ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2644 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2644 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 15 Jul 2003 From: Marianne Perdomo Machin Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wrote about a name and arms appropriate for a 15th century man of Norman heritage, preferably living in northern France but possibly in England. You were interested in the name and in the following arms: Quarterly gules and argent, in the first quarter an Eagle displayed argent. France today is a unified country with a common language. That was not true in our period: It was a collection of dialects, some quite similar, some quite different. We have found and related forms in use in several regions during your period [1, 2, 3]. For example, we found the following in 15th century Paris [2]: Form Frequency Guillaume 94 times (second most popular name) Guillemin 9 times (diminutive) Guillemot 4 times (diminutive) A diminutive is, in this context, a form that implies familiarity, affection or smallness. For example, is a diminutive of . We also found the following variants of in late 15th century to early 16th century Bordeaux [3]: Guillaume (most popular, normal French form) Guilhem (second most popular, normal Occitan form) Guilelmo Guilelmus Guilhaume Guilhelmo Guillelmo Guilhemin (diminutive) Guilhemot (diminutive) Guilhetin (diminutive) Gulhemot (diminutive) We also found the following variants of in late 15th century to early 16th century Bordeaux [3]: Guillaume (most popular, normal French form) Guilhem (second most popular, normal Occitan form) Guilelmo Guilelmus Guilhaume Guilhelmo Guillelmo Guilhemin (diminutive) Guilhemot (diminutive) Guilhetin (diminutive) Gulhemot (diminutive) We have reasons to believe that some dialects used forms like in the 15th century, at least as an alternative [4, 5]. In these regions the name might be spelled as a result of growing standardisation, even when pronounced with a \w\. But we think that this would not be the case in Normandy. Certainly we have found Norman examples of in the 16th century [6]. In England, we believe that the forms like were no longer in use by your period , as the spelling was already the norm by the 14th century [7, 8]. The latinized spelling of the name would be [9]. The surname is an excellent choice [2]. We have found dozens of places by that name, one of which is St-Martin-Don in Calvados, Normandy. This was recorded as in 1417 [10]. In England this surname might have become [11, 12]. You also asked about a Latin form of your name. By the 15th c. there was considerable use of English, and even in formal Latin-language documents surnames were normally left in the vernacular in our experience. In such a document we might expect to see or . Your choice of arms is nice but could not be registered with the College of Arms because it's too similar to previously registered devices [13]. Some modifications that we believe could be registered are: Quarterly gules and argent, in canton an eagle displayed or. Quarterly gules and or, in canton an eagle displayed argent. These arms would be a fine choice even as early as the mid 13th century. In short, we believe that is a plausible name for a 15th century Norman. In England we expect that such a man would be known as . 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 Arval Benicoeur, Iago ab Adam, Talan Gwynek, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Walraven van Nijmegen, Galiana de Baiona, Adelaide de Beaumont and Anplica dell'Isola. For the Academy, Leonor Martin 15 July 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] We have found examples of the use of in 14th century Picardy, and of in the 15th. Picardy is the region to the north-east of Normandy. Morlet, Marie-The/re\se. Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Sie\cle. Three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1968, 1972, 1985) [2] 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 [3] Aryanhwy merch Catmael (Sara L. Friedemann) and Talan Gwynek (Brian M. Scott), "Names Found in Commercial Documents from Bordeaux, 1470-1520" (WWW: privately published, 2000). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/bordeaux.html [4] In the region of Calais, around 1300, is the most common form; followed by , , , , short forms, and diminutives. In the Artois data of the same period, we find full forms , and , . Calais and Artois are located north of Picardy, which is to the north-east of Normandy. Gysseling, Maurits, and Pierre Bougard, _L'Onomastique Calaisienne a la Fin du 13e Siecle_, Onomastica Neerlandica (Leuven: Institut voor Naamkunde, 1963). [5] Both /w/ and /g/ spelling continued to be used in France till much later, as shown by some 1601 examples: Form Frequency Guillaume 13 Wilame 2 Willame 8 (combined instances = 5th most popular name) Friedemann, Sara L. (aka Aryanhwy merch Catmael), "French Names from 1601" (WWW: privately published, 2002). http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french1601.html [6] 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 [7] We found the following instances of and spelling variants (or scribal errors) in 15th century Lincolnshire: Form Frequency William 1655 Wiliam 1 Willam 1 Willia 1 Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "An Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lincolnshire, England" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 2000). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/ [8] We found the following instances of in the 15th century Agincourt Honor Roll: William 134 (133) includes two typos Williarn Wlliam 1 possibly a typo for William Arval Benicoeur and Talan Gwynek , "A List of 15th Century English Men's Names" (WWW: Josh Mittleman and Brian M. Scott, 1998, 2002). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/agincourt/ [9] Talan Gwynek, "Yorkshire Given Names from 1379" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/yorkshire/ [10] It's possible that the scribe omitted (or the editor failed to notice) a nasal stroke over the and that the name was actually written , signifying . Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963), s.n. St-Martin. [11] We found the surname , dated to 1462. Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. St. Nicholas. [12] The surname is dated to 1374. Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, op. cit., s.n. St. Quentin. [13] It would conflict, due to the forced change of arrangement rule, with: Rurik of Mirkwood: Quarterly gules and argent, a falcon displayed sable. Poland: Gules, an eagle displayed argent crowned or. ---------------------------- Correction by Aryanhwy, 08 Jan 2007: Corrected reference in footnote [1].