ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 985 http://www.s-gabriel.org/985 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* From: 3 Jun 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us about the Dutch masculine name which you intended to mean "Anthony from Driel", and you wanted to know whether this name would be appropriate for the year 1200. You also asked us about a device, which you blazoned as: "Per saltire, azure and rouge, a leopard rampant ermine playing a harp Or, a maltese cross argent in each corner of the shield. We did not find the precise form , but we did find five instances of between 1200 and 1400 [1,2]. would make a fine Dutch name. The byname is a locative byname based on a small town in Gelderland [3]. It's quite close to the larger city of Arnhem, and we found evidence that it was in existence by 850 AD. Period spellings [4] include: Theoderico de Drihle 1196 Alardus de Drile 1195 Brunsteyn de Driele 1262 Driela 800-850 (copied 1170-75) Triele ca.1200 Based on this, we suggest as a Latin form appropriate for the early part of your period, and for the latter part. The town name is pronounced \DREE-leh\. As we understand it, your device would be blazoned: "Per saltire azure and gules, a lion rampant guardant ermine playing a harp Or between three Maltese crosses argent" This is decent armory, and you could probably register it. However, it's rather complex for your period and is not typical of Dutch style, especially so considering that heraldry was just beginning around 1200. Using a lion is certainly appropriate. You blazoned yours as a "leopard", and we assume by this you mean a "lion guardant", that is, a lion whose head is facing out of the shield toward the viewer. A leopard in the modern sense would not have been used in period heraldry, but lions were among the most common animals in period Dutch heraldry. A lion with ermine spots is still a lion. Ermine is also a good choice. It was more common in Dutch and northern French regions than elsewhere in Europe, and lends a distinctiveness to the design. However, we have no evidence of the use of harps, of beasts playing instruments, or of Maltese crosses (i.e. "of Malta"). Crosses in Dutch armory would have been moline, in which each arm forks into two recurved points for a total of eight curved tips. If you really want to use all of these elements (lion, harp, crosses), then you might consider using some of them in a crest. This is an object or arrangement of objects displayed above the shield itself. Originally, they were objects attached to display helmets. In most SCA Kingdoms, crests are neither registered nor regulated, so if you choose to do this, you will have considerable freedom of choice. There are many general books on heraldry that can give you an idea of how to go about doing this. The field division "per saltire" is also unlikely, not only because that division was very uncommon, but also because gules and azure are low contrast, even more so with so many overlying charges. Neither do we have evidence of three small charges around a central charge, except where that central charge is a fess, chevron, or escutcheon, that is the central charge is a very simple geometric shape. So what could you do if you want authentically styled arms? We came up with at least a few options that are simple enough for your period: Per pale azure and Or, a lion rampant ermine. Paly Or and azure, a lion rampant ermine Paly Or and gules, a lion rampant ermine Barry Or and gules, a lion rampant ermine We have recommended "paly", in which the field is vertically striped, and "barry", with horizontal stripes (each usually with six or eight stripes), both because they are typical of Dutch armory and because single-color fields turned up conflicts that would prevent registration. You could choose to have a "guardant" lion in any of these devices without affecting its authenticity or registerability. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, Modar Neznanich, Blaise de Cormeilles, and Arval Benicoeur contributed to this letter. In service, --Walraven van Nijmegen Academy of S. Gabriel 28 May 1998 [1] Wilfried Beele, _Studie van de Ieperse Persoonsnamen uit de Stads- en Baljuwsrekeningen 1250-1400" Familia et Patria. (1975) [2] C. Tavernier-Vereecken, _Gentse Naamkunde van ca. 1000 tot 1253_ (Belgisch Interuniv. Centrum voor Neerlandistiek, 1968) [3] Loren Lemmen, _Names from the Netherlands_ (USA: 1986) [4] R.E. Ku:nzel, D.P. Blok, & J.M. Verhoeff. _Lexicon van Nederlandse Toponiemen tot 1200_ (Amsterdam: P.J. Meertens, 1989) See the headwords: Drihle, Kerkdriel, Triele