ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2040 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2040 ************************************ 29 May 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be an appropriate name for a Scottish Gaelic household in the early 14th century [1]. If so, you wanted to know what the period Gaelic translation would be. Here is what we've learned. Unfortunately, the name you've chosen doesn't fit any model of naming that we've seen in medieval Gaelic. We could translate the phrase "house of the silver dragon" into Gaelic, but the result wouldn't be a name that anyone in your culture would ever have used. In order to create a medieval Scottish Gaelic household name, we first have to figure out what sorts of social organizations existed in medieval Gaelic culture that could correspond to the Society's idea of a household [2]. The only close match we found is the clan. A Gaelic clan was named after a famous ancestor who was believed to be the founder of the clan. If you would like to create an authentic name for a Scottish Gaelic clan, then the simplest approach is to choose a Gaelic masculine given name, which would be the name of your (possibly legendary) founder, and name the clan after him. For example, if your founder's given name were , you would call yourselves . is the possessive form of , so the name means "Domhnall's Clan". Modern Scottish usage of clan names is quite different from medieval Gaelic usage, so it's worth clarifying authentic usage. Individual members of the clan should not add the clan name to their own names. The modern practice of indicating clan membership with one's surname didn't exist in period Gaelic culture. A man called and his sister might be members of Clann Domhnaill, but that fact would not have been reflected in their names: Their own surnames simply identify them as their father's children. Your clan chief might use as a title, but it wouldn't be part of his name: If the chief was son of , then he'd be called by name or by title ; but never . The children of the chief could indicate their relationship by using his title in their own names: and . These names mean "Cormac son of Mac Domhnall" and "Marsaili daughter of Mac Domhnall". The spelling differences represent changes required by Gaelic grammar. We recommend this following article as a source for Gaelic masculine names appropriate to use in your clan name: "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names" http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.shtml Most of the names listed in this article were still used in your period, though some spellings were different. If you would like to know the correct 14th century form of any specific name listed there, please do not hesitate to write us again. We hope that this brief letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Effrick neyn Kennyeoch, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Aryanhwy merch Catmael & Arval Benicoeur 29 May 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Notes [1] You described your culture as "early 1300's Scottish Highlands". Before the late fourteenth century, contemporaries did not think of a division between Highland and Lowland society; that cultural distinction arose at the end of the century. It is more accurate to speak of Scotland culture in your period as being Gaelic or Scots. Michael Lynch, _Scotland: A New History_ (London: Pimlico, 1992), pp.64-70. [2] In addition, the name conflicts with the registered Society household name .