ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2599
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2599
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From: Sara L Friedemann 
13 Nov 2002

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Louis LeFevre> would be an appropriate name
for a Frenchman living near Orleans between 1450 and 1550.  Here
is the information we have found.

The name <Louis> was spelled in various ways in different parts
of France during your period: [1,2,3,4,5,6]

  Loys      Paris 1423, 1438; Brittany 1452; Sully 1470-1500, Provins 1587
  Louis     Bruges 1508; Brittany c1530; Roubaix & Nechin 1601
  Louys     Brittany c1530

France in your period was not the home to a single language, but rather
many different dialects were spoken in different places, which would
result in variations in spellings.  The examples with the 'u' all come 
from the extreme north and northwest of the French speaking world.  
<Loys> seems a more likely spelling for Orleans, which is southeast 
of Paris, quite close to Sully.  Based on this, we recommend <Loys> 
as a suitable name for your period and place; <Louis> is less likely, 
but possible.

The pronunciation of <Loys> in your period depended on many things,
including dialect and context.  By 1450 or so, the final <-s> in this 
name was often silent, though an educated speaker would be more likely
to pronounce it.  Therefore, we believe the most common pronunciation
of <Loys> would be either \loo-ee\ or \loh-ee\, where the \oh\ is 
pronounced like the <o> in <more>.

By your period, surnames in France were seldomly used literally;
a surname such as <LeFevre> "the smith" would typically indicate that the
bearer's father's surname was <LeFevre>, not that the bearer himself
was a smith.  We find <Le Fevre> recorded in Paris in 1423 and 1438. [1]
Combining the article and the noun to form <Lefevre> is reasonable by
your period, making <Loys Lefevre> an excellent name. [7]

We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't
hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have
further questions.  Research and commentary on this letter was
provided by Arval Benicoeur, Galiana de Baiona, Talan Gwynek, Laurensa
de Chambord, and Adelaide de Beaumont.

For the Academy,
-Argantgui filia Catmaili, 13Nov02

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References:

[1] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "French Names 
from Paris, 1423 & 1438" (WWW: privately published, 2002) 
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/paris1423.html

[2] Luana de Grood, "Flemish Names from Bruges, 1400-1600", (WWW: 
Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996) 
http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/bruges/.

[3] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "Given Names from Brittany, 
1384-1600" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 2001)
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/latebreton/.

[4] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "Names from a 
1587 Tax Roll from Provins" (WWW: privately published, 2002) 
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/provins1587.html

[5] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "French Names
from 1601" (WWW: privately published, 2002)                   
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french1601.html

[6] Pierre Courcelle, Nouveaux Documents Ine/dits de 
Sully-sur-Loire (1364-1500) (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale & Librairie
C. Klinckseick, 1978).

[7] In [6] pp. 72-73 we find <Mathurin Delorme>, <Guillaume Lasne>,
and <Jehan Lormeau>, all in 1480.

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