ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2890 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2890 ************************************ 8 Nov 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if <Antonio de Navarre> is an appropriate name for a man living around 1500 in Navarre. Here is what we have found. Before we start, we'd like to apologize for the amount of time it has taken us to complete this report, and hope that the information is still useful to you. Modern Spanish derives from Castilian, the language of Castile, which spread as Spain was unified. It only became dominant in Navarra at around the time you are interested in, and doesn't seem to have influenced the names that people used until after 1600. The dominant language in Navarre until the introduction of Castilian was quite different from Castilian; in many ways it was more similar to Catalan, a language still used in the area around Barcelona. That they used a different language is not surprising, as the rulers of Navarre in the 13th and 14th centuries were closely tied to France. However, in 1512, most of Navarre fell under the rule of Spain; the remainder was absorbed by France around 1600. Around 1500, we believe that names were still distinctly Navarese, rather than Spanish in form, though this may have changed by 1600. [1] Many given names took slightly different forms in Navarese than in Castilian. While <Antonio> was used in Castilian at this time, we have not found evidence that it was used in Navarra. Instead, we have found <Anton>, which was used in Navarra during the mid-14th century; we believe it to be appropriate for around 1500 as well. [2] The byname <de Navarre> uses the French form of the name of the kingdom. In the Navarese language, as well as in Castilian, the kingdom was called <Navarra>. However, while the byname <de Navarra> literally means 'from Navarre', it was used rarely used except by members and relatives of the royal family. [3] If you would like a more typical byname that indicates that you are from Navarra, you might consider <Navarro> "the Navarese man". [4] <Anton Navarro> would be a fine name for a Navarese man in your period. 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. We were assisted in researching and writing this letter by Arval Benicoeur and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Juliana de Luna & Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 08 November 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References: [1] Juliana de Luna, unpublished research [2] Carrasco Pe/rez, Juan _La Poblacio'n de Navarra en el Siglo XIV_ Pamplona, Spain: Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A, 1973)., p. 439, gives <Anton de C,aragoc,a> in 1366; there are many other examples of this name in the text as well. <Antonio> as a Castilian name around 1500 can be found in Juliana de Luna, "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1999-2000). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/isabella/ [3] As <Henri de Navarre or Navarra> (1553-1610) and <Marguerite de Navarre> or <Navarra> (1553-1615) demonstrate. [4] Carrasco Pe/rez, Juan _La Poblacio'n de Navarra en el Siglo XIV_ Pamplona, Spain: Ediciones Universidad de Navarra, S.A, 1973), p. 228, gives <Pero Martin Navarro> in 1330.