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 is an appropriate name for a 15th century German man. Here is what we have found. We discussed the surname 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 in eastern and southeastern Germany in the 13th and 14th centuries spelled variously , , , and the Latinized [2, 3]. We have later examples in 1500 and 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 is probably safe, too. Our previous research into the name [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 . 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 1555; here is a form of [9]. So the general form of your name is fine. Since is not a plausible name for your ancestor, you could simply plug in a different name in that position, e.g. . 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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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.