ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3320 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3320 ************************************ From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot" 17 Dec 2007 Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked us about a name appropriate for a Romanian/Hungarian Rom or Vlach woman during the mid- to late 1300s. Specifically, you wondered whether 'honest gypsy' was a suitable choice (the quote mark indicates a double acute accent over the preceding letter and a slash indicates a single acute accent over the preceding letter). Here is the information we have found. We apologize for the time this report has taken, and hope the information is still of use to you. First, we'd like to address some historical issues regarding your culture; then we'll discuss your name elements. In your initial correspondence, you said, "At this time, portions of Romania are considered Hungarian, and the gypsies (modernly called Rom) from this area were known to some as Vlach." That isn't quite accurate. Portions of modern-day Romania have been under Hungarian rule (as well as that of many other outsiders) during various periods. During your period, there was no real Romania; there were regions known as Moldavia (eastern third of modern Romania) and Wallachia (southern third). Moldavia was more-or-less still independent; Wallachia was organized in 1280 as a "land of the Vlachs" (from which the name derives), but as a Hungarian province. The region bounced back and forth between being tightly under Hungarian control to being a virtually independent state until it became a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire (beginning in 1390, but not fully until 1476). Moldavia was organized independently as another Vlach state in the 13th century. It became a vassal state to Poland in 1387. Ottoman influence began in 1455, but Moldavia did not fall under total Ottoman dominion until 1512 [1]. The term "Vlach" therefore describes early residents of Romania; the Rom, or gypsy people, moved into the Vlach territories and settled, but they are not ethnically Vlach [9]. As you know, when Hungarian names are written in Hungarian (as opposed to when they are written in Latin), the surname precedes the given name [2]. Since you have selected Hungarian spellings, we will address your byname element first, followed by the element you wish to use as a given name. For your byname, you said that you want to use the word 'honest'. We don't believe that word is the best choice for you; bynames meaning 'honest, trustworthy' do exist, but was not the word used. Note in the examples following that the word (also , , and depending on the word's position in the document) is Latin for 'called' or 'known as', and is used to indicate a nickname; is 'Thomas, called honest'. We find the following examples near your period [3, 4]: Becses, 'esteemed, honorable' Michael Bechees 1394 Beches 1436 Ember, literally 'person', used in the sense 'upstanding, esteemed person' Ember Peter 1428 Igaz, literally 'true', used in the sense 'honest, just' Nicolao dicto Igaz 1366 Nicolaus Igaz 1389 Thomas dictus Igaz 1420 Martino Jgaz 1423 Michael Igaz 1433 Michaele Jgaz 1434 Michaele Igaz 1436 Nicolaus Igaz 1447/8 Ygaz [Ja/nos] 1449 Dionisii Jgaz 1449 Michael Igaz 1450 Igazmondo/, literally 'truth-sayer' Stephani dicti Igazmundo 1348 Jo/, literally 'good', used as 'upstanding, honest' Jo 1379, 1429, 1430, 1434 Stephanum dictum Jow 1398 Petro Jo dicto 1400/03 Paulo Yow 1403 Georgio Joo 1425 Ladislao Joo 1437 Yo Jacub 1449/54 Briccium Jo 1450 We believe that any of these forms is a fine choice for you. It is not impossible that was used as a byname, but since we have no recorded examples, we recommend you use one of the attested forms above. (Dates appearing with a slash indicate that the data was taken from a copy of the original document; the first date indicates the date of the original and the second the date of the copy. Letters and names in square brackets were altered by a later editor.) 'gypsy', the element you have selected as a given name, is typically used as a byname. Ethnic bynames, which identify national or ethnic origin, are quite common in both period and modern Hungarian [5]. We find the following examples of 'gypsy' used as bynames near your period [6, 7]: Georgius Chigan 1389 Petro/Petrus Chygan 1400 Benedictus dictus Chygan 1402, 1410 Chygan [Pa/l] 1402 Benedicto Cygan 1402 [T]homas Chygan 1407 Johannis dicti Chygan 1410 Georgius Chigan 1418 Johannes Cigan dictus 1425/1454 Cygan Peterne 1428 Gallo Chygan 1433 Stephanum dictum Chygan 1435 R. Blasii Czygan 1437 (R. stands for 'widow') Georgius Czigan 1448 Any of these forms would be a fine choice for you, but only as a byname. Unfortunately, we have no examples of any form of appearing as a given name near your period. It appears to have come into use as a Romanian given name at some point; we find a reference to the name <{T,}igan> or <{T,}egan> in a document from the late 16th century, roughly 1581-1590 (here {T,} indicates a t-with-comma, used in Romanian writing to indicate the sound \ts\). The author describes the name as masculine, but adds that the name is "ethnic, taken both as first name by the Romani, especially the women, and as a nickname." Given this reference, it is plausible that a Rom woman living around 1600 might have used a form of as her given name, but without an example we can't recommend it as the best recreation. We don't believe it's plausible for the late 1300s. If your period is of primary importance to you, we recommend you choose a given name from that period. You may find a given name that interests you in the articles available here: Hungarian Names http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/hungarian.shtml Romanian Names http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/othereu.shtml#romanian We hope this letter has been useful to you, and that you won't hesitate to write us again with any further questions. I was assisted in writing and researching this letter by Aelfwynn Leoflaede dohtor, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Kolosvari Arpadne Julia, Talan Gwynek, Ursula Georges, and Walraven van Nijmegen. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 17 December 2007 References: [1] Magocsi, Robert Paul, _Historical Atlas of East Central Europe_, Vol. I (Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press, paperback 1995), p. 30. [2] Kolosvari Arpadne Julia: "And the Last Shall Be First: The connection between language and name order in Hungarian names" (in: Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, York, PA: 2004); p. 21. [3] Ka/zme/r Miklo/s: _Re/gi Magyar csala/dnevek szo/ta/ra_ (Magyar Nyelvtudoma/nyi Ta/rsasa/g, Budapest: 1993); s.nn. Becses (p. 108), Ember (p. 328), Igaz (p. 489), Jo/ (p. 517). [4] Szamota Istva/n & Zolnai Gyula, _Magyar okleve/l-szo/ta/r_(Hungarian Manuscript-Dictionary). Budapest, 1902-1906; facsimile reprint: A/llami Ko:nyvterjeszto" Va/llalat, Budapest, 1984, s.nn. Igazmondo/ (p. 405), Igaz (p. 405), Jo/ (p. 430). [5] Kolosvari Arpadne Julia: "Ethnic Bynames in Hungarian" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2004). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/julia/EthnicBynames.html [6] Ka/zme/r, op. cit., s.n Ciga/ny, p. 202. [7] Szamota, op. cit., s.n. Ciga/ny, p. 105. [8] Constantinescu, N. A. _Dic{t,}ionar Onomastic Rom{i^}nesc_ (Bucure{s,}ti: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Rom{i^}ne, 1963), p. 397, says, "etnic, luat {s,}i ca prenume de rom{i^}ni, indeosebi la femei, {s,}i ca porecl{a(}." [9] "Gypsy Peoples" (WWW: Eliznik, 2006). http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaHistory/minority-gypsies.htm