ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2135
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2135
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From: "Sara L Friedemann" 
31 Oct 2000

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Mariot of Berwick-upon-Tweed> would be an appropriate
name for a woman born in Scotland in the early 13th century.  Here is the
information 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.  Becaused you are interested in a name from the border of England
and Scotland, we will be suggestion Scots forms as well as English forms.

<Mariot> is a diminutive form of <Mary>, and was fairly popular in both
Scotland and England, making it a fine choice for your given name.  We find
the following spellings: [1,2]

  Mariot        1185, 1210, 1275, 1296
  Mariota       c.1250
  Mariote       c.1380

These are all most likely Latin forms of the name, but we're sure it also
existed as <Mariot> in both English and Scots, a language spoken in lowland
Scotland that was similar to English. [5,6,7]

The spelling <Berwick-upon-Tweed> is the modern form of the place name. In
your period, the place was usually identified just as <Berwic>, in one of
many spellings [8].  Other spellings include [3,4,5]:

    Berewich     1167
    Berewyk      ca.1191, 1291
    Berewic      1195
    Berewyke     1267, 1278
    Berwic       1295, 1328
    Berwyic      1317
    Beruyc       1320
    Berwyk       1325
    Berewick     1333

In one Latin document from 1229 is it called <Berewicum super Twedam> in
1229. [3]

A spoken Scots form, <Mariot of Berwic>, pronounced \MAH-ree-oht ohf
BAIR-wik\, is a fine choice for your period.  In written English, the name
would probably have been sometime like <Mariot de Berwic>; in Latin, it
might have been <Mariota de Berewicum super Twedam> but more likely just
<Mariota de Berewicum>.

We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not
hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further
questions.  Research and commentary on this letter were provided by
Maridonna Benvenuti, Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan Gwynek, Effrick neyn
Kennyeoch, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Juliana de Luna.

For the Academy,
~Aryanhwy merch Catmael & Arval Benicoeur, 31Oct00

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References & Notes:

[1] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish
Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996)
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/scottishfem/

[2] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English
Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997)
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/reaney/

[3] Ekwall, Eilert, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names_,
4th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991). s.n. Berwick

[4] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Berwick

[5] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and
History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.nn. Berwick,
Sutton

[6] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_,
3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). s.n. Mary

[7] In Scotland, <Mariota> was also sometimes used as a Latinization of the
Scots name <Marion> or <Marioun>.

[8] We checked about 50 modern place names of the form <X upon Y>, and they
are all recorded simply <X> in period.  There were a few exceptions like
<Cherleton upon Ottemour> 1314, but in general this seems to have been a
form used only in Latin by medieval scribes.  Mills, A. D., _A Dictionary of
English Place-Names_ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), s.n. Charlton
and passim.