ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1935 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1935 ************************************ 31 Jan 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a Saxon name appropriate for a woman living at the time and in the area of the Battle of Hastings. You asked specifically about the name and about occupation bynames meaning "midwife" or "herbalist". Here is what we have found. appears to be a 20th century creation, so we recommend you choose a different first name [1]. We found a number of late Old English names that start with similar sounds; one of them might interest you [2, 3, 4]. We list them here with appropriate pronunciations: Cwengifu \KWAYN-yih-voo\, with \KWAYN\ to rhyme with , and \oo\ as in Cwenhild \KWAYN-hild\ Cwenleofu \KWAYN-leh-voo\ Cwen{dh}ry{dh} \KWAYN-thru"th\, with \u"\ as in the German and \th\ as in . You can approximate \u"\ by pronouncing the vowel in with your lips rounded. Cynegifu \KU"-n@-YIH-voo\, with \@\ representing the sound of the in or . The stress on the first syllable is heavier than that on the third. Cynefl{ae}d \KU"-n@-flad\ Cyne{dh}ry{dh} \KU"-n@-thru"th\ The symbol {dh} represents the letter edh, which is written like a backward '6' with a crossbar through the upright. In these names it is pronounced like the in . The symbol {ae} represents the letter aesc, pronounced like the in , but longer, and written as an a-e ligature, with the two letters jammed together to share a common vertical stroke. We could not find an Old English word that meant or . (Those words themselves entered English later than your period.) It's possible that there was no particular term for a woman performing either of these tasks; they may have been too universal to warrant a specialized occupational term. We can suggest some more general words. The Old English word for "doctor" was (the forerunner of the modern word ); however, we don't know if it was applied to women [5]. Another possibility is the byname "the wise" [6]. was pronounced \LATCH-@\, with the \A\ pronounced as in , but with a longer duration. was pronounced \say-@ WEE-s@\. 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 Raquel Buenaventura, Talan Gwynek, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juliana de Luna, and Tangywstyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 31 Jan 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of First Names_ (New York: Signet Books, 1983), s.n. Kendra. [2] Feilitzen, O. von, _The Pre-Conquest Personal Names of Domesday Book_ (Uppsala: 1937), s.nn. Quenguea, Quenleue, Quendrud, Cheneue. [3] Selten, Bo, _The Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal Names_, Volumes 1 & 2. (Lund, Sweden: Royal Society of Letters at Lund, 1979), s.n. Cwengi(e)fu, Cwenhild, Cynegi(e)fu, Cynefl{ae}d. [4] Boehler, Maria, _Die altenglischen Frauenamen_ (Nendlem, Liechtenstein: Krauss Reprint, 1967 [1930]), pp.49-50. [5] The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), s.vv. midwife, herb, leech. [6] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Wise. is the feminine form of , which is cited from 11th century records in this source.