ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1237 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1237 ************************************ 18 Sep 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the name , which you want to use as a 15th or 16th century German name. You explained that you are part of a group re-creating the Teutonic Knights, and asked our opinion of your design for your arms, a red an white fielded with a Maltese cross overlain by crossed swords. Here is what we have found. The name is probably a good choice for your period. We found the spelling in 15th century Arnsburg, and in Plauen (near Bohemia) in 1300 [1]. There is a modern town in Germany, but we do not know how early that name was used. We did find recorded in 1067, in Luxembourg 1095, and (modern ) in Belgium 961. These names don't derive from the word "bull"; they may be based on an ancient root that meant "standing water" [2]. We haven't found any German place names which are clearly derived from "bull", though we did find 13th and 14th century place names based on "oxen" and "ox". One of those examples is 1265 [3]. We think that or is a reasonable German place name for your period, but it probably would not have derived from a word meaning "bull". On balance, we believe that is a fine name for your period. One of our members is a herald in your area; he tells us that your household is the Bloodguard. The badge of that household, as we have seen it, uses the Eisenkreuz (heraldically, a cross formy), not a Maltese cross. The difference between the two types of cross is that the ends of the cross formy are straight, which the ends of the Maltese cross are cut with a deep vee. You can find pictures of both types of cross on the web at: Some Crosses and their Forms http://www.signetring.com/crosses/crosses.htm The cross formy is #102 on this list (although the German variety is usually drawn more like four broad triangles joined at the center point). The Maltese cross is #86. The Teutonic knights used two varieties of cross in their arms and badge. The arms of the order were "Argent, a cross sable" (#130 in the article referenced above), i.e. a simple black cross throughout on a white field. Their badge was "A Latin cross formy sable fimbriated argent" (#131), i.e. a black cross formy with its lower leg longer than the rest, thickly outlined in white [4]. Note that the Teutonic knights did not use the Maltese cross; that was the badge of another order, the Knights of Malta, also called the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem or the Knights of Rhodes during your period [5]. It's difficult to pick a set of colors which will make your heraldic design work properly. It's important to maintain good contrast between each charge (the cross or the swords) and the background on which it lies. If you make your cross gold, it will show up reasonably well against the red-and-white field, but pretty much whatever color you make the swords, they are going to be hard to identify. The best possibility would be to make the cross gold and the swords black: "Per pale gules and argent, a cross formy Or surmounted by two swords crossed in saltire sable". Even with these colors, the portions of the black swords that lie on the red field are fairly difficult to recognize. It was rare in period armory for one set of charges to overlap another. While it is not entirely incompatible with German heraldic style to surmount a cross with a pair of crossed swords, it is a very unusual motif and we do not recommend it. The crossed swords are also a cliche in Society heraldry, so they have limited value as a distinguishing mark in your arms. That's not to say that you shouldn't use them; but if they aren't especially important to you, you may want to consider some other ideas. For example, you might leave out the swords and use a design like "Per pale gules and argent, three crosses formy counterchanged". (A field divided vertically, red on the left, white on the right, with three crosses placed two side-by-side in the upper half of the field, one centered in the lower half. "Counterchanged" means that the pieces of the crosses that lie on the red half of the field are white, and vice versa.) As far as we can tell, this design could be registered with the SCA College of Arms. Since your goal is to evoke your household badge in your own arms, you might be interested one way that people of your period did the same sort of thing. It was not unusual in late-period Italy, France, and Switzerland for a person to add the badge of his political faction or order to his own arms as a chief [6]. A chief is a horizontal strip at the top of the field. For example, you might consider a design like "Argent, two swords crossed in saltire gules and on a chief per pale gules and sable, a cross formy argent." While we haven't yet found examples of this practice in Germany, we think it is a reasonable possibility for your persona. 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 Rouland Carre, Walraven van Nijmegen, Zenobia Naphtali, Talan Gwynek, Evan da Collaureo, Maridonna Benvenuti, and Blaise de Cormeilles. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 18 Sept 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Late Period German Masculine Given Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/germmasc/ [2] Bahlow, Hans, _Deutschlands geographisches Namenwelt: etymologisches Lexikon der Fluss- und Ortsnamen alteuropa:ischer Herkunft_ (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1985, c1965), s.n. Stierstadt and other nearby entries. [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960), s.n. Ochsenbach and other nearby entries. [4] The on-line Ordinary and Armorial for the Society for Creative Anachronism, updated 15 Aug 1998. [5] "Knights of Malta" Britannica Online. [Accessed 03 September 1998]. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/324/79.html [6] Italian use of this type of chief is discussed by Woodward, John and George Burnett, _A Treatise on Heraldry British and Foreign_ (Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1969), pp. 119, 470, and 538. Numerous examples can be found in 15th century churchs and public buildings in Florence. Many examples appear in Sienese arms from 1467 onward in Borgia, L., et. al., eds., _Le Biccherne : tavole dipinte delle magistrature senesi (secoli XIII-XVIII)_ (Roma : Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, 1984). Examples of several other Italian chiefs of this type can be found in Guelfi Camajani, _Dizionario Araldico_ (1940) and Piero Marchi, _I Blasoni delle Famiglie Toscane_ (1992). Numerous French cities bear the French royal arms as a chief, and in many cases that usage originated in period. See Francois Velde, "Heraldry of French Cities" (WWW: privately published, 14 Nov, 1997) http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/frcities.htm We have also seen Swiss civic arms with a chief of the Order of St. John, but have not been able to track down the references. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -