ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1696
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1696
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From: Cardinal Ximenez 
21 Jun 1999

Greetings,

Here's what we were able to find out about <Jehannette Chante la
Nuit>, which you wanted to use as a 16th-century French name, and 
about using a lioness in arms.

Although you didn't ask about <Jehannette>, we did some research on
it.  We found one source that has several examples of <Jehannete> and
<Jehennette> in the 14th and 15th centuries. [1] However, sometime
later <Jehanette> became the modern <Jeanette>.  The only study of
16th-century French names we have shows that <Jeanne> was used rather
than <Jehanne>, [2] but it is possible that some people still used the
older form.  Thus we're not sure whether <Jehanette> is appropriate for
the 16th century.  It becomes increasingly unlikely later in the
century.

Unfortunately, <Chante la Nuit> is not consistent with any pattern of
surname formation that we've seen in period French.  We found <chante>
and <nuit> in some kinds of surnames, but we didn't find any way to
create a plausible historical name that combined the two.

We only found one name that includes <nuit>--the name is spelled
<Neyrnuyt>, <Neyrnuit>, <Neyrenuit>, <Neyrenut>, and <Neyrenuit> (all
these spellings are from one source that is dated 1242-3). [3] It
derives from the Old French <neire nuit> or "black night."  

We found many names that included <chante>; we've listed them below.
Some of them can be dated to the 14th or 15th century and are still
used today; [1] for the rest, we only have modern examples but we're
almost certain that they are appropriate for your period as well. [3]

<Chanterel>             "singer"                1384, 1404
<Lechanteur>            "singer"
<Chantagut>             "sings sharp"
<Chantebeau>            "sing beautifully' 
<Chanteclair>           "sings loudly, clearly'
<Chantemesse>           "sings (the) mass'
<Cantagrel> (south) 
<Cantagril> (north)     "Sing, Cricket!"
<Chantemerle>           "sing, blackbird!"      1438
<Chanteraine>           "Sing, tree frog!"      1378, 1459-60
<Cantaloup>             "sing, wolf!"
<Cantecor>              "sing, horn!" which was used for a hunter
<Chantecaille>          "sing, quail!"
<Chanteoiseau>          "sing, bird!"
<Chantepie>             "sing, magpie!"
<Chantalauze>           "sing, lark!"
<Chantaduc>             "sing, owl!"

Given all these examples, you might be wondering why <Chante la Nuit> or
<Chantenuit> couldn't also be a French name.  The answer is that all but
the first few names relate to things that sing.  The first two names mean
"singer." <Chantebeau>, <Chantagut>, and <Chanteclair>, describe the way
that the person sings.  <Chantemesse> is an occupational name. We have
found no example of a surname in which <chante> refers to when someone
sings, and we don't have any evidence to show that it might be the sort of
idea that would have been expressed in a French name. 
 
Although we can't find anything that sounds like <Chante le Nuit>, we
think that it's plausible that <Chantaduc>, "sing, owl!" would be
appropriate for a person who sings at night.  (The spelling
<Chanteduc> would be just as good.)  The name <Jehanette Chanteduc>
would be an appropriate French name for any period after 1200
(although, as we mentioned, <Jeanette Chanteduc> would be increasingly
likely after 1500).  You should know that after 1400, the French
generally used inherited surnames, so that (just like modern people)
their last names did not describe them individually.  A 16th-century
French person named <Chanteduc> was no more likely to be a singer than
a person with any other surname.

We didn't find any examples of lionesses in period heraldry.
Generally, female animals were only used in heraldry if they were
traditionally given specific attributes that were different from the
male animal.  We suggest that you look up a medieval bestiary and see
whether it describes lionesses; if it does, then it is reasonable that
a lioness could have been used in late-period heraldry.  We looked in
one bestiary [4] and didn't find any useful references to lionesses,
but more research might uncover more information.  Since we didn't
find a lioness in armory, we recommend that you use a different charge.

Miguel Santos de Borja, Walraven van Nijmegen, Aryanhwy Prytydes verch
Catmael Caermyrddin, Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, and Zenobia
Naphtali contributed to this letter.

We hope that this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist
you.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel

[1] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de
personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens,
Musee de Picardie, 1967). 

[2] Elliot, Triste, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (WWW: 1997)
Accessed May 27, 1999.  Available at
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/norman16.html

[3] Dauzat, Albert, _Les Noms de Famille de France_ (Paris: Librairie
Guenegaud, 1988), pp. 108-109 passim.

[4] White, T.H.  The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts (New York: G.P.
Putnam's Sons, 1954).