ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2897 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2897 ************************************ 26 Jul 2004 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether was used as a feminine name in medieval German. As far as we can tell, it was not. We can't find any evidence that was used at all as a woman's name before modern times [1, 2]. We found some other feminine forms of in medieval German sources [3, 4]: Petrissa ca.1128 Betirsha 1193 Petrissa 12th c. Petrischa 12th/13th c. Peterescha 12th/13th c. Petrissa once in 1250-1300, four times in 1300-1350 Petrissa 1280 Peterscha 1297 Peterscha 1300 Petirsche once in 1300-1350 Pedirse twice in 1350-1400 Pedrisse once in 1350-1400 Petronilla 987 Petronilla 1136 Petronella 1165 Petronilla 1171 Petronella 1163x1200 Petronella 1279 Strictly speaking, is a feminine form of the Latin name , but it was treated as a form of in medieval Europe. In all of these names, the final <-a> may be a Latinization, so the German forms of the names may be , , , etc. We also found two names that are probably pet forms of [4]: Petza once in 1300-1350 Patze twice in 1350-1400 Note that a final <-e> was pronounced as a separate syllable in German. Your note led us to wonder if you would be interested in joining the Academy. We welcome people interested in learning about medieval names and heraldry. As a member, you'd be able to post a question like this one directly to our mailing list. If you're interested, please read our members' guide at http://www.s-gabriel.org/membersguide/. It explains how we work and includes instruction for subscribing to our mailing list. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Juetta Copin. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 26 Jul 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Drosdowski, Guenther, _Duden Lexikon der Vornamen_, 2nd ed. (Mannheim: Dudenverlag, 1974). He says came into use in German in the first half of the 20th century. [2] Dunkling, Leslie and William Gosling, _The New American Dictionary of First Names_ (New York: Signet Books, 1983), s.n. Petra. It reports that has been in use as a feminine name only since the 1960s; before that, it was used only as a place name (e.g. the city southeast of Jerusalem in the classical period). [3] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), p.93. [4] Mulch, Roland, _Arnsburger Personennamen: Untersuchungen zum Namenmaterial aus anrsburger Urkunden vom 13. - 16. Jahrhundert_ (Darmstadt & Marburg: Hessischen Historischen Kommission Darmstadt and the Historischen Kommission fu:r Hessen, 1974), pp.38-9.