ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2608 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2608 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 04 Apr 2003 From: Julie Stampnitzky .il> Greetings! You asked for help in choosing a name suitable for a woman living on the southern shore of the river Clyde in the 5th-6th centuries, or in York in the 10th century. You were hoping to find something similar to the name you have been using until now, . During the period you asked about, the Clyde valley was a Brythonic- speaking kingdom; its culture and language were closely related to Welsh culture and language [1]. We only know of a few names used by women in this region; you can find detailed discussions of these names in the article listed in the first reference below. Unfortunately none of these names are particularly close to . If you would like further information about a name from this article please write again. You also asked about a possible Roman version of the name. By 500 CE, the Roman influence on names had pretty much faded away [1]. However, Latin was the language of scholarship and government throughout your period, so it's likely that a Latinized form would have been used to record your name. Once you've chosen a name, we'll be happy to provide an appropriate written Latin form of it. Tenth-century York was an Anglo-Scandinavian community. We expect that the daily language was Old Scandinavian, though Old English may have become dominant late in the century due to the influence of the English kings who ruled it from 954 on [2]. Because of the large cultural and linguistic differences between the two settings you asked about, it would not be possible for forms of the same name to have been used in 5th-century Clyde and 10th-century York. You can find many Old Scandinavian names in the following articles: Viking Names found in the Landna/mabo/k, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/landnamabok.html Viking Bynames found in the Landna/mabo/k, by Aryanhwy merch Catmael http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/vikbynames.html Note however that not all of these names were necessarily in use in Britain. The closest we can come to your current name in Old Scandinavian is 'Hro/{dh}ny/, Ro,gnvaldr's daughter' [3]. (Here / indicates an acute accent on the preceding letter, {dh} represents the letter edh, which looks like a backwards 6 with a crossbar on the riser, and indicates an with a backward- comma-shaped hook hanging from the bottom.) This name was pronounced \HROADH-nu" RAWGHN-vahlts DOAT-teer\. (\OA\ represents the in . \DH\ represents the sound of the letters in the words and . \u"\ represents the sound of the u-umlaut in German 'to feel', made by pronouncing the of with your lips positioned for the of . \GH\ represents the sound at the end of ; not the version that rhymes with , but the sound of disgust that often accompanies making a face. It is the sound made by saying the in Scottish while vibrating your vocal cords.) We have not found an example of in England, but it was moderately popular in Iceland during the same period, and we believe it is a plausible choice for York. In Old English the name might have been written or perhaps . ( is the most common spelling of the name in Domesday Book, though we also have an 11th century English instance of . [4] Since is not found in English, we have based the spelling on English treatment of other names and on our knowledge of how sounds were represented in the Old English and Old Norse spelling systems.) I hope that this letter has been helpful, and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear, or if you have any further questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Galiana de Baiona, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Julie Kahan April 4, 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------- References [1] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names of Women of the Brythonic North in the 5-7th Centuries" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 2003). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/brythonic/ [2] Fellows Jensen, Gillian, _Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire_ (Copenhagen: 1968), p. XXIV. [3] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931). s.nn. , [4] Fellows Jensen, pp. LXXVI, 213. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval & Maridonna, 30 Aug 2004: In the final recommendation, was mis-spelled .