ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1697 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1697 ************************************ 10 Apr 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or is appropriate names for a French woman between 1000 and 1550. This is a brief answer to your question. Both names are fine choices for part of that period, but not for all of it. or was used in medieval northern France as both a masculine and feminine name. We've found late 12th to 15th century examples [1, 2, 4]. The final <-e> was pronounced in the Middle Ages, \nih-KOHL-@\, where \@\ represents the sound at the end of . The first surname, , means "from Alenc,on". The symbol represents a c-cedilla, i.e. a with a small hook hanging from it, pronounced \s\. Alenc,on, near the border of Maine and Normandy, was an important city in medieval northwestern France. The name is recorded as in 1226, but also as and in medieval French romances [5, 7]. Any of these spellings is appropriate for your name. The modern spelling is probably most appropriate if you set your persona at the end of your period. The second surname, "from Remi", is also fine [3]. We found a modern place whose name is recorded in 1098 as and , and in 1169 as [5]. These are all a little earlier than we can justify , but given the modern spelling of the placename, it seems reasonable to believe that or at least is appropriate for your period. In short, either or would be a fine choice for northern France from the late 12th century onward. 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 Walraven van Nijmegen, Talan Gwynek, and Caelin on Andrede. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 6 Apr 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Notes & References [1] 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 [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967), pp.117, 344. [3] could also be a patronymic. That is to say, it would have been used in a woman's name to mean "Remi's daughter". is recorded in Paris in 1292, and we believe that this sort of patronymic byname was used in northwestern France as late as the early 14th century, so this is a fine choice at least around the year 1300 [1, 6]. It wasn't the most common style of patronymic, though; would have been a more typical name. Either of these names could also have been used later in period, though after the mid 15th century the surnames would probably have been inherited rather than used literally to identify your father. [4] Jacobsson, Harry, _E/tudes d'Anthroponymie Lorraine les Bans de Tre/fonds de Metz (1267-1298)_ (Go:teborg: Gumperts Fo:rlag, 1955), pp.208-9. [5] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), III:17a, III:168a. [6] Selten, Bo, _The Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal Names_, 2 vols. (Lund, Sweden: Royal Society of Letters at Lund, 1979), I:51. This source documents patronymics in among the Anglo-Normans in the 13th and early 14th century. [7] Flutre, Louis-Fernand, _Table des noms propres avec toutes leurs variantes, figurant dans les romans du Moyen Age e/crits en franc,ais ou en provenc,al et actuellement publie/s ou analyse/s_ (Poitiers: Centre d'e/tudes supe/rieures de civilisation me/die/vale, 1962).