ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2755
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2755
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14 May 2003
From: Josh Mittleman 


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked whether <Catrin vz Morcant> is an appropriate name for a
15th or 16th century Welsh woman.  Here is what we've found.

<Katherine> and its variants (of which <Catrin> is one) seem to have
come into use in Wales in the 16th century.  We have found only one
example of the name in earlier Welsh records; and that instance is
clearly an Englishwoman living in Wales [1].  In 16th century Welsh
records, the name almost always appears as <Katherine>, but we have
found examples of <Katrin> in one late 16th century source [5].  We
have also found several examples of <Katherin> and <Katheryne>, single
instances of <Catherine>, <Catylyn>, <Katerine>, and <Katheryn>, and a
few Latinized forms like <Katherina> and <Katerina> [2, 3, 4].  We did
not find <Catrin>.

<Morcant> is a very early spelling of a name that became <Morgant> in
the late Middle Ages and <Morgan> in your period.  We wouldn't expect
to see <Morcant> after the 12th century.  The spelling <Morgant> was
common in Welsh-language sources up to the 14th century, but in
English or Latin sources and in later Welsh sources, the name is
spelled <Morgan> [2, 3, 4, 5].  One 16th century woman is identified
as <Elena vz Morgan ap hughe> [3].  In 1611, a woman was recorded as
<Katherin Morgan>; in 1614, another was <Elizabeth v3 Morgan> [4].

<vz> and <v3> are two abbreviations of the Welsh word <verch>
"daughter".  The <3> here represents the letter yogh, which was
written like a <3> with a longer tail.  Yogh was sometimes pronounced
like the <ch> in the Scottish word <loch>.  <z> was sometimes used in
place of yogh, and thus <v3> sometimes became <vz>.  In another
source, we find <verch> abbreviated as <v> with a line over the
letter.

<Katrin verch Morgan> is an extremely reasonable Welsh name for the
late 16th century.  The occasional use of <C> for <K> in variants of
<Katherine> from the first half of the 16th century suggests that
<Catrin> is possible, but we don't recommend it: This use of <C> was
quite rare, accounting for only two examples in all of our data.  If
you want a name suited to the early 16th century, we recommend
<Katherine verch Morgan>.  For the 15th century, we recommend you
choose a different given name.  The word <verch> can be abbreviated
<vz>, <v3>, or <v->.


We hope this letter has been useful.  Please write us again if you
have any questions.  I was assisted in researching and writing this
letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek,
Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Juliana de Luna.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  14 May 2003


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References

[1] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn),
"Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3",
in Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 1991 (SCA: Laurel,
Maryland, 1991).

[2] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn),
"Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales" (WWW: Academy
of Saint Gabriel 1998).
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/

[3] Jones, Emyr Gwynne, "Caernarvonshire Subsidy Roll 1597/9" in _The
Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies_, vol. 8 part 4 (May 1937)
p.336-344.

[4] _Cwtta Cyfarwydd_ [parish record books from the early 17th c.]
(London: Whiting & Co., Ltd., 1883).

[5] Dwnn, Lewys, ed. By Samuel Rush Meyrick, _Heraldic Visitations of
Wales and Part of the Marches_, vols I & II (Llandovery: Welsh
Manuscripts Society, 1846).