ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1056 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1056 ************************************ 2 Jul 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the Old Norse name and about your design for your arms. Here is what we have found. The period you specified, 1000 to 1550, is very broad. It covers some of the Viking period, the late Middle Ages, and most of the Renaissance. Over that period, the languages spoken in Scandinavia changed significantly and these changes were reflected in people's names. In order to give you the right form for your name, we need to know more precisely where and when you want your persona to have lived. is one spelling of the Old Norse name . It is recorded in the spelling you want in the late 11th century, in the mid-13th century, and in 1337. We also find the spelling in 1332 [1]. We find in Norway [2], and in Sweden [3], , and in Denmark [4]. The same name appears in runic inscriptions as , which corresponds to in Latin script [5]. Therefore, it appears that the name you want was used throughout the Viking period and through most of the late Middle Ages. Although naming patterns changed over the 550 years you asked about, one thing that remained fairly constant was the use of surnames that identified a man as his father's son. These patronymic bynames, as they are called, are formed in Old Norse by taking the possessive form of the father's name (equivalent to in English) and adding <-son>. So, if your father were named , you would be called . People were also known by other types of bynames in your period, but patronymics were common through your period, through Scandinavia. For the details of forming a byname in a particular time and place or for other help in choosing your surname, write us again and let us know what you have in mind. Depending on when and where you set your persona, using heraldic arms may not be historically appropriate. Heraldry as we know it was invented in northwestern France in the 12th century, and spread to Scandinavia by the late 13th century [6]. If you set your persona earlier than that, then you would not have used arms at all. Of course, many Societyfolk use arms even though their personae would not have done so. This dilemma is common enough that we've written a short article on the common solutions: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/faq/nonheraldic.html Your description of your design isn't precise. What we think you have in mind is a gold field with two black towers side-by-side and a broad black border around the edge of the field. Is that correct? If so, it would be blazoned "Or, two towers in fess within a bordure sable." This is a nice design, good historical stlye, and as far as we can tell it is free of problems under the SCA's heraldic rules. 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 Lindorm Eriksson, Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, Rouland Carre, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum, Walraven van Nijmegen, and Blaise de Cormeilles. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 2 Jul 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931). [2] Janzen,, Assar, "De fornvastnordiska personnamnen" in _Personnamn_ (Nordisk kultur VII) (Stockholm, Oslo, Kobenhavn: 1947), p.66, 100. [3] Janzen,, Assar, "De fornsvenska personnamnen" in _Personnamn_ (Nordisk kultur VII) (Stockholm, Oslo, Ko|benhavn: 1947), p.254. [4] Hornby, Rikard, "Personnavne i Danmark i middelalderen" in _Personnamn_ (Nordisk kultur VII) (Stockholm, Oslo, Ko|benhavn: 1947), p.196-197. [5] Uppsala University Department for Scandinavian Languages, _Rundata_, software pre-release version 8.84 (test) (Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala universitet, 1990), inscription O:l 50{23} #. [6] Brault, Gerard J., _Early Blazon_ (Oxford: Clarendon Press,, 1972). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -