ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2028 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2028 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 6 Jul 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if the feminine name , "Aoife the Manxwoman," would have been used between 1200 and 1500. You also asked about Manx heraldry. Here is the information we have found. We don't have a lot of data on Manx names, but we believe we know enough to answer your question. The Gaelic that was spoken in Man was the same as that spoken in Ireland and Scotland at the time; and while the pool of names in use was different, names that were common in Ireland were probably used in Man, too. However, Manx Gaelic used a different spelling system than Irish and Scottish Gaelic, heavily influenced by English spelling conventions. As a result, the same Gaelic name recorded in Man and Ireland appears very different. was a common Gaelic name in your period. It is probably a fine choice for your given name [1]. However, this is the Irish Gaelic spelling of the name. We don't have an example of this name in Manx, but we believe it would most likely have been rendered . *** See the correction below for important information about . is a Manx Gaelic noun meaning "Manxwoman". As far we know, though, Gaels didn't use this sort of noun in their names to indicate nationality; instead they used adjectives [2]. For example, "Scottish Emand" 1375, "English William" 1368 [8], and the early medieval masculine name "Manx Morand" recorded in Ireland [4]. We would expect a similar construction in your name, , meaning "Manx Eva". is the Manx spelling of the word that was in Irish Gaelic. The shift from to is required in a woman's name by a process of Gaelic grammar called "lenition"; was pronounced \V\. However, you would probably not have been known as "Manx" if you were living in Man: That wouldn't have been a particularly useful distinguishing byname when everyone around you was also Manx. This sort of ethnic byname was typically used only for a person who had moved away from her homeland. For example, a Manx woman named living in Ireland might have been known in Irish Gaelic as , while in England she might have been known as [5]. At home, she would most likely have been known as her father's daughter: Eva daughter of Gilchrist would often have been identified as [6]. If you'd like to pick a Manx name for your father, so that you can build a byname of this type, you can find a list on the web: Manx Names in the Early 16th Century http://www.MedievalScotland.org/manxnames/jonesmanx16.shtml Manx heraldic style in your period was virtually identical to English heraldic style. One of the best sources for English heraldry is Joseph Foster's Dictionary of Heraldry [7]. It may be available at your local library or through inter-library loan; many Society heralds own copies. We're sorry we couldn't be of greater assistance, but there is relatively little known about the Manx among the people of the Society. It sounds as though you are very interested, and we encourage you to pursue and devour every piece of information you can. With diligence, it is quite possible that you could soon become the recognized Society expert on the Manx. If that appeals to you, we invite you to subscribe to the Academy to see how we do name and heraldry research, and how we transform research into advice to clients. We wish you success in your research. We hope that you will not hesitate to write again if any part of this letter was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Talan Gwynek, Walraven van Nijmegen, Effrick neyn Kennyeoch, Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, Jesse Scheidlower, and Amant le Marinier. For the Academy, Aryanhwy merch Catmael & Arval Benicoeur 6 Jul 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Aoife. [2] We think the phrase could have been used in a woman's name, but it would probably have been understood to mean "wife of a Manx(man)" rather than "Manxwoman" [3]. Since that's not the meaning you want, we aren't discussing this possibility further. If you prefer it, please write us again. [3] Fockleyr Gaelg - Baarle Data derived from Douglas C. Fargher's English-Manx Dictionary of 1979 Shearwater Press, Douglas, Isle of Man. - (ISBN 0 904980 23 5), s.n. ben. http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/Manx/index.html [4] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983), s.n. manannach. [5] Kneen, J.J., _The Personal Names of the Isle of Man_ (London: Oxford University Press, 1937), p. 96. [6] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Manx Names in the Early 16th Century" (WWW: S. Krossa, 1998). http://www.MedievalScotland.org/manxnames/jonesmanx16.shtml [7] Foster, Joseph, _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). [8] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, Ivonne Tummers, ed., "Anna/la Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997), ss. 1368.10, 1375.11. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 22 Oct 2002, Arval & Aryanhwy: was mis-spelled. Correction, Arval, 20 Mar 2003: (eary spelling) or (late spelling) may not have been used by real people in our period. O Corrain and Maguire list it, but only cite legendary/literary examples. We have found no example of it otherwise. The Pelican Queen of Arms ruled Sept 2002 that it is not registerable without further evidence. See http://www.sca.org/heraldry/loar/2002/09/02-09cl.html, under the heading "From Pelican: Registerability of the Name Aife/Aoife".