Letter of Registrations and Returns
Society of the Middle Ages, Inc.
Office of the Muskatour King of Arms
May 2022
Greetings from the Muskatour office.
Please note that it is the responsibility of the client and their consulting herald to provide documentation for names – origin and construct. While the Muskatour staff is available to assist, we are also thin on both volunteer researchers and available books. The College of Arms is too new and the SMA is too strapped for cash to invest in an extensive library similar to what other organizations have built up over years/decades. While I understand that the average reenactor is also not going to have the sources easily at hand, they should at least have the time available to ask the questions and follow the advice provided. Therefore, if you are having difficulty as a client or consulting herald, please do ask for assistance from the College in general or the Muskatour staff in particular. The answer back may come in the form of “where to look” rather than a straight up answer. It is also perfectly acceptable to go to outside organizations for assistance with research. For example, in the last six months, I have used the International Society of Commoners’ Heraldry, the American Heraldry Society, the Society of Ecclesiastical Heraldry, the Academy of St. Gabriel, the Society for Creative Anachronism, Living History in Europe, and several dozen personal blogs and published papers from several individuals with various academic credentials.
We have a new precedent. From this point forward and until new research offers an earlier source, the feminine given name ‘Cordelia’ is deemed not registerable in the SMA. While it is documented in Wythecombe, the earliest reference is 1636… 136 years after our period and nearly 90 years outside our gray area.
There are no Returns this month.
- Caer ar yn Afon Goch (Castle) – New Name, New Arms
Or, a dragon passant between in chief two cedar trees vert and a base wavy gules - Chiara da Milano – New Name (See Returns for Arms)Submitted as Chiara di Milano, the Muskatour staff determined that the preposition di is used only to indicate a position of authority within the locality (e.g., Luigi Castellan di Milano). For the rather generic “from Milan”, the correct article is da. The change was made with the client’s permission.
- Cordeilla verch Rosser – New Name, New Arms
Azure, a Celtic cross and in chief three roses Or.Submitted as Creiddylad verch Rosser, the Muskatour staff determined that the name Creiddylad violated RfS II.D.4 and/or II.D.5. The sole source of the name is a character in a Welsh folk tale wherein the character is either non-human or possesses magical powers (depending on which version one reads). The sole academic source cites this folk tale but gives no evidence that the name was ever used by actual humans, nor does the source indicate that the name could be constructed using accepted name construction techniques in Welsh. The client uses the name Cordeilla, registered with another reenactment organization, and was offered the opportunity to migrate that portion of the name to this organization, which she accepted.This is registered as a legacy name.
- Elyenora Houll – New Name, New Arms
Argent, three leaves bendwise sinister vert between two scarpes sable between six dragonflies purpure.This is a legacy registration. There was some discussion during the meeting as to whether dragonflies were known in medieval Europe and what posture/orientation they would have in period-style heraldry. The staff located a source describing at least six species of dragonfly and damsel-fly native to Europe and determined from a post-period treatise on heraldry addressing “on the cusp” heraldic designs that the only posture/orientation would be tergiant. This confirmed what had been published in the appendices to the RfS. - Ginerva Bagnesi – New Name ChangeClient’s original name registration was Wulfrun Aschere. This was changed to Eleanor Aschere in the April 2022 decision meeting. After reflection, the client decided to pursue an additional name change to use the name by which most players know her from another reenactment organization. Thus, this is a legacy name registration.Wulfrun Aschere and Eleanor Aschere are released and will be noted as such in the A&O.
- Serena Ordoñes – New Name, New Arms
Purpure, an escallop inverted within an orle argent.The name is a legacy registration. Note that escallops are shown hinge to chief in their default position. This submission has the hinge to base, which requires the inverted to be specified in the blazon.
Originally submitted as Caer Afon Goch, this submission was pended in the April decision meeting to allow the client the opportunity to provide documentation for the style of castle name submitted. The arms were clear of conflict at the time but could not be registered without a valid name. Therefore, the arms were also pended.
The client provided more than sufficient evidence of the practice of naming castles/fortresses based on proximity to well-known geographic features. There was then a lively discussion as to the correct grammatical form, particularly regarding differences between Middle Welsh and Modern Welsh. While the client has asked for additional time to validate the Middle Welsh grammar, we are giving him the benefit of the doubt and entering this version into the A&O to protect the registration of the arms.
RETURNS
None