ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3324 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3324 ************************************ 28 Feb 2008 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for information on names used by Morisco women before the early 17th century, and wanted to know if 'Sofia the Grey' is an authentic choice. If it isn't, you asked if we could recommend a given name or a byname meaning 'rose'. Here is what we have found. Before we begin, we'd like to apologize for how long it has taken us to complete this report. We hope that the information is still useful to you. The Arabic feminine name is more accurately transliterated as , where the dot represents a period underneath the , and the doubled vowel represents a long vowel. This name is identical with the Arabic word 'to be pure', and it was the name of one of the Prophet's wives. [1,2,3] This name is unrelated to the name , which derives from the Greek word 'wisdom'. We didn't find any examples of in the source for Morisco names that we mentioned in our previous correspondence [4], though the name was used in Arabic Spain at an earlier period. [7] Without a clear example of the name being used by Morisco women, we cannot recommend it as good re-creation. Your other choice, a name meaning 'rose', is better. The Arabic name 'rose, flower', is found in Spanish records of Moriscas as , , and . [5] We also found one example of a Morisca named . [6] If you'd prefer a name which sounds similar to , we can offer a few alternatives. The following are Arabic names recorded in Spanish-language documents which were used by late-period Moriscas (throughout this letter we use to represent a c-cedilla): [13] C,ahara, C,ara, Zara, Zaara C,uquey, C,uqueya Zarca, C,arca Zayra Zoayra, Zohayra, C,ahaira, C,ohayre, Zuayra, Zueyra, C,oayra, Zoayala, Zooyar Zohara, Zoora Zoor, C,ohor, C,oor Zurayca, Zorayca We also found a slave named in 1496. [12] You said that you were specifically interested in a byname based on a physical characteristic. We found a number of such bynames used by the Moriscos in Valencia, drawn from both Arabic and Ibero-Romance roots and all dating between 1566 and 1609. We give first two lists drawn from Arabic roots: [8] PHYSICAL & MORAL CHARACTERISTICS Ahic,aret, Alaezar, Alahizar, Alaic,ar, Alaic,ara, Alayc,ar, Alayzar, Aleyc,ar, Ayc,ar, Bohayc,ar, Boiser, Lahicar, Lahic,ara, Layc,ar 'the left-handed Alarguel, Aruel 'the slimy, the drooling' Arraquech, Arraquet, Arquich 'the thin' Baabur 'song of the dove, to sing like a dove' Bagdor 'brute, dirty' C,aguer 'small' C,edich, Sadico, Seddech 'friend, sincere, truthful' Gandur, Gandull 'ruffian; pimp, pander; rascal, knave' Khat 'long, tall person' Laraig 'the lame' Racada 'runner' Shaytanet 'demon, devil, bad angel' Taybo 'merry' COLOR ADJECTIVES Alabiat, Alaviad, Alaviar, Los Alaviats, Alavid 'the white' Alac,arac, Alac,arach, Alac,aracha, Alac,araque, Alac,araqui, Alasdrach, Alazarac, Alazarach, Alazaraque, Alazdrach, Alazrac, C,arch, C,arche, Carchet, Carchi, Carchino, Lac,eraque, Lazarach, Lazerach 'blue' Alasmar, Asmar 'black' Ambra, Hambra 'red' The following bynames are drawn from Ibero-Romance roots; where we have been able to determine what the roots are, we have glossed the bynames. In this list, a slash represents an acute accent over the previous letter. [9] BODILY DIMENSIONS Baxa, Baxet, Bachet 'short' Bola 'ball' Curt, Curtet, Curto, Cortete 'short' Chica, Chiquet 'small' Delgada 'thin' Goda, Gordet, Gordete 'fat' Jagant, Jaquan 'giant' Redonda 'round' Seco 'lean, lank' COLOR WORDS Amarell 'yellow, yellowish, jaundiced' Baya, Bayo, Vaya, Vayo 'bay' Bermejo, Vermejo, Vermell 'red' Blanca, Blancha, Blanch, Blanquets 'white' Blau 'blue' Castani 'chestnut' Indi 'indigo' Moreno 'dark' Negral, Negret, Negrillo 'black' Pardo, Pardico 'brown' Roch, Roche, Rochet, Rocheta, Rog, Roget, Rogeta, Roig, Rojeta, Roxet, Royx, Arrog 'red' Ros 'red', perhaps sometimes also 'pink' Roio, Royo 'red' Verde 'green' PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OR DEFECTS Barra (uncertain) Bello 'beautiful, very handsome' Boquet, Boqueta, Buquet, Buqueta 'little mouth' Cabellos 'hairs' (perhaps for someone with very much or very little hair) Calbet, Calbete, Calva, Calvet, Calveta, Calvete 'bald' Camagrossa 'fat leg, big leg' Capet 'head' Coxet, Coxeta, perhaps a diminutive of 'thigh' Crespell, Crespel, Crespi, Crespina, Crespo 'curly' Garrut, perhaps 'muscular, brawny, strong' Izquierda, Esquier 'left-handed' Manco 'missing an arm or hand' Mocho 'maimed, mutilated' Morret, Morrudet, Morrut 'large lips' Mudo 'mute, unable to speak' Orejo/n 'big-eared' Panchet, Pancheta, Panchut 'paunch, belly' Pelad, Pelado 'shorn' Rull 'curly-haired' We were unable to find any byname meaning 'rose'. You'll note that neither list of color bynames contains one meaning 'grey'. We are not certain how likely such a byname would be. We found a poet known as 'Yuusuf son of Haaruun the Grey' who died in 1022. [11] However, we do not know if this was a "normal" byname, or if it was one assumed for poetic reasons. If the latter, then it is not a good guide to period practice. [14] 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 Ursula Whitcher, Brian M. Scott, Julia Smith, David Paradise, Gretchen M. Beck, Marianne Perdomo Machin, Kathleen M. O'Brien, David Cameron Staples, Kathryn Van Stone, Lisa Theriot, and Andrea Hicks. For the Academy, -Sara L. Uckelman, 28 February 2008 -- References: [1] Da'ud ibn Auda, "Period Arabic Names and Naming Practices," (WWW: SCA.org, 2003) http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/arabic-naming2.htm [2] Schimmel, Annemarie, _Islamic Names_ (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1989), p. 63. [3] Arabic has two different sounds, represented by two different letters in Arabic script. When Arabic is written in Roman letters, one of these letters is transcribed as a plain , the other as an with a dot under it. We've used to stand for this second letter. The two letters are pronounced somewhat differently in Arabic, but the difference is not easily described [10]; the ordinary English sound of is a reasonable approximation of either. If you want to try for more accuracy, we can only recommend that you find someone who speaks Arabic. [4] Labarta, Ana, _La Onoma/stica de los Moriscos Valencianos_ (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cienti/ficas, Madrid, 1987). [5] ibid., p. 58. [6] ibid., p. 100. [7] Juliana de Luna, "Andalusian Names: Arabs in Spain" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2001). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/andalusia/ [8] Labarta, op. cit., p. 126. [9] ibid., pp. 139-141. [10] Haywood, J.A., & H.M. Nahmad, _A New Arabic Grammar of the Written Language_ 2nd ed. (London: Lund Humphries, 1965) says that ", , , and form a group of emphatic sounds corresponding with , , , and . In pronouncing them, the tongue is pressed against the edge of the upper teeth, and then withdrawn forcefully." [11] "Yusuf ibn Harun ar-Ramadi" (WWW: Wikipedia.org, 5 December 2007) http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_ibn_Harun_ar-Ramadi [12] Wagner, Klaus, _Regesto de documentos del Archivo de protocolos de Sevilla referentes a judi/os y moros_, (Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla, 1978) page 72, entry number 313. [13] Labarta, op. cit., pp. 52-53. [14] Ribera, Julian, _Music in Ancient Arabia and Spain_, 1929, London, Humphrey Milford, p. 127, asserts that one source says that it's an Arabic form of a Romance byname meaning "ashes", but other sources indicate that it is locative in nature.