ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1110 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1110 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 25 Jul 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You have a friend who was interested in the name , and wanted to know where and when it was used in period. Here is the information we have found. was originally the name of a Greek mythological figure, but it was used in England in the 12th to 14th centuries, spelled as 1379 and 1182-1211, 1275, 1283, 1302-03, with a pet form of 1273, 1279 [1]. We have not seen it spelled with only one . Rather strangely, we have found no evidence that it was used by any other cultures in period. We can attribute the resurgence of in England to increased interest in Homer's *Iliad*, in which the Greek prophetess plays a role. [2] Before the late 14th century, the English rarely had inherited surnames like the ones we use today. Most people used bynames, or individual descriptive surnames that identified them based on family relationships, place of residence, occupation, or some personal characteristic. These names weren't permanent; the same person could be identified by different bynames in different circumstances. A 13th century Englishwoman named , the blonde-haired daughter of William the goldsmith who lived in Exeter, might be known at various times as: Cassandra William, "Cassandra daughter of William" Cassandra de Exeter, "Cassandra of Exeter" Cassandra la Fayre, "Cassandra the Fair" and perhaps many other things. A name which fits any of these patterns would be an appropriate match for in 12th to 14th century England. One of the best books on surnames in England that is widely available is the "Dictionary of English Surnames" by P.H. Reaney & R.M. Wilson. 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 further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Walraven van Nijmegen. In service to the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael Caermyrdin July 25, 1998 --------------------------------------------- References: [1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/reaney/. [2] E. G. Withycombe, _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd Ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988)