ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3245 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3245 ************************************ 24 Jan 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help developing a name and arms authentic for an English man living between 1290 and 1350, with a name which could be shortened to (as your current name is ) and the arms "Gules semy-de-lis Or, a boar passant within an orle of chain argent." Here is what we have found. While the Old English name does not appear to have remained in use until the period you're interested in, other Old English names beginning did, including these: Osmer 1296 [1] Osbert 1273 [2] Osbertus 1296, 1319, 1332, 1346 [3,4,5,6] Osmundus 1346 [6] Osbernus 1306 [13] Names ending in <-us> are Latinized spellings, representing the English forms , , and , respectively. We also found the diminutive in 1273, which could be a nickname of any of these, and Chaucer uses the name for a character in the Reeve's Tale. [7,8] Any of these would be a fine choice for your given name. In all of the English forms, the initial syllable was pronounced very much like an Australian pronunciation of the word . You said you were interested in a name where you could use as a nickname. The only clear example of a nickname based on any of the above names that we found in period is , noted above. The suffix <-kin> appears in many nicknames from your period, and we can recommend whole-heartedly as an excellent pet form. Another very common diminutive suffix from this period is <-cok>, so we would not be surprised at all to see either or . [18] by itself is less likely, but also not entirely impossible, as during your period we have found , , , , , and , pet forms of , , , , , and , respectively. [19] You mentioned that you have been using as an Old English byname, so we took this as a starting point in coming up with a byname appropriate for the period 1290-1350. [9] There are actually two different Old English names spelled , differing only in the pronunciation of the first vowel. One, whose first element is identical to the Old English word for 'god', normally developed into the surname . The other, whose first element is identical to the Old English word for 'good', normally developed into the surname . Fortunately, the Middle English spelling of your period is usually equally ambiguous, and all of the following forms, which include both given names and bynames, could descend from either of the Old English names: [10,11,12] Godewin 1273, 1291x1292, 1321 Godewyn 1273, 1368, 1379 Godewyne 1322, 1339 Godwin 1273 Godwyn 1298, 1311x1312, 1349 Godwyne 1325, 1332, 1340 Godwynn 1296 So could the byname 1327. We can recommend any of these spellings a a suitable byname for your period. We do not find any examples of boars in English armory until around the 14th century, and so they are not the best choice of charges for armory from your period. [17] However, earlier we find examples of boar's heads, especially in groups of three. [15,16] Arms such as "Gules semy-de-lis or, three boar's heads argent" would be an excellent choice for your period. [14] Most of the early examples of boars and boar's heads come from canting arms (i.e., arms which are pun on the bearer's surname), such as 'Azure, three boar's heads Or' (Robert le Poer) and 'Gules, three boar's heads argent' (Adam de Swinburn). We'd therefore like to note that the arms we suggest above would be even more likely if you used a byname which had something to do with boars. Here are a number of suggestions: [20] 'bacon' Bacon 1296 'the boar' le Bor 1287 le Boor 1312 'the boar' (from Old French 'boar') le Sengler 1317 Other choices include place names using the element 'boar' or 'swine': [20] de Borle 1327 Swyndon 1380x1 de Swyneford 1332 de Swyne 1297 de Swynnerton 1295, 1332 de Swynton 1256, 1379 We have no evidence that orles of chain were used in medieval armory of any culture, and so strongly recommend that you do not use this element in your arms. 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 Ines Alfon, Talan Gwynek, Eleyne de Comnocke, Mari neyn Brian, Maridonna Benvenuti, Ursula Georges, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Juetta Copin. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 24 January 2007 -- References: [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Osmer [2] Bardsley, Charles, _A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames_ (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), s.n. Osbert [3] Postles, David A., "Rutland Lay Subsidy 1296" (WWW: Self-published, January 1998). http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/pot/ruthome.html [4] Uckelman, Sara L., "Names in the 1319 Subsidy Roll of London" (WWW: Self-published, 2006) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/english/london1319.html [5] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "An Index to the 1332 Lay Subsidy Rolls for Lincolnshire, England" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2000). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/LincLSR/ [6] Uckelman, Sara L., "14th Century Worcestershire Names" (WWW: Self-published, 2002, 2005) http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/english/worc14.html [7] Bardsley, op. cit., s.n. Osekin [8] Robinson, F.N., ed. _The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer_, 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1961). [9] As an aside we thought that we should mention that isn't quite correct: the correct classical Old English form is . [10] Bardsley, op. cit., s.n. Goodwin [11] Reaney & Wilson, op. cit., s.n. Godwin [12] Ekwall, Eilert, _Early London Personal Names_, (Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1947), pp. 43-44 s.n. Godwine [13] ibid., p. 79 s.n. Osbern [14] As far as we can tell, this design is registerable with the SCA College of Arms. [15] Chesshyre, Hubert & Woodcock, Thomas, _Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary_, vol. I (London: The Society of Antiquaries of London, 1992), pp. 200, 229 [16] Brault, Gerald J., _The Rolls of Arms of Edward I_, Aspilogia III, 2 vols. (London: Boydell Press, 1997). [17] Brault, Gerard J., _Early Blazon_ (Oxford: Clarendon Press,, 1972), s.v. sanglier [18] Reaney & Wilson, op. cit., p. xxxix [19] ibid., s.nn. Bart, Benn, Henn, Rich, Robb, Will [20] ibid., s.nn. Bacon, Boar, Borley, Singler, Swinden, Swinford, Swinn, Swinnerton, Swinton. The dated 1380x1 indicates that the record comes from between 1380 and 1381, but we cannot give a more exact date.