ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1916 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1916 ************************************ From: "Braddon Giles" 17 Jan 2000 Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name from 15th century Germany, and if we could suggest surnames appropriate for a printer in that period. You also asked for information about German heraldic design in this period. is an excellent name for your purposes. We find several records of this name: in 1389, 1390 and 1463, and the alternative spellings in 1420 and in 1458. [1] The represents an with two dots over it. We have found no surnames that relate directly to printing. By your period German surnames were mostly fixed and inherited, rather than descriptive. By this we mean that you might be known as because your father had the same surname, rather than because you were a smith. Although a 15th century German surname was not understood literally, it might have been inherited from an earlier generation that practised the same craft, so it is appropriate to look at the crafts from which the early printers were drawn. We will also discuss some names that come from the areas first associated with printing. Printing started in the region around Mainz and Strassburg, spreading by 1500 to over 200 centres thoughout Europe. [2] Locative surnames, based on the names of places, were used in many European languages. There are many such names in German. For instance, we found recorded in Mainz in 1342. The {sz} represents the letter ess-tzet, a combination of an 's' and a 'z' that in its modern form looks rather like a fancy capital 'B'. Because Frankfurt am Main was an early site of a twice-yearly book fair that is still being held, you might consider the surname . The (er) is optional. [3] Many of the first printers came from gold and silversmithing backgrounds. We think that it would be reasonable to expect an early printer to have an occupational byname from those trades, for example which was found from 1272 in Zurich, or from 1496 in Merseburg. [4] To sum up we think that any of , , or would be good names for your requirements. By the end of the 1500's some German armory was indeed very complicated. However older, simpler designs were still found. To see German armory from around 1340, just before your period, we recommend you view the online Zurich Roll of Arms at: http://people.delphi.com/ivanor/zroaen0.htm We also recommend this book: Siebmacher, Johann, _Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch von 1605_, 2 vols., ed. Horst Appuhn (Dortmund: Harenberg, 1988, 1989). This is an excellent source, but may be difficult to find. We hope that you find some design ideas from these sources. You will notice that most of the designs in the Zurich Roll are quite simple. If there are elements that interest you we would be pleased to help you make a final design. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write to 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 Raquel Benaventura, Talan Gwynek, Maridonna Benvenuti, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Arval d'Espas Nord, Amant le Marinier, Rouland Carre and Alan Fairfax. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook. 17/ Jan / 2000 _____________________________________ Bibliography. [1] Bahlow, Hans, _Deutsches Namenlexikon : Familien- und Vornamen nach Ursprung und Sinn erklaert_ (Frankfurt am Main : Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Verlag, 1985, 1990); Gregor. [2] Wiesner-Hanks, Merry, "The Infancy of Printing: The World of the Renaissance Print Shop" (WWW: University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, 1996), accessed 4 Jan 2000. http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Library/special/exhibits/incunab/incmwh.h tm [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960). s.nn. Stra{sz}burger, Frankfurt(er) [4] Ibid, s.nn. Goldschmied, Silberschmied