ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1386 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1386 ************************************ 10 Dec 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about , which you want to use as a late 13th or early 14th century German masculine name; and about your design for your arms. Here is what we have found. is a Latin documentary form of the medieval German name (modern ). We doubt that was used in your period except in formal records. is pronounced \DEE-ter-ich\, where the final \ch\ is a sort of hissing sound, as in the German word . We found recorded several times between 1226 and 1388, and some other spellings [1]: Ditherich 1384 Ditrich 1321 Dieterich 1291, 1347 Dietrich 1318 Theodricus 1348 We have also found many nicknames derived from : Ditl 1348 Ticze 1345, 1348 Tycze 1331 Ticzco 1348 Tyczco 1352 Til 1356 Tile 1316, 1345 Tilo 1291, 1314-39, 1348, 1349 Tilke 1350 Tilman 1327 Tilusch 1349 The Middle High German word , meaning "white, shining, beautiful" was a common descriptive epithet. It generally referred to hair color or complexion. Color adjectives were used as surnames both with and without the definite article, but in a masculine name, the article needs to be masculine if it's present. The typical form from your period is rather than the neuter [2]. The arms you described are "Per fess Or and argent, a candlestick (or candelabrum) and another inverted sable." We're not exactly sure what you mean by a three-legged candle holder; if you submit some version of this design, make sure you specify whether you mean a single candlestick on a tripod, or a three-branched candelabrum. Very few charges are shown inverted in period heraldry. Basically, if a charge has a natural upright orientation, it is never shown inverted. The only counterexample we know is one German example of an eagle displayed inverted. We have never seen a pair of mirror-inverted charges as in your design, so we strongly recommend that you consider other designs. The SCA College of Arms will not register this sort of design without evidence supporting it [3]. You might want to consider three black candlesticks on either a silver or gold background; both those designs would be fine period heraldry, and both appear to be registerable with the SCA College of Arms. In the design "Or, three candlesticks sable", the three charges are arranged with two side-by-side in the upper half of the field, and one centered in the lower half. We 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, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Zenobia Naphtali, and Rouland Carre. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 10 Dec 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1998). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/bahlow_v.htm [2] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960), s.nn. Blank, Rot. The final <-e> is an inflexional ending normally found after the definite article. The word is spelled with before your period and more often in inflected forms. Therefore, we recommend as the most appropriate spelling. [3] Laurel Letter of Acceptances and Returns, September 1993.