ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 905 http://www.s-gabriel.org/905 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* From: "S Friedemann" 17 Apr 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked about using , or preferably , as a name for an English persona in the 12th century. You also asked if the arms "Potent, a horse rampant Or" were used by anyone famous in history. Here is the information that we found. The given name is recorded in 1142. is found as a patronymic byname in 1271, , and 1275, . In both cases, the names indicate that the men's father's names were [1]. We think that is a fine choice for your period. There is no complete listing of historical arms against which you can check your arms. The only large on-line collection that we know about is the SCA Armorial and Ordinary, which includes some important historical arms [4]. We found nothing very similar to your design in that listing. We also checked a large collection of English arms, and found no "horse rampant Or" on its own on any field [5]. Your proposed arms are attractive and generally quite appropriate to your persona. Although you didn't ask for comments on your design, we would like to offer a little information and a suggestion. Heraldic scholars generally agree that "potent" is in origin just a variant form of vair, and we've found no evidence that this style was actually used in period. [2, 3] We think it especially unlikely to have been used as early as your period. We suggest that you consider using "vair" rather than "potent." The arms "Vair, a horse rampant Or" fit your persona very well, and are not too similar to any arms considered important by the SCA College of Arms. A common early style of vair, sometimes called 'vair ancient,' may be seen in the arms of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby in the 13th century, in Figure 37 of reference [6]. These arms are also shown under the heading Vair in reference [2], and there is another picture of vair ancient in reference [3]. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by AElfwyn aet Gyrwum, Arval Benicoeur, Livia Montgomery, Margaret Makafee, Talan Gwynek, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael ---------------------------------------------------------- References: [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). [2] Parker, James, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982). [3] Brooke-Little, J.P. An Heraldic Alphabet (New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1973). [4] SCA Ordinary & Armorial http://www.sca.org/heraldry/OandA [5] Papworth, John W., _Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials_, reprint (Five Barrows Ltd., 1977). [6] Fox-Davies, A.C. A Complete Guide to Heraldry (New York: Bonanza Books, 1978).