ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1191 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1191 ************************************ 30 Aug 1998 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing a 14th or 15th century Irish name. You were interested in the given name , and a surname either related to your mundane surname or the profession of chandler. You also asked for suggestions for using a phoenix in your arms. Here is what we have found. is an English form of the Gaelic name or , pronounced \TAHR-lakh\ in your period. The \kh\ represents the rasping sound of the in Scottish or German . The spelling might have been used in English records in the 16th century [1]. is a fine Irish name for your period. If you'd like to consider some other possibilities, please write us again and let us know what sort of name you'd like. For example, what letter or sound would you like it to start with? We didn't find as an Irish surname, but we did find as a modern English form of the Gaelic family name , pronounced somewhere between \oh KEEN-a-lahn\ and \oh KWEEN-djuh-lahn\, respectively. It is recorded in English records around 1600 in several ways: , , , [2]. The contraction of the name to and then to seems to be a modern development. The surname reasonably common in England in your period, but we don't find evidence that it was used in Ireland. Fewer surnames are based on occupations in Ireland than in England; the ones that we do find in Ireland are based on culturally-important occupations of traditional Irish rural society: smith, bard, priest, wright. Highly-specialized occupations such as chandler tended to produce bynames only in urban societies where such specialization was more viable. It is not implausible that an Englishman surnamed could have moved to Ireland, where his family could have continued used his name; but we doubt there was a native Irish form of the name. We found these English examples from your period of bynames (descriptive surnames) meaning "chandler" [3, 4]. le Chaundeler 1319, 1332 Chaundeler 1341, 1379 Chaundelir 1327 le Chaundelir 1332 le Candelor 1301 le Candelere 1301 le candeler 1321 Candeler 1332, 1379 Shaundeler 1332 Candler, Candeler, or Chanler 1548 In the 15th century, the article would rarely have been used. If you want an Irish Gaelic name, then we recommend you avoid the unlikely surname and stick with the Gaelic names we've discussed above. The name would be a fine Irish name for your period. However, a Gael of your period would also be known as his father's son. If your father were named , then you could also be called and, most formally, . Your name could have been written in English records as . On the other hand, if you want to be a recent English immigrant to Ireland, or perhaps the son of an immigrant, then a name like would be a fine choice. If we understand you correctly, the heraldic design your described is "Per pale sable and gules, a phoenix within a bordure embattled Or." That design appears to be free of conflict with registered Society arms, but it may not be a good historical match to your persona. The phoenix was introduced into armory quite late in our period and was always rare, so we think it is very unlikely that the phoenix would have been used in native Irish arms in your period. We found a couple examples of phoenices in 15th century English heraldry, so if you choose to be an English immigrant to Ireland, using a phoenix is more plausible [5]. We found a few examples of charged low-contrast divided fields (with two colors as opposed to a color and a metal) in arms of your period. We found only a few examples of embattled bordures. Plain and engrailed bordures are most common, and some indented or wavy bordures show up, but embattled bordures seem to have been uncommon [6, 7, 8]. On balance, because you have a very unusual charge, an uncommon divided field, and an uncommon embattled bordure, we have to say that this design is not a great choice for your period. It's not impossible, but if you want arms that fit your period well, we suggest that you change the line on the bordure and consider either a solid field (one color) or a color-and-metal divided field with the phoenix counterchanged. If you'd like to consider other possible designs for your arms, a good place to look for ideas is the book _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ by Joseph Foster (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). This book was re-printed in softcover, and many Society heralds and local libraries own copies. It contains several thousand color drawings of period English arms, so it provides an excellent overview of period heraldic style in the British Isles. 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, Walraven van Nijmegen, Tangwystyl vz. Morgant Glasvryn, Zenobia Naphtali, Rouland Carre, and Aryanhwy Prytydes. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 30 Aug 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). [3] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Chandler. [4] Fransson, Gustav, _Middle English Surnames of Occupation, 1100-1350_ ( Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup, 1935), s.n. Chaundeler, Candeler. [5] The phoenix is rare in English and Continental heraldry. The first known English example of a phoenix is a badge of Henry VII. A grant to the Painters' Company of London, 1486, includes phoenix's heads in their arms and a full phoenix in their crest. Jane Seymour was granted a phoenix in a badge in 1536, and both Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots used phoenices as badges. Ralph Verney used one as a badge in the early 16th century. Rodney Dennys, _The Heraldic Imagination_ (New York: Clarkson and Potter Inc., 1975), p.181. James Parker, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982), s.v. Castle. J.P. Brooke-Little, _An Heraldic Alphabet_ (New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc., 1973). [6] Chesshyre, Hubert & Woodcock, Thomas, _Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary_, vol. I (London: The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1992). [7] Woodcock, Thomas, Janet Grant, & Ian Graham, _Dictionary of British Arms_, vol II. (The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1996). [8] Randall Holme's Book, temp Edward IV or Henry VI. Published as Barron, Oswald, "Randall Holme's Book", _The Ancestor_ vols. iii (1902), pp. 185-213; iv. 225-50; v. 175-90; vii. 184-215; ix. 159-80. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -