ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3212
http://www.s-gabriel.org/3212
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28 Oct 2006
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Caterin de Sainte Georges> is an authentic name
for a 12th-century French woman living in Jerusalem.  Here is what we
have found.

With slight changes to both your given name and byname, you've chosen
a fine name.  During the 12th century, we find the French names
<Catelin> and <Katelin> recorded in England in 1198, along with the
diminutive <Catin> in 1177 and 1200, and an example of <Caterin> used
as a byname sometime between 1154 and 1189. [1,4]  Just after your
period, we find the Latinized forms <Caterina> 1214 and <Katerina>
1208. [1]  We also found a French example, from a Latin document, of
<Katherina> in the 12th century. [2]  Based on this, we believe both
<Caterin> and <Catelin> are excellent choices for your given name.

As <Georges> is a masculine name, <Sainte Georges>, using the feminine
form <sainte> instead of the masculine form <saint>, is not correct. 
Additionally, the spelling <Georges> is a modern form of this name,
and so for your period we'll be recommending a different spelling of
this place name.

For the 12th century, all the examples that we have use Latin forms of
the name, e.g. <Sanctus Georgius> or <ecclesia Sancti Georgii> 'church
of Saint George'. [3]  We can therefore recommend <Katerina de Sancto
Georgio> as a fine 12th-century Latin form of your name.  (The change
from <Sanctus Georgius> to <Sancto Georgio> is a requirement of Latin
grammar; words following <de> 'of' need to be in the ablative case.)

In the 13th century, we find the following French forms of various
places named <Saint George>: [3]

  Saint-Jorge de Hesdin  1266-7
  Saint Jore  1291
  Saint Joire  1296

  Seint Jorge dou Bois  1289

  Seint Jourge sur Eure  1297

  Saint Jorge le Gautier  1258

We believe that <Saint Jorge> is also a reasonable French spelling for
the 12th century, with <de Saint Jorge> being a fine choice for your
byname.  (Here, the <de> is the French preposition 'of', not the Latin
preposition 'of', and so <Saint Jorge> does not change in spelling.)

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.  Additional research and commentary on this letter
was provided by Talan Gwynek.

For the Academy,
-Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 28 October 2006

--
References:

[1] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English
Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: Academy of Saint
Gabriel, 1997).
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/

[2] Morlet, Marie-The/re\se, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire
de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Sie\cle_, three volumes (Paris:
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1968, 1972, 1985).

[3] ibid., III:96b, 97a.

[4] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_
(London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Catlin