ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2075 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2075 ************************************ 9 Jun 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 13th or 14th century Mongol. Here is what we have found. Our knowledge of Mongol names doesn't go much beyond the two articles you'll find in the Medieval Names Archive: On the Documentation and Construction of Period Mongolian Names http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/baras-aghur/mongolian.html Mongol Names in 13th Century Latin http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/mari/tartar/ The first discusses names the Mongols used for themselves; the second lists some examples of how Mongols were identified in Latin documents. As it happens, there will be a new article on Mongol names in the proceedings of this year's Known World Heraldic Symposium. If you check back with us in a four or five months, we may have more information for you. The first of these articles lists as a Mongol given name that means "difficult", so that's a fine choice. It would be perfectly authentic for you to be known simply as , without any surname. As you noted, the SCA College of Arms will require you to add a second name in order to register your name. If you want to use the authentic one-element name but also want to register your name, then you might want to add a surname like , using the name of the Society branch where you started out. The College will register a name of that form. The same article gives a few examples of Mongol names that consist of two words: "crimson gold", "twenty bulls, "eternal iron". It gives some guidelines on constructing names in this style: First, avoid name combinations that do not make common sense together. Next, personal nicknames such as fat, wrinkled, popeye, etc may not be combined at all, nor can the names of clans or tribes. Animal names may be combined with names that are of a different type (ie a name could be constructed of black wolf, but not tiger wolf). As in all instances of rules, there are always exceptions that can be documented. We're not sure which of the name elements listed in the article could logically be combined with "difficult". 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 Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 9 Jun 2000