ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2940 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2940 ************************************ 29 Nov 2004 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked our help choosing a name appropriate for an Irishman before 800, using the correct form of the name and a surname that sounds similar to . You noted that the meaning of that name, "hound of the plains", is important to you; and you indicated that you think "hound of the plains" meant "wolf". Here is the information we have found. The earliest surviving written form of Irish dates from around the 4th century. It was written on stone in the alphabet called "Ogham". When this writing tradition developed, the Irish language was very different from the medieval form -- about as different as Latin is from French. This stage of the language is variously called "Primitive Irish", "Ogam Irish", or "Oghamic Irish". This writing system continued in active use into the 7th century, and while it was in active use, its users tended to write a conservative form of the language corresponding to what was spoken when the system was developed. The spoken language, however, was undergoing considerable change. When a new writing system using Roman letters was developed in the 6th century, its users broke with tradition and wrote a language much closer to what was actually being spoken. This stage of the language, as recorded from the late 7th century to the mid-10th century, is called Old Irish. The problem with reconstructing names used before the Old Irish period is that the only written forms that we know are the Oghamic forms in the Primitive Irish language, and yet we also know that by the 6th century this written Primitive Irish must have been quite different from the way the language was actually spoken. It takes a good deal of specialized knowledge to put the pieces together and come up with a likely reconstruction of both the written name and its pronunciation. We have therefore focused on names appropriate for the 7th and 8th centuries. As we said in our original reply, is an English spelling of an Irish name that was spelled in the early Middle Ages and pronounced \BRAY-nahn^\, where \n^\ is the sound of in French . [1] is a fine choice for the 7th and 8th centuries, but we're not sure when it came into use or when it fell out of use, so we cannot recommend it for either earlier or later. [2] The modern surname arose as an anglicization of several different Irish clan surnames. Among these were , , , and . [3] Irish clan surnames didn't appear until the 10th century [5], so there is no 8th century surname that is directly equivalent to the modern name . In your period, an Irishman was almost always identified as his father's son. 'Hound of the plain' is the literal translation of the masculine given name . (The slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter.) was relatively rare in the early period. [2,4,6] This name is an example of a class of medieval Irish given names that combined 'hound' with a descriptive term: 'hound of the sea', 'mead-hound', 'hound of the Ulstermen', etc. [4] The element 'hound; wolf' was used in the figurative sense 'fierce warrior, harrier'. We find no indication that the phrase was particularly used to mean 'wolf', though. If you would like a name that carries the meaning 'wolf' or 'son of the wolf', we may be able to help. To create a historically correct 8th century Irish name, we recommend you choose a given name for your father and then identify yourself as your father's son. If you want to be the son of Cu/ Maige, then the correct surname is , pronounced \mahk KOHN MHAH-y@\, where \MH\ is a nasalized version of the sound of in Spanish 'a wolf' and of in Spanish 'a grape'. To make this sound, set yourself to say \b\, but relax your lips slightly so that the air can escape between them with a sort of buzzing sound. It's rather like blowing out a candle, except that your vocal cords are vibrating. Since the sound is nasalized, some air should also escape through your nose. The \y\ is pronounced with much friction, making it the voiced counterpart of \ch\ (soft German in ), and \@\ is the sound of in or . is a plausible 8th century Irish masculine name. As we noted earlier, most Irish clan names are based on men's given names. In particular, all the clan names we identified as Irish precursors of are constructed from given names. It is possible that one or more of those given names was in use in the 8th century; and thus would be a good choice for your persona's father. We can research that option if you want, though of course this would give your name only a very tenuous connection to the modern surname . 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 Arval Benicoeur, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, and Mor inghean Chathail. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 29 November 2004 -- References: [1] Academy of S. Gabriel report 1730 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1730 [2] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001-2002). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/ [3] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3). s.n. (O) Conway [4] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). s.nn. Cu/ Maige, Cu/ Mara, Cu/ Mede, Cu/ Ulad [5] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Quick and Easy Gaelic Names (3rd Edition)" (WWW: Privately published, 22 Jun 2001) http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames/. [6] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976).