ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2781 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2781 ************************************ 24 Jan 2004 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a medieval or renaissance woman in the British Isles or France; and you asked whether such a woman might use one of the surnames , , or . Here is what we have found. Before we start, we'd like to apologize for the time it has taken to get this report to you. As we explained earlier, the name was used in ancient and early medieval Greece, but then dropped out of use until the 16th century, when Italian and English poets used it for characters in their work. The name derives from the Greek word for "bee", and its use as a name seems to derive from mythology: , legendary daughter of , king of Crete, nursed the infant god Zeus, and was later transformed into a bee. The name appears several other times in Greek literature; for example, Herodotus mentions , wife of Periander, the tyrant of Corinth [1, 2]. The name was used occasionally by real people in late classical and early medieval Greece; the latest example we have found is a single instance in 6th-7th century Greece [3, 4]. The name appears to have dropped out of use at that point, and was not revived until the 16th century, when it appears in the work of Italian poets. Ludovico Ariosto used it as the name of a magical character in his "Orlando Furioso", published 1532 [5]. Orlando Furioso was translated into English in 1591; and Edmund Spenser used the name for a minor character in "The Faerie Queene" in 1596 [6, 7]. It is thus not impossible that was used by real people in late 16th century Italy, but it doesn't appear to have come into use in the British Isles until the 18th century [8, 9]. We found no evidence that the name has ever been used in French. If you would like a similar-sounding name better suited to pre-1600 England, you may want to consider . This name appears in English records, in various spellings, from the 13th century on. , in particular, is recorded in 1201; is the normal 16th century spelling [10, 11, 12]. You can see other early spellings at: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/reaney.cgi?Millicent is a fine English surname, based on any of several places. Examples include (before 1191), 1332, and 1452 [13]. is a fine written form of a late-13th or early 14th century English name; in speech, we recommend using rather than or simply dropping the preposition altogether. If you want a 15th or 16th century name, is an excellent choice. is a French name, as you noted, but it is also found in England in our period: is mentioned in 1230 [14]. Thus, is an excellent 13th century name and is equally good for the 15th or 16th century. A modern English surname could have several different origins [15]. Perhaps the most likely is Irish: The Irish clan surnames and both evolved into the modern surname . In addition, the Irish produced modern . These names were recorded in English sources c.1600 as [16]: for for for Thus, is a very reasonable name for a woman in 16th century England whose family had Irish roots. If you specifically want to use , then we recommend you consider a late 16th century Italian name, since that's the only time and place for which there is a plausible case that the name might have been used. However, we must stress that we have no evidence of used by real people between the 7th century and the 18th century. If you decide to go with the Italian option, you might consider [17]. 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 Pedro de Alcazar, Ursula Georges, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Maridonna Benvenuti, and Julie Stampnitzky. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 24 Jan 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Lemprie\re, John, _Classical Dictionary of Proper Names Mentioned in Ancient Authors_ (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978), s.n. Melissa. [2] "Necromancy" and "Lactantius", Catholic Encyclopedia (WWW: The Catholic Encylopedia, Copyright 1911 by Robert Appleton Company Online Edition Copyright 2003 by K. Knight). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10735a.htm http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0702.htm [3] Fraser, P.M., and E. Matthews, "The Lexicon of Greek Personal Names" (WWW: Oxford University, 1998) http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/ [4] Bardas Xiphias, "Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the 6th and 7th Centuries" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/byzantine/early_byz_names.html [5] Ludovico Ariosto, "Orlando Furioso" in Bulfinch's Mythology (WWW: Bob Fisher, 1996-2000). For example, see Canto 3. http://www.bulfinch.org/furioso/furioso.html [6] "Sir John Harington" (WWW: LoveToKnow Free Online Encyclopedia, accessed 10 Jan 2004). http://58.1911encyclopedia.org/H/HA/HARINGTON_SIR_JOHN.htm [7] Edmund Spenser, "The Faerie Queene" (WWW: Renascence Editions, The University of Oregon, 2003). http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/fqintro.html [8] De Felice, Emidio, _Dizionario dei nomi italiani_ (Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milan, 1992), s.n. Melissa. He describes the name as the "classical, renaissance, and modern revival" of the ancient Greek name. He doesn't say that the name was used outside literature before 1600, but his statement does not rule out that possibility. [9] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Melissa. [10] Withycombe s.n. Millicent. [11] Julian Goodwyn, "Brass Enscription Index" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/brasses/ [12] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Naming Practices in 16th Century Gloucestershire" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2001). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/GlocNamePractices [13] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Clayton. [14] Reaney & Wilson s.n. Vincent. [15] The modern English surname derives, in some cases, from the Anglo-Norman nickname or 1275. This nickname means "the tall" and was based on a Middle English word. There is also 1185, 1275, etc., "dweller by the enclosure", derived from another Middle English word. Reaney & Wilson s.n. Hay. [16] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.nn. O/ Laithimh, O/ Lathaigh, O/ Laochdha. [17] Ferrante laVolpe, _Men's names from Florence, 1427_ (WWW: Self-published, 1996; Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1999). This source shows in use in 15th century Florence. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/ferrante/catasto/