ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1978 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1978 ************************************ 2 Mar 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an Englishwoman living in Brittany between 1250 and 1350. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Forms of the name were used in both England and France in your period. In England, we have found 1219, 1221, 1220-1370, 1204-1379, 1379 [1, 4]. The forms ending <-a> are probably Latinizations; the vernacular name was probably or , pronounced \KRIS-t@n\ or \KRIS-tee-@n\. \@\ represents a schwa, the sound of the in . In France, we've found the name recorded as 970, 1104, and 1292 [2, 3]. Again the forms spelled with a final are probably Latinized; the last example is a native French spelling of name. In the late 13th century, the was generally silent, so we recommend the pronunciation \kreh-TYEN-n@\, though \kres-TYEN-n@\ is probably reasonable at the beginning of your period [5]. Unfortunately, we believe your surname is not a plausible medieval French name. We find surnames which compounded with words describing places like , or personal characteristics like "beautiful face" or "beautiful mouth". We have found no medieval surname which described a person's possessions as beautiful. Further, the preposition was almost always used in French naming to indicate a person's place of origin or residence. For example, we find a 13th century woman and a man 1313, both in Picardy [6]. Both these surnames indicated someone who lived near or worked in a garden. In sum, we recommend you consider a different surname. In your period, an Englishwoman living in France would have been known in her new home by a French form of her name. She might continued to be known as her father's daughter, or by the place where she lived before marraige. She might also be known by the place where her husband lived. A name like , based on the name of a town in Brittany, would be a perfect choice for your culture. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 2 Mar 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/reaney/ [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, Volume II (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972). [3] 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). [4] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Christin. [5] Einhorn, E., _Old French: A Concise Handbook_ (London & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1974), p.5. [6] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967), pp.189, 348-9.