ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1402 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1402 ************************************ 25 Dec 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or would be appropriate first names for an early-medieval Byzantine woman. Here is what we have found. The standard feminine form of is , which is recorded in Byzantium in the 6th or 7th century. might be a reasonable variant; the pair and is analogous to and , both of which are found in the early Middle Ages [2]. is not an impossible variant, since it simply adds the common Latin feminine diminutive ending <-ina>. That suffix is found in many early medieval Byzantine names of Latin origin, and indeed, is recorded in 10th century France [2, 7]. is not a Latin-origin name, but it was adopted into Latin fairly early. However, we cannot unequivocally recommend using . The only Greek example we have found of the name , in Crete in 1383, is a surname rather than a given name [3]. The source you read about feminizing masculine names was a discussion of surnames: The surname (originally meaning "son of Alexandros" and later simply a family name) would have become when used by a woman in late medieval Byzantium [1]. We do not think that is a plausible Greek form of the name. Substituting for in the second syllable and adding an in the last syllable both change the pronunciation significantly, and we can't find any evidence of similar changes in names of your period. The name is actually not related to ; it was originally a popular medieval French name [4]. If you particularly want to use the name , you might consider moving your persona to a later period: The French were among the participants in the Fourth Crusade who conquered Byzantium in 1204 and ruled it until 1261, and several women named were among the French who settled in the East [6]. In medieval Byzantium, women of the aristocracy were most often described by a single given name, without any surname. It would be perfectly authentic for your persona never to be called anything other than . When women needed to be distinguished further, they were described as their father's daughters or their husband's wives. For example, "Helena daughter of Artavasdos", "daughter of Ingerinos", , widow of a nobleman named . Family names began to appear in Byzantine records in the 8th century but did not become generally popular until the 10th century. Until much later in period, though, family names were used only by men; women were identified by a relationship to a man [5]. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Blaise de Cormeilles, Walraven van Nijmegen, Talan Gwynek, and Alan Fairfax. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 25 Dec 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Bardas Xiphias, "Personal Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the Later Byzantine Era" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/byzantine/introduction.html [2] Bardas Xiphias, "Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the 6th and 7th Centuries" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/byzantine/early_byz_names.html [3] McKee, Sally, _Wills from Late Medieval Venetian Crete 1312-1420_, 3 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1998, ISBN 0884022455), no. 752. [4] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Alice. [5] Cheynet, Jean-Claude, "L'Anthroponymie Aristocratique a\ Byzance" in Bourin, Monique, Jean-Marie-Martin, and Francois Menant, eds., _L'Anthroponymie: Document de l'Histoire Sociale des Mondes Me/diterrane/ens Me/die/vaux_, Collection de l'E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 226 (Rome: E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 1996), pp.267-294. [6] Villehardouin, Geoffroy, _La Conque^te de Constantinople_, ed. & trans. Edmond Faral (Paris: Socie/te/ d'E/dition Les Belles Lettres, 1961). [7] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three vols. (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), vol. II, p.16b.