ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2173 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2173 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 29 Dec 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an Irish man, a member of the Ui Maine clan born in 1196, and whether he could have borne the arms "Vert, a chief Or, a lion Rampant Or, Langued Azure". Here is what we have found. is a modern English spelling of the name of several early medieval Irish saints. The name was spelled or in the language of your period, but we haven't found evidence that it was still in use after the 7th century [1, 3]. It would have been pronounced roughly \FECH-ee-n~@\. The slash in the name represents an acute accent mark on the preceding letter. In the pronunciation guide, \CH\ represents the hissy sound of the in the German word , \n~\ represents the sound of the in the Italian word or the French , and \@\ stands for the sound of the in or . We can't recommend this name as good re-creation for your period. If you'd like to choose a different given name, you can find a list of suitable choices on the web: 100 Most Popular Men's Names in Early Medieval Ireland http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/irish100/ We'll be happy to provide the correct pronunciation for any name on this list. If you are particular interested in a name beginning with , then you might choose from this list of 12th and 13th century Gaelic names [6]: Fedlim \FAYDH-lim\ Ferchar \F(y)AYR-khar\ Ferdomnach \F(y)AYR-DOHV-n@kh\ Fergal \F(y)AYR-gh@l\ Finn \FIN\ Fi/ngin \FEEN-yin\, with a lot of breath behind that \y\ Flaithbertach \FLEH-v(y)ayr-t@kh\ Flann \FLAHN\ In these pronunciations, \DH\ represents the sound of the 'th' in . The symbol \(y)\ indicates that the preceding consonant is blended with a slight consonantal \y\ as in . \kh\ represents the sound of the raspy 'ch' in the Scottish word or German , and \gh\ represents the voiced version of the same sound. is also a modern English spelling; the modern Gaelic form is [2], but in most of your period we would expect it to be written . By the end of your period, and are possible, too. In any of these spellings, the name was pronounced \oo-@ KyEL-eych\. \Ky\ indicates a very slight consonantly \y\ after the \K\. In the last syllable, \ey\ represents the sound of the word . The Ui/ Ceallaigh clan was part of the Ui/ Maine (a sort of super-clan) at least as early as the 11th century [4]. A regular member of the clan would be known by the specific clan to which he belonged, in your case. His association with the Ui/ Maine, being analogous to a political affiliation, would not have been included in his name unless he were the chief of the Ui/ Maine. A name like would be a fine choice for 12th or 13th century Ireland. It was slightly more common for a man of your period to be identified as his father's son, with or without a clan name. You might want to choose a name for your father to use on some occasions. For example, if your father were , you might have been known as as well as and . Note that when a man's surname identifies both his father and his clan, the clan name may change slightly because of a requirement of Irish grammar. Here, the becomes ; this corresponds to a change in pronunciation from \K\ to \CH\. The change from to is another grammatical requirement: is the possessive (genitive) form of . A Gael of your period is unlikely to have used heraldic arms: Armory was imported to Ireland by the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century, and wasn't adopted by the native population for some time afterward. It's not impossible that a late 13th century Gaelic chief might have used English-style heraldry, but the vast majority of Gaels, even among the nobility, would not have used arms. In the late 12th century, we doubt any Gaels used arms. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use arms in the Society: Many Societyfolk use arms even though their personas would not have done so. Whether you use arms or not depends on how you think about authenticity and your persona. You can find a few thoughts on this issue in an article we've posted on the web: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.s-gabriel.org/faq/nonheraldic.html The heraldic design you described can best be blazoned "Vert, a lion rampant Or langued azure and a chief Or". The color of the lion's tongue was treated as a matter of artistic license by medieval heralds; it wasn't considered to be a significant feature and was usually not blazoned at all. The design is an excellent choice, quite typical of the early period of heraldic arms. Green was a rare color in medieval heraldry, but it was used occasionally [9]. It may be worth noting that it wasn't particularly associated with Ireland until much later. We're not sure whether you would be able to register your design with the SCA College Arms [5]. 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 Adelaide de Beaumont, Zenobia Naphtali, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Africa neyn Kenneoch, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Edward of Denby Woods, Blaise de Cormeilles, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Julie Stampnitzky, and Ysfael ap Briafael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 29 Dec 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Fechi/ne. [2] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3), s.n. O/ Ceallaigh. [3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh, ed., "Annals of Tigernach" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1996). Entries T601.1, T665.4. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100002/ [4] Annals of Tigernach, entries T1030.18, T.1037.7, 1074.2, 1134.7 show members of the Ui/ Ceallaigh who were chiefs or archbishops of the Ui/ Maine. [5] Your design may be too similar to the register arms of Laszlo Oroszlanveri: Vert, a lion rampant dismembered Or, multiply vulned gules. You should consult with a senior submissions herald. [6] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh, ed., "Annals of Tigernach" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1996), entries T1101.5, T1145.10, T1153.3, T1153.10, T1169.1. In some cases, our spelling of a name is taken from reference [1]. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100002/ [7] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, and Ivonne Tummers, "Annals of Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, entries 1237.14, 1254.7, 1278.5, 1293.9, 1298.7, 1300.3, 1300.6. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011 [8] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, "Annals of the Four Masters", six volumes (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997), v.3. entries M1187.3, M1178.12, M1228.3, M1244.8, M1231.2, M1310.3, M1322.16, M1347.9, M1354.9. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005C (v.3) [9] The Bigot Roll contains several examples of arms with fields vert: numbers 1, 45, 77, 123, 124, and 181. Number 45 also shows the use of a charged field plus a plain chief. Brault, Gerard J., _Eight Thirteenth-Century Rolls of Arms in French and Anglo-Norman Blazon_ (University Park, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1973). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 27 Oct 2003, Arval & Mari: A clan affiliation byname that is included in a patronymic always undergoes lenition.