ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1748 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1748 ************************************ 6 Jul 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an 11th to 15th century Welsh woman. Here is what we have found. The given name you've chosen, , is one that we have not found used by real people. Otherwise, your name is a good choice, generally appropriate for most of your period. The specific spellings you've used aren't consistent: Some are standard modern Welsh, others are from 13th century English legal documents. The written Welsh language changed markedly over the four centuries you specified, so we can't suggest a single correct spelling for your entire period. If you can narrow your timeframe, we could suggest an appropriate, consistent form of your name. Setting aside the given name, the elements of your name are most appropriate to the middle part of your period, the 13th or 14th century. is a modern spelling of a name that appears in medieval Welsh literature as and . The name seems to be unique to this character, who is associated with Gwenhwyfar (Guenivere), in one source identified as her sister. We have found no example of used by a real person, so we recommend you choose another first name. You might consider , which was a perfectly ordinary name in medieval Wales. It was also spelled and in 13th and 14th century Welsh sources [1, 2]. Or you might look at the 13th century Welsh name list in this article: A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html "fair head(ed)" is recorded in the masculine name 1292 [3]. In a woman's name, the initial

would lenite (soften) to : . This change in pronunciation and spelling is required by Welsh grammar. The modern Welsh word "daughter" was usually spelled in Welsh documents of our period [5, 6]. The modern spelling appeared in Welsh-language contxts in the 15th and 16th century, but was still more common. is a fine choice for your father's name. This is the most usual medieval Welsh form of the name , and we have found examples as late as the 14th century [4]. is the modern spelling of this word, which means "happy". It appears in English records as and in the 14th century, in the late 16th [7]. Records in medieval Wales were written in Welsh, Latin, or English. Certain spellings are found in each language at various points in history. The number of possibilities between 1100 and 1500 is too large for us to list all of them; if you pick a fifty-year timeframe and tell us what given name you'd like to use, we'll be happy to suggest appropriate spellings of your name. 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn and Mari Elspeth nic Bryan. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 29 Jun 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Bromwich, Rachel, _The Welsh Triads_ (University of Wales Press, 1978), p.380ff. [2] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985), s.n. Gwenhwyfar. [3] ibid., s.n. Pen. [4] ibid., s.n. Morgan. [5] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html [6] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales" (WWW: J. Mittleman 1998). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/ [7] Morgan & Morgan, op. cit., s.n. Dedwydd.