The Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory - SCA Heraldry

The Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory:The Rules for SubmissionsAs discussed in GP.3.B, we do not register heraldic titles in languages from cultures that did not useheraldic titles. This applies to both the designator and the substantive elements of such heraldic titles.C. Standards for Designators and Substantive Elements: To be registerable, those designators whose form isnot fixed in NPN.1.B above (including those with modifiers, such as Noble Order) must meet the standardslaid out below. All substantive elements must also meet the standards laid out below.1. Single Time and Place: A substantive element must follow the rules of grammar and structure for a singletime and place. It may not mix languages unless that mixing of languages within a name phrase is attested.For example, the attested English heraldic title Rougecrosse Pursuivant is partially French and partiallyEnglish, but this does not necessarily mean that all French and English words may be so combined.2. Sources of Designators and Substantive Elements: We allow registerable name phrases to be created in avariety of ways. A designator is a name phrase. A substantive element is a name phrase. Thosedesignators that are discussed in NPN.1.B above do not need to be justified under the terms of this section.a. Attested Name Phrases: Name phrases may be attested to period as a complete name phrase. A singleexample of an attested name phrase clearly dated to period is sufficient to demonstrate its use. Minorspelling variants are allowed when those spelling variants can be demonstrated to be compatible with thespelling conventions of the time and place of the attested name.For example, in Renaissance Scots, the letters i and y are regularly interchangeable. So, a name attestedas Armyltoun could also be registered as Armiltoun. The letters k and q, on the other hand, are notinterchangeable in Renaissance Scots. So, a name attested as Kintyre does not justify the spellingQintyre.b. Constructed Name Phrases: Name phrases may be constructed from attested period name elements.This requires demonstrating that the combination follows a period pattern. We generally require at leastthree examples to consider something a pattern. This is because a single name phrase can appear tofollow a pattern that it does not actually follow.For example, the German placename element –katz does not derive from the name of the animal but fromthe name of a river. Thus, this element cannot be combined with an element that is incompatible with ariver name.All of the elements and patterns for a constructed name phrase must come from a single time and place.We do not allow constructed name phrases that are created by using patterns from one time and placewith elements from another time and place. Some examples of constructed names are:1. New Placenames Constructed from Attested Elements: New placenames can be constructed fromattested placename elements following an attested pattern.For example, the attested English place names Oxford, Swinford and Hartford indicate a pattern ofkinds of large hooved animals with -ford. Therefore, this pattern would support a similar name likeSheepford. This pattern would not, however, support constructing Bookford or Duckford, since neitherbooks nor ducks are large hooved animals.For example, there is a pattern of adding family names to existing placenames in English. Followingthis pattern, the attested family name Peverel can be added to the attested placename Bercroft toconstruct the compound placename Bercroft Peverel.Standards for Evaluation of Names and Armory – April 29, 2012 - Page 24 of 73