ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2437
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2437
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4 Feb 2002
From:  (Josh Mittleman)


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked our help choosing a late-period German equivalent of the English
name <Elzabeth Attewell>, and you wondered if <Elsebeth von Quelle> is
correct.  Here is what we have found.

There wasn't a uniform German language in your period: German was a
collection of related dialects.  The most significant division was between
High German dialects spoken in the south and southeast, and Low German
dialects spoken in the north and northwest.  Vocabulary and spelling varied
considerably across this division.  We'll discuss both High and Low German
forms of your name.

Forms of <Elizabeth> were found through Germany in your period.  A typical
15th century Low German form is <Ilsebet>, pronouned \IL-z@-bet\, where \@\
represents the sound of the <a> in <about> and <soda>.  We also found short
forms <Ilsebe> and <Ilse> in 14th and 15th century sources [1].  These were
pronounced \IL-z@-b@\ and \IL-z@\.  In High German dialects, the name is
typically <Elizabeth>, <Elisabeth>, <Elsebeth>, or <Elsbet>, pronounced
\eh-LEE-z@-bet\ and \EHL-z@-bet\.  Some instances of the first two forms
may be documentary, i.e. they were conventional Latin forms rather than
vernacular forms.  We also found the short forms <Else>, <Elsa>, and
<Lyse>, and some other spellings listed in the footnotes [2, 3, 4].  The
short forms were pronounced \EHL-z@\ and \LEE-z@\.

<Quelle> is not the best translation of "well".  The normal Low German word
for "well" is <Born>, and the High German is <Brunnen>.  We found a variety
of bynames that mean "person who lives at a well".  Some Low German
examples are <Bornemann> 1438, <Bornmann> 1520.  High German bynames
include <Brunnemann> 1260 [5].  More precise translations of <Attewell> are
found in earlier records: <bi dem Brunnen> 1260 and 1344, <zem Brunnen>
1270, <ob dem Brunnen> 1280 and 1303, <zu dem Brunnen> 1285, <bey dem
Brunnen> 1417; <bi dem Borne> 1347 [6].  Prepositional forms like <zu dem
Brunnen> generally dropped out of use before your period; in the late 15th
and 16th century, we would expect to see the simpler surnames <Brunnen>,
<Brunner>, and <Borne>.  However, there are some examples of the more
complicated surname surviving into your period and beyond, e.g. <Hans
Michel Zumborn> 1697 [6].

The source of <Attewell> is a Middle English phrase that means "at the
stream or spring" [7].  The words <Born> and <Brunnen> often had that
meaning as well, but there are other words that specifically meant
"stream".  If you'd prefer a German byname with that meaning, let us know.

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 Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont,
Dietmar von Straubing, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Eoin Caimbeul,
Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Ursula Georges, and Elsbeth Anne Roth.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  4 Feb 2002


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References

[1] Zoder, R., _Familiennamen in Ostfalen_. 2 vols. (Hildesheim: 1968),
pp. 95, 104, 110, 119, 139.  Specific examples are <Elizabet> 1308/69,
<Ilse> 1323, <Ylse> 1381 who is also <Ylsebeten> 1381, <Ilsbe> 1495,
<Ilsebe> 1469 who is also <Elisabeth> 1483, <Elizabeth> 1440, <Ilsebeten>
1406.  <Elisabeth> and <Elizabeth> are standard documentary forms that do
not represent the spoken form of the name.  The <-en> ending in a couple
examples is a grammatical ending required when the name is not used as the
subject of the sentence.

[2] Mulch, Roland, _Arnsburger Personennamen: Untersuchungen zum
Namenmaterial aus anrsburger Urkunden vom 13. - 16. Jahrhundert_ (Darmstadt
& Marburg: Hessischen Historischen Kommission Darmstadt and the
Historischen Kommission fu:r Hessen, 1974), pp.37-40.  <Elsebith> 1350-1400
<Else> 1350-1400, <Lyse> 1350-1400), <Elsebeth> 1400-1500, <Else>
1400-1500, <Lyse> 1400-1500.

[3] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen
Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903;
Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), 89-90.  <Elsabet> 12th
or 13th c.; <Elizabet> 12th c., 1241, 1253, 1270; <Elsebeta> 12th or 13th
c.; <Elysabeth> 1233; <Elizabeth> 1260, 1288; <Elysabet> 1268; <Elsebetha>
1271; <Elizabeht> 1276; <Elisabetha> 1280; <Elyzabeth> 1296, 1300;
<Elizabetha> ca.1300; <Elsbeta> 1292; <Elsibete> 1278, 1280, 1300;
<Eilszbethe> [sic] 1299.  The forms in <-a> are Latinized.

[4] Engel, Wilhelm, _Das Seelbuch der Liebfrauenbruderschaft zu Wu"rzburg
(12.-15. Jahrhundert): Quellen und Forschungen zur Geschichte des Bistums
und Hochstifts Wu"rzburg_, Band VII (Wu"rzburg: Kommissionsverlag Ferdinand
Scho"ningh, 1953).  <Elizabeth> occurs at least eight times (records 46,
420, 389, and 483, early 15th c., records 343, 385, and 486, mid-15th c.,
and record 510, late 15th c.); <Elisabeth> occurs at least four times
(records 44, 383, and 504, mid-15th c., and record 258, mid-to-late 15th
c.); <Elizabet> occurs once in the mid-15th c. (record 253); <Elyzabeth>
occurs once in the early 14th c. (record 234); and a woman whose name is
given as <Elisabeth> in another source appears as <Elsa> in the early 15th
c.

[5] Bahlow, Hans, _Dictionary of German Names_, tr. Edda Gentry
(German-American Cultural Society, 1994 ISBN: 0924119357), s.nn. Brunner,
Bormann.

[6] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der
deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag,
1957-1960), s.nn. Brunner, Bei dem Borne, Zumborn.

[7] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Attwell.