ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2093 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2093 ************************************ 5 Jul 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Scottish Highlander in the 1590s. Here is what we have found. Starting in the late 14th century, there were two main languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands, and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the royal court and towns. Gaelic was the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots was closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. The name or (with an acute accent mark on the 'a') was a relatively popular name in early medieval Ireland, but it appears to have dropped out of use by the 12th century [1]. The latest period example we found is , mentioned in the Annals of Inisfallen in the 11th century [2]. We found a 10th century example in Scotland [3]. It is not implausible that it was used there in the early Middle Ages, but we cannot recommend it as good re-creation for the 16th century. An alternative that might appeal to you is , a Gaelic form of the name that became in English. We have found a number of examples of Gaels who used this name in the 16th century [4]. It was pronounced \R#-n@l\ in that period. \@\ represents a schwa, the sound of the in . \#\ represents a vowel not used in English, but similar to the in . More precisely, it is the vowel you get by pronouncing the in with your lips positioned as if you were saying as in . is a modern anglicized spelling of the Gaelic patronymic byname "son of the (deer-)stalker". A patronymic byname is a surname that identifies a person as his father's child; in Gaelic in our period, such bynames were used literally. That is to say, a Gael would have been known as only if his father were a hunter by profession. This byname is a fine choice for your period: It was used throughout the 16th century [5]. It was pronounced \mahk ahn STAHL-kahr\. Putting it all together, we can recommend as a fine late-period Scottish Gaelic name. Gaelic was rarely used as a written language in Scotland in your period. The language of record in 16th century Scotland was Scots. The Gaelic might have been recorded in Scots as or [4, 5]. 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 Maridonna Benvenuti, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Mari neyn Bryan, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum, and Blaise de Cormeilles. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 5 Jul 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Rona/n. [2] Mac Airt, Sean, ed. The Annals of Inisfallen (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,1988). [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Ronan. He mentions a monk and abbot of the Culdees of Lochleven sometime before 985. [4] Black s.nn. Macranald, Ranald. Scots examples of the name include 1506, 1563, 1541, 1563, 1583, and 1583. [5] Black s.n. MacStalker. The name appears in a variety of English or Scots forms: 1510, 1542, 1559, {James} 1565, or 1579, 1586, 1596 or 1605.