Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 642

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/642

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel.

You asked whether Suzanna Armstrong was a reasonable name for a late 15th century Lowlands Scotswoman. You also asked how best to incorporate the arms and badge of the Armstrongs into your own arms without copying them directly. You were particularly interested in using the arm from the shoulder armed proper, because of the cant on your name.

First, let me congratulate you on the quality of the research you have done so far. This helps greatly in our research. Here's what we found.

While we did find 3 examples of <Suzanna> [1] in 16th century England, we were unable to find that spelling in Scotland. The only spelling we found was the one you noted: <Susanna> in 1584 in Dunfermline, just north of the Firth of Forth. As we found the spelling <Susanna> in the 12th, 13th, and 16th century in England [2], as well as in 16th century Scotland, we feel that this is the most likely 15th century variation.

You also asked whether the name <Susanna> was used by Christians, because the name is Hebrew in origin. The name was used by Christians in the British Isles. In particular, any use of this name in Scotland in the 16th century would have to be by a Christian, as there were no Jews in Scotland until at earliest the 17th century.

Armstrong is a fine Scots Border name. Variants include [3]: Armstrong 1363, 1529
Armestrang 1366, 1398
Armystrang 1398, 1398

While none of these examples is from the 15th century, we believe that any of them is reasonable for that time.

We believe <Susanna Armstrong> would be appropriate name for a 16th century Lowland Scotswoman. We believe, but are less certain that <Susanna Armstrong>, <Susanna Armestrang> or <Susanna Armystrang> are also appropriate for a 15th century Lowland Scotswoman.

There are several recorded variations of arms belonging to some Armstrong or another:

• "Argent, three pallets Azure" (Armstrong of Mangerton) [3]
• "Argent, three pallets sable" (Armstrong of Whittock)
• "Argent a dexter arm issuing from the sinister side of the shield, clothed gules, holding a tree eradiant in pale, proper, broken at the top" [4]
• "Argent a dexter arm issuant from the side of the shield proper holding a tree eradicated palewise, fracted at the top, proper, between in bend sinister an increscent and a mullet gules" [5]

Note that this list includes variants on two basic designs: white with three vertical stripes; and white with an arm holding a tree. The two examples of each of these designs represent different branches of two separate families. This sort of heraldic variation on a theme is called "cadency", and it was extremely common in period heraldry. You could choose another variant for your own arms. By doing so, you would be saying that you are a relative of one of these Armstrong families. Although few Societyfolk design their arms this way, it is the excellent re-creation, providing a strong focus for your persona. You would be claiming membership in a historical family, but not a specific historical identity or rank, so you would be well within the customary limits and rules of Society personas and heraldry.

In modern heraldry, the systems of cadency in Britain are rigidly defined. In period, they were far less systematic. A younger son would modify his father's arms in some small way to create arms that were distinctive but related. There were several common cadency practices:

• adding a simple set of charges (the increscent and mullet in the fourth example above are likely cadency marks)
• changing the color of a charge (the color change between the first two examples, for instance)
• changing the color of the field
• adding add a plain bordure or a bendlet overall [6]

The practice of adding a bordure or a bendlet overall for cadency is particularly popular in Scotland. We have designed a few variants of the basic Armstrong arms for you to consider. We can recommend several reasonable designs, including, but not limited to:

• Argent, a dexter arm issuing from the sinister side of the shield, clothed gules, holding a tree eradiant in pale, proper, broken at the top, a bordure gules
• Argent, a dexter arm issuing from the sinister side of the shield, clothed gules, holding a tree eradiant in pale, proper, broken at the top, overall a bend sable"
• Argent, three pallets sable and a bordure gules.
• Argent, three pallets azure, the dexter pallet charged in chief with a mullet argent.

In addition, if you are interested in using a badge, it would be appropriate for you to use the badge and crest of the Armstrongs, "an arm from the shoulder, armed proper". This would be appropriate even if you did not choose arms that use the "arm from the shoulder" charge.

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. Effric neyn Kanyeoch vc Ralte, Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, and Arval d'Espas Nord aided in researching and writing this letter.

In Service,
Margaret Makafee

[1] Talan Gwynek."Late Sixteenth Century English Given Names." (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1994)

[2] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996)

[3] Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland. New York Public Library, 1946.

[4] Nisbet, Alexander. A System of Heraldry, Vols I, II, T.A. Constable, Edinburgh, 1984

[5] Stodart, R.R. Scottish Arms, 2 vols. Edinburgh: William Patterson, 1881

[6] Pinches, Rosemary and Anthony Wood, A European Armorial: An Armorial of Knights of the Golden Fleece and 15th Century Europe, London: Heraldry Today, 1971.