ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1377 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1377 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 2 Jan 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wrote to us asking for information regarding an Irish feminine name , from any time in the SCA period. This is what we found. is a possibly-modern English spelling of a Gaelic name used in Ireland from the early Middle Ages through the end of our period. It was spelled up to 1200 or so, afterward, and pronounced roughly \MEHV\ [1]. We could find no example of the spelling , which is not a plausible spelling either in English or Gaelic, so we recommend you use one of the historical spellings. You told us that and are the names of places in Ireland. We couldn't verify that, but we assume you're right. They are certainly anglicized, not original Gaelic forms. If you can tell us where you found them, we may be able to find more information. Gaelic-speaking Irish did not generally use place names as surnames the way the English and French did. A woman in period Gaelic society was known as her father's daughter. was the Irish word for 'daughter' that was analogous to the word 'son'. For example, in the 14th century, Meadhbh the daughter of Connal would have been called "Meadhbh daughter of Connal". The change from to is required by Gaelic grammar; you can find the details and more information about Gaelic naming in this article on the web: Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/index.html If you want to be known as your father's daughter, you'll want to choose a name for your father. There's a list of common medieval Irish men's names on the web: 100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/irish100/ If you pick a few names that you like, we'll be happy to verify the correct grammar and pronunciations. There were Norman or English speakers living in Ireland from the 12th century onward. As early as the 14th century, some of them are recorded with surnames based on Irish places. A name like might be quite appropriate for an Anglo-Irish woman of the 14th century. However, we do not recommend a double surname like . We find no evidence of that sort of name in period Ireland [2]. 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, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook 2 Jan 1999 ------------------------------------------------------------------- References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] Newport B. White, ed., _The Red Book of Ormonde (From the=20 Fourteenth-Century Original preserved at Kilkenny Castle, with missing portions supplied from the Fifteenth-Century Transcript in the Bodleian Library)_ (Dublin: The Stationery Office, 1932). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 18 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n', like , the letters 'D' and 'T' do not lenite; so I changed the example from to .