ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1342 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1342 ************************************ 12 Nov 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is a period Nordic name, and you asked our opinion of your design for your arms. Here is what we have found. Unfortunately, the name is not historically plausible. Neither element appears to be a name that was used by normal people. is a modern rendering of , which is found in the works of the medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus and was the source of Shakespeare's . is a Latin rendering of the Old Norse name . The slash in the name represents an accent on the previous letter, and {dh} represents the letter edh, which is pronounced like the in . is an alias, or assumed name, in the Saemundar Edda, and therefore not a normal name [1, 2]. We recommend you choose another name. (in German) or (in Old Norse) is a mythological name. was a grandson of Odin and father of the epic hero Sigmund (Siegfried). The <"> represents an umlaut on the previous letter; <,> is a hook on the bottom of the . As far as we can tell, no real person was ever called ; it was only used in literature [3]. Old Norse names generally consisted of a given name and a patronymic byname. A patronymic is a surname that identifies you as your father's son. For example, the son of would have been called . You can find a list of Old Norse men's names on the web: Viking Names found in the Landna/mabo/k" http://www.wctc.net/~randomsf/landnamabok.htm Assuming that the outline of your fox head is silver, the armorial design you described could be blazoned "Sable, two maces in saltire argent enflamed gules and in chief a fox's mask adumbrated argent". This design is not compatible with medieval heraldic style for a couple reasons. Charges in outline are almost unknown in period armory; the only examples we know are lions (the most common animate charge in heraldry) found in late-period Flanders. As a general rule, outlines don't make good heraldic design. Heraldry tends to deal in large, boldly-drawn, easily-recognizable, solid blotches of color, not delicate tracery that will be difficult to see form a distance. The SCA College of Arms will not register outline charges. Charges enflamed are also quite rare in period armory. The ones we've seen are things that logically should be on fire: torches, beacons, and the like. We have never seen a flaming weapon in period arms. Before you consider other designs, you may want to take the opportunity to look at some examples of period heraldry so that you can get an idea of what sorts of designs were used. A good place to look is Joseph Foster, The Dictionary of Heraldry (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). It contains several thousand color drawings of period arms. There are also a few period rolls of arms available on the web; you can find links to them at . Another source you may find useful is Compleat Anachronist #20, "Heraldry", which is an introduction to medieval heraldic style. It is available from the SCA Marketplace (publications office) for a few dollars. You can find information on-line at . 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, Zenobia Naphtali, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, and Lindorm Eriksson. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 12 Nov 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [2] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931). [3] 'Vo"lsunga saga (heroic saga)' Britannica Online [Accessed 05 November 1998]. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=index/vo/lsu.html