ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2257 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2257 ************************************ 7 Apr 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an Englishman in our period. You originally told us that you wanted a name appropriate for a 10th century Anglo-Saxon, but later said that you would be willing to shift to a different century to accommodate the name. Here is what we have found. The name or was brought to England by the Normans in 1066 and was adopted by the Anglo-Saxon population soon after. It is a fine choice for any time after the Conquest. If you particularly want a name suited for a man of Anglo-Saxon descent, then we recommend you set your persona after about 1090 [1, 7]. Unfortunately, doesn't fit any pattern of naming that we've observed in medieval England. We did find the name 1301, as well as 1360 and "wild rose" 1332 [2]; but these are all descriptions of naturally-occuring variants of roses. There was no such thing as a black rose in medieval England, and we've found no examples of bynames based on similarly imaginary plants. We can't recommend as a good re-creation of medieval English bynames. Your other byname, , is much more appropriate for early Norman England. We'll suggest some appropriate forms below. We'll also suggest some surnames similar in sound or meaning to "black" and "rose". Bynames meaning "the wolf" were rather common in post-Conquest England. We've found 1166, 1279, and similar 14th century examples. (The first example might also have meant "Robert son of Wulf".) The Norman French word for "wolf" produced 1207, 1221, 1242, 1279 [2]. would be a perfect name for a man in England from the Conquest through the 14th century. The French in these examples was probably only used in writing. In speech, it would have been replaced by the English . would be an excellent choice for the late 11th century. The name "Willelm (the) Black" was recorded in 1086, 1130, 1198 [2]. We don't find bynames based on the name of the flower until the 13th century, but we can offer an earlier possibility that sounds similar: the surname "from [a place called] Ros", recorded in 1086 [2]. would be a fine name, though it would almost certainly have been used only by a man descended from the Norman settler who came from that French village. If you're willing to go a couple centuries later, we can suggest the bynames in the example 1242 or 1305 [2]. These names, both of which mean "at the Rose", are examples of "sign names", used to identify a man who lived in or near a house or inn called "the Rose". The first form, with the French rather than the equivalent English , was probably used only in writing; the English version was probably the spoken form [4]. was also a woman's given name in 13th century England. We've found "Thomas son of Rose" 1279 and 1302 [2]. The underlying name was in use by 1202 [3]. So if you set your persona in 1200 or later, would be another fine choice. Finally, in the 14th century and probably the late 13th century, it was not unusual for a man to be identified in writing by more than one byname. A man who was sometimes known as and other times as might have been identified by a scribe as [8, 9]. 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, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Julie Stampnitzky, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 7 Apr 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Richard. [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Redrose, Ross, Rose, Black, Wolf, Low, Love. [3] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). [4] One might extend this pattern to suppose that there was an inn called "the Blak Rose", and create the name . We don't believe that the evidence supports this possibility, but it isn't unreasonable. We've found 1285, 1358, based on inn names [5, 6]. We feel that it is invalid to assume that because inns were occasionally named for naturally-colored animals they would therefore also have been named for an unnaturally-colored flower. [5] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1996), p.807, s.nn. Whitehorse. [6] Ewen, C. L'Estrange, A History of Surnames of the British Isles (Originally pubished: London, 1931. Reprinted for Clearfield Company, Inc. by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, 1995), p.320. [7] Ekwall, Eilert, _Early London Personal Names_, (Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1947), chapter II and especially p.98: "...so early as about the year 1100 it was quite common for English people to give French names to their children, while there are only a few examples of sons or daughters of parents with French names being given English names." He goes on to note that the custom seems to have worked its way down from the upper classes and says that some Englishmen with French names must have been born about 1090 or earlier. [8] Reaney & Wilson, s.nn. Dragon. (1374). [9] Bardsley, p.361. . http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/