ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3201
http://www.s-gabriel.org/3201
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20 Oct 2006
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Gwenaelle des Champs d'Arthur> is an authentic
name for a French woman living between 1150 and 1500, but preferably
in the 13th century.  Here is what we have found.

<Gwenaelle> or <Gwenae"lle> (where <e"> represents an e-diaresis) is a
moderately rare name in modern French, but we have found no examples
before the middle of the 20th century. [1,2]  It appears to be a
French-style feminization of <Gwenael>, a modern variant of the
medieval Breton masculine name <Gwenhael>. [6]  We've not found any
feminine form of <Gwenhael> during our period.  We therefore recommend
that you do not use it as your given name.  If you'd like to consider
alternatives, we've listed below women's given names beginning with
<G-> which we find in Paris in 1292: [3]

  Galienne
  Genevieve
  Genevote
  Gennevote
  Germainne
  Gersant
  Gervese
  Gile
  Gileite
  Gilete
  Gille
  Gilleite
  Gilon
  Ginnade
  Girout
  Gonteut
  Gontier
  Grace
  Guibour
  Guibourc
  Guillemete
  Guiote

If you are interested in the pronunciation of any of these names,
please write us again.  You can also find other suitable choices in
source [3].

We did not find any French place called <Champs d'Arthur>.  If you
constructed this place name on the basis of the <Champs de Mars> in
Paris, we have to note that this is the only example of this type of
name that we've found.  As the <Champs de Mars> is a rather special
type of place (and not one where people generally lived), we don't
believe it's safe to generalize from this to an analogous construction
like <Champs d'Arthur>.  On the other hand, a byname such as <des
Champs> or <Deschamps> is a fine choice; we find both of these in
Paris in the early 15th century, and believe that both, particularly
<des Champs> is appropriate for the late 13th century as well. [4,5]

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 Talan Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Ari Ansson, and Tangwystyl
verch Morgant Glasvryn.

For the Academy,
-Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 20 October 2006

--
References:

[1] "Tout sur le pre/nom GWENAELLE" (WWW: auFeminin.com, 1999-2006)
http://www.aufeminin.com/w/prenom/p7401/gwenaelle.html

[2] "Le pre/nom Gwenaelle" (WWW: Le Journal des Femmes, no date)
http://www.linternaute.com/femmes/prenoms/prenom/4620/2002/gwenaelle.shtml

[3] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of
Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA:
Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). 
http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html

Some of the names are listed in this source with a grave accent on an
<e>.  These accents are modern editorial editions and are not
appropriate for the 13th century.

[4] Friedemann, Sara L., "French Names from Paris, 1421, 1423 & 1438"
(WWW: privately published, 2002-2003). 
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/paris1423.html

[5] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et
Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.n. Deschamps

[6] De Courson, M. Aure/lien, _Cartulaire de L'Abbaye de Redon en
Bretagne_ (Paris: Imprimerie Imperiale, 1863).