ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2672 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2672 ************************************ From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot" 19 May 2003 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a man living in Wales, particularly near Chepstow, between 1000 and 1400. You also asked about a design for arms. Here is the information we have found. During your period, there was a significant English-speaking presence in that area of Wales. You did not specify whether you were looking for a name for a native Welshman or an Englishman living in the area; since the phrase is in English, we'll concentrate on English names. If you would like a name more suitable for a Welsh-speaker, please write again. is a fine medieval English name. In your period, it was more commonly spelled ; however is appropriate for the latter half of your period [1, 2]: Artur(us), 1086 Artur, 1187, 1189-1213 Arthurus, 1189-1213, 1273 Geoffrey Artur, 1135 Adam Arthur, 1246 The last two examples are likely patronymic, meaning they indicate someone's father; the man named was almost certainly the son of a man named . You mentioned that Ballan Moor was the site of a castle near Chepstow in the 11-12th century. The only mention we found of this castle was at the website you pointed out on Welsh castles; the website references a modern author as describing it as a "low lying motte and bailey that may have been the creation of the Ballon family in c1086-1106 [3]." We did find a Welsh civic website that mentions , though it does not mention the castle, nor does it give any examples of the name recorded in the medieval period [4]. is likely a variant of the byname , the name of two Norman brothers who were put in charge of securing the areas around Abergavenny and Caerleon [5, 6]. We have not found the placename recorded in your period, so we don't know with certainty when the area came to be known by that name. Since the Ballon family came to the area after the Norman Conquest, the name is clearly not possible for the earliest part of your period. It is reasonable to suppose that some usage of the name dates from the period when the family held the lands; accordingly, we can try to construct a plausible form of the placename for your period. We find other placenames with the element used in bynames in your period [6]: Baldewin de Blakomor, 1200 Nicholas de Blakemore, 1307 de More, 1086 de la Mora, 1169 del More, 1275 atte More, 1296 Bythemore, 1327 Only the last two examples are completely English; the rest are influenced to varying degrees by Latin and French. The spellings and developed late in your period and remained extremely rare for some time, so we recommend that you use instead [8]. Anglo-Norman place names are often based on a person's name, but in your period we have found that such names were usually written as a single word, e.g. recorded as in 1203, or recorded as in 1249 [7]. Since the example 'black moor' is also a single word, we recommend as a plausible placename in your period for a moor belonging to the Ballon family. We have no idea when the second vowel might have altered from to . is a plausible name for an Anglo-Norman settler in southern Wales for the latter half of your period, and is plausible for the 12th century. If your name was recorded in Latin it might appear as [7]. You described your arms as "Per pale azure and argent, two crosses of Calvary Or" and then further as "Purple on one vertical half, white on the other, with two Gold/yellow crosses (upper left and lower right). The crosses look to be standing on a tiered pedestal." Your detailed description and your blazon do not agree; "azure" is the heraldic term for blue. If you want your arms colored purple you should use the term "purpure". You have subsequently submitted "Per bend sinister purpure and argent, two Crosses of Calvary, a bordure counterchanged" to the SCA College of Arms. Heraldic arms were invented in northwestern France in the mid-12th century. Armory spread to Britain from France very soon after its invention, but it was not adopted by native Welsh families until the early 13th century [9]. An Anglo-Norman living in Wales could have used heraldry earlier. Your original design as you described it places a gold cross entirely on a part of the field colored silver; this is not consistent with standard heraldic practice, either in period or for purposes of the SCA [10]. Since your submitted design has eliminated this problem, we'll assume that you are aware of it already. Until the beginning of the 15th century the tincture called in Old French and in Latin seems to have been an indistinct color somewhere between grey and brown. It was only in the 15th century that it began to be painted as what we would call purple, and it remained rare in heraldry right through the 16th century [11]. We have found no examples in your period of a field divided "per bend sinister", so we can't recommend it as a good recreation. If you especially want a divided field, we recommend you look at armory from your period and select a field division that was actually used in your period [15]. The "cross of Calvary" describes a Latin cross (one where the south-pointing limb is elongated) placed upon a series of steps; these steps are often called "grieces". The only example we have found of a cross of Calvary used in heraldry in your period is from a c. 1300 roll of arms where it appears in attributed arms for the King of Greece as a "cant", or wordplay based on the similarity between the sound of "Greece" and "griece" [12]. Crosses were generally common medieval charges, but crosses of Calvary were not. Your arms would be a better re-creation of your culture if you used a type of cross that was used in your period. We've included a list of such crosses in note [14]. We can recommend some designs to you that are more typical of the heraldic style in your period. Recalling the gold crosses on your first design, "Argent, on a chief azure two crosses Or" would be fine arms for you. If you like the divided field, "Quarterly azure and Or, in chief two crosses counterchanged" is another fine design [13]. We believe you could register either design with the SCA College of Arms. 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, Iago ab Adam, Laurensa de Chambord, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 19 May 2003 References: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Arthur. [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Arthur. [3] Thomas, Jeffrey, "The Castles of Wales Web Site" (WWW: Jeffrey L. Thomas 1995-2003). http://www.castlewales.com/ballan.html [4] "Caldicot.com-- The Official Website of Caldicot, Monmouthshire, Wales" (WWW: Caldicot Community Website, 2003). http://www.caldicot.com/live/history.html Under the heading "The Medieval Village", the site says: During the Middle Ages Caldicot was more typical of English villages that of Welsh settlements. The villagers' huts were centred on the preaching cross in the middle of the village. They were surrounded by a series of arable open fields, the main ones being Church Field, Mill Field and Great Field (also known as West Field), each being divided into a large number of strips. Further from the village were the commons, including Rogiet Moor, Ballan Moor, Simers Hill (now Highmoor Hill) and Black Marl Pits (now Five Lanes). These areas of rough grazing supported the cattle and sheep owned by the villagers. [5] "A Guide to Ancient and Historical Wales: Glamorgan & Gwent" (HMSO, 1992) mentions that the motte portion of Abergavenny Castle was built by Hamelin de Ballon who led the Norman presence in the region around 1090. [6] Davies, R.R., "The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415" (Oxford University Press, 1987) notes that the de Ballon brothers, Hamelin and Wynebald, came originally from Maine in France and were put in charge respectively of Abergavenny and Caerleon, but that the family line failed due to lack of sons in the early 12th century. [6] Reaney & Wilson, s.nn. Blackmoor, Moor. [7] Ekwall, Eilert, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names_, 4th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), s.v. Baconsthorpe, Walterstone, Dart. Dartmoor appears in Latin in 1182 as . [8] The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), s.v. moor. The modern form is dated to the 17th c. and the form to the 15th c. Though they may be plausible slightly earlier, it's unlikely to have been used in your period. [9] Siddons, Michael "The Development of Welsh Heraldry" National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1991). [10] The basic tinctures used in heraldry are divided into "colors": gules (red), vert (green), azure (blue), purpure (purple) and sable (black); and metals: argent (silver) and Or (gold). Metals are considered to contrast sufficiently with colors, but not with other metals; accordingly, metal charges are not typically placed on a metal field. [11] Pastoureau, Michel. Traite/ d'He/raldique, 2nd ed. (Paris: grands manuels Picard, 1993), pp. 101-2. [12] Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme and Akagawa Yoshio, _A Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry as Used in the Society for Creative Anachronism_, 2nd edition (privately published, 1992), s.v. cross (figure 161). [13] Humphrey-Smith, Cecil R., _Anglo-Norman Armory Two_ (Canterbury: Institute for Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, 1984), pp 287, 304. Armory from rolls circa 1300 include Clinton: "Argent, on a chief azure two fleurs-de-lis Or" and Formih: "Quartely azure and Or, in chief two crescents counterchanged". [14] Brault, Gerard J., 'The Cross in Medieval Heraldry', Antiquaries Journal, xlvii (1967), 214-23. The author states, "Thirteenth-century blazoned rolls mention thirteen kinds of crosses." They are enumerated as: Plain cross, Cross couped, Cross engrailed, Cross floretty [cross flory at the ends], Cross formy, Cross formy throughout, Cross gringole/, Cross Crosslet, Cross Moline, Cross of Toulouse, Cross patonce, Cross voided, Patriarchal cross. If you do not understand these heraldic terms, explanations and pictures can be found on the web: "A Glossary of Terms Used in Heraldry"--"C" http://www002.upp.so-net.ne.jp/saitou/parker/jpglossc.htm [15] For example, you can find pictures based on a roll of arms dated 1252 at this site: "Glover's Roll (Part 1)" http://www.briantimms.com/rolls/gloversB1.htm You'll note there are several types of divided fields, including "Barry", "Checky", "Gyronny", "Lozengy", "Paly", "Per pale", "Quarterly", etc.