Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 199

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 199

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/199

This is one of the Academy's earliest reports. We are not confident that these early reports are accurate. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here's the information we have on the name "Brianna the Wanderer."

Before we start, we should say that our emphasis is on researching medieval names and armory. You may be able to register a name that would not have been used in the Middle Ages, but we're looking only at the history of the name.

All the evidence we have shows that "Brianna" is not a period name, either for late-period England or any other culture covered by the SCA. Simply put, there's no evidence for its use anywhere. Although it has been registered by the CoA and is one of the most common SCA names, there's no sign that it's actually a medieval name.

Similarly, "the Wanderer" was generally not used as a byname in any culture. "Wanderer" is used so commonly in the SCA that it's a cliche, but it's very rare in medieval languages. Wanderers needed to eat like other people, and those who travelled from place to place without any means of support were known by a number of uncomplimentary names, just as they are today. If you're wandering because you're a merchant, minstrel, or mercenary, there are names which would have been used to describe people in any of those professions.

Since Claricia is a member of the Academy, she's passed on some of the things you're looking for, and that having a medieval name and arms are not a priority for you. If that's really the case, then we're not the best group for you to work with--medieval names and armory are our sole focus.

The purpose of the SCA is to have fun while re-creating an aspect of medieval culture. We go through varying degrees of effort to be "period," depending on our interests--not everyone has perfectly medieval shoes or jewelry, for example. There's no requirement for you to have a medieval name, but we strongly encourage it. For one, it's a lot easier to get a perfectly medieval name than a perfectly medieval set of garb. All you need for a name is some time and research, both of which are available with no expense. Secondly, your name is the foundation of the rest of your SCA activity. Everything you do or make will be associated with your name, so it's especially important to start on the right foot.

Claricia also mentioned that you've been in the SCA a while and are concerned that changing your name will be difficult. There are many other people who have changed their names midway through their SCA careers, and they've generally had success. Probably the best-known person in the Midrealm to change his name is Duke Tadashi, who went by "Thaid" for almost 20 years before he changed his SCA name and persona. It's not too difficult to change your name, and it can enhance everything else you do in the SCA.

Arval D'Espas Nord, Claricia Nyetgale, Zenobia Naphtali, Willem Gerritsz, Evan da Collaureo, Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Rouland Carre, and Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn contributed to this letter.

We hope this has been helpful. We'd like to keep working with you, so please let us know if you have other questions or concerns.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel