ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1033 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1033 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 23 Jun 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to use the name for a feminine Irish persona between 1000 and 1150, and said you were not interested in any replacement names; you wanted to know if , which you believe is Middle English, would be acceptable with the SCA College of Arms. Here is the information we have found. Before I start, I'd like to clarify the service that the Academy offers. We try to help Societyfolk in choosing and using names that fit the historical cultures they are trying to re-create. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that is not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the College's needs. If your main goal is to register a particular name, then we may not be able to help you. is a Welsh masculine name, found as 1159, 1166, and 1204-11. [2] Most names were either used only by men or only by women; there was only a small selection that was used by both. We have no evidence that was used by any but men. For a discussion on similar-sounding feminine names, we suggest you read "Concerning the Names Morgan, Morgana, Morgaine, Murghein, Morrigan, and the Like" http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/problemnames/morgan.html The earliest citation of that we have is from 1662. This came from the verb , 1596. [1] There is no possibility that this word could have been a part of a period byname. We are sorry that we could not be more useful to you, and hope that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Barak Raz, Charles O'Connor, Lindorm Eriksson, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy --Arianui poetissa de Cair Mirdin --------------------------------------------------- References: [1] --, _The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973). [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995).