Last modified: December 19, 2006
27 November 2006
From the Office of Rampart Herald
Furukusu Masahide (John Newton)
rampart@outlandsheralds.org
Unto Elisabeth de Rossingol, Laurel Queen of Arms, Margaret MacDuibhshithe, Pelican Queen of Arms, Jean Marie Lacroix, Wreath Queen of Arms, and the College of Arms, upon this 27th day of November 2006, A.S. XL, does Furukusu Masahide, Rampart Herald, send greetings.
Unless otherwise noted, submitters accept all changes, desire a name with the common sense gender, and have no requests for authenticity. My deepest gratitude to those who took time to send internal commentary: Cnute, Gwain of Miskbridge (Green Anchor Herald) and the NE Calontir commenting group, Meradudd Cethin (Liber Herald), and Ursula Georges (Loyall Pursevant).
Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
October 2006 Letter of Presentation
November 2006 Letter of Response
November 2006 Letter of Intent
March 2007 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.
It is our intent to register the following items:
Gender: Male. The submitter cares most about the sound of the name. Changes accepted.
Eoin: http://www.MedievalScotland.org/problem/names/iain.shtml (Arval Benicoeur) lists Eoin as an early medieval Irish form of Iohannes. It is stated as being used throughout period, and as early as the 12th century.
[Kerr]: _The_Surnames_of_Scotland_ by Black, p. 394 (Ker) states that [Kerr] is the spelling of name by the Lothian branch of the family. It further dates [John Kerr] to 1357.
No major changes accepted.
This has been previously submitted as the [Order of the Oasis Guardians], [Order of the Guardians of the Oasis], and [Order of the Western Guardians]. The most recent return was on the March 2006 LoAR. The new name is submitted under the "Group + Placename" pattern as cited in Project Ordensnamen (www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order). "Oasis" was deemed too generic to be considered a place under this guideline. "Western Guardians" was judged to be in conflict with the Order of the Chivalry of the West Kingdom. "Fontaine", as the name of the Barony, should satisfy the placename standard. This award is given for excellence in martial endeavor.
Commenters made extensive comment on this proposed order name, to whit:
{This order name does not follow any of the six general meta-patterns (Saint/Diety name, given name of secular founder, object of religious veneration, place name, heraldic charge, or Virtue) as outlined in Pelican's discussion on Order Names (August 2005, CL). As such, the name should be returned.
It was further commented that [Fontaine] is not the SCA branch name for which this badge is being registered, and as such RfS V.2.a need not necessarily apply. Specifically that _A_Dictionary_of_English_Surnames_ by Reaney and Wilson specifically states that [Fountain], dated to 1202 in the name [de Funteines], probably derives from a French place called [Fontaine], [Fonteyne], or [Lafontaine], which makes [Fontaine] at least a plausible medieval place-name as it stands, without conflicting with [Order of the Guardians of Atenveldt].
Commenters further indicate that the OED dates [guardian] with the meaning [One who guards, protects, or preserves; a keeper, defender] to 1477, with the specific spelling listed to 1598.
No major changes accepted.
No major changes accepted.
Commenters indicate that the OED entry for [sprite] carries the modern denotation of [A disembodied spirit, a ghost; a supernatural being, goblin, fairy, etc.] This also shows that the forms [sprite] and [spirit] were interchangeable.
No major changes accepted.
Commenters indicate that the OED shows [winged] as being dated to as early as 1386 meaning [having wings], with the specific spelling used dated to 1586. Furthermore, the OED dates [pheon] used as early as 1486, with this spelling and the common meaning dated to 1562.
The name was registered in January 2005.
Commenters feared that the shape of the mask may be considered presumptuous based on RfS. XI.4 - Arms of Pretense and Augmentations of Honor.
[…Given the short-lived use of dimidiation in period, we are not at all sure that we should register dimidiation in the SCA. Its use creates often serious identification problems, and tends to lead to some very unbalanced designs. - LoAR 11/94 Alexandra Marie of Greenhaven R-Caid]
Rampart is forwarding this submission to Laurel for final determination.
Blazon changed from [Gules, a mask divided per pale argent and sable, comedy to dexter and tragedy to sinister, all within a bordure argent and sable] to [Gules, a mask of tragedy sable dimidiated with a mask of comedy argent within a bordure compony sable and argent] to properly describe the mask and tincture order.
No major changes accepted. The submitters care most about the meaning of the name.
The incipient canton wishes its name to reflect the topography which makes up most of its western border, ie ridgelines of red stone. [Readstan] is proposed as an Old English form of [red stone].
A petition signed by the members of the Canton approving this name is included with the submission.
Commenters indicate that most cited sources use the form [rêad] and the form [stân]. _The_Concise_Oxfored_Dictionary_of_Place-names_ by Ekwall (p.364) shows [Rêad] as a header spelling which means [red], and is a common protheme with examples such as [Redesdale] (1075), [Redeclive], and [Redmelde]. All of which are examples of natural formations which are labeled [red]. Furthermore the deuterotheme, [stân] is found as a header spelling on page 416, which means [stone] and is comone both as a protheme and deuterotheme. Examples of this are [Sidestan], [Spilestan] (1166), and [Copelan stan] (974). All of these are of natural formations labeled [stone].
This order name does follow the grammatical pattern of [Group + place] (Hospitallers for Germany, Nobles of Tyrol, Maestranza of Ronda) as outlined in Project Ordensnamen (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order/)
Finally, this order name conflicts with the [Order of the Guardians of Atenveldt] (March, 1992 via Atenveldt). RfS V.2.a states that the branch names are not to be considered as the descriptive element for purposes of conflict checking. This means, in brief, that the branch names are invisible for purposes of conflict checking.
All of that said......I would recommend to brother Rampart that this name be forwarded to Laurel for the following reasons:
a. The general meta-patterns may not include groups, but there is ample evidence that names of groups of people ARE a general meta-pattern which should be considered acceptable for these purposes ( 26 of the 263 documented names in Project Ordensnamen use groups of people as part of the name ). Put bluntly, there are more documented names with groups of people as a meta-pattern than orders named for secular founders, objects of veneration and virtues combined. Thus, it should be sent forward for a clarification from Laurel as to adding "groups" to the general meta-pattern list.
b. Although the RfS states that branch names (which are locatives) are invisible for purposes of conflict, there is ample evidence to suggest that this is a post-period consideration. i.e. - There are no less than 8 seperate and distinct military orders named "Order of St. George of
I would recommend forwarding this to Laurel for clarification and registration.}
This has been previously submitted as the Order of the Golden Frond, Order of the Golden Palm, and Order of the Palma Aurum. The most recent return was at the kingdom level on the Outlands November 2005 Letter of Response. "Frond" was returned as not documentable as a period term. "Golden Palm" was returned for conflict with the Household of the Golden Palm. "Palma Aurum" was returned for improper Latin grammar. The new name is submitted under the "Color + Thing" pattern as cited in Project Ordensnamen (www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order). This resubmission addresses the grammar issue, using the form suggested by Rampart in the above-referenced Letter of Response. Though Rampart suggested that the entire name be in Latin ("Ordo Palma Aurea"), the submitters wish to have "Order of the" in English for the sake of consistency with its other Orders.
This award is given for excellence in the Arts and Sciences. Should the registration of this name be successful, the Barony wishes it to be associated with the badge Azure, a palm frond Or within an orle of fleurs-de-lys bases outward argent, registered to the Barony in June 2005.
This has been previously submitted as the Order of the Small Fountain, which was returned on the March 2006 LoAR. Laurel determined that there was no evidence for size-related adjectives in period order names. The new name is submitted under the "Creature" pattern as cited in Project Ordensnamen (www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order). "Sprite" is a term that has several slightly different meanings in various mythos throughout medieval Europe. It is generally an elf-like creature known for youthful jubilation. The term "sprite" is derived from the Middle English word "spreit", which itself is derived from the Old French "esprit", or spirit. The spelling "sprite" is dated to c. 1303 in the Online Etymology Dictionary (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=sprite). This award is given to children in the Barony who possess exceptional merit.
This has been previously submitted as the Order of the Vol, which was returned on the March 2006 LoAR. The previous submission was returned because the vol is a heraldic charge not verifiably used in period. It was also judged to be in conflict with the registered heraldic title of Volk Herald. This submission fixes these problems. The new name is submitted under the "Thing" pattern as cited in Project Ordensnamen (www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/order). Previous commentary has indicated that any usable heraldic charge should be registerable under the "thing" standard. As a pheon is a charge that was used in period heraldry, and it is a common practice to attach wings to objects that are not winged in the real world, this should be permissible. This award is given to gentles displaying excellence in archery.
The previous device submission, [Gules, a demi-fool issuant from base, masked sable, capped and collared argent, cloaked lozengy argent and sable, all counterchanged per pale], was returned on the January 2006 LoAR: [The submitted emblazon bears no resemblance to period armory. The "demi-fool" doesn't look like a human figure, as it lacks arms, legs, and body. As drawn, it looks more like a per chevron field with a mask of comedy balanced at the point. Having the whole figure counterchanged per pale is visually confusing, owing more to modern advertising design than to period emblazonry. The total effect is one of visual confusion and lack of identifiability, which are grounds for return. If she resubmits with a true human figure in blazonably simple tinctures, it should be acceptable style.] This is a complete redesign.
Commenters further felt that this registration may be returned based on Laurel precedent:
The previous submission, Bloodstone Keep, was returned on the August 2005 LoAR: "No documentation was submitted and none found to suggest that bloodstone was a reasonable descriptive element for a castle name. In this case, the construction is argued as surname + keep. So, to be used in a castle name Bloodstone must be a reasonable inherited surname. Although the word bloodstone is dated in the OED to 1551, this is as a type of stone. It was argued that the name might be a sort of descriptive byname. Indeed, the word is registerable as a late period nickname, but a nickname found only in the latter half of the 16th century is not an appropriate candidate for an inherited surname in our period. The only evidence of Bloodstone as a surname is from a genealogy site, but such sites have long been noted as not appropriate for name documentation purposes."
"A Survey of English Placenames" by Dame Cateline de la Mor la souriete (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/engplnam.html) cites numerous examples of topographic placenames: {Examples of topographic names are not hard to find. Topographic names containing a personal name include Edgmond (Shropshire) [hill of a man called Ecgmund] (Mills, p. 117) and Edingale (Staffordshire) [nook of land of the family or followers of a man called *Eadin] (Mills, p. 117). Blackmoor (Hampshire) [darkcoloured pool] (Mills, p. 39) and Grinlow (Derbyshire) [green hill or mound] (Mills, p. 149) demonstrate topographic names containing colors. Types of soils are found in Clayhanger (West Midlands) [Clayey wooded slope] (Mills, p. 82) and Stanfield (Norfolk) [stony open land] (Mills, p. 306). Position is indicated by Upwood (Cambridgeshire), meaning [higher wood] (Mills, p. 340). Dalwood (Devon) shows a location: [wood in a valley] (Mills, p. 102). Condition is indicated by Windle (Lancashire), Defford (Herefordshire and Worcestershire) and Hendon (Greater London) meaning respectively [windy hill] (Ekwall, p. 522), [deep ford] (Mills, p. 103) and [(place at) the high hill] (Mills, p. 168). Tree names cam be found in Oakley (Bedfordshire) [wood or clearing where the oaktrees grow] (Mills, p. 246), Withycombe (Somerset) [valley where the willowtrees grow] (Mills, p. 366) and Birchover (Derbyshire) [ridge where birchtrees grow] (Mills, p. 37). Examples of topographic names containing wild plants are Gorsley (Gloucestershire) [woodland clearing where gorse grows] (Mills, p. 146) and Redmire (North Yorkshire) [reedy pool] (Mills, p. 270). Flaxley (Gloucestershire) is a topographical name containing the name of a crop (Mills, p. 133). The name of wild animals are found in Deerhurst in Gloucestershire (Mills, p. 103) and Foxt in Staffordshire (Mills, p. 135). Names of domesticated animals are found in Callerton (Northumbria) and Shiplake (Oxfordshire), meaning [hill where calves graze] (Mills, p. 64) and [sheep stream] (Mills, p. 294). Bird names can be found in Dunnockshaw (Lancashire) [small wood or copse frequented by hedgesparrows] (Mills, p. 111) and Ousden [valley frequented by owls] (Mills, p. 250). Islip (Northamptonshire) shows the use of a river name in a topographic name [slippery place by the River Ise" (Mills, p. 188).]}
This article also gives evidence of [read] meaning [red] and [stan] meaning [stone] in Old English: {Old Norse and Old English had many similar sounding words with the same meaning, such as their words for stone stan in Old English and steinn in Old Norse. Old Norse cognates have been substituted for Old English elements in some names. For instance, Stainton is a Scandinavianized form of Stanton (Ekwall, p. 436), both of which usually mean [tun on stony ground] (Ekwall, p. 438). The Old Norse rauthr is believed to have been substituted for Old English read, both of which mean [red], in names like Rawcliffe and Rawmarsh (Ekwall, p. 382).}
These Old English words can also be found at http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/gunnvor/LincolnshirePlacenames/Lincolnshire4.htm:, which gives examples (Sidestan 1086 - [the broad stone]) showing that [stan] could be an end-name element, which was not clearly shown in the previously referenced article.
[Read] is additionally defined as equivalent to the Modern English word [red] in the Memorial University of Newfoundland's Modern English to Old English translation wordlist, online at http://www.mun.ca/Ansaxdat/vocab/wordlist.html#r. (this webpage is not included in hardcopy due to format).
Thus ends my Letter of Intent.
In service and duty,
Furukusu Masahide
Rampart Herald
Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
October 2006 Letter of Presentation
November 2006 Letter of Response
November 2006 Letter of Intent
March 2007 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.