ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2790
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2790
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1 Dec 2003
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael 


Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know if the Biblical feminine name <Jerusha> was used
anywhere in Europe before 1600.  Here is the information we have 
found.

As we noted in our original letter to you, only a fraction of Old
Testament names were used by Europeans before 1600.  In the 17th
century, the Protestants adopted many names that had previously been
not used or very uncommon.  So evidence for <Jerusha> in the 17th
century, even in the early 17th century, is not necessarily going to
be evidence that the name was used earlier.

We have found two possible examples of forms of <Jerusha> being
used by Jewish women in the Middle Ages.  We found a record in 
Navarre 
in the 1330's of a Jewish woman who appears to be of French origin; 
she is identified as <Jenusa la Vuluc,atera> (where <Jenusa> may 
possibly be an error for <Jerusa>), <Yerussa la bulutadera>, and 
<Yerussa la lisutadera>. [1]  (The <c,> in <Vuluc,atera> represents 
a c-cedilla).  

We have also found one <Yerusha> recorded in Hebrew in Nuernberg 
in 1298.  [2]  This may represent the Biblical name.

Lastly, we find <Jeruse> recorded in 1233 in Saumur and <Jerusse>
in 1400 in Savoy. [3]  However, we are not certain if either of
these represent the Biblical name.  <Jeruse> may be a form of
<Jarousse>, a French byname for a vetch-grower. [3,4]  <Jerusse>
may be from <jarret> 'lame' [4].  It is also possible that the
Navarrese <Yerussa> mentioned above is a form of <Jerusse>;
however, the <Y> is suggestive of a Hebrew <Yerusha>.

If any of these names interest you, we recommend that you go with
a Jewish persona.  For more information on bynames that would be
appropriate for a Jewish woman who was named <Yerussa> or <Yerusha>,
we recommend the following articles.  This article is a good source 
for Navarrese Jewish bynames:

   "Jewish Women's Names in 13th to 15th Century Navarre"
   http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/nav_intro.html

We also recommend the sources listed in the bibliography of this
article, if you can get a hold of them.

This article contains examples of bynames borne by Jewish women
in Germany:

   "Names from Hebrew Chronicles of the 10th to 13th Centuries"
   http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/crusades.html

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to write us
again.

We hope that this information has been useful to you.  Research and
commentary on this letter was provided by Adelaide de Beaumont, Talan
Gwynek, Juliana de Luna, Julie Stampnitzky, Mari neyn Brian, and Arval
Benicoeur.

For the Academy,
-Argantgui filia Catmail, 01Dec03


--
References:

[1] Julie Stampnitzky, "Jewish Women's Names in 13th to 15th Century
Navarre" (WWW: privately published, no date). 
http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/nav_intro.html

[2] Beider, Alexander, _A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names: Their
Origins, Structure, Pronunciation, and Migrations (Bergenfield, NJ:
Avotaynu, 2000). p. 598 s.n. Yerushe.

[3] Seror, Simon, _Les Noms des Juifs de France au Moyen Age_ (Paris: 
Editions du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1989). p. 
144

[4] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et 
Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987). s.n. Jarousseau