ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2020 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2020 ************************************ 22 Mar 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 16th century woman from southern France. Here is what we have found. was invented by a poet in 17th century England as a diminutive form of [1]. We found no evidence that it was used before the 17th century. The most similar name we found in French is , recorded in Paris in the late 13th century [2]. We can't recommend it enthusiastically: It was recorded long before your period and in French rather than Provencal, the language spoken in southern France in your period. However, we do find other names with the diminutive suffix <-ette> in late-period Provencal [3], and we know that was used elsewhere southern Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries [4, 5, 6]; so is at least possible. If you'd like to consider given names documented from your culture, you can find a list on the web, in the source we've used as reference [3]. Unfortunately, your surname also appears to be inappropriate for our period. First, is not correct French. The closest modern French phrase is "of the Pink Fire", which isn't what you're looking for. We could translate "of the Burning Rose" or "of the Flaming Rose" into French, but the result would not be a correct 16th century Provencal surname (and might still not capture the meaning you want). We might be able to construct a correct period surname that means "the Rose" or perhaps "of the Rose", but that still isn't what you had in mind. The basic problem is that the meaning you've chosen doesn't fit into any of the patterns of surname-formation that we've observed in late-period Provencal. You can find examples of late-period Provencal surnames in reference [3]; they can be broken down into three major categories: * Surnames based on places * Surnames based on given names (usually the person's father) * Surnames based on occupation or personal characteristics By your period, most members of the upper classes used inherited family names rather than personalized descriptions, so in each of these categories, the surname might appear to have a meaning that was no longer really applicable to the person using it. For example, a man called probably had ancestors from Toulouse, but he may never have lived there himself. The best way to choose an authentic name for your period is to pick a given name that we know was used at that time, and a small town or village. For example, using the list in reference [3] as a guide, would be an excellent choice. would be a reasonable choice, though not so well-supported by our evidence. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juliana de Luna, Raquel Buenaventura, Margaret Makafee, Adelaide de Beaumont, Pedro de Alcazar, Blaise de Cormeilles, Talan Gwynek, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 22 Mar 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Lucinda. [2] 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 [3] Talan Gwynek, "Late Period Feminine Names from the South of France" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/latefrenchfem/ [4] Elsbeth Anne Roth, _16th-century Spanish Women's Names_ (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1998). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/spanish.html [5] Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek, "Fourteenth Century Venetian Personal Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/venice14/ [6] Arval Benicoeur, "Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/catasto