ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1332 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1332 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 14 Nov 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help finding a variation of the masculine name that used in England between 1300 and 1450, and would be compatible with the surname . Here is the information we have found. is a modern form of a name spelled and in the 15th century, which in turn are short forms of the Dutch name . and its variants were imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century, and we think it is unlikely that it was used much earlier. If you set your persona at the very end of your period -- around 1450 -- then either of the documented spellings is plausible. is an English spelling of the common Welsh first name . We found it as early as 1295 in the name of a Welshman, . In this case, was David's father's name. The name appears in English records in various forms in your period and afterward: , in 1415, 1524 [1,2]. Each of these names could have been used in England around 1450, but we think they are unlikely to have been combined. was a recently-introduced Dutch name; was a Welsh-derived surname. While it is possible that a mid-15th century Welshman surnamed might have named his son , we don't think it's very likely. If you're interested in the sound and spelling of the surname, we would like to suggest that you consider the Dutch name [3]. A man named "Diederik, son of Grifoen" might have been known in England as or . 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, Walraven van Nijmegen, Talan Gwynek, Alan Fairfax, and AElfwyn aet Gyrwum. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael November 14, 1998 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Griffith [2] --, "The Agincourt Honor Rolls", _Family Chronicle_ (WWW: Family Chronicle, 1997) http://www.familychronicle.com/agincort.htm [3] Luana de Grood, "Flemish Given Names from Bruges, 1400-1600", (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996) http://www.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/docs/bruges/ [4] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Derek