ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3002
http://www.s-gabriel.org/3002
************************************

8 Mar 2005
From: Josh Mittleman 


Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked whether <Leupold Maximilian von Weiszenberg> is an
appropriate name for a 15th century German man.  Here is what we have
found.

We discussed the surname <von Wei{sz}enberg> in our previous report
for you [1].  Note that {sz} represents a single letter, an s-z
ligature called ess-tzet, which you can see at:

  http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-documents/details.html#diac

As we wrote earlier, we have examples of <Leupold> in eastern and
southeastern Germany in the 13th and 14th centuries spelled variously
<Leupold>, <Lewpold>, <Luppolt>, and the Latinized <Lupoldus> [2, 3].
We have later examples <Luppolt> in 1500 and <Leopolt> in 1550, both
in Bohemia [4].  Either of these spellings is a safe choice for the
15th century as well, especially in the southeast, and <Leopold> is
probably safe, too.

Our previous research into the name <Maximilian> [5] turned up no
example of the name before the German emperors Maximilian I (born
1459) and Maximilian II (born 1527); and Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria
(born 1573) [6].  In further research, we find that there were at
least three early Christian saints of this name.  One of them was
venerated at churches in Bavaria and Austria, at least in the early
Middle Ages [7].  We have found no evidence that the name was used in
Germany before the mid-15th century.  It is not impossible that
someone might have named their child in honor of the Emperor or the
saint; but without evidence that the name was in general use, we can't
recommend it as good re-creation.

Double given names did not become common in Germany until the 17th
century.  There are a handful of early examples and the practice grew
in the late 15th and 16th centuries [8].  A second given name is not
out of the question for a late 15th century German, but it would have
been unusual.  A single given name is definitely more typical of your
period.

A double surname, on the other hand, was not uncommon in late-period
German.  In a study of names from the Sudetenland in the 15th and 16th
centuries, one of our members has found that about 1% of the names
were recorded with two surnames.  In almost all cases studied so far,
the second surname was a locative, like your <von Wei{sz}enberg>.  The
first surname was often a given name used as a surname, the given name
taken from the man's father, grandfather, or earlier ancestor.  An
example is <Anthonius Gerg von Muscha> 1555; here <Gerg> is a form of
<Georg> [9].  So the general form of your name is fine.  Since
<Maximilian> is not a plausible name for your ancestor, you could
simply plug in a different name in that position, e.g. <Leupold Martin
von Wei{sz}enberg>.


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 Walraven van
Nijmegen, Talan Gwynek, Gunnvor Silfraharr, and Aryanhwy merch
Catmael.

For the Academy,


  Arval Benicoeur
  8 Mar 2005


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References

[1] Academy of S. Gabriel report 2938
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2938

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

[3] Talan Gwynek, "Late Period German Masculine Given Names" (WWW: Academy
of Saint Gabriel, 1997).
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/germmasc/

[4] Schwarz, Ernst. _Sudetendeutsche Familiennamen des 15. und
16. Jahrhunderts_ (Mu"nchen: Robert Lerche, 1973), s.nn. Hardecker,
Ha"ufel.

[5] Academy of S. Gabriel report 1875
http://www.s-gabriel.org/1875

[6] The Columbia Encyclopedia. Sixth edition, 2001-04 (WWW:
Bartleby.com, 2004), entries Maximilian I, 1573-1651, elector and duke
of Bavaria; Maximilian I, 1459-1519, Holy Roman emperor and German
king; Maximilian II, 152776, Holy Roman emperor.
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ma/Maxi1DukBav.html
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ma/Maxi1HRE.html
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ma/Maxi2HRE.html

[7] "Maximilian", The Catholic Encyclopedia (WWW: New Advent, 2003).
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10075a.htm

[8] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen
Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn,
1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), end of
chapter IV.  He cites earlier research which found no evidence of
double given names before the 14th century, and quotes another study
that reported (our translation) "Double forenames do not begin to come
into general use before about 1500".

[9] Schwarz, Ernst. _Sudetendeutsche Familiennamen des 15. und
16. Jahrhunderts_ (Mu"nchen: Robert Lerche, 1973), s.n. Georg.