ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3311 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3311 ************************************ 10 Sep 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if a name meaning 'Batsheva or Bassheva daughter of David' is appropriate for an Ashkenazic Jew living around 1350, and, if so, where the Ashkenazic Jews were primarily found in this period. You also asked what the proper term of address for a lady of that time and place would be. Here is what we have found. The word is the medieval Hebrew word for Germany; the Ashkenazic Jews of the 14th century lived primarily in the Rhineland. Many migrated eastward into the eastern parts of Germany, and into Hungary, Poland, Russia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere between the 10th and 19th centuries. [1] The middle of the 14th century was a particular period of upheaval for the Ashkenazic Jews, in the aftermath of the persecutions of 1348-9 in which Jews were blamed for the Black Death. By the end of the 15th century, only three large communities of Jews remained in Germany, the others having been expelled. [5] Forms of the name were very popular in the medieval Ashkenazic communities, owing primarily to the popularity of the biblical figure of this name. The name was particularly common in southern Germany, though unusual in Bohemia. [2] We found the following examples in records from various languages: [3] LATIN Bethseva, Batseyfe, 1239, c. 1255 Cologne HEBREW Basheva, 1096 Cologne, 1298 South Germany GERMAN Bassene, 1395 Frankfurt [4] POLISH Baczawa, 1357 Silesia Beczewa, 1442 Lutsk Despite their unusal spellings, the two Polish forms are pronounced like . A form of is an excellent choice for your father's name. The importance of the Biblical bearer of the name meant that it was a popular choice among both Ashkenazic and non-Ashkenazic communities. We found a number of 14th and early 15th century examples in German contexts: David, 1362 Daveit, 1383 Daveit, Tafeit, Tavid, 1397, 1398, 1401 David, Davit, before 1408 In Polish, we find the name recorded as in Krakow in 1405. [6] Based on these, we can recommend bynames in Latin, Hebrew, German, and Polish. The standard Latin form of is and the correct byname meaning 'daughter of David' is . In German, the most common way to form a byname which refers to the bearer's father is to simply use the father's given name, unmodified. In Polish, we found two ways to form a byname meaning 'daughter of Dawid'. The first is to add <-owa> to the father's name and the second is to add <-owska> to the father's name. We find an example of the former construction in the name , recorded in Latin in 1444, and an example of the latter in the name , also recorded in Latin in 1454. We also found the corresponding masculine forms (ending in <-owski>): 1412, 1430, and 1440. [9] Based on this, , , and are all plausible Polish forms. And finally, the Hebrew form uses + the father's given name. Here are some examples of complete names in each of the languages: LATIN Bethseva filia Davidi HEBREW Basheva bas David GERMAN Basseve David POLISH Beczewa Dawidowa Any of these is appropriate for an Ashkenazic Jewish woman living in the middle of the 14th century; in fact, the same woman could use all of these in different circumstances. You also asked about terms of address and titles. A Jewish woman of mid-14th century Poland or Germany would not have used any title of nobility. She might have been identified by a title equivalent to modern "Mrs." or "Ms."; a Hebrew title with this meaning is . [7] As far as we can tell this title would only have been used by others referring to you, and you would not use it yourself (e.g., when signing your own name). 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 question. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Juetta Copin, Sabine Berard, Brygyt Strangewayes, Talan Gwynek, and Lucien d'Artois. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 10 September 2007 -- References: [1] "Ashkenazi Jews" (WWW: Wikipedia.org, 08 July 2007) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi_Jews [2] Beider, Alexander, _A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names: Their Origins, Structure, Pronunciation, and Migrations (Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2000), p. 477. [3] ibid., p. 478. [4] This is almost certainly a misreading of . [5] Gottheil, Richard and Joseph Jacobs, "Black Death" (WWW: Jewish Encyclopedia.com, 2002). http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1114&letter=B [6] Beider, op. cit., pp. 296-297. [7] Stampnitzky, Julie, "Names from Hebrew Chronicles of the 10th to 13th Centuries" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, no date) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juetta/crusades.html [8] Beider, op. cit., [9] Taszycki, Witold (ed.), _Sl/ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych_ (Dictionary of Old Polish Personal Names), vols. I-VII (Wrocl/aw: Zakl/ad Narodowy Imienia Ossolin'skich, Polska Akademia Nauk, 1965-1987), s.nn. Dawidowa, Dawidowska, Dawidowski.