ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1705 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1705 ************************************ 9 Jun 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether , the name of the Arthurian knight, was ever used by real people in our period. Here is what we have found. As far as we can tell, it was not. Several characters named appeared in medieval Arthurian literature. The major one shows up with his name spelled , , , and . Other characters' names are spelled and [1, 2]. These last spellings suggest that the name might be derived from "black skin" or "black hair" [3]. Thus, it may originally have been a descriptive nickname, not a given name at all. 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 Pedro de Alcazar and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 9 Jun 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] West, G. D., _An Index of Proper Names in French Arthurian Prose Romances_, Univ. of Toronto Romance Series 35 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1978, ISBN 0-8020-5388-2). [2] Michel Pastoureau, _Armorial des chevaliers de la Table Ronde_ (Paris: Le Le/opard d'or, 1983), pp.148-9. Pellinor, king of Listenois, father of Perceval, Agloval, Lamorat de Galles, and Tor, bore the arms "Or crusily plain azure". Other sources give his arms are "Or crescenty azure" or "Purpure, a lion argent armed and langued vert." The sources for the arms are from the late 15th and early 16th centuries. [3] was an Old French word for "skin". The modern French surname derives from Old Frenhc "raised or erect hair". Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Pell. Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Pelve'.