ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2974 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2974 ************************************ 5 Dec 2004 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a woman from Scotland between 1200 and 1450. You also asked about heraldic arms. As we discussed earlier, Dunbar is in the Scottish Lowlands. Through most of your period, the language there was Scots, a close relative of contemporary English. We will therefore focus on Lowland Scots names in this report. is a fine name for your period. We have examples of this spelling of the name throughout your period [1, 2]. Middle names (or double given names) were not used in Scotland in our period. We recommend very strongly that you drop your second given name, as it is not appropriate for the culture you want to re-create. The name is also not a good choice: We have found only one example of it, recorded in 12th century Scotland in the form . You can read more about this name, including this example, in our article: Concerning the Name Deirdre http://www.medievalscotland.org/problem/names/deirdre.shtml The surname is a fine choice. At the early end of your period, it is more likely to have been used in the form (which would generally have been written ), as in the examples c.1250-66, 1269, 1382. Later in your period, the preposition was generally dropped, as in 1398, 1425 [3]. In summary, is a fine name for the latter part of your period. A more likely name earlier is . A middle name is not appropriate for your culture and is itself not particularly good re-creation. In our last note about your heraldic design, we recommended several sources as guides to heraldic style appropriate for your culture. We need some feedback from you before we can offer further advice. Your original idea was more complex than Scottish arms of your period, so we recommend you consider simpler designs. 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, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Gunnvor Silfraharr, and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 5 Dec 2004 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1996). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ [2] Academy of S. Gabriel report 2806 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2806 [3] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Dunbar.