ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1906 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1906 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 14 Jan 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if is appropriate for a 14th century English nobleman. You also wanted to know if "Or, a sable gryphon segreant to sinister, a sable bordure engrailed," would be appropriate arms. Here is the information we have found. The earliest that we find the spelling is in the late 15th century; it appears to be primarily a Northern and Scots spelling. Spellings found in England in the 14th century are 1370, 1361, and 1372; the is an alternate way of spelling the \v\ sound. [1,2] While it is possible that the form was used in the 14th century, we recommend that you go with one of the attested forms instead. , in this spelling, is fine for your period; we find it in 1311. For the 14th century, we also found 1327, 1379, 1379. [3,4] would probably have been pronounced \STEH-v@n GIB-s@n\, where the \@\ represents the initial vowel sound in the word . Note that the given name was not pronounced like the modern \STEE-v@n\. Your choice for a name is fine; however, this type of surname was not typical for the nobility of your period. Surnames ending <-son> didn't show up in significant numbers until c.1300. In England, these surnames were initially associated with the lower classes, and tended to be associated with the peasantry. This makes a relatively unlikely surname for a 14th century English nobleman. Noblemen in your period usually had inherited surnames, such as a locative surname (identifying the bearer's home town), an Old French nickname, or patronymic of older Norman origin would be more plausible. [6] If you'd like help chosing a more appropriate surname for a nobleman, please write again and we'll be happy to help you. We also suggest the following article on bynames available on line: "A Brief Introduction to Medieval Bynames" http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/bynames/ Your choice of arms, "Or, a griffin segreant contourny within a bordure engrailed sable," is excellent. While animals facing to sinister are less common than those facing to dexter, we do have examples of both. [5,9] Bordures engrailed were also fairly typical of English arms. We believe you could register these arms with the SCA College of Arms. [10] 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 Talan Gwynek, Maridonna Benvenuti, Raquel Buenaventura, Margaret Makafee, Arval Benicouer, Rouland Carre, Giles Leabrook, Walraven van Nijmegen, Alan Fairfax, Blaise de Cormeilles, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael January 14, 2000 --------------------------------------- References & Notes: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). s.n. Steven [2] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.nn. Skinner, Stevenson [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Gibson, Gibbeson [4] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980). s.n. Gibb [5] However, with the griffin turned to dexter on your device, it would conflict with Alfonso de Castile, "Or, a griffin segreant sable." [6] Some examples: , from the French place named ; , from the English place named ; "beautiful skin," an Old French nickname; or , a patronymic derived from the Norman name . [7,8] [7] Galloway Roll (1300) in Brault, Gerald J., _The Rolls of Arms of Edward I_, Aspilogia III, 2 vols. (London: Boydell Press, 1997). [8] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.nn. Beaufront, Hamlin, Soothill [9] Neubecker, Ottfried, _Heraldry: Source, Symbols, and Meanings_ (Maidenhead, UK: McGraw-Hill Co., 1976). p. 266 [10] Papworth, John W., _Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials_, reprint (Five Barrows Ltd., 1977). pp. 341-43. Of the 75 entries, 16 are engrailed.