ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2086 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2086 ************************************ From: "Braddon Giles" 8 Jun 2000 Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel! You asked for our assistance in forming a name for an unmarried woman from early Byzantium. Specifically you were interested in the names , and wondered if they were appropriate to use in that combination. Here is what we found. You noted that all three names are taken from one of our lists [1]. They are all given names, and are individually fine choices for the 6th to 8th centuries, possibly even as late as the 10th century. We do not have any evidence that they were used later that that. In medieval Byzantium, women of the aristocracy were most often described by a single given name, without any surname. It would be perfectly authentic for your persona never to be called anything other than either or or , but not any combination with each other. We should emphasise that we have no evidence of for the usage of more than one given name in Byzantine names. When women needed to be distinguished further they were described as their husband's wives or, more appropriately for your persona, their father's daughters. For example, "Helena daughter of Artavasdos" or "daughter of Ingerinos". Family names began to appear in Byzantine records in the 8th century but did not become generally popular until the 10th century. Until much later in period, though, family names were used only by men; women were identified by a relationship to a man [2]. If you plan to register your name with the SCA College of Heralds, then you will need at least 2 elements in your name [3]. Considering your culture and persona we recomend that you use one of the given names you suggested and show that you are your father's daughter. You can do this by choosing a masculine name from our list [1]. For example, if you select the name for your father, then you might be known as , or . All of these names are fine for your culture. We would be very happy to assist with the grammar once you choose your father's name. We hope this letter has been useful; please write to 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 Maridonna Benvenuti, Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Arval d'Espas Nord. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook. 8 / June / 2000 __________________________________________________ Bibliography. [1] Bardas Xiphias, _Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the 6th and 7th Centuries_ (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/byzantine/early_byz_names.html [2] Cheynet, Jean-Claude, "L'Anthroponymie Aristocratique a\ Byzance" in Bourin, Monique, Jean-Marie-Martin, and Francois Menant, eds., _L'Anthroponymie: Document de l'Histoire Sociale des Mondes Me/diterrane/ens Me/die/vaux_, Collection de l'E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 226 (Rome: E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 1996), pp.267-294. [3] _SCA College of Arms - Rules and Regulations_ (Copyright © 1996-1999 Society for Creative Anachronism, Inc.) Part III, 2 (a). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/regs.html