ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2121 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2121 ************************************ 9 Oct 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether , or something with the same meaning in another language, is an appropriate period name. Here's what we've found. You are remarkably lucky: Even though you made up the name , you happen to have hit on a name that actually existed. Adding in similar-sounding names, we found three possibilities for you. was a Danish variant spelling of that appeared at the beginning of the 15th century [1]. It was pronounced \YAIR-eek\. We also found the unrelated German name and , a pet form of either or . This name was probably in use by the 14th century [2], and pronounced roughly \YAIR-ish\. Another possibility you can consider is the English name , a variant of recorded in 1539 [3]. This name would have been pronounced \JAR-@t\, where \@\ represents the sound of the 'a' in . We didn't find any period surname that means , possibly because the notion of quickness probably wasn't applied to swordplay before the days of the rapier; and the practice of creating descriptive surnames like this one fell out of fashion in England long before the age of the rapier. However, we did find some possibilities that may interest you. In English, we found recorded in 1260, meaning "nimbly, in lively fashion", "nimble, lively" 1282, and meaning "quick, active". We also found several names that refer specifically to swordsmen: 1275 meaning "out with the sword", 1402; "draw sword" 1219 and 1316; 1183 from a French phrase that meant "draw sword", and the analogous 1206 and 1327 [4]. All these names probably carried the connotation "quick to take offense". A name like or would be a good choice for 14th century England. Other English surnames that might appeal to you are: 1327, 1297, 1327, 1297. We found "sharp arrow" 1364 which suggests that is plausible, too [5]. Some of these bynames were used for men who made swords or arrows rather than those who used them; but we thought you might like them anyway. In German, we found several bynames that refer to swords [6]: Zuckeswert 1300 "draw-sword", probably "quick to take offense" Howenschilt 1350 "hew-shield" Swertslach 1216 "sword-blow" would be a fine name. We didn't find any byname in Danish that has the sort of meaning you want. A typical Danish byname identifies a man as his father's son, e.g. . If you're interested in that possibility, write us again and we can discuss it further. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Barak Raz, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Dietmar von Straubing, Modar Neznanich, Julie Stampnitzky, and Amant le Marinier. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 9 Oct 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.n. Erik. We found also 1487, 1469 who is also 1509, 1424, 1485. [2] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry (German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357), s.nn. Jerok, Jerche, p.276. Under Jerche, Bahlow cites a 14th century . [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Garrad. [4] Reaney & Wilson, s.nn. Quick, Quickly, Light, Lightfellow, Lightfoot, Outsax, Drawsword, Saxby. Note that we did not find adequate support for , even though we found both and used in compound bynames. We found applied only to parts of the body, and there it may be a corruption of "little". [5] Reaney & Wilson, s.nn. Skillful, Blade, Steel, Sword, Sharparrow. [6] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen familiennamen (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960), s.nn. Schwertschlag, Hau(en)schild, Schildknecht.