ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1552 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1552 ************************************ 21 Feb 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked several questions about 16th century Norman names. You posted the same questions on the newsgroup rec.org.sca, and one of our members replied. We don't have much to add to his reply. Here's a quick recap with a few extra details. 1) Are they Primarily (firstname/Lastname) or (First/middle/last) or can be either in naming practice. Two elements names, , are much more common than three-element names, even that late in our period. 2) The Name I am looking at is: {first} Tristan or Tristram (preferably Tristan) {middle} Alfans (if used) {Last} La Rochenoire 4) I understand Tristan/Tristram is foreign to France but with Norman influence was hoping it may be acceptable. is the form of the name used in France. It is not foreign to France. In fact, it originated in medieval France romances and was used as a normal name as early as the late 12th century. It is recorded in the Paris census of 1292. is an English form, so it wouldn't be a good choice for you [1, 4]. Middle names were quite rare in 16th century France, so we recommend you use only one given name. 3} If last/surname is acceptable would it be "du La Rochenoire" or would it be ok as is. French surnames based on place names were constructed with the preposition "of". is a contraction of . is a reasonable surname. There is a modern place in France, but it's in Puy-de-Do^me, in central France, not in Normandy. There could be other places with the same name, of course. The general form of the place name is fine. As you noted, the similar is recorded in 16th century Normandy, and there was a similarly-formed in existance as early as 1200 [2, 3]. 5) I have found refence to "La Roche" on your site but still hoping for the best with "La Rochenoire". I found "La Rochenoire" at the given website below. That is also where i found reference to "Tristan" being used as a French name but noted as Foreign. www.fairacre.demon.co.uk/Europe-Western/France/index.htm This page is part of Kate Monk's Onamastikon, which provides lists of names for gamers. It is not a reliable source for pre-1600 names. In summary, is probably a fine name for your period. However, we didn't find a place in Normandy; your name would be somewhat better re-creation if you used an actual historical place in Normandy as the basis for your surname. We hope this brief 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 Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 20 Feb 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Tristan. [2] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963), pp.569-71. [3] Cateline de la Mor, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/norman16.html [4] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html