Last modified: June 05, 2007
27 May 2007
From the Office of Rampart Herald
Furukusu Masahide (John Newton)
rampart@outlandsheralds.org
Unto the Outlands College of Heralds, the esteemed submitters, and all others who come by these letters, on this 27th day of May 2007, A.S. XLII, does Furukusu Masahide, Rampart Herald, send greetings.
My deepest gratitude to those who took time to send internal commentary: Aethelwulf Muenc, Caelan MacKinnon (Black Fountain Pursuivant), Cnut, Gwain of Miskbridge (Green Anchor Herald), Marie de Blois (White Stag), Meradudd (Liber Herald), Pipa Sparkes (Axed Root Pursuivant), and Ursula Georges (Loyall Pursuivant).
Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
April 2007 Letter of Presentation
May 2007 Letter of Response
May 2007 Letter of Intent
September 2007 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.
The following items were sent on to Laurel for final determination:
The following items were returned for further work:
Gender: Male. The client cares most about the language/culture of the name, stated to be 15th-16th century German/Holy Roman Empire. No major changes accepted.
[Ambrosius]: "Medieval German Names from Sileisa" by Talan Gwynek (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/bahlow_v.htm) dates this name to 1429.
[Grief]: the submittor states that this means Gryphon in German. No documentation included.
[von Beck]: "German Names from 1495: Surnames A-G" by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/german/surnames1495a-g.html) cites eight occurrences of the surname Beck. No documentation is provided for von.
Commenters indicate that _Deutsches Nameslexikon_ by Bahlow does not have an entry for [Grief]. Bahlow does have an entry for [Greif] which is the proper spelling of [griffin] in German. The only dated reference is 1616 for an [Andreas Gryphius] also known as [A. Greif].
Bahlow's entry for [Beck] indicates a meaning of [Baker] and so a [von Beck] is an incorrect form.
Client advised to either find a period dated citation for [Geif] or drop it from the name. Possible correct constructions include [Ambrosius Beck] or [Ambrosius Greif Beck].
As the client has not allowed major changes to the name, this must be returned for rework.
Name returned for lack of documentation.
Commenters indicate that the complexity count on this device is 8 which is borderline for return under Rfs.VII.1.a - Tincture and Charge Limit. The design is also complex enough to reduce the visual impact of any single portion of the design. The use of the complex fields also causes this to be very close to violating Rfs.VII.4.d - Modern Style.
One commenter felt that the secondary quarters may be more properly rendered as [pily bendwise sinister].
The particular stylized form of the gryphon also makes it difficult to identify on this complex field, causing it to be in violation of Rfs.VII.2 - Armorial Contrast. Either simplify the field, or use a more standard depiction of a gryphon sergeant.
Device returned for lack of name and violation of Rfs.VII.1.a, Rfs.VII.4.d, Rfs.VII.2, and general redraw.
Gender: Female. The client cares most about the language/culture of the name, stated to be Italian.
[Celestina]: Academy of St. Gabriel Report 3138 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/3138) cites one example of this name, dated to c. 1500.
[Sarti]: Academy of St. Gabriel Report 2542 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/2542) cites this as a variant of Sartore often found in Tuscany.
The submission included copies of St. Gabriel reports, but no direct references to source materials. The College of Arms has long had a policy of requiring specific name and date citations regarding submitted names. Using the references in a St. Gabriel report is an excellent way to begin research into a name, but the St. Gabriel report is not considered sufficient documentation in and of itself. In reviewing the cited sources from the reports I could not confirm the information provided. The documentation for [Celestina] is a reference to a webpage http://www.sardimpex.com/ which is in Italian, and I was unable to find the reference within the site for dating [Celestina]. The reference for the name [Sarti] is the _Dizionario dei nomi Italiani_ by De Felice. In cross referencing the citation by the St. Gabriel report, I can only find a reference to [Sarti] in the 1978 version, and not the 1992 printing. In either case I am unsure of the dating of the name, as I cannot read Italian.
Name returned for lack of documentation.
Commenters indicate that [Spanish moon moths] are a new charge to SCA heraldry. Per Rfs.VII.1 - Period Charges - and Rfs.VII.4 - Period Flora and Fauna - only period charges and fauna known in period may be used in SCA armory. Documentation showing that [Spanish moon moths] were a species known in period and used in period heraldry is required for them to be used in SCA armory. This issue could be sidestepped by simply blazoning these as [moths].
Commenters also indicate that the tressure is a diminutive of the orle, and is always used in groups (i.e. drouble tressure, triple tressure, etc). Diminutives such as tressures, bendlets, coitices, etc, can not be used as single elements in Society heraldry. This should be redrawn as an orle, growing its width.
Device returned for lack of name, lack of charge documentation, and general redraw.
Gender: Female. The client cares most about the spelling of the name "Dairine". No major changes accepted.
[Dairine]: Academy of St Gabriel Report 1393 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1393), 1105 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1105), and 1487 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1487) cite Dáirine (with an accent, which is missing from the submitted name) as an early Irish Gaelic feminine name, which dropped out of use fairly early (pre-11th Century).
[inghean Griogair]: Academy of St Gabriel Report 1416 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/1416) gives Griogair as a Gaelic form of the Latin saint's name Gregorius. inghean Griogair is the feminine patronymic byname formed using this masculine given name. The submitting herald requests help with the Gaelic grammar, if necessary.
The submission included copies of St. Gabriel reports, but no direct references to source materials. The College of Arms has long had a policy of requiring specific name and date citations regarding submitted names. Using the references in a St. Gabriel report is an excellent way to begin research into a name, but the St. Gabriel report is not considered sufficient documentation in and of itself. The references for [Dáirine] (note the accent) point to _Irish Names_ by Ó Corrain and Maguire, but unfortunately the Rampart library does not appear to have a copy of this text for cross reference.
Commenters indicate that the proper lenited form of the surname would be [inghean Ghriogair].
Adding the accent to [Dairine] and the letter to [Griogair] would push beyond a minor change to a major change. The client has disallowed major changes, and so the name must be returned for rework.
Name returned for rework.
Commenters indicate that there is no defined proper coloration for bees in the Glossary. There has been a precedent under [a bumblebee proper] from (Aideen the Audacious, September, 1993, Pg.1) which defines a bee proper as [sable and Or, with argent wings]. Please make note of this on resubmission.
Commenters indicate that there is a lack of contrast with the bees on the argent background as the wings of the bees are about half the charge. This violates Rfs.VIII.2 - Armorial Contrast.
Device returned for lack of name, and violation of Rfs.VIII.2.
Commenters indicate that the pile should generally be drawn as a medieval and not a Tudor pile. This would make it's top width about 1/3 the shield width, and would nearly touch the base.
Commenters indicate that the coloration of the valknuts is very pale and cannot be clearly distinguished. In this case it is caused by using colored pencils, which have long been an issue within Society heraldry submissions. It is recommended that the coloration be done with Crayola Magic Markers which provide a good standard coloration.
At this time the device appears clear of conflict.
Device returned for redraw.
The name was registered in January 2003 via Trimaris.
Commenters indicate that the mullet is not tinctured in a normal way. Erminois is tinctured with the ermine furs drawn vertically throughout the charge. The current way the charge is drawn it appears that the client is attempting to register the charge to look like a mullet voided and interlaced, a banned charge with the Society.
Commenters also indicate that it may be appropriate to reference the dolphins as naiant.
Device appears to be clear of conflict at this time.
Device returned for redraw.
Commenters indicate that the saltire is far too narrow, and needs to be redrawn about 3 times as wide.
The device appears to be clear of conflict at this time.
Device returned for redraw.
Gender: Female. The client cares most about the langualge/culture of the name - what language/culture that is is not specified.
[Tatiana]: "A Dictionary of Period Russian Names" by Paul Wickenden of Thanet (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/t-u.html) cites this name as a variant of Tat'iana.
[Grigorevna]: "A Dictionary of Period Russian Names" by Paul Wickenden of Thanet (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/g.html) cites Grigor'evna as a feminine patronymic form of the masculine given name Grigorii and its numerous variants. [I do not see a form listed there without the accent mark - Castle]
[Bez Kaidal]: "A Dictionary of Period Russian Names: Grammatical First Elements and Themes" by Paul Wickenden of Thanet (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/zmorphem.html) cites Bez- as a grammatical first element meaning "without".
A communication from the submitting herald indicates that the client would like to change the [Bez Kaidal] with [Sevsk]. We have no documentation for [Sevsk] and so I am returning the submission to allow the client to rework the submission to better fit their desires.
The name was registered in September 1995.
This device has the following conflicts:
Gender: Male. The client cares most about the sound of the name.
[Valentinos]: "Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the 6th and 7th Centuries: Masculine Names Alphabetically" (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/byzantine/PLRE_masc_names.html) cites this name with the spelling "Valentinus". The submitting herald notes that most Greek names ending in "os" translate to Latin as "us".
[Akrites]: "Digenes Akrites": New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry, Roderick Beaton and David Ricks, ed., reviewed in Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies (Medieval Academy of America, Cambridge, MA, April 1996, vol. 71, no. 2) indicates that Akrites means The Borderer.
Commenters indicate that [Valentinos] does not appear to be a valid Greek name, and instead has a Roman origin. One commenter provided significant commentary on this name which may be of use in a resubmission:
It's certainly true that Greek names in [-os] are usually Latinized as names in [-us]. However, that doesn't mean that changing [-os] to [-us] is the only change made. In this case, it appears that [Valentinus] was originally a Latin name, which may have been adopted into Greek, rather than a Greek name adopted into Latin. There is no Greek letter equivalent to Latin consonantal [V]. I checked the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire vol. IIIB (one of the sources for "Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire", which the submitter cites) and found a couple of different Greek spellings of [Valentinus]. Transliterating according to standard classical scholarly rules, they are [Balenti^nos] (the caret ^ stands for a circumflex over the 'i') and [OUALENTINOS] (from a seal, all capitalized & without accents). (These are s.n. Valentinus 1 and s.n. Valentinus 4 respectively.)
[Balentinos Akrites] and [Oualentinos Akrites] are reasonable Greek forms of the submitted name; [Valentinus Acrites] is a reasonable Latin form. (Standard Latinizations substitute [c] for the Greek letter kappa.) [Valentinus Akrites] would be registrable as a mix of Greek and Latin. I see no support for the submitted [Valentinos].
While the submitter does give permission for changes, Rampart feels that the changes are significant enough, and there is enough additional information from commenters that this should be returned to the submitter for further evaluation.
Name returned for lack of documentation.
The device appears to be clear of conflict at this time.
Device returned for lack of name to send it forward with.
Thus ends my Letter of Response.
In service and duty,
Furukusu Masahide
Rampart Herald
Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
April 2007 Letter of Presentation
May 2007 Letter of Response
May 2007 Letter of Intent
September 2007 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.