ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2165 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2165 ************************************ 24 Nov 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for Breton man living in the generations after the Norman Conquest of England. You also asked us to suggest similar names found in northern France or Brittany in that period. Here is what we have found. We have been unable to find a definitive answer to your first question. We found several websites which list as a Breton form of the French [1, 2, 3]. However, none of these sources offers any evidence that the name was used before modern times; many names were adopted into Breton as part of the modern revival of the language. The French gave rise to a rare modern surname, which implies that it was probably in occasional use in late medieval or renaissance France. The name derives from the Latin , and was the name of three 4th century saints, including a bishop of Reims and a bishop of Chalon-sur-Marne [4, 5]. It is possible that the name was in occasional use throughout the Middle Ages, but also possible that it fell out of use very early and was revived in the 15th or 16th century. The upshot is that we don't know whether the name was used in French or Breton in your period. It's plausible, but we can't recommend it as the best re-creation. We can recommend a similar and related name, , also the name of several early saints [5]. It was common throughout France in the 9th-11th centuries [6, 7, 8, 9]. We don't know how this Latin name was rendered into Breton in your period; the Old French form of the name was , pronounced roughly \doh-NAYTS\ in your period [10, 11]. 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 Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 24 Nov 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Texier, Romuald, "Kervaker" (WWW: Sav-heol, accessed 16 Nov 2000) http://www.kervarker.org. The name list at http://www.kervarker.org/english/easy1_4.html [2] "Le dictionnaire des pre/noms" (WWW: no author listed, accessed 16 Nov 2000). http://www.multimania.com/arche/prenoms/breizh.htm [3] Monk, Kate, "Onomastikon" (WWW: privately published, 1997-2000; accessed 16 Nov 2000). http://www.flick.com/onomastikon. Breton name list at http://www.flick.com/onomastikon/Celtic/Brittany/Male.htm. [4] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Donatien. [5] Catholic Online Saints Index, (WWW: Catholic Online, 2000), accessed 24 November 2000, s.nn. Sts. Donatian, Sts. Donatus. http://saints.catholic.org/stsindex.html [6] De Courson, M. Aure/lien, _Cartulaire de L'Abbaye de Redon en Bretagne_ (Paris: Imprimerie Imperiale, 1963). [7] 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:42b. She shows examples of from 627 to 979. [8] Perouas, L., B. Barrie\re, B., J. Boutier; J.-C. Peyronnet, & J. Tricard, _Le/onard, Marie, Jean et les Autres: Les Pre/noms en Limousin depuis un Mille/naire (Paris: E/ditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1984), 16f. They say that was one of the most common Christian-origin names in Gascony in the 9th to early 11th centuries. [9] Arval Benicoeur, "Languedoc Names circa 1300" (WWW: privately published, 1998). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/toulouse/ [10] Ewert, Alfred, _The French Language_ (London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1953), p.227. He notes that Latin <-natus> evolved into Old French <-nez>. [11] The pronunciation \doh-NAYTS\ is approximate. The vowel in the second syllable should be a short monophthong, with the length of the vowel is but with the quality more as in .