ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2864 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2864 ************************************ 3 Aug 2004 From: Kolosvari Arpadne Julia Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel! You asked us about a Scottish name that means "Christal son of Joseph". You also asked our opinion on your proposed heraldic design. We'd like to start by apologizing for the time it has taken us to write this letter. We hope this information is still useful to you. Starting around the 14th century, there were two main languages spoken in Scotland: Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands and Western Isles; and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the royal court and towns. Gaelic was the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots was closely related to contemporary English. Names were formed quite differently in the two languages, and the two styles of naming did not mix. Therefore, the culture you choose for your persona will determine how your name should be constructed. The name is a pet form of used in Scots-language (Lowland) names. We found the following spellings of this name: Cristal 14th c. [1] Cristall 14th c., 1549 [1, 3] Cristole 14th c. [1] Crystall 14th c. [1] Crystoll 14th c. [1] Cristoll 1474 [3] Christall 1561 [3] We also found the variant in the early 16th century [2]. Since it is always better re-creation to use an attested spelling, we recommend you use one of the forms from the above list for writing this name. We didn't find any Scottish examples of , neither in Scots-language nor in Scottish Gaelic (Highland) names. This doesn't necessarily mean the name wasn't used at all, but if it did occur, it was certainly very rare [4]. We did find some English examples of used as a patronymic (a byname identifying a person's father): [5, 6] Joseph 1191, 1577 (southern) Josep 1296 Sussex Josepsone 1332 Cumberland Josop, Jesop 1379 Yorkshire Josopp, Jesopp 1524 Suffolk A name like or could have belonged to an Englishman named who moved to Scotland, or to a Lowlander named whose father came from England. You asked our opinion of the heraldic design "Sable, a dragon's head erased Or and on a chief argent three crosses formy azure". Some elements of your design are well-matched to your culture, but unfortunately others are not. The arrangement of charges -- one main charge and a set of three on a chief -- is one that was used in late-period Lowland arms. The use of crosses as a minor charge is also consistent with Lowland heraldic style. However, we know no example of a dragon's head in period British heraldry. Dragons of any kind were rare in heraldry in our period, and because a dragon's head is rather difficult to recognize, it probably isn't a charge that would have appealed to heraldic designers. A two-legged dragon was used in 16th century Scottish heraldry, but it was still rare [7]. You may want to consider a more typical charge. We also recommend you use fewer colors in your design: Most Scottish heraldry used only two tinctures. Three tinctures is not unusual, but four is quite rare. Making the crosses the same color as the field would eliminate one tincture and tie the elements of your design together in a very authentic way. Our report 2511 (http://www.s-gabriel.org/2511) contains some general guidelines for re-creating period Scottish heraldry, as well as a list of specific examples from which you could choose a charge to replace the dragon's head. Please feel free to write to us again if anything in this letter is unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary came from Mari neyn Brian, Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Juetta Copin. For the Academy, Kolosvari Arpadne Julia 3 August 2004 ----- [1] Symon Freser of Lovat: 13th and 14th Century Scottish Names. http://www.s- gabriel.org/names/symonFreser/scottish14/scottish14_given.html [2] Sharon L. Krossa: Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names. http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16/index.shtml [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Chrystal. [4] In Irish Gaelic, occurs almost exclusively as the name of ecclesiastics (priests or monks), and only in the 8th to 10th centuries. Mari neyn Bryan: Index of Names in Irish Annals. http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/Ioseph.shtml [5] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.nn. Joseph, Jessop. [6] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.nn. Joseph, Jessop. [7] The "wyvern", a two-legged winged dragon, first appears in English rolls of arms in an unattributed coat in Sir William le Neve's Roll temp. Edward I (1272-1307). However, this coat appears in the middle of a section of arms of foreign kings, so it was probably intended as an exotic, foreign design. The first certain native usage is in the Parliamentary Roll c. 1312. The four-legged winged dragon does not appear until quite late in period. The earliest Scottish examples of dragons that we've found are two wyverns (two-legged dragons, one without wings) in a 16th century roll of arms. Brault, Gerald J., _The Rolls of Arms of Edward I_, Aspilogia III, 2 vols. (London: Boydell Press, 1997). Dennys, Rodney, _The Heraldic Imagination_ (New York: Clarkson and Potter Inc., 1975), p.191. Stodart, R. R., _Scottish Arms_, 2 vols (Edinburgh: William Paterson, 1881).