Last modified: February 14, 2005


Outlands College of Heralds

10 February 2005

From the Office of the White Stag Principal Herald
Lady Sorcha MacLeod
whitestag@outlandsheralds.org

UNTO the Outlands College of Heralds, our respected friends and colleagues who give freely of their time to provide commentary, and all others who come by these letters, on this Letter of Presentation, on the 10th day of February, A.S.XXXIX (2005 CE), does Lady Sorcha MacLeod, White Stag Herald send greetings.

Anyone may comment upon the items found herein, and e-mail commentary to the above address is encouraged. Please have comments on items contained herein to me by 12 March, 2005, for the White Stag decision meeting scheduled for 13 March.

Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
March 2005 Letter of Response
March 2005 Letter of Intent
July 2005 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

I present the following items for your consideration:

(Unless otherwise noted, all submittors will accept all changes, have no authenticity requests, and wish a name with the "common sense" gender, based on the submitted name.)

  1. Alexander O'Neill. New Name and Device. Argent, three serpents palewise ondoyant gules and on a chief azure a rapier fesswise argent.
    (Dragonsspine)
    Alexander is dated to 1523 in "Masculine Given Names Found in the 1523 Subsidy Roll for York and Ainsty, England" by Karen Larsdatter (Karen Harris) at: http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/york16/given-masc-alpha.htm. O'Neill is believed to be an Anglicized form of the name O Neile, which is an Irish byname dated to 1560-65 in "Names and Naming Practices in the Fitzwilliam Accounts from 16th Century Ireland" by Heather Rose Jones (Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn) at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/lateirish/fitzwilliam.html. Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about the sound, desires a masculine name, is interested in authenticity for "16th Century" time period and will permit the creation of a holding name.
  2. Ambrose atte Redehulle. New Name and Device. Barry of six azure and gules, an elephant statant Or.
    (Caerthe by way of Hawks Hollow)
    Ambrose is found in Reaney and Wilson under the header Ambrose, and atte Redehulle is found in the same source under the header Radwell. Dates were not provided on the forms. Reaney (1961) dates forms of Ambrose between 1168 and 1332, but does not appear to support its use as a given name; this version dates atte Redehulle to 1327 as a byname. Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about an unspecified language/culture, desires a masculine name, is interested in authenticity for "13th-14th C. English" time period and language and/or culture, and will permit the creation of a holding name.
  3. Aodhan O'Maolalaidh. New Name.
    (Aarquelle by way of Dragonsspine)
    Aodhán is found in "Concerning the Names Aidan, Aédan, Aodh, and the Like" by Josh Mittleman at: http://www.medievalscotland.org/problem/names/aidan.shtml, undated on the forms, but listed in the article as having dropped out of use around the 10th century and were reintroduced during the 19th or 20th century; this spelling is listed as a "late Middle Ages" version. O'Maolalaidh is found on page 87 of Clans and Families of Ireland and Scotland by C. Thomas Cairney, but is undated. Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about unspecified meaning and language/culture, desires a masculine name, and is interested in authenticity for 12-13th C. Irish language and/or culture.
  4. Blackwater Keep, Shire of. Change of Device Resubmission (K). Or, a tower within a laurel wreath gules and a base engrailed sable scaly Or.
    (Blackwater Keep/Scorpions Hollow)
    The original change of device submission was returned from kingdom on the January 2005 Letter of Response for a redraw, because the wreath had room for a charge between the tips and the base was so large as to blur the distinction between a base and a per fess line of division. The redraw corrects the problems. The above name is listed on the January 2005 Outlands LoI, and the current name, Scorpions Hollow, Shire of, was registered in March 1987 and corrected in December 1999.
  5. Branwen ferch Gruffudd Rhodri. New Name and Device. Gules, on a pale between two vols of raven's wings argent, three chaplets of four calla lilies sable.
    (Hawks Hollow)
    All elements are documented from A Welsh Miscellany by Heather Rose Jones but no dates are included on the forms. Branwen is found on page 31 as a female name. Gruffudd is found on page 31 as a male name. Rhodri is found on page 31 as a male name, and ferch is found on page 28 as a patronymic element meaning "daughter of." "Name construction is based on a combination of the female name and a patronymic where the 'ap' has been removed from the patronymic (as described on page 29 of [the same source]). If necessary to pass the name, the 'ap' could be added to the name to result in Branwen ferch Gruffudd ap Rhodri." Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about language/culture, desires a feminine name, is interested in authenticity for "Welsh" language and/or culture, and will permit the creation of a holding name.
  6. Brian MagUidir. New Name.
    (Fontaine)
    Brian is found in "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Brian" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan dated as a masculine given name in this spelling to both Middle Irish Gaelic and Early Modern Irish Gaelic, with a range from 925 to 1582. The byname is found in Academy of S. Gabriel Report #2361 as mag Uidir, which says that "the byname remained in use until at least the 16th/17th centuries." This specific form is undated in the copy provided. Submitter accepts all changes, cares most about unspecified language/culture, desires a masculine name, and has no requests for authenticity.
  7. Ceara ingean Rónáin. New Name and Device. Argent, a dragon rampant vert and a chief engrailed purpure.
    (Caer Galen by way of Hawks Hollow)
    Ceara is found in S. Gabriel Report 936: http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/936.txt. The documentation summary states, "'ingean' is a common patronymic." Rónáin is found in "100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland" by Heather Rose Jones, found at: http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/irish100.html. Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about language/culture, desires a feminine name, is interested in authenticity for "pre 16th century Irish" language and/or culture, and will permit the creation of a holding name.
  8. Cecilia Corr Mháire. Badge Resubmission (K). (Fieldless) On an amphora vert a passion nail argent.
    (Hawks Hollow)
    Her previous submission was returned by Rampart September 2003 for lack of documentation of a lucet as a period charge or artifact. This design does not incorporate a lucet. Name registered August 1995 via Outlands.
  9. Elissent Silverleaf. New Change of Holding Name from Elissent of Unser Hafen
    (Unser Hafen by way of Bofharrach)
    Her original name submission Elissent of Silverleaf was returned, and the holding name registered, on the August 2004 LoAR, which stated, in part, "The submitted documentation supports the nickname Silverleaf. To change the byname from a locative to a nickname, we would drop the preposition of. However, the submitter will not accept changes." The original documentation was summarized thusly on the April 2004 Letter of Intent: "Elissent is found in 'Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames' by Talan Gwynek (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/reaneyAG.html) under the header Elisant, although it is an undated secondary header form. Silverleaf is a constructed byname. Reaney and Wilson's A Dictionary of English Surnames had Greenleaf (p 205, 1327, 1577), Blackhill, Blackbrook (p 47, 1279), Whitefield (p 486, 1237), Silverside (p 409), Silver Eye (p 409), Silvermouth (p 409). From these examples, 'Silverleaf' seems a plausible construction."
  10. Gundahar Magnusson. New Name and Device. Azure, two battleaxes in saltire Or, in chief a heart and in base a cup argent.
    (Gleann Medonach by way of Citadel)
    Gundahar is found on page 18 of Medieval Warlords by Tim Newark, which mentions "Gundahar, King of the Burgundians." Magnús is listed as a masculine given name on p. 13 of Geirr Bassi. Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about an unspecified language/culture (presumably Old Norse), desires a masculine name, has no authenticity requests and will permit the creation of a holding name. The forms are seriously out of date, but appear to contain the appropriate information. The stray lines on the mini-emblazons are from the copier the forms were done on.
  11. Ingvarr Halvarson. New Name and Device. Gyronny arrondi gules and Or, a raven reguardant sable.
    (Hawks Hollow)
    Ingvarr is listed on page 12 of Geirr Bassi as a masculine given name. Halvar is found as a header form dated to 1554 in Svenska förnamn by Roland Otterbjörk. Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about language/culture, desires a masculine name, is interested in authenticity for "Viking Age" time period and language and/or culture, and will permit the creation of a holding name.
  12. Jenne McGill. Change of Device. Vert, on a chevron enchanced throughtout Or, a decrescent sable and in base a willow tree Or.
    (Caerthe)
    If registered, she wishes her previous device, Or, on a chevron sable, a decrescent Or and in base a willow tree vert registered March of 1999 (via the East) to be released. Name registered March 1999 via East.
  13. Jenne McGill. New Badge. Quarterly purpure and vert, a thistle argent.
    (Caerthe)
    Name registered March 1999 via East.
  14. Kristrún Hrafnsdóttir. New Name.
    (Aarquelle by way of Dragonsspine)
    Kristrún is found on page 13 of Geirr Bassi as a feminine given name. Hrafn is found on page 11 of Geirr Bassi as a masculine given name. The patronymic is formed according to the discussion in Geirr Bassi beginning on page 17. Submitter will not accept major changes, cares most about the meaning of Hrafnsdottir, which she gives as Daughter of Raven, desires a feminine name, and is interested in authenticity for "10th C. Norse" time period and language and/or culture.
  15. Lucrezia Landino. New Name and Device. Per saltire azure and argent, a leopard's mask erminois between four amphora counterchanged
    (Gleann Medonach by way of Citadel)
    Lucrezia is found in Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia Vol. 2, Anne Commire, Editor, in entry "Borgia, Lucrezia (1480-1519)." Landino is found in Encyclopedia of the Renaissance Vol. 3, in entry "Landino, Cristoforo (c.1424-1498)." Submitter accepts all changes, cares most about an unspecified language/culture, desires a feminine name, is interested in authenticity for "16th Century" time period and language and/or culture. The device is submitted on a lozenge, which is among those Outlands forms approved by Laurel.
  16. Murchadh Mac Diarmada. New Name and Device. Per pale Or and sable, a cross formy throughout counterchanged.
    (al-Barran)
    Murchadh is dated as a masculine given name to Early Modern Irish Gaelic (1200-1700) in "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Murchad/Murchadh" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien) at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/Murchad.shtml. Diarmada is not found in this spelling in the enclosed documentation "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Diarmait/Diarmaid" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (Kathleen M. O'Brien) at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/Diarmait.shtml. Submitter accepts all changes, cares most about language/culture, desires a masculine name, is interested in authenticity for "Irish" language and/or culture, and will permit the creation of a holding name.
  17. Murchadh Mac Diarmada. New Household Name and Badge. Or, a chevron gules overall a wyvern displayed tail nowed sable. Ráth Nathrac.
    (al-Barran)
    The documentation is somewhat unclear, and lacks the required copies of the front page of each of the cited websites. The summary says that Ráth is found in "MacBain's Dictionary," and the photocopy gives a url of http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MB2/mb30.html and lists: "++ràth: a fortress, residence, Irish ráth, Early Irish ráth, ráith, g. rátha, Gaulish ratin, Argento-ratum: *râti-s,*râto-n; cf. Latin prâtum, a mead. Welsh rhath, cleared spot; borrowed from Gaelic? (Rhys)." [The acute/grave switch is present in the printout.] It also says that Nathrac is found in "Gaelic-English Dictionary" and the photocopy gives a url of http://www.clanmacrae.org/documents/gaelic-n.htm and lists: "[nathair] nf. g. -rach; pl. -raichean, serpent, snake, adder [nathrach] See nathair" No documentation of this construction is provided. Submitter accepts all changes, cares most about meaning given as "Serpent's Fortress" and is interested in authenticity for "Irish" language and/or culture.
  18. Taliesin ab Iago. Change of Device Resubmission (K). Sable, a pine tree within a hexagon voided and fracted per pall argent.
    (Hawks Hollow)
    The forms are outdated, but appear to contain the pertinent information. The previous resubmission was returned by Rampart in September 2004 for using the non-period dragon's scale. This design addresses that problem. If registered, submitter wishes previously registered device Azure, a massacre and in chief a rose argent, barbed vert and seeded gules registered April of 1995 (via the Outlands) changed to a badge. Name registered April 1995 via Outlands.
  19. Taliesin ab Iago. New Household Name and Badge. Sable three pine trees each within a hexagon voided and fracted per pall, one and two, argent. Uji Takaki.
    (Hawks Hollow)
    Elements and construction are documented from Name Construction in Mediæval Japan 2004 Revision by Solveig Throndardottir: "Takaki is a historical surname meaning "Tall Tree" dated to 1568" on page 327. Uji is "Clan" per page 426. "Proper pronunciation of the name would be 'Uji no Takaki' but the possessive article 'no' is only used in spoken references and is not written." (p. 35) Name registered April 1995 via Outlands.
  20. Theodor von Oldenburg. Device Resubmission (K). Or, on a tankard azure a rabbit's head erased argent and a chief embattled sable.
    (Dragonsspine)
    The previous submission Or, on a tankard azure, a rabbit's head erased argent was returned by Rampart in January 2005 for conflict with Kathryn atte Unicorn, (Fieldless) On a tankard azure a unicorn's head erased argent armed Or. The addition of the chief clears the conflict. Name appears on the January 2005 Outlands LoI.
  21. Vasilii Volchogo Zuba syn. Device Resubmission (L). Per saltire vert and sable, in pale three bears passant to sinister argent.
    (Caerthe by way of Hawks Hollow)
    Previous submission Per bend vert and sable, in pale three bears passant argent was returned by Laurel on the April 2004 LoAR for conflict with Johanna Ludwiger von Hertsbergk: Azure, in pale three bears passant argent. The new design has one CD for the field and another for the orientation of the primary charges. Name registered on April 2004 LoAR via Outlands.

Thus ends the February Letter of Presentation.
In service and duty,
Sorcha, White Stag

Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
March 2005 Letter of Response
March 2005 Letter of Intent
July 2005 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

Anyone who wants to may send me a letter of comment regarding this Letter of Presentation. I prefer them via email.
Please send commentary to the address above.
Please have your commentary on this letter to me by 12 March.