March 2020 Heraldic Letter of Acceptance and Returns (LoAR)
EASTERN RESULTS FROM THE MARCH 2020 LoAR
(FINAL HERALDIC DECISIONS)
(For those who aren’t familiar with the heraldic process, Violet Mosaic is now posting the East Kingdom-level decisions to the Gazette, but after a submission passes through the East, it needs to go through a second level of review at the Society level. These are the FINAL Society-level decisions on submissions from the East, reflecting what has actually been registered or returned. – Mistress Alys Mackyntoich, Heraldry Editor)
The Society College of Arms runs on monthly cycles and letters. Each month, the College processes name and armory submissions from all of the Kingdoms. Final decisions on submissions are made at the monthly meetings of the Pelican Queen of Arms (names) and the Wreath King of Arms (armory). Pelican and Wreath then write up their decisions in a Letter of Acceptances and Return (LoAR). After review and proofreading, LoARs generally are released two months after the meeting where the decisions are made.
An “acceptance” indicates that the item(s) listed are now registered with the Society. A “return” indicates that the item is returned to the submitter for additional work. Most items are registered without comments. Sometimes, the LoAR will address specific issues about the name or armory or will praise the submitter/herald on putting together a very nice historically accurate item.
The following results are from the March 2020 Wreath and Pelican meetings.
EAST acceptances
Alfred of Durham. Reblazon of device. Paly azure and argent, on a bend sinister engrailed between a hemispheric astrolabe and an equatorium Or three estoiles gules.
Blazoned when registered in February 1982 as Paly sans nombre azure and argent, on a bend sinister engrailed between a hemispheric astrolabe and an equatorium Or three estoiles gules, we are clarifying that this is a normal paly field.
Antonio Giancarlo Nicastri. Name and device. Argent, on a cross between four fleurs-de-lys sable a lion argent.
Ástríðr Bjarnardóttir. Name and device. Purpure, a skull and in chief two crescents argent.
Nice Viking Age Old Norse name!
Brian of Centre Downe. Name and device. Argent, on a cross nowy between four oak leaves vert five oak leaves argent.
Originally submitted as Brian of Centre Downe, the name was changed at Kingdom to Brian Woods Walker because Kingdom was unable to document the original byname. Commenters constructed Centre Downe as a compound English place name based on the family name Centre and the toponym Downe, as shown in Juliana de Luna’s “Compound Placenames in English” (http://medievalscotland.org/jes/EnglishCompoundPlacenames/). Therefore, we have changed the name back to its originally-submitted form.
There is a step from period practice for the use of a cross nowy.
Casimir Ottersson. Name.
This name combines a German given name with a Swedish byname, an acceptable lingual mix under Appendix C.
Conor Ó Ceallaigh. Badge. Or, in saltire an arrow inverted and a grozing iron sable.
Artist’s note: Please exaggerate the features of the arrow and the grozing iron to aid in identification.
Elaine Courtenay. Reblazon of badge. (Fieldless) An open book within an annulus of hearts palewise argent.
Blazoned when registered in July 1989 as (Fieldless) An open book within hearts sans nombre palewise in annulo argent, we are clarifying that this is an annulet of hearts.
Charges in annulo not in their default orientation are a step from period practice.
Etain Clough. Name and device. Argent, a sprig of oak bendwise vert fructed proper and on a chief azure two greyhound’s heads couped argent.
The submitter requested authenticity for an unspecified language and/or culture. This name combines a Gaelic given name with an English byname. Although it can be registered per Appendix C, the name is not authentic because we have no evidence of names mixing these two languages actually being used in period.
Fukuzawa Mitaka Koyata Sukemitsu. Reblazon of badge. Argent, three passion nails in pall conjoined at their heads azure.
Blazoned when registered in December 1995 as Argent, a tricune inverted azure, we are clarifying the combination of charges. See the Cover Letter for a fuller discussion.
Gaius Arius Iustus. Name.
Gelgéis ingen Áedáin. Name.
Submitted as Gelgeis ingen Áedáin, diacritical markings must be used consistently throughout Gaelic names. Therefore, we have changed the name to Gelgéis ingen Áedáin for registration.
The submitter requested that the patronymic marker be spelled inghean if possible. However, that spelling is only used post-1200, more than 500 years after the attested instance of the given name. Therefore, under PN2C2a, it cannot be used in this name.
Grigorii Dobryi. Name.
Gunnbjorn Úlfkelsson. Name.
Questions were raised in commentary about whether the o-ogonek found in some transliterations of Gunnbj{o,}rn needed to be included because the name uses the diacritical mark in the byname. It does not. “The o-ogonek ({o,}) character can be retained or omitted as the submitter wishes, regardless of whether diacritical markings are included in the name.” [Jorunn V{o,}kr, April 2018, A-Atenveldt]
Nice 9th-10th century Icelandic name!
Häbla {Cv}judka. Name.
The submitter requested authenticity for later period Finnish. This name is plausibly authentic for the 16th century.
Hans der Vogeljäger. Name and device. Azure, a cross formy and a chief embattled Or.
The submitter has permission for their device to conflict with the device of Johanna aff Hucka, Azure, a cross formy within and conjoined to an annulet Or.
Nice device!
Ingríðr Askasmiðr Magnúsdottir. Name and device. Per chevron inverted gules and vert, a shrew rampant maintaining a thyrsus Or.
If the submitter is primarily interested in a Viking Age name, the patronymic would be Magnúsardottír. The submitted patronymic is more appropriate for later in period. If the submitter prefers the Viking Age form, she may make a request for reconsideration.
Iuliana Angelina. Badge. (Fieldless) A squirrel vert maintaining an acorn Or.
Jennet Eva O’Loghlan. Device change. Per fess wavy gules and azure, in saltire a spear and a pike embowed argent.
Artist’s note: Please draw the waves larger to aid in identification.
The submitter’s previous device, Gules, a ram’s head cabossed between three mullets of four points argent, is released.
Kara Njalsdottir. Name.
Kirsa Oyutai. Badge. (Fieldless) A spearhead per pale Or and azure.
Nice badge!
Lillian Hutchinson. Name and device. Azure, a phoenix argent rising from flames proper, on a chief argent three lilies azure.
Nice late 16th century English name!
Magnus Wolfhunte. Badge. (Fieldless) A fer-à-loup counter-ermine.
{O,}zurr Styrbjarnarson. Badge. Argent, a bend gules and overall a sun azure.
Rodrigo Medina de la Mar. Name.
Nice Spanish name from the late 15th century onwards!
Scolastica Capellaria. Name and device. Per bend sinister gules and azure, a drawn bow reversed with arrow nocked and a unicorn couchant contourny regardant argent.
Submitted as Scolastica Capellarius, it was noted in commentary that, if the submitter is intended to be the hatmaker (as opposed to a member of the hatmaker’s family), the byname should be the feminine Capellaria. As the submitter preferred this form, we have made this change.
Úlfr Bárðarson. Name.
Nice 9th-10th century Icelandic name!
The submitter may be interested to know that Ulfr Bardsson is a 14th century Norwegian form of the same name. If the submitter prefers this form, he may make a request for reconsideration.
Zofeia Örebek. Name (see PENDS for device).
Submitted as Zofiya Jodurqin, the name in this form could not be registered for several reasons. First, the submitter wanted a Mongol byname that means “stubborn.” However, Zofiya was documented as a Lithuanian name. Lithuanian is in the Baltic language group, which cannot be combined with Mongol under Appendix C. Second, Jordurquin was a constructed element based on a modern Mongol dictionary. We have no evidence for this construction in period.
Fortunately, with the help of Ursula Palimpsest, and the consent of the submitter, we were able to change the name to a registerable form. The submitter agreed to change the given name to Zofeia, a Russian form of the same given name. Örebek is an attested medieval Mongol byname meaning “stubborn, persistent.” Russian can be combined with Mongol under Appendix C. We are happy to make this change for registration.
EAST pends
Ceolwenne wyrhte. Device. Per pale argent and gules, two domestic cats salient respectant maintaining between them a triquetra braced with an annulet counterchanged.
This device is pended for redraw due to the triquetra and annulet not being colored in. Blue Tyger provided the new artwork in commentary which had previously been approved by the submitter.
This was item 5 on the East letter of December 31, 2019.
Zofeia Örebek. Device. Per bend sable and gules, a Bactrian camel statant Or maintaining under its front hoof a wolf’s head cabossed argent, a base rayonny Or.
This device is pended for redraw due to commenters’ inability to identify the wolf’s head. Wreath staff has redrawn the artwork which has been accepted by the submitter.
This was item 25 on the East letter of December 31, 2019.