ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3307 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3307 ************************************ 27 May 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for our help developing an authentic name for a medieval Scandinavian woman, with a form of as your given name and a byname meaning 'rabbit' or 'hare'. You said you were also considering arms using a rabbit or hare. Here is what we have found. You said you were willing to place your persona in whatever Scandinavian culture is most appropriate for the name you desire. We recommend that you consider a Danish name. The Old Danish word 'hare' gave rise to a surname which we find from the 13th century onwards. (Here, {ae} represents the a-e ligature). Examples include: [1] Henkinno Har{ae}, 1296 (recorded as in 1309) Johannes Nikl{ae}ss: Har{ae}, 1333 Niels Perss: Hare, 1426 Laue Hare, 1438 Michell Hare, 1442 Jenns Hare, 1455 Hans Hare, 1460 Johannes Hare, 1466 Here, is an abbreviation for any of the various spellings of the Danish word for 'son'. It is possible that some of these bynames come from the Older New Danish word 'grey', but this is unlikely to be the case for all our examples, especially the older ones. [2] There are a number of Danish forms of which were used during the late 13th to mid 15th centuries: [3] Catherina, 1376 Kaarin, 1450 Kadhrin{ae}, 1448 Kadrin, 1437 Kadrine, 1423 Karin, 1420, 1445, 1464 Karine, 1400, 1440, 1465 Karinne, 1292 Karin{ae}, 1422, 1471, 1485 Karyn, 1444, 1458 Katerin, 1349, 1350 Katerina, 1300, 1349, 1365, 1381 Katerine, 1307, 1346, 1399, 1434, c. 1440 Katerine{ae}, 1432 Katherin, 1399 Katherina, 1465 Katherine, between 1476 and 1479. Katherine{ae}, 1401 Kathrin, 1416 Katrina, 1420 Katrine, 1418, 1461 Any of these is a fine choice for your given name. Unfortunately, we do not have many sources which address medieval Danish heraldry in any detail. We will give you some general background on Danish heraldry in the Middle Ages, and then we will try to give some specific suggestions based on information that we have on medieval Swedish heraldry as we believe that armorial style did not differ greatly between the two countries. The extension of arms outside the knightly class came quite early: the first known Scandinavian example of a real coat of arms belonging to an urban commoner is from 1320. The only major difference between commoner and noble arms is that among the former there are no coats consisting simply of a partition, division of the field, or an ordinary. As far as other charges are concerned there's no difference; among such charges are human beings, animals, plants, and implements or parts thereof. [4] Canting arms (ones which play on the bearer's surname) are also found, and in goodly number at that. Some examples: a deer (hjort) springing for Hjort, a man with a tree for Holtzmann (wood-man), a Moor's head for Schwarzkopf (black-head), a fox springing for Foss (a surname apparently from Low German 'a fox'), a wolf springing for for Wulff, a unicorn for Langhorn (long-horn), a linden tree for Linde, a swan for Svane (swan), a goose for Goos, a wheel (hjul) for Juel. [4] Based on this, using a rabbit with the surname seems quite plausible. However, as we have not found any specific examples of rabbits or hares in Danish armory, we cannot confirm that such a design would be authentic. [5] 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. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 27 May 2007 -- References: [1] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol II: Tilnavne (Copenhagen: 1949-64), s.n. Hare. [2] Older New Danish is commonly dated to 1525-1700 or 1500-1700. [3] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.n. Katharina. [4] To|nnesen, Allan, "Borgerlig heraldik i Danmark" (WWW: Societas Heraldic Scandinavica, no date). http://www.heraldik.org/artikler/borger_dk_ton.html [5] We also have not found any hares or rabbits in Swedish armory. [6] [6] Raneke, Jan, _Svenska Medeltidsvapen_ (3 vols.) (Jan Raneke and Bokfo"rlaget Doza AB, printed by Bloms Boktryckeri AB, Lund, 1982.)