ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1835 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1835 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 13 Nov 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the feminine given names or or the surname , or , were ever used in the Middle Ages. Here is the information we have found. Before I start, I'd like to clarify the service that the Academy offers. We try to help Societyfolk in choosing and using names that fit the historical cultures they are trying to re-create. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that is 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. The only evidence we have that was used is indirect, second-hand evidence. There was a martyred Saint Amarantus whose cult was popular in Italy, specifically in Lazio, the region around Rome. As a result, Italians in that area used the names or (masculine) and (feminine). Our source doesn't date this usage, but we think it is likely that it dates back at least to late-period [1]. The surnames and are found in modern France; both derive from the name of Saint Amarantus, who was venerated at Vieux, in France [2]. This second citation suggests very strongly that the given name was in use in France, probably in the last few centuries of our period. However, it was certainly a rare name. The name or is first found in the 18th century [3]; we do not recommend it as an authentic medieval name. If you are interested in other names beginning with , though, we have a few we can recommend. Both and are found in England from the 13th century onwards. [4] Another possibility is 1282, found also as 1206, 1273, and 1303, 1549. Any of these names would be fine choices for an English persona. We could not find or any similar spelling in our sources. If you'd like more information on medieval surnames and naming practices, we suggest you read the following article, available on-line in our library: 'A Brief Introduction to Medieval Bynames' http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/bynames/ We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, and Catalana di Neri. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael --------------------------------------- References: [1]De Felice, Emidio. Dizionario dei Nomi Italiani (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1992). [2]Morlet, Marie-Therese, Dictionnaire E/tymologique des Noms de Famille (Librairie Académique Perrin, 1997). [3] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [4] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) [URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/reaney/].