Last modified: March 11, 2007
Outlands College of Heralds
March 11, 2007
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 11th day of March, A.S. xxxxi (2007 CE), does Maestra
Francesca
di
Pavia
send greetings on behalf of The Honourable Lady Marie de Blois, White
Stag Principal
Herald.
Here follows the Kingdom of the Outlands Letter of Presentation for
March 2007. 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 April 21, 2007, for the Rampart decision meeting tentatively
scheduled for April 22, 2007.
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Emblazon Sheet
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Emblazon Sheet
March
2007 Letter of Presentation
April
2007 Letter of Response
April
2007 Letter of Intent
August
2007 LoAR Results
Return to the
Rampart home page.
I present the following items for your consideration:
1. Chemakwa of the Beothuk.
New name and device. Per chevron
sable and purpure, in fess two grizzly bear's claws and in base a
dagger and an arrow inverted chevronwise argent.
(Hawks Hollow) Gender:
Female. The client cares most about the meaning of the name - "big
bear". No major
changes accepted.
of the Beothuk: The Beothuk were a tribe situated on the island of
Newfoundland, whom the Norse explorers of "Vinland" called
"Skraelings". The culture became extinct in the 16th Century. They
spoke a unique language that was distantly related to an Algonquin
dialect. Several Beothuk captives were brought to Europe in the early
16th Century. The submitter includes complete printouts (waaaay too much information - print out
only what is pertinent to your documentation, not entire websites -
save many trees!- Castle) from several sources on Beothuk
history, culture, and language: http://www.dickshovel.com/beo.html;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beothuk;
http://www.native-languages.org/beothuk.htm;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquian_language
Chemakwa: "Shemaqua" was found as a name meaning "Big Bear" on the
website of a 19th-century Native American re-enactor (http://bigbearsden.org/). The
submitter recognized that this did not make the name period. "Makwa"
means "bear" in several languages of the geographic area in question: http://www.glifwc.org/pub/fall99/clansystem.htm
documents Ojibwe clans, the largest of which was the Bear (Makwa) clan
(undated). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe_clan_system
similarly lists several Bear sub-clans, such as "Waabishki-makwa"
(Black Bear) and "Mishimakwa" (Grizzly Bear) in this culture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquian_language
defines "Makwa" as Algonquin for Bear. The same site was used to learn
that "Chi" or "Che" is an adjective used to describe something as large
or big. Thus, "Che-makwa" - "Big Bear". (Nothing in the
documentation indicates that this is how personal names were formed -
there is no information on personal names.)
(Castle's note: The submitter provided 72 pages of documentation, which
I have attempted to summarize here. Most of the information, while
interesting, was not directly relevant. You can read it all by going to
all of the above websites, which articles were printed out in their
entirety. Not necessary!!)
Documentation (8 pages thereof) was also provided for the
device, noting the importance of the bear in Native American cultures (though how the habitat and feeding
habits of various species of North American bears is useful in heraldic
documentation is not clear to me - Castle). A
drawing of the paw of a bear is included (http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/bears/teachersguide/background.html),
which the submitter cites as the source for the stylistic, tribal
depiction of a bear paw, not print, used in her proposed device.
2. Cilléne mac Conghalaigh. Change of name from Cilléne Ó Conghalaigh and new device. Per
chevron vert and sable, a wolf statant reguardant and in base a dagger
and and arrow inverted chevronwise argent. (Castle's note: this
submitter and #1 have the same legal surname, so I assume they are
husband and wife, hence the similarity in devices.)
(Hawks Hollow) Gender: Male. The submitter cares
most about the language/culture of the name, stated as Irish Gaelic. No
major changes accepted.
The original name was registered in March 1998.
Annals of the Four Masters, vol II (http://www.ucc.ie/research/celt/publishd.html),
M974.5, p. 702 (untranslated:): "Domhnall, mac Conghalaigh,
tigherna Bregh, d'écc. As dó
bo h-ainm Triubhus Fliuch." (Domhnall, son of Conghalach, lord
of Breagha, died; he was named Triubhus Fliuch.). Annals of the Four Masters,
vol II (http://www.ucc.ie/research/celt/publishd.html),
M1016.10, p. 791 (untranslated): "Dondchadh, mac Donncadha Uí
Conghalaigh, ríoghdhamhna Ereand, do
mharbhadh lá Feraibh Bregh
buddhéin." (Donnchadh, son of Donnchadh Ua Conghalaigh, lord
of Breagha, and royal heir of Ireland, was slain by the men of
Breagha themselves.)
3. Cilléne mac Conghalaigh. Household name and badge for The House of the Dirk and Arrow. Per pale
vert and purpure, a dagger and an arrow inverted chevronwise argent.
(Hawks Hollow) No major
changes accepted.
The household name fits the Inn name/sign pattern for household names.
4. Eoin Gallda mac Néill.
New device. Per saltire sable and
purpure, a dragon and tiger combatant argent.
(Caer Galen).
The name appears on the October
2006 Letter of Intent from the Outlands.
5. Kimberly Blackwood.
Name and device resubmission. Erminois.
a chevron gules between two demi-suns issuant fron the corners and a
tree sable.
(al-Barran) Gender:
Female. No major changes accepted.
The name and device were returned on the August
2006 Letter of Response - the name for lack of documentation; the
device for lack of a name with which to submit it.
Kimberly: the submitter provides a copy of her driver's license as
evidence that this is her legal given name, and thus qualifies under
Rfs. II.4, the "legal name allowance".
Blackwood: Three URLs are cited as evidence for this surname: (1)
http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/stoz/weir2.html,
under the heading "Weir", lists several lairds of Blackwood, dating to
1398. However, all bore the surname "Weir", not "Blackwood" - Rothald
Weir of Blackwood, James Weir of Blackwood, etc. (2) http://www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/b/blackwood.php:
"This family derived their name from the lands of Baron Dufferin and
Claneboye, in Scotland, called Blackwood." No dates given. (3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Dufferin_and_Claneboye
dates Sir John Blackwood to 1763. The submitter quotes the following
from this site, which I (Castle) can't find there: "The Blackwoods are
of Scottish extraction and can be traced in the public records of
Scotland to a very early period. One branch of the family migrated to
France, where the celebrated Adam Blackwood served as a Privy
Councillor to Mary, Queen of Scots, arranged her marriage to the
Dauphin and served as a senator of the Presidial Court of Poitiers." I
(Castle) found the following in the Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02591a.htm):
"ADAM BLACKWOOD: Author, b. at Dunfermline, Scotland, 1539; d. 1613. He
was a great-nephew of Robert Reid, Bishop of Orkney (1541-58), who
provided for his education, both his parents being dead, at the
University of Paris. On the bishop's death, Queen Mary's generosity
enabled Adam to complete his studies at Paris and Toulouse. He taught
philosophy at Paris and published there a funeral poem on King Charles
IX (1574) and a work on the relation between religion and government
(1575)..." Several undated references to the name, citing it as a
locality name ("black wood") in books are also included (as are cites about the history of York and
various localities in Scotland not called Blackwood which I found
confusing
and irrelevant - Castle).
Permission to conflict from the submitter's husband, Christopher
Blackwood (Erminois, a chevron gules
between two trees and a demi-sun issuant from base sable) (name
and device registered March 1993)
is
included.
6. Mari the Far-Travelled.
Device resubmission. Per bend azure
and vert, a pegasus couped at the shoulder contourny between three
compass stars Or.
The name was registered in May 2005.
The previous device submission, Per
bend azure and vert, a winged horse's head couped at the shoulder
contourny between three compass stars Or, was returned on the December
2005 LoAR: "This device is returned for violating RfS VII.7.b,
which requires that "Elements must be reconstructible in a recognizable
form from a competent blazon." We were unable to create a blazon that
adequately describes the primary charge. The primary charge isn't
really a demi-pegasus as the wings issue from the neck, not the
shoulder, and the forelegs are not shown. And it is not a a winged
horse's head couped at the shoulder because too much of the back is
showing and the wings are attached to the head."
7. Matilda de Seton. Change of
name resubmission for Aindrea
MacCullaich.
(Caerthe) Gender: Female. No
changes accepted. The existing name was registered in March 1998. If the new name is registered,
the submitter wishes to retain the former name as an alternate.
The previous submission, Matilda Seton, was returned on the October
2006 LoR for inability to document Seton to period - it dates to
1899; the earlier form is "de Seton".
Matilda: "Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames"
by Brian M. Scott (SCA Talan Gwynek, Fause Lozenge Herald
Extraordinary) (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/reaneyintro.html)
gives numerous instances of this name dated 1140-1489. Famous
historical example: Matilda, Queen of England (1102-1167), daughter of
Henry I.
de Seton: Black, The
Surnames of Scotland, pg 719. "Alexander de Seton
witnessed a confirmation charter by Alexander II to the Abbey of
Kinloss, 1225" (REM., p. 459).
8. Canton of Raven Hyrst. New
branch name and device. Or, two
gussets sable, overall a laurel wreath counterchanged, in chief a raven
displayed sable.
(incipient Canton of the Barony of Caerthe) The group cares most about the
sound of the name. No major changes accepted.
"Hyrst", meaning "a wooded hill" or "ornament, decoration, jewel" is
found in Clark Hall's A Concise
Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Second Edition (http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oe_clarkhall_about.html,
tiff 173), and the Anglo-Saxon
Dictionary by Bosworth and Toller (1898) (http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/html/oe_bosworthtoller/b0584.html),
pg. 584: "hyrst, es; m. A hurst, copse, wood. The word
occurs most frequently in compounds, e.g. hnut-hyrst,
æsc-hyrst, etc. , and is still found as hurst in
names of places." Common period usage of the word can be found, for
example in Beowulf: http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/library/oe/texts/a4.1.html.
- see lines 672, 2255, 2762, 2988, and 3164. An example of Hyrst
occurring as part of a placename in period is the Priory of Hyrst,
which dates to the 12th Century (see "Dugdale's Monasticon v.6 pt. 1",
in Monasticon Anglicanum: a Histo0y
of the Abbies and other Monasteries, Hospitals, Frieries, and
Cathedral and Collegiate Churches, with their Dependencies, in England
and Wales by Sir William Dugdale (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees,
Orme & Brown, 1817-1830, pg 100: http://monasticmatrix.usc.edu/bibliographia/index.php?function=detail&id=8006).
A History of the County of Lincoln
(http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.asp?pubid=201),
chapter 33, also discusses this Priory. Evidence that "hyrst" was used
in period as a place name in combination with the name of a bird is
found in the village known today as Crowhurst, which dates to the 8th
century as Croghyrst (http://www.villagenet.co.uk/pevenseylevels/villages/crowhurst.php):
"The village is first mentioned in 771 as Croghyrst, when King Offa of
Mercia, gave the Bishop of Selsey 8 hides (a measurement of area)
within the village. In return, the Bishop built a church for the
population."
Petitions signed by all six officers of the Canton in favor of
the name and device are included.
9. Robert Magnus. New name.
(Hawks Hollow). Gender:
Male. No major changes accepted.
Robert: Withycombe, 3rd ed.(1976), hardcover, pg 254, header
Robert - "Old English Hreodbeorht was reinforced at the time of
the Norman Conquest from the cognate Old German Hrodebert, a compound
of hrothi 'fame' and bertha 'bright'. It occurs frequently in the
Domesday Book, and has been a favourite name ever since."
Magnus: Reaney & Wilson, 3rd ed. 1995, paperback pg 294, header
Magnus - "Hugh Magnus c1114 Burton (St)"
10. Rosalind of Wellmark.
Augmentation of Device resubmission. Argent,
a bend sinister gules, in bend three roses counterchanged barbed and
seeded proper, as an augmentation a canton sinister argent charged with
a cross botonny gules within a bordure sable.
The device was registered in September 1992.
A previously submitted augmentation, Argent,
a bend sinister gules in bend three roses counterchanged barbed and
seeded proper, as an augmentation a canton gules charged with a cross
flory argent, was returned on the October
2001 LoR for a complete lack of contrast between the bend
sinister and the canton sitting on it.
11. Sorcha inghean Eion. New
name and device. Ermine, a water
bouget azure within a bordure raguly vert.
(Citadel of the Southern Pass) Gender: Female. Submitter cares
most about the language/culture of the name. Changes accepted.
Sorcha: Academy of St. Gabriel report 1203 (http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/1203.txt)
states that this name was fairly common in medieval Ireland.
inghean: "Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/)
- "daughter of <father's name>"
Eion: Kross, Sharon L. "Scottish Gaelic Given Names - Men" (http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/men/eoin.shtml):
"The Islay Charter, a Scottish charter from the Lord of the
Isles written in Gaelic and dated 6 May 1408, is witnessed by: Eoin
<x> MacDomhnaill". The name cited is spelled "Eoin", rather then
"Eion" as requested on the name form.
Thus ends the March 2007
Letter of Presentation.
Your servant,
Francesca, Castle Herald
Line
Emblazon Sheet
Color
Emblazon Sheet
March
2007 Letter of Presentation
April
2007 Letter of Response
April
2007 Letter of Intent
August
2007 LoAR Results
Return to the
Rampart home page.