ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2629 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2629 ************************************ From: Sara L Friedemann 01 Feb 2003 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if or would be an appropriate name for a Frenchwoman living between 1400 and 1600. Here is the information we have found. 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. Depending on where you wish to place your persona, certain spellings will be more appropriate than others. We find recorded twice in Paris in 1423 and 1438. [1] In 1595 (location unknown) and Provins 1587, the name is spelled . [2,3] This form is also found in Roubaix and Nechin in 1601 and in 16th century Normandy. [4,7] In general, spellings with are more likely toward Dutch and German speaking regions in the north of France, while the spellings are more likely in the Romance south. Thus, whether or is more appropriate depends where you decide to place your person. However, note that we have not found any spelling with as the second vowel; we do not recommend either or . The byname is found in 1292 in Paris and means "man who keeps a tavern." [5] The corresponding feminine form is . By the end of the 14th century, the French generally used inherited family names (like modern surnames), especially in the cities. However, even though these bynames were no longer used because of their literal meanings, the gender of the byname still matched the gender of the bearer at this period; it wasn't until the 16th century or so that women are found uniformly using the masculine form of the byname. Therefore, a 14th century would likely have been either a tavernkeeper herself, or the wife or daughter of one. A 15th century probably had a father or husband who was surnamed ; this transitory form shows the masculine article but still the feminine ending. By the 16th century, a woman named who was the daughter or wife of someone surnamed would most likely also have the surname . [3,4,6] We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Galiana de Baiona, Arval Benicoeur, Julie Stampnitzky, and Laurensa de Chambord. For the Academy, -Argantgui filia Catmaili, 01Feb03 -- 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] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "Names found in a French Marriage Register, 1595" (WWW: privately published, 2001). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french1595.html [3] 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 [4] Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "French Names from 1601" (WWW: privately published, 2002). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french1601.html [5] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html [6] Courcelle, Pierre, Nouveaux Documents Ine/dits de Sully-sur- Loire (1364-1500) (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale & Librairie C. Klincksieck, 1978). [7] 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 -- vita sine literis mors est http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana