ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2210 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2210 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 13 Feb 2001 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wanted to know if or would be an appropriate name for a Frenchman living in the late 14th to early 15th century. You also asked about arms with a golden vise on a black field. Here is the information we have found. is a pet form of the name . [4] We find it as a given name in Paris in 1292, and as a patronymic surname (surname based on the bearer's father's name) in Picardy in the 14th century. [1,2] We also find the name as , , and in Calais in the late 13th century. [3] is a fine choice for your given name. We did not find in our references, but the website you found seems to be reliable. Given that data, especially the listed from 1393, you've chosen an excellent name [7]. This surname may very well have meant "the sly". The Old French , recorded in 1175, meant "artful, crafty, sly", as well as "shrewd, clear-sighted, wary, prudent." [8] If your goal is to match your modern surname, you may be interested in the byname 1287 or 1298, recorded in late 13th century Calais. [3] We were unable to find any evidence that vices were used in period armory; in fact, the earliest example of the word referring to the tool isn't until 1500. [6] While other types of implements, such as anvils, saws, hammers, and knives, were used in armory, [5] because we could not find any examples of period vices, we recommend that you do not use a vice on your arms. If you want to preserve the "cant" (pun) on your surname, we can recommend an alternative. An appropriate cant for a surname based upon the word 'face,' would be a man's face or head. We found one example of a French family surnamed whose arms included wolf's heads on them, dating from the time of Edward II. [9,10] We also found arms that including a man's head with a bit of cloth tied around the forehead, and another with two women's heads on it. [5] The arms "Sable, three men's faces Or" would be fine armory for your period and culture. We hope that this letter has been useful, and that you will not hestitate to write again if you have any further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Peter of Jararvellir, Maridonna Benvenuti, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Julie Stampnitzky, Walraven van Nijmegen, Zenobia Naphtali, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 13Feb01 ------------- References: [1] 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) [URL:http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html]. [2] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967). [3] Bougard, Pierre, and Maurits Gysseling, _L'Impot Royal en Artois (1295-1302): Ro^les du 100e et du 50e pre/sente/s et publie/s avec une table anthroponymique, Me/moires de la Commission Royale de Toponymie et de Dialectologie #13 (Louvain: Imprimerie Orientaliste, B.P. 41, 1970). s.n. Colard, Vese [4] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987). s.n. Colard [5] Bergmans, Paul, _Armorial de Flandre du XVIme Sie\cle_ (Bruxelles et Paris: Commission des Monuments de la Ville de Gand, Librairie Nationale d'Art et d'Histoire, 1919). [6] --, _The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973). s.v. Vice [7] Vice, Donna Armstrong, "Meaning of the Vice surnames," (WWW: privately published, 2 Mar 2000) http://www.geocities.com/daavice/origin.html [11] [8] Greimas, Algirdas Julien, _Dictionnaire de l'ancien franc,ais_ (Paris: Larousse, 1997). s.v. vise, vice [9] Rietstap, J. B., _Armorial General_ (Amsterdam: G. Theod. Bom. 1875). [10] Parker, James, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982). s.v. Wolf [11] The information on this web page was found in Debrabandere, Frans, _Dictionary of Family Names in Belgium and North France_, 1993.