ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1965 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1965 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* From: "Braddon Giles" 14 May 2000 Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel! You wrote to us asking for our assistance in forming an authentic German name for a man from the the early 15th century. Specifically you were interested in the name . The arms you wanted were 'Or, three wolves' teeth issuant from dexter base and in canton a double-headed eagle displayed sable'. Here is what we found. Virgil was a famous Roman poet who died around 30 BC; he was the author of 'The Aeneid'. There are several references to the use of Classical given names in Germany, most importantly in 1558 [1]. Other examples include 1568, 1351, 1589, 1552, 1525 [2]. The {sz} represents the ess-tzet, a combination of an 's' and a 'z' that in its modern form looks rather like a fancy capital 'B'. Classical names enjoyed a vogue among the Humanists of the last century or so of our period, for example and , who were Kurfu"rsten of Brandenburg in 1470-86 and 1486-99 respectively [1]. The represents the u-umlaut. Augsburg is a city in Bavaria. It was the site of meetings of great significance to the history of the Protestant Reformation in Germany [3]. We think that is a reasonable name for a German after 1450, especially if he was from a Humanist background or his father had a strong Classical education. The double-headed eagle is the symbol of the Roman Emperor, used in the arms of the Emperor of Constantinople and of the Holy Roman Empire. We strongly recommend avoiding it because it is so strongly associated with the Empire. Many people in the Society include a double-headed eagle in their arms as a way to say "I am German". Similarly, in the modern world, it's standard to use a fleur-de-lys to say "I am French" or a shamrock to say "I am Irish". This sort of nationalist symbolism is not found in medieval heraldry. An eagle is a fine charge, common in heraldry throughout medieval Europe; but we recommend avoiding its two-headed variant, especially in your chosen colors. Your other charge, three wolves' teeth, is a fine choice. Although they are rare in Society heraldry, they were reasonably common in period German arms. However, we know no example of arms that contain wolves' teeth along with another charge, so we suggest you use them on their own. Unfortunately, the design you proposed cannot be registered with the SCA College of Arms: It is too similar to the arms of Germany and also to a set of arms already registered [4]. Here are a couple alternative designs you might consider; they are very appropriate for your culture and we believe you could register either with the SCA College of Arms: Argent, three wolves teeth issuant from dexter base sable. Sable, two wolves teeth issuant from dexter base Or. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write to 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 Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, Adelaide de Beaumont, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Maridonna Benvenuti, Arval d'Espas Nord, Raquel Bueneventura, Blaise de Cormeilles, Salvador Paolo de Barcelona, Rouland Carre, Pedro de Alcazar, Juliana de Luna, Zenobia Naphtali, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, AElfwyn aet Gywrum and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook. 14 / May / 2000 __________________________________________________ Bibliography. [1] Bach, Adolf, _Deutsche Namenkunde I: Die deutschen Personennamen_ (Heidelberg: Carl Winter, Universitaetsverlag, 1953). [2] Zoder, R., _Familiennamen in Ostfalen_. 2 vols. (Hildesheim: 1968); (60-1). [3] "Augsburg" Encyclopędia Britannica Online. http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=11372&sctn=1 [Accessed 3 Nov 1999]. [4] Thorulf Bittenheart registered in May of 1991: Or, a heart and three wolves teeth issuant from dexter base sable. The arms of Germany: Or, an eagle displayed sable. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Addendum, 2 Jan 2002, Arval: See also report 2415 for the same client. On further consideration, we decided that wolves' teeth issuant from sinister base is not a plausible design. Correction, 3 Jan 2003, Arval: Added a missing footnote.