ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3261 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3261 ************************************ From: Clare Baldock 13 May 2007 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked about a name for an Englishman in the period 1250 - 1350 meaning "Dominic son of Benjamin", which uses elements of your mundane name and your father's mundane and SCA names. You also asked about your device "Per bend sinister gules and argent, a Latin cross and a lion rampant guardant counterchanged". You chose the field as you are a Cavalry Scout and this field is used in Cavalry badges in the US military, and the charges are also significant to you. Here is what we have found. Firstly we will address your name, and secondly your armory. The name came into use as an ordinary given name in England in the 13th Century in honor of Saint Dominic founder of the order of preachers. [1] In the 13th Century it is most likely that the byname meaning "son of Benjamin" would have simply been the name . The name was not common during the Middle Ages, but in the 12th century, we find the spelling , as well as a man named in 1166 (his father was probably named ). [2] We also found a reference to find one 'Caterina daughter of Benjamin' in 1273. [3] During your period, and were variants of the same letter, but in general, was more common than when the letter occurred internally within a word (as opposed to being the first or last letter). We can recommend as good recreation for your period. As you noted in your query the design motif "Per bend, an X and a Y counterchanged" is rare in period. In our experience "Per bend, an X and a Y" is rare in any tinctures, whether the charges are the same or not. Because you have chosen the per bend field to represent the Cavalry of the US army we have considered designs with a yellow field. The service color for the Cavalry branch was yellow, as may be seen in the field of the 1st Cavalry Division insignia, [4] and the yellow portion of armored unit insignia (all armored divisions use a triangular patch parted per pall or, azure and gules, to show that armor partakes of all three Army branches cavalry, artillery, and infantry). [5, 6, 7] These two devices are possibilities: Or crusily gules, a lion rampant guardant per fess gules and argent. Or crusily gules, a lion rampant guardant barry gules and argent. Crusily fields are usually strewn with crosses crosslet, but crosses couped are also possible. We have not found Latin crosses in heraldry in your period so we do not recommend them for your armory. [8] Dividing the lion per fess or barry would be much more typical than per bend or bendy. Another possible design is to charge the lion's shoulder with the cross as in these arms: Or, two lions rampant guardant gules charged on the shoulder with a cross argent. Argent, two lions rampant guardant gules charged on the shoulder with a cross argent. To the best of our knowledge these devices should all be registerable in the Collge of Arms of the SCA. I 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 Sabine Berard, Ursula Georges, Barak Raz, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, and Wenyeva atte Grene. For the Academy, Eleyne de Comnocke 12 May 2007 [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Dominic. [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Benjamin. [3] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Benjamin. [4] The Institute of Heraldry "1st Cavalry Division" http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Cav/01st%20Cavalry%20Division.htm [Accessed 12 May 2007] [5] The Institute of Heraldry "1st Armored Division" http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Armored/001st%20Armored%20Division.htm [Accessed 12 May 2007] [6] The Institute of Heraldry "Fifth Us Army Artillery Group" http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Artillery/5UsArmyArtilleryGroup.htm [Accessed 12 May 2007] [7] The Institute of Heraldry "1st Infantry Regiment" http://www.tioh.hqda.pentagon.mil/Inf/01st%20Infantry%20Regiment.htm [Accessed 12 May 2007] [8] Brault, Gerard J., 'The Cross in Medieval Heraldry', Antiquaries Journal, xlvii (1967), 214-23.