Last modified: February 8, 2008


Outlands College of Heralds

February 8, 2008
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 8th day of February A.S. xxxxii (2008 CE), does Maestra Francesca di Pavia send greetings on behalf of The Honourable Lady Marie de Blois, White Stag Principal Herald.

Here follows the (very short!) Kingdom of the Outlands Letter of Presentation for February 2008. 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 March 8, 2008, for the decision meeting tentatively scheduled for March 9, 2008.

It is my intention to retire from the office of Castle Herald at the conclusion of my term this spring. Lady White Stag is accepting applications for my successor. Details will be forthcoming from her soon.

February 2008 Letter of Presentation
March 2008 Letter of Response
March 2008 Letter of Intent
July 2008 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

1. Ælfwynne of the Wood.  Name resubmission.
(Plattefordham) Gender: Female. The submitter cares most about the meaning of the name, defined as "a traveling, free aire/free-spirited". She requests a name authentic for 1050 CE - no culture/language stated. Changes accepted.
The previous submission, Ælfwynne the Wanderer, was returned on the September 2007 Letter of Response: "[the Wanderer] is an SCA-compatible byname, but recent precedent [Wulfwyn æt Mældun, 01/2004, A-Ansteorra] indicates that the combination of Middle and Old English is no longer a weirdness, and instead violates RfS. III.1.a. As the byname is a compatible name without a period equivalent (as stated in the 'compatiblity' list, we are unable to make any changes to make this registrable."
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".
of the Wood: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_surnames.htm. Nothing more specific about what to look for on this site is given on the submission form.

2. Séamus MacRae. Name resubmission.
(Dragonsspine) Gender: Male. Changes accepted.
The first submission, Séamus MacDhùghaill, was returned on the October 2006 Letter of Acceptance and Response for conflict with Seamus mac Dubhghaill, registered June, 2006. The next submission, Seamus MacCrae, was returned on the June 2007 Letter of Response: "Commenters state that O'Corrain & Maguire indicates that the form [Séamus] is a pre-12th C form. Please note the accent. Commenters also indicate that Black shows that the spelling [MacCrae] was not used until 1684, and beyond our cutoff and "gray area" for documentation. Under [MACRAE] Black lists lots of forms from the 13th C. onwards. While Rampart could adjust the surname to a period form using an allowed major/minor change, it is felt that the client would be better served by reviewing Black and selecting a form that they will be happiest with, as opposed to potentially registering something the client is not happy with and requiring an addition a submission fee to change it. Name returned for rework." The most recent submission, Seamus Macrae, was returned on the November 2007 Letter of Response: "The spellings found in the Irish Annals are as follows: "Semus", "Séeamus" and "Semas". The spelling found in O'C&M is "Séamus". Any of these items, using the proper accents will be accecptable, but using the anglicised and post period "Seamus" is not registerable. Additionally, neither Reany & Wilson nor Black has a dated spelling of "McCrae" that matches the submitter's wishes. Header forms are not dated, and frequently contain modern spellings of the items listed below them."
Séamus: O'Corrain and Maguire, Irish Names (1990), p. 163.
Mac: Black, Surnames of Scotland (1996), p. 447-448.
Rae: Black, Surnames of Scotland (1996), p. 679, header RAE, REA, REE.

Thus ends the March 2008 Letter of Presentation. 

Your servant,

Francesca di Pavia
Castle Herald

February 2008 Letter of Presentation
March 2008 Letter of Response
March 2008 Letter of Intent
July 2008 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.