ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1270 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1270 ************************************ 17 Oct 1998 From: Braddon Giles Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for our help choosing a name for a Highland Scottish woman of the 15th or 16th century, and asked if is correct. Here is what we found. In your period, there were two languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands and the towns. Gaelic is the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots is closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. We're not sure what you meant by 'merchant class'. There were merchants in the Gaelic speaking parts of Scotland, but they appear to have been for the most part small entrepreneurs, perhaps more akin to the English chapman or peddler. If you mean something like a definable social class in the modern sense, however, you're talking about Scots speaking townsmen, a member of the guild in a burgh. In Scotland a town (burgh) had only one actual guild, which was what might in England have been called the Merchants' Guild. Major merchant activity was forbidden to non-guild members, and burghs had monopolies on trade in their regions. In this letter we will discuss Gaelic names; however if being 'merchant class' is more important to you than being a highlander, please contact us again and we can talk about Scots culture names. is an misspelling of the Gaelic name . The only example of a medieval spelling we have is , found in the name of a Scottish Highland woman in a 15th century Gaelic manuscript [5]. is the standard modern spelling [4], and we think it is reasonable to speculate that this spelling may also have been in use in the 15th - 16th centuries. In both spellings, the name is pronounced \EHL-@-s@tch\, where the \@\ represents schwa, the first vowel sound in . This name is a Gaelic borrowing of the Scots names or [1]. You are on the right track in choosing the rest of your name: Gaelic women were generally known as their fathers' daughters. Women's patronymic bynames (surnames that identified their fathers) were constructed with the Gaelic word meaning "daughter". You misspelled it in your letter. In Scotland in your period, this word was pronounced \NEE-yen\. is a Scots spelling of the Gaelic name , pronounced \LAHKH-lahn\. The \KH\ represents the sound of the in or the German . In your byname, your father's name needs to be in the possessive form: you are "Lachlann's daughter". The possessive form of is , pronounced pretty much the same as the name itself. Therefore, a correct Gaelic form of your name is , pronounced \EHL-@-s@tch NEE-yen LAHKH-lahn\ [2]. Gaelic was rarely used as a written language in Scotland in period, so if your name had been written down, it would probably have been in Scots. It might have been written , please write back if you want to know some of the other spelling variations of the written Scots form of your name. We're not sure how much heraldry was used in the Highlands. Some clan chieftains and their immediate relatives used arms, but little other evidence exists. Heraldry was definitely far less common in the Highlands than in the Lowlands, where heraldry flourished [3]. Of course, many Societyfolk use arms even though their personas wouldn't have done so. What you choose to do depends on how you think about your persona and authenticity. You can find a few thoughts on the subject in this article: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/faq/nonheraldic.html If you decide to design arms, we suggest that you look at either Compleat Anachronist #22 or _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ by Joseph Foster, (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). The Academy of Saint Gabriel can also assist you in this area, however we would need a hint as to what you wanted on your arms. I hope this letter has been useful. Please write to us again if any part of the letter has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Arval Benicoeur, Zenobia Naphtali, Effrick neyn Kenneoch and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook 17 Oct. 98 ------------------------------------------------------------------- References [1] Arval Benicoeur, _Some Scottish Gaelic Feminine Names_ ,(WWW, J.Mittleman, 1998) http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/scotgaelfem/ [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.n . [3] Campbell of Airds, Alastair, Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms, "A Closer Look at West Highland Heraldry", _The Double Tressure_ (#19). [4] Morgan, Peadar, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989). [5] A photograph of the "1467 MS", a Gaelic genealogical manuscript, which is shelf-marked 72.1.1 in the Scottish National Library. Colm O'Boyle has kindly helped with our transcriptions from this manuscript.