ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2060 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2060 ************************************ 1 Jun 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an 11th century Norman, and whether plus a placename is an appropriate style of surname for this period. This letter is a brief answer to your question. is a fine choice for your period. It was fairly common in northern France at least from the 9th century to the 13th and was popularized in England by the Normans [1, 2, 3]. Surnames formed from place names were quite common among the Normans in your period; followed by an 11th century Norman place name would be an excellent choice for your byname. We don't have a conveniently-available list of those place names, but we'd be happy to help you choose one. If you pick a place in Normandy, we may be able to find an 11th century spelling of its name. You asked specifically about the surname , based on the name of a Society branch. Since the name is a modern invention, it can't be part of an authentic 11th century Norman name. Since it was constructed incorrectly from Old Norse elements, it's doubly inappropriate for your name. Of course, it's common in the Society to use surnames like [4]; but if you want a name that could actually have been used in your period, we recommend you choose a place name from 11th century Normandy. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Blaise de Cormeilles, Talan Gwynek, and Mari neyn Bryan. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 1 June 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), I.76. [2] Gysseling, Maurits, and Pierre Bougard, _L'Onomastique Calaisienne a la Fin du 13e Siecle_, Onomastica Neerlandica (Leuven: Institut voor Naamkunde, 1963), s.n. Martin. [3] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Martin. [4] On the other hand, if we assume that could have been the name of a place in medieval Scandinavia, then a man from there could very easily have been identified in a Latin document as . The Latin preposition was used in combination with place names from all over Europe. We have found dozens of examples of with German place names [5], and the name in a 14th century Latin document from Norway [6]. The SCA College of Arms has registered names analogous to in which a Society branch name is combined with . Cf. 11/92, 2/97. [5] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), ch. XVI. [6] Ore, Chr-Emil, ed., "Dataene er fra Diplomatarium Norvegicum bind I-XXI" (WWW: Dokumentasjons Prosjectet, last modified 13 Feb 2000), vol. 5 nr. 67. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/cgi-bin/cesoS/diplom_vise_tekst.prl?b=4669&s=e