ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1168 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1168 ************************************ 30 Jul 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the name and the arms "Gules, a boar passant argent to sinister and a chief embattled argent", which were not accepted by the College of Arms. Here is what we have found. Before I start, I'd like to clarify the service that the Academy offers. We try to help Societyfolk in choosing and using names that fit the historical cultures they are trying to re-create. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that it not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the College's needs. If your main goal is to register a particular name or arms, then we may not be able to help you. Since you didn't tell us what time and place you want your name to fit, we're going to cover a couple of possibilities. If we missed your choice and you want more information, please write us again. Your name was returned by Laurel in July 1992 for incorrect grammar and for conflict with the previously-registered name . Laurel wrote that the correct Danish for "son of Magni" is , not . The College assumed you wanted a Danish name because the element meaning "son" is spelled in late-period Danish. Laurel was correct that is not a correct form: The name should become when combined with . This change is analogous to adding <'s> in . But we don't think would be correct either: we can't find clear evidence that was used as a given name in Denmark at all. It was used in Viking-age Norse, and in that language, "Magni's son" was [1, 3]. was a moderately common Norse given name, recorded in Norway and in Iceland, so is a fine name for these cultures [2, 3]. The <-sen> spelling in your name is only historically correct quite late in our period, in the 15th or 16th centuries in Sweden or Denmark. We found recorded in Denmark in 1425, meaning either "Magni's son" or "Magnus' son". Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that the name continued to be used in these countries as late as the 15th century [4]. Regardless of the documentation, your name still conflicts with . You are quite correct that this name was probably used by many people in our period, but the SCA decided long ago that registered names must be significantly different from one another. You are of course not obliged to register your name, but if you want to register it in the College of Arms' book, you either have to obey their rules or convince them to change their rules. It is possible to avoid the conflict by adding another element to your name, e.g. "Thorfinn, Black Magni's son". If you'd like to consider other possibilities along these lines, write us again and let us know what you have in mind. Your arms were registered July 1992 as "Gules, a boar statant to sinister and a chief potenty argent". Before your submission was sent to Laurel, it was considered by the West Kingdom College of Arms in April 1992. Your original design, "Gules, a boar statant to sinister and a chief embattled argent", was found to conflict with the previously registered arms of Eorann O'Conner, "Gules, a bear passant to sinister reguardant and a chief embattled argent". The West Kingdom reported that it passed your alternate design, which is the one that was registered [6]. Under the conflict rules that were in use in 1992, the West Kingdom's decision was probably correct. Under the current rules, we feel that your original design is no longer in conflict with Eorann O'Conner's arms. In February 1996, Laurel ruled that "bears and boars were considered completely different creatures in period" [5], and under the College's rule X.2, that is sufficient to eliminate the conflict. As long as no other conflicting design has been registered since 1992 (and we did not find one), this information should be sufficient to support a resubmission of your original design. Your design is fine heraldic style for the 14th century or later in Scandinavia. Heraldry was not used in Scandinavia until the 13th century, so if you want to fit a culture earlier than that, you may want to consider whether you want to use arms at all. We've written up a few thoughts on that question in an article available on the web: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/faq/nonheraldic.html I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Walraven van Nijmegen, Tangwystyl vz. Morgant Glasvryn, Evan da Collaureo, Lindorm Eriksson, and AElfwyn aet Gyrwum. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 23 Jul 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931), col. 754. [2] Uppsala University Department for Scandinavian Languages, _Rundata_, software pre-release version 8.84 (test) (Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala universitet, 1990). [3] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). [4] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), col.877ff. The name is given as . The colon is an abbreviation for a patronym. [5] Laurel Letter of Acceptances and Returns, February 1992, Acceptances, Caid, Murtaugh the Gallowglas. "The badge [Gules, a boar statant to sinister or - ed.] is clear of the Barony of Septentria, Gules, a bear statant to sinister Or, by application of X.2. Bears and boars were considered completely different creatures in period, and a comparison of the emblazons did not demonstrate a visual conflict." [6] West Kingdom heraldic minutes, 4 April 1992. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -