ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1462 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1462 ************************************ 28 Dec 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the name , which you want to add to your name . This letter is a brief answer to your question. The name first appeared in southwestern France in the 12th century, where it was used by several Counts of Foix and of Be/arn. (The slash represents an accent on the preceding letter.) We have found examples of and in Provence in the 12th and 13th centuries, and it remained in use in this region at least until the late 14th century. The name was not introduced into France proper until the early 17th century, when Henry IV named his son [1, 2, 3, 4]. Therefore, unless you want to set your persona in southwestern France, we recommend against using this name. is the name of at least two towns in Normandy. While we can't say it would be impossible for a man whose family was from Valmont to be named , it does seem unlikely until after our period. We couldn't tell from your note whether you intend to replace by or to add as a second given name. We advise against using a second given name. Double given names or middle names were rare in most of France in most of our period. Unless you are trying to re-create a time and place where you know double given names were used, we generally recommend using only a single name, which was the normal style throughout our period. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. Research and comments on this letter were contributed by Blaise de Cormeilles, Margaret Makafee, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 28 Dec 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Chambers, Frank M., _Proper Names in the Lyrics of the Troubadours_ (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1971). [2] Tompsett, Brian, _Directory of Royal Genealogical Data_ (WWW: Privately published, accessed 20 December 1998). http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/public/genealogy/royal/catalog.html [3] "Foix" Britannica Online. [Accessed 22 December 1998]. http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/213/70.html. [4] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Gaston.