Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 182

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 182

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/182

This is one of the Academy's earliest reports. We are not confident that these early reports are accurate. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here is the information we have on "Newton of the Twirling Rose" as a late-period English name.

The only "rules of naming" are based on what was done in the time and place you're interested in. If we can find that a name existed in your persona's culture, or at least that a number of similar names existed, then we can say that your name is historically plausible.

"Newton" wasn't used as a given name until the 1840's. (1) However, it was used as a last name in various forms since at least 1066.

There is no surname like "of the Twirling Rose" found in medieval history. Medieval names generally weren't poetic--they were simple descriptive terms given to people to differentiate them from other people with the same name. If you have two friends named "Dave," you'll probably call them "Big Dave" and "Small Dave," not "Dave Bloodwolf" and "Dave Goblinsbane." Medieval people weren't any different. With very few exceptions, metaphors weren't used to describe people. Even a name like "Drakenhand" doesn't mean, "He strikes with a dragon's hand," it means, "His hand looks like a dragon's claw." There are legendary heroes with names like "Richard the Lion-Hearted," but they are very few and very far between.

During the period you selected, English names transformed from bynames to inherited surnames. Before the 14th century, people were given names as convenient. In England, people began using inherited surnames (like the ones used today) between 1350 and 1450. Depending on your period and your location, you might have a byname ("de Neuton," meaning "person from Newton") or a surname ("Neuton," meaning "member of a Newton family.")

The last names "Newton" and "Rose" are both found in late-period England, and you could use one of these as a byname or surname. Common first names in the Middle Ages were much like common names now. "Geoffrey" is actually one of the more common names, and "William," "Edward," "John," "Henry," and "Robert" were also very popular. A good source for first names is the "Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names" by Withycombe, which can be found in many libraries.

Since you mentioned your device, we also looked it up. First, you should be aware that a heraldic rose doesn't look like a modern rose, which has been modified by several centuries of breeding. Before settling on a rose for your arms, you should find a herald (or heraldry book) and actually see a picture of a heraldic rose.

We found that arms with one blue rose on a silver background conflicts with a registered coat of arms. If you want to register your arms, you could use three blue roses on a silver background. This would be an excellent coat of arms from any period.

Arval D'Espas Nord, Rouland Carre, Margaret Makafee, Evan da Collureo, Lindorm Eriksson, and Zenobia Naphtali all contributed to this letter.

We hope this has been helpful. If you need further assistance, please let us know.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel