ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2950 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2950 ************************************ 3 May 2005 From: Femke de Roas (no address) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us if would be appropriate for a Gaelic speaking man in the Scottish Highlands in the 14th century. We'll start with a some background material on naming practices in this area. Then we'll discuss the given name and byname, and finally we'll look at some ways to combine them. In 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. Although you asked us about a Gaelic-speaking persona, the elements of the name you asked about are closer to Scots forms. Thus, we'll discuss both Gaelic and Scots names. Names were often exchanged between the cultures of Scotland, but not all names were used in all languages. Many English and Lowland given names were eventually adopted by Gaels, but many of these didn't come into use among Gaels until quite late in our period. is a modern English-language name which is a Scottish pet form of . It is essentially the same name as modern Scottish Gaelic , which is functionally a pet form of , the modern Gaelic form of , though it may have originated as a Gaelic adaptation of [1]. The name was originally brought to Scotland by the Anglo-Norman settlers and remained common among their descendents from the 12th century onward. The Scottish town was named after a Robert who lived in the mid-12th century [3]. The name was used in the Scottish royal line: Robert I in the late 13th century, Robert II in the 14th, and Robert III in the late 14th and early 15th centuries [4, 5, 6]. The name was common in the Lowlands and had a variety of pet forms such as and , which were in use by the 15th century; and and , which were in use by the 16th century. was especially popular [3]. At some point, was adapted to Gaelic, roughly phonetically, as . The earliest evidence we have of Gaels themselves bearing some form of the name is in the mid-14th century [8], but the Gaelic form of the name no doubt existed very early; certainly the Gaels had to call Robert the Bruce something. Some early examples recorded in Scots-language documents include [3]: Maldowny McRobi 1363 Henry McRob 1458 Patric McRobin 1489 James Makroby 1539 Angus M'Robert 1543 Each of these names is a patronymic byname, meaning essentially "son of Robin," etc. They imply the use of the given name from which they are constructed. The examples and might be evidence of Gaelic given names pronounced like , but not necessarily: Because of the requirements of Gaelic grammar and the vagaries of transliterating names from Gaelic to Scots or Latin, the Gaelic given name that underlies these examples might not actually have sounded like [9]. We have evidence of Scots language diminutives of formed with a final \ee\ sound, all recorded as surnames [2, 7]. Robe 1521-22, 1524 Robbie 1597 Some earlier names may also show something like in the Lowlands [2, 7]: Robison 1446, 1475 Robyson 1471 Robisone 1477 These are patronymic bynames. However, these might also have meant "Rob's son" rather than "Roby's son", so while is definitely a fine 16th century Lowland name, we can't endorse it unequivocally as a 15th century name. The modern surname , a variant of , is a modern English-language family name ultimately derived from the Gaelic patronymic byname "son of Uisdean". ( was orginally a Gaelic adaptation of the English given name .) A patronymic byname is a surname based on the father's given name that identifies a person as his father's son. Such bynames were used literally in Gaelic in period Scotland: A man was known as only if his father's given name was . The custom of using surnames to show clan membership did not arise until after our period. A Gael named whose father's given name was was called [10]. This is a fine 14th-16th century Gaelic name, and was pronounced \ROH-b^@rt mahk OOSH-tchen^\. Here, the symbol \b^\ indicates a palatalized \b\, which is \b\ blended with a hint of the \y\ sound in , as in the word [11]. The \n^\ similarly represents palatalized \n\, the sound in the final syllable of the Italian word . The \@\ represents the sound of \a\ in 'about'. Gaelic was rarely used as a written language in Scotland in our period. The written languages of Scotland were Latin and Scots. When a Gaelic name was written in another language, it was usually adapted to the spelling system and grammar of that language, and often modified in other ways to fit the naming customs of the scribe who wrote it. The Gaelic name was itself originally a Gaelic borrowing of the Scots and English given name or , a diminutive of . When the patronymic was rendered in Scots, it was recorded as 1494-5, 1497, 1550, etc. [7]. We suggest that is appropriate for a 14th century Gael in Scotland. This name would have likely been recorded as in a Scots language document. If you particularly want a given name pronounced \RAB-ee\, then we recommend you focus on Lowland culture of the 16th century. For example, or is a fine 16th century Lowland name. 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. Research and assistance in preparing this report were provided by Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juetta Copin, Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Gunnvor Silfraharr, Adelaide de Beaumont, Barak Raz and Ursula Georges. For the Academy, Femke de Roas May 3, 2005 _________________________________________________________________________ REFERENCES [1] Morgan, Peadar, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989), s.nn. , . [2] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "Early 16th Century Scottish Lowland Names" (WWW: Privately published: 2001). http://www.medievalscotland.org/scotnames/lowland16 [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986) s.nn. , , , , , , . [4] "Robert I, king of Scotland," _The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition,_ (WWW: Columbia University Press, 2004). http://www.bartleby.com/65/rb/Rbrt1-Sc.html [5] "Robert II, king of Scotland," _The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition,_ (WWW: Columbia University Press, 2004). http://www.bartleby.com/65/rb/Rbrt2-Sc.html [6] "Robert III, king of Scotland," _The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition,_ (WWW: Columbia University Press, 2004). http://www.bartleby.com/65/rb/Rbrt3-Sc.html [7] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986) s.nn. , , , , , . [8] Krossa, Sharon L., "Scottish Gaelic Given Names" (WWW: privately published, 2000-2002). http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/ [9] In a Gaelic patronymic byname, the word "son" is followed by the genitive (possessive) form of the father's given name. The genitive form of a given name sometimes sounds very similar to the nominative form, but can instead sound quite different. For example, if there were a Gaelic given name \ROE-bahkh\, the patronymic would sound very much like . Note that we made up this example for illustration; we have no evidence of a name . [10] Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 2305 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2305 [11] A palatalized consonant means that the speaker pronounces the consonant with the blade of the tongue raised to touch the hard palate, as if you were trying to say \b\ and \y\ (or \n\ and \y\) simultaneously.