ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1931 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1931 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 2 Feb 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked about the Welsh , and wanted to know if it was ever used without a suffix as a feminine name between 500 and 1400. If not, you wanted to know with what suffixes it was used. Here is the information we have found. Over the 900 year period you asked about, the history of the Welsh language is divided for convenience into three major periods. In the first period, from c.500 to c.1100, the language is known as "Old Welsh." From c.1100 to c.1300, it is "medieval Welsh." It is in the 13th and 14th centuries that we see the birth of modern Welsh, still spoken in Wales today. Though is an element in Welsh, we have not found as a name by itself in Welsh. We also believe that your spelling is unlikely, because by the time that the had dropped out of the Old Welsh word , the had also softened to a or . However, we have found it as an element in at least two names that we know are medieval. The two names that we found were from 12th century historic records, of women living in the 5th century. By the 12th century, when we find these names in historical genealogies, these names had long since passed out of use. In the 12th century, the names were spelled and or . [1,2] Either of these names would be a fine choice for the first half of your period. We don't have examples of these names recorded in that period so we can't say for certain how they were spelled; but if you are interested in them and you can narrow down your period somewhat, we can try to reconstruct appropriate spellings. We have to stress that the 12th century spellings could not have existed the first half of your period. 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Amant le Marinier, and Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, ~Argantui merch Catmael, 02Feb00 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Evans, J. Gwenogvryn. The Text of the Book of Llan Dav (Aberystwyth: National Library of Wales, 1979) (Facsimile of the 1893 Oxford edition) p.82. [2] Bartrum, P.C. Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966) p.15, 18.