ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2197 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2197 ************************************ 09 Mar 2001 From: Dietmar [Annotated 22 Mar 2001] Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel. You told us that you are interested in the name for a German man living during the 1500's and asked for our help in selecting a surname and designing arms using a wolf and the colors black and white. You mentioned leaning towards a locative name and that your persona works in the city of Augsburg, but is not from there. Here is what we have found. In Germany, was the most common spelling of the name for many centuries. During your period we find it dated to 1510, 1527 and 1589. [1] It is pronounced \MIH-chel\, with representing the vowel in and pronounced as in the German pronoun . This would make a fine given name for your period. Nearly any German town of moderate size has been around since the Middle Ages and could be used to form a locative byname. The spelling of any particular town might have changed since the 16th century; if you pick one or two, we can try to suggest appropriate spellings. Locative bynames in German were formed mainly in three ways: the name of the town without modification, ; a phrase with , ; and the adjective form of the place name, . The form using would be a bit unusual in the 16th c. except among the nobility. [2] The adjectival form was more common in southern Germany, especially later in period. For example, a man named from Salzburg who moved to Augsburg might very well have been known as or . [3] There is another option that may appeal to you. You would like to have a wolf in your arms. It was not uncommon for arms to cant, or make a visual reference to the surname of their owner. If you choose a surname that contains the word or a syllable that sounds very much like , then the wolf in your arms would echo your name in a very authentic manner. You can choose the surname , used as early as 1300; or a surname with as an element, such as 1350, or 1411. [3] (The is an umlaut over the .) All of these surnames survived to modern times. You may even consider combining these two concepts with a locative based on a town name that has as an element. As an example, the towns and in Bavaria lead to the surnames and . Dated examples of these surnames and others that might appeal to you include: 1398, 1311, 1581, 1556, and 1510. [4] The best way to explain the kinds of heraldic designs that are appropriate for your culture is to show you a number of pictures from your chosen time period. We can recommend two armorials on the web, but they are from a couple of centuries earlier than your persona. We think you can safely use them as a guide to the appropriate style. The Manesse Codex gives examples of arms from c.1300-30. The index is only available in German: http://www.tempora-nostra.de/manesse/manesse_start.shtml Or, you can go straight to the images: http://www.tempora-nostra.de/manesse/manesse0-9.shtml The Manesse Codex was produced in the early 14th century, but many of the people represented lived over a hundred years earlier or more. It is possible that they did not actually bear the arms shown during their lifetimes. For examples of arms from c.1340, see the Zu"rich Roll of Arms: http://ladyivanor.bizland.com/zroaen0.htm Note that the Zu"rich roll starts with a collection of flags and then a catalogue of the arms of royalty (some of them fictional). The material you'll find most useful starts on the second row of arms on the front of Strip II. There is also available a German armorial produced in the early 17th century: _Johann Siebmachers Wappenbuch von 1605_. Though it is later than your period, it will also give an idea of what arms looked like in your region. Many arms used in 16th century Germany were quite simple. The colors you've chosen, black and white, were very popular in Germany, and the wolf was a popular charge in your region. [5] Unfortunately, these choices are also quite common in Society heraldry, so it's a little tricky to design new arms that are sufficiently different from those already registered. In the suggestions listed below, we've incorporated some other motifs common in Swabian heraldry [5]. We believe you could register any of these designs with the SCA College of Arms. Argent, a wolf rampant per fess gules and sable. The upper half of the wolf is red (gules), the lower half black (sable). You could also swap these colors. Red was another common tincture in late-period German heraldry. Gules, a wolf rampant barry argent and sable. The wolf is colored by about 8 horizontal black-and-white stripes. The wolf could also be colored with vertical stripes, replacing the word with . In conclusion, the name and any of the surnames we've mentioned would make a fine name for a German man in Augsburg during the 1500s. Any of the designs listed above would make fine armory. 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, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, Arval Benicoeur, Blaise de Cormeilles, Juliana de Luna, Rouland Carre, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Walraven van Nijmegen. Dietmar von Straubing 9 March, 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia", revised edition (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999) [URL: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/]. [2] We discuss the use of the preposition in some detail in a report for a previous client. To find out more, see Academy of Saint Gabriel report 2041 (Dieterich). http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi?2041 [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960). s.nn. Salzburg(er), Wolfauer, Wolfinger, Wolfrath, Wolfsberg, Wolfurt(er) [4] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry (German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357). s.n. Wolf(f), Wo"lfer, Wu"lfing. [5] Zenobia Naphtali, "Regional Style" in Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium, 1996, Montgomery, Alabama (SCA, Inc., 1996). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The client contacted us again and asked for more information on the name . Based on Talan's original comments, we told him that it is based on the Bavarian place name and cited the 1510 example in full, , from Brechenmacher s.n. Wolfauer. Arval, 22 Mar 2001