ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2033 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2033 ************************************ 30 Mar 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether there is a medieval English or Irish equivalent of your real name, . You also asked for information about the surname . This letter is a brief answer to your question. Your surname was originally occupational, i.e. the original bearer was a cooper by trade, repairing barrels and tubs. Occupational bynames were common in many medieval European languages, but they were quite rare in Gaelic, so we don't recommend trying to construct a Gaelic form of your name. Of course, there were English-speakers in Ireland from the 13th century on, so any English form of your name could have been used in Ireland, just not in the Gaelic language. The English surname derives from an Old French word, and the occupational byname appears in England quite soon after the Norman Conquest. These examples illustrate the development and variation in the name [1, 2, 3, 4]. The last column gives a likely pronunciation for the surname. Robert le Cupere 1176-7 Selide le Copere 1181-2 Henry le Cupper 1273 Richard le Cupare 1273 William le Coupere 1296 Geoffrey Cowper 1377 Walter Couper 1391; also 1378 John Copper 1424 Robert Cupper 1425 Coupper 1485-1509 Couper 1601 Cowper 1601 William Cooper 1607 English occupational bynames were generally literal until about the end of the 14th century. That is to say, a man called was himself a cooper. In the 15th century, the English shifted to using inherited family names, as we do today, and that custom predominated to the end of our period. Forms of the name were used in England from the Norman Conquest on, though it was less common in the 14th and 15th centuries. It appears in 13th century records as and [6, 7]. The spelling remained in use to the end of our period and beyond [8, 9, 10]. The 13th century name or the 16th century are two examples of period English forms of your name. These names would probably have been pronounced \MITCH-@l l@ KOO-p@-r@\ and \MI-k@l KOW-p@r\, respectively. \@\ represents the sound of the in or . If you choose one of the other forms of the name, please feel free to contact us again to get the correct pronunciation for the period you want to re-create. The 15th century byname that you found on our website is Dutch, pronounced \d@ KOO-p@-r@\. It also means "the Cooper" and would be a fine choice if you want a Dutch name. The same name appears in another source of the same period as ; we aren't sure how that spelling was pronounced. The Dutch used this sort of name literally until the end of our period. Forms of were used in Dutch in the same period, including and , , and [5, 11]. These names may have been pronounced \MIH-khil\, \MIH-khyel\, or \MEE-khyel\. \kh\ represents the rasping sound in the Scottish word or German . is a fine choice for a 15th century Dutch name. Long-standing Society custom dictates that our Society names be different from our real names, and this requirement is written into the SCA College of Arms' rules for submissions. Opinion has evolved on how different is different enough. There are plenty of people who have created their Society names simply by choosing period spellings of their real surnames. However, if you want to register your name with the SCA College of Arms, you may need more difference. Any variation that adds a syllable, like or , is definitely registerable [12]. 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 Talan Gwynek, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Zenobia Naphtali, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 30 Mar 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Cooper. [2] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Cooper. [3] Hitching, F.K. & S. Hitching, _References to English Surnames in 1601_ (Walton-on-Thames: Chas. A. Bernau, 1910). [4] Woodcock, Thomas, Janet Grant, & Ian Graham, _Dictionary of British Arms_, vol II. (The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1996), p.491. [5] Luana de Grood, "Flemish Given Names from Bruges, 1400-1600", (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996). http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/bruges/ [6] Nicolaa de Bracton, "A Statistical Survey of Given Names in Essex Co., England, 1182-1272", Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings 1995 (SCA Inc.). http://members.xoom.com/nicolaa/names.html [7] Talan Gwynek, "Given Names from Early 13th Century England" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/eng13/ [8] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Given Names in Chesham, 1538-1600/1" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/mari/chesham/ [9] Talan Gwynek, "Late Sixteenth Century English Given Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/eng16/ [10] Stephen Alsford, "The Officers of Borough Government", appendix I to "The Men Behind the Masque: Office-Holding in East Anglian Boroughs, 1272-1460" (WWW: privately published, 1998, accessed 24 Mar 2000). http://www.trytel.com/~tristan/towns/mapp1_2.html [11] Aryanhwy merch Catmael, "15th Century Dutch Names" (WWW: privately published, 2000). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/dutch15.html [12] Laurel has ruled that "The minimum change guaranteed to be sufficient [between a legal name and a Society name] is the deletion or addition of a syllable: John Smith to John the Smith." [Laurel Letter of Acceptances and Returns, Nov 1993 (published 4 Dec 93), p.20, Caid, Mikhail Kazimir].