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House Malepardus
House Malepardus is the personal household of Maister Colyne Stewart and THL Þorfinna gráfeldr, as well as Colyne's dependents and students. It was founded at Feast of the Bear AS 53 (2018) when Colyne took Baroness Anneke the Furious as a protege. The household's name is taken from the Reynard the Fox cycle of stories dating from at least the 12th century (Malepardus being the name of Reynard's home).
Members
Maister Colyne Stewart, OP, and THL Þorfinna gráfeldr head the household.
Proteges
- Baroness Anneke the Furious
Students
Malepardus Kennels and Mews
- O'ber
- Ham
Badge
All members of House Malepardus may wear or display this badge: Fieldless, a fox mask gules within and conjoined to an arch argent.
Origin of the Name
As mentioned above, the name Malepardus is taken from the Reynard cycle of stories. In her book Spenserian Satire: A tradition of indirection, Rachel E. Hile tells us
The most unusual word in the work, Malepardus (“Maleperduys” in Caxton’s 1481 edition), the name of Reynard’s fox-hole/castle, turns out to be a corrupted version of the French word for St. John’s wort: “This plant is called Millepertuis (or thousand holes) because the leaues of it are all full of so small holes, that one can scarce see them, but onely betwixt their sight and the sun” (de la Primaudaye, French Academie, 335). Obviously a name that means “thousand holes” serves as a fitting moniker for Reynard’s confusing den with many paths and exits, not an allusion to signal a real-world satirical target.