ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1730 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1730 ************************************ 19 Jul 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an Irishman living before 1300. You also asked our opinion of your design for your arms, "Sable, chausse ermine a tree blasted and couped in chief a roundel Argent". Here is what we have found. You asked about the period 500 to 1300, which is too broad for us to discuss in detail. The language of medieval Ireland, Old Irish, came into use in the late 7th century. It remained in use through your period, though there were fairly substantial changes in the spelling. Re-creating names from before the Old Irish period is difficult and imprecise, so we'll focus on the later period. If you are interested in a 6th or 7th century name, let us know and we'll try to help you; but we should warn you that it will look completely different from anything you think of as an Irish name. is an English spelling of a name that was in early Old Irish, in the 10th to 12th centuries, and thereafter. The slash represents an accent on the preceding letter. It was a fairly common name throughout the Old Irish period, so it's a fine choice [1, 2]. The name was pronounced \BRAY-nahn\. is the late-medieval spelling of the Old Irish word for "white". It was a reasonably common byname, used in the sense "fair-skinned" or "fair-haired". In early Old Irish it was spelled , and in the 10th-12th centuries it was . It was pronounced roughly \FINN\. is a fine 13th century Gaelic name. If you want a name that would have been used before 1200, we suggest , and if you want a name for the 8th-9th century, we recommend . At any time in this period, an Irishman would have been known in formal settings as his father's son. Bre/nainn son of Domnall mac Coinn would have been called . We recommend that you choose a name for your father so that you can use a formal name in appropriate circumstances. You can find a list of common medieval Irish men's names on the web: 100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/irish100 You can find more information about the general structure of Gaelic names on the web, too: Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/ A Gael of your period is unlikely to have used heraldic arms: Armory was imported to Ireland by the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century, and wasn't adopted by the native population for some time afterward. It's not impossible that a late 13th century Gaelic chieftain might have used English-style heraldry, but the vast majority of Gaels, even among the nobility, would not have used arms. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use arms in the Society: Many Societyfolk use arms even though their personas would not have done so. Whether you use arms or not depends on how you think about authenticity and your persona. You can find a few thoughts on this issue in an article we've posted on the web: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.s-gabriel.org/faq/nonheraldic.html The arms you described can be blazoned "Sable chausse/ ermine, a tree couped and blasted and in chief a plate." Unfortunately, this design is not likely to have been used in the medieval British Isles. "Chausse/" appears in fairly late-period French arms, but we have seen no example in period British arms. The tree blasted is also a late-period innovation. Finally, the single roundel in chief is an unusual design, oddly balanced for medieval heraldry. If you decide to use arms, then we recommend you design arms that fit the style of medieval England. A tree in full leaf is a fine choice for the central charge, but we advise you to avoid a pictorial design. Your design has the appearance of a tree in a moonlit, snowy valley; this sort of abstract realism was not typical of medieval heraldic design. It may help you to look at a collection of medieval English arms, so that you can get an idea of the kinds of designs they used. A very good book for that purpose is Joseph Foster's _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). It contains several thousand color drawings of period English arms. Another helpful source is Compleat Anachronst #22 "Heraldry", which is available from the SCA Stock Clerk. 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 Rouland Carre, Zenobia Naphtali, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 19 Jul 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Bre/nain. [2] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976).