionnaires d'autrefois, where one can search ones from 1606 on, The only spelling I can find is "maldisant", which only appears in the 1832 dictionary, and is well outside our time period. The 1552 dictionary is only from Latin to French, so I also spent some time going from English to Latin to French, and was unable to turn up anything useful there either.
On the other hand, I can offer the following, based on my previous impression that the intended meaning of the name is similar to “gossiper”: In the Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls, Lincolnshire, by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/BynG.html) there is the name Robert Gossip’. (yes, with an ending apostrophe) This would be far more in keeping with a given name documented for English, such as Anora.
Cecelia Corr Mhaire. Badge resubmission (kingdom). (Fieldless) A lucet per pale vert and argent.
This would be the first registration (aka "defining instance") of a lucet in the SCA, and as such, it requires documentation. This has been upheld by Laurel as recently as May of 2003, in the return of Ian Cradoc's device ( Per fess azure and sable, three decrescents Or and a turnpike argent ), wherein Laurel said:

"The turnpike, or turnstyle, in this submission would be the defining registration of this charge in SCA heraldry. Defining instances of charges require slightly higher standards of documentation than registrations of previously registered charges. This policy has been upheld consistently for over ten years but one of the clearest statements of the policy is in the LoAR of August 1995:

A registration of this submission would apparently be the first, and therefore defining, instance of such a charge. Especially in the case of charges not registered previously, the College requires documentation that the charge (a) has been used in period armory or (b) is compatible with similar charges in period armory, and (c) has a standardized depiction which would make reproducability [sic] from the blazon possible. We need such documentation here.

This submission was accompanied by a single piece of documentation from Parker's A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry. This book does not clearly date the charge as having been used in period armory. The only date provided in Parker is associated with the crest of Skipworth, but appears to be the date of the founding of the baronetcy rather than the date of the crest. We consulted Fairbairn's Crests, but that volume did not help resolve the date of that particular crest. No evidence was presented by the submitting kingdom, and none was found by the College or Laurel staff, for use of a turnpike in period heraldry.

If a turnpike is a period artifact, it would probably be "compatible with similar charges in period armory" such as portcullises and doors. However, no evidence was presented describing a period turnpike. Nor was documentation presented showing that a turnpike "has a standardized depiction which would make reproducability [sic] from the blazon possible." The submission must therefore be returned until such time as the turnpike may be documented appropriately for a defining instance of the charge."

This means each individual charge - simply because some items in a certain class of objects are registrable does not mean that all items in that class are registrable. For example, while needles and scissors are certainly registrable, modern sewing machines are not, even though they are all sewing implements. Similarly, while many animals are registrable, I would not expect a Labradoodle (a modern breed of dog that crosses Labradors and Poodles, for assistance work) or a kangaroo (found only in Australia, and not known in Europe in our period) to be registrable.
In this particular case, I corresponded with the local herald and did some online research of my own to come up with documentation. In short, I was unable to find conclusive documentation that the lucet was used in period heraldry or that it is a period artifact/tool or that it had a standardized depiction (in period). I found significant discussion (among SCA weaving and sewing people) suggesting that the lucet (in any form) cannot be currently documented to use in period, and that the particular form of the lucet which many SCA folks use and is shown in this submission is not found until well after our period.
Cecelia Corr Mhaire. Badge resubmission (kingdom). Per pale vert and argent, a lucet counterchanged.
This would be the first registration (aka "defining instance") of a lucet in the SCA, and as such, it requires documentation. This has been upheld by Laurel as recently as May of 2003, in the return of Ian Cradoc's device ( Per fess azure and sable, three decrescents Or and a turnpike argent ), wherein Laurel said:

"The turnpike, or turnstyle, in this submission would be the defining registration of this charge in SCA heraldry. Defining instances of charges require slightly higher standards of documentation than registrations of previously registered charges. This policy has been upheld consistently for over ten years but one of the clearest statements of the policy is in the LoAR of August 1995:

A registration of this submission would apparently be the first, and therefore defining, instance of such a charge. Especially in the case of charges not registered previously, the College requires documentation that the charge (a) has been used in period armory or (b) is compatible with similar charges in period armory, and (c) has a standardized depiction which would make reproducability [sic] from the blazon possible. We need such documentation here.

This submission was accompanied by a single piece of documentation from Parker's A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry. This book does not clearly date the charge as having been used in period armory. The only date provided in Parker is associated with the crest of Skipworth, but appears to be the date of the founding of the baronetcy rather than the date of the crest. We consulted Fairbairn's Crests, but that volume did not help resolve the date of that particular crest. No evidence was presented by the submitting kingdom, and none was found by the College or Laurel staff, for use of a turnpike in period heraldry.

If a turnpike is a period artifact, it would probably be "compatible with similar charges in period armory" such as portcullises and doors. However, no evidence was presented describing a period turnpike. Nor was documentation presented showing that a turnpike "has a standardized depiction which would make reproducability [sic] from the blazon possible." The submission must therefore be returned until such time as the turnpike may be documented appropriately for a defining instance of the charge."

This means each individual charge - simply because some items in a certain class of objects are registrable does not mean that all items in that class are registrable. For example, while needles and scissors are certainly registrable, modern sewing machines are not, even though they are all sewing implements. Similarly, while many animals are registrable, I would not expect a Labradoodle (a modern breed of dog that crosses Labradors and Poodles, for assistance work) or a kangaroo (found only in Australia, and not known in Europe in our period) to be registrable.
In this particular case, I corresponded with the local herald and did some online research of my own to come up with documentation. In short, I was unable to find conclusive documentation that the lucet was used in period heraldry or that it is a period artifact/tool or that it had a standardized depiction (in period). I found significant discussion (among SCA weaving and sewing people) suggesting that the lucet (in any form) cannot be currently documented to use in period, and that the particular form of the lucet which many SCA folks use and is shown in this submission is not found until well after our period.
Ivar MacGuiness. New Device. Per saltire purpure and sable, on a saltire invected Or a whip sable.
This device is being returned because the whip is near-completely unidentifiable. Myself and at least one other commentor thought it was a squid until we checked the blazon. A saltire may not be a good choice of places to put a whip. This particular whip should probably (as best I can tell) be blazoned explicitly as a "cat-of-nine-tails".
Jacques Lambert. Device resubmission (kingdom). Per bend purpure and vert, a lightning bolt bendwise and in base a rabbit rampant argent.
This device is being returned for a redraw. The lightning bolt depicted here is incorrect - it should look much more like the one in the original submission, where the entire bolt follows the line of embattlement, instead of just having the sort of "lumps on the side of a line" embattlement here. While the device is otherwise acceptable, this depiction will be unregistrable.
Kristana Tancz. New Device. Per bend sinister purpure and gules, a bend sinister Or, a decrescent Or and a spider sable.
This device is being returned, as should come as no surprise, because the black spider on the gules field is low contrast. Also, all of the charges on this device are a bit on the small side (though not returnably so on their own).
Magdalena Violente de Flores. New name.
This name has a couple of issues. Firstly, the documentation has the name "Violante" and not "Violente" (although this could be a miscopying onto the form). Also, according to the documentation, Flores is a descriptive byname meaning "Flowers" and therefore "de" is not appropriate, and commentary agreed. Since no changes were allowed, this name must be returned (for both the Violante/Violente issue or the "extraneous" 'de').
Since this name is being returned, it may be useful to note that the documentation also says that no women (in the source) have a second given name, and no commentors could give me any ways to interpret "Magdalena Violente" (or "Magdalena Violante") as anything other than two given names. So, "Magdalena Violente Flores" should be registrable, but not authentic. Either Magdalena Flores or Violante Flores would be a more authentic name, based on what little Spanish name documentation I have available.
Meadhbh Lasaifhiona an Chopain. New Name.
Unfortunately, Gaelic never used double given names for women, and there is no way to interpret "Meadhbh Lasaífhiona" other than as double given names. Since major changes were not allowed, and dropping one of the given names is a major change, this name must be returned. Either Meadhbh an Chopain or Lasaífhiona an Chopain should be registrable.
Meadhbh Lasaifhiona an Chopain. New Device. Per chevron embattled argent and azure, two trefoils vert and a threaded sewing needle Or.
This device has two significant issues. The primary reason for return is the depiction of the sewing needle. As drawn with only a thin line for the needle, there is nowhere to color in the actual needle with Or. This means that the needle is effectively fimbriated Or (which is not allowed). The needle needs to be drawn much larger and "thicker", so that it can actually be colored in Or. In fact, both the needle and the trefoils could stand to be drawn a bit bigger, so that they better fill the space. The secondary reason for return is the odd complex line for the Per chevron. This is not embattled, which would have the embattlements follow the angle of the line. This is indented, or perhaps grady. In either case, it should be drawn evenly, so that it is balanced on both sides.
Sam of Clan Tynker. New device. Argent, a death symbol within a bordure sable, on a chief gules, a crescent Or.
This would be the first registration (aka "defining instance") of a death symbol in the SCA, and as such, it requires documentation. This has been upheld by Laurel as recently as May of 2003, in the return of Ian Cradoc's device ( Per fess azure and sable, three decrescents Or and a turnpike argent ), wherein Laurel said:

"The turnpike, or turnstyle, in this submission would be the defining registration of this charge in SCA heraldry. Defining instances of charges require slightly higher standards of documentation than registrations of previously registered charges. This policy has been upheld consistently for over ten years but one of the clearest statements of the policy is in the LoAR of August 1995:

A registration of this submission would apparently be the first, and therefore defining, instance of such a charge. Especially in the case of charges not registered previously, the College requires documentation that the charge (a) has been used in period armory or (b) is compatible with similar charges in period armory, and (c) has a standardized depiction which would make reproducability [sic] from the blazon possible. We need such documentation here.

This submission was accompanied by a single piece of documentation from Parker's A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry. This book does not clearly date the charge as having been used in period armory. The only date provided in Parker is associated with the crest of Skipworth, but appears to be the date of the founding of the baronetcy rather than the date of the crest. We consulted Fairbairn's Crests, but that volume did not help resolve the date of that particular crest. No evidence was presented by the submitting kingdom, and none was found by the College or Laurel staff, for use of a turnpike in period heraldry.

If a turnpike is a period artifact, it would probably be "compatible with similar charges in period armory" such as portcullises and doors. However, no evidence was presented describing a period turnpike. Nor was documentation presented showing that a turnpike "has a standardized depiction which would make reproducability [sic] from the blazon possible." The submission must therefore be returned until such time as the turnpike may be documented appropriately for a defining instance of the charge."

This means each individual charge - simply because some items in a certain class of objects are registrable does not mean that all items in that class are registrable. For example, while needles and scissors are certainly registrable, modern sewing machines are not, even though they are all sewing implements. Similarly, while many animals are registrable, I would not expect a Labradoodle (a modern breed of dog that crosses Labradors and Poodles, for assistance work) or a kangaroo (found only in Australia, and not known in Europe in our period) to be registrable.
In this particular case, the charge in question is documented only in an artist's interpretation. The client also suggested that the charge might be a slightly odd phi or theta. However, it's not exactly either, and the fact that it would have to be bendwise or bendwise sinister further hinders the recognizability. Also, rendering it as either a phi or a theta would eliminate the submittor's preference for a charge that meant "death symbol".
However, the submittor is currently completely reworking the submission.
Sergius Oppius Scaevola. New Device. Sable, on a bezant two lightning bolts gules in saltire.
This is being returned for conflict with both Cynthia Arianhrod (Sable, upon a bezant a lion's head gules and a woman's head vert addorsed, their mane and hair intermingled) and Gwynaeth Math o Ddylluan (Sable, a bezant charged with a raven on a branch bendwise all sable). In both cases, the cumulative changes to the tertiaries (charges on the bezant) are the only Clear Difference.
Tyrfingr von Wolfsburg. Device resubmission (kingdom). Azure, a mullet of seven points and a wolf statant contourny maintaining a sheaf of arrows inverted argent.
This device is being returned for conflict with the Barony of Rivenstar (Azure, a riven star argent) and the country of Somalia (Azure, a mullet argent). In both cases, there is only one Clear Difference for adding the wolf as part of the primary charge group. In this emblazon, the wolf and the mullet are of a similar size and are considered co-primary. The arrows, being maintained, count for no difference.
Making the mullet smaller, so that the wolf is primary and the mullet is a secondary charge, may bring up a new conflict with Wolfram of Bear Mountain (Azure, a wolf passant contourny and a point pointed argent), as I suspect it would have only one Clear Difference for changing the type of secondary from a point pointed to a mullet.
Wolfgang Grothe zu Verron. Name Resubmission (Laurel).
The original name, Verron Wolfgang von Groth, was returned by Laurel in June of 1989. Wolfgang is documented from “Late Period German Masculine Given Names” by Talan Gwynek, which lists Wolf(gang) as having been one of the most frequent men’s names from 1501-1550. Goethe is documented from Brechenmacher’s “Etmologisches Wuutterbuch der Deutschen Familienneman” under the header Grot(h)e, Grodt, Grohte, dated to 1375.
The client documents Verron by noting that the first submission return from Laurel says [sic] “… documentary ‘Verron’ as an acceptable varient form of a geographical name, which has now been done)." That doesn't tell us what that documentation for that is. This kind of thing is especially important when there is significant time elapsed between the original submission and the new one, since "prior registration is no guarantee of future registrability."
Other commentary included a request for documentation for using "zu" instead of "von" or "der"

NB: This item was reconsidered privately after I was informed that some commentary (with additional documentation for Verron) had vanished ... both it and the pended device were sent to Laurel on the October Letter of Intent.
Zorya ze Praha. New Name.
No documentation was received for this submission.
Aspen Pursuivant emailed me personally to request that this be sent up anyway, effectively forming a holding name for the armory. Unfortunately, only Laurel can create a holding name and the complete lack of documentation requires a return at the Kingdom level, as noted by Laurel as recently as July of 2003:

"No documentation at all for this name was included in either the submission or the LoI. Lacking documentation for this name, this submission should have been returned at Kingdom."

In that particular case, other heralds provided documentation, and it was registered. However, Laurel would have been quite within his rights to return that name, and any other for which no documentation was provided.
There was some discussion of the byname on the SCA Heralds listserv, but a) that discussion alone is not sufficient documentation for the byname (photocopies of the sources used by the heralds responding would be), b) the suggested forms of the byname are not the one submitted, and c) does not help with the given name.
Zorya ze Praha. New Device. Azure, a horse forcene contourny between three pheons inverted argent.
Originally listed as "a horse forcene", this horse is also "contourny". However, forcene (aka forceny) is not registrable in the SCA currently, as it causes ambiguity between salient and rampant. This has been noted by Laurel as recently as 1995, but the actual ban on it came in 1980, when Laurel Wilhelm von Schlussel said "From now on people should not use forceny, as it is ambiguous, but rather rampant or salient."
Aspen Pursuivant emailed me personally to request that this be reblazoned as "salient", and passed as is. However, this depiction is not salient, but is fairly clearly forceny according to the following precedent (also from Wilhelm von Schlussel): "Salient means leaping bendwise up, forelegs together. Forceny means rearing up bendwise, forelegs separate, as if to strike furiously. Rampant means to have the body palewise with the limbs in the classic rampant position, and the mouth open'. In the latter two cases the horse is drawn in a fierce aspect as in combat, while in the former it is drawn in a calm aspect, as if jumping playfully."
When resubmitting, this should be redrawn clearly as salient or as rampant.

The following submissions are pended (that is, would have been sent on but the name was returned):

Anora Maledysaunt. New device. Sable, in pile a rose slipped and leaved argent and a feather Or.
This is being pended because the name is being returned.
Magdalena Violente de Flores. New device. Ermine, on an egg gules, a fleur-de-lys Or.
This is being pended because the name is being returned.
I think this is probably a couple too few ermine spots (especially given their size). It'd be nice to have a copy that has more ermine spots on it, but if that's not feasable, I'll probably just put a few more on the copy I have.
Wolfgang Grothe zu Verron. Device Resubmission (Laurel). Sable, a mullet of eight points between two scarpes Or.
This is being pended because the name is being returned.
The form merely said "the rules have changed, and this device no longer conflicts" but did not say when or with whom it conflicted. Fortunately, I was able to find out that this device was returned by Laurel in June of 1989, which says:

"As for the device, the mullet as drawn is not really a mullet but a bezant engrailed. In any case the submission conflicts with Anastasia Vladimirovna ("Sable, two bendlets sinister Or, and in bend three mullets argent.")."

I concur that this resubmission should not conflict, as this submission has the mullet much larger than the scarpes (making the mullet clearly the primary charge) and Anastasia's should have the bendlets larger than the mullets (making the bendlets the primary charge). It's possible that someone would ask for a visual check, but I doubt it.

NB: This item was reconsidered privately after I was informed that some commentary (with additional documentation for Verron) had vanished ... both it and the above returned name were sent to Laurel on the October Letter of Intent.