I have a question which builds off something Bes Mcmillan said:
I understand that the word "Æthelmearc" was formed by combining the words for "noble" and "province". Old English "æþele" became Middle English "athel", which has a variant spelling of "æthel". The Old English word "mearc" became the Middle English "mark", which remains unchanged in Modern English. Based on this, I assume "Æthelmearc" is from the time period of the Old English / Middle English transition.
Is this correct? It clearly wasn't registered through AE heralds, and I can't find the citations on the East Kingdom's heraldry webpage. Does anyone know where I can find the documentation?
Orilee Ireland-Delfs
Actually, it combines the words for Noble and Border, as we are the borderlands between the East and the Middle. I don't know if it was submitted through the East Kingdom College of Heralds or directly to Laurel? I have forwarded your question to Master Fridrikr who handled a lot of the heraldic stuff.
Krista Traini Cogan
I also forwarded the question to Garnet and Silver Buccle. Silver Buccle (who also mundanely has a degree in Linguisitics, concentrating in just this area) says: "Yes, it is Old English, prior to Norman conquest in 1066, more along the lines of Mercia, (Kings Aethelstan Aethelred as examples of the name pattern)"
