East Kingdom Results from the August 2020 LoAR
(FINAL HERALDIC DECISIONS)
(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 August 2020 Wreath and Pelican meetings.
EAST acceptances
Aurelia Alfaiata d’Alcaçova. Device. Per chevron sable and vert, a chevron ermine between two pairs of threaded needles in saltire and an owl maintaining a carnation slipped and leaved Or.
Artist’s note: Use fewer and large ermine spots to improve identifiability.
Jakob Agnarsson. Name.
John Carpentar. Name and device. Sable, a clenched gauntlet aversant and in chief a roundel argent.
Commenters raised the concern that this name might presume against the American horror and science fiction director John Carpenter. The standard set forth in SENA PN4D1 is very high. As neither a sovereign ruler of a significant state nor possessing his own entry in Encyclopedia Brittanica, we must evaluate the other criteria of the rule. After significant consideration and discussion with heralds and non-heralds alike, we cannot in good conscience consider that “a significant number of people in the Society” would immediately think of the film director when hearing this name at a SCA event. Therefore, John Carpenter is not important enough to protect from presumption, and this name may be registered as submitted.
Khadijah of House Hakim. Reblazon of device. Argent, four strawberry leaves in saltire conjoined at their stems vert fructed proper.
Blazoned when registered in August 1979 as Argent, a strawberry flower slipped of four fruit in cross and four leaves in saltire proper. [Fragilia virginiana], the leaves are the most prominent part of this design.
Lily Morgaine of the East and Antonio Giancarlo Nicastri. Joint badge. Per saltire sable and purpure, a lion maintaining a lily and a sword argent.
Artist’s note: Please increase the size of the lily to improve its identifiability.
Marcus Atilius Pansa. Name and device. Per pale argent and sable, a gorgon’s head between in saltire four bulls passant respectant all counterchanged.
Nice Roman name from 400 BC to 200 AD!
We are overturning precedent dating to the December 1984 registration of the badge of Manfred von Halsstern, Argent, a Gorgon’s head cabossed sable, langued and orbed, within a pair of bull’s horns gules where it was stated, “Cabossed is a perfectly reasonable default for a Gorgon’s head it is the obvious and most recognizable aspect - but given the proliferation of ad hoc defaults in SCA heraldry, it is probably better to err on the side of explicitness.” We explicitly define cabossed as the default orientation of a gorgon’s head, and no longer choose to explicitly blazon it.
Archives show that the few registered instances whose postures are not explicitly blazoned are in fact cabossed. No reblazons will be needed.
Sibell le Fey. Name and device. Per bend sinister argent and sable, a rabbit’s head cabossed purpure.
Wolfgang Holzhauer. Name (see PENDS for device).
Yesugai ibn Akbar ibn Murad. Reblazon of device. Counter-ermine, on a roundel engrailed gules surmounted by four spear-points in saltire, points to center, a torque inverted Or.
Blazoned when registered in August 1986 as Counter-ermine, on a roundel engrailed gules surmounted by four spear-points set saltirewise, points to fess point, a torque Or, we are clarifying the orientation of the torque, with its opening to chief, and simplifying the blazon of the spear-heads.
EAST returns
Ellesbeth Donofrey. Badge. Azure, a lotus blossom affronty within a four-lobed quadrate cornice argent.
This armory conflicts with the device of Bianca Rosamund, Azure, eight petals in annulo, bases to center, within a bordure argent. There is a DC for changing the bordure to a cornice, but per existing precedent no DC between petals in annulo and a blossom affronty.
EAST pends
Wolfgang Holzhauer. Device. Vert, a wolf’s jambe bendwise erased argent maintaining a lightning bolt bendwise sinister Or.
This armory is pended for redraw to improve the identifiability of the jambe as that of a wolf. A number of commenters had trouble identifying it: an eagle’s jambe was mentioned several times.
There is a step from period practice for the use of lightning bolts outside of the context of a thunderbolt.
This was item 8 on the East letter of May 31, 2020.