ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1667 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1667 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 9 Jun 1999 Revised: Mon Aug 2 13:36:46 EDT 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a name for a woman of mixed Norse and Scottish Gaelic parentage in the Middle Ages, living near Dumbarton sometime after the 9th century. Here is what we have found. As we discussed previously, your name should be entirely in one language, regardless of your parents' origins. If you lived in an area of mixed culture, people might have used a version of your name in each language, but they would have used only one language at a time. We offered to suggest some women's names that we've found in both Gaelic and Norse and suggestions how to build a name around one of them. The rest of this letter will deal with that possibility. We found a small selection of Old Norse feminine names that were adopted from Gaelic [1, 2]. We can't prove that the Gaelic forms were used in Scotland, but it is not unlikely that they were. Old Norse Gaelic E{dh}na Eithne Ka{dh}li/n Caitli/n (not used until the 12th century) Kormlo,{dh} Gormflaith Melkorka *Ma/el Corca Myrgjol Muirgel My/ru/n Muirenn The slash represents an accent on the preceding letter. represents an 'o' with a hook hanging from the bottom that's shaped like a backward comma, pronounced like the vowel in . {dh} represents the letter edh, which is written like a backward '6' with a crossbar on the upright, and pronounced like the in . An * at the beginning of a name means that it is hypothetical: We believe it may have existed, but we have not found an example. We can suggest two other pairs of similar-sounding names that existed in Gaelic and Old Norse, though they do not appear to have been related: and , and and . In both Gaelic and Old Norse, people were usually identified as their fathers' children. For example, an early medieval Gaelic woman Muirenn, daughter of , would have been known in Gaelic as "Muirenn daughter of Tadc". The change in spelling of the father's name is required by Gaelic grammar. If the same woman interacted with Viking culture, she might be known to them as . In order to construct a name of this type, you'll need to choose a name for your father. Here is a list of some Gaelic masculine names which were adopted into Old Norse [1, 2]: Old Norse Gaelic Bekan Becca/n Bja{dh}achr Bu/adach Bri/a/n Brian Brja/nn Brian Dofnakr *Domnach [3] Dufan Duba/n Dufgall Dubgall Dufgu/ss Dubgus [3] Dufnall Domnall Dufniall Domnall Duf{th}akr Dubthach Dunga{dh}r Du/nchad Dungall Du/ngal Gilli Gilla Ka{dh}all Cathal Kalman Colma/n Kjallakr Cellach Kjaran Ciara/n Kjarfalr Cerball Kjartan Cerdda/n [3] Kjarvalr Cerball Kona/ll Conall Korma/kr Cormacc Kva/ran Cuara/n [4] Ky/lan Ca/ela/n Madda{dh}r Maddad [5] Marga{dh}r Murchad Meldu/n Ma/el Du/in Melk/olmr Ma/el Coluim Melmari Ma/el Maire Melpatri/kr Ma/el Pa/draig Melsnati Ma/el Snechta [5] My/rkjartan Muirchertach [8] Nja/ll Niall Ta{dh}kr Tadhg If you pick a name for yourself and one for your father, we'll be happy to fill in the correct grammar and pronunciation in each language. Gaelic grammar and pronunciation are particularly tricky, so we recommend you check back with us. Dumbarton was the capital of Strathclyde, a non-Gaelic kingdom which spoke a language more akin to Welsh than to Gaelic. The Vikings sacked Dumbarton in 870, and the kingdom of Strathclyde collapsed in the 10th century. Strong Gaelic influence in the area probably dates from this time. Place names in the vicinity of Dumbarton show mixed Gaelic and Norse character, and Gaelic influence was even stronger to the northwest in Dalriada and Argyll. Based on all the evidence, our best guess is that Norse/Gaelic cultural mixing was most likely in the mid-10th to 11th century [6, 7]. 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, Margaret Makafee, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Lindorm Eriksson, and Effrick neyn Kenneoch. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 9 June 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [3] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976). We found no example of a name , but we did find which suggests that may have existed. [4] O/ Riain, Pa/draig, ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1985). [5] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Maddad, Malsnechte [6] Crawford, Barbara E., ed., _Scandinavian Settlement in Northern Britain_ (New York: Leicester University Press, 1995), fig. 3. [7] Nicolaisen, W.H.F., _Scottish Place-Names_ (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd., 1989). [8] In the original version of this report, we speculated that was a Norse adaptation of a hypothetical Gaelic name . We have now found a source that says it is actually derived from the attested Gaelic name . Magnus Magnusson and Hermann Pelsson, translators, _Laxdaela Saga_ (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1969). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 18 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n', like , the letters 'D' and 'T' do not lenite.