ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1891 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1891 ************************************ 28 Dec 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! As a followup to our previous letter [1], you asked how to combine the Arabic title "the teacher" with your given name. As in our first letter to you, our advice in this report comes with a strong warning: We do not have any examples from the culture you want to re-create, pre-millenial Andalusia, so we can't be sure that our suggestions are appropriate. With that caveat, here is what we have found. Arabic name construction was very flexible, so we believe you could use the title in a number of ways: * On its own: You could be addressed simply as . * In place of your given name: You could be called "The teacher, daughter of Joseph" * After your given name, as an occupational byname: * Before your given name, as a title: We've found historical precedent for each possibility, in examples of varying applicability to your situation. In the 11th and 12th centuries, Islamic women along the zone of contact with Christian cultures were often known by one or more bynames rather than their given names: and . Another example illustrates this practice even more clearly: "Fatima who is called Mubaraka and also Sa'ida daughter of Muhammed the son of Ahmad the son of Yahya" [4]. The example we cited in our previous report, a Jewish woman in medieval Cairo, followed the same pattern: She was identified by her occupation alone, without her given name [3]. In other cases, women's descriptive bynames were placed after their given names: <'A'isha al-Andalusiyya> "'A'isha the Andalusian" [5]. This is the standard usage for men's descriptive bynames, so it is probably also appropriate for women. However, titles may be different: Several sultans were known by names which put their titles first. For example, the 12th century sultan Saladin was properly known as "The King who bring Victory, Rectitude of the Faith, Joseph the son of Job" [2]. A late 12th century document refers to [6]. We do not know if this royal style was also used among the lower nobility. 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 Pedro de Alcazar, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, Talan Gwynek, Raquel Buenaventura, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasfryn, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum, Juliana de Luna, and Da'ud ibn Auda. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 28 Dec 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Academy of Saint Gabriel report 1786 http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?1786 [2] "Saladin" Encyclopędia Britannica Online. [Accessed 21 December 1999]. http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic?eu=66697&sctn=1 [3] Goitien, Solomon D., _A Mediterranean Society: The Jewish Communities of the Arab World as Portrayed in the Documents of the Cairo Geniza_, Vol III: The Family (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978). [4] Sublet, Jacqueline, "Nom et Identite/ dans le Monde Musulman", pp.97-108 in Bourin, Monique, Jean-Marie-Martin, and Francois Menant, eds., _L'Anthroponymie: Document de l'Histoire Sociale des Mondes Me/diterrane/ens Me/die/vaux_, Collection de l'E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 226 (Rome: E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 1996). [5] Unpublished research by Juliana de Luna [6] Halsall, Paul, "Medieval Sourcebook: Usmah Ibn Munqidh (1095-1188): Autobiography, excerpts on the Franks" (WWW: Internet Medieval Source Book, 1998). Accessed 22 Dec 1999. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/usamah2.html