ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2432 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2432 ************************************ 6 Dec 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 12th century Anglo-Norman woman. If doesn't work, you asked us to suggest a similar-sounding place which might have been the original home of a companion of William the Conqueror. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Forms of were popular among the Anglo-Normans, but this particular spelling was not used. We have found and 1198, 1154-89, and the pet form 1177, 1200 [1]. and were interchangeable, but we've found no evidence of in early Norman forms of this name. We didn't find support for as an Anglo-Norman surname, but we can come pretty close. We found a 1221 and 1184, both recorded in England. The first is from Vains, in La Manche; the second is probably from Vienne, a town in Calvados whose name was spelled the same way in 1198 [2]; is probably a Latinization. Both places are in Normandy. would be a fine 12th century Anglo-Norman name; it would have been pronounced roughly \KAH-teh-rin d@ VAYN\, where \@\ represents the sound of the in or . would have been pronounced roughly \vee-EN-@\. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Julie Stampnitzky, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 6 Dec 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Vaines, Vian.