ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2874 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2874 ************************************ 14 Apr 2004 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether it is appropriate for a 14th century German nobleman to use two given names. Here is what we've found. It was not unknown, but it was extremely rare: Double given names didn't become common until the late 15th or 16th century [1]. We wouldn't recommend it without a very good reason, i.e. you are re-creating a member of a particular family which you know used double given names. The earliest examples of double given names that we've found in Germany are from the mid-13th century [2]: Otto Berthold Truchsess von Waldburg 1239 Walter Symon de Horburc 1256 Cu[o]nradus Wernher de Hadestat 1263 Cunradus Bertoldus de Guttenburch 1275, also recorded as 1276 Dietrich Cunrat Snewlin 1284 Claragnes von Keppenbach probably 13th c. ( + Fritzhinheinzin 14th c. ( + ) Heinzi Eglolf Spazinger 14th or 15th c. A letter in square brackets in this list is written in the original source above the preceding letter. We hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 14 Apr 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), end of chapter IV. He cites earlier research which found no evidence of double given names before the 14th century, and quotes another study that reported (our translation) "Double forenames do not begin to come into general use before about 1500". [2] Socin, pp.107-8.