ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2962
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2962
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16 Nov 2004
From: Josh Mittleman 


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked whether <Gerlach> is an appropriate given name for a 12th
century German mercenary; and whether one of the bynames <Sturmere>
and <Schade> are appropriate.  Here is what we have found.

<Gerlach> is a fine name: Examples were recorded in southwestern
Germany in the Latin form <Gerlacus> in 1107 and in the German
spelling <Gerlach> in 1289 [1].  We also have examples in western
Germany in the first half of the 13th century and eastern Germany in
the 14th century [2, 3].  A document from 1312 mentions a man called
<Gerlachus der Krigere> "Gerlach the warrior" [4].  The name was
pronounced \GAIR-lahkh\, where \kh\ represents the raspy <ch> sound in
the German word <Bach> or in Scottish <loch>.

The byname <Sturmere> is a fine choice.  It was recorded in that
spelling in 1161 in the name <Wernherus Sturmere>, in 1197
<Wernh. Sturmere>, and in 1227 <Herbord Sturmere>.  In medieval
German, the word meant "fighter" [5, 6].

Your other choice, <Schade>, is also fine, but this may not be the
most appropriate spelling.  We found these examples [5, 6]: 

  <Chuonr. Scade>     1180
  <Heinric Scado>     1188
  <Frid. Schado>      1213
  <Ru(o)dolfus nobilis dictus Schade de Randegge> 1225
  <Ditericus Schado>  1230

Throughout the 12th century, <Schado> is probably an appropriate
spelling; at the end of that century, <Schade> may be appropriate as
well.  In medieval German, this word meant "one who damages; opponent"
[5].

In summary, <Gerlach Sturmere> "Gerlach the fighter" or <Gerlach
Schado> "Gerlach the opponent" are fine 12th century German names,
probably most likely in southwestern Germany.  In a Latin document,
these names could have been written <Gerlacus Sturmere> and <Gerlacus
Schado>.


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 Talan Gwynek,
Aryanhwy merch Catmael, and Bronwyn ferch Gwyn ap Rhys.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  17 Nov 2004


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References

[1] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen
Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn,
1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), p.17.

[2] Talan Gwynek, "German Given Names 1200-1250" (WWW: Academy of
Saint Gabriel, 1997).  
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germ13/

[3] Talan Gwynek, "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia", revised
edition (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1999).
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/

[4] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der
deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag,
1957-1960), s.n. Krieger.

[5] Brechenmacher s.nn. Stu"rmer, Schad.

[6] Socin pp.267, 437.