ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1347 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1347 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 15 Nov 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked if the feminine name would have been used in England between 1485 and 1600, and about the arms "Gyronny argent and sable, a fret gules, a tressure gules." Here is the information we have found. The more common English spelling of the surname is , found in 1581, also spelled [1]. The final in the name is Scottish [2], with the forms in 1404, 1448, 1498, and 1429. [3] was a common later-period name, with specific instances found in 1523-41, 1565, 1576, and 1558-1603. [4] would be an excellent late period English name. Your arms would be blazoned "Gyronny argent and sable, a fret within a tressure gules." When drawn, the fret would stop at the inner edge of the tressure. [5] Unfortunately, this design appears to be modern in style, and would not likely be found in period. It was unusual for a charge to be placed at the center of a gyronny field. Gyronny was treated almost like a charge in itself, rarely obscured by anything else. When it was done, the charge tended to be quite simple (e.g. an escutcheon). We think that "a fret" is a particularly unlikely charge in this location, since it covers four of the lines that define the division of the field. Although it is common in modern graphic design and Society heraldry to place a charge over a line of division, it was quite unusual in period armory. The combination of the gyronny, fret, and tressure creates a picture that strikes us as much more typical of op-art rather than medieval heraldry. The fret is a fine charge for your period; it was common in English heraldry from the 13th century on [6]. If you replace the gyronny with a solid field, we think you'll have a fine design, "Argent, a fret within a orle gules." (A single tressure is conventionally blazoned "an orle".) As far as we can tell, you could register this design with the SCA College of Arms. You wrote that you were worried about using a design with two sub-ordinaries but no charges. This is not a problem. In fact, ordinaries and sub-ordinaries are charges: they are special categories of charges. 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 Zenobia Naphtali, Talan Gwynek, Walraven van Nijmegen, Arval Benicoeur, Evan da Collaureo, and Rouland Carre. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael November 15, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. stewart [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). [3] Bibliothe\que royale Albert Ier, _Gelre_ (Leuven: Jan van Helmont, 1992, ISBN 90-74318-03-7). [4] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) [5] Parker, James, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982). [6] Many examples appear in 13th century rolls of arms. The Herald's Roll (1279) and the earlier Glover's Roll have a dozen examples. Wagner, Anthony Richard, ed. Aspilogia II: Rolls of Arms: Henry III (London: The Society of Antiquaries, 1967). Examples from other rolls of arms are recorded by: Brault, op. cit. The Galloway Roll (1300) records the arms of Sir Johan de Scures "Azure, a fret Or". In the Stirling Roll (1304), his arms are given as "Azure fretty Or". Papworth, John W., _Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials_, reprint (Five Barrows Ltd., 1977). Foster, Joseph, _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). E.g. Nicholas de Audley, "Gules, a fret Or" (1298). Humphrey-Smith, Cecil R., _Anglo-Norman Armory Two_ (Canterbury: Institute for Heraldic and Geneaological Studies, 1984).