Last modified: July 7, 2006

Outlands College of Heralds

July 7, 2006
From the Office of the Castle Herald
Baronessa Francesca di Pavia, OP, OL
castle@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 7th day of July, A.S. xxxxi (2006 CE), does Maestra Francesca di Pavia send greetings on behalf of Lady Sorcha MacLeod, White Stag Principal Herald.

Here follows the Kingdom of the Outlands Letter of Presentation for July 2006. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Errors found herein are undoubtedly mine.

Anyone may comment upon the items found herein, and e-mail commentary to the Rampart address is encouraged. Please have comments on items contained herein to Rampart, Furukusu Masahide-dono, by August 22, 2006, for the Rampart decision meeting tentatively scheduled for August 23, 2006.

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Color Emblazon Sheet
July 2006 Letter of Presentation
August 2006 Letter of Response
August 2006 Letter of Intent
December 2006 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

I present the following items for your consideration:

1. Ailionóra MacFarlane. New name and device. Per saltire sable and gules, on a saltire argent a rapier and a cat-o'-nine-tails in saltire inverted sable.
(Fontaine dans Sable) Gender: Female. Submitter cares most about the sound of the name, most especiallly the first two syllables, to be pronounced "EYE-lee". No major changes accepted.
Ailionóra - 1. Academy of St. Gabriel Report 1846 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1846) - "<Ailiono/ra> is a Gaelic adoption of the name <Eleanor>...first example of the name in Ireland is a woman who died in 1497., but it is reasonable that it was used in Ireland at an earlier date."  2. Academy of St. Gabriel Report 1683 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1683) - "...<Ailiono/ra>, a Gaelic form of <Eleanor>".
MacFarlane - Reaney & Wilson, p. 291.

2.  al-Barran, Barony of.  New Order name and Badge: Order of the Antares Kano. Sable on a bell Or a Kano rune sable, a bordure Or.
(al-Barran) Changes accepted.
No documentation is provided.

3. al-Barran, Barony of.  New Order Name: Order of the Hammer.
(al-Barran) Changes accepted.
This follows the "Thing" pattern of order names found in Meradudd Cethin's article "Project Ordensnamen" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order), which says that "Thing" is the second-most common pattern and includes similar items, such as Hatchet, Sword, and Sickle. The word "Hammer" dates back to at least the Middle Ages, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary (http://www.m-w.com), which gives the Middle English form as  "hamer", the Old English form as "hamor", and the Old High German form as "hamar".

4. Ara Bint Haroun. New name and device. Per saltire vert and Or, a butterfly counterchanged within a bordure sable.
(Dragonsspine) Gender: Female. Authenticity not requested. No major changes accepted.
Ara - http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/daud/arabic-naming, "Arabic Naming Practives and Period Names List" by Da'ud ibn Auda, under "Women's Given Names".
Bint -  http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/daud/arabic-naming, "Arabic Naming Practives and Period Names List" by Da'ud ibn Auda - Arabic naming practice category 3 (though this source indicates the nasab should not be capitalized).
Haroun - http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/daud/arabic-naming, "Arabic Naming Practives and Period Names List" by Da'ud ibn Auda, under "Men's Given Names".

5. Caelan MacKinnon. New name and device. Gyronny argent and sable, a mullet of four points elongated to base and an orle, all counterchanged.
(Fontaine dans Sable) Gender: Male. Submitter cares most sbout the sound of the name. Changes accepted.
Caelan - Academy of St. Gabriel Report 1652 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1652)
MacKinnon - Academy of St. Gabriel Report 1374 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1374) - source: Black, under heading "MacKinnon"

6.  Conn MacEwan.  Name resubmission and device resubmission. Gyronny argent and azure, a double-headed eagle and in base a stag's head cabossed Or. 
(al-Barran). Gender: Male. The submitter is interested in an authentic name for the Irish Gaelic language/culture. Changes accepted.
The name, originally submitted as Cuinn McEwen, was returned on the January 2006 Letter of Response (http://rampart.outlandsheralds.org/2005-12-lop/0601-lor.html): "Commenters indicate that Cuinn is a genitive form of Conn, which is also indicated in the documentation provided. A genitive form indicates a relationship between the noun and another noun. In English this is similar to possession or descriptive prepositions such as 'of Chicago.' As such a genitive form cannot be used for a given name. It can be used as part of a byname or surname. Commenters also indicate that McEwen is an anglicized form of 'mac Eoghain.' Combining anglicized and Gaelic elements in the same name is considered a weirdness, but not in itself a reason for the name to not be registered. It is suggested that a fully Gaelic form of the name would be 'Conn mac Eoghain.' " The device was returned on the same letter for lack of a  name with which to send it forward.
Documentation presented with this submission:
Conn: http://www.s-gabriel.org  (no more specific reference is given)
MacEwan: Black, p 491.

7. Dermod Killarney. New name and device. Per pale argent and vert, six roundels, two, two, and two, counterchanged.
(al-Barran) Gender: Unspecified. No authenticity requested. Changes accepted.
Dermod: Irish Ancient Names/Irish Naming Practices" (http://ahd.exis.net/monaghan/irish-names-naming.htm) under heading DIARMAID (Dermod is an Anglicizes form).
Killarney:  a town in Ireland (http://uk.holidaysguide.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-109573-killarney_history-i)

8. Kimberly Blackwood. New name and device. Erminois, a chevron gules between two demi-sins issuant from the corners and a tree sable.
(al-Barran) Gender: Female. No authenticity requested. Changes accepted.
No documentation is provided, though Kimberly is the submitter's legal given name (no ID copies provided).

9. Mabell MacEwan. Name and device resubmission. Purpure, a lily flower OR between three fleurs-de-lys argent.
(al-Barran) Gender: Female. Submitter cares most about the lanfuage/culture of the name (what language/culture is unspecified). Submitter is not requesting authenticity. Submitter requests that if her husband's surname (Conn MacEwan, item # 4 above), mist be changed, that hers be changed to match. Changes accepted.
The name, originally submitted as Mabel Francesca McEwen, was returned on the January 2006 Letter of Response (http://rampart.outlandsheralds.org/2005-12-lop/0601-lor.html): "Commenters indicate that as documented there is one weirdness (a step from period practice) for combining Italian and Scots in the same name (per the August 1999 LoAR), one for combining English and Italian in the same name (per the September 1999 LoAR), and another for the use of two given names in a Scots name (per the September 2001 LoAR). This results in three weirdnesses for the name. Any more than one weirdness is grounds for return (per January 1996 LoAR). Dropping of "Franchesca" would result in a registerable name with slight changes. "The Surnames of Scotland" by Black under the entry of "Macewan" has spellings of "McEwin" dated to 1581, however, not of the per-1600 citations had a spelling of "McEwen" and as such it may not be registerable. "Mabell" is found as a variant of "Annabell" in 1509 according to Effrick's "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" located at http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/ so "Mabell MeEwin" is a wholly Scots name that could be registered.
Name returned for rework."  The device was retunred on the same letter for lack of a name with which to forward it.
Mabell: variant of <Annabell>, ca. 1509. Source: "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" by Sharon L. Krossa (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16).
MacEwan: Black, p 491.

10. Máría Abramsdottir. New name and device. Purpure, an angel volant to sinister argent.
(Fontaine dans Sable) Gender: Female. Submitter cares most about the sound of the name, and is interested in an authentic Christian-era Norse name of 1000-1300 AD/CE. No major changes accepted.
Máría - Geirr Bassi Haralson, The Old Norse Name, p. 13  (as compiled on The Viking Answer Lady website (http://www.vikinganswerlady.com)). A.W.Brøgger and Haakon Shetelig, The Viking Ships - Their Ancestry and Evolution refers to a ship called the Mariasuden in 1184.  Academy of St. Gabriel Report 2296 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/2296) lists "Marie" as a late-period Swedish name.  http://www.sofi.se/GetDoc?meta_id=1472 - the website for SPRÅK- OCH FOLKMINNESINSTITUTET (Institute for Dialetology, Onomastics, and Folklore - Sweden) lists María.
Abram - numerous references on the site mentioned above (http://www.sofi.se) - referenced on The Viking Answer Lady Webpage (http://www.vikinganswerlady.com).  "Finnish Names" by Rouva Gertrud (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/FinnishNamesArticle.htm), under heading "Abraham".

11.  Wulfhramn of Golden Oak.  New name and device. Sable, an eye argent, irised azure, surmounted by a sword inverted Or.
(al-Barran) Gender: Unspecified. Authenticity not requested. Changes accepted.
Wulfhramn - http://members.aol.com/mcnelis/AEstel1/Shippey1.html and http://members.aol.com/mcnelis/AEstel2/Frantzen2 discuss the Life of St. Wulfhramn. The Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15716a.htm) describes St. Wulfram as the Bishop of Sens, who died before 704.
No decumentation is provided for "of Golden Oak".

12. Zafirah. New name and device. Azure, a duck Or and a base nebuly argent.
(Dragonsspine) Gender: Female. Authenticity not requested. Changes accepted.
al Jafari, Fatima Suzanne, Digest of Muslim Names: Beautiful Muslim Names and their Meanings. Beltsville, MD: Amana Publications: Zafirah - "Victorious". Undated. The Medieval Names Archive (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names) is listed as a source, but the submitting herald does not specify where in that large website the name is to be found.  "Jewish Women's Names in an Arab Context: Names from the Geniza of Cairo" by Juliana de Luna (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/geniza.html) lists the name Zafira.


Thus ends the July 2006 Letter of Presentation.

Your servant,

Francesca, Castle Herald


Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
July 2006 Letter of Presentation
August 2006 Letter of Response
August 2006 Letter of Intent
December 2006 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.