ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1947
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1947
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From: "Sara L Friedemann" 
9 Feb 2000

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Aeddan Mawr ap Nudd>, meaning, "Aeddan the big, son
of Nudd," would be an appropriate Welsh name for a man living between 1250
and 1400.  You also asked about the arms "Argent, a tower sable, on a chief
azure three billets argent."  Here is the information we have found.

<Aeddan> is a Welsh borrowing of the Gaelic name <A/eda/n>.  (The slashes
represent accents over the previous letters.)  The name appears in Welsh
records in the 8th-10th centuries as <Aidan> and <Aedan>, and in the 14th
century in the Latin form <Aythan>. [1,2]  <Aeddan> is a modern spelling of
the name; we do not recommend you use it, as we have no evidence that it was
used in your period.  <Aedan> would be a fine choice for your given name.

<Mawr>, meaning "big, senior," was a common nickname.  When used in a name,
the initial letter lenites, or softens, from <M> to <V>, to create the form
<Vawr> or <Vaur>, which we find in the 14th century. [2]

<ap> is the most typical form of the word "son" recorded in this period,
although specifically Welsh records, as opposed to ones written in
Anglo-Norman, also use <vap> or <vab>. [2]

The name <Nudd> is most commonly encountered in Welsh myth and legend, where
it is used for various supernatural figures like the <Nudd> in the tale of
Culhwch and Olwen.  However, we have found examples of historical people
using this name, including a 9th century bishop <Nud>.  We haven't found
examples later than the 11th century, though, so we hesitate to recommend it
for your period. [3]  If you would like to choose a different name for your
father, we recommend the following article on 13th century Welsh names:

  "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names"
  http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html

To conclude, a name construction such as <Aedan Vawr ap [father's name]> is
a fine choice for your period, though we recommend you consider a name other
than <Nudd> for your father.

Your choice of arms is excellent.  Your design is fine style for your
period, and we found no arms registered with the SCA that are similar enough
to cause you any problem.

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, Rouland Carre, Walraven van Nijmegen, and
Arval Benicoeur.

For the Academy,
~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 09Feb00

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References:

[1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_,
3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). s.n. Aidan

[2] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of
Wales Press, 1985). s.n. Aeddan

[3] Bartrum, Peter C., _A Welsh Classical Dictionary: People in history and
legend up to about A.D. 1000_.  (Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales,
1993).  under Nudd