ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1488 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1488 ************************************ 19 Feb 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether , in some spelling, is a historically-accurate 13th century Welsh man's name. This letter is a brief answer to your question. The name originated in Brittany and was imported to England by the Normans. In English, it is recorded in various spellings [1, 2]: Alain 1183 Alanus 11th-13th centuries (a latinized spelling) Aleyn 1440 Aleyne 15th century We did not find the spelling , and we think it is unlikely to have been used: The second vowel was pronounced \AY\, a sound which was not recorded as in either English or Welsh. We have not found any clearly Welsh examples of any form of in period. We have found examples in Welsh records [3, 4], but the men in question were Englishman living in Wales. It is possible that could have been adopted into Welsh -- many English names were, especially in the 13th and 14th centuries -- but we have found no evidence that it was, so we cannot recommend in any spelling as good re-creation of a medieval Welsh name. You may want to consider the similar-sounding Welsh name , , or [3]. is the modern spelling of a word meaning "hound keeper" or "huntsman". That spelling is not likely to have been used in your period. The word is recorded as , , and in 13th century English/Latin records, and as or in Welsh records of that period. Similarly, is the modern spelling of a name that is recorded in Anglo-Latin records as , , and , and in Welsh records as [4, 5, 6]. would be a fine name for your period. It means "Heilyn the Huntsman, son of Rys", and is pronounced \HAY-lin K@N-idh ahp HREES\. The symbol \@\ is a schwa, the sound of 'a' in and . \dh\ represents the voiced sound in . In English records, the same name might have been written . We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Teceangl Bach, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 19 Feb 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Alan. [3] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3", in Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 1991 (SCA: Laurel, Maryland, 1991). [4] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html [5] Lewis, Timothy, _A Glossary of Mediaeval Welsh Law (based upon The Black Book of Chirk)_ (Manchester: The University Press, 1913). [6] Jones, Thomas, _Brut Y Tywysogyon_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1941).