Didn’t you have a different name before?
In fact, we did. From 2013 when we were officially read into Court until late 2019 we were known as the Incipient Shire of Nordenfjord (or Norðfjǫrðr).
Why did you change?
It was not an easy decision, but a large number of factors led to us making the change. To begin with, some of our neighboring groups have names which are very similar to ours – Nordenhalle is about an hour north of us, in Kingston, and Northpass is right across the river in Westchester County and environs.
Many awards that our local citizens had received were attributed to one of these groups. Scrolls were written with the incorrect group name on them, and we received emails for other groups about their events and resources for newcomers.
Based on these incidents, we asked and were encouraged by the Kingdom to change our name.
When did you make this change?
As our group is not yet full-status, we simply requested the change as well as new heraldic device (our group coat of arms) and a new badge for our members to wear. We were notified that these had been officially accepted as of December 1, 2019.
What happened to the old name and coat of arms?
We actually have retained both the name and arms (now considered to be ancient arms) to honor the history of our group.
Also, anyone visiting the previous website or emailing officers at their previous addresses will find that they will be automatically forwarded to the appropriate destinations.