ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3237 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3237 ************************************ 15 Jan 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help constructing an authentic German name for the period 1250 to 1350, with as your given name (where stands for a u-umlaut), and a byname meaning 'son of '. You also asked about the arms "Per bend sinister gules and argent, a Latin cross and a lion rampant and a bordure embattled counterchanged." Here is what we have found. In our period, there wasn't a uniform German language, but rather a collection of dialects that varied from one region to the next. These dialects fall into two major groups: Low German in the north and High German in the south, including Switzerland and Austria. Some names were used only in one region (and therefore only in one dialect) or another; other names were used in all dialects but spelled or pronounced differently in each dialect. These considerations affect the type of byname that we will be recommending for you, based on the usage of the given name. The given name you're interested in has for a long time existed in two separate forms, and . The pronunciation represented by is the older of the two. During your period we find in 1240, 1280, 1320, 1344, 1348 in Silesia [2], 1260, 1278, 1300, and 1277. [1] The spellings ending in <-us> are Latinized forms, reflecting the fact that they were recorded in Latin-language documents. The represents a with a <'> over it Originally, this was a with an over it, an early way of indicating that the sound of the vowel had changed. Based on this, or is a fine choice for your given name, particularly for someone in a High German speaking area. is less likely, but also possible. is in origin a conflation of the names and ; and the Low German variant first appear in Low German territory (in the north). [3] We found in Silesia between 1317-39 and in the 14th c. (no more precise date), as well as the Latin form in 1306. [2] There are three types of patronymic bynames (bynames based on the bearer's father's given name): asyndetic (the father's uninflected forename), genitival (the father's forename in the genitive case), and the <-sohn> type (the father's forename in the genitive case followed by the 'son' noun). [4] For southern and middle Germany in your period, which is where we believe or is most likely, the asyndetic type was by far the most common. [5] We therefore recommend that you simply use as your byname. One of the best resources for German armory of your period is the Zurich Roll, dating to 1340: "The Zurich Roll of Arms" http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ZurichRoll/ We did not find any examples of bordures embattled or Latin crosses in this roll of arms, though it contains number of examples of plain bordures and crosses throughout. Additionally, we did not find any examples of "per bend sinister" in German armory of your period. We therefore cannot recommend your design as good re-creation, but we can offer some alternatives, including: [6] Argent, a cross and in chief two lions rampant and a bordure gules Gules, a cross and in chief two lions rampant and a bordure argent Per fess argent and gules, in chief a demi lion gules Per fess gules and argent, in chief a demi lion argent Per fess argent and gules, in chief a lion passant gules Per fess gules and argent, in chief a lion passant argent 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, Eleyne de Comnocke, and Adelaide de Beaumont. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 15 January 2007 -- References: [1] Socin, Adolf, _Mittelhochdeutsches Namenbuch. Nach oberrheinischen Quellen des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts_ (Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1903; Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1966), p. 19 [2] Talan Gwynek (Brian M. Scott), "Medieval German Given Names from Silesia" (WWW: Brian M. Scott; 1998-1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/ [3] Brechenmacher, Josef Karlmann, _Etymologisches Woerterbuch der deutschen Familiennamen_ (Limburg a. d. Lahn, C. A. Starke-Verlag, 1957-1960), s.n. Luther [4] Academy of S. Gabriel Report #3048 http://www.s-gabrile.org/3048 [5] Schwarz, Ernst, _Deutsche Namenforschung. I: Ruf- und Familiennamen_ (Goettingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1949), I:82 [6] So far as we can tell, you could register any of these with the SCA College of Arms.