ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1342
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1342
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12 Nov 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked whether <Amleth Volsung> 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.

<Amleth> is a modern rendering of <Amlethus>, which is found in the works
of the medieval Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus and was the source of
Shakespeare's <Hamlet>.  <Amlethus> is a Latin rendering of the Old Norse
name <Amlo/{dh}i>.  The slash in the name represents an accent on the
previous letter, and {dh} represents the letter edh, which is pronounced
like the <th> in <this>.  <Amlo/{dh}i> is an alias, or assumed name, in the
Saemundar Edda, and therefore not a normal name [1, 2].  We recommend you
choose another name.

<Vo"lsung> (in German) or <Vo,lsungr> (in Old Norse) is a mythological
name.  <Vo,lsungr> 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 <o>.  As far as we can tell, no real
person was ever called <Vo,lsungr>; 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, <Thorsteinn> the son of <Thorvaldr> would have been
called <Thorsteinn Thorvaldsson>.  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
<http://www.wctc.net/~randomsf/rollofarms.htm>.

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 <http://www.sca.org>.


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


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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