ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2245
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2245
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10 Mar 2001
From: Judith Phillips 

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked us to help you find the appropriate form of the name <Emele 
Kaufmann> or <Emele Schulert> for a German woman living between 1300 and 
1450. Here is the information we found.

We found a single example of the name <Emele> in the 14th century as a pet 
form of some undetermined feminine name (presumably derived from the 
Germanic root <Amal->) [1]. It was probably pronounced \EH-meh-leh\. 
<Emele> is thus a rare but attested name for your period. You might also 
consider the similar name <Emelin>, found in the early 15th century [1].

<Kauffman> is a byname meaning "wholesale merchant, trader" (as opposed to 
a retail merchant). We found the following spellings (with dates):

   <Koufmanni> 1135 [2]
   <Koufman> 1268, 1272 [3]
   <Kofman> 1287 [2]
   <Ko[v]fman> 1289 [3]
   <Kouffman> 1291 [3]
   <Ko[v]ffman> 1296 [3]
   <der ko[v]fman> 1298 [3]
   <Caufman> 1362 [4]
   <Kauffman> 1378 [4]
   <kauffmann> 1387 [5]

<Koufmanni> appears to be a Latinized genitive (possessive) form. The 
notation <o[v]> represents an <o> with a small <v> written over it and 
represented roughly the same sound as <ou>.

<Kauffmann> would be an excellent byname for you, with one small 
adjustment. In your period, an occupational byname (byname derived from 
one's job) for a woman would have been feminized. We found the following 
two feminine forms (circa 1300):

   <Kaufmannen> [3]
   <Ko[v]fmannin> [3]

<Kaufmannen> was pronounced \KOUF-mah-nen\, where the notation \OU\ 
represents the sound in <out>. <Ko[v]fmannin> was pronounced 
\KOWF-mah-nin\, where \ow\ represents the sound in <bowl> (pronounced with 
lips strongly rounded so that it almost ends in an \oo\ sound).

The modern surname <Schulert> has at least two possible sources. The first, 
and probably the more common, is the Middle High German word <schuol{oe}re> 
or <schu"el{ae}re>, meaning "student." (The letters in curly brackets 
represent ligatures; the symbol <"> indicates an umlaut over the preceding 
letter.) This word was often used of a teacher or cleric as well. We found 
the byname <dictus Schuoler> ("called Scholar") in 1270. [6] The feminine 
form would most likely be <Schuolerin>, pronounced \SHOO-@-leh-rin\, where 
the notation \@\ represents the sound of <a> in <about> or <sofa> [7]. 
There is also <Schu"hler>, derived from <schu"heler>, an occupational term 
meaning "shoemaker". We found the bynames <der Schu"heler> in 1339 and 
<Schuchler> in 1404. [8] The most likely feminine form for your period 
would be <Schu"helerin>, pronounced \SHU"-@-leh-rin\, where \u"\ represents 
the sound in German <fu"hlen> or the sound of <u> in French <tu>. [7].

<Kaufmannen>, <Schuolerin>, and <Schu"lerin> could all have been used in a 
number of ways. They could have been literal occupational bynames, e.g. 
<Kaufmannen> for a female merchant. They could also have been derived from 
the name of a woman's husband or father; for example, <Emele Schuolerin> 
might have been the wife or daughter of a scholar rather than having been a 
scholar herself. We think that derivation from a husband's name was 
probably the most common source of feminized occupational bynames. Finally, 
they could have been inherited surnames; the family of <Emele Schu"lerin> 
might not have made any shoes for a few generations.

In summary, <Emele Kaufmannen>, <Emele Schuolerin>, and <Emele 
Schu"helerin> would all be appropriate names for your period.

We hope that this letter has been useful to you. Please do not hesitate to 
contact us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have any 
further questions. I was assisted in writing this letter by Dietmar von 
Straubing, Hartmann Rogge, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, 
Gotfrid von Schwaben, Juliana de Luna, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval 
Benicoeur, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael.

For the Academy,

Adeliza de Saviniaco
10 March 2001

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References:

[1] Seibicke, Wilfried, _Historisches Deutsches Vornamenbuch_ (de Gruyter, 
series, various dates). s.n. <Emel>

[2] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der 
deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 
1957-1960). s.n.Kaufmann.

[3] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen 
Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; 
Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966). pp. 518

[4] Schwarz, Ernst, _Deutsche Namenforschung.  I: Ruf- und Familiennamen_ 
(Goettingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1949). s.n. Kaufmann.

[5] Bahlow, Hans, _Deutsches Namenlexikon : Familien- und Vornamen nach 
Ursprung und Sinn erklaert_  (Frankfurt am Main : Suhrkamp Taschenbuch 
Verlag, 1985, 1990) s.n. Kauf(f)mann.

[6] Brechenmacher, op. cit.,  s.n. Schuler

[7] There is a general pattern of forming feminine bynames by adding the 
suffix <in> to the masculine name. For example, from Socin, op. cit., we 
have <Margareta du' Trehselin> from <trehsel> (p. 538) and <Salome du' 
Wibelerina> from <Wiberler> (p. 542).

[8] Brechenmacher, op. cit., s.n. Schu"hler