ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2519 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2519 ************************************ 26 Apr 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a name appropriate for a man from Denmark in the mid 1300s. In particular, you wondered about a prefixed nickname meaning something like or , as a given name, and a final byname meaning "the Archer". Here is what we have found. Prefixed bynames were common in some parts of Scandinavia in the early Middle Ages, but we have found no examples in Denmark and none as late as your period. We recommend against that construction for a 14th century name. is a fine Danish given name, recorded in 1358 in the name . It was pronounced \RAH-v@n\, where \@\ represents the sound of the in or . is another appropriate given name; we've found a dozen instances in Denmark in the first half of the 14th century, most often spelled but still pronounced \VAHL-d@-mar\ [1]. If you want to use both these names, we recommend you choose one for yourself and the other for your father. is an excellent 14th century Danish name. Middle names were not used in this part of Europe in your period, so we recommend against using one of these as a middle name. We found one Danish byname from your period that refers to archery: 1340 or 1399, both meaning "bow". Either or is an excellent choice for your period. was pronounced \BOO-gih\ and was \BOO-g@\. is also a possibility: We found in 1459 [2]. The symbol is an abbreviation for introduced by the editors of our modern source. 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, Lindorm Eriksson, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 26 Apr 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.nn. Rafn, Waldemar. Example of include: 1304 Waldemarus 1304 Valdemarus 1327 Erich Waldemarss: 1326 [lat. gen.] Waldemari 1326 Woldemarus 1319 Abel Waldemari 1328 Valdemarus 1304 Waldemaro de Rosen 1306 Woldemar Rose 1306 Benedictus Waldemar s: 1332 Woldemarus Winsflet 1346 Woldemarus Smalstede [2] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol II: Tilnavne (Copenhagen: 1949-64), s.n. Bughi. One example appears in the genitive case as 1340. Another is incomplete, <...hadh Bughe> 1399.