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Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!
You asked for our opinion of the name "Caeman" as a late-period name in the British Isles or France, and for some suggestions on your ideas for your arms. Here's what we've found.
You told us that you want a name that preserves the sound \Kay-mun\ and, if possible, the spelling "Caeman". Unfortunately, we cannot find any name which fits these requirements. We found no name used after 1300 which fits either requirement. If you would consider moving your persona to early-period Ireland, you could use the name "Cáemán" ('á' represents an accented 'a'), pronounced \Kay-vun\ [1]. This name could have been used in Ireland up to the 12th century. If you are interested in an early-period English persona, you could use the name "Caedmon", pronounced \KAD-mon\, which is the name of a 7th century British monk and poet [2]. This name might possibly have been used in England through the 9th century.
If you are interested in either of these possibilities, please let us know and we can offer some suggestions on how to construct the rest of your name. If you prefer to stick with a late-period persona, you may want to look through our library at
http://www.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/docs/
for some articles on late-period English and French names.
You asked us for comments on your design for your arms, which featured an ermine field, a vertical blue stripe (called "a pale azure" in blazonry), and either a cross or a sword. This is a very good start, and we do have some suggestions and comments which we think you will find useful.
The Celtic cross is common in Society heraldry, but we have found no example of it in medieval arms. It is also something of a cliche for anyone who has an Irish persona. Therefore, we suggest that you avoid it. The most common types of crosses in medieval arms were the cross patonce, cross flory, cross potent, cross croslet (or botonny), cross formy, and cross moline. You can find pictures of these crosses in an article on the web at
<http://www.web-span.com/lemke/crosses/crosses.htm>.
Note that this article depicts lots of types of crosses which were _not_ used in period armory; don't pick a cross to use without checking its antiquity.
Swords were used in period arms. From the point of view of accurate re-creation, a sword is a fine choice. However, the sword is vastly overused in Society arms, to the point that it has lost its value as an identifying symbol. If you want to use a sword, go for it; but if you are still open to alternatives, we suggest that you look for something less commonplace.
There are lots of good designs which you could build around the central motif of an ermine field with a pale azure. For example, you could place the pale between a pair of identical charges (e.g., "Ermine, a pale azure between two crosses crosslet gules"), or tou could place a set of identical charges on the pale itself (e.g. "Ermine, on a pale azure three crosses moline Or"). Either approach would produce excellent arms for your period; both of my examples seem to be clear of conflict. If you would like to discuss your arms in more detail, write to us again after you consider these possibilities.
I hope this letter has been helpful. Talan Gwynek, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Tangwystyl ferch Morgant Glasfryn, Herveus d'Ormonde, and Rouland Carre contributed to this letter.
For the Academy,
Arval Benicoeur
References
[1] Donnchadh O'Corrain and Fidelma Maguire, Irish Names (Dublin: The
Lilliput Press, 1990).
[2] Paul Harvey, comp. & ed., The Oxford Companion to English
Literature (Oxford: At the University Press, 1944).