ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 819 http://www.s-gabriel.org/819 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* 27 Mar 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel. You asked whether was a historical name for a Welsh woman between 1000 and 1100. You also asked whether a Welsh woman from that time might bear the arms "Azure, a bend sinister between a unicorn couchant and a unicorn couchant contorney argent." Before proceding, I'd like to reiterate the purpose of the Academy of Saint Gabriel. The Academy's purpose is to help people to choose and use names and armory that are historically appropriate to the times and cultures they want to re-create. We use different (and generally stricter) criteria than the SCA when we look at names and devices. Just because a name or arms are not historically appropriate to a particular time and place does not mean that it is cannot be registered or used within the SCA. Now for the bad news. While the name and arms you propose are, most likely, SCA acceptable, they are not appropriate to 11th century Wales. is not an appropriate name for a human. It has only been found in period as the name of a somewhat magical legendary figure. For full details, you can read the article on this name in the Problem Names archive http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/problemnames/ Unfortunately, we do not have an article about Welsh names in your chosen period to point you to. However, if you are interested in a Welsh name, we suggest that you read the following article; most of the names described are formed similarly to names in the 11th and 12th centuries: A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/welsh13.html As you pointed out, is a Scottish Island. It is unlikely that a woman with a Welsh given name would have been born in Scotland. You may want to consider either an entirely Welsh name or an entirely Gaelic name. The best general advice we can give on choosing a period Gaelic name is included in several articles available on the web. Scottish Names 101 2nd Edition by Sharon L. Krossa http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scot_names_101.html Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames by Sharon L. Krossa http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/quick_gaelic_bynames.html Jones, Heather Rose, "Feminine Names from the Index to O'Brien's Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae" http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/jones_obrien_corp_gen_hib.html A person from the 11th or 12th century would not have had arms as we think of them. Although people did paint designs on their shields, the system of heraldry (which included inherited arms, specific language, and standardized heraldic achievements) didn't start developing until the mid-1100s and didn't become common until the 1200's. If you are interested in recreating later-period Welsh heraldry, you may want to make some alterations in your arms. While the arms you propose are SCA legal, they are not consistent with the style of period armory, particularly early period armory. Early period armory is simple in design; your design is also a simple design. This is good. However, the unicorn is a rare charge in period heraldry, and the couchant position is also rare. A bend sinister is also a fairly rare charge; a bend (the mirror image of a bend sinister) is much more common. A common misconception about bends sinister is that they are used on arms to show that the bearer is illegitimate; this is not the case. A few famous late-period royal bastards used bends sinister to difference their arms from their fathers', but it was not a general usage. We believe that the following variations on your arms are good heraldry for early period; these designs should also be free of SCA conflict: - Azure, a bend engrailed between two unicorns rampant argent (In this design, the unicorns both face the same direction, and are standing with three legs raised. The bend has half-circle cutouts all along both edges) - Azure, a bend sinister between six unicorns rampant argent 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. Arval d'Espas Nord, Lothar von Katzenellenbogen, Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael Caermyrdin, Jaelle of Armida, Blaise de Cormeilles, Talan Gwynek, and Elsbeth Anne Roth aided in researching and writing this letter. In Service, Margaret Makafee