ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2546 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2546 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 16 Jul 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a name and arms for your SCA shire. Specifically, you expressed interest in a Welsh placename, perhaps including a reference to a griffin or to a concept like "honor". Barring that, you wondered about a name that means "Castle Cymry". For your arms, you asked our opinion of a gold griffin carrying a gold lantern on a blue background. Here is what we have found. Griffins were fairly common in the heraldry of Wales as well as of many other places in medieval Europe. It is thus a fine choice if you want your shire to have a Welsh "persona", but doesn't particularly suggest "Welshness" [1, 2]. Of course, griffins were used in heraldry throughout much of Europe, so if the griffin in your arms is the most important thing to you, then you don't necessarily have to restrict yourselves to Welsh placenames. In Welsh names, was used as an English form of the Welsh name , by way of the Latin form [3]. In a sampling of late-period Welsh heraldry, we noticed a significantly higher-than-normal use of griffins in arms by men whose given names or whose father's given names were [1]. A town named after a man called might well have adopted a variant of his arms or might independently have chosen arms using a griffin to refer to their name. Place names based on given names were reasonably common in medieval Wales. Here is a selection illustrating some of the ways such names were constructed. Some of these spellings are anglicized. Bodederen (dwelling + Edern) [4] Treualghmay (town + Gwalchmai) [4] Garthkenaur (farm + Cynfor) [5] Castle Delbadern (castle + meadow + Padarn) [4] Istradmyrik (valley + Meurig) [4] Lloynhowell (grove + Hywel) [4] Tyddyn Alis (house + Alice) [5] Pant Evan (valley + Ieuan) [6] ffryth Roger (pasture + Roger) [7] dryll Jenkin (small piece of land + Jenkin) [7] Castell Maelgwn (Castle + Maelgwn) 14th c. [8] We found these examples of in place names: Pontruffith (pont "bridge" + Gruffudd) ca. 1600 [6] Griffeston (Gruffudd + ton "town") 1541 [8] Tregriffith (tref "town" + Gruffudd) 1522, 1592, 1603 [8] also 1526, 1543, 1601, etc. Place names that include the form are harder to find, since this particular form was mostly used as an anglicization of the Welsh name rather than as an independent given name. However, we do find "Griffin's Jordan-town" 1543 in Pembrokeshire [8]. A name like "Gruffudd's valley", "Gruffudd's town", or "Gruffudd's castle" is an excellent re-creation of a late-period Welsh place name. is a little more unusual, and probably would only have been found in Pembrokeshire or Shropshire, but it is also a fine choice. We have found no basis for a Welsh place name based on an abstract quality like "honor"; we recommend against that approach. We also recommend avoiding a name with a meaning like "Welsh castle" [13]. Arms of SCA branches are required to include a laurel wreath as an important design element [9]. Using a griffin in your arms with a name like is fine re-creation; but having it hold a lantern is not a motif we can recommend as good re-creation. Here are some suggestions: Or, a griffin segreant azure charged on the shoulder with a laurel wreath or. [10] ("Segreant" means "rampant with the wings elevated behind the body") Azure, a griffin segreant or charged on the shoulder with a laurel wreath azure. Azure, three griffins segreant and at fess point a laurel wreath or. (The three griffins are arranged with two side-by-side in the upper half of the field, and one centered in the lower half. A small wreath is at the center of the shield.) Azure, a griffin passant between three laurel wreaths or. Azure, a griffin segreant and in canton a laurel wreath or. (The wreath is in the upper-left corner of the field.) Azure, three griffins passant in pale or each charged on the shoulder with a laurel wreath azure. [11] (The griffins are arranged one above the other.) Azure, three griffins passant in pale, the chiefmost maintaining a laurel wreath or. We believe you could register any of these with the SCA College of Arms [12]. 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. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Eoin Caimbeul, Galiana de Baiona, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Iago ab Adam, Pedro de Alcazar, Juliana la Caminante de Navarra, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Ursula Georges, Adelaide de Beaumont, Wenyeva atte Grene, Julie Stampnitzky, and Blaise de Cormeilles. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 16 Jul 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Siddons, Michael Powell, _The Development of Welsh Heraldry_, 3 vols. (Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales, 1991-3). In his appendix H, he analyzes the use of animal charges in heraldry created by Welsh heralds (as opposed to arms originally from England or arms granted to Welshmen by English heralds). The majority of the arms he considered contained animal charges -- 69% before 1500, 77% in 1501-88. He reports examples of these beasts, in order of frequency: lion (overwhelmingly the most common beast), griffin, boar, wolf, eagle, crow, man (including angel), stag. Our conclusion about the association of the griffin with the name is based on our own scan of his data. [2] It's worth noting that we aren't certain that Welsh towns used arms in our period. We wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of them did, but we haven't found an example yet. We have found examples of arms for dioceses as early as the late 14th century in Siddons [1]. [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Griffin. [4] Nicolson, Nigel and Alasdair Hawkyard, eds. _The Counties of Britain: A Tudor Atlas by John Speed_ (Thames and Hudson, 1989). [5] Williams-Jones, Keith, _The Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1976). [6] _Y Cwtta Cyfarwydd_ (London: Whiting & Co., Ltd., 1883) {Late 16th and early 17th century parish records from the region around St. Asaph's in mid-north Wales}. [7] Richards, M., _Welsh Administrative and Territorial Units_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1969), s.vv. fridd, dryll. [8] Charles, Bertie G., _The Place-Names of Pembrokeshire_ (Aberystwyth : National Library of Wales, 1992), pp.120, 215, 385, 549. [9] Administrative Handbook of the College of Arms, Submissions Regulations, II.D.2. "Important" in this case does not necessarily mean that it has to be important enough to count for a CD. Laurel has recently registered branch arms with the wreath on a ship's sail, where it would not count as a CD. See Shire of Havre de Glace (reg. 12/99) Azure, a lymphad Or charged on the sail with a laurel wreath vert, in chief 3 fleurs-de-lys argent and in base a ford proper. [10] Charging a beast on the shoulder for cadency was standard in medieval English heraldry. We have found medieval examples of lions charged on the shoulder with an annulet, a finch, a martlet, a water bouget, a chessrook, two chevrons, a crescent, an estoile, a fleur-de-lis, a cinquefoil, a mullet, a pierced mullet, and a roundel. In many of these cases the charge on the shoulder clearly serves to differentiate a cadet branch from a more senior branch without the charge; in such cases it is obviously heraldically significant. In other cases the same coat without the charge is not listed as being borne by anyone with the same surname; here it appears that the charge on the shoulder differentiates two unrelated coats and is therefore significant. Chesshyre, Hubert & Woodcock, Thomas, _Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary_, vol. I (London: The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1992), 154ff. [11] The motif of three griffins passant in pale occurs in several sets of period English arms. Papworth, John W., _Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials_, reprint (Five Barrows Ltd., 1977), p.988. Wylly, 'Argent, three griffins passant in pale sable', from Glover's Ordinary. 'Azure, three griffins passant in pale or' for Withe (Glover's Ordinary), Geoffrey Withe (Willement's Roll, ca.1395), and Sire Geoffrey Filz Wythe (Parliamentary Roll, ca.1312). [12] All the designs are clear of the badge of Northshield "A griffin passant Or". [13] The word "Welsh" was used in place names, but not in the manner you have in mind. The town of Maelor was divided into two ethnic sections, known as "Welsh Maelor" and "English Maelor". If your shire is splitting off from an older group, this could be a way to create a new place name. If you're interested in that possibility, write us again and we'll give you the details. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval & Tangwystyl, 19 Oct 2004: Corrected to in the list of examples of placenames based on given names; and move this example into the correct list. Also added a page number to note [8].