ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2806 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2806 ************************************ 03 Jun 2004 From: Marianne Perdomo Machin Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You wrote about a name appropriate for a woman living in 12th or 13th century Scotland. You were interested in the names and . The linguistic history of the area that became modern Scotland is very complex. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the major languages were Norse, Gaelic, English and Norman French, distributed roughly as follows: * Norse, spoken in the far north and the Western Isles; * English, spoken mainly in the southeast; * Gaelic, spoken through much of the country; and * Norman French, spoken by Anglo-Norman settlers and their Scoto-Norman descendents, mostly in the south. The name you have chosen, , is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name . In the 12th and 13th centuries, most documents in Scotland were written in Latin; and names were commonly recorded in Latin forms. It is therefore often difficult to determine the culture of a person mentioned in these documents and, therefore, the source language of the name. For example, a woman identified as in this period might have been a Gael called or could have been a Scoto-Norman called something like . The overall form of the name you've asked about is typical of Scoto-Norman naming customs, so we are going to focus on that culture [1]. A Scoto-Norman woman would be a native Scottish woman descending from English-speaking Anglo-Norman settlers, most of whom lived in the southern areas of Scotland. If you are interested in a Gaelic name, please write again and we'll be happy to help. We have found the following forms of in Scottish documents around your period [2]: Muriel before 1174, 1225, 1279; 1283; c.1350 Muriele 1296 Muriella 1284 We have also found early (1188, 1203, etc.) examples of from England in various forms. A form of the name -- probably and the like -- was probably brought over from Brittany after the Conquest, and may have been introduced into Yorkshire by Vikings with Irish connections [3, 4]. We think and related forms were very likely part of the non-Gaelic name pool in Scotland from that early date as well. In the 12th and 13th centuries, bynames and locative surnames (those referring to a place) were used literally. The only exceptions we have are a few locative surnames based on the names of places in France or England, all belonging to the great landholding families of Anglo-Norman descent, such as the Bruces, who carried these family names with them to Scotland. We have found several surnames similar to in use in England and the Scottish Lowlands. All of these were locative (based on place names) and were used literally in your period. We cannot find evidence of any surname in your period which derived from the name of the flower. Surname Date Roce 1195, 1199 [5] Rosce 1195, 1199[5] de Rose 1205 [6] de Ross 1205 [6] de Rosse 1205 [6] Rose 1302 [5] de Roys 1333 [5] We believe that the in these is only a documentary form; in spoken use a form like would be used. We can thus recommend as a good name recreation circa 1200, though or are more likely spellings. In the 12th and 13th centuries one could find both Scoto-Normans and Gaels in the general area around Nairn [7]. However, burghs were pretty much areas of Scoto-Norman culture. A Gael or Gaelic family might have settled in a burgh, but someone who had recently settled there might be less likely to have a surname based on the name of the burgh. Note also that this particular burgh was founded in the late 12th century, and so is unlikely to have been used in a name before the 13th century. There's evidence that is a modern spelling of the name that was spelled variously during our period. We have found the following spellings in use: Ilvernarran (an error for ) c. 1200 [8] Inernarn 1283 [8] Innernarryn 1286 [9] Invernary 1329 [9] de Narryn 1361 [9] de Narne 1406, 1450 [9] de Narn 1440 [9] Narne 1451, 1457, 1481 [9] of Narn 1431 [9] Naern, Naerne 1520 [9] We thus believe that another good 13th century Scoto-Norman name is or followed by the locative surname: of Inernarn of Innernarryn of Invernarran of Invernaren Note that a name of the form would be fine to indicate a 12th or 13th century townsperson from Invernairn. This would normally be a craftsperson, merchant, or similar town dweller: someone from the middle class, or possibly lower class. Names following the form are also fine, with Y being an occupation, descriptive byname, or similar. An inherited Scoto-Norman surname would likely not be used in that way until after your chosen period. Either surname, or , is a fine choice for your period, but we think that a double surname is unlikely. Compound surnames were quite rare in your period, though the same person might be identified by different surnames in different contexts (e.g. , identifying her father, and , identifying her place of origin). We believe it would be particularly unlikely for a person to be identified by two different locative surnames, <[of] Rose> and , since both would have been understood literally. Finally, this particular combination is unlikely for historical reasons [10]. In short, we can't recommend as a good recreation of a name for a woman living in 12th or 13th century Scotland. But we believe that the following would be great choices: Muriel Rosce Muriel Roce Muriel Rose Muriel of Innernarryn Muriella of Innernarryn 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 Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicoeur, Mari neyn Brian, Juliana de Luna and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Leonor Martin 3 Jun 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Gaels typically used literal patronymics, or names indicating their father; a Gaelic woman named whose father was would have used a byname meaning "daughter of Aodh". She would not have been known in Gaelic records by an inherited family name like , nor would she have used a locative like . Also, burghs like Nairn were predominantly areas of Scoto-Norman culture in your period. [2] The full names for these women were: Muriel, spouse of Robert de Landeles a. 1174 Muriel de Polloc, daughter of Peter de Polloc 1225 Muriel de Rothes filia quondam Petri de Pollok 1238 Muriel, wife of David de Graham 1279 Muriella filia Coneval 1284 Muriel de Roys 1333 Muriel Calder or Muriel Cawdor 16th c. Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. , , , , . [3] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. . [4] In the 9th c. the Vikings had a strong presence in Ireland; there are several names of Irish origin in the Viking name stock, and vice versa. [5] Reaney, op. cit., s.nn. Rose, Ross. [6] Black, George F., op.cit. s.nn. Rose, Ross [7] The town, or burgh, of Nairn appears to have been founded around 1190; but its name has changed through the ages. The first original spelling we have found is and dates from the 1210's-1220's. The burgh was granted by Robert I to the earl of Moray in 1312 and later was to be held of him by Hugh (later earl) of Ross. Nairn's connection with the earldom of Ross persisted until the forfeiture of the lord of the Isles in 1475. Pryde, George Smith, _The Burghs of Scotland: A Critical List_ (London, Glasgow, New York: Oxford University Press for the University of Glasgow, 1965), s.n. . [8] Johnston, James B., _Place-Names of Scotland_, 3rd ed. (London: John Murray, 1934), s.n. . [9] Black, George F., op.cit., s.n. Invernairn. [10] The modern clan was originally a family of Anglo-Norman descent. The clan ancestor is , the earliest mention of whom dates from 1219. He is the first person with this name noted in Scotland, especially in this particular area of Scotland. We believe that a person bearing the surnames (and living around Nairn) or around that time would have had a close association with that particular family. Moreover, since the Rose family didn't get the Nairn lands until around 1250, a surname isn't likely before the second half of the 13th century. It is also possible that the SCA College of Arms will interpret this name as presumptuous, as the clan seat is Kilravock, Nairn, and the Laird inherits the title . Fulton, Alexander, _Clans and Families of Scotland_ (Godalming, England: Quadrillion Publishing Ltd., 1991), pp. 188-9.