Last modified: October 14, 2008


Outlands College of Heralds

October 14, 2008
From the Office of the Castle Herald
Baron Randal Carrick
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 14th day of October A.S. xxxxiii (2008 CE), does Don Randal Carrick 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 October 2008. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Errors found herein are unfortunately now my sole responsibility (but please feel free to blame my predecessor for a while longer.)


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 Rampart Herald by November 15, 2008, for the decision meeting tentatively scheduled for November 16, 2008.


Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
September 2008 Letter of Presentation
November 2008 Letter of Response
November 2008 Letter of Intent
March 2009 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.

1. Arcŕdia de Medina. New Name.

(Caerthe) Gender: Female.  Submitter cares most about the sound of the name.  Submitter will not accept major changes to the name.

[Arcŕdia]: "Dizionario dei Nomi Italiiani"by Emidio De Felice, P. 72, header [Arcŕdio] states that it is of classical origin in Greek and Latin, and cites the use by the Eastern Roman Emperor Flavio Arcadio (295-408 AD). (see full Dizionario translation below).
[de Medina]: "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" by Juliana de Luna lists [de Medina] as a locative surname from "the Account books of Isabel La Catolica (1477-1504, mostly 1483-1504). (http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/isabella/)
Full translation of Dizionario entry for [Arcŕdio]:
Google Translation: Arcŕdio (800) M. - F. Arcŕdia (300).
Widespread floods in continental Europe, is the resumption of the name Renaissance classic Arkádios in Greek and Arcadius in Latin (from Arkás and Arcas, ethnic and Arkadía Arcádia, ábitante, oriundo dell'Arcadia ', the central region of the Peloponnese), who became Rome gentilizio name and then name individually, prestigious for the Eastern Roman I'mperatore Flavio Arcadio (from 295 to 408). But the name may also be partly Christian, for esitenza of Sant'Arcadio martyr in Mauritania, also revered in Italy.

 

2. Caerthe, Barony of. New Order Name - Order of the Black Glove of Caerthe.

(Caerthe) Submitter will not accept Major changes to the name.

Branch name [Caerthe, Barony of] originally registered January 1973 via Laurel.
[Glove]: OED header [Glove] under the common sense definition states the form [glove] used in 1530.
This order name is in the pattern [thing]+[place] ad defined by "Project Ordensnamen" by Meradudd Cethin located at http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/order/. This order name also follows the Laurel meta-patterns of "Orders named for heraldic charges" and "Orders named for places" as defined on the August 2005 LoAR Cover Letter (http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/loar/2005/08/05-08cl.html).

 

3. Caerthe, Barony of. Order Name Resubmission - Order of the Keystone of Caerthe

(Caerthe) Submitter will not accept Major changes to the name.

Branch name [Caerthe, Barony of] originally registered January 1973 via Laurel.

Originally submitted on January 2006 LoP as "Order of the Keystone of the Golden Castle". Returned by Laurel on the July 2006 LoAR (http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2006/07/06-07lar.html). Here follows the original decision text:
This name does not match patterns found in period order names. All known order names with the pattern [object] + [place] use a specific placename, not a topographic description such as appears in the submitted order name. In registering Order of the Guard of the Mill of Delftwood in March 2006 (http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2006/03/06-03lar.html), we noted:
However, there is one more pattern demonstrated in the "Project Ordensnamen", that of [group] + [place]. Examples include Brothers Hospitaller of Burgos, Nobles of Tyrol, Nobles of Catalonia, etc. This suggests that an Order name of the form [Guard] +of [specific place] would follow known patterns of Order names. While a mill is not a specific place, the Mill of Delftwood is (this Order name is submitted by the Barony of Delftwood).

This extended the pattern for order names of this type beyond that found in actual order names to [group] + [building] + [placename]; we feel the same extension is justified in order names using the pattern [object] + [place]. We would change this name to Order of the Keystone of the Golden Castle of Caerthe, but the group will not accept major changes. We note that the name Order of the Golden Castle, which follows the pattern [color] + [heraldic charge] is also registerable and is an unexceptional order name.


We are intending to go with Laurel's recommendation of [object] + [place] pattern.
[keystone]: OED header [Keystone] under the common sense definition states the form [key-stone] used in 1637, and the form [keystone] used from 1703 on. While this does not fall specifically within period for our chosen spelling, several [keystone] names have been registered by Laurel, with the most recent being in 2006. The return also did not appear to have an issue with registering [Order of the Keystone of the Golden Castle of Caerthe].
The form [object] + [place] follows the common pattern [thing + place] as defined by "Project Ordensnamen" by Meradudd Cethin located at http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/order/. This order name also follows the Laurel meta-patterns of "Orders named for heraldic charges" and "Orders named for places" as defined on the August 2005 LoAR Cover Letter.
Please associate the badge [Sable, a keystone within a bordure embattled sable] (registered July 2006 via the Outlands) with this order name.

 

4. Clare Angelica of Canterbury. New Name.

(Nahrun Kabirun)  Gender: Female.  Submitter will not accept Major or Minor changes to the name.

Clare: Withycombe, Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd edition, P. 67, header "Clara/Clare": "although never common, [Clare] is found in every century from the 13th onward." Example in this spelling cited: Poll Tax 1379.

Angelica: AskOxford.com - Concise Dictionary of First Names (http://www.askoxford.com/firstnames/angelica?view=uk) under the search term Angelica: From Church Latin, from the feminine form of the Latin adjective angelicus 'angelic', or simply a Latinate elaboration of Angela. (Castle note:  No date is given for this spelling, however Reany & Wilson dates this form of the name to the 18th Century.)

 

5. Gabriel le Clerk. New Name and Device. Or Chapé Ployé Sable, a water-bouget gules.

(Caerthe) Submitter does not care about the Gender of the name, but cares most about the sound of the name.  Changes accepted.

Gabriel: Withycombe, Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd edition, P. 124, header "Gabriel" - says Gabriel was a women's name in the middle ages.

le Clerk: Reany & Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames, 3rd edition, P. 98, header "Clark" - gives John le Clerk 1272.

 

6. Grace Devereux. New Name.

(Caerthe) Gender: Female.  Submitter cares most about the sound of the name, and will not accept Major changes.

Grace: Withycombe, Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd edition, P. 138, header "Grace" - gives Grace Chester 1562.

Devereux: Reany & Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames, 3rd edition, P. 132, header "Deveraux".  Also, Wikipedia.org under Robert Devereux dates the name to 1566 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Devereux,_2nd_Earl_of_Essex).

 

7.Hayashi Ryôichiro Katanori. Appeal of return of device. Argent, within a hexagon voided two pine trees azure

(Caer Galen) This device submission was returned on the June 2008 Outlands Letter of Response (http://rampart.outlandsheralds.org/2008-05-lop/0806-lor.html): “The client submitted a mon, but was using charges that were not identifiable as Japanese pine trees. I suggest the client take a look at the 'matsu' mon-element, which is the stylized Japanese representation of pine-trees. Return for Redraw.” (Note that the name was sent to Laurel for final determination on the July 2008 Outlands Letter of Intent.)

Appeal:The client submitted a Japanese name, but it does not automatically follow that the device submission is therefore a mon. I am not sure how it was determined that this is a mon, and in terms of the SCA’s rules (see below) it really does not matter. It is a device on a heater shield, and should be considered as standard Western armory. Note that the SCA really only registers Western heraldry:

    Compatibility. - All names and armory shall be compatible with the period and domain of the Society. The Society for Creative Anachronism studies pre-Seventeenth Century Western Culture. The period of the Society has been defined to extend until 1600 A. D. Its domain includes Europe and areas that had contact with Europe during this period. Usages documented to have occurred regularly prior to that date within that domain shall be automatically considered compatible unless they have been specifically declared incompatible by these rules, Laurel precedent, or a policy statement of the Board of Directors. Usages not so documented may be defined as compatible by these rules, Laurel precedent, or a policy statement of the Board of Directors. In all cases, the burden of proving compatibility shall lie on the individual making the submission or that individual’s duly constituted representatives.

a. Compatible Content - All submissions shall be period in content. Each element of a submission shall be compatible with period usage. See Part II, Compatible Name Content, and Part VII, Compatible Armorial Content.

b. Compatible Style - All submissions shall be period in style. All elements of a submission shall be used in a manner that is stylistically compatible with period usage. See Part III, Compatible Naming Style, and Part VIII, Compatible Armorial Style. 

 

Both charges (the hexagon and the pine tree) are found in The Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry as Used in the Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc., 2nd Edition, Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme and Akagawa Yoshio, 1992, self-published (the “Pic-Dic”), as standard (Western) charges:

TREE:  “Many types of tree are found in heraldry. The oldest and most common tree is the oak, found in the canting arms of Okestead, 1275. The oak is also the default: if no specific type of tree is blazoned, the oak may always be used. Many other types of tree are also found: Society heraldry has instances of the pine, the willow, the rowan, the ash, and the palm, among others.”

POLYGON: “A polygon is a closed geometric figure. Examples include the triangle, the pentagon, and the hexagon. They are often drawn as regular polygons (equilateral, equiangular), though triangles are also found in isosceles forms. Polygons have a point to chief by SCA default; the exceptions are rectangular polygons, the billet and delf.”

 Consider the similar registered arms of Furuksu Tatsujirou Masahide (registered January 2005): Sable, a pine tree within a hexagon voided and fracted per pall, argent (http://wharrow.outlandsheralds.org/individual_record.php?Letter=f&PersonID=1072). The representation of the pine tree on this device is a pretty standard Western form.

I have serious doubts that the Japanese pine tree form would be recognizable as a pine tree, or reproducible by heraldic artists, as is required by the RfS:

 "Any element used in Society armory must be describable in standard heraldic terms so that a competent heraldic artist can reproduce the armory solely from the blazon. Elements that cannot be described in such a way that the depiction of the armory will remain consistent may not be used, even if they are identifiable design motifs that were used before 1600." (RFS,VII,7,b)

 Re-drawing the pine trees as "Japanese Pines" would probably violate this rule, and the idea that [charges] "...must be identifiable, in and of itself, without labels or excessive explanation." (RFS VII, 7,a) 

Laurel precedent indicates that redrawing the trees as Japanese pines would in fact likely be a cause for return:

 1. [Returning a Japanese stream]  The primary charge is not blazonable in standard heraldic terminology, as required by RfS VII.7.b.  (Kusunoki Yoshimoto, 9/95 p. 23)

 2. The Japanese crane displayed in annulo was returned for being not identifiable some time ago, having more in common with roundels and crescents than European renditions of birds. (Patrick Donovan of Warwick, 9/94 p. 16)

 3. This was submitted on a badge form as mon. We no longer distinguish mon from devices and generally require that they also be submitted on device forms. [Eric of Eisental, 08/99, A-East]

 4. ... In general, Mon-like designs are acceptable in Society armory only if they can be blazoned in European heraldic terms --- as though a period Japanese, visiting Europe, were attempting to register his Mon with one of the kings of arms. Tomoe cannot be blazoned in European terms, and so cannot be considered compatible with European heraldry. This submission, though a splendid Japanese design, may not be registered in the Society. (Takeo Niro, November, 1992, pg. 15)

 

 

8. Magdalena Lucia Ramberti. Name change from Anora Marchaunt.

(Caerthe) Gender: Female.  Submitter cares most about the sound of the name.  Submitter will not accept Major changes.

Magdalena & Lucia: from SCA.org (http://heraldry.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/italian.html) - both are feminine names from Florence dated to the 14th and 15th C.

Magdalena & Lucia: "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" by Arval Benicoeur (Josh Mittleman) and Talan Gwynek (Brian M. Scott), Academy of St. Gabriel Medieval Names Archive (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14/venice14given.html#table)

Ramberti: "Italian Names from Imola, 1312" by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (Sara L. Uckelman), Academy of St. Gabriel Medieval Names Archive (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/italian/imolafemalph.html)

The surname Ramberti is found in The Honest Courtesan, Margaret F Rosenthal, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1992: Iudovico Ramberti's will was written in 1570 (p. 79, also mentioned on p.296, n.54)  Also mentioned is Pietro Ramberti in 1540 (p.79).

 

9. Mary of Blackthorn. Request for Transfer of Name and Device of Patric of Blackthorn, Azure, a Celtic cross argent between in base two annulets Or, a chief embattled argent (both registered in 1998 via the Outlands) as an alternate name and associated badge under the primary name of Mary of Blackthorn.

 

10. Walter Urban. New Name and Device. Azure, three ram's heads couped argent.
(Dragonsspine) Gender: Male. Submitter cares most about the sound of the name.  Submitter will not accept major changes to the name.

Walter: Withycombe, Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names,  P.291, header "Walter" - Old German "Waldhar". Dated to 1086.

Urban: Reany & Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames, P. 462, header "Urban, Urben".  Dated in submitted spelling to 1275.

 



Thus ends the October 2008 Letter of Presentation.

Your servant,

Randal Carrick
Castle Herald

Line Emblazon Sheet
Color Emblazon Sheet
September 2008 Letter of Presentation
November 2008 Letter of Response
November 2008 Letter of Intent
March 2009 LoAR Results
Return to the Rampart home page.