ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2855 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2855 ************************************ 4 Apr 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help creating a name that would be appropriate for a mercenary soldier in the army of Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar in the second half of the 11th century. You wanted to use , or some other form of , as your given name, and were also interested to know the earliest date that we found this name. Here is the information we have found. We find one instance of used as a given name in Castille between 1150 and 1160 [1]; we also find instances of it being used as a byname in the late 11th century [2]: Gartia Cristuebal 1069 Sanzio Cristobal 1079 Munnio Christobal 1081 These almost certainly indicate that these mens' fathers' names were , , etc.; this makes the name a fine choice for your period. Earlier, in 917-935 and 1019-1068, we find ; this appears to be a Latinized or partially Latinized spelling. [3] In your period, most people were identified beyond their given name by a single byname (surname) that identified them as their father's children, as in the examples like above. [4] You could choose a name for your father from any of the first few articles in the Iberian section of our Medieval Names Archive: http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/iberian.shtml particularly "A Partial List of Leonese and Castilian Given Names 1050-1200" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/diego/reilly.html) and Academy of Saint Gabriel report 2408 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/2408). The article "Medieval Spanish Names from the Monastery of Sahagun" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/miguel/sahagun/) also contains good information, but be warned that the data here is Latinized, and the forms don't represent the spoken forms of the time. Once you've picked a name, we'll be happy to let you know what the correct patronymic form is. We'll also research the spoken form of any Latinized name that you pick. Alternatively, you might want to consider one of the bynames that was actually used in the El Cid: [4] Albaroz (from Albar) Ansuorez (from Ansuor) Antolinez (from Antolino) Diaz (from Diago) Fannez (from Fano?) Garciaz (Garciez) (from Garcia) Goncalvez (from Gonzalo) Munoz (from Munoz) Ordonez (from Ordono) Salvadorez (from Salvador) Sanchez (from Sancho) Vermudoz (from Vermudo) 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 Talan Gwynek, Juliana de Luna, Arval Benicoeur, and Kolozsvari Arpadne Julia. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 04Apr04 -- References: [1] Menedez-Pidal, Ramon, _Crestomati/a del Espan~ol Medieval_ (Madrid: 1971). [2] Diez Melcon, R. P. Gonzalo, _Apellidos Castellano-Leoneses: Siglos IX-XIII, ambos inclusive_ (Universidad de Granada, 1957). sect. 44 (p.61) s.n. Christophorus [3] Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, "Medieval Spanish Names from the Monastery of Sahagun" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2000) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/miguel/sahagun/ [4] _Poem of the Cid_, ed. Ramo/n Mene/ndez Pidal, trans. W. S. Merwin (New York, Meridian, 1975 [1959]).