ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1832 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1832 ************************************ From: "Brian M. Scott" 13 Dec 1999 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked whether would be an authentic name for a 15th century German woman. If turned out not to be an authentic 15th century German surname, you were interested in . You also asked about the arms 'Argent, on a bend purpure three mullets or'. With the very small change to your name would not be at all out of place in Germany, Denmark, or the Netherlands in the 15th century. was originally an epithet meaning 'of Magdala' (a place on the Sea of Galilee); its use as a given name stems from veneration of St. Maria Magdalena, especially after the discovery of her supposed relics in the 13th century. [1] In Switzerland we have an unusually early example of the name from the second half of the 12th century, and in Germany we have an example from 1346. [2, 3] We lack good sources for later-period German given names, but evidence from surrounding regions suggests that the name became increasingly common thereafter. In one survey of feminine names recorded in Kortrijk (Courtrai), Belgium, between 1391 and 1428, was the seventh most common, and occurs twice between 1400 and 1550 in documents relating to the guild of archers of Bruges. [4, 5] It first came into use in Denmark in the 15th century; citations include 1445 and 1480. [6] Its general use in Norway started a bit later, in the 16th century, but there are occasional examples going back to about 1350. [7] In Poland is found as early as c.1265, but the bulk of the available citations dates from the late 14th and 15th centuries. [8] On this evidence we have no doubt that the name was used in Germany in the 15th century at least in the forms and that are still used today. [9] However, we have not seen in a period German setting. The German surname has at least two origins, as a nickname from the season and as a patronymic based on the man's name . [10] (A patronymic byname is one that identifies its bearer's father.) It appears as early as 1225 in the form , and we have examples of the spelling from 1373 and 1395. [10, 11] Both spellings are still in use, and we have no reason to doubt that both were in use in the 15th century. Like , was also used in Denmark and the Low Countries in your period. We found a Belgian example, , from as early as 1273, and in Denmark the surname was in use by 1380. [12, 13] It is therefore likely that would have been an unremarkable name in much of Germanic Northern Europe in the 15th century. You also asked about the arms 'Argent, on a bend purpure three mullets or'. Apart from the use of purple, which was a very rare color in period armory, this coat is an excellent example of period style. Unfortunately, it conflicts with existing Society armory, so if you wish to register arms in the Society, you'll have to modify the design. [14] We recommend that in any redesign you replace the purple with another tincture. Until the beginning of the 15th century the tincture called in Old French and in Latin seems to have been an indistinct color somewhere between grey and brown. It was only in the 15th century that it began to be painted as what we would call purple, and it remained rare in heraldry right through the 16th century. [15] In particular, we've found no period German examples of the color. 'Argent, on a bend azure three mullets of six points or', essentially the same arms but with a blue bend instead of a purple one, is a very authentic design. (We've specified mullets of six points -- six-pointed stars -- because this is the kind usually found in period Continental armory; five-pointed stars are rather rare.) 'Argent, on a fess azure three mullets of six points or', which puts the stars on a horizontal blue stripe across the centre of the shield, is another very authentic design for 15th century Germany. To the best of our knowledge both of these coats are registerable with the SCA College of Arms. Walraven van Nijmegen, Zenobia Naphtali, Arval Benicoeur, and Blaise de Cormeilles also contributed to this letter. We hope that it has been useful and that you'll not hesitate to write again if you have further questions. For the Academy, Talan Gwynek 13 December 1999 ==== References: [1] Withycombe, E.G. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988); s.n. Madeline. [2] Socin, Adolf. Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch nach Oberrheinischen Quellen des Zwoelften und Dreizehnten Jahrhunderts (Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966); p. 91. [3] Bahlow, Hans. Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch nach schlesischen Quellen (Neustadt (an der Aisch): Degener, 1975); p.173. [4] Leys, O. 'De Oudste Vrouwennamen in Zuid-Nederland', in Vlaamse Vrouwennamen en Hollandse Naamgeving in de Middeleeuwen. Onomastica Nederlandica (Leuven: Instituut voor Naamkunde, 1959); p.28. [5] Luana de Grood. 'Flemish Given Names from Bruges, 1400-1600' (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996). http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/bruges/ [6] Knudsen, G., M. Kristiansen, & R. Hornby. Danmarks Gamle Personnavne, Vol. I: Fornavne (Ko|benhavn: 1936-48); s.n. Magdalena. (The stands for an with a diagonal slash through it.) [7] Kruken, Kristoffer, ed. Norsk Personnamnleksikon. 2nd ed. (Oslo: Det Norske Samlaget, 1995); s.n. Magdalene. [8] Taszycki, Witold, ed. Slownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych, 7 vols. (Wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy Imienia Ossolin'skich, Polska Akademia Nauk, 1965-1987); s.n. Magdalena. [9] Drosdowski, Guenther. Duden Lexikon der Vornamen, 2nd ed. (Mannheim: Dudenverlag, 1974); s.n. Magdalena. [10] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann. Etymologisches Woerterbuch der Deutschen Familiennamen (Limburg a. d. Lahn: C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-60); s.n. Winter. [11] Schwarz, Ernst. Sudetendeutsche Familiennamen aus vorhussitischer Zeit (Koeln: Blehlau Verlag, 1957); s.n. Winter. [12] Debrabandere, F. Kortrijkse Naamkunde 1200-1300, met een kumulatief familienamenregister. Anthrophonymica XXII (Leuven : Instituut voor Naamkunde, 1980); s.n. Winter. [13] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby. Danmarks Gamle Personnavne, Vol II: Tilnavne (Ko|bnhavn: 1949-64); s.n. Winter. [14] Anne Quinlan, 'Quarterly argent and vert, on a bend purpure three cinquefoils pierced or'; Mitchell of Middleford, 'Ermine, on a bend purpure three mullets of four points palewise or'. [15] Pastoureau, Michel. Traite/ d'He/raldique, 2nd ed. (Paris: grands manuels Picard, 1993); pp. 101-2. [The slashes stand for acute accents over the preceding letters.]