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Greetings,
Here's another hunk of information on your name and arms.
Your research has uncovered a number of names that are close to "Athanael," but none of them are actually "Athanael." As we mentioned in the last letter, single letter differences are important in names--there is a big difference between John and Johm, for example, even though the two words are phonetically very similar.
In some languages, first and second elements are combined into a whole name. It's possible that "Athana-" is used as a first element in Greek names, but "-el" was not used as a second element in either Greek or Italian. It derives from Biblical Hebrew, where it was used commonly in names (other examples include Gamaliel, Jehiel, and Samuel).
There is no reason to think that a single name used in the Middle Ages could be half ancient Greek and half ancient Hebrew. You've found pieces of the name in different places and times, but those pieces are in the wrong places and times to be combined into a single name. Even when foreign names were introduced into a language, they were often modified to fit the standard practices of the new language -- for example, the Hebrew "Raphael" became the Italian is "Raffaelo."
Although the rules of the SCA (and all historical research) allow for the admission of things which could have existed, there must be evidence of a pattern in the language. If you could demonstrate that Italian or Greek first elements and Hebrew second elements were combined in names that were used in Italy, that would be sufficient. However, the evidence for that just isn't there.
We have better news on your arms. On further investigation, we discovered examples of winged hearts in medieval heraldry. Henry de Wengham, Bishop of London 1259-1262, bore the arms "Gules, a body-heart between two wings displayed Or." (1) There is also a picture of a knight whose crest is a winged heart in "Le Livre du Cuers d'Amours Espris" by Rene' d' Anjou, written around 1450.
Because a winged heart is such an unusual charge, we recommend using just a winged heart. The design of lozenges you suggested isn't like anything we've seen in period heraldry, and we would suggest getting rid of them altogether. This would produce the arms
"Argent, a heart gules winged Or."
This would be a likely coat of arms in the Middle Ages.
The remainder of your achievement would not be registered with the SCA College of Arms--by definition, the CoA registers only the actual coat of arms. However, we can provide some information about the other objects you're using.
Crests were originally designed to be placed on top of a helmet. Because of this, most crests are single objects that could be placed on the top of a helmet. If you used "six flames" as a crest, some of the flames would be floating in mid-air if they were actually placed on a helmet. We recommend using a single flame, which is quite reasonable as a crest.
In very late period, crests became less resctricted by this guideline. (The crest of Sir Francis Drake, for example, includes a hand reaching down from a cloud). But unless you want to have a very late-period persona, we recommend using a crest that could actually be placed on a helmet.
We know very little about the use of supporters in late-period Italy. They were used, at least by the higher nobility, from the 14th century onward; but we don't know how common the practice was nor how far down the social scale it spread. You may want to do some further research on your own before decide whether supporters are appropriate to your persona. We do know that it was quite rare in period to use a pair of dissimilar supporters. The earliest examples we know appear in the 15th century among the highest nobility and royalty of England. It is not unlikely that the practice appeared a bit earlier in Italy, but it was definitely rare and almost certainly confined to the very great nobles. Some SCA kingdoms have limitations on the use of supporters; if you wish to follow you local heraldic regulations you should contact a local herald and find out if there are restrictions in your kingdom.
I'm aware that this news isn't very encouraging, and I want to stress that this is not a value judgment about your name or arms. You're obviously enthusiastic, creative, and motivated, and I would hate to leave you with the feeling that your name is "bad." We're making a factual judgment (as accurately as we can) about the name and arms you're proposing--the evidence we have leads us to believe that they wouldn't have been used in the Middle Ages.
Your research skills are good. You've found out many things that we didn't know (for example, none of us can recall having seen a winged sword in heraldry before)--in fact, we're wondering where you found the winged sword. You have a sense of the poetic which comes through in your writing, and which I appreciate a great deal. Unfortunately, I can't look at the information in front of me and come to a different conclusion, though it would please me to do so. If you want to have a name that could have been used in the Middle Ages, "Athanael" and "Elysium" will not fit the bill.
I understand how difficult it seems to change a name that's been used for a while. If you decide to use a period name, you may be surprised at how easily people are willing to accept the change. Others in the SCA, sometimes people of great prominence, have changed their names--a count in the Midrealm changed his name after 20 years, and did so without a great deal of difficulty. In fact, his willingness to choose a medieval name after so long earned him no small amount of respect. It is possible to find a name that is both poetic and historical, and we would like to help you in that search. I hope we can continue to work with you.
Arval D'Espas Nord, Ivanor of Sighty Crag, Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Walvaren van Nijmege, and Gianetta Andreini de Vicenza researched your arms.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel