ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2331 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2331 ************************************ 8 Jul 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing a Finnish masculine name appropriate for the period 1000-1250, particularly one using a form of and a byname meaning "the serpent". Here is what we have found. There are few surviving records from Finland before about 1300, and none in the Finnish language until much later. Early records from Finland are in Swedish, German, and Latin; and names recorded in them were adapted to the language used. Thus, one solution to your problem would be to use a Swedish name and write your name in Latin. We discussed early Swedish examples of in a previous report [1]. The earliest Finnish forms of that we know are and , recorded in the 14th century, and 15th century [3]. Examples (all recorded in languages other than Finnish) include: Johannes Villaeson 1332 Hannos 1392 Joan Staff 1440 Yhannus j Sayriala 1445 Ihanus Torene 1445 It is likely that some form of was used in Finland by the 12th century, at least by Swedish, German, and Danish settlers, and by local converts to Christianity. It is most likely toward the end of your period, when the conversion of Finland accelerated [2]. A byname meaning "serpent" may be a reasonable choice for medieval Finland, but we haven't been able to verify what form it would have taken. You can find some discussion of period Finnish bynames in the article on the web that we've cited as reference [3]. 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 and Hartmann Rogge. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 8 Jul 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Academy of Saint Gabriel report 2323 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2323 [2] "Finland: History", Encyclopedia Britannica (WWW: britannica.com, 2001). http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=118068&tocid=129514#129514.toc [3] Kerttu Katariinantyta"r Roisko, "Vanhat nimityyppimme (Finnish Names)" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 2001). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/FinnishNamesArticle.htm