ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1138
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1138
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From: "S Friedemann" 
9 Aug 1998

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked if <Faol-Cad Baird> would be appropriate for an Irish masculine
name between 1550 and 1600, and what names might be appropriate for bards.
You also asked about the arms "Argent, on a pale between two wolves
combattant gules, a harp argent."  Here is the information we have found.

The appropriate form of <Faol-Cad> for your period would be <Faolchadh>,
pronounced \FAIL-kha\, with the \L\ pronounced strongly, so that it sounds
almost like \FAIL-a-kha\.  [1,2]  We haven't found the name in use after
1200 or so, but it survived into your period in the rare surname <O/
Faolchaidh>, "[male] descendant of Faolchadh," and may still have been in
use as a given name. [1]

<Baird> is the possessive form of the Irish word <bard>, meaning 'bard.'
[1]  Using <bard> as an occupational byname (a nickname based on your
occupation) would be appropriate for everyday usage, though in your period
your formal name would have included a patronymic byname (a byname based on
your father's name), also.  <Faolchadh Bard> would be an authentic choice
for a late-period Irish name.

If you'd like help choosing a name for your father, feel free to write again
with some of your preferences (initial letter, sound).  Or, you might want
to see if your library has a copy of _Irish Names_ by Donnchadh O/ Corra/in
and Fidelma Maguire.

Once you have chosen a name, please feel free to write again and we will be
happy to help you create the appropriate patronym.

Your arms are nearly perfect as they are.  The only thing you might want to
consider is the use of the harp on your arms.  If you're using harps to say
"I am Irish," we suggest that you look at a different design.  In period,
people didn't incorporate national symbols in this way--Irish people were no
more likely to use harps in their arms than anyone else.  In fact, harps
weren't really a symbol for Ireland in period.  The arms of Ireland (Azure,
a harp Or) were first adopted by James VI & I, king of Ireland, Scotland,
and England (r. 1603-25). [3]

We wonder if you chose the wolf and harp to refer to both parts of your
name -- the wolf for <faol>, the Gaelic word for wolf, and the harp for
<Bard>.  While it was quite common in the late Middle Ages for a man's arms
to contain a reference to his name, a practice called "canting," the
reference was always to his family name, not his given name.  Arms were
intended to pass from one generation to the next, so a reference to one
man's given name would be meaningless to the next generation.

The wolf and harp are perfectly reasonable charges for arms of your period,
but if you are using them to form a rebus on your name, you should be aware
that it is not a period practice.

We have checked your proposed arms "Argent, on a pale between two wolves
combattant gules, a harp argent" against other arms protected by the SCA
College of Arms, and found none that were similar.

We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not
hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further
questions.  Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Brad
Miller, Arval Benicoeur, Zenobia Naphtali, Rouland Carre, Tangwystyl verch
Morgant Glasvryn, Walraven van Nijmegen,  Talan Gwynek, and Effrick neyn
Kenneoch.

For the Academy,
--Arianuia de Cair Mirdin filia Catmaili
     August 9, 1998

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References:

[1] Patrick Woulfe, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_
(Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation)

[2] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976).

[3]  Woodward, John and George Burnett, _A Treatise on Heraldry British and
Foreign_ (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1969)., p.384