ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2302 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2302 ************************************ From: Lisa and Ken Theriot 22 Jun 2001 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or is an appropriate name for a 15th century Polish woman. You also asked about an appropriate byname, preferably beginning with . Here is what we have found. All of our 15th century Polish examples of your name are from Latin records; they give the name as . Citations of the name beginning in the 12th century mention several pet forms; some of the citations have phrases like "Maria alias Maruscha", "Maria alias Maszya", and "Myaszka" [1]. Though you might have gone by one of these nicknames informally, we believe that your name would be recorded in your period primarily as . There was a good deal of variation in spelling throughout the medieval period. There was no notion of a standard, or of one correct way to spell a word or name. Instead, there were generally-understood conventions for how to convert sounds to letters. Individual scribes adapted these conventions to their own preferences and needs, such as reflecting local dialect differences. When we evaluate a proposed spelling of a name, the first question we ask is whether that spelling was actually used. If we can't find it, we ask whether it is consistent with the patterns of spelling variation used at the time and place that our client wants to re-create. We then consider whether the undocumented spelling would have represented the same sound as the recorded spellings. The modern Polish spelling reflects a pronunciation of \MAH-rih-y@\, where \ih\ sounds like the in and \@\ represents the sound of in and . We believe the pronunciation was the same for your period. Your spelling does not reflect this sound; does. However, there are many examples of spellings in Polish where is regularly changed for [2]; based on these examples, we believe that is a plausible, though unattested, spelling. , though it more accurately reflects the pronunciation, is not consistent with period Polish spelling conventions and accordingly we cannot recommend it as a good recreation. We noticed you are using the byname ; it is a Russian surname derived from the Turkic word for [3, 4]. We have found no evidence of Turkic derived names in Poland during your period, so we believe this byname is inappropriate. There are many appropriate Polish bynames beginning with . We'll make a few suggestions here; if none of these appeals to you, please write us again. If you include more information, for example, that you'd like a name beginning with , we can give you more specific assistance. In most cultures during the medieval period, a woman was identified in some circumstances as her father's daughter. If you used the Polish masculine name for your father, you could be known as 'Marya, Kazimir's daughter' [5]. We have an example of dated 1403; it would be an excellent choice for your byname. Polish women from your period were also sometimes known by their place of origin with a type of byname known as a locative. The name would identify you as 'Marya from Krakow' [6]. Obviously this name would be more useful if you did not live in Krakow, where everyone would be 'from Krakow'. Some other locatives that might appeal to you are: Kazimierska [7] Krassowska [7] Kwiatkowska [7] Kargowska [8] These bynames relate to towns called , , , and , respectively. Note that all the locatives end in <-ska>; this is the feminine form of the common Polish name ending <-ski>. Women did not use masculine byname forms in your period; in fact, gender form distinctions are still maintained in modern Polish. Other types of bynames which we find for your period are descriptives, usually describing a physical feature, and bynames of occupation, detailing the sort of work you do. If either of these types of byname appeals to you, please write again with your ideas and we'll do our best to help. Please also write if you would like to use a name we've suggested here but you are unsure how to pronounce it. 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 Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Teceangl Bach, Talan Gwynek, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 22 June 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Taszycki, Witold (ed.), _S{l/}ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych_, 7 vols. (Wroc{l/}aw: Polska Akademia Nauk, Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia Ossolin/skich, 1965-1987), s.n. Maryja. [2] Taszycki includes the following examples: s.n. : Mycolay (1369), Micolay (1375); s.n. : Marcian (1406), Marczyan (1427); s.n. : Lyodzia (1335), Lodzya (1497). [3] Paul Wickenden of Thanet, "A Dictionary of Period Russian Names", 3rd edition (Normal, Illinois: SCA, Free Trumpet Press West, 2000), s.n. Kargasha. [4] Tatiana Nikolaevna Tumanova, _The Compleat Russian Name Book_ (privately published, 3rd edition, 1989), s.n. Kargin. [5] Taszycki, s.n. Kazimirow. [6] Taszycki, s.n. Krakowski, gives an example of dated 1473. [7] Unbegaun, B. O., _Russian Surnames_ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971), pp. 302, 322-330. [8] Taszycki, vol.II, p.536 dates , the masculine form, to 1454. This is the closest Polish surname we found to your current name, .