Last modified: August 9, 2007

Outlands College of Heralds

August 9, 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 9th day of August, A.S. xxxxii (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 August 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 herald's commentary list is encouraged. Please have comments on items contained herein to the White Stag Principal Herald by September 15, 2007, for the decision meeting tentatively scheduled for September 16, 2007.

Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
August 2007 Letter of Presentation
September 2007 Letter of Response
September 2007 Letter of Intent
January 2008 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

I present the following items for your consideration:

1. Ælfwynne The Wanderer. New name and device. Per bend sinister argent and Or, a dolphin vert and a sun gules.
(Plattefordham) Gender: Female. The submitter cares most about the language/culture of the name, stated as 10th Century Saxon. No major changes accepted.
Ælfwynne: Academy of St. Gabriel, "Anglo-Saxon Women's Names from Royal Charters" by Marieke van de Dal (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/marieke/anglosaxonfem/): "Ælfwynne - S-535, 948; Latin".
No documentation is provided for "The Wanderer".

2. Conall MacNachtan. Name and device resubmission. Per pale sable and argent, three bees counterchanged.
(Drygestan) Gender: Male. The submitter cares most about the sound of the name. No major changes accepted.
The previous submission, Connal MacNachtan, was returned on the June 2007 Letter of Response for lack of documentation. The device was returned on the same letter for lack of a name, but no conflicts were found at that time. Spelling of the given name has been changed. The proposed spelling should be a reasonable spelling for a late-period Scot.
Conall: Black, Surnames of Scotland, p. 168, under the header CONNAL, CONNELL - numerous spellings dated to 12thC-16thC Scotland. Academy of St; Gabriel, "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Conall" by Mari Elspeth nic Bryan (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/Conall.shtml) lists Conall as an Irish Gaelic name from a variety of time periods.
MacNachtan: Black, Surnames of Scotland, p. 547, under the header MACNACHTAN, MACNAUGHTAN dates the name to 13th and 15th C. Scotland.

3. Dearbháil inghean Léod. Device resubmission. Argent, a pile sable fesswise two valknut purpure.
(Scola Metallorum)
The name was submitted to Laure' on the May 2007 Letter of Response. The previous submission, Argent, a pile sable fesswise, two valknut purpure, was returned on the same letter: "Commenters indicate that the pile should generally be drawn as a medieval and not a Tudor pile. This would make its 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."

4. Molle of the Beothuk. Name and device resubmission. Per chevron sable and purpure, two bear paw prints and in chevron two arrows inverted argent. (Hawk's Hollow) Gender: Female. The submitter cares most about the sound of the name. No major changes accepted.
The previous submission, Chemakwa of the Beothuk, was returned on the April 2007 Letter of Response for lack of documentation. The device submission, Per chevron sable and purpure, in fess two grizzly bear's claws and in base a dagger and an arrow inverted chevronwise argent, was returned on the same letter: "Commenters discussed several issues with the currently submitted armory. The use of three different co-primary charges places the device in violation of Rfs VIII.1.a - Tincture and Charge Limit - which states that "three or more types of charges should not be used in the same group." Several issues were brought up regarding the bear paws. While many commenters found the bear paw design artistically interesting, all agreed that the design of the bear paws would be difficult to recreate from a blazon, which violates Rfs VII.7.b. There was also discussion of the reference to "grizzly" paws was either unnecessary, or even something to make it unregisterable, as a grizzly bear was not know in period. Finally all commenters agreed that the field division was not steep enough to be per chevron, and should be significantly higher on the field. Commenters also mentioned that the dagger and arrow are sufficiently narrow and of an unstandard form to make them potentially unidentifiable, and possibly a violation of Rfs VIII.3 - Armorial Identifiability. Please consider this upon redraw and resubmission. Device returned for lack of name and violation of Rfs VIII.1.a, VII.7.b, and general redraw."
Submitters note on the resubmission: The intended goal for this name is to find an historically plausible name within the SCA guidelines using the following desired qualifications: 1. A name given to a slave/prisoner taken from the North American continent, specifically Newfoundland, in the early exploration period.
Molle: "Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English Surnames" by Talan Gwynek (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/reaneyHZ.html) lists Molle as a diminutive of Mary, dated to the 13th century.
of the Beothuk: Much information was presented on the March 2007 Letter of Presentation: "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 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". For this submission she adds the Province of Newfoundland's heritage site: http://www.heritage.nf.ca/aboriginal/beothuk.html, and a second Wikipedia reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beothuk. She also includes a lengthy bibliography of books on Beothuk history (which I am not retyping here - if College members want to see it, I can scan it and post it to the list). A website previously cited, http://www.dickshovel.com/beo.html, provides evidence for European capture of Beothuk people: "During the time they remained on Newfoundland, the Vikings traded with the Beothuk and occasionally fought with them, the most notable incident being a battle over a Viking cow. This contact occurred during a period of unusually warm weather. The climate turned much colder during the 11th century, and the Vikings abandoned their North American settlements never to return. The next known contact between Beothuk and Europeans came 500 years later with the voyage of Giovanni Cabato (John Cabot), a Venetian navigator sailing for Henry VII of England. Cabot visited both Labrador and Newfoundland in 1497 and returned to England with tales of the seas in the area teaming with fish. Unlike some stories about the New World, this one was true. Instantly, European fishing boats (Portuguese, Basque, Spanish) began making trips to the Grand Banks every summer. If the fishermen had stuck to catching fish, perhaps things would have been different. Instead, some took to catching Beothuk . In 1501 the Portuguese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real returned from Newfoundland with 50 Beothuk "man slaves" captured during his expedition, and in 1507 Norman fisherman brought another seven Beothuk prisoners to France."

5. Outlands, Kingdom of the. Resubmission of heraldic title: Castle Herald.
The previous submission, Castel Herald, was returned on the February 2007 LoAR for aural conflict with the kingdom of Castile. This resubmission documents the spelling Castle, which should also have a different pronounciation. Castle Herald follows the "heraldic charge" pattern of heraldic titles (rouge croix, unicorn, etc.), and this spelling is found in the OED under the header "Castle" in the following citations: 1564 BECON. Christ's Cron. (1844) 547 He entered into a certain castle, where a certain woman called Martha made him a dinner. 1154 Ibid. an. 1140 He beset heom til hi aiauen ap here castles. 1597 Shaks. Rich II iii.iii, 52 This castles tatter'd battlements. 1551 RECORDE (title), The Castle of Knowledge. Castel Herald was returned for aural conflict with the Kingdom of Castile, both of which are pronounced like "ca STEEL" or "ca STELL". Castle, however, is pronounced like "CAS-@l", which should be different enough in sound to clear this conflict.

6. Readstan, Canton of. Device resubmission. Gules, a gryphon segreant argent, in base a laurel wreath Or.
(Incipient Canton of Readstan, Barony of Caerthe)
The group's name was registered in March 2007. However, though the submission form states that this is a device resubmission, I am unable to find a previous submission. A petition approving this submission, signed by twelve officers and members of the populace and the Baroness of Caerthe, is included.

7. Thyræ úlfr. Device resubmission. Per pale vert and sable, a wolf statant argent and a chief Or.
(Dragonsspine)
The name was registered in January 2006, but, though this is claimed as a resubmission of the device, I am unable to locate any previous device submissions.

8. Víga-Víkingr í Horni. Device resubmission. Per bend sinister gules and sable, a horn Or and a dragon's head couped argent.
(Incipient Canton of Readstan, Barony of Caerthe)
The names was registered in May 2006. On the same letter the previous device submission, Per bend sinister gules and sable, a bend sinister argent between a ram's horn Or and a dragon's head couped argent, was returned: "This device is returned for redraw. The bend sinister is considerably too small; as the primary charge in the device, it should be drawn accordingly. We haven't registered single diminutives of ordinaries, either by blazon or emblazon, for decades. We recommend making the bend sinister wider, at least one fifth as wide as the shield."

9. Zafirah al-'Aliyya. Name and device resubmission. Per bend sinister vert and sable, a crescent argent and a duck Or.
(Dragonsspine). No boxes checked.
The previous name submission, Zafirah, was returned on the August 2006 Letter of Response for lack of name elements. On the same letter the device submission, Azure, a duck Or and a base nebuly argent, was returned for lack of a name with which to submit it.
Zafirah: al Jafari, Fatima Suzanne, Digest of Muslim Names: Beautiful Muslim Names and their Meanings. Beltsville, MD: Amana Publications, 2nd revised edition, 1997, p, 108: 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.
al-'Aliyya: "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices" by Da'ud ibn Auda (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm) is cited, with no indication of where in the article to look. The form appears to be feminine, either a laqab or a nisba, but no summary appears no the name form, so I do not know the submitter's intent.

Thus ends the August 2007 Letter of Presentation.

Your servant,

Francesca di Pavia
Castle Herald