ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1086 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1086 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 26 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to use as a feminine Welsh name between 1000 and 1400. 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 it 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. The only we found was the mother of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, last native prince of Wales. This places her in the first half of the 13th century, so she may be the you're referring too. The name is spelled in most of the references we found. [1] appears to be a Latin form of some Welsh name, perhaps . That name is also spelled , , and . [2] The spellings for each century in your desired period are as follows: 11-12th c. 13th c. , possibly , Latinized 14th c. is not a period Welsh name; it is a modern invention combining the first element with the common last element <-gwyn>. The most similar period name that we found is , which was fairly common in your period. Some period spellings are: 10th c. [2] 11-12th c. or [3] 13th c. [2] 13th c. [4] 14th c. [2] is also found throughout your period, in the following spellings: 10th c. [2] 12th c. possibly [3] 13th c. [2] 14th c. [2] Although the elements , , and are all correct for your period, combining them as is unusual and may not mean what you think. If you named your father as , that would have been understood to mean "Maelgwn, son of Rhys." The Welsh did not use surnames in your period, so could not have been understood as your father's surname. As you've constructed your name, it would have meant "Sanan, daughter of Maelgwn who was the son of Rhys." If that's the meaning that you want, then it would be more typical to add the proper form of the word for "son" between your father's name and your grandfather's. Welsh spelling conventions changed considerably between 1000 and 1400. Depending on exactly when you set your persona, your name would have been written in different ways. Here are some typical spellings for different times in your period. A letter in parentheses is optional; sometimes it was used, sometimes it wasn't. 11th c. Sanant merch Mailcun map Ris Sanant merch Mailcun mab Ris 12th c. Sanant merch Mailgun mab Rys Sanant verch Mailgun vab Rys 13th c. Sanan(t) verch Maelgun (v)ab Rys Sanan(t) verch Maelgwn (v)ab Rys 14th c. Sanan verch Maelgwn (v)ap Rys Sanan verch Maelgwn (v)ab Rys Your name could also have been recorded in Latin in your period. In the 13th and 14th century, it might have been written Senana filia Maelgun filii Rys Senena filia Maelgwn ap/ab Rys We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have futher questions. Additional research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael Caermyrdin July 26, 1998 --------------------------------------------------- References: [1] "Littere Wallie" (ed. J. Goronwy Edwards; Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1940) [2] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966). [3] Lewis, Timothy. "A Glossary of Mediaeval Welsh Law (based upon The Black Book of Chirk)." Manchester: The University Press, 1913. [4] Jones, Thomas, _Brut Y Tywysogyon_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1941).