ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3021 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3021 ************************************ 17 Mar 2005 From: Josh Mittleman Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether or is an appropriate name for a 4th or 5th century Roman solider stationed in Germany. Here is what we have found. As we discussed earlier: In the early Roman Empire, most citizens used a tria nomina or triple name, which consisted of a praenomen (given name), nomen (gens or clan name), and cognomen (originally a personal nickname, but later inherited within a branch of a gens). By the third century, this style of naming had fallen out of fashion. The praenomen disappeared from use, and two-element names became the norm. By the fourth century, 90% of men and women in the Empire were identified by a single name (derived from a cognomen); by the fifth century that number had risen to 95%. The remainder used a nomen plus cognomen, or, in a few cases, a single name plus a patronymic byname (i.e. a surname based on the father's given name) [1]. Thus, a two-element name consisting of nomen and cognomen is appropriate for your period, though a single-element name is more likely. Two-element names were probably used most often for the higher nobility. The specific name is not a good choice for your period. It was a praenomen in early Rome, but had dropped out of use centuries before your period [2]. The name was used as both a nomen and cognomen in western Europe in the late Imperial period [3, 4, 5]. , originally a Greek name, was used as a cognomen in Roman Gaul [3]. The combination is therefore a fine choice for your period, albeit a relatively unusual two-element name. By the 4th and 5th centuries, spoken Latin had long since begun to evolve away from its classical form. Written Latin generally preserved the classical forms of names, but the spoken form often differed significantly. In your period, we believe that your name was pronounced roughly \SAYLV-yohss ahn-DRYAHSS\, with \AY\ as in and the \Y\ in the last syllable pronounced in in . 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 and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 18 Mar 2005 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Academy of S. Gabriel report 2842 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2842 [2] The latest example we found of is a Roman quaestor in 210 BC, who is mentioned at http://montinola.org/pics/rome/history/page3.htm [3] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), II:19 s.n. Andreas, II:109 s.n. Silvius. [4] Birley, Anthony, _The People of Roman Britain_ (London: B T Batsford, Ltd, 1979), pp.125, 131, 159. , an oculist of apothecary whose name is found in an undated inscription in Britain. A tilemaker is recorded as Richborough, without date. There was a British poet before 382 called . [5] Solin, Heikki & Olli Salomies, _Repertorium Nominum Gentilium et Cognominum Latinorum_ (Hildesheim: Olms-Weidmann, 1988).