ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1974 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1974 ************************************ 11 Apr 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or is an appropriate name for a Frenchman living around 1300. Here is what we have found. Your given name is perfect for your period; we found examples in Paris in 1292 and in other parts of northern France as early as the 9th century. The name was also spelled [1, 2]. Descriptive nicknames based on animal names were not uncommon in French in your period: "the hare", "weasel" [1, 9]. Many of these bynames survived to evolve into modern surnames [3]. Several were carried to England by the French-speaking Normans, where we found 1167, 1190-1200, 1203 [4]. We also found evidence of [5]. The Old French word for "the" (masculine form) was
  • , so or would be fine names for your period. The Old French "the panther" appeared in a bestiary as early as your period, but only to describe a mythical beast. The real animal was not known in Western Europe until much later [6, 7]. We found no evidence of a medieval byname meaning "the panther" and we consider it very unlikely. We also found no evidence of medieval French compound bynames with meanings like "the Black Cat" [8]. 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 Talan Gwynek and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 11 Apr 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_ (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), III:168. [3] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987). Examples include "the otter", "the goat", "the swan", "the wolf", "the calf". [4] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Catt. [5] Dauzat, op. cit., s.n. Lion. [6] Robert, Paul, _Le Petit Robert 1: Dictionnaire alphabe/tique et analogique de la langue franc,ais_ (Paris: Le Robert, 1985), s.n. panthe\re. [7] _The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), s.n. panther. [8] Compounds of this sort were occasionally used in English, e.g. 1270, 1331; but these appear to refer to possessions rather than personal characteristics, so they aren't a good model for the name you want to construct. Jo:nsjo:, Jan, _Studies on Middle English Nicknames_, v.1 Compounds (CWK Gleerup). [9] De Joinville, Jean, _Histoire de Saint Louis_, M. Natalis de Wailly, ed. (Paris, 1874), ch.392.