ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2226 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2226 ************************************ 17 Jan 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked when and where in Wales the name is likely to have been used. You also noted that your nickname is and that you'd like to continue using it. This letter is a brief answer to your question. You've chosen a fine name. This particular spelling is best suited to 15th-16th century Wales and would have been written only by an English-speaking scribe. We will suggest other spellings that would have been used as early as the 13th century and in Welsh-language contexts. is an anglicized spelling of a name whose standard modern Welsh spelling is . In early medieval Welsh sources, the name appears as and [1]. The earliest example we've found of historical people bearing the name (as opposed to legendary figures) is from the 8th century [2]. In Welsh-language sources, the name is usually written in ways that imply a three-syllable pronunciation: , 1292 [3], , , 1406 [4]. Two-syllable forms like appear only in sources where spellings are anglicized: , 1291 [3, 5], 1315 [6]. In 16th century records, we find these spellings [7]: Trehayre Treharyn Tryheron Trayne (possibly a nickname) Trahern Trehern Tryheirne In Welsh, the name was pronounced \trah-HI-arn\; in English it was sometimes compressed to \trah-HARN\ or \tar-HAIRN\. The Welsh word for "son" was spelled in Anglicized records from the 13th century to the end of our period. Earlier forms of this word are complicated; write us again if you particular want to re-create an earlier period. is an anglicized form of the Welsh name , which was common in medieval Wales. The name was commonly spelled with one or two n's. We have found the specific spelling in records from Anglesey in 1406 and from Caernarvonshire in 1597 [4, 8]. If you want to set your persona earlier, we recommend the spelling , which is the typical form in 13th-14th century manuscripts. Thus, is a fine 15th-16th century Welsh name, in a spelling typical of English-influenced documents. In Welsh, the same name might have been , a spelling that might have occurred anytime from the 13th century to the 16th. Both parts of the name descend from names that were in very probably in use from the very early Middle Ages, so if you want a name suited to a much earlier period -- such as the period of the historical roots of the Arthur legends -- we can probably help you. If you're interested in that possibility, please write us again. However, I should warn you that the result will look very different from the late medieval name we've discussed in this letter. You wrote that you use the nickname . It happens that is a Welsh word, a borrowing of the English word , and it was used as early as the 15th century as a nickname. "Trahern the Tall, son of Wynn" would be a fine 15th or 16th century Anglo-Welsh name [7]. (And just in case you aren't tall: Sarcastic nicknames, with meanings opposite to the truth, were quite common.) We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 17 Jan 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966). [2] Davies, Wendy, _An Early Welsh Microcosm: Studies in the Llandaff Charters_ (London: The Royal Historical Society, 1978). [3] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3", in Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 1991 (SCA: Laurel, Maryland, 1991). [4] Roberts, Glyn, "The Anglesey Submissions of 1406" in _Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies_, vol. XV pp.39-60. [5] Jones, Francis "The Subsidy of 1292 [covering Abergavenny and Cilgerran]" in the Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, 13 (1950): 210-230). [6] Ellis, T.P., _The First Extent of Bromfield and Yale A.D. 1315_, Cymmrodorion Record Series No. 11 (London: The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1924). [7] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985), s.nn. Tal, Trahaearn. [8] Ellis, Henry, _The Record of Caernarvon_ (Public Records Commission, 1838).