ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3310 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3310 ************************************ 27 May 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help developing an authentic Scandinavian feminine name, preferably a Danish one, with as your given name and a byname that has something to do with bears. You also asked if we could suggest authentic armorial designs which use bears. Here is what we have found. The name was adopted into Danish in the 13th century, and it became quite popular. We find many different forms from the 13th century onwards, including: [1,2] Catharina, 1503 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 Katarina, 1346 Katerin, 1349, 1350 Katerina, 13th C, 1300, 1349, 1365, 1381 Katerine, 1307, 1346, 1399, 1434, c. 1440 Katerine{ae}, 1432 Kathar., 1488 Katharina, 1291 Katherin, 1399 Katherina, 1465 Katherine, between 1476 and 1479. Katherine{ae}, 1401 Kathrin, 1416 Katrina, 1420 Katrine, 1418, 1461 In this list, {ae} represents the a-e ligature, and is an abbreviation, almost certainly of . is therefore a fine 14th century Danish form of , though as you can see from the list above, spellings with which have in the second syllable are much more common. The Danish word for 'bear' is . In the 14th and 15th centuries, we find a few examples of this word used as a byname: [2] Jens Bio|rn between 1301 and 1350 Jenns Bio|rn 1401 Nis Niclis: Byo|rn 1484 Iffuer Bio|rren 1485 Here, represents the Danish slashed-, and indicates an abbreviation for any of the Danish spellings of the word for 'son'. is the most typical spelling, and this is what we recommend for you. 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. [3] 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. [3] We found various examples of bears in Swedish armory, including single bears rampant, 14th C, single bears passant, 14th and 15th C, and single demi-bears rampant, 15th C. We also found what is described as a 'framkommande bjo"rn' (where represents an o-umlaut), which looks like a demi-bear passant issuant from sinister, 15th and 16th C. [4] Based on this, we believe that using a bear to cant on the byname is in keeping with medieval Scandinavian heraldic style, and is probably also appropriate for Denmark specifically. 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, Coblaith Mhuimhneach, Sabine Berard, and Eleyne de Comnocke. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 27 May 2007 -- References: [1] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol. I: Fornavne (Copenhagen: 1936-48), s.n. Katharina. [2] Knudsen Gunnar, Marius Kristiansen, & Rikard Hornby, _Danmarks Gamle Personnavne_, Vol II: Tilnavne (Copenhagen: 1949-64), s.nn. Biorn, Da. [3] To|nnesen, Allan, "Borgerlig heraldik i Danmark" (WWW: Societas Heraldic Scandinavica, no date). http://www.heraldik.org/artikler/borger_dk_ton.html [4] Raneke, Jan, _Svenska Medeltidsvapen_ (3 vols.) (Jan Raneke and Bokfo"rlaget Doza AB, printed by Bloms Boktryckeri AB, Lund, 1982.), pp. 256, 257, 260.