ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2252 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2252 ************************************ 19 Mar 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 16th century German man, and what sort of surname he might use. You also asked our advice on choosing arms to fit this period. Here is what we have found. is an English or French name; it does not appear to have been adopted into German until modern times. It derives from a Germanic root name whose German descendent is . We've found that name recorded in Silesian sources in the 1390s, also in the pet form in 1480 [1]. (The symbol represents a u-umlaut.) It appears to be suitable at least for much of the southern and central part of the German-speaking region of Europe. In the 16th century, most Germans used inherited family names, much like we do today. As a consequence, a man's surname would not necessarily say anything about him. The simplest way to choose a surname appropriate to 16th century southern Germany is to pick a town in that region and use its adjectival form as your surname, e.g. . Many other modern surnames derived from occupations -- "smith", "tailor" -- or simple descriptive terms -- "black", "small". If you like, we can recommend some dictionaries of German surnames that you could browse for ideas. You described your initial idea for your arms: A blue field with a sleeping bear under three columns, one broken. This particular design is rather more pictorial than is typical of period German heraldry; but we can suggest some ways to use the elements in arms that would be excellent re-creation of your culture. Sleeping animals were rare in period arms, perhaps because a sleeping beast is very hard to recognize without close inspection. We can't recommend this charge as the best re-creation. Columns were not common in period heraldry, but they were used. A 16th century German roll of arms includes [2]: Gules, a column crowned argent (one quarter borne by the family Colona von Fels. These were the arms of the Counts of Colonna, Italy; you can see them as a quarter in the arms on the web at http://www.bng.nl/ngw/int/ita/v/vols.htm.) Sable, three columns and in chief a crown Or. (Ezel) Argent, a column bendwise sable. (Ku"tzleben) A row of three columns with one broken is the sort of pictorial detail we would not expect to see in period armory, but the basic idea of a row of three columns is marvelous. "Azure, three columns in fess argent" would be splendid arms, perfect for your period. There is a standard heraldic charge called a which represents a stylized column. The word is cognate with the German "column". There's a drawing of one version of the zule on the web at http://heraldica.org/topics/glossary/pics/387.jpg. The charge on the left is a zule. This charge was used in Dutch heraldry and is a reasonable choice for German heraldry [3]. A design like "Azure, three zules argent" would be very elegant and very authentic [4]. 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Blaise de Cormeilles, Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, Margaret Makafee, Walraven van Nijmegen, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 19 Mar 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia", revised edition (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/ [2] Siebmacher, Johann, _Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch von 1605_, 2 vols., ed. Horst Appuhn (Dortmund: Harenberg, 1988, 1989), plates 23, 65, 148. [3] Bibliothe\que royale Albert Ier, _Gelre_ (Leuven: Jan van Helmont, 1992, ISBN 90-74318-03-7). Zuylen (Nr. 1173, fo.88v) bore "Gules, three zules argent". The same coat appears on fo.107v and is quartered into the arms of Culembourg (f0.88v). On fo.108r, Carsbergen bears "Argent, three zules sable and overall a bendlet Or", and Nyevelt has "Argent, three zules gules". [4] It is conceivable that the SCA College of Arms will hold this design to be too similar to the registered arms of Ruadhan Bard "Azure, in fess two chess rooks argent". Zules have often been confused with chess rooks by British heralds, and the SCA has at least partially followed their lead. If you consider other designs to avoid this potential problem, then you should also beware of conflict with Carlos Juan Ramiro "A zule argent".