ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3206 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3206 ************************************ 6 Nov 2006 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if or is an authentic name for an Englishman living sometime between 1000 and 1550, particularly in the 15th century. Here is what we have found. The name evolved from the Latin name . During the Old English period, we found a couple of clerics named or . [8] The name was rare, and probably not used by non-clerics in England at this time. The name did not become common in western Europe until after the first Crusades. From the 12th century on, the name became increasingly popular in England, until in the latter half of the 16th century, 15% of all men in England were baptized ! [1] It is therefore an excellent choice for the 15th century. We cannot recommend your first choice of byname, however. We found no English place named , and do not believe it is a plausible constructed place name. The element is a borrowing of the Old French 'summit', from Latin 'a tuft, a plume'. The earliest instance of this word in English that we've found is from 1325, and while we've found two men with the byname in 1379, its late entry into the English language makes it unlikely to appear in an English place name. [2,3,4] On the other hand, we have found a few modern English place names which use the element , including , 'windy hill', 'shelter against the wind', and 'windy pass'. If any of these interest you, please write us again and we can give you further information on medieval forms of these names. On the other hand, your other choice is fine, with some minor changes. We find West Acres recorded as in the 13th century. [5,6] We believe that this spelling also appropriate for your period, though we do not have any clear 15th-century examples. By the 15th century, the use of the preposition would have been quite unusual; while is possible [7], is more typical. 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, Ines Alfon, Maridonna Benvenuti, and Arval Benicoeur. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 06 November 2006 -- References: [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. John [2] Greimas, Algirdas Julien, _Dictionnaire de l'ancien franc,ais_ (Paris: Larousse, 1997), s.v. creste [3] _The Oxford English Dictionary_ online s.v. crest http://www.oed.com/ [4] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Crest [5] _Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society_, Edited by Victor Watts, Edited in association with John Insley, Margaret Gelling (Cambridge University Press: January 2004, s.n. (West) Acre [6] "Houses of Austin canons: The priory of West Acre", _A History of the County of Norfolk_ vol. 2 (1906), pp. 402-04, accessed 19 October 2006. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=38292 [7] Indeed, source [6] mentions one ; while the given name is almost certainly not the form that was found in the original text, we have no reason to think that the editors added the preposition . Even so, this type of construction remains unusual for this period. [8] Miller, Sean, "Anglo-Saxon Charters" (WWW: Anglo-Saxons.net, no date), charters S72, S348, S349, S364, S372, S373, S374, S1320, S1324, S1327 http://www.anglo-saxons.net/hwaet/?do=show&page=Charters