ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2536 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2536 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 28 May 2002 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 16th century Frenchman, specifically a Huguenot. In particular you wondered if was used in your period. Here is what we have found. Modern France has one common language, but that wasn't true in our period. The main division was between French, spoken in the north; and Occitan, spoken in the southern third of the area that is modern France. Occitan was a different Romance language, more closely related to Catalan than to French. Many names were used in both languages, but often in very different forms. There were Huguenot communities in both regions. is the normal modern spelling of a name that was very common in our period, of course. We have some examples of this spelling in the 16th century, but it was at least as often spelled [1, 2, 3, 4]. We know one instance of used as an given name in our period, in 16th century Normandy [2]. However, when the two were used together, they were viewed as a unit, , which is of course the French name for St. John the Baptist. Compound given names were rare in our period. A tax roll from a city near Paris in 1587, for example, has just one example, [4]. The compound seems to have come into use in France right around 1600. The earliest examples we've found are two French bishops. In modern spellings, they are , bishop of Tre/guier, confirmed 1572; and , bishop of Luc,on, confirmed 1599 [5]. It's possible that these two clerics adopted the name for religious reasons, so they aren't the best evidence for its use by a non-cleric. The name seems to have gained generally popularity in the first half of the 17th century; some examples (in modern spellings) are [6]: Jean Baptiste Budes, comte de Guebriant 1602-43 Jean Baptiste Tavernier 1605-89 Jean Baptiste Colbert 1619-83 Jean Baptiste Poquelin 1622-73, the author who wrote as Moliere. Jean Baptiste Talon 1625?-1694 Jean Baptiste Lully 1632-87, born in Italy as . Jean Baptiste Jouvenet 1644-1717 Several of these men were high officers of the French government, so one might think that the name was particularly associated with the Catholic faction. However, we don't have enough data to be able to draw a conclusion. In general, the name seems plausible for the tail end of your period, but not much earlier. We have not found an Occitan form of this name. is a French variant of , an Occitan surname meaning 'horseradish'; it was probably originally used for a horseradish merchant [7, 10]. By your period, the French used inherited family names, so any literal meaning would long since have been lost. We haven't found a 16th century example of the name, and we aren't certain that this particular spelling was in use. It does seem likely that the name was in use in some form, though. You mentioned that you found the name in genealogical records of Huguenot families; if you can tell us more, we may be able to give you a more complete evaluation. The place is near Meaux, on the Marne river in Brie, in northern France. It appears in 13th century records as and [8], so the modern spelling very likely existed in French in your period. We have some examples of Frenchmen in the late 15th or 16th century who were identified by two surnames, e.g. , [9]. Most men used a single surname, but the form you've chosen is also appropriate. However, the particular combination may be unlikely, since derives from the far south and is rather far north. It might be more plausible to use elements derived from a single region; and since is French, it would be best to combine it with a French surname. is a reasonable name for a late 16th century Frenchman. 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, Juliana de Luna, Talan Gwynek, Pedro de Alcazar, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 28 May 2002 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] _Les comptes du vingtie\mes de l'an 1601: Pour Roubaix et Ne/chin (Roye\re), Table des patronymes par Maxime Senave_ (Flanders, Hainaut, Artois: Groupement Ge/ne/alogique de la Re/gion du Nord, Collection de Travaux et Etudes Ge/ne/alogiques, ND). In this source, is the more common spelling; so if you prefer this spelling, you may want to set your persona in the far north of France, in Artois or Hainaut. [2] Cateline de la Mor, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/cateline/norman16.html [3] Michel Robert, "Crew of the 'Le Christophe' in 1535" (WWW: privately published, accessed 16 May 2002). http://www.geocities.com/~carignan/E15Christophe.html [4] Aryanhwy merch Catmael, "Names from a 1587 Tax Roll from Provins" (WWW: privately published, 2002) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/provins1587.html [5] Frederic J. Baumgartner, Change and Continuity in the French Episcopate: The Bishops and the Wars of Religion, 1547-1610 (Durham: Duke University Press, 1986); appendix II "Roll of Bishops Seated 1547-1610". [6] Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.) (WWW: Bartleby.com, 2001), various entries. http://www.bartleby.com/65/ [7] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Raphanel. [8] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972). [9] Aryanhwy merch Catmael, "Names Found in Commercial Documents from Bordeaux, 1470-1520" (WWW: privately published, 2001). This collection of names may not be typical of 15th-16th century French usage: When dealing with a large number of travellers, a scribe might have felt the need to record their places of origin in addition to their names. Note that double surnames are rare even in this source. http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/bordeaux.html [10] "Sabaud: Occitan Dictionary" (WWW: Grop d'Iniciativa per un Diccionari Informatizat de la Lenga Occitana, accessed 21 May 2002). It shows as the modern Occitan word for "horseradish". http://www.mnet.fr/sabaud/gb_index.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Addendum, 26 Jun 2002, Arval: The client provided another citation: In Charles Lart's Hugenot Pedigrees, There is an example of a Jean Baptiste Buor who was Godfather to Charles Buor (?) in 1586 at La Rochelle. We haven't studied this source, so we can't comment on its accuracy. Addendum, May 2005, Arval: Aryanhwy found another instance, , in modern spelling, dated 1586. Archives nationales (France), Hommages rendus a\ la Chambre de France: Chambre des comptes de Paris, se/rie P, XIVe-XVIe sie\cles: inventaire analytique (Paris: Les Archives: Diffuse/ par la Documentation franc,aise, 1982-1985.), volume 2, entry 2100.