[Northkeep] Registered names/arms update

Herndon, Darin DHerndon at bswintl.com
Thu Jan 15 08:02:48 PST 2004


I had promised, in my last post, to resend the latest Northkeep registrations at the Laurel level when I actually got the electronic copy of results.  Because some of the Northkeep submissions raised precedent questions, I have included the commentary (if any) noted in the registration letters.

The following were registered in the September College of Arms meetings:

Gerard du Quartier. Device. Purpure, a cross of Cleves and on a chief invected Or three fleurs-de-lys azure.

Matheus McTaevis McMychell. Name and device. Or semy of thistles proper, a lion rampant guardant queue-forché and a bordure vert. 
Submitted as Matheus Mac  Tavish Mak Mychell, the submitter allowed minor changes.
All examples found of Scots names having two Mac bynames either (1) used the same spelling for both forms of Mac, or (2) used a V spelling for the second particle - representing the pronunciation of the lenitied form mhic that appears in Gaelic.
Some examples of this construction may be found in Black: (p. 451 s.n. MacAllan) dates Alexander roy McAllane McReynald and Innes McAllane McRenald to 1541, (p. 556 s.n. MacPhail) Maria M'Kane M'Fale to 1548, (p. 566 s.n. MacThomas) Aye M'Ane M'Thomas to 1543, and (p. 570 s.n. MacWerich) John M'Patrik M'Vyrricht to 1573.
Based on these examples, we have changed both particles in this name to Mc- in order to register this name.
While Black (s.n. MacTavish) dates a number of forms of this byname to period, none show the submitted spelling Tavish. Lacking evidence that this is a plausible period form, we have changed the byname to use the form McTaevis, which is dated to 1515 in this entry.

Micheal na Tuaighe. Name.

Olivia de Calais. Name and device. Or, a unicorn couchant purpure within an orle of fleurs-de-lys azure. 
The submitter documented the name Olivia from Withycombe (s.n. Olive). However, this entry only supports Olivia as a literary name in period used by Shakespeare in his play Twelfth Night. As this play was first performed in 1599-1600, Olivia is registerable under the guidelines for using names from literary sources found in the Cover Letter to the February 1999 LoAR.
We have received the occasional comment asking whether the charges in an orle of [charges] are conjoined by default. They are not. By default an orle of [charges] is an unnumbered group of charges (generally, eight or more charges) that are arranged in orle. Each individual charge is in its default posture unless otherwise blazoned. The arms of the Valence family (sometime earls of Pembroke) are, perhaps, the best-known example of this sort of design in real-world armory. Their arms are protected as important non-SCA arms as Barruly argent and azure, an orle of martlets gules.
In a charge group blazoned as An orle of [charges] in orle, the charges are arranged in orle and the postures of the charges tilt so that they follow each other. Thus, an orle of fish naiant would all be in the default naiant (fesswise) posture, but an orle of fish naiant in orle swim head to tail.

Rosamund Blaunchflur. Name. 
Listed on the LoI as Rosamund Blanchflur, this name was submitted as Rosamund Blaunchflur. We have made this correction.
Good name!

Sincerely,
Etienne



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