ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2195 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2195 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 30 Jan 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a woman living in the mid 1400s on the borders of Scotland or somewhere in Ireland. You noted that you particularly want to use an early form of your family name . Here is what we have found. Unfortunately, the name you've chosen doesn't fit the times and places that interest you. We can suggest some similar names that would be appropriate in various contexts. To start, we need to give you a little background information on languages and naming in Scotland and Ireland. Both countries were home to more than one culture and language in your period. Ireland was inhabited by people who spoke Gaelic or English, Scotland primarily by people who spoke Gaelic or Scots. The Gaelic of Ireland and of Scotland was the same language, though there were some differences in dialect, pronunciation, and naming customs. Scots was a close relative of contemporary English; it was spoken in the Lowlands of Scotland, including the towns and the royal court. In late-period Scotland, Gaelic was spoken in the Highlands and Western Isles. English and Scots naming customs were similar, though not identical. Gaelic naming customs were quite different, though, and the two styles of naming were not mixed together. Your choice of culture, therefore, will determine the type of name that is appropriate for your re-creations. You appear to want a Gaelic name, so we'll focus on that culture first; but we'll also suggest possibilities in Scots, since those will match some of your requirements more closely. First we'll discuss each element of the name you asked about. is a modern Gaelic spelling of . It appears in the form in a 15th century Gaelic record of Scottish genealogies [1]. In Irish Gaelic in that period, the name appears as , , , (with a silent 'f'), and in other spellings [2, 2a]. The slash represents an acute accent mark on the preceding letter. The Gaelic name was pronounced \kah-TREE-nah\. The symbol \@\ represents a schwa, the sound of the 'a' in . This name is a fine choice for a 15th century Gael, and the normalized spelling would be appropriate for either Scotland or Ireland. The word means "daughter" in Gaelic. This spelling is correct for your period in either dialect of Gaelic. In the 15th century, it was pronounced \EEN-y@n\. The name was quite common in both England and the Scottish Lowlands in the 15th century [3, 4]. It was adopted into Gaelic in both countries by your period; in Ireland it was typically spelled , and we believe that spelling is appropriate for Scottish Gaelic as well [5, 6]. The Gaelic name was pronounced \TOME-ahs\. is a Lowland Scots or English surname derived from an English place name recorded in 1150 as "Maccus' pool". It was not originally a Gaelic name; any Gaelic form of the name is probably a modern invention. In 15th century Scots, the name was recorded as 1414, 1424, 1407, 1452, 1452 [7]. In Gaelic, a woman was almost always identified as her father's daughter. Caitrina the daughter of Toma/s mac Domhnaill would have been known as , pronounced \kah-TREE-nah EEN-y@n TOME-ish\. The change in spelling and pronunciation of the father's name is required by Gaelic grammar: The added 'i' puts the name into its possessive form, like the <'s> in English . This name would be a fine choice for a Gael in either Ireland or Scotland in your period. Unfortunately, there's no historically valid way to include any form of in a Gaelic name. Lowland family names weren't added onto Gaelic names. The practice of using Scottish family names to indicate clan membership didn't develop until well after our period, and Clan Maxwell itself wasn't created until modern times. If it's more important to you to use a historical form of than to have a Gaelic name, then you might consider a Lowland Scots name. is a fine 15th century Lowland name, very appropriate for a woman living on the border whose father was called . The name is recorded in a Scots document from 1477; other Scots spellings include 1499 and 1459 [8]. In all these spellings, the final vowel is pronounced: \kah-TREE-nah\. In 15th century Scotland, Gaelic was rarely written. The primary written language was Latin, though Scots was beginning to be used. If your name had been written down, it would probably have been in Latin. A Lowland woman named Katerina, daughter of Thomas Maxwaile, might have been listed as [9, 10]. A Gaelic woman named might have identified in Latin as . 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 Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Juliana de Luna, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 30 Jan 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] A photograph of the "1467 MS", a Gaelic genealogical manuscript, which is shelf-marked 72.1.1 in the Scottish National Library. Colm O'Boyle has kindly helped with our transcriptions from this manuscript. [2] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, and Ivonne Tummers, "Annals of Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997), entries 1417.11, 1516.16. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011 [2a] 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, 1997-98), v.4, entries M1490.16, M1493.9. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005D [3] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Thomas. [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Squiar, Smalley. 1408, 1438. [5] Black s.n. Macthomas. [6] Cournane, Mavis, Vibeke Dijkman, and Ivonne Tummers, "Annals of Connacht" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997), entries 1422.4, 1443.8, 1483.2, 1490.4, etc. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011 [7] Black s.n. Maxwell. [8] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/scottishfem/ [9] Dickinson, William Croft, ed., _Early Records of the Burgh of Aberdeen: 1317, 1398-1407_, vol. XLIX, _Publications of The Scottish History Society_ (Edinburgh: The Scottish History Society, Third Series, 1957). [10] Black s.n. Thomson has 1398, using the same genitive form of . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 26 Oct 2001, Arval: After a word ending in 'n', like , the letters 'D' and 'T' do not lenite.