ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1585 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1585 ************************************ From: "Brian M. Scott" 18 Mar 1999 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to use the Langobard (or Lombard) given (first) name , and asked for help in finding a matching byname meaning 'the Knifesmith', specifically for the period 600-950. As you already know, is the name of two 7th century Langobard kings. [1] It appears in a variety of forms: [2] Rodoald Rodoaldus Rodualdus Rothald Rodaldus Rudaldus Since contemporary records were generally written in Latin, many of these have been fitted with the Latin grammatical ending <-us>, which is not actually part of the Langobard name itself; dropping the ending will turn any of them into a possible spelling of the Langobard name. Bynames were rare in your period, and occupational bynames seem to have been especially rare. We were not able to find one meaning 'knifesmith', either in Langobard or in any of the other contemporary Continental Germanic dialects. However, we do know that by the 9th century the noun 'smith' was being used as a given name. By its nature it must originally have been a byname, so we can safely assume that it could have been used as such in your period. [3] appears to be a very authentic Langobard name meaning 'Rodoald the Smith'. Given the relatively small amount of surviving evidence, it is possible that the Langobards had a specific term for a knifesmith and used it as a byname, but we have no evidence of this. Even if they did, it is quite likely that they also used the term generically for any sort of smith. Thus, is probably quite appropriate for a smith who specializes in the manufacture of knives. As I mentioned earlier, almost all documents in your period were written in Latin, and names occurring in these documents were often Latinized. On occasion, therefore, you might want to follow this medieval practice and write your name 'Rodoald the Smith'. Finally, please note that the name is , not (as you spelled it in your second letter and in your e-mail address). It is pronounced roughly \ROAD-wahld\ or \ROAD-wahlt\. Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn and Arval Benicoeur also contributed to this letter. We hope that it has been useful; if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write again. For the Academy, Talan Gwynek 18 March 1999 ===== [1] Woolf, Henry Bosley. The Old Germanic Principles of Name-Giving (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1939); pp. 224, 226. [2] Bruckner, Wilhelm. Die Sprache der Langobarden (Strassburg: Karl J. Truebner, 1895 [reprinted 1969]). [3] Schwarz, Ernst. Deutsche Namenforschung I: Ruf- und Familiennamen (Goettingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1949); p. 15.