Order Names

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SENA on Non-Personal Names:

http://heraldry.sca.org/sena.html#NPN

SENA NPN.1.C.2.C:

http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/sena.html#NPN1

"Lingua Anglica Allowance: We also allow the registration of translations of attested and constructed household names, heraldic titles, and order names into standard modern English, which we call the lingua Anglica rule."

SENA Appendix E: Currently Registerable Designators for Non-Personal Name Submissions

http://heraldry.sca.org/sena.html#AppendixE

D. Household Names: This category includes guilds, military companies, and similar groups of people. A variety of designators have been registered for households; in any case both the designator and substantive element must follow a single pattern for a group of individuals found in period. Models that have been used include groups like a guild or military company, members of a dynastic or personal household, and the people resident at an inn or other named residence. Discussions of registerable designators for household names can be found at:

• Sharon Krossa, "A Brief, Incomplete, and Rather Stopgap Article about European Household and Other Group Names Before 1600" [[1]]
• The Compiled Names Precedents: Designations

http://heraldry.sca.org/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/Designations.html [link corrected 10/26/2013]

Sources:

"Alys's Simple Order Name Checklist" by Alys Ogress - http://alysprojects.blogspot.com/2015/12/alyss-simple-order-name-checklist.html

"Medieval Secular Order Names: Standard Forms of Order Names" by Juliana de Luna - [[2]]

• Academy of St. Gabriel "Medieval Heraldry Archive" - http://www.s-gabriel.org/heraldry/
• Archive of St. Gabriel reports - http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/archive.cgi
• Laurel Armory Articles - http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/armory_articles.html

• New Heraldic Primer (Heraldry for Non-Heralds) - http://heraldry.sca.org/armory/newprimer/
• Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry (PicDic), 3rd Edition - http://mistholme.com/pictorial-dictionary-of-heraldry
• Period Armorials

• Parker's Heraldry - http://karlwilcox.com/parker/ (broken)
• Riestap's Armorial Général - http://www.euraldic.com/lasu/bl/bl_a_aa.html

• IGI Searches, batches beginning with C, J, K, M (except M17 and M18), or P are acceptable - [[3]]

Precedents:

Precedents of the SCA College of Arms - http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents.html
Morsulus Heralds Website - http://www.morsulus.org/ (to search the LoARs and Precedents)
Use the above links to be sure any precedents listed below haven't been superseded by newer precedents.

Collected Precedents of the SCA: Branch/Group Names: http://heraldry.sca.org/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/BranchGroupNames.html

Collected Precedents of the SCA: Order/Award Names: http://heraldry.sca.org/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/OrderAwardNames.html

Collected Precedents of the SCA: Designations: http://heraldry.sca.org/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/Designations.html

January 2023 Cover Letter: Terms Used in Non-Personal Names

This month we registered the non-personal name Order of the Schlachtschwärdt. We wish to provide a reminder that as of the August 2022 Cover Letter, whether or not we would use a term in blazon does not matter for purposes of registering a non-personal name. A schlachtschwärdt is a German two-handed sword. As this is a period artifact, an order may be named after it regardless of whether Wreath would blazon it as a schlachtschwärdt should someone submit one on a piece of armory. We would like to remind commenters that there are only two questions about an object that should be considered when looking at non-personal names using patterns containing artifacts, flora and fauna: 1) Is the item in question known to people during our period? and 2) Is the submitted spelling for this item found during our period? Any other considerations about the item are irrelevant for the registration of period artifacts, flora and fauna in non-personal names. https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2023/01/23-01cl.html#4

December 2022: Non-Personal Name Restrictions

This month, we considered the submission of the Order of Durga, an order name based on a non-European deity. Order names based on deities and saints are well-established [Order of Artemis, East, Kingdom of, 06/2013, A-East]. Durga is a Hindu goddess who was known to people in India as early as the 6th or 7th century C.E., but likely not known to Europeans until the Portuguese presence in India in the 15th century.

Prior precedent held that order names could only be created in languages from places that actually had orders in period. [April 2011 Cover Letter]. However, "orders" as such appear to be unique to Europe (although research on this is ongoing). Given the changes to the Society's mission statement, limiting order names to only elements from European cultures is overly restrictive and inconsistent with our treatment of other names. Therefore, effective as of the date of this letter, we will allow order names to be created using the names of deities, personal names, or heraldic charges that can be documented to the SCA's period in places other than Europe.

In the coming months, we will be releasing a Rules Letter to consider how we will be evaluating all non-personal names going forward as we become a more inclusive society for all cultures pre-1600.

https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2022/12/22-12cl.html#3

August 2022 CL - Abstract Qualities and Order Names

Recently, we had a number of order name submissions attempting to use the pattern of abstract quality as shown in "Medieval Secular Order Names" by Juliana de Luna (https://heraldry.sca.org/names/order/new/). There seems to be some confusion as to what is meant by this term. For the purposes of constructing order names, abstract quality should be considered synonymous with virtue; this is reinforced by the examples given in the article of Love (representing the virtue charity) and Hope. Other examples include the registered order names Order of Chivalry and various groups' Order of Courtesy. At this time, we do not have evidence of abstract concepts that are not virtues appearing in this category. Therefore, until such evidence is provided, this category will remain confined to nouns describing virtues.

https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2022/08/22-08cl.html#2

August 2022 CL - Expansion of Tincture Names for Non-Personal Names

Previous precedent has disallowed the use of sanguine in the registration of order names. [Order of Sanguins Thorn, 03/2020, A-An Tir] After extensive consultation with Wreath, for the reasons set forth below, Pelican hereby explicitly overturns this precedent. We hereby allow tenne, sanguine, and sinople as period heraldic tinctures in non-personal name submissions as outlined below. We also expand the use of ordinary color words to those that can be found in period heraldic treatises and armorials to describe blazon terms.

Past precedents have demonstrated a progressive approach to using blazon terms for color in certain types of non-personal names. For example, on the April 2012 Cover Letter, Pelican wrote,

Several French terms are identical to the terms used for heraldic tinctures, including vert, Or, and argent (which is found in sign names but not order names). This means that half the colors used in order names (vert, Or and argent) are at least sometimes identical to the heraldic terms. Even vaire is found in French inn signs. Similarly, early blazon seems to have sometimes used the everyday color terms rouge and noir. Given the variability in the use of heraldic and everyday terms, and the confusion this causes for submitters and commenters, we are hereby allowing the use of heraldic color terms in order names as well as the everyday terms.

This approach was reinforced on the March 2020 Cover Letter, where Pelican expanded this precedent to allow the use of single-name furs in order names,

Commenters pointed out that we already allow the use of some heraldic tinctures in order names and heraldic titles for which we do not have evidence in period. For example, we do not have examples of purpure/purple in period order names, yet we allow it in order names and heraldic titles in the Society.

We now expand these precedents to include all types of non-personal names, including household names. The data that has emerged between April 2012 and today has only increased the potential for confusion, not decreased it. The overlap between everyday color words and blazon terms extends to other languages spoken outside of England instead of just French; in some of these languages, ordinary color words are used in blazon into the 16th century. Given this, it is unfair to continue the division between which color words can be used for different types of non-personal names.

Continuing this progressive approach, Wreath and Pelican have considered whether all blazon terms for colors found in period armorials, whether or not they are registered by the Society, should be usable in non-personal names. We concluded that they should, based on the following data...

Though terms like tenne, sanguine and sinople may or may not be blazoned by Wreath, this has no bearing on whether or not they were considered heraldic tinctures in the SCA period. Our blazonry conventions were created for easy color recognition; in this way, all shades of red are gules so that they can be easily reproduced by artists for any project without quibbling over slight differences in color choice. This concept does not constrain non-personal names in the same way that it does armory. Therefore, tenne may be used as a period English heraldic tincture, sanguine may be used as a period English and Spanish heraldic tincture and sinople may be used as a period French, Dutch and Spanish heraldic tincture in non-personal name submissions.

Evaluating ordinary color words was a little more difficult. Not all of the heraldic tinctures that are used in SCA blazon were used in all cultures with a strong heraldic tradition in our period. Where there is no ordinary color word found in a period armorial or heraldic treatise to describe a heraldic tincture used in SCA blazon, a word was found in a period dictionary or text. These ordinary color words were compiled into a chart for an update to SENA Appendix E, described elsewhere on this Cover Letter. This achieves some consistency on what period heraldic tinctures and their ordinary color words we allow, even if we do not have evidence of their use in non-personal names at this time.

https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2022/08/22-08cl.html#3

August 2022 CL - Heraldic Charges for Non-Personal Names

On the November 2020 Letter of Acceptances and Returns, we ruled that an order could be named after any period artifact (in that case, a gargoyle) that could plausibly be a heraldic charge, regardless of whether or not the item would actually be registered as a charge by the Wreath Sovereign of Arms: "While the 1991 precedent regarding the registration of gargoyles as charges in Society armory is unaffected by this ruling, the inability to register a gargoyle in armory is orthogonal to the ability to use the charge's name as an element in a group name following the heraldic charge pattern." [Company of the Gargoyle, 11/2020, A-An Tir] We wish to make clear that this precedent continues to apply to any period artifact, even if it does not have a "standard depiction" that would allow Wreath to register it. To the extent that some prior precedents have suggested otherwise, those precedents are hereby overturned.

Anyone submitting a non-personal name that contains the name of an item that has not been previously registered as a charge or does not appear in period heraldry should be prepared to submit evidence that it was a physical object, plant or animal, etc. that was actually found in period or known to period people.

https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2022/08/22-08cl.html#5

June 2021 CL - From Pelican: Order Name Patterns Involving Saint's Names

This month, commenters expressed concern about the pattern for order names of "saint + object of veneration" so it's time to review the evidence for this pattern again.

Two different kinds of order names match this pattern in broad terms: some describe particular items belonging with or to a saint. Others smply combine two separate names, one a saint's name and the other the name of an object, usually a heraldic charge or item that is another name for the order.

For the first pattern, we have the attested examples:

Ritterschaft sant Gergen Shiltz -'knightly order of Saint George's Shield' c. 1406

Gesellschaft mit sant Georgen und sant Wilhelms schild - 'with Saint George's and Saint Wilhelm's shield' 1346

Geselschaft auf St. Wilhelms Schilt - 'on Saint Wilhelm's Shield' 15th c.

For the second: Most period courtly orders were known by two names: (1) a saint's name and (2) the name of a heraldic charge. For example, the Order of the Garter is also the Order of Saint George. These two names were sometimes combined into a single name. Attested examples, using both or and of to combine them, include:

Comitivam sancti Georgii de la gartiere - 'Company of Saint George of the Garter' 1360

Ordo Sancti Georgii sive Societas Garterii - 'Order of Saint George or the Society of the Garter' 15th c. copy from 1348

Chevaliers de St George de la Compagnie du Gartier - 'knights of Saint George of the Company of the Garter' 15th c. copy from 1348

The societe of saynct George vulgarely called the order of the garter a. 1538

The same double-naming can be seen in other orders using both or and of to combine them:

Capelle sancti Georgi seu societas Templois - 'chapel of Saint George or society of the Grail-Templars' c. 1337

Societas capelle sancti Georgii Templois - 'society of the chapel of Saint George of the Grail-Templars' 14th c.

Gesellschaft St. Georges mit dem Pelikan - 'Society of Saint George with the Pelican' 1444

Other orders that had both a saint's name and a secular name that we have not found together include: Order of the Knot/Holy Spirit of Right Desire, Order of the Dragon/Saint George, Order of the Horn/Saint Hubert, Order of the Star/Our Lady of the Noble House, Order of the Thistle/Saint Andrew, Order of the Hound/Saint Hubert. Others have associations both with saints and a badge, but are only identified using one name.

Therefore, we register order names that follow the pattern of a saint's given name plus a heraldic charge (or an item that plausibly could be a heraldic charge). Such names can be registered with or without the word "Saint." For example, the hypothetical Order of Julianas Siren uses this pattern: Juliana is an attested English given name, used as a saint's name, and the siren is a heraldic charge found in the Pictorial Dictionary of Heraldry.

We thank Juliana de Luna, Siren Herald, for her work summarizing the data in her article "Medieval Secular Order Names", found at https://heraldry.sca.org/names/order/new/.

https://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2021/06/21-06cl.html#12

July 2016 CL - Saint's Names (Constructed or Otherwise) in Non-Personal Names

Recently, we've had a number of order name submissions where the substantive element has consisted of a saint's full name, often using the English surname as given name precedent. Saint's names and devotional names in period are modified in various ways, but these modifiers and bynames are generally locative or descriptive. Such "full" saint's names tend to appear in the names of churches and religious institutions, or other place names.

Examples include the church Seint Marie at Hille and the festival of Seint Peter called th'Advincle (referring to S. Petrus ad vincula, "Saint Peter in chains"), both found in the Middle English Dictionary. The church Sainte Pancrace in the ffelde is found in a 1495 will ['Appendices', in Survey of London: Volume 17, the Parish of St Pancras Part 1: the Village of Highgate, http:www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol17/pt1/pp138-148]. The sign name a lymage Sainct Jehan l'evangeliste ("at the image [of] Saint John the Evangelist") is part of the publishing location for Raoul Le Fèvre's Les proesses et vaillances du preux Hercule from 1500 (http:gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b86001264/f215.image). Additional examples found by Siren include Ordre Monsieur Saint Michel Archange ("Order of my lord Saint Michael archangel") and nostra Religione di Santo Stefano Papa ("our religious-order of Saint Stephen, pope").

In July 2006 we ruled:

• Several commenters noted that the College cannot canonize new saints. However, we feel that registering a name that uses the descriptive Saint does not do this, but rather follows a well documented medieval tradition of local shrines and saints who may or may not be recognized by the hierarchy in Rome. In addition, this would not be the first such registration; the College of St. Bunstable, a group name formed from a fictional saint's name, was registered in August 1981, and in August 1990, the College of Saint Joan was registered although Joan of Arc was not canonized until 1920. While philosophically, it is certainly better recreation to use a real-life saint's name when using this model to create an order name, there is no reason why these sorts of construction should not be allowed the same latitude allowed by our rules for other constructed names. The name William the Cooper is a well-formed English name whose elements can all be documented to period, therefore Saint William the Cooper is an expected construction. [Caer Galen, Barony of. Order name Order of Saint William the Cooper, July 2006, A-Outlands]

Further, NPN3D of SENA states, "The Order of Saint William the Cooper is registerable, even though this is a constructed saint's name, as long as there is no registered William the Cooper."

In December 2015, we ruled the following:

• Submitted as Order of the Noble Touch, the Letter of Intent documented this order name using the pattern of naming an order after a founder or saint, and documented Noble Touch as a late period English name. However, no evidence was presented to show that orders were named after the full names of such individuals, rather than just a given name (or Saint [given name]), or that such an order would include a definite article before the name. Without such documentation, this name cannot be registered as an order name. [Wintermist, Barony of, Company of Noble Touch, December 2015, A-Caid]

A submission this month, Order of Blood of the Wood, follows the pattern of [constructed saint's name] of [place name]. Examples of this pattern are found in Juliana de Luna's article "Medieval Secular Order Names" (http://heraldry.sca.org/names/order/new/). Examples include Les Chevaliers de Nostre Dame de la Noble Maison ("the knights of Our Lady of the Noble House"), Saint George of Rougemont, and Our Lady of Gelders. Therefore, the pattern of using a saint from a specific place is registerable in order names, although we note that this pattern is not common compared to just using the saint's given name.

Although we have examples of saints who bore inherited surnames, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries, we do not have evidence that such surnames and full names were used in order names. We will continue to register orders named after saints with literal locative or descriptive bynames, as these patterns are attested or can be derived from other types of non-personal names found in period. Therefore, patterns such as Order of [given name] of [place name] and Order of [given name] the [descriptive term] are registerable. We will not register orders named after the full names of saints when the surnames are inherited forms, unless documentation is found to show that this pattern follows period practice, but we will allow this pattern in other types of non-personal names as appropriate (e.g., household names). http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2016/07/16-07cl.html

December 2015 - Order and Award (Household?) Names Not Interchangeable

Greetings! On this letter we have registered the Company of Noble Touch, for the Barony of Wintermist in Caid. This was done as a courtesy to the Barony as their cited precedent did not apply to order names, but rather only household names. As of this writing, we will no longer change an unregisterable order name to a registerable household name. The courtesy was extended to the Barony of Wintermist as we had not previously prohibited this practice. Order and Household names are not interchangeable. Corpora requires that groups register their award names. As such, this practice amounts to rules abuse, and it will no longer be endorsed by the College of Arms. For more information on acceptable patterns for order and award names, please see Juliana de Luna's article "Medieval Secular Order Names" at http://heraldry.sca.org/names/order/new/. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2015/12/15-12cl.html

August 2015 - Protection of Real World Orders

This month, we decided whether the historical Order of Alcantara// was worthy of super-protection under NPN4B2 of SENA, or whether it could be registered with the addition of the phrase //of branch name. SENA states: > Order and award names may not include the names of the peerage orders or overt references to famous knightly orders such as the Garter. Other types of non-personal names may only use such elements in contexts where no reference to the order is likely to be perceived by members of the order and the general populace. In addition, the wider question of which "famous knightly orders" are worthy of such protection was discussed. The majority of commenters and those present at the Pennsic Roadshow agreed that super-protection of all real world orders was not necessary and that only the most important orders need to be super-protected. Examples of these "most important" orders are the Garter// and //the Golden Fleece. The use of these substantive elements in order names or in other submissions that can be confused with these orders is not permitted. Less famous or less important real world orders can still be deemed worthy of normal protection in their documented forms, although changes can remove the appearance of presumption as described in NPN3 of SENA. However, those at the Roadshow overwhelmingly thought that a protected historical order name to which of branch name has been added is still presumptuous. Therefore, after the February 2016 Pelican meeting, we will no longer allow the addition of a branch name to a historical order name to remove the appearance of presumption. A rules letter will be drafted by Palimpsest. The submission on this month's letter has been registered. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2015/08/15-08cl.html#2

November 2014 - Fellowship, Free Company:

From Pelican: On the Designators Fellowship and Free Company We have had recent submissions with forms of Fellowship as a designator for both an order name and a household name. Blue Tyger documented fellowship// as the lingua Anglica form of the Middle English //felau-rede//, which is glossed as "A group of associates or companions bound by leadership or kind; a company, band, crew; specif., a body of soldiers or knights" (Middle English Dictionary). In addition, Green Staff found //fellowship// in the Oxford English Dictionary (s.v. fellowship) as a term referring to a ship's crew (e.g., //felschepe of the Kervel//) and in guild or company names (e.g., //fellowship of the stationers// and //fellowship of the Merchants Adventurers of England//. Lastly, Siren documented the use of //fellowship// in order names (e.g., //Felship of the Garter//). Therefore, //Fellowship is a reasonable designator for both order and household names. For another submission, Green Staff documented the designator Free Company// in pre-1650 records from Ireland and England and its colonies in the Americas. For example, a petition to establish a //free company of adventurers// is dated to 1648 of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England: 1642-1649// (http://books.google.com/books?id=Ei40AQAAMAAJ, p. 138). The creation of a //free companie// in the colony of Virginia is mentioned in 1622 Records of the Virginia Company of London// (http:books.google.com/books?id=eqQ8AQAAIAAJ, p. 605). Just as with the designator Company// (see the May 2013 Cover Letter), //Fellowship// and its cognates can now be used as a designator for any suitable non-personal name. //Free Company can be used as a designator for household names. The use of each designator must be appropriate for the type of non-personal name being submitted. We are therefore directing Palimpsest to develop new wording for the relevant sections of SENA, particularly Appendix E. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2014/11/14-11cl.html#1

June 2013 - pagan deities and "saints" in order names

#185East, Kingdom of the. Order name Order of Artemis. In August of 2005, the use of orders named after pagan deities and "saints" was allowed but ruled a step from period practice. Under SENA, there are no steps from period practice for names. Given that order names were derived from classical references (like the Golden Fleece) and from the names of saints, we will continue to allow order names to use the names of pagan gods and other figures that would have been venerated in those places that had order names. http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2013/06/13-06lar.html#185

May 2013 C- Company:

From Pelican: Company as Order Name Designator In period, company and its cognates was used to refer to a variety of kinds of groups of people, including military groups, guilds, and knightly orders. Under the Rules for Submissions and SENA, company// was limited to household names and not allowed as a designator for order names. However, commenters agreed that we should follow period practice and allow //company and other similar words to be used as a designator for any suitable non-personal name. This of course does not remove the requirement that a designator be documented as appropriate to the type of non-personal name submitted. It simply allows designators to be used for multiple types of non-personal names. We are therefore directing Palimpsest to develop new wording for the relevant sections of SENA. [[4]]

April 2012 - Tinctures and other descriptive words:

From Pelican: Tinctures and Other Descriptive Words in Order Names and Heraldic Titles In January 2012, we asked commenters to consider the current precedent regarding the use of color words in order names. In February 2003, Pelican ruled that "no evidence has been found that heraldic tinctures (rather than common color terms such as bleu) were used in order names." Since that time, our knowledge of period order names and heraldic titles has expanded considerably, in large part due to articles like my "Heraldic Titles from the Middle Ages and Renaissance" (found at http:medievalscotland.org/jes/HeraldicTitlesSCA/index.shtml) and my "Medieval Secular Order Names" (found at http://medievalscotland.org/jes/OrderNames/ or at http:heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/order/new/). The color terms used in order names and heraldic titles are summarized in the May 2009 Cover Letter. They are the everyday terms for heraldic tinctures, mostly in French, but also in German, English, and Spanish.

Several French terms are identical to the terms used for heraldic tinctures, including vert//, //or//, and //argent// (which is found in sign names but not order names). This means that half the colors used in order names (vert, or and argent) are at least sometimes identical to the heraldic terms. Even //vaire// is found in French inn signs. Similarly, early blazon seems to have sometimes used the everyday color terms //rouge// and //noir//. Given the variability in the use of heraldic and everyday terms, and the confusion this causes for submitters and commenters, we are hereby allowing the use of heraldic color terms in order names as well as the everyday terms. However, no convincing evidence has been presented for the use of non-heraldic color names, including the names for particular shades of a color, like scarlet or crimson.

There was relatively little commentary on the use of terms for posture and orientation. As such, we will not at this time rule on whether the patterns found for such terms in inn sign names should be extended to order names and heraldic titles. The question will be revisited when a relevant submission appears. [[5]]

April 2011 - Order Names and Heraldic Titles:

Documenting order names and heraldic titles is one of the frustrating jobs which falls to every kingdom and many baronial heralds. The standards for these non-personal names at this time are tighter than they historically were, but we also have better resources available. Let's start with the resources. This is going to sound a little self-absorbed, but I got annoyed with the available resources a few years ago (all right, a decade ago) and started researching herald's titles and order names. It took a while, but finally came to fruition as two articles that substantially improved our knowledge of period practice. For order names, we have "Medieval Secular Order Names" at @http:''heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/order/new/ or at@http:''www.medievalscotland.org/jes/OrderNames/ (they're identical in content, but formatted differently). Someday I'll get the religious order names done; for the moment I'll note that most were named for places. This article gives an analysis of patterns (noting that "other" isn't a pattern; it simply groups items that don't fit neatly in larger categories), standardized forms, and documentary forms. ... So, what do you do with them? For any submission, you have to argue that the submission follows a particular pattern for creating that kind of name. Patterns are somewhat limited in time and space: a pattern documented for 16th century England is not automatically justifiable in Russia, or for 11th century England. However, there are patterns that were used broadly over Europe from the 14th to 16th century, and those are justifiable for more times and places. Unfortunately, that means that some times and places are just out of luck for the creation of herald's titles and order names. We have no evidence that either were in use before the 12th century, and only a few patterns were in use before 1300. That means that languages that fell out of use before that time (Old Norse, Old English, Frankish, etc.) cannot be used to create heraldic titles or order names, as there are no patterns for them to follow. Herald's titles and orders were used broadly in Europe, even eastern Europe, but they did not spread further. Therefore, the registration of either a heraldic title or an order name in Russian, Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages, and Asiatic languages is not allowed. I know that it creates a difficult situation for those whose personas are from outside the main European powers, but those European powers are the home of the heraldic/chivalric game we play. Patterns must be closely followed: evidence of the use of a vernacular color term is not evidence of the use of a heraldic color term, and "other adjective" doesn't mean "any adjective" (it just means that there are some that are hard to classify). Similarly, just because you joke about venerating some item doesn't make it a religious object of veneration for our purposes. Instead you must demonstrate that the object was venerated in period (or that it matches a pattern of objects venerated in period). Having demonstrated that the submission follows a pattern, you have to demonstrate that the words within it are period and spelled in a period way (or justified as the lingua Anglica version of a foreign language name). Using the lingua Anglica allowance is a way to get modern spellings if you don't like the period spellings; just construct the order name or title in another language (French often does the trick). However, you still must justify the terms as period; the lingua Anglica allowance doesn't get you out of that hard work. Finally, don't be afraid to get outsiders to help; and please do it before you get attached to an unregisterable name. Too many times, I've seen groups heartbroken when the name they want is ruled to not follow a period pattern. Link to LoAR Cover Letter

May 2009 CL - Color Terms:

From Pelican: Color Terms in Order Names On the November 2008 LoAR, two submissions were pended, the Order of the Azure Glove and the Order of the Sable Sleeve. Both of these concerned the issue of color terms in order names. The original LoI demonstrated that both sable and azure (or asure) can be found in English contexts which are not purely heraldic, and cited the following precedents in support of the registerability of these order names:

• Hidden Mountain, Barony of. Award name Award of the Azure Cloud (see RETURNS for badge). In general, names of heraldic tinctures are not registerable as part of order names where the language is English, because we have no examples of such usage and because the names of most heraldic tinctures were not used as ordinary adjectives in English until the very end of the 16th C. Azure appears to be the exception. According to the OED, the noun azure, meaning "A bright blue pigment or dye; ellipt. a fabric dyed of this colour", dates to at least the late 14th C. Chaucer mentions a figure "Cloothed in Asure". This and the citations provided by the submitter are sufficient to give them the benefit of the doubt that azure (like crimson) is used as an ordinary color name and hence is registerable as part of an order name. [LoAR 06/2006, Atlantia-A]

However, the August 2005 Cover Letter discussing patterns of period order names gives a stricter criterion for the use of color terms in order names:

• Argent Snail, in arguing for more generous interpretations of patterns notes, "since we know that there were period order names of the form color (including Gold/golden) object, any color object should be considered acceptable, and not one step from period practice, even if the submitted color was not used in a period order name." While we are unwilling to extend the interpretation of period order names to include any color (images of "Order of Dead Spaniard Lion" leap to mind--"dead spaniard" being a fabric color found in Elizabethan England), we are often far stricter in our interpretations concerning colors than we are of other patterns. Therefore, since heraldic objects may be found in any heraldic tincture, the ordinary color name for any heraldic tincture may be used as part of an order name when combined with a heraldic charge (which, if applied to the example above, gives us the "Order of the Green Lion," a perfectly ordinary name.) Following this pattern comes with no penalty; even if a particular color found in heraldry is not found in any order name, its use in an order name still follows the established pattern. This does not overturn the precedent disallowing the registration of Orders of the form heraldic tincture name// + //object// in English, since we have no examples of English order names that use heraldic tincture names. So, for example, while the //Order of the Green Lion// would be held to follow demonstrated patterns, //Order of the Lion Vert// or //Order of the Vert Lion would not...[Order names for heraldic charges] may contain the ordinary color names of any heraldic tincture.

As noted in the pend of this order name, the June 2006 precedent demonstrates that azure// or //asure// was used as a color term in English, but it does not show that this term was //the ordinary color term for blue, as required by the August 2005 precedent. When faced with contradictory precedents, the best way to arbitrate between them is to look to period practice. Since both the 2005 and 2006 precedents were set, our knowledge of medieval names of orders has increased dramatically, due largely to Juliana de Luna's article "Medieval Secular Order Names". In the introduction of the article, Juliana notes nine order names (making up 6% of the data) which follow the pattern <color> + <charge>. These nine orders are from Germany, France, Italy, and Navarre, so while they are few they come from a broad area and so can be taken as representative. So, what color names are used in these order names?

• Black: noir (French)
• Blue: blauwen// (German), //blaen (German)
• Gold(en): or// (French), //goldin// (English), //golden// (English), //aureus (Latin)
• Green: vert (French)
• Red: roden (German)
• White: blanche// (French), //blanco (Spanish)

These examples show that it was not any color term that was used in medieval order names, but just the single, ordinary color term. On the basis of period usage, we are upholding the stricter reading of the August 2005 Cover Letter, which is in keeping with the examples of period order names that we currently have. Order names which follow the <color> + <charge> pattern must use the ordinary color term for a heraldic tincture appropriate for the language of the order name.

• http://heraldry.sca.org/loar/2009/05/09-05cl.html

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