ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1637 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1637 ************************************ 12 May 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 14th to 16th century Scottish man of part-Danish ancestry living in southeastern Scotland. You also asked our opinion of your design for your arms, "Quarterly sable and gules, a mastiff's face argent." Here is what we have found. Starting in the late 14th century, there were two main languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the royal court and towns. Gaelic is the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots is closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. The search for period examples of Gaelic names is further complicated by the fact that Gaelic was rarely used as a written language in period Scotland. Records were kept in Latin or Scots, and Gaelic names were transformed to match the language of the document. is a modern English spelling of the Gaelic patronymic surname [1]. A patronymic is a surname that identifies you as your father's son. In period Gaelic, such surnames were used literally in Gaelic, i.e. a man was called only if his father's name was [2]. is pronounced \N#V-een\, and the patronymic is \mahk N#V-een\. The slash in the name represents an acute accent on the preceding vowel. The symbol \#\ represents a vowel not used in English, but similar to the in . More precisely, position your lips to say the vowel in , but instead say the vowel in . The earliest examples we found of forms of are both recorded in 17th century Scots documents: 1623 and 1638 [1]. These are Gaelic names recorded in Scots spellings, probably and . However, we've found much earlier examples of the root name, . It is recorded in various Latin and Scots spellings [3]: Neuynus 1364 The first here and in the next example Neuen 1392 represent a \v\ sound. Nevin c.1426, 1473 Niven 1513 Nevin 1529 We think is a fine surname to use if you want a 14th to 16th century Gaelic name. However, you specifically asked for a name appropriate for the southeast of Scotland, which is in the Lowlands. A Gaelic name would not have been used there. If that location is important to you, we recommend that you choose a Scots surname [4]. We're afraid that is not appropriate anywhere in Scotland in your period. It is an early-medieval Old English literary form of an Old Danish name , which had cognates in Old German , Old Swedish , and Old Norwegian . {dh} represents the letter edh. Another Old German form, , gave rise to Old French ; both of these were taken to England by the Normans. There does not seem to have been a native Old English form of the name [5, 6, 7]. appears to have been introduced to Scotland by the Normans in the 12th century, with developing toward the end of our period [8]. Thus, would be a fine Scots name throughout your period and in the 16th century. We're afraid that is impossible: The initial is not found in any language spoken in Scotland in your period. We should note that your example does not actually illustrate any Danish connection [11]. is a Scots rendering of the Gaelic name . That name was originally adopted into Gaelic from the Old Norse , but that happened before the 12th century [12]. By your period, it was an old Gaelic name and implied no Scandinavian connection at all. Unfortunately, we can't suggest an authentic Scottish name similar to . The elements just don't fit together. If you'd like to consider a different name, we'll be happy to help you. You could choose a Gaelic name, a Scots name, or even a Danish name. If you particularly want a name that shows Danish influence, you may consider moving your persona to the Northern Isles -- the Orkneys or Shetlands -- which were ruled by Denmark until the 1460s. Your arms also present some problems. The mastiff's head is a fine charge, used in arms from the first centuries of the existence of heraldry [9]. However, it appears in profile in every example we've seen, like most animal's heads. This may be because a dog's head drawn in profile is far easier to distinguish from other beasts' heads than if it were seen from the front. Fields divided of two dark colors are rare in period armory and especially rare in period Scottish arms [10]. If you want to quarter your field, we strongly recommend that you use a light color (a "metal" in heraldic jargon) as one of the components. It was also rare for a single charge to be placed at the center of a quartered field; it was more often placed in the upper-left quarter. These are pretty drastic charges to your design, but the result would be an excellent piece of re-creation: Quarterly gules and argent, in dexter chief a mastiff's head argent. In this design, the dog's head faces to dexter (to the left as you look at it). 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 Talan Gwynek, Elsbeth Anne Roth, Fergus Stout, Caelin on Andrede, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Zenobia Naphtali, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 12 May 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Macniven. [2] is simply another modern variant spelling of the surname. It has nothing to do with the word or the name . was originally a diminutive of 'saint'. [3] Black, s.nn. Macniven, Achres, Donaldson, Waterleader, Mackenna, Hair. [4] In the 16th century, some Gaelic patronymics evolved into Scots family names. We have no evidence, though, that was one of them. [5] Danmarks Gamle Personnavne. I: Fornavne. G. Knudsen, M. Kristensen, & R. Hornby, eds. (Copenhagen, 1941-48). [6] Reaney, P.H. & R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (London: Routledge, 1991). [7] Forssner, Thorvald. Continental-Germanic Personal Names in England in Old and Middle English Times (Uppsala: K.W. Appelbergs Boktryckeri, 1916), s.n. Rodger. ...with the exception of in Beowulf, which is the name of a Danish king, no other instances are found till [after the Norman Conquest]. [8] Black, op. cit., s.n. Rodger, Rodgers, Rodgerson. [9] Brault, Gerard J., _Early Blazon: Heraldic Terminology in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries with Special Reference to Arthurian Heraldry_, 2nd ed. (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1997), pp. 68, 145-6, 240 and figures 168-70. [10] Schweitzer, Leslie A., and David Hunter of Montlaw, "Late Medieval Scottish Heraldic Design", Proceedings of the XXIII International Conference of Genealogy and Heraldry Sciences, 1998 (forthcoming). [11] Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Iain, _The Highland Clans_, revised edition (New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1982), p.181. [12] Black, op. cit., s.n. Torquil.