ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2739 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2739 ************************************ From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot" 2 Jul 2003 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for an Englishman born sometime between 1150 and 1200. You mentioned that your byname is meant as a reference to the large post often used for practice in SCA armored combat. Here is the information we have found. As we mentioned in previous correspondence, is a Latin form; we would only expect to see this form in written documents. We have the following examples [1]: Justinus Clericus, 1175-80 Justinus filius Wakerild, 1229 We believe that the spoken form of these names was [2]. The name was clearly rare in England, as we have so few examples, but it was occasionally used and is therefore a good choice for your given name. was likely pronounced \DJUS-tin\, with \U\ as in . Your byname 'of the pell' is somewhat problematic. The use of the word for a practice post used in SCA combat is a corruption of the Old French word meaning 'stake, post' [3, 4]. This word is masculine, so the article , which is feminine, is definitely not appropriate. This word gave rise to a period byname, a nickname for a tall, thin person. We find and recorded in documents dated 1202 and 1238 [1]. would be a fine name for your period. A somewhat different source produced a very similar byname [1]: Robert de Pele, 1199 John de Pele, 1301 These bynames are locative, meaning they indicate where the person lives or comes from originally; they refer to (also spelled ) in Lancashire. The origin is the same Old French word, but here used to mean 'palisade' [1, 4, 5]. is a fine name for your period; the vernacular (spoken language) form of this name was likely , , , etc. The pronunciation of was roughly \PAY-l@\; here @ represents the sound of in and . You mentioned that you were interested in any bynames that were similar-sounding. There are several that we can recommend for you. We find a man recorded as in 1222. This byname likely comes from another Old French word 'skin, pelt' (modern French ), and was used to refer to a dealer in pelts [6]. Accordingly, (pronounced like ) would be a fine name for your period, though it would not have the meaning you desire. also appears as a byname from Old French 'bald'; we find in 1210 and in 1221 [4, 7]. is another choice for you, though it would imply that you were bald. The vernacular form was likely [8]. This byname was most likely pronounced \peh-LAY\. In earlier correspondence, you offered other suggestions for bynames, including , though you indicated that your primary goal was finding a name for which would be an appropriate nickname. There are many other bynames which are closer in sound to than ; if you would like more ideas for your byname, or if you would like specific information on , please write again. We believe, however, that the bynames given above are the closest in sound to . 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 Anplica dell'Isola, Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Julie Stampnitzky, Talan Gwynek, and Ursula Georges. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 2 July 2003 References: [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Justin, Peel. [2] The earlier citation is from Norfolk, where could easily be a Latinization of ON ; however, the other is from Sussex, where Scandinavian influence is less likely. [3] The Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), s.v. pel. [4] Greimas, Algirdas Julien, _Dictionnaire de l'ancien franc,ais_ (Paris: Larousse, 1997), s.v. pel. The modern French word is . The word used to mean 'palisade' sometimes appears in Old French as . [5] Later examples of this byname include in 1301 and 1332. Since the word is masculine, the here is an error, but by this period such errors of gender are not uncommon. We don't believe a form using is appropriate for your period. [6] Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Pell. [7] Reaney & Wilson, s.n. Pelly. [8] It's possible that the French term was in spoken use in the late 12th c., especially since the byname seems to have produced a modern surname. In England, though, we expect that at least some people might have translated the byname such that they would have known him as from Old English 'bare, bald'.