The East Kingdom College of Heralds presents its Feast of Fools submissions!

December 24, 2015 by East Kingdom Gazette

The Feast of Fools was popular festival in medieval England and France, held on or about January 1, celebrating the biblical principle that “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise” (1 Cor. 1:27). During the Feast of Fools, mock bishops, popes and other high officials were elected, servants and masters changed places, and other foolery and foolishness was celebrated. More information about the Feast of Fools can be found here:

This Feast of Fools letter, celebrating the holiday season, was prepared based on responses to a challenge I issued to East Kingdom heralds to document holiday names and create holiday armory. Contributors to this letter of mis-intent include: Alesone Gray of Cranlegh, Edwyn le Clerc, Seraphina Golden Dolphin, Godefroy de Lisieues, Conall Blue Talbot, Lillia Pellycan, Violet Sea Star, Lilie Dubh inghean uí Mórdha, and, of course, myself.
Enjoy!
Alys Pantheon et Ogress, usurping Blue Tyger’s place for Foolery!
1: Christmas Tree -New Name & New Device
Per chevron throughout gules and vert estencelly Or

Submitter desires a feminine name.
Christmas — Withycombe under header spelling Christmas which states: “this, like other names of church festivals was sometimes given to children born on that day (cf. Pentecost, Easter, etc.) and is found from the 13th C down to the present day. It gave rise to a not uncommon surname. It has now been largely replaced by Noel.” In addition, it is found in the Family Search Historical Records as a female given name:

Christmas Pell; Female; Christening; 22 Dec 1594; Quadring, Lincoln, England; Batch: C03102-2 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JQR9-K4R)

Tree is a surname found in “Index of Names in the 1582 Subsidy Roll of London” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/english/engsurlondon1582n-z.html)
2: Comfort Ann Joy -New Name
Submitter desires a feminine name.
Meaning (tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy) most important.
Comfort is a male given name dated to 1620 at pp. 149-50 of Bardsley’s Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature; it is also dated to 1634 at p. 204 of the same source. Comfort is also found as a female given name in the Family Search Historical Records:

Comfort Crumpe; Female; Burial; 01 Mar 1631; St. Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex, England; Batch: B02857-3 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JCV2-ZV7)

Ann is a female given name dated to 1593 in “English Names found in Brass Enscriptions” by Julian Goodwyn (http://heraldry.sca.org/names/brasses/women.html).
Joy is an English surname found in the Family Search Historical Records:

Hellen Joy; Female; Burial; 18 Dec 1576; Searby-With-Owmby, Lincolnshire, England; Batch: B05335-3 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JHB8-8ZG)
Appendix A allows double given names in late period English.

3: Dominyk Asinus -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Meaning (Dominic the donkey) most important.
Dominyk is a saint’s name. The Middle English Dictionary s.v. confirmāciǒun (n.) dates Saynt Dominyk to c. 1450.
Asinus is a surname dated to 1202 in R&W s.n. Ass. Asinus is Latin for ass or donkey.
4: Feliz Navidad -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Language (Spanish) most important.
Culture (Spanish) most important.
Meaning (I want to wish you a merry Christmas) most important.
Feliz is a Spanish given name found in the Family Search Historical Records:

Feliz Azpiroz Paz, M, Christening, 18 Jan 1584, SANTA CRUZ, LANZ, NAVARRA, SPAIN, Batch: C85023-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FT52-N9Q)

Navidad is a locative byname also found in the Family Search Historical Records:

Martin De Navidad; Male; Marriage; 21 Jan 1585; Santiago Apostol, Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain; Batch: M87106-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FFJD-RYB)

Appendix A permits unmarked locative bynames in Spanish, so dropping the de presents no problem.
5: Hanna Ka Harry -New Name & New Device
Argent, a menorah within a mullet of six points voided and interlaced, a chief and a base azure.

All elements are found in the Family Search Historical Records:
Hanna is a female given name:

Hanna [no surname]; Female; Burial; 30 Jul 1625; St. Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex, England; Batch number B02853-0 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JCVX-PX9)

Ka is an English surname:

Elizabeth Ka; Christening; 29 Sep 1583, Saint Nicholas, Colchester, Sussex, England: Batch Number K13795-3 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NKN2-S61)

Harry is also an English surname:

Anne Harry, Burial; 29 Apr 1598, England; Batch number B39202-5 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JC94-BJ8)

6: Jolly Seyntnycolas -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Meaning (jolly old Saint Nicholas) most important.
Jolly is a English surname dated to 1585 in “Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521-1615” by Juetta Copin (https://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juetta/parish/surnames_ijk.html). Such surnames can be used as given names by precedent. [Alton of Grimfells, 4/2010 LoAR, A-East].
Seyntnycolas is a surname dated to 1462 s.n. St Nicholas in Reaney & Wilson
7: Joyeaux Noel -New Name & New Device

Submitter desires a feminine name.
All elements are found in the Family Search Historical Records:
Joyeux is found as an English surname, which can be used as a given name by precedent. [Alton of Grimfells, 4/2010 LoAR, A-East].

Marie Joyeux, F, christening, 06 Aug 1636, THREADNEEDLE STREET FRENCH HUGUENOT,LONDON,LONDON,ENGLAND, C04903-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5L2-71H)

Noel is found as an English surname:

Humfrey Noel, M, Christening 06, Jun 1583, Wigan, Lancashire, England P00556-1 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N5Q1-PZJ)

8: Merry Christmas -New Name
Submitter desires a feminine name.
Client requests authenticity for 16th cen. English.
All elements are found in the Family Search Historical Records:
Merry is a 16th Century English female given name:

Merry Tomson, female, marriage, 1577, Metheringham, Lincoln, England. Batch No. M03021-3, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFH3-MXF)

Merry Brower, female, marriage, 1580, Rye, Sussex, England. Batch No. M14836-1. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N6KJ-6N1)

Christmas is a 16th cen. English surname:

Tannekyn Christmas, female, burial, 10 Apr 1561,St. Botolph Aldgate, London, England, Batch No. B02101-3. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRX4-R6L)

Anthonye Christmas, male, burial, 02 Nov 1580, Mayfield, Mayfield, Sussex, England, Film No. 001067249. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD6-LYFS)

As both elements are found c. 1580 in Sussex, England, this name meets the submitter’s authenticity request.
9: Merry Christmas -New Alternate Name: Mery de Cristemasse
Submitter desires a feminine name.
Culture (Anglo-Scots) most important.
Mery is a female given name found dated to 1502 s.n. Marion in “Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names” by Sharon Krossa (http://medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/womenalpha.shtml).
de Cristemasse is a byname found at p. 72 of “Middle English Bynames in Early Fourteenth-Century London” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/english/bynames1319.pdf).
10: Nicolas Claus -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Nicolas is a Flemish given name dated to 1538 in “Flemish Given Names from Bruges, 1400-1600” by Loveday Toddekyn (https://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/bruges/given-list.html).
Claus is a surname dated to 1445, 1446, 1462, 1468, 1469 and 1526 in “Names from Antwerp, 1443-1550” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Kymma Godric (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/dutch/surnamesplaiser.html)
11: Noel Blanche -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Language (French) most important.
Meaning (White Christmas) most important.
Noel is a male given name found in “French Names from Chastenay, 1448-1457” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://heraldry.sca.org/names/french/chastenay.html)
Blanche is a surname found in “French Names from Paris, 1421, 1423, & 1438” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://heraldry.sca.org/names/french/paris1423surnames.html).
12: Nowell Nowell -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Sound (No-ell No-ell) most important.
Language (English) most important.
Culture (London, England) most important.
Meaning (the salutation of Angel Gabriel) most important.
Nowell is a male given name found in “Index of Names in the 1582 Subsidy Roll of London” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/english/engmasclondon1582.html).
Nowell is found as a surname dated to 1576 at p. 257 of “Dictionary of Tudor London Names (May 2014)” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/english/tudorlondon.pdf)
13: Nowell Nowell -New Alternate Name: Noel Noel
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Sound (No-ell No-ell) most important.
Language (French) most important.
Culture (France) most important.
Noel is a male given name with five instances found in “Names Found in Commercial Documents from Bordeaux, 1470-1520” by Aryanhwy merch Catmael (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/bordeaux.html)
Noel is a surname found in the same article s.n. Pierre (Pierre Noel).
14: Rudolf Shiny Nose -New Name & New Device
Argent, eight tiny reindeer statant proper

Submitter desires a masculine name.
Meaning (shiny nose) most important.
Rudolf is the vernacular form of Rudolfus, Anglo-Saxon author of the Life of St. Leoba, who lived c. 836 (http://www.pase.ac.uk/pdb?dosp=VIEW_RECORDS&st=PERSON_NAME&value=1921&level=1&lbl=Rudolf)
Shiny Nose is the Lingua Anglica form of the Old Norse descriptive byname nefglita is an Old Norse byname found in Geirr Bassi at p. 26 meaning “nose- glitter, shiny nose”.
Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse can be combined as long as both elements are dated prior to 1100, which these are.
15: Rudolf Shiny Nose -New Badge
(Fieldless) A reindeer statant proper sustaining with its nose a roundel gules

16: Saturne Allia -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Saturne follows the 16th-17th century English pattern of naming people after classical deities. [Faunus de Arden, June 2014, A-An Tir]. It is found in this spelling referring to the planet in a number of 1580s astrological texts (see A Companion to Astrology in the Renaissance edited by Brendan Dooley; https://books.google.com/books?id=5622AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA183) and Anatomy of the Abuses in England in Shakspere’s Youth, A.D. 1583 (https://books.google.com/books?id=qkw_AQAAMAAJ).
Allya is a 16th century English byname in Family Search:

Johanna Allya; Female; Christening; 05 Mar 1571; SAINT MARYS, HANLEY CASTLE, WORCESTER, ENGLAND; Batch: C04216-1, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGNP-1M8)

The i/y swap in English is well-established. This evidence therefore supports the spelling Allia.
17: Sleigh Bell -New Name & New Device
Per fess gules and vert, a sledge argent between three hawk’s bells Or
Sleigh is a 16th cen. English surname found in the Family Search Historical Records. This surname can be used as a given name by precedent. [Alton of Grimfells, 4/2010 LoAR, A-East]

Izabella Sleigh; Female; Marriage; 27 Oct 1590; All Saints, Derby, Derby, England; Batch: M03587-2 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NVM9-65K)

Bell is a surname found in “Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521-1615” by Juetta Copin (https://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juetta/parish/surnames_b.html)
This armory uses the image of a sledge found in the Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry, which states:

A sledge is a vehicle for traveling over snow or ice, consisting of a carriage set atop runners; it’s also called a “sleigh” in modern America. It’s a period charge, found in the canting arms (German Schlitten) of von Schlitsted, 1605 [Siebmacher 170]. The sledge faces to dexter by default.

18: Winter Wonder Land -New Name & New Device
Azure semy of escarbuncles argent, a sledge Or
Submitter has no desire as to gender.
All elements are found in the Family Search Historical Records.
Winter is found as an English female given name:

Winter Brandwood, F, Christening, Altham Lancashire, England; Batch: C01937-0 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ND5F-T6L)

Wonder is found as an English surname:

Charles Wonder, M, 05 Nov 1609, Yarborough, Lincoln, England; Batch: C03388-2 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N1SW-PTY)

Land is also found as an English surname:

Issabell Land, F, 1620, ALL SAINTS, NEWCASTLE-UPON TYNE, NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND; Batch: C39520-3 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NDJZ-D4F)

Appendix A permits double surnames in late-period English.
This armory uses the image of a sledge found in the Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry, which states:

19: Yule Log -New Name
Submitter desires a masculine name.
Both elements are found in the Family Search Historical Records.
Yule is a 16th cen. English surname, which can be used as a given name by precedent. [Alton of Grimfells, 4/2010 LoAR, A-East].

George Yule; Male; Marriage; 23 Jun 1589; Polstead, Suffolk, England; Batch: M06302-2 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NLMR-NYN)

Log is an English surname:

Fenandus Log; Male; Christening; 13 Aug 1607; Stone, Stafford, England; Batch: C39591-4 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRLN-4QR)