Main Herald's Web Page
ATTENDANCE AT THE TWELFTH NIGHT HERALD'S MEETING WILL BE MANDATORY FOR ALL BRANCH HERALDS
UNLESS YOU CONTACT VESPER AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU CANNOT ATTEND!
YOU NEED TO BE THERE
OR
YOU NEED TO HAVE CONTACTED HER AHEAD OF TIME THAT YOU CAN'T COME!
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The meeting was held on Sunday, 15 October 2006, at the home of Eilis O'Boirne in Berkeley. The meeting started at 12:10 pm and ended at 2:30 pm. In attendance at this meeting were: Eilis O'Boirne, Vesper; Frederick of Holland, Banner; Wilhelm von Homburg, Baldric and Sable Swan; Owen ap Morgan, Latimer; Moira O'Connor, Greencloak; Walraven van Nijmegen, Exchequer to the College; Astrith of Swansvale, Brachet; Vigdís vestfirzka, Sable Quill; Felix MacAvady, St. Katherine; Emma FitzWilliam, Acting Silver Gull; Maxen ap Morgan, Gwenhwyfaer ferch Gwilim, and Na'arah bat Avraham, Pursuivants at Large; Anne of Montaigne du Roi, Cornet; Flidais ni Etigen, Guest; and Kiriana Michaelson, Matins.
COLLEGE OF HERALDS MEETINGS
The upcoming meetings are: are November 12, January 7, February 3, March 18, April 15,
May 13, June 10, July 8. Meetings start at noon.
In general, meetings will be held at Eilis' house (2322 Russell Street, Berkeley CA 94705; 510-486-0633 -- call for directions). Road show meetings will be announced well in advance.
Anyone who is bringing a walk-in submission should contact Matins in advance, no later than the Thursday before the meeting. This is especially important if the submitter has previous submissions, since the files are stored in a remote location. If you are bringing the paperwork for a submission to a meeting, please plan to arrive by 11:00 am to allow the file to be set up.
We are researching some of the name submissions beforehand through an email list, wknames@yahoogroups.com. This list is open by request to heralds in the West Kingdom who are interested in onomastic (name) research. To join the list, please subscribe at wknames-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
UPCOMING EVENTSEilis O'Boirne, Vesper Principal Herald, will be sending out new roster letters to all branch heralds, senior staff and others who are listed on her current roster, to confirm contact information, offices and ranks. If you believe that you are a rostered herald and have not gotten your letter by Thanksgiving, please contact Eilis because she does not have you on her roster.
The next Herald's Collegium will be held in Champclair at Crystal Middle School, 400 Whispering Bay Lane in Suisun City on Sunday, November 19. There will be several classes relating to court heraldry and protocol and a recap of the field and duty heraldry this past year. We hope to encourage courtiers and other non-heralds who would be assisted by a greater understanding of courts and protocol to come to this event.
Wilhelm von Homburg, Baldric Herald, will be speaking with A&S about setting up some basic classes to be held at Crowns and Coronations for the general populace to help encourage the heraldic arts and a greater understanding of the basic rules.
PERSONNEL -- POSITION CHANGES:
- The Scribes are arranging artists to assist with drawing the mini-emblazons during the monthly meetings. Unfortunately, this month there was no Scribe available to attend the meeting.
- Sable Swan Herald is looking for deputies and potential successors for his position.
- Seawolf Herald is looking for deputies and potential successors for her position.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: Submission fees are $8 per name, $8 per device, $8 per badge – and a name and device registered at the same time will cost $15 instead of $16. There is no fee for resubmission of a returned item. Submissions require 3 copies of the name form and documentation, 4 colored copies of the device form, and 3 colored copies of the badge form, as applicable. Required documentation includes printouts of any web pages cited -- including reports from the Academy of Saint Gabriel -- as well as copies of the title page and cited pages from any books that are not standard heraldic references. The submission forms for the West Kingdom College are now available from Matins or the Kingdom consultation table or by following the http://heralds.westkingdom.org/Register.php#Forms. Completed forms should be sent to Matins at the College address.
MAILING LIST: The West Kingdom College of Heralds has a mailing list for internal communication. Any herald is welcome to join by request. To join the list, please subscribe at wkheralds-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES: Many interesting heraldic links can be found through the SCA Heraldry web page at http://www.sca.org/heraldry, including the Laurel home page, the on-line Armorial and Ordinary (with search capabilities) and The Academy of St. Gabriel (an onomastic and heraldic consultation service). The West Kingdom Heraldry site and the West Kingdom Awards List can be accessed through the West Kingdom site, http://www.westkingdom.org. Heraldic queries may also be addressed to Eilis at heralds@westkingdom.org -- answers may take a few days.
BRACHET MEETINGS
These meetings comment on heraldic submissions from other Kingdoms. Please consider
attending -- you do not have to be able to attend every week. They are a fast way to
learn how the Rules of Submission work and how to research armory. The Brachet meetings
are in Berkeley on Wednesday nights. If you are interested, contact the Brachet
Herald, Frederick of Holland (Fred Hollander) at 510-653-3652.
CYNAGUAN BOOK HERALD TRAINING MEETINGS
A training and commenting meeting is being held in Cynagua to promote and encourage interest in
book heraldry and raise the level of general heraldic knowledge along the eastern side of the kingdom.
The meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7:00 pm at 4317 Alderwood Way,
Sacramento, CA 95864. Call Gwenhwyfaer ferch Gwilym for more information, (916) 323-4268 or email her,
ginni.morgan@doj.ca.gov.
HERALDIC PUBLICATIONS
West Kingdom College of Heralds Minutes are published on the web. They may be read at or
printed from the heralds' website at
http://heralds.westkingdom.org/Minutes.php.
There is a colored version and a printer-friendly
black and white version available.
A Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry as Used in the Society for Creative Anachronism (by Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme and Akagawa Yoshio) is available by sending $15 to Bruce Miller, 728 Erica Place, Oxnard, CA 93030, (805) 278-0135.
EXCERPTS FROM THE LOAR
The LoAR for June 2006 was published in September 2006, covering our February 2006 meeting.
The cover letters, acceptances and returns for the past can be found at
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/loar/.
If you are interested in responding to some of the calls for commentary put
out by Lord Laurel, please be sure to visit the site.
WEST - Acceptances - June 2006:
Bella Caterina Malatesta. Name change from Catherine de Gray.
Submitted as Bella Catarina Malatesta, the documentation for the second given name showed Caterina. No documentation was found for the spelling Catarina as an Italian name. We have changed that name to Bella Caterina Malatesta to match the documentation.Her old name, Catherine de Gray, is released.
Elaine Fairchild of Bishopsgate. Name and device. Argent, a lion barry Or and vert, a bordure vert.
Elena Edgar. Name change from Elena verch Gwilim.
Her old name, Elena verch Gwilim, is released.
Jeene Johnston. Name and device. Vert, a vol within an orle of mullets of eight points Or.
The submitter requested an authentic 12th-14th C Scottish name. However, the given name is documented to the mid-16th C, while the byname is documented to the mid-15th C. Black, The Surnames of Scotland s.n Johnston, notes a Stephen de Johnston in 1377, so the spelling Johnston is also a 14th C spelling (although it would be better accompanied by the article de). So far, though, we have found no examples of the name Jean in Scotland before the 16th C. While Jeene Johnston is a fine 16th C Scottish name, we doubt it is authentic for the 12th-14th C. If the submitter wishes a similar name appropriate for that time, we suggest Joan de Johnston. Joan is dated to 1350 in Talan Gwynek's "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records."Please advise the submitter that the mullets should be drawn larger.
Kolfinna Káradóttir. Name.
Submitted as Kolfinna Káradottir, the Old Norse patronymic marker may be registered as -dottir or -dóttir depending on whether accents are used in the rest of the name. Since the patronymic Kári is spelled with the accent here, we have changed the name to Kolfinna Káradóttir so that the name uses a consistent transcription system.
Michael the Black. Reblazon of device. Or, two vols in fess, bases outward sable.
Registered in November 1973 with the blazon Or, two pairs of wings displayed and addorsed per pale sable, the blazon does not accurately describe the orientation of the wings. Nor is per pale a term used to describe orientation, it is rather a line of division. We have reblazoned the device to more accurately describe the emblazon.
Michael the Black. Reblazon of augmentation. Or, two vols in fess, bases outward sable, and for augmentation overall on an inescutcheon sable fimbriated an Arabic oil lamp Or.
Registered in August 1979 with the blazon Or, two pairs of wings displayed and addorsed per pale sable overall on an inescutcheon sable fimbriated, an Arabic oil lamp Or, the blazon does not accurately describe the orientation of the wings. Nor is per pale a term used to describe orientation, it is rather a line of division. We have reblazoned the device to more accurately describe the emblazon. Note that this is listed in the Armorial with the blazon (Fieldless) On an inescutcheon sable, fimbriated, an Arabic oil lamp Or, rather than the emblazon from the LoAR.
Muirenn ingen Brain. Name.
Submitted as Muirenn ingen Bhrain, all elements of this name are Middle Irish. However, in Middle Irish, lenitition of the letter B is not written. We have changed the name to Muirenn ingen Brain in order to correct the grammar.
WEST - Returns - June 2006:
Niall Mór. Name.
This name is presumptuous of the Irish king, Niall Naoighiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), who is also known as Niall Mór. As a sovereign and one of the central figures of Irish history and legend, any names commonly used for this figure are worthy of protection.
In Service,
Kiriana
Matins Herald
SUBMISSONS -- 15 October XLI (2006)
ITEMS SENT TO LAUREL
Aeschine Mackintosh of Bannockburn (Wolfscairn) Change of Holding Name
The submitter's previous submission of Colleen of Bannockburn was returned by Laurel in 2/06
and the submitter's armory was registered under the holding name Andrea of Wolfscairn.
The submitter desires a Scottish/Irish female name. Aeschine is a Scottish name dated
to 1160 according to A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records by Talan Gwynek
on the Laurel web site. Mackintosh is a patronymic in Black, under the header Macintosh on p. 518,
which dates Alexander Keyr Makyntosh to 1382 and has Alexander Mackintoche dated
"eight years later," (Reaney and Wilson clarify this date as 1390 on p. 292 under the header McIntosh).
The latter citation justifies the Mack- spelling and the former justifies the -tosh.
Bannockburn is a Scottish place name dated to 1314 at
http://www.scotlandonline.com/heritage.
The original submission contained the element MacKintosh but we have lowered the case of the
K to conform to the documentation.
The submitter provided a check for $15, which was unnecessary as there is no charge for the change of a holding name. We will therefore void her check.
Anna Zen (Winter's Gate) New Name, see Returns for Device
The submitter desires an authentic female Fourteenth Century Venetian name and will not accept
major changes. Anna is listed as a Fourteenth Century Venetian female given name in
Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names by Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek at
http://www.s.gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14venice14given.html.
Zen is a Fourteenth Century patronymic derived from Zeno according to
Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names by Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek at
http://www.s.gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14venice14sur.html.
Ayloara de Meddestane (Canale) Resubmission of Device to Kingdom
The submitter's name was submitted on the West Kingdom LOI of 5/06. The previous submission had flaunches that were fimbriated. We returned that device because, by Laurel precedent, peripheral charges may not be fimbriated.Sable, two flaunches Or and in base a sun in its splendour Or.
We note the device of Martin of the Wold, Sable, on flaunches enhanced Or, and increscent and a decrescent sable and in base a sun eclipsed Or. We consider this submission to be free of conflict because the added tertiaries constitute two different groups.
The submitter originally requested azure flaunches. That device violated the Rule of Tincture
because colored flaunches may not be placed on a colored field. The submitter's first alternate was
to change the color of the flaunches to Or which we have done.
Blaxio Zen (Winter's Gate) New Name, see Returns for Device
The submitter desires an authentic male Fourteenth Century Venetian name and will not accept
major changes. Blaxio is listed as a Fourteenth Century Venetian male given name in
Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names by Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek at
http://www.s.gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14venice14given.html.
Zen is a Fourteenth Century patronymic derived from Zeno according to
Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names by Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek at
http://www.s.gabriel.org/names/arval/venice14venice14sur.html.
Catherine Holcombe of Arden (Southern Shores) New Name and Device
The submitter desires an authentic female Twelfth to Thirteenth Century English name and will not accept major changes. Catherine is a English name dated to 1591 in Reaney and Wilson under the header Townson as Catherine Toinson. Holcombe is a place name dated to 1281 in Ekwall on p. 245 and is the header spelling in Reaney & Wilson on p. 235 as an English surname dated to 1525. Arden is an English place name dated to 1244 in Ekwall on p. 12.Per chevron Or and azure, three roses one and two proper and a garb Or, a chief invected vert.
Iohannes ap Robert Meuryk (Wuduholt be Secq) New Name
The submitter desires a Twelfth to Fourteenth Century Welsh male name.
Iohannes, Robert, and Meuryk are all listed as male given names in
A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn at
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html.
The article indicates that the patronymic is correctly formed, but it contains no examples of the
use of two given names in the patronymic. However, in Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3,
from the 1991 KWHS proceedings, also by Tangwystyl, she reports a single instance of a name
following this pattern.
Konstantin Drozdenskii Rumiantsevits (Golden Rivers) New Name and Device
The submitter desires an authentic Russian male name. Konstantin is a given name dated to 1241 in Wickenden under the header spelling Konstiantin. Drozdenskii is a Russian byname dated to 1613 on the Laurel Web site at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/d.html. Rumiantsevits is a Russian patronymic byname meaning "son of a man called 'the Red'" dated to 1467 on the Laurel Web site at http://www.sca.org/heraldry/paul/r.html.Per pale sable and argent mulletty counterchanged, a decrescent gules.
The submitter originally requested Drozdensk'evich, but we could not find any
justification for adding the patronymic ending to a locative byname. We have therefore
reverted the element to its original form.
Meadhbh inghean mhic Fhirléighinn (Mists) New Device
The submitter's name was registered in 10/04.Quarterly sable and purpure, a bee bendwise sinister argent.
Richard of Ardgour (Caer Darth) New Name, see Returns for Device
The submitter desires an authentic Fifteenth Century Scottish or English male name.
Richard is a common English name dated to 1273 in Withycombe on p. 253.
Ardgour is an Anglicization of Ard Ghobhar, a Scottish village and territory
and is listed in Darton, The Dictionary of Scottish Place Names on p. 20.
Violetta Belladonna (Caer Darth) New Name
The submitter desires an authentic Fifteenth Century Italian female name.
Violetta is documented on the Laurel website at
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/Jewish/rome_names.html
as a given name in Names of Jews in Rome in the 1550's by Yehoshua ben Haim haYerushalami.
Bella Donna is listed in the same article which also cites Bonadonna and Altadonna.
Given the support for the formation of surnames by adjective+donna and the presence of
this name in the listed form, we justify the submitted form.
ITEMS RETURNED FOR FURTHER WORK
Anna Zen (Winter's Gate) Return of Device
Per chevron azure and purpure, a chevron argent between two bears sejant erect respectant Or and a peach tree argent fructed Or.While we found the device to be free of conflict, we must return it because the tree is not identifiable as a tree at any distance. The addition of the "dirt base" which is not included in any period tree depiction, when combined with the short trunk and the complex line of the top of the tree make it impossible to recognize at any distance. We must therefore return it for redrawing.
The submitter has sent in only $16 to pay for her name and that of her son along with their device registrations. However, since we are returning the device submissions, we will accept the funds for the name registrations. Any device resubmission will need to be accompanied by a check.
Blaxio Zen (Winter's Gate) Return of Device
Per pall purpure, gules and sable, a pall between a peach tree argent fructed and two wyverns statant respectant Or.This device must be returned as a per pall division cannot utilize three different colors.
The submitter's mother's check was only $16 to pay for both sets of registrations. As we are returning both device submissions, we are accepting the check for the name submissions. A new check will need to be sent for any device resubmission.
Richard of Ardgour (Caer Darth) Return of Device
Argent, a griffin segreant gules and a chief sable.This device conflicts with the device of Pomerania, important non-SCA arms, Argent, a griffin segreant gules crowned Or. We will also note to the submitter the device of Miles de Colwell, Argent, a chevron sable and overall a griffin gules, a chief sable.