SENA, Personal Names Part 4, Presumption
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PN.4. Personal Names Presumption http:heraldry.sca.org/sena.html#PN4 #PN4AA. Definitions: Presumption is a false claim. This includes claims of restricted rank or powers that the submitter does not possess within the Society or that we do not allow anyone to claim. It also includes claims of identity or close relationship with a person outside the SCA who is considered quite important by many people within and outside the Society. Presumption is not dependent on intent; even if such a claim was not intended, the appearance of such a claim is not allowed. Items which presume will not be registered, even if a letter of permission could be obtained. #PN4BB. Claim to Rank: Names may not contain a claim to a protected and/or restricted rank that the submitter does not have within the Society. This includes the following: > #PN4B11. Use of Elements that Appear to Be Titles: Names may not contain an element or group of elements that create the appearance of a claim to have a specific protected rank or title that the submitter does not possess within the Society, even if that name element or elements are attested. Those titles which are so protected can be found in the List of Alternate Titles. > Bynames which are identical to titles used in the Society are generally not allowed for individuals who do not have that rank. Relatively minor changes to the form of the byname can remove the appearance of a claim to rank. > For example, only a knight can register the byname Knight// or //Chevalier//, as both are titles used in the Society for a knight. However, while the family name //Visconti// is derived from the word for viscount (//visconte//) it is not actually the restricted title. Thus the byname //Visconti is not a claim to be a viscount, and can be registered. > Bynames using titles not used within the SCA cannot be considered a claim to a rank. Nonetheless, such names will only be registered if they were used as bynames by normal people who did not have that rank. > For example, Pope is a surname also used by normal people. Therefore, it can be registered in a personal name. > Given names that are identical to titles and forms of address may be registered in contexts that make it clear that they are given names and not titles. > For example, a given name like Regina// may be registered in a name like //Regina the Laundress// or //Regina Smith//. Names like //Regina of England// or //Regina Juliana of York// will not be registered. They create the appearance of a claim to the restricted title //Queen//. Similarly, //Miles// is the approved Latin alternate for knight; however, //Miles// is also used as an English given name in period. Thus, //Miles Martin// would not create the appearance of a claim to the restricted title //Miles. > Bynames incorporating the names of Society peerage orders and real-world knightly orders are not considered a claim to rank or membership in those orders. > For example, the use of an attested byname de la Rose// or //atte Pelican, both derived from inn-sign names, is not a claim to be a member of the order. > Submitters may register names that create a claim to rank that they do possess within the Society. Only permanent ranks may be used in names. Documentation must be provided that the submitter is entitled to this rank. > For example, no submitter may register a byname meaning king// or //princess//, as those are not permanent ranks. Landed barons who are not court barons may not register a byname meaning //baron. > > [Updated per April 2013 Cover Letter - [[2]] ] > #PN4B22. Dynastic Names: Names may not contain a byname uniquely used by a single dynasty. Dynastic names used by both a royal family and normal people are acceptable. While some kingdom names were originally used primarily or exclusively by royalty, those names came to be used so widely that they are not considered a claim to rank. > For example, the byname Hohenstaufen// was used only by a single ruling dynasty, and thus cannot be used for SCA names, as it makes a claim to be a member of that specific dynasty. We do not limit the use of bynames like //Tudor//, //Stuart//, or //Bourbon, as these bynames were used by many people who were not part of those ruling dynasties. > #PN4B33. Combination of Family Name and Location: Names may not contain both a family name used by an important noble family and the area from which that family derives their title or the seat of the family. Such a combination is considered a claim to rank. Generally this name pattern is limited to Scottish clan chiefs and to barons, counts, and other members of the high nobility. > For example, a name submission cannot use the byname combinations Campbell of Argylle// or //Tudor of England//. The bynames //Campbell//, //of Argylle//, //Tudor//, and //of England are each registerable individually. > #PN4B44. Honorific Names: Name phrases that were only granted as an honor or award by rulers cannot be registered. Such names are a claim to rank. > For example, the Arabic titles Salah al-Din// or //Saif al-Mulk were always honors given by a ruler, and thus are a claim to rank. > #PN4B55. Combination of Occupational and Locative Bynames: Names may not combine an occupational byname and a locative byname in a way that seems to be a claim to rank or official position. Some given names appear identical to occupational or locative bynames; names may not combine a given name of this form with an occupational or locative byname in a way that seems to be a claim to rank or official position. Most such combinations do not have this appearance. This should not be understood to suggest that the Crown cannot make such appointments; however, as they are not necessarily permanent, such appointments may not be used as justification for registered names.Names may not combine an occupational byname and a locative byname in a way that seems to be a claim to rank or official position. Some given names appear identical to occupational or locative bynames; names may not combine a given name of this form with an occupational or locative byname in a way that seems to be a claim to rank or official position. Most such combinations do not have this appearance. This should not be understood to suggest that the Crown cannot make such appointments; however, as they are not necessarily permanent, such appointments may not be used as justification for registered names. > For example, a name submission cannot use the combinations Bard of Armagh or Abbot of Saint Giles or Champion of Ealdormere. Similarly, while Kingdom, London, and Herald can all be documented as both given names and bynames, Kingdom Marshall, London Herald and Herald of Wyvernwoodeall give the impression of claiming rank or official position and would not be registerable. However, Seamstress of York is unlikely to be understood to be the only seamstress, or an official seamstress and so would be registerable. >> [Updated per April 2013 Cover Letter - [[3]] ] #PN4CC. Claim of Powers: Names may not contain an unmistakable claim of superhuman abilities, magical powers, or divine origin. In general, a name phrase used by normal human beings during our period is not considered to be a claim to superhuman abilities or divine origin. For example, we will register Odinson//, because Odin was used as a human given name in Middle English and in Norwegian. Similarly, we will register an English byname //Devil//, because it is attested as a human descriptive byname in medieval England. On the other hand, we will not register a name like //Lokassson// as a patronymic constructed from the name //Loki//, because the only known use of //Loki is as the name of an Old Norse god. Such a name would be a claim to a divine origin. There are examples of attested given names and bynames that are claims to magical abilities or other superhuman abilities. Such names will not be registered unless they can be demonstrated to have been used in contexts that are not claims to magical abilities. Use of them by multiple individuals is often sufficient to do so, unless they all were understood to have the same magical power. One example is the Norse byname sundafyllir, which is a reference to a story in which the owner filled a strait with fish through magic. Such a name would not be registerable. #PN4DD. Claim of Identity or Close Relationship with an Important Non-SCA Person: A personal name may not be too close to the name of a protected individual or make claims to be a direct relative of a protected individual. A name is said to presume on a protected name if it is not substantially different in sound and appearance from it or creates an unmistakable claim to close relationship with that protected individual in any of the forms we protect. The standards for substantial difference and unmistakable relationship claims are set out in [[4]] above as "identity conflict" and "relationship conflict" respectively, except that such items are not registerable, even with permission. People from all periods of history including the present may be important enough to protect. Given the nature of the Society, people who lived within the scope of our period are somewhat more likely to be considered important enough to protect than people from other places and times. For individuals important enough to protect, we protect all forms in which their name was known, including in other languages, but not hypothetical forms. We only protect names that are used either today or in the time when they were alive to refer to these protected persons. For example, we protect Christopher Columbus//, //Cristobal Colon//, //Christophorus Columbus//, etc. as these were known forms of the name of the famous explorer. However, while //Carlos V of Spain// was also the count of Barcelona, we do not protect him as //Carlos of Barcelona, as his name was not recorded or referenced in this form. > #PN4D11. Non-SCA People Protected from Presumption: A personal name submission is only considered to presume on protected personal names. Names of important non-SCA individuals are protected from presumption. People who are not important enough to have an entry in a standard print encyclopedia, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, are generally not important enough to protect. Newly famous individuals may rarely be considered important enough to protect even if they have not yet appeared in a print encyclopedia. Individuals who do have an entry must be further considered.People are considered important enough to protect if they meet the following standards. > Sovereign rulers of significant states are generally important enough to protect. Some historical city-states are not considered significant states. Provinces or regions integrated into larger units like the Holy Roman Empire are not generally considered significant states. Sovereigns of small states that did not give rise directly to modern countries will not be protected under this clause, nor will legendary kings of any state (though these kings may be individually important enough to protect). > Individuals whose names are recognized by a significant number of people in the Society without having to look them up in a reference are generally important enough to protect. Individuals recognized only by specialists in a subject are unlikely to be important enough to protect. Individuals who are only recognized with the assistance of reference books are unlikely to be important enough to protect. > Individuals whose work and/or life are still influential today are generally important enough to protect. Those whose work significantly shaped the course of world history, science, or the arts are generally important enough to protect. This is generally measured by examining measures like the length of encyclopedia articles about the person and his/her work, numbers of search engine hits for the individual, and the like. > Fictional characters may also be considered important enough that their names need to be protected. Fictional characters are generally important enough to protect when two conditions are met. They are: a) a significant number of people in the Society recognize the character's name without prompting and b) the use of the name would generally be considered by those people a clear reference to that character. > Even if a piece of armory is not considered important enough to protect from presumption, the use of a piece of historical armory combined with the family name of the holder may be presumptuous. For details, see [[5]], Presumption below. E. Claim of Non-Human Status: A personal name may not give the false appearance of being a territorial name, a rank or title, or an order or award; a name may make the appearance of a household name on a case by case basis. A personal name may not be identical to the name of any non-personal entity we protect. For example, while Town and Kingdom can both be documented as given names, both Town of Princeton and Kingdom of Ealdormere create the false appearance of being a territorial entity. Similarly, while House can be documented as a given name, House of York creates the false appearance of being a famous English royal household. However, Kingdom Jones or House Smith do not give this false appearance. [Updated per April 2013 LoAR -// http:''heraldry.sca.org/loar/2013/04/13-04cl.html ]