ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1505 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1505 ************************************ 16 Mar 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You observed that is a Danish name, and asked whether was used as a masculine given name in Denmark between 1000 and 1500. You also asked whether place names were used in Scandinavian personal names, and you asked our opinion of your design for your arms. Here is what we have found. is indeed a period Danish name, a variant of the masculine . It appears as 1177, 1180, 1285, 1264, and 1308. Later in period, it tends to be spelled with an initial and/or a for the , i.e. in the 15th century [1]. We could not find as a given name in Danish or, indeed, in any real language. (It's the name of a character in Tolkein's books.) We found no examples of a final on any form of , and found no basis in Danish or Swedish for supposing that ending might be appropriate. is a reasonable late-period spelling of . If you are more interested in having a name similar to than in having a Scandinavian name, you might consider , a French name. It was the name of one of Roland's companions in The Song of Roland, and was used sporadically in France at least until the 14th century [2]. If that interests you and you'd like further help with a French name, write us again. Swedish place names could be incorporated into personal names in a number of ways. For small places, like villages, towns, or farmsteads, we found several constructions. One used the preposition , also spelled , , and : , [3]. The other is the unmodified place name: 1293 "Johannis called Fors", 1485. The adjective form of a town's name is also occasionally used: 1428, where means "person from Holm". The most common construction from the names of larger places is the adjective form: 1332, "person from Mo/re". Similarly, the surname means "from Skane", and means "from Tavastland". However, the unmodified place name is occasionally used: 1412 [4]. The last example was probably used by a man from Denmark who was living elsewhere. These forms ar eprobably appropriate in Denmark as well, but Denmark also offers another possibility: . This word was used in all the Old Low German languages to mean "from". For example, we found 1394, 1440, and other examples. This form seems ot be most appropriate with a German place name, but we found one example referring to in Norway [7]. Deciding which of these constructions is most appropriate for a particular place name may be tricky. If you want to build a surname from a particular place name, let us know what it is and we may be able to suggest appropriate forms. The arms you described (a shield split vertically, red and white, with a black eagle displayed at the center) can be blazoned "Per pale gules and argent, an eagle displayed sable." This is a fine design for Scandinavia in your period. Unfortunately, you won't be able to register it: It is too similar to the arms of the Holy Roman Empire "Or, an eagle displayed sable." You might consider one of these alternatives: Per pale gules and argent, three eagles displayed sable [5]. The eagles are arranged two side-by-side in the upper half of the field, and one centered in the lower half. Per pale gules and argent, three eagles displayed counterchanged. Here the eagles are white where they lie against the red field, red where they lie against white. One eagle is split down the middle. Argent, the dexter half of an eagle displayed sable. The charge is exactly what you'll get if you draw a normal "eagle displayed" and then erase everything on the right-hand side of the shield (as you look at it). A half-eagle is a charge found in Scandinavian and Polish heraldry [6]. 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 Pedro de Alcazar, Talan Gwynek, Alan Fairfax, Walraven van Nijmegen, Hartmann Rogge, Zenobia Naphtali, Margaret Makafee, Lindorm Eriksson, Rouland Carre, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 16 Mar 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Notes & References [1] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.n. Thuri. [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967). [3] _Sveriges Medeltida Personnamn_, Vol. 1- (Uppsala: 1967-. bd. 1, bd. 2 h. 9-10; Bloms Boktryckeri AB: Lund 1983 bd. 2), passim. [4] Mode/er, Ivar, _Svenska Personnamn: Handbok fo:r universitetsbruk och sja:lvstudier av Ivar Mode/er utgiven av Roger Sundqvist och Carl-Erik Thors med en bibliografi av Roland Otterbjo:rk som kompletterats och omarbetats av Sigurd Fries_, 3rd ed., Anthroponymica Suecana 5 (Lund: Studentlitteratur 1989, ISBN 91-44-29033-0). [5] One of the black eagles lies entirely on the red field. This might normally be considered a problem, since it is "color-on-color", i.e., it has low contrast against its background. However, there are examples of period arms with the same basic design, a divided field with a set of three charges, one of which is color-on-color. For example: Sire Roger le Rous, Per pale or and azure, three lions gules, from the Parliamentary (alias Great, alias Bannerets') Roll, c.1312; Danyel 'of Gloucest', Per fess sable and ermine, three lions or, CoA MSS c.1520. Chesshyre, Hubert & Woodcock, Thomas, _Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary_, vol. I (London: The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1992). [6] We have seen Swedish examples, but have been unable to find one to cite here. Polish examples can be found in Jo/zef Szyman/ski, _Herbarz: S/redniowiecznego Rycerstwa Polskiego_ (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1993), Mieszaniec: Gules, in fess the dexter half of an eagle and two roses in pale argent (p.189); Amadej: Gules, a demi-eagle argent crowned and holding in its beak a circlet Or (p.73). [7] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol II: Tilnavne (Copenhagen: 1949-64), s.nn. Bokwold, Berghe.