ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2666 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2666 ************************************ From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot" 9 Sep 2003 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help constructing a Polish or Western Ukrainian feminine name that could have been used between 1000 and 1350, with the given name and either or something meaning 'daughter of Joseph' (possibly ) as your byname. You also asked about the use of lions dormant and crosses osmorog in Polish arms. Here is the information we have found. Before we start, we'd like to apologize for the length of time it has taken to answer your question. We hope that this information is still useful to you. is the standard modern Polish form of the name. The only evidence we have found that the name was in use before modern times is an undated citation of a surname which appears to be based on this given name [1]. Another Polish name source states that "does not appear in early Polish records, and may have entered the language in the 19th century in connection with literary works" [2, 3]. Since doesn't appear in our principal source for Polish given names from your period, we also reviewed our sources from surrounding areas, including Eastern Germany and Russia and the Ukraine, and we have not found a feminine form of / in use before 1600. Therefore, we cannot recommend this name as a good recreation, especially for your period, several centuries earlier. The most common women's names in one area of Poland during the 13th century were as follows (note these are modern spellings) [4]: 1. Ma{l/}gorzata 2. Katarzyna 3. Anna 4. Jadwiga 5. Agnieska 6. Elz.bieta 7. Gertruda 8. Krystyna 9. Zofia 10. Adelajda The {l/} represents the slashed used in modern Polish spelling, and the dot after the represents a dot placed over the in modern Polish spelling. If any of these names interests you, please write again and we can provide you with spellings appropriate for your period. If you'd like other ideas for a given name which may be more appropriate for your period, we recommend this article available on the web: "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/ Silesia was originally part of Poland; German settlement there did not begin until the 12th century, becoming heavier in the 13th century; therefore we believe this data, mostly from the 14th century, still shares a strong similarity with the Polish naming pool. Not all of the names are appropriate for a Polish woman, but if you see a name that interests you, please write again and we'll be happy to give you more information. Note that we believe this list and article would be inappropriate for choosing a name for a persona living earlier than about 1250. We believe is a modern Polish surname based on the town known today as Olkusz. This town was founded in 1257 and originally called [5]. We find a woman recorded as in 1441, not long after your period [6]. would be a fine byname for you, meaning "woman from Ilkusz". We don't recommend the spelling , as we don't believe the town was known as until well after 1600. Several forms of appear in Poland near your period [6]: Ioseph 1234, 1237, ca. 1265 Jozeph 1239, 1317 Joseph 1259 Osep 1391 Oszep 1396 Jozep 1399 We also find the patronymic forms in 1407 and in 1442, as well as in 1437 and in 1418 [6, 7]. A patronymic is a name that identifies your father; these names were all understood as meaning "son of Joseph". , for example, would be an appropriate feminine form meaning "daughter of Oszep (Joseph)". The spelling you suggested, , is not a correct form: feminine <-ska> and masculine <-ski> were endings used in locative bynames, i.e. ones that identified a person by the place where he or she lived. Since the bynames and indicate different things (the first where you live and the second who your father is), they might both have been used by the same woman under different circumstances. In her home town, she might have been known as "Joseph's daughter", and away from home she might have been known as "lady from Ilkusz". We would not be surprised to find the same woman recorded in one document as and in another as . Heraldry was established in Poland by the middle of the 14th century, at the end of your desired period. In general, individuals did not have heraldry. Rather, people belonged to a ro/d (clan) and used the arms of their ro/d (the slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter)[8]. The best way to recreate Polish practice would be either to use actual period arms to signify ro/d affiliation, or to design arms for your own ro/d (household). For a person living before the 14th century, authentic practice would be the use of a clan badge [9]. The cross Osmoro/g is named for the ro/d Osmoro/g. As far as we can tell, this is a charge that was used only by this particular ro/d [10]. A member of the ro/d would use the arms of the ro/d rather than bearing individual arms with similar elements, so we don't believe it's likely that even a member of the ro/d would have arms incorporating the cross. We don't recommend you use it. Lions are the most common beast in Polish heraldry; they typically appear passant or statant [10]. We have not found an example of a lion dormant and we recommend you use a passant or statant lion instead [11]. Polish heraldry typically consisted of a single charge or charge group on a plain field. The most common color combination, by far, is argent (white) on gules (red) [9]. The second most common combination is Or (yellow) on azure (blue) [7]. Unfortunately, neither "Gules, a lion passant argent" nor "Azure, a lion passant Or" are registerable with the SCA College of Arms; they are both too similar to already registered arms [12]. Other common charges in heraldry from your culture include crosses, crescents, and horseshoes [10]. If you would like specific design ideas, please write again. 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 Maridonna Benvenuti, Walraven van Nijmegen, Iago ab Adam, Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Anplica dell'Isola, Blaise de Cormeilles, Eirik Halfdanarson, and Julie Stampnitzky. For the Academy, Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Adelaide de Beaumont 9 September 2003 -- References: [1] Walraven van Nijmegen and Arval Benicoeur, _Polish Given names in Nazwiska Polako/w_ (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1998). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/walraven/polish/ [2] Hoffman, William F. & George W. Helon. _First names of the Polish Commonwealth: Origins and Meanings_ (Chicago: Polish Genealogical Society of America, 1998), p. 311. [3] The authors of the source at [2] credit their statement about to Bubak, Jo/zef, _Ksi{e,}ga naszych imion_ (Book of Our First Names). We have not examined this work directly. [4] Mateusz Goli{n/}ski, _Biogramy mieszczan wroc{l/}awskich do ko{n/}ca XIII wieku_ (Wroc{l/}aw: Prace Historyczne XVIII, 1995). Wroc(l/)aw is in Silesia. Ma{l/}gorzata is a form of . [5] Pierwszy, Tom. _Miasta Polskie: w Tysi{a,}cleciu_, 2 vols. (Wroc{l/}aw, Warszawa, Krako/w: Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia Ossoli{n/}skich, 1965), Vol. I, pp. 567-658. [6] Taszycki, Witold (ed.), _S{l/}ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych_, vols. I-VII (Wroc{l/}aw: Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia Ossoli{n'}skich, Polska Akademia Nauk, 1965-1987), s.nn. Ilkuszka, Oz.ep, Oz.epow. [7] Rymut, Kazimierz, _Nazwiska Polakow_ (Wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolinskich - Wydawnictwo, 1991). [8] Alison MacDermot & Da'ud ibn Auda, _Regional Style Heraldry in the SCA_, 1993 KWHS Proceedings (Middle), Vol. I, pp. 5-25. [9] Stefan Lasko/wski, Ksiazat Polskiego Heraldika (The Chronicle of Polish Heraldry) in _Caidan Heraldic Symposium and Scribe's Conclave_ July 8-9, 1989, Los Angeles, California (2 vols.), Vol. I, p. 41. [10] Szyman/ski, Jo/zef, _Herbarz: S/redniowiecznego Rycerstwa Polskiego_ (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1993). The Osmoro/g arms are: "Gules, an Osmoro/g cross with eight vetch berries between the arms in annulo argent." The arms date from at least 1384. [11] The source at footnote [10] includes one 14th century example of a lion couchant, but it is being wrestled to the ground by Samson and can't be taken as an example of a typical posture for a lion. [12] Conflicts noted: Roswitha of Suanesfeld (reg. 01/99 via Atlantia), "(Fieldless) A lion statant guardant argent," for Teodora Orsini; Mary Margaret of Derby (reg. 07/74) "Azure, a domestic cat passant to sinister Or."