ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1379 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1379 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* From: "S Friedemann" 31 Jan 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the names , , , , , , , or would be appropriate for a Cornishwoman who lived between 700 and 1350. You also asked for ideas on surnames. Here is the information we have found. Not all dictionaries of names are good sources for medieval re-creation. In fact, most of them aren't. A name-your-baby book, for example, is written for the purpose of giving parents long lists of varied, attractive names to consider. The author is probably not interested in how old the name is or how it was spelled in the 14th century; he's only interested in listing names. He will copy names from any useful source and might make up names to fill gaps in his lists. A name selected from a name-your-baby book is probably not a medieval name; even if it is, you need to check a more scholarly source to ensure that it is medieval. Here are some characteristics of dictionaries of names that are useful for medieval re-creation: * It gives dated examples of names. * It gives sources where the author found each name. Here are some characteristics typical of dictionaries that aren't helpful for medieval re-creation: * The title includes the word "Baby" or "Celtic" * It gives a meaning for each name. * Languages of origin are given with unscholarly terms like "Teutonic" or "Celtic". * There is no variation in spelling; i.e. every is spelled the same. Unfortunately, what we found on the names you asked about was not very promising. is a pet form of . We have found in England in 1346, in 1538 [5]. and the variant are still used in Cornwall today [1], but we have found no evidence that they were used in your period. Since the root name itself was introduced to England by the Normans, the feminine form was certainly not used until after the 11th century [1]. is derived the modern Cornish word , meaning "rose." [2] We can find no evidence that it was used as a name in period. In general, common words were not used as given names in the Middle Ages. or is said to be the name of a female saint born in Ireland who moved to Cornwall. Her name is believed to be the root of the place name [3]. We could find no other evidence of the existence of this saint or of this name, so we recommend you avoid it. is the Cornish word for "strawberry." For the same reasons as for , we recommend you use a different name. [4] , also spelled , was the name of a saint, the patron of Altarnon and Pelynt. [2] It appears to be an interpretation of the word "nun" as a personal name; again, we have not found any examples of this other than the saint, who is of dubious historicity. [2,3] is the name of a Welsh literary figure. However, we have no evidence that it was used by real people in period. [6] Over the 650 years you asked about, Cornish naming practices changed a great deal. At the early end of your period, before the Norman Conquest, Cornish names were similar in many ways to Welsh names, and a woman of that period would most likely have been known as her father's daughter. After the Norman arrival, Cornish naming was increasing anglicized. By the 14th century, Cornish names were largely indistinguishable from English names. Before we can advise you on choosing a name to fit your period, you need to choose a narrower period. Please write us again and we'll be happy to help further. One of our members is currently working on a short article on Cornish feminine names. When it's ready, you'll be able to find it at the Medieval Names archive, . It should be available within a few weeks. 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 Talan Gwynek, Walraven van Nijmegen, Arval Benicoeur, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Caelin on Andred. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael January 31, 1999 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). s.n. Thomas [2] Bice, Christopher, 'Three Hundred Cornish Christian Names'(Padstow, Cornwall: The Lodenek Press, 1975) [3] Padel, Oliver James, _A Popular Dictionary of Cornish Place-Names_ (Penzance, England: A. Hodge, 1988). [4] Sierra, Judy, _Celtic Baby Names: Traditional Names from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall & the Isle of Man (Eugene, OR: Folkprint, c.1997). [5] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) [6] Gruffudd, Heini, _Enwau i'r Cymry/Welsh Personal Names_ (Talybont: Y Lolfa, 1984). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Note by Arval, 12 Apr 2002: Further research on in report 2486.