ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1003 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1003 ************************************ From: 29 Jun 1998 Greetings, Here's the information we found on your 14th-century French name and arms. You said you were looking for French equivalents of the Dutch names "Bane" and "Griffeon," and for information on the arms, "Azure, a leopard's head jessant-de-lys within a bordure Or." We were unable to find a French equivalent for . We did find a French name that was spelled and in 1292. (1) Occupational bynames were still used in French in 1350, and so would be a perfectly reasonable byname for a bookseller or book-maker in your period. (2) Your arms, "Azure, a leopard's face jessant-de-lys within a bordure Or," are quite reasonable for your period. There are a number of English examples of leopard's faces jessant-de-lys from the late 13th century. (3) Although we don't have examples from France, French and English heraldry are similar enough that it is not an unreasonable charge, especially in a simple coat of arms such as yours. Unfortunately the arms you suggest conflict with a design that's already registered in the SCA. However, we found the following which appear to be free of conflict: * Azure, three leopards' heads jessant-de-lys within a bordure Or. * Or, a leopard's head jessant-de-lys within a bordure azure * Azure, a leopard's head jessant-de-lys within a bordure argent. Monsters in general are not particularly common in medieval heraldry at any point. However, they are found occasionally even from an early period. One might say that monsters are a constant but relatively minor thread in that tapestry of heraldry we so love (or perhaps not). Zenobia Naphtali, Walraven van Nijmegen, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Rouland Carre, Elsbeth Anne Roth, and Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn contributed to this letter. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. In service, Alan Fairfax Academy of S. Gabriel (1) Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris." (WWW: Accessed June 14, 1998) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html (2) ibid., s.n. Aignen (3) Brault, Gerald J., _The Rolls of Arms of Edward I_, Aspilogia III, 2 vols. (London: Boydell Press, 1997).