ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1196 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1196 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 29 Aug 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be a masculine name used by a Gaelic-speaking person between 800 and 1200. You also asked for information on what Scottish arms were like. Here is the information we have found. is a later-period form of a Gaelic name which we would expect to be spelled in your period [1]. was the name of three Pictish kings, found specifically in 693 and 858. [2] In Gaelic sources, this name appears as [3], and it survived into modern Scottish Gaelic as . [2] For a Gael, or would be a fine name. [1] There is one small thing that we'd like to mention, though. The name of one of the Gaelic kings was (where the slashes represent accents over the previous letters). [1] In modern English he is known as . While and are different names, some modern sources have incorrectly cited the king's name as . [4] If you wish to submit , the College of Arms may see a conflict with the king's name. We suggest that you note in your submission that and are different names and that this name is *not* the same name as the Scottish king Kenneth MacAlpin. The earliest examples of heraldic arms were in France in the late 12th century. Therefore, it is impossible that an early period Gael would have had arms. Of course, many Societyfolk use arms even though their personas would not have done so. For a few thoughts on how to resolve Society custom with historical accuracy, you could read our article "What Do I Use for Arms if My Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms?", available on the web at: http://www.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/faq/nonheraldic.html 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 Benicouer, Teceangl Bach, Talan Gwynek, and Effric neyn Kenneoch. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael Caermyrdin August 29, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Alpin [3] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "A Consideration of Pictish Names" (Y Camamseriad, Issue 4, Summer 1996, pp.29-56; WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996) . [4] Morgan, Peadar, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989).