Last modified: November 23, 2004

Outlands College of Heralds

From the office of the Rampart Herald
Lady Alia Marie de Blois
rampart@outlandsheralds.org

Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
September 2004 Letter of Presentation
October 2004 Letter of Response
October 2004 Letter of Intent
February 2005 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

Unless otherwise specified, all changes are allowed by the submitter.

Alzhbeta of Sighisoara. New Primary Name and New Device. Argent, four oak leaves in saltire stems to center vert, in base an acorn proper, a bordure purpure.
This seems like a reasonable construction, but my resources for Wallachian names are pretty much nonexistent. I am sending this up to Laurel, with the hope that someone in the College of Arms can help.
The acorn was blazoned as inverted, but the emblazon shows a regular one, and the blazon was changed to reflect this.
Brian macc Fáeláin. New Change of Registered Device. Per saltire sable and gules, a lion rampant argent between three mullets of eight points Or.
Caer Galen, Barony of. New Badge. (Fieldless) On a cauldron azure, a harp Or.
Cecelia Wrenne. New Primary Name and New Device. Argent, two arrows crossed inverted in saltire, overall a feather vert, a bordure embattled purpure.
This device was inadvertently left off the Letter of Presentation, but was conflict checked at the Rampart Meeting and found clear, so I am sending it up to Laurel. Blazoned on the form as a "quill pen", the emblazon clearly shows a feather.
Friedrich Wilhelmssohn. New Primary Name and New Device. Quarterly sable and gules, a triskelion of sinister wings argent.
The August 2003 registration of Wolfgang Güntherssohn via AEthelmearc says:
"Submitted as Wolfgang Günthersohn, the byname Günthersohn was submitted as a constructed byname. Brechenmacher lists a number of examples of this type of name, including: (s.n. Sohn) Henrich Adrians Sohn dated to 1580, (s.n. Jakobsen) Drewes, Jacoppes son zu Lübeck dated to 1335, (s.n. Friedrich) Chuonnrat Friderichs sun zu Hottingen dated to 1313, and (s.n. Wilhelmsen) Jakob Wilhelmes sohne dated to 1526. These examples demonstrate that this construction existed in period. They also show that the expected form would have an s added to the end of the father's name, forming a patronymic such as Günthers sohn. Brechenmacher (s.n. Wolterssohn) also shows an example of the sohn 'son' element appended to the end of the patronym: Jasper Wolterszoen 1573. This example supports a construction such as Güntherssohn. We have changed the submitted byname to this form in order to follow period examples in order to register this name."
In keeping with this, I've changed the byname here to Wilhelmssohn.
Submitted as "three wings conjoined in pall" this is visually equivalent to a triskelion of wings, and the blazon was changed to reflect this.
Gerhardt Drachenmacher. New Change of Holding Name from Gerhardt of the Outlands.
This seems like a plausible construction given the elements and similarly formed bynames.
Kieran Blake. New Primary Name. (see returns for device)
Several commenters noted that Kieran isn't a Gaelic spelling because Gaelic doesn't have have the letter K, and also that O Kieran is a modern English form of Ó Ciarain. According to Academy of S. Gabriel report #2250 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/2250):
"<Ciaran> was the name of several early Irish saints. Despite this, it never became common and does not seem to have been used at all in the later medieval period [1]. We haven't found the name <Ciaran> used after 1061 [6]. However, the masculine given names <Mael Ciaran> and <Gilla Ciaran>, " devotee of Ciaran" and "servant of Ciaran", were used much later than < Ciaran> itself. It was a common Gaelic naming practice to create new given names in this fashion when the actual name of a saint was considered too holy for ordinary people to use."
So, Ciaran is not an authentic name for the 16th century, but it is registerable in the SCA because it is a saint's name.
Additionally, Kieran was registered in this spelling as recently as 10/2001 (Kieran Hunter) and 04/2003 (Kieran Moncreiff of Dundee) without comment. Although prior registration is no guarantee of future registrability, the recentness of these registrations is a positive sign. However, it's not authentic, because there's no evidence that Ciaran remained in use until the 16th century, anglicized or not. Blake is an Anglo-Norman surname, not a Gaelic one, so if he's looking for an authentic Gaelic name, this isn't one. But, Kieran Blake seems to be an Anglicized Gaelic given name with an Anglo-Saxon byname, appears to be registerable, and it has no lingual weirdnesses.
Ceolwen æt Axanbrycge. New Change of Registered Name and New Change of Registered Device. Change from Kymme Godric. Per pale gules and sable, a pall ermine.
Listed on the LoP as aet, this should be æt.
Marie Edeline. New Device. Sable, two greyhounds sejant reguardant addorsed Or and argent, collared sable.
Although this is a fairly modern rendition of greyhounds, I am sending it up to Laurel for input from the College of Arms.
Penelope Carlyll. New Primary Name and New Device. Argent, a vol and a chief sable.
Submitted as a pair of wings conjoined and displayed, this is visually equivalent to a vol and the blazon was changed to reflect this.
Savina La Brune. New Primary Name. Savina Labrune.
Submitted as La Brune, the documentation supports Labrune and the name was changed to match.
Stefnir Kolfiðarson. New Primary Name. Stefnir Kolfiðarson.
Uluric of York. New Primary Name.
Submitted as "Ulrick", this specific spelling was not documented, and it was changed to the closest documented spelling.
Viðarr leðrhals. New Primary Name. (see returns for device)
Submitted as Leðrhals, precedent indicates that descriptive bynames in Norse are written all in lowercase, and this name has been changed to match.
Violetta Bellafiori. New Device. Paly argent and purpure, a pegasus passant Or.
Ymanya Murray. Resubmitted - Kingdom Change of Registered Name from Amanda Murray.
This seems to be a lovely name.
Ymanya Murray. New Badge. Sable, on an open scroll argent, a stags attire palewise gules.
Incorrectly blazoned on the LoP, this is actually, Sable, on an open scroll argent, a stags attire palewise gules. There is a possible conflict with Erna Kreisel, Vert, on an open book argent, a heart gules. There is definitely a CD for the change to the field, but there is no CD for changing only the type of the tertiary charge (between one stags attire gules vs. one heart gules, only the type changes). The only other possible CD is between an open scroll and an open book. Prior precedent indicates that scrolls are not given difference from books:

"The use of two similar but non-identical charges in a group has been cause for return many times in the past. A scroll is one kind of book and a book is another." (LoAR 7/91 p.24).
However, a more recent precedent may also be applicable:

[Sable, three open books Or] This submission raised the question of whether we should give difference between open and closed books. Both are found in period armory: the open book in the arms of Oxford in 1585 and the closed book in the arms of Cambridge in 1572. There are few books found in period heraldry, so it is not easy to generalize about period distinctions between open and closed books, although there is a fair amount of evidence showing that Oxford and Cambridge consistently use their books in the open and closed forms respectively in the 17th C and beyond.
Without evidence of period practice, we must rely on visual distinction, and open and closed books are visually distinct. This is therefore clear of conflict with ... Sable, a closed book palewise Or, with one CD for changing the number of books and another for open versus closed books. It is similarly clear of conflict with ... Vert, three closed books palewise, spines to sinister Or, with one CD for changing the field and another for open versus closed books. [Emma in draumspaka, 03/02, A-An Tir]
This opens the possibility that an open scroll may be considered visually different from an open book. An open scroll is longer vertically, while an open book will be longer horizontally. One of the commentors suggested, and those at the Rampart meeting concurred, that they are at least as visually distinct as an open book and a closed book. Therefore, I am sending this up to Laurel and the College of Arms for futher consideration.

The following items are returned for further work:

Caleb Stewart. New Device. Sable, a stag and a greyhound combattant Or.
This is not an acceptable depiction of combattant. Combattant is merely a shorthand term for "rampant regardant", meaning 'two creatures rampant and facing each other' as opposed to "rampant addorsed" (facing away from each other) or simply "rampant" (where they would both face the same direction). In a normal heraldic rampant regardant, the two creatures would not actually touch, since that implies action and movement, while heraldry is meant to be static, balanced, and still. This is being returned for a redraw.
Kieran Blake. New Device. Argent, a mascle gules fretted of two crosses crosslet fitchy sable.
This is being returned for redraw. The crosslets on the crosses are too small/short to be visible, and the fitching should also more pointy (or at least pointy-er for a greater portion of the length).
Magdalena de Medina y Polanco. New Device. Gules, a lion rampart argent gorged of a rosary sable, a bordure argent lunelly sable.
In accordance with the Rules for Submission VII.7.a. "Armorial Element Requirements", as this would be the first registration of a rosary in SCA heraldry, we need documentation that a) rosaries were known in period (this should be easy) and b) that this is an accurate, period depiction of a rosary (this may be harder). The same would also apply to "lunelly" and the individual charge the "lunel". Commentary suggests that this was a particular charge in Spanish heraldry, but I haven't been been able to particularly document it. Also, since this would be a unique or very rare charge, I would suggest blazoning it in this emblazon as "a bordure argent semy of lunels sable" to avoid confusion with a bordure semy of moons.
Sean MacLeod of Skye. New Change of Holding Name from Sean of the Outlands.
Unfortunately, Skye, and particularly Dunvegan Castle is the home of one of the major branches of the clan MacLeod, and the combination of the surname MacLeod with the locative of Skye violates the following precedent:

"We will continue to prohibit the use of a Scots clan name with the seat or territory of that clan (e.g. Cameron of Lochiel), or a surname with the phrase of that Ilk (or its functional equivalent, e.g Macintosh of Macintosh). That usage, with or without the given name, is the title of the actual chief of the clan or his immediate kin; its use in the SCA represents a direct infringement on actual nobility, and also appears to be a claim to rank, either of which is grounds for return." (Alexander MacIntosh of Islay, March, 1993, pp. 7-8)
As an aside, the documentation provided for this spelling of Skye is generally insufficient, since it does not specificlaly date this spelling to our period. However, in the Nov. 2003 LOAR, Laurel noted that: "... the spelling Skye has only been found dated to circa 1610 (in Speed's The Counties of Britain, p. 266, map of Scotland, map drawn 1610). Johnston (p. 296 s.n. Skye) dates Skey 1292. [Cáel of Skey, 04/02, A-Caid]". This citation would probably be sufficient documentation.
Additionally, it is worth noting that Withycombe is not a good source for non-English names, as noted in prior precedent, so other documentation for Sean would be in order. Mari's "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Given Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/) has <Seán> or < Seóan> dated throughout period.
Effrick's "Scottish Gaelic Given Names" draft (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/) doesn't have <Seán>. Sean is the Irish Gaelic adaptation of John. The standard Scottish Gaelic adaptation of John is Eoin, which Effrick has in the 14th-16th C. Léod is found in the 12th C in her article. The genitive of Léod is Léoid, so a fully Scottish Gaelic (Highlands) form of the name would be Eoin mac Léoid.
Thyra Ulfr Vina. Resubmission - Laurel Primary Name and New Device. Gyronny vert and Or, a wolf statant argent.
This name is being returned primarily to determine what the submitter actually wants. Commentary suggested that the form Thyra vina Ulfs may be acceptable, but this may be a major change, which the submitter does not allow. Thanks go to Lady Halla for her work on this byname. Thanks also go to the folks who were able to send me the documentation the College of Arms provided previously for a period form of Thyra.
This device is being returned for multiple conflictsm including: Johann von Graustein, (Fieldless) A fox statant reguardant argent, Isabel the Mad, (Fieldless) A greyhound courant argent, collared vert, and Isabella of Greycliffs, Per bend sinister embattled sable and vert, a fox passant argent. In each of these cases there is only a single CD for changing the fields.
Viðarr leðrhals.New Device. Per pale azure and Or, a double-bitted axe and in base two arrows in saltire, all counterchanged.
This device is being returned for identifiability issues. The very skinny handle is basically invisible when counterchanged along its length, rendering the charge very difficult to identify.
Ymanya Murray. New Badge. (Fieldless) On a rose sable barbed gules, a hummingbird rising, wings addorsed argent.
Unfortunately, this is being returned for violating precedent on "barely overall" charges. In short, this hummingbird is slightly over the edges of the rose, so it's not completely "overall", and not completely "on". Some commenters questioned the issue of contrast between the petals of the rose and the barbs, but the default heraldic rose suffers from the same level of low contrast (red petals, green barbs) and barbing does not count for difference, so I do not beleive this is a problem. Thus, this can be remedied with a simple redrawing.