ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2471 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2471 ************************************ From: Lisa and Ken Theriot 12 Feb 2002 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether oak leaves would be appropriate in an armorial design for a Lowland Scottish woman living between 1350 and 1600. You also asked about using swords or quill pens. Here is the information we have found. We have not found oak leaves in Scottish heraldry in your period. We have several undated examples in England, and one example in England dated to 1584 [1]. Leaves as charges were rare in Scottish heraldry, though they were sometimes used as cants, or references to the family name [2]. For example, the family of Lorene has laurel leaves in their armory [3]. We cannot recommend oak leaves as the best recreation of Scottish heraldry for your period, especially with a family name unrelated to , but we believe they are at least plausible. A design like "Argent, three oak leaves gules" or "Argent, a bend between six oak leaves gules" would be unsurprising in period Scottish heraldry. We believe you could register either of these designs with the SCA College of Arms [4]. You mentioned finding the real-world arms of the family recorded in 1562 as "Argent on a Bend azure a mullet between two acorns or". You might like to know that an earlier roll dated 1542 gives the arms as "Argent on a bend azure three acorns Or" [3]. We don't know why or when the mullet was added, though other branches of the family seem to have added a mullet for difference [5]. You mentioned that you selected oak leaves as a reference to the real-world arms of which include acorns. Although oak leaves and acorns are obviously related, it isn't the sort of relationship that was exploited in heraldry to indicate a family connection. In our experience, we have never seen this type of allusion, using a different part of a tree to reference related armory, and we do not believe it is consistent with period heraldic practice. If you choose to design arms with oak leaves, you should be aware that it would not logically associate your arms with those of the Muirhead family. If you want your arms to suggest that you are related to the historical Muirhead family, then we recommend that you stick closer to their basic design. A minor member of the Muirhead family is likely to have used arms that preserved the basic motif of acorns on a bend. They would then have created a unique design by changing the color of the field or the charges, or by using a complex line for the edges of the bend. They might also, as demonstrated by the version you found and that at footnote [5], have introduced a different small charge, replacing the centermost acorn or placing the new charge elsewhere on the field. If you are interested in such a design, please write again and we'll be happy to help. You also mentioned using swords or quills in your armory. As we mentioned in previous correspondence, Scottish heraldry was very conservative in design, and we would strongly recommend against combining different types of charges, but a design with swords or a design with quill pens is plausible. Swords are found in period Scottish heraldry, though not as often as we find them in England [2]. We have no examples of quills in period Scotland, but we do find quill pens described in period English armory [6]. Though you did not ask about your name, we noticed that you signed your correspondence . It's a fine name, as both name elements are found in Lowland Scotland in your period; however, we thought you might like to know that your spelling is unusual. We find the following spellings of in Lowland Scotland [7]: Isabel, c. 1350, 1584 Isabelle, 1377 Isobella, 1545 Issabella, 1527 Issobell, 1530, 1597 We would expect the spelling only by the very end of your period, near 1600; before that, the most typical spelling appears to be [8]. 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 Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, and Zenobia Naphtali. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 12 February 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Papworth, John W., _Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials_, reprint (Five Barrows Ltd., 1977), p. 961-2 includes the following examples: "Per saltire arg. and sa. two oak leaves in pale vert and as many acorns in fess or. JACK, England." "Arg. three oak leaves in pale all ppr. MILFORD, Wickington, in South Tawton, co. Devon." "Arg. three oak leaves vert. SELIOKE, Haselbarrow, co. Derby; and co. Herts." "Arg. three oak leaves vert. FOWLIS, co. York. WARWICK, Warwickbriggs, co. Cumberland." "Az. three oak leaves or. MERVISE or MERVISSE, Suffolk." "Sa. three oak leaves arg. LOWER, co. Devon." "Arg. six oak leaves in pairs two in chief and one in base vert stalks sa. their points downwards. BALDWIN." "Gyronny of eight sa. and or on the first four acorns and on the last as many oak leaves counterchanged. HICKEY, Ireland." "Vert three oak leaves or. WORTFORD, V." (1584). [2] Schweitzer, Leslie A., and David Hunter of Montlaw, "Late Medieval Scottish Heraldic Design", Proceedings of the XXIII International Conference of Genealogy and Heraldry Sciences, 1998. [3] Lindsay of the Mount, Sir David, Laing, David LLD ed., Facsimile of an ancient heraldic manuscript emblazoned by Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount 1542, (William Paterson, Edinburgh, 1878). [4] If your goal is to register arms with the SCA College of Arms, you should know that "Argent, three oak leaves gules" may be too close to the SCA badge of the Canton of Copper Tree, "Argent, a crab apple leaf gules". There is a clear difference for number of leaves, but the College would have to determine whether the visual difference between a crab apple leaf and an oak leaf is significant. [5] Papworth, p. 242 lists "Argent on a bend azure three acorns of the first in chief a mullet sable" for "Morehead, Scotland". [6] Papworth, p. 1019 includes the English example "Gules, six writing pens argent, three, two, and one" canting on Cowpen, dated 1308-14. [7] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996), s.n. Isabel. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ [8] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Muirhead, gives the following spellings in your period: de Murehede, 1401 Morheid, 1432 Murhed, 1471 Mwreheid, 1484 of Murehede, 1484 Mwreheid, 1484 Murhede, 1491 Mwrhed, 1493 Muyrheid, 1498 Murehed, 1503 Murhede, 1504 Mureheid, Moirhed, Moirheid, Mored, 1507-15 Muirhed, 1513 Mwrheid, Mwrhied, Mwrheyd, 1522 Muirheyd, 1527 Mureheid, 1576 Mwirheid, 1577 Note that though we see beginning in the 16th century, we do not see <-head>. The modern spelling of the common word dates to only the late 16th century in Scotland [9]. Many of these examples are of the same person whose name was recorded in several different ways. Spelling was not fixed in your period, so you could use a variety of these spellings from one occasion to the next, if you chose. [9] Robinson, Mairi, ed., _The Concise Scots Dictionary_ (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1987), s.v. head.