ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2775 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2775 ************************************ 25 Jan 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy! You asked about some sort of variation on the name for an Anglo-Norman woman born Norfolk, England, in 1179. You mentioned specifically the forms , , and for the given name and , , and for the byname. You also mentioned that you were considering and for the byname but noted that at this point you favored and also liked . Finally, you asked for Latinized forms of whatever names we might be able to suggest. Before we start, we'd like to apologize for the time it took us to complete this report. We hope that this information is still useful to you. is basically a fine name for a woman born in Norfolk in 1179, though the exact form that it would have taken is a little uncertain. Given names in records of that period are almost invariably Latinized, so what we actually find is ; early examples are ca. 1140-60, 1189, and 1207. [1, 2] Our first examples that are definitely not Latinized are bynames, which were much more likely to be left in English, and they're from quite a bit later: 1327 and 1379. [3, 4] ( 1273 may be an earlier example, but it may also be a Latinized form. [4]) None the less, these examples are early enough to suggest that early Latin probably represents a vernacular or , or something very similar. Because most surviving early written records are of a formal nature, our evidence for pet forms of names isn't as good as we might like, but we do have some: [2, 5, 6] Mogg* 1195 Mogge* 1195 Magge* 1200 Magot 1208 Magota 1208 Meg 1242-43 Megge 1254 Megmayden* 1263 Names with asterisks are found as bynames. is a diminutive of ; its existence strongly implies that (or ) also existed. is an alternative spelling of (though it can also be a pet form of ), and is simply a Latinized form of . is another spelling of (and is pronounced just like) , and is a byname meaning 'Meg's female servant'. As you can see, we don't have evidence for much before the middle of the 13th century; in your period and are clearly safer historical re-creations. Given the shortage of evidence from your period, though, we think that there's a reasonable chance that was also used then, though we stress that this is not the best of re-creations. A byname meaning 'of Norfolk' was certainly used in your period: we found two examples, 1154-76 and 1228. [7] (Here the <'> indicates some sort of scribal abbreviation, possibly standing for the letter .) Either of these attested forms would be a good choice, and and are also well within the normal range of variation. The spelling that you found is from Domesday Book, whose spellings are often quite idiosyncratic; by your period it would be quite unlikely, and we don't recommend it. [8] Bynames based on specific places were more common than those based on large regions like Norfolk, so a byname meaning 'of Wymondham' would be if anything an even better choice than one meaning 'of Norfolk'. The place-name is recorded as 1168 and, in a byname, 1261-2, so would be an excellent choice for your period. [9, 10] Despite the occasional Latinized pet form like , the given name would most likely appear as in a Latin record even if the bearer normally used one of the pet forms. The byname would very likely not have been Latinized even at your early date. Even from a bit earlier we find names recorded as ca. 1110, ca. 1110, and 1148, with Latinized given names and unmodified English place-names; names recorded with Latinized English place-names are few and far between. [11] Thus, we would expect to see , , , and the like in the Latin records of your period. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Maridonna Benvenuti, Juliana de Luna, Arval Benicoeur, Richenda de Jardin, and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Gerita del Mare & Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 25Jan04 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ References: [1] Clark, Cecily. 'The _Liber Vitae_ of Thorney Abbey and its "Catchment Area"', in Peter Jackson, ed., _Words, Names and History: Selected Writings of Cecily Clark_ (Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 1995); p. 335. [2] Talan Gwynek. 'Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_' (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997); s.n. . (Note that apparent early examples of in this source have almost certainly been Anglicized from Latin originals and therefore cannot be taken at face value.) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/ [3] Franklin, Peter. The Taxpayers of Medieval Gloucestershire: An Analysis of the 1327 Lay Subsidy Roll with a New Edition of its Text (Stroud, Gloucs.: Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd., 1993); p. 62. [4] Bardsley s.n. . In the byname may be English, but it may also be Latin in the genitive (possessive) case, indicating 'Margaret's Hugh', 'Hugh son of Margaret'. [5] From the personal collection of Brian M. Scott, this name being found in Assize Roll 223, 27 Henry III (1242-43). [6] Reaney, P.H., & R.M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995); s.n. . [7] Ibid. s.n. . [8] Ekwall, Eilert. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place- names, 4th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991); s.n. . [9] Ibid. s.n. . [10] Reaney & Wilson, op. cit., s.n. . [11] von Feilitzen, Olof. 'The Personal Names and Bynames of the Winton Domesday', in Martin Biddle, ed., Winchester in the Early Middle Ages, Winchester Studies 1 (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1976); pp. 193, 195.