ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1038 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1038 ************************************ 24 Jun 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the name which you want to use as a French or Italian name in the 14th to 16th centuries. You also asked for our opinion of your design for your arms, a garden rosebud slipped and leaved on a black field. Here is what we have found. In period, people's names did not indicate the countries where their parents lived. If you lived in France sometimes and in Italy other times, then you would be called by a French version of your name in France and by an Italian version of your name in Italy. Happily, there are forms of your name which fit both cultures. The name was probably used in France in your period, though we do not have a definite example of it. The modern surname exists in France, which implies that the given name was in use at some time in the 15th or 16th century [1]. We have better evidence for Italy; appears on a 15th century census of Florence, and of course it was also the name of the great renaissance artist [2]. The surname is a fine choice for France in your period. Early in your period, in the 14th century, it would have been a true locative; that is to say, you would have used because you lived or were born in a place called . In the 15th or 16th century, it could also have been an inherited surname, i.e. it would only have meant that your father had the same surname. The name could have been spelled in several different ways in your period: , , or . In general, and appears to be earlier spellings, while was the most common later in period. Some specific examples we found around your period are [3, 4]: Saint Germain deles Lesquieres 1369 Saint Germain d'Aulnay 1380 Saint Germain de la Champaigne 1392 Saint Germain 1450 In Italian, this name could have been translated as (in Tuscan Italian), (in Venetian Italian), or (in Calabria or Sicily) [5]. The backslash in the last example represents a grave accent on the preceding letter. Putting it all together, we suggest that you call yourself in a French context, and (or one of the other forms) in an Italian context. The rosebud is quite common in modern art and many Societyfolk have wanted to use it in their arms. Heralds in the Society have searched, but have found no evidence that rosebuds (or any other flower bud) was used as a charge in period arms. On the basis of this research, the SCA College of Arms decided a few years ago not to register arms containing rosebuds. The College will register "a garden rose" as a charge, even though there is also no evidence that this charge was used in period heraldry. The SCA College treats the "garden rose" as an artistic variant of the more common "heraldic rose". However, because neither charge was used in period armory, we recommend that you avoid it. You didn't specific the color of the rose in your design. It would need to be white/silver or yellow/gold: Only a light-colored charge can be placed on a black field. This is a consequence of the so-called "Rules of Contrast", which states that dark-colored charges can only be placed on light-colored backgrounds and vice versa. We're not sure which elements of your design are most important to you, so we won't suggest alternatives in this letter. If you'd like to discuss your arms further, please write us again and let us know what sorts of designs interest you. If you'd like to look at some pictures of period arms, to get ideas, you could start with Joseph Foster, _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). This book contains several thousand color drawings from period English rolls of arms. I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek and Zenvbia Naphtali. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 17 Jun 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987). [2] Ferrante laVolpe, _Men's names from Florence, 1427_ (WWW: Self-published, 1996) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/catasto. [3] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963), s.n. Saint Germain. [4] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), vol.III, s.n. Germanus. [5] De Felice, Emidio, Dizionario dei Cognomi Italiani (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -