ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2798 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2798 ************************************ 18 Jan 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for our help constructing a Polish masculine name appropriate for 1300 to 1600. You wanted to use a locative byname based on the place or , and wanted to know if was the only type of Polish-language locative based on this place name that was used, or if other religious or ethnic groups used a different construction. (We're using to represent an n-tilde). You also said you were planning to use the given name . Here is the information we have found. Before we start, we'd like to apologize for the length of time that it has taken us to complete this report. We hope that the information is still useful to you. is a standard modern Polish form of the name. Most of our records from your period are in Latin, not Polish, and thus the examples that we have, from 1263, 1339, and 1487, are of or (the latter being a different grammatical case; only represents the standard Latin form of the name). [1] It appears that this name was rather rare, but it is a fine choice. We are not sure how it was spelled in early Polish. In 1614 we find a record of a ; here, represents a byname based on , a city called after a man named . [2] Therefore, by the end of your period, we can recommend as an appropriate Polish spelling. The modern form may be possible by the end of your period; we simply don't know. is south-east of Warsaw, and was founded in the 12th century. [3] Despite the fact that it was founded so early, and was of a fairly large size, we find no locative bynames based on this town name, even though we find bynames based on smaller towns in the surrounding area. [5] This means that the town may have changed its name at some point in the past. However, by the 16th century, it was certainly known as . [4] As you noted in your letter, the most common way to form locative bynames is with <-ski>, which, when added to a city name, makes it into an adjective. Though many people think this sounds modern, this formation is actually extremely old. The appropriate form for most of your period is , not . The distinction between the palatalized ( with an acute accent, representing about the same sound as Spanish ) from plain seems to be largely a modern phenomenon. It is possible that the byname was spelled in the late 16th century, but the form without the diacritical mark is more appropriate for earlier. Because this is the most common type of locative, we do recommend this as the best recreation. A less common construction is to use + the city's name in the genitive case, e.g. 'of Garwolina'. We found somes examples from the later part of your period and after [6]: or 1579, 1620, 1628. It is likely that this construction was used earlier, but we do not have any examples because the documents from that period were written in Latin, not Polish, and so did not use Polish forms of bynames. In conclusion, is a fine name for a 16th century Polish man. is less likely, but not implausible. We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Walraven van Nijmegen, Arval Benicoeur, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, -Aryanwy verch Cadvael, 18Jan04 -- References: [1] Taszycki, Witold (ed.), _S{l/}ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych_, vols. I-VII (Wroc{l/}aw: Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia Ossoli{n/}skich, Polska Akademia Nauk, 1965-1987). s.n. Waleryjan. [2] Bubak, Jo/zef. S{l/}ownik Nazw Osobowych: I Elemento/w Identyfikacyjnych S{a,}decczyzny XV-XVII w., 2 vols. (Krako/w: "Universitas", 1992). vol. II p260 s.n. Waleryjanowic(z). [3] Pierwszy, Tom. Miasta Polskie: w Tysi{a,}cleciu, 2 vols. (Wroc{l/}aw, Warszawa, Krako/w: Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia Ossoli{n/}skich, 1965). vol II p465. [4] Mercator, Gerardus. _Map of Poland & Silesia_ 16th century. (Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, 1963.30.27729). http://search.famsf.org/4d.acgi$Record? 40592&=list&=1&=&=And&=1789&=0&=keywords&=Yes&=&=&=16%20&=Yes&=&=f, accessed 18Jan04 [5] Taszycki, op. cit., is fairly comprehensive, and we found no examples in this source. [6] Bubak, op. cit., p. 143 s.n. Domieniek, p.321 s.n. Kramarz, p.350 s.n. Laszek.