ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3213
http://www.s-gabriel.org/3213
************************************

15 Nov 2006
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael 

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Jaqueline Arien> is an authentic name for a
15th-century French woman living in Burgundy, near modern-day
Aire-sur-la-lys.  Here is what we have found.

Your choice for a given name is fine; we find both <Jaqueline> and
<Jaqueligne> in Choisy (25 km away from Paris) between 1475 and 1478. [1]

As you noted, a town called <Arien> can be found in Blaeu's atlas of
Flanders and Zeeland, which dates from 1645. [2]  You're right that
this town is modern-day Aire-sur-la-lys; <Arie"n> or <Arie"n aan de
Leie> (where the <e"> represents an <e> with a diaresis) is the Dutch
name of the city. [3]  In a Dutch chronicle from 1517 referring to
events in 1479, the city is called <Aryen>. [4] Hence, <van Aryen>
would be a fine byname for a 15th century Dutch woman.

However, a French woman wouldn't have used the Dutch form of the city
name, but rather the French spelling.  While we do not have any
15th-century French spellings of <Aire-sur-la-Lys>, the city <Aire> is
recorded as <Air> in 1248, and <Airon-St.-Vaast> is recorded as
<Ayron> in 1311. [5]  These place names are from the Latin word
<area>; this word developed into <aire> in Old French. [6,7]  Based on
this, we think either <Aire> or <Ayre> is a plausible spelling of
<Aire-sur-la-Lys> for your period.

You noted that you were more interested in retaining the byname
<Arien> than having a byname referring to Aire-sur-la-Lys.  If you
would like to use <van Aryen> instead of <de Aire>, then we recommend
that you pursue a Dutch persona and pick a Dutch given name, instead
of the French name <Jacqueline>.  You can find some feminine names
appropriate for the 15th-century in the following articles:

  "Dutch Names 1393-96"
  http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/dutch/dutch14.html

  "Names from Antwerp, 1443-1561"
  http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/dutch/plaiser.html

  "15th Century Dutch Names"
  http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/dutch/dutch15.html
  
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 Maridonna Benvenuti and Talan Gwynek.

For the Academy,
-Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 15 November 2006

--
Rferences:

[1] Uckelman, Sara L., "Names from Choisy, France, 1475-1478" (WWW:
Self-published, 2005) 
http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/choisy.html

[2] Blaeu, Willem and John, eds., _Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, sive Atlas
Novus in quo Tabulæ et Descriptiones Omnium Regionum_ (Amsterdam: 1645)
http://www.library.ucla.edu/yrl/reference/maps/blaeu/flandria.jpg

[3] "Arie"n" (WWW: Wikipedia.nl, 21 September 2006)
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aire-sur-la-Lys

[4] Tilmans, Karen, ed., "De Divisiekroniek van 1517: Uitgave van het
Bourgondische-Habsburgse deel (divisie 29-32)" (WWW: Universiteit van
Amsterdam, 2003), pp. 338-9, 386, 477
http://cf.hum.uva.nl/geschiedenis/medewerkers/tilmans/dk.pdf

[5] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms
de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963), s.nn. Arian,
Airon-Notre-Dame

[6] Pope, M.K., _From Latin to Modern French_ (Manchester: Manchester
University Press, 1966), sections 313, 404

[7] Greimas, Algirdas Julien, _Dictionnaire de l'ancien franc,ais_
(Paris: Larousse, 1997), s.v. aire.