ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2575 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2575 ************************************ 06 Oct 2002 From: Ursula Whitcher Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a French man living sometime between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. You also asked about the arms, "Vert, on a bend or between a tree eradicated and a sword palewise argent, two lions passant gules." Here is what we have found. We found many forms of the name between the ninth and twelfth centuries. The Latinized form was most common; we also found the forms , , , , , and . [1] We also found several forms of this name between the twelfth century and about 1300 in the Occitan language, which was spoken in southern France. [1, 2, 3, 11] Based on these examples, we can recommend as an appropriate name for a French man living sometime between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. The form is rarer, but we believe it is still appropriate for your period. The city of Poitiers was referred to as in twelfth- or thirteenth-century Occitan documents. [2] Since Poitiers was in a French-speaking region, one would expect a man from Poitiers to speak French, not Occitan; however we believe is also an early Old French form of the name. [4] We also found the modern spelling in a late thirteenth-century history, so this form is appropriate for the later part of your period. [5] Before the tenth century, a person was almost always identified by just a single given name. When surnames came into use, the most common way to identify a man beyond his given name was as his father's son. An eleventh-century Ademar son of Guilelm might have been listed in a Latin document as "Ademarus son of Guilelm" or simply "Guilelm's Ademar". Locative bynames -- surnames that say where a person is from -- were quite rare before the eleventh century. [12] Thus, the simple or is most appropriate for the beginning of your period. or is an appropriate name for a French man living in the eleventh or early twelfth centuries; from the twelfth century on, we believe or is most likely. Heraldic arms were invented in northwestern France in the middle of the twelfth century. Thus, if you choose a time period before the twelfth century, armory will not be appropriate for your persona. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use arms in the Society: many Societyfolk use arms even though their personas would not have done so. Whether you use arms or not depends on what period you choose to recreate, and how you think about authenticity and your persona. You can find a few thoughts on these issues in an article we've posted on the web: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.s-gabriel.org/faq/nonheraldic.html We found many examples of lions passant in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century French heraldry. [6, 7, 13] We also found a few examples of swords and trees. [8, 9, 10, 13] Thus, the elements of your design are reasonable. However, heraldry of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries tended to be fairly simple, with only one or two types of charges and with identical groups of charges placed in balancing arrangements. The individual elements of your design are plausible even for the earliest arms, but the way you've combined them doesn't fit your period. Medieval French arms rarely had charges on the field plus charges on an ordinary (like your bend), nor did they use a pair of dissimilar charges on either side of an ordinary. Here are some simpler designs using your charges: Or, two lions passant gules, overall a bend vert. Vert, a tree argent and on a chief or a lion passant gules. Vert, a bend or between two trees argent and on a chief or a lion passant gules. Vert, a bend or between two swords bendwise argent and on a chief or a lion passant gules. We believe these designs are free from conflict. I 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 Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Aleksandr Traveller, Iago ab Adam, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Ursule Georges. 6 Oct. 2002 References: [1] Marie-Therese Morlet, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972) I.14b, s.n. Adamarus (a.870) [2] Ramons lo Montalbes, "French/Occitan Names From The XII And XIII Century" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ramon/occitan/ [3] Arval Benicoeur, "Languedoc Names circa 1300" (WWW: privately published, 1998) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/toulouse/. (Latin) is found with these as the vernacular (Occitan) forms: Azemar [R,C], Aimar, Aesmar [C] [4] Old French evolved into ; but remained or in many dialects, including the dialect of Poitou. E. Einhorn, _Old French: A Concise Handbook_ (London & New York: Cambridge University Press, 1974), pp. 136-7. [5] Jean De Joinville, _Histoire de Saint Louis_, M. Natalis de Wailly, ed. (Paris, 1874). [6] Gerard J. Brault (ed.). Eight Thirteenth-Century Rolls of Arms in French and Anglo-Norman Blazon (Pennsylvania State University Press, 1973): The Bigot Roll (BA), mid-13th C., nn. 40, 89, 235, 237, 244, 262, 281, 292 [7] ibid., The Chifflet-Prinet Roll (CP), late-13th C., nn. 31, 39, 61, 111 [8] ibid., BA n. 284 [9] ibid., CP n. 137 [10] Brault, Early Blazon (Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1997) s.n. "arbre" cites two examples of trees from Chifflet-Prinet Additions (CPA 148, 178) [11] Anne Brenon, _Le petit livre aventureux des pre/noms occitans au temps du Catharisme_ (Tolosa: Loubatie\res, 1992), s.n. Ademar. [12] Monique Bourin, "France du Midi et France du Nord: Deux Syste\mes Anthroponymiques?", pp.179-202 in Bourin, Monique, Jean-Marie-Martin, and Francois Menant, eds., _L'Anthroponymie: Document de l'Histoire Sociale des Mondes Me/diterrane/ens Me/die/vaux_, Collection de l'E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 226 (Rome: E/cole Franc,aise de Rome, 1996) [13] Michel Pastoreau. Heraldry: An Introduction to a Noble Tradition (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997), pp. 54-7, shows 4 folios from the Bellenville Armorial, c. 1380. It includes the following: Vairy argent and gules, on a chief or a tree issuant vert. Gules, a bend between two lions passant bendwise or. Azure, an eagle displayed argent beaked and legged and on a chief or a lion passant gules.