ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2145 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2145 ************************************ From: Lisa and Ken Theriot 27 Nov 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether would be an appropriate name for a woman living in France between 1100 and 1500. Here is the information we have found. The only possible example we have of the name for your period is found in a collection of Jewish names recorded in Macon, north of Lyons, during the 13th century. [1] Unfortunately, the author of the source has used a modern French form for a name that appears in Hebrew characters in the original record. [2] We don't know whether the Hebrew spelling represents the spoken name or some conventional documentary form, so we cannot say just what name was intended or how it was pronounced. Because the Jewish naming pool differed from the non-Jewish names found at the same time, it is possible that the underlying vernacular name would not be suitable for a non-Jewish persona in any case. We also looked for the name . We find certain patterns in the recording of other French names in Latin, and we would accordingly expect a name sounding like , if it existed, to be recorded as in Latin records. We found no instances of recorded in France for your period. , where the slash represents an acute accent over the preceding letter, appears as the name of a character in several plays by Moliere (1622 - 1673). [3] Since we do not find the name in any of our earlier sources, we suspect it became popular only after 1650 or so, and we cannot recommend it as a good recreation for your period. If you are interested in related or similar-sounding names, there are several we can suggest. The name is recorded in France in the 11th - 12th century. [4] It is a documentary Latin form which may not accurately reflect the spoken form, but it is an option for the early part of your period. [5] We are unsure of the spoken form of the name and so cannot guess at a pronunciation. The name is an Old French form of the Germanic name . We find it recorded in France in the documentary Latin form c. 980-1032. [6] It appears in literature in the forms , , and others. [7] We are unsure of the precise pronunciation, but we believe it might have been \en-g@-LEH\ or \en-g@-LESS\, where \@\ is the sound of in soda and about, and \g\ is sounded as in ; it might also have been \en-dj@-LEH\ or \en-dj@-LESS\, perhaps varying by region. We find the name recorded in the south of France in 1528, slightly later than your period. [8] The language of the south of France was Provencal or Occitan, which was similar to, but distinct from, French. This name may not be appropriate for use elsewhere in France. It was pronounced \ahn-djeh-LEE-n@\. is a modern surname which arose either as a variant of the patronymic , or from the placenames and . [9] A patronymic is a byname formed from your father's name. We find both placenames recorded in various forms from the 12th century, so they are good choices for forming your byname. [10] At the beginning of your period would (if it existed) have been pronounced \s@-MOHN\, and shortly thereafter \s@-MOH~N\, where \OH~\ indicates that the sound \OH\ is nasalized, as in the French word "good". In the modern language (and probably at the end of your period) it is pronounced \s@-moh~\, with a nasalized vowel and roughly equal stress on the two syllables. Through your period, a surname based on a placename usually included the preposition "of", e.g. . By the 15th century, is also possible. If you want the pronunciation \see-MOHN\, we recommend that you use the spelling . [11] We find this given name recorded in Paris in 1292. [12] A 13th or 14th century woman called might have had a father or husband named , a father called , or a husband called . By the end of your period, it would be simply an inherited surname. 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. I was assisted in researching and preparing this letter by Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Barak Raz, Juliana de Luna, Julie Stampnitzky, Mari neyn Brian, Maridonna Benvenuti and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 27 November 2000 References: [1] Friedemann, Sara L., _Jewish Given Names found in *Les Noms des Israelites en France*_ (WWW: Self-published, 2000), s.n. Angelique, [URL:http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/levy/], accessed 27 November 2000. [2] Seror, Simon, _Les Noms des Juifs de France au Moyen Age_ (Paris: Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1989), p. 11. The original form of the name is given as "aleph-nun-gimel-lamedh-yodh-yodh-koph-aleph". [3] Parker, Philippe, "Site-Molie\re" (WWW: self-published, 1996-2000). The name appears in three plays: _La Jalousie du Barbouille_ (circa 1653), _George Dandin, ou le Mari confondu_ (1668), and _Le Malade imaginaire_ (1673). [URL:http://www.site-moliere.com], accessed 27 November 2000. [4] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), II:19b. [5] We find the same name recorded in Perugia, Central Italy, in 1285 as ; this is also a documentary Latin form. Based on similar names, we think it may be pronounced roughly \ahn-gih-LOO-tsee-ah\. Recorded in Arval Benicoeur, "Feminine Given Names from Thirteenth Century Perugia" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997), s.n. Anguilutia, [URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/perugia/], accessed 27 November 2000. [6] Morlet, op. cit., I:37b. [7] Langlois, Ernest, _Table des Noms Propres de toute nature compris dan les Chansons de Geste_ (New York: Burt Franklin, 1971 [1904]), p. 192. [8] Talan Gwynek, "Late Period Feminine Names from the South of France" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999), s.n. Angelline, [URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/latefrenchfem/], accessed 27 November 2000. [9] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Se/mon. [10] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963), s.nn. Semond, Semons. [11] The pronunciation of would undergo the same changes outlined for ; at the beginning of your period would have been pronounced \see-MOHN\, and shortly thereafter \see-MOH~N\, where \OH~\ indicates a nasalized vowel sound. In the modern language (and probably at the end of your period) it is pronounced \see-moh~\, with a nasalized vowel and roughly equal stress on the two syllables. [12] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997), s.n. Simon le piquier, [URL:http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html], accessed 27 November 2000.