ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2234 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2234 ************************************ 16 Feb 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or is an appropriate name for a woman in France between 1200 and 1550. Here is what we have found. or is the name of two female characters in the medieval French romance "Le Roman de la Violette, ou de Gerart de Nevers". or is the name of male characters in several French romances. Some romances also used a feminine form of the latter name, , , , for a couple different female characters [1, 2]. This evidence alone doesn't tell us that any of these names was used by real people in medieval France: Authors of romances commonly invented fanciful names for their characters. However, we've found other evidence that suggests that both of the feminine names were used through at least some of your period. We believe that is a variant spelling of an Old French feminine name that appears in 13th century Anglo-French records as , , , , and [5]. These are all derivatives of an 10th and 11th century Old French name that appears in the Latinized forms , [6]. In medieval French, the syllable <-(i)el-> often evolved to <-iau-> or <-eau->, so would naturally have become . The shift from to is also attested in Old French: The place name 1385 has become modern , and c.1240 became 1337 [7]. Thus, we believe that the in the romances is a form of a name that was in use in France and England from the 10th century to the 13th, in a spelling appropriate for the late 12th or early 13th century. It would have been pronounced \o"-ree-OWT\. \o"\ represents the vowel in the French word or the German ; \OWT\ is pronounced like the word . There was a 5th century St. Orient or Oriens [3]; and we found a Latinized example of the feminine form of this name, , used in the 9th or 10th century [4]. The given name survived in use long enough to produce a surname that has survived to modern times as [3]; this implies that the name was probably in use as late as the 13th century. We found no direct evidence that the feminine form continued in use that late, but the romances suggest that the name was known somewhat later. We think it possible that it was in use in the 11th or perhaps even the early 12th century. The most likely vernacular form, , would have been pronounced \or-ee-AH~NT-@\, where \AH~\ represents a nasal vowel (pronounced partly through the nose), and \@\ represents the sound of the in or . 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 16 Feb 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Flutre, Louis-Fernand, _Table des noms propres avec toutes leurs variantes, figurant dans les romans du Moyen Age e/crits en franc,ais ou en provenc,al et actuellement publie/s ou analyse/s_ (Poitiers: Centre d'e/tudes supe/rieures de civilisation me/die/vale, 1962), s.nn. Euriaut, Orian(t), Oriande. [2] Langlois, Ernest, _Table des Noms Propres de toute nature compris dan les Chansons de Geste_ (New York: Burt Franklin, 1971 [1904]), s.n. Oriant, Oriande. [3] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Orient. [4] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Dictionnaire E/tymologique des Noms de Famille_ (Librairie Acade/mique Perrin, 1997), II:86. [5] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Oriel. [6] Morlet, I:46b. [7] Morlet, III:235a, III:421a.