ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1121
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1121
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* NOTE: Later research turned up additional     *
*       information relevant to this report.    *
*       See the end of the letter for details.  *
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3 Aug 1998
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for information about the name <Tjo:rven>, a Scandinavian name
which you found on the web.  You want to use it for an 11th to 14th century
Norse persona.  (<o:> represents an o-umlaut, i.e. an <o> with two dots
over it.)  Here is what we have found.

You also asked us to supply other names which you could attach to your arms
when you submit them to the College of Arms.  We're sorry, but that's not
our business.  If you are interested in choosing a historically-accurate
name to use in the Society, we'll be happy to help you.  We have assumed
that this is the case.

<Tjorven> (without the umlaut) is the nickname of a character in a Swedish
children's book, _Vi pa* Saltkra*kan_ by Astrid Lindgren.  It is only a
literary name, and our Swedish member tells us that the rhyme with <korven>
"the sausage" gives it a somewhat derogatory connotation [1]. (<a*>
represents an <a> with a small circle over it, a letter in modern Swedish.)

Other than that book, we find no evidence that <Tjorven> or <Tjo:rven> is a
name, either in modern or medieval times.

We found a couple similar-sounding names that you may want to consider
using instead of <Tjo:rven>.  The feminine name <Torfa> is recorded in
early medieval Iceland; it is pronounced \TOR-va\ [2].  {Section deleted;
see below}


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 Lindorm Eriksson.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  3 Aug 1998


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References

[1] Lindorm Eriksson, private communication.

[2] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n
Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and
Kobenhavn: 1931).  

[3] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia
Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). 

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Correction, 22 Dec 2001, Arval: We originally wrote:

  The *masculine* name <Tjo,rvi> or <Tio,rfi> is found there as well, and
  although this name does not have a feminine form, the element <Tjo,r->
  could have been combined with the common feminine ending <-finna> [2, 3].
  Although we have no example of the name <Tjo,rfinna>, it is a plausible
  invention.  (<o,> represent an <o> with a reversed comma hanging from the
  bottom.  This is a letter in Old Norse, pronounced like the vowel in
  <four>.)  <Tjo,rfinna> is pronounced \TYOR-fin-na\.
 
This was an error: <Tio,rvi> almost certainly derives from the word <tiara>
"tar" and was converted from a byname to a given name.  Thus this name does
not support the use of <Tjo,r-> as a separable element.  We have found no
other example of <Tjo,r->, so the suggested <Tjo,rfinna> is not plausible.