ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2117 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2117 ************************************ 04 Nov 2000 From: Judith Phillips Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a Welsh feminine name suitable for the 9th or 15th century. You asked specifically about , , and , all of which refer to your household . You also asked for help designing arms combining an aspect of your head of household's arms with a reference to your middle name, . Here is the information we found. We have no historical example of the name (pronounced \BLAYDH-wen\, where \BLAY\ rhymes with and \dh\ is the sound at the beginning of the word ). It is a hypothetical compound name combining the common feminine second element <-wen> with the attested first element . The element <-wen> is found in such Welsh feminine names as and [1]. The element is slightly problematic. We have found it used in such Welsh masculine names as , , , and [2], but we can find no examples of this element used in a Welsh feminine name. may be a plausible construction for the 9th century, when compound names were still being actively formed [3], but we do not believe that it is plausible for the 15th century. We cannot recommend as the best possible historical recreation for either period. If you are interested in having an authentic Welsh name, we strongly recommend you choose a name known to have been used in the 9th and 15th centuries. If you like, we can suggest some that are appropriate for both periods; or you can look through these articles on the web: A Simplified Guide to Creating 13th Century Welsh Names by Heather Rose Jones (Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html 16th Century Welsh Names in English Contexts by Heather Rose Jones (Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh16.html We are hesitant to try to suggest a historically plausible byname meaning "member of a group of black rogues," since this is not a way in which a period Welsh social group would have identified itself. We could translate word-by-word into medieval Welsh, but the resulting phrase is not one which would have been used in a person's name, if it were used at all. In any case, the English name is not plausible as a name for your period; the word was introduced into English in the mid-16th century [4], by which time most surnames were inherited as they are today, and few new names were being coined from common words. is also problematic. It is a compound combining the words (literally "hawk, falcon," plural ) and ("black"). Both [5] and [1] are found as descriptive bynames in period. However, in period would not have meant what you intend. As mentioned above, literally means "hawk, falcon." While the extended poetic meaning "hero, nobleman, brave soldier" has been used since at least the 13th century, the modern connotation of "rascal, rogue, wily knave" does not appear until the 18th century [6]. Thus while the compound might have been used in medieval Welsh, it would have meant "black hawk," not "black rogue." However, it was very rare for period Welsh personal bynames to consist of an adjective combined with an animal word. While we cannot rule out the possibility, such a byname would not be typical of your period [7]. Finally, is not appropriate for your period. Welsh and English name forms were rarely combined in a single name during your period. In addition, using the phrase would not have implied that you were a member of a family or group known as [9]. ("daughter") was used in Welsh names to identify a woman's father; simply means "Angharad daughter of David." If you are interested in a historically accurate Welsh name, we suggest that you choose a historical Welsh given name to attribute to your father and construct a patronymic byname like our example above. We have guessed that the name of your head of household is . If you do consider your persona his daughter, then we suggest . (pronounced \YEH-vahn\) was the most common medieval Welsh form of [10], so this would be a subtle way of indicating your family ties. You also asked us for suggestions on how to show your affiliation in your arms and whether a charged chief triangular might be an appropriate way to show such an affiliation in your period. Vassals did occasionally incorporate elements of their overlords' arms into their own arms in period. The "chief of affiliation" that you suggested, whereby an element of the lord's arms is placed on a chief, was one such way of indicating a relationship; however, we have no British example of this practice and thus cannot recommend it for your persona. The chief triangular in particular was not used to show affiliation even in continental Europe and was rarely used at all in English armory. In your letter you referred to your "Household Lord/elder brother." Descent from a particular family was often indicated in period heraldry by differencing the senior family's arms, a process called cadency. This usually involved making a single small change to the arms such as changing a single tincture or one of a group of three charges. You may wish to adopt that model instead and use a slightly differenced version of your household head's arms. (We'll suggest a couple of possibilities later in this letter.) You asked as well whether combining a wolf and a cat into a single charge would be appropriate for your period. While SCA heraldry does currently allow combining parts of several different animals, this was rare in period heraldry. We cannot recommend it as good historical recreation. It is a common misconception in the SCA that an individual's arms ought to present a visual resume of her interests. This often leads to designs that are atypical or impossible for period armory. Period arms rarely make a personal statement about the bearer; the arms were generally inherited rather than designed for an individual. Most period arms, particularly early ones, are very simple. You may find it useful to look at some examples of period arms. A particularly useful source is The Dictionary of Heraldry by Joseph Foster [11], which includes hundreds of examples of medieval English arms. We recommend that you try to design your arms the way that medieval people did. For example, if you wish your arms to identify your household affiliation it would be excellent historical recreation to use a simple variant of the arms of your head of household. If we've correctly guessed his identity, his arms are "Per chevron sable and argent, three dragons displayed counterchanged." You might consider "Per chevron sable and argent, two dragons and a wolf's head counterchanged" or "Per chevron gules and argent, three dragons counterchanged." You should be able to register either of these designs with the SCA College of Arms [12]. I hope that this letter has been useful to you. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have any further questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Arval Benicoeur, Modar Neznanich, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Adeliza de Saviniaco 3 November 2000 ------------------------------------ References: [1] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "A Welsh Miscellany", _Compleat Anachronist_ #66 (Milpitas, CA: SCA, Inc.). [2] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985). [3] Unpublished research by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. [4] Online Oxford English Dictionary, 2d edition, s.v. "rogue," accessed from http://library1.library.cornell.edu/oed/index.html on 10/5/00. [5] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names and Naming Practices in the Anglesey Submissions of 1406", in "Y Camamseriad" issue 4, Summer, 1996. [6] "Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru" (University of Wales Press, Cardiff) s.v. "Gwalch" [7] We have found only a single period Welsh example of a color + animal type byname, "son of the red wolf" [8]. [8] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966). p. 102. [9] A patronymic byname might occasionally have been nonliteral, using the father's nickname or a descriptive or occupational byname instead of his given name. For example, Angahrad the daughter of Madog Chwith ("Madog Lefty") might have been known as instead of or as well as [1]. Since not a historically plausible Welsh nickname or byname, we cannot recommend . [10] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996) [URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html]. [11] Foster, Joseph, _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). [12] We found no conflict with any registered arms other than those of John Drakkus Blackrogue; you would need to obtain get from him a letter of permission to conflict if you were to submit either of these designs.