ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1836 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1836 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 24 Nov 1999 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if , , , , , or is an appropriate name for a 15th century French woman. Here is the information we have found. The first three names you were interested in, , , and , are all found in Paris in 1292. [1] However, of these three, only is a feminine name; both , from the Germanic , and , from the Germanic , are masculine names. [2] The question then with is how long it was in use; because a name was used in 1292 does not mean that it was used later in period. The name itself is a pet form of the Germanic name . [2] Forms of that we've found in France are 9th c., 11th c., 12th c, and, of course, 1292. The only form that we've found close to your desired period is in the 14th century. [5] We believe that this name was still in use a century later, so can recommend it for the early part of the 15th century. It is pronounced \AH-m@-LOHT\, where the \@\ represents the initial vowel sound in the word . is a Latin form of the Old French name . [3] We find it as and in the 13th century. [5] We are not sure if it was still in use in the 15th century. was originally used as a byname to indicate German descent, but it also appears as a given name, as in 1277, in the 13th century in Gascony [7], and in the 14th century in Foix. [6] It was a rare name, but we believe it should be fine for the 15th century. Your final name, , appears to be a typo for , found in 1086 and 1202 as . This is a Middle English name derived from the Old English <{AE}{dh}elgifu> [4]. We have no evidence that it was ever used as a French name. You asked for pronunciations on these names; however, since the majority of the names you asked about are not appropriate for your period, we have only included the pronunciation of . If you are interested in the pronunciations of the others, let us know which ones and these we will research the pronunciations for. 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 Arval Benicoeur, Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, Giles Leabrook, Adelaide de Beaumont, Catalana di Neri, and Blaise de Cormeilles. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael November 24, 1999 --------------------------------------- References & Notes: [1] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997) [URL:http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html]. [2] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987). s.nn. Alleaume, Amaury, Ame/lie [3] 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/]. [4] The {AE} represents the a-e ligature where the two letters are connected to form one letter, and the {dh} represents the letter edh, which looks like a backward <6> with a horizontal crossbar. [5] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967). p. 22 [6] Cateline de la Mor, "Names from Fourteenth Century Foix" (SCA: Trimarian Known World Heraldic Symposium, AS XXIX; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) [URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/foix.html]. [7] Seror, Simon, _Les Noms des Juifs de France au Moyen Age_ (Paris: Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1989).