ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2551 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2551 ************************************ 31 May 2002 From: SARA LIANA FRIEDEMANN Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if would be an appropriate name for a 12th century Welshwoman. If it wasn't, you asked if we could suggest similar names. Here is the information we have found. The only example of the name that we have found is the woman who supposedly lived in the late 6th century who you also found listed in Bartrum's genealogies [1]. This is a very unreliable citation. Bartrum based his work on 15th and 16th century genealogies. It is not unlikely that any particular 6th century person mentioned in those sources is legendary or entirely fictional [3]; and in any case, any name actually used in the language of 6th century Wales was very different from the version recorded in the very different language of 15th century Wales. We have found no evidence of any name much like in use in the 12th century or at any other time, so we recommend you choose a different name. We can suggest a few other names beginning with that might appeal to you. The names , pronounced \ELL-en\, and , pronounced \ET-thill\, are recorded in a 10th century manuscript, and in 13th century records we find , pronounced \EN-ith\, and , pronounced \ehr-DID-vill\. This latter name is also found as in 1292 and in 1256. [5,6] If none of these interests you, we recommend that you read the following article, whose information was based on these 13th century records: "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html This article also contains information on Welsh surname practices appropriate for this period. While all of the information contained in this article is from the 13th century, we feel confident that it would be appropriate for your period as well, so long as you stay away from names of obvious English or Norman origin. We hope that this letter has been useful to you, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter were provided by Arval Benicoeur, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 31May02 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Bartrum, Peter C., _A Welsh Classical Dictionary: People in history and legend up to about A.D. 1000_ (Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales, 1993). s.n. Efeilian [2] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966). [3] Bartrum's sources contain no dates. The dates he lists are very rough approximations. His 590 date for Efeilian could be off by a couple hundred years [1, 2]. [5] Jones, Francis. 1950. The Subsidy of 1292. Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies vol. 13:210-230. (Covers Abergavenny and Cilgerran) [6] Roderick, A.J., & William Rees. 1950. "Ministers' Accounts for the Lordships of Abergavenny, Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle: PRO, Ministers' Accounts Bundle 1094, No. 11; Part I -- The Lordship of Abergavenny." In South Wales and Monmouth Record Society Publications: No. 2.