ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2632 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2632 ************************************ 6 Mar 2003 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Renaissance English mercenary band or other association. Here is what we have found. As we explained earlier, we have considered two questions: Is a plausible English surname or place name; and is a correctly constructed name? We have not been able to justify as a likely English place name in our period. Since there is also some question about whether it is registerable [1], we recommend you choose a slight variation. We can offer several possibilities that we think are better re-creation and that avoid the potential conflicts. Many English place names beginning derive from the Old Norse given name or its short form , e.g. 1211 "Arnketill's settlement" which became modern ; and 1254 "Arnkel's valley" [2, 3]. The element is Old English, but while we have found examples of Old Norse names compounded with the Old English elements , , and , we have not found similar compounds with [4, 5]. (The colon in these words indicates a longer-duration vowel; it is often written as a bar over the letter.) This Old Norse name, then, doesn't seem to be a likely basis for a name like . On the other hand, an Old Norse name was much more likely to be compounded with the Old Norse word "an isle, small island, or water-meadow". The Anglo-Norse or is entirely unremarkable [6]. It could have developed to or in the 13th century, or it could have remained in the longer form and then later contracted to in the 14th or 15th century and or in the 16th century or later. Some place names derive from other roots. or 1200 probably derives from an Old English masculine name or , originally a pet form of some name like [7, 8, 9]. If we accept this hypothesis, then we can postulate an Old English place name or . The former could have developed to in the 13th century or later. The latter might have become in the 13th or 14th century, but would likely have become , too, by the 16th century. The word was used to mean "an extended family" quite early, and "a nobleman's extended family and retinue" by the 16th century [10]: "Israel, Aaron's house" c.1000 c.1340 1548 We have been unable to trace the origin of the custom of refering to a household using the style , without putting the family name in the possessive form or adding the preposition . Our best guess is that the Society picked up this usage from some modern fantasy or science fiction novel [11]. If you choose to model your household on the historical model of a nobleman's extended family, then we recommend you call yourself rather than . If you prefer a name more typical of late-period English military companies, then we suggest something like or [12]. We have done some research on the names of military companies for a previous client; you can find our results at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/2442 We 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 Talan Gwynek, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Juliana de Luna, Pedro de Alcazar, Ursula Georges, Lucien d'Artois, Gryffri de Newmarch, Maridonna Benvenuti, Julie Stampnitzky, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Edward of Effingham. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 6 Mar 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] As we discussed earlier, is a major place name in the works of H. P. Lovecraft. Although we do not generally offer opinions on the SCA College of Arms' rules, we suspect this would indeed be judged a conflict. [2] Ekwall, Eilert, _The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names_, 4th edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), s.n. Arkesden, Arksey, Arkston. [3] Mills, A. D., _A Dictionary of English Place-Names_ (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), s.nn. Arkesden, Arksey. [4] Fellows Jensen, Gillian, _Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire_ (Copenhagen: 1968). She has no examples of OE compounded with an Old Norse personal name. [5] Smith, A.H., _English Place-Name Elements_ (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1956), s.v. ham. He goes into considerable detail concerning the types of OE personal names that appear with , he doesn't even mention ON names. [6] Smith s.v. holmr. [7] Stro:m, Hilmer, _Old English Personal Names in Bede's History: An Etymological-Phonological Investigation_, Lund Studies in English 8, (Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1939), p. 14. Three early Old English names in are mentioned by Bede. However, Stro:m notes that these are the only attested examples of this theme: It existed, but it was rare and dropped out of use fairly early. [8] Mills s.n. Arkendale. [9] Ekwall s.n. Arkendale. [10] _The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), s.v. house. [11] For example, Frank Herbert's Dune novels include and . [12] Oxford English Dictionary s.vv. company, band.