ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1726 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1726 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 8 May 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a mid- to late-16th century Frenchwoman. This letter is a brief answer to your question. If your aim is to find documentation for a name so that you can register it with the SCA College of Arms, we may or may not be able to help you. Documenting submissions isn't our focus: We want to help you to choose and use a name that fits the historical culture you are re-creating. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that it not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the College's needs. If your main goal is to register a particular name, then we may not be able to help you. was a very rare name in period French. The masculine form was used as early as the 13th century, but we have found only one example of the feminine form, in the late 16th century in Limousin [1, 2]. Your surname is an excellent choice [3]. The combination is a plausible choice, especially for late 16th century southwestern France; but we can't recommend it as the best re-creation. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 8 May 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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] Perouas, L., B. Barrie\re, B., J. Boutier; J.-C. Peyronnet, & J. Tricard, _Le/onard, Marie, Jean et les Autres: Les Pre/noms en Limousin depuis un Mille/naire (Paris: E/ditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1984), p.100. [3] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Danjou. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval, 26 Mar 2002: Fixed a typo, for .