ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1519 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1519 ************************************ From: "S Friedemann" 19 Mar 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating a Byzantine feminine name with or as the given name and , , , or the authentic feminine form of for the surname. Here is the information we have found. Both and are fine feminine names. The first is found in the 6th and 7th centuries, and the second in 952. Either are authentic choices, depending on the period you choose. [1,2] Of the surnames, is found in the 10th century, in 717, and in 940. is found in 855; we are unsure of what the feminine form of this would be. [1,2] However, women in Byzantium did not use family names such as these until considerably later than the 10th century. Before then, a woman would have been known simply by her given name. Later, she would have used a feminine version of her father or husband's surname, and later still she might have kept her father's family name and appended her husband's, and might well have added in the family names of important relatives on either side of the family. [3] 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 Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, --Aryanhwy merch Catmael Caermyrdin March 19, 1999 --------------------------------------- References: [1] 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 [2] 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 [3] 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.