[ANSTHRLD] September 2012 LoAR Cover Letter in Da'uded text

tmcd at panix.com tmcd at panix.com
Sat Nov 3 10:41:27 PDT 2012


**** From Laurel: Heraldic Wills ****

While most heraldic wills transfer control of registered items to a specified
individual, we are willing to allow some flexibility. In specific, we are
willing to allow heraldic wills to name as the owners of items the offices of
seneschal or herald of a kingdom or principality.

**** From Laurel: Updates to the Admin Handbook and Standards for Evaluation
****

Please note the following changes to the Admin Handbook and the Standards for
Evaluation of Names and Armory. These changes were proposed on the June 30,
2012, Palimpsest Rules Letter.

Admin Handbook V.B.2.g., Correction of Errors, currently reads:

     g. Correction of Errors - A designated preparer of a letter of intent
     may correct errors in a submission after a letter of intent is
     finalized by clicking on the link labelled "CORRECT" after the
     submission. Corrections should only be made when information
     necessary for the College of Arms to provide adequate commentary or
     for the item to be ruled upon is missing or incorrect; otherwise,
     changes should not be made. If a significant period of time elapses
     between the letter of intent and the correction, the corrected
     submissions may be pended until a later meeting.

Effective immediately, we are changing this to read:

     g. Correction of Errors - A designated preparer of a letter of intent
     may correct errors in a submission after a letter of intent is
     finalized by clicking on the link labelled "CORRECT" after the
     submission. Corrections should only be made when information
     necessary for the College of Arms to provide adequate commentary or
     for the item to be ruled upon is missing or incorrect; otherwise,
     changes should not be made. If a significant period of time elapses
     between the letter of intent and the correction, the corrected
     submissions may be pended until a later meeting. If an emblazon image
     is completely incorrect, it may be replaced within seven days of the
     publication of the Letter of Intent with a correction noting the
     replacement. After seven days or if the correction is a redraw of the
     original emblazon, the associated armorial item should be withdrawn
     using a correction to the original item and then resubmitted on a new
     Letter of Intent.

Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory PN.2.C., currently reads, in part:

     In addition, the name as a whole must follow a period pattern for
     personal names. Any name must follow the pattern described in one of
     the two sections below.

Effective immediately, we are changing this portion to read:

     In addition, the name as a whole must follow a period pattern for
     personal names. Any name must follow the pattern described in one of
     the two sections below; for the purposes of this section, name
     phrases documented under the Lingua Anglica allowance in PN.1.B.2.c
     above are considered equivalent in date and language to the
     untranslated name element.

Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory A., currently reads, in part:

     To be registered, an armorial submission must meet the following
     standards:

         * 1. The armorial elements, charge groups, and overall design
           must be demonstrated to be compatible with period style. That
           means demonstrating that it follows the rules in A.2 and A.3 or
           the rules in A.4. A.1 explains how to do this in more detail.

Effective immediately, we are changing this portion to read:

     To be registered, an armorial submission must meet the following
     standards:

         * 1. The armorial elements, charge groups, and overall design
           must be compatible with period style. That means demonstrating
           that it follows the rules in A.2 and A.3 or the rules in A.4.
           The rule sets for this are described in more detail in A.1.

**** From Palimpsest and Pelican: Mismatches in Appendix C ****

A couple enterprising heralds pointed out to me that there were further
mismatches in Appendix C of SENA beyond the two repaired in the June 2012 Cover
Letter. After consultation with Pelican, it is clear that in all cases of
mismatch, they should be resolved by making them compatible in both directions.
Appendix C has been updated to resolve all the mismatches.

For reference, the updates are as follows (all are listed by Regional Group
name): Hungarian/Romanian is added as compatible to German and South Slavic for
both 550-1100 and 1100-1600; Mongol is added as compatible to Arabic,
Hungarian/Romanian, Russian/East Slavic, and Turkish for 1100-1600; Persian is
added as compatible to Arabic and Turkish for 1100-1600; and Turkish is added
as compatible to Italian for 1100-1600.

Please note that these compatibilities were already listed in Appendix C in the
other direction; their omission was an oversight uncaught in proofreading.

**** From Pelican and Wreath: Submissions Analysis for September ****

During this transition period, we are sharing our counts of the results of
considering submissions this month under both the Rules for Submissions and the
Standards for Evaluation. These counts include registered or returned items
only; no administrative actions such as transfers or acceptances, associations
of existing armory, heraldic wills, or other such letters will be included in
these counts.

"Armory style" and "armory conflict" indicate if a submitted item could only be
passed under one rule set or the other due to conflict or style issues. For
example, a submission that could not be registered under the old rules due to
conflict but could be registered without conflict under the new standards will
be counted as "passed under the new standards, but not old" as armory conflict.

    * Passed under both sets of rules: 183 total, 111 names, 72 armory


    * Returned under both sets of rules: 13 total, 2 names, 11 armory


    * Passed under old rules, but not new: 3 total, 0 names, 3 armory style, 0
      armory conflict


    * Passed under new rules, but not old: 4 total, 2 names, 0 armory style, 2
      armory conflict

If math is not your thing, it may be interesting to note that if all
submissions were considered only under the Rules for Submissions, there would
be a 91% success rate. Considered only under the Standards for Evaluation,
there would be a 92% success rate.

**** From Pelican: Late Period English Given Names Derived from Family Names
****

For the last two years, we have registered given names derived from late period
English family names, based on a well attested pattern. Commenters have
provided dozens of examples of this pattern for masculine names, as well as
several examples of this pattern for feminine names (including _Smith_ as a
feminine given name). These examples are found both in the IGI index and in
Withycombe, which mentions a grey period example of a woman named _Essex_.

Various commenters have called for us to restrict the registration of these
given names to submissions that are completely late period English names.
However, this limitation would be a sharp departure from current policy.

First, we would have no grounds to place this limitation on attested given
names, which would include _Smith_, _Leach_, _White_, _Bainbridge_,
_Guildford_, and _Richardson_, among others. A system which would allow _Smith_
as a given name to be registered more easily than _Ashley_ would create
confusion. Second, by long precedent we treat constructed name elements exactly
as attested ones. Therefore, we will continue to register these constructed
given names in any context suitable for an attested late period English given
name.

We note that this pattern has not been documented in Scotland or Ireland. As
such, family names only found in Scotland and Ireland cannot be used to create
given names. However, many family names spread from Scotland and Ireland into
England. In general, family names documented in sixteenth century England may
be used to create given names, even if they are of Scottish or Gaelic origin.

**** From Pelican: About Using the IGI (International Genealogical Index)
Search Forms ****

As most of you doubtless know, the IGI (International Genealogical Index)
website is in a state of flux. At this time, Edelweiss' IGI Parish Records
search does not work; this will continue until he is sure that they will not be
making additional changes. This means that it is harder to find appropriate
citations.

If you use the IGI search directly from the familysearch.org site, you must use
caution. First, we recommend you limit your search to IGI records, which you
can do at:

https://familysearch.org/search/collection/igi

(this site has worked only intermittently). You should limit it to the Indexed
IGI. If you use another interface, be aware that most items will not be
appropriate for our purposes. Whatever the source, you must make sure that the
batch number indicates that the records are from an extraction program and that
the source of the records is acceptable. A description of the batch numbers can
be found at:

https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/IGI_Batch_Number_Descriptions

In general batches beginning with C, J, K, M (except M17 and M18), or P are
acceptable. If you use another batch, please address why you believe it to be a
period spelling of the name. For example, I batches are taken from indices
created at various points in the past. Thus, some names in this batch are
normalized, and earlier indexes may reflect out of date scholarship. When
citing an IGI record be sure to include the batch number.

**** From Pelican: Some Name Resources (a series) ****

Last month, we discussed matronymic bynames from northern Europe. This month
we're continuing the tour. We'll continue this discussion with matronymic
bynames in southern Europe, the Middle East, and the little we know about
Eastern Europe.

On the Iberian Peninsula, there are a few relatively early examples of literal
matronymics in Spanish and Catalan. They are found either as unmarked name
elements like _Maria Teresa_ or as descriptions like _Johan, fijo de Toda
Soriana_. However, these names did not survive to create family names. In
sixteenth century Portuguese, on the other hand, unmarked matronymics like
_Lianor_, _Maria_, and _Antonia_ (all from Aryanhwy merch Catmael "Portuguese
Names from Lisbon, 1565." Literal matronymics are also found in Basque country,
in forms like those found elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula. Karen Larsdatter
(in "Basque Onomastics of the Eighth to Sixteenth Centuries") reports a c. 1200
_Urraquarena_ that may be an inherited matronymic byname; other examples follow
Spanish or Catalan patterns.

Literal matronymic bynames are found in Italian, taking the form _di Francesca_
or _di Monna Angela_. A few of them become family names: _Giovannella_ or
_Pera_. However, they are not common.

Matronymic bynames are rare in Arabic, but we have found dozens of examples.
The information we have is found in "Son of the Hot-Tempered Woman"
(http://medievalscotland.org/jes/ArabicMatronymics/). The notable thing is that
these matronymics are found only alone or as family names which can follow a
literal patronymic byname.

Our data from Eastern Europe is scanty, which means that lack of data for
matronymic bynames is not conclusive. We know that there are matronymic bynames
in late period Hungary; details can be found in the Academy of Saint Gabriel
report 2956 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/2956). Matronymic bynames are also found
in Russian (see Paul Wickenden's Dictionary of Russian Names
http://heraldry.sca.org/paul/zgrammar.html for more details). I do not
currently know of matronymic bynames in other Eastern European languages, but
that may be due to a lack of data.

**** From Wreath: Unity of Posture Revisited ****

Precedent set on the May 2012 Cover Letter would have us consult Appendix L to
determine if the charges in a mixed-type charge group have comparable postures.
This may not always be adequate. Sea-creatures and similar monsters are
generally composed of the front half of a quadruped combined with the back half
of a fish or wyvern; their default posture is erect, which in this case is
equivalent to rampant or sejant erect. They may also be statant or passant,
and, possibly, sejant.

For purposes of the unity of posture clause of A3D2c, sea-creatures and other
similar monsters must be in as similar a posture as possible to any quadrupeds
in the same group. Sea-creatures and other monsters not formed from quadrupeds
will be decided on a case by case basis. So for example, _a lion-dragon passant
and a horse passant_ has no unity of posture problem since both are passant,
whereas _a sea-horse and a lion statant_ does have a unity of posture problem,
as a sea-horse's default posture is erect, which is not identical to statant.

**** From Wreath: On Lotuses ****

The issue of whether or not the use of a lotus should be a step from period
practice has been raised several times recently. While the modern association
of a lotus is with the South Asian flower, the lotus motif in art is well known
in both Egyptian and Islamic art, and certainly the Greeks and Romans wrote
about a flower they called a lotus. The Indian lotus flower is today understood
to be distinct from the European water lily, also known as lotus. The white
waterlily, or white lotus as it is commonly known, is native to Europe. As the
two flowers look alike, and both are known colloquially as a _lotus_, we will
assume it is the European flower that is being referred to in blazon. To be
clear, the use of a lotus is not a step from period practice.

The leaves of the water lily are not infrequently found in period European
armory. To avoid confusion, we prefer to use the term _water lily_ for the
plant itself, and _lotus_, or _water lily blossom_, for just the flower.

**** Society Pages ****

On Saturday, October 6, 2012, at Great Western War, Cormac Mor, Crescent
Principal Herald of Caid, was inducted into the Order of the Pelican by Patrick
and Kara, King and Queen of Caid.

On Saturday, October 13, 2012, on the occasion of their coronation in the
Barony of Concordia of the Snows, Their newly crowned Majesties of the East,
Edward and Thyra, called forward Brunissende Dragonette de Broc{e'}liande,
formerly Blue Tyger Herald, and presented her with a writ of summons to attend
them at their Court on the occasion of 12th Night on January 5, 2012, there to
sit vigil and answer them whether she would become a member of their Order of
the Pelican.

Immediately afterwards, without dismissing the Order, Edward and Thyra
dispatched a messenger to bring them another of their subjects who they would
have words with. Their messenger returned with Alia Marie de Blois, known to
our readers as Clarion, Palimpsest, and a former White Stag and Rampart. She,
too, was presented with a writ, likewise calling her to sit vigil and answer on
membership in their Order of the Pelican on the occasion of 12th Night.


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