ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3154 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3154 ************************************ 15 Aug 2006 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if <Tlachtga Oach> or <Tlachtga Ochae> is an appropriate name for an Irish woman living between the 6th and 9th centuries. Here is what we have found. The earliest surviving written form of Irish dates from around the 4th century. It was written on stone in the alphabet called "Ogham". When this writing tradition developed, the Irish language was very different from the medieval form -- about as different as Latin is from French. This stage of the language is variously called "Primitive Irish", "Ogam Irish", or "Oghamic Irish". This writing system continued in active use into the 7th century, and while it was in active use, its users tended to write a conservative form of the language corresponding to what was spoken when the system was developed. The spoken language, however, was undergoing considerable change. When a new writing system using Roman letters was developed in the 6th century, its users broke with tradition and wrote a language much closer to what was actually being spoken. This stage of the language, as recorded from the late 7th century to the mid-10th century, is called Old Irish. Both of the elements that you've asked about are Old Irish, and not Oghamic Irish. Because of the difficulties in reconstructing Oghamic Irish spellings, we have focused on Old Irish forms in this letter. As you know, <Tlachtga> is the name of a mythological Irish druidess. [1] We have not found any evidence that this name was used by real people at any time. As the Irish in general did not use mythological names, we recommend that you do not use <Tlachtga>. If you'd like to pick a name which we know was in use during your period, we recommend the following article: "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Feminine Names" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/ The word <o/ach> (where the slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter) means 'having (big?) ears'. [2] The only example of this that we've found is a <Crimthann Oach> who was the grandfather of someone who supposedly died in 514. [3,4,5] We have no way of knowing whether <Crimthann Oach> was an actual person, or an invented legendary historical figure. In any case, this example does not provide evidence for <O/ach> as a plausible byname for your period, so we also recommend that you do not use <O/ach> or <Oach>. You also asked about <O/chae>. This is unrelated to <Oach>. <O/chae> is the name of a (probably mythical) woman <O/chae ingen Chruind> who gave her name to the tribe Corcu O/chae. [4,6] There was a saint <Lugaid moccu O/chae> 'Lugaid of the tribe Corcu O/chae' who lived from the mid 6th century to the early 7th century. [7] In contrast with later clan names using <ui/>, which are used with a relatively identifiable human ancestor traceable to a historic era, the eponyms used with <moccu>, although sometimes identical to given names in ordinary use, arose before the Christian era and it is believed that they refer to "the tutelary god of the race" rather than a human ancestor. [9] We therefore can't recommend <O/chae> as a plausible given name for your period. The construction <moccu X> 'of the tribe of X' is fairly rare and appears to be restricted to the Old Irish period (c.700 - c.900); the latest example that we found is from 690. [3,8,9] The feminine equivalent is <dercu X>. This type of byname was even more rare than the <moccu X> construction, but we have found one example in the 6th century. [10] Based on this, we can tentatively suggest <dercu O/chae> '[woman] of the tribe of O/chae' for the first half of your period. We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Arval Benicoeur, Mari neyn Brian, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Ari Ansson. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 15 August 2006 -- References: [1] "Tlachtga" (WWW: Wikipedia.com, 26 October 2005) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlachtga [2] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1983), s.v. o/ach [3] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, "The Annals of Ulster" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997) http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100001A/ U514.1 Cairpri Daim Argit mc. Eathach mc. Crimtoind mc. Fheig mc. Deagha Dhuirnn mc. Reochadha mc. Colla Da Crich, ri Airgiall. [4] Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502, compiled by Donnchadh O/ Corra/in, Funded by University College, Cork and Professor Marianne McDonald via the CURIA Project. 1. First draft, revised and corrected. Proof corrections by Donnchadh O/ Corra/in, Dara Mac Domhnaill. (CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, College Road, Cork, Ireland, 1997). http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G105003/index.html 818 Cethri mc Fe/icc: Crimthann Lethan & Crimthann Oach a quo Da/l n-Oaich, Brion, Labraid. section 12, paragraph 942: Ruc side dano secht macco do Chruind & unam filiam id est O/chae. [5] Walsh, Dennis "Kingdom of Airghialla: Ulster Series" (WWW: Rootsweb.com, 2003) http://www.rootsweb.com/~irlkik/ihm/colla.htm [6] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976), index s.n. O/chae [7] Annals of Ulster, op. cit., 554.1 Natiuitas Lugdag moccu Ochae. 609.1 Occisio Sechnusaigh m. Garbain, & mors Conaill m. Daimeni & quies Lugdach moccu Ochae. [8] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1983), s.v. maccu [9] MacNeill, John, "Early Irish Population-Groups: Their Nomenclature" in _Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy_ 29C (1911), pp. 59-1148. [10] Byrne, Francis John, "Dercu: The Feminine of Mocu" in _E/igse_ 28 (1994), pp. 42-70.