ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3347 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3347 ************************************ From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot" 13 Oct 2008 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked a few follow-up questions to our letter regarding your interest in the name for a man born to an Irish mother and a Scandinavian father in Ireland at the end of the 10th century. We'll address each of your questions individually, quoting the relevant section of our first letter, then your question, followed by our response. Regarding our comment: [ is one of several Irish words meaning 'fox'. This spelling, which you said you prefer, is the later-period spelling, appropriate only for the 13th century and after. Prior to that time, it was spelled and earlier still . The use of this particular word as a byname is somewhat complicated. Our earliest instance is from after your period, in 1077, for a man recorded as Catharnach Sionnach [1]. This man was the king of Tethba, a region of Ireland; apparently he passed the nickname of 'fox' to his heirs, because after him many of the leaders of Tethba were recorded with the byname or sometimes with 'the fox' as an epithet in place of their given name. Their men were known collectively as 'the foxes' [1]. Accordingly, the use of the byname may be construed in some circumstances as a claim to kingship.] You asked: [The earlier spellings of sionnach (sinnach and sindach) were not used as bynames that make sense?] The earlier spellings are the standard spellings of the word meaning "fox" prior to about 1200. Around that time, written Irish underwent a change in spelling to more closely reflect the spoken form of the language. Our earliest byname example of relates to a man who lived in 1077, but the spelling of his byname more closely resembles the post-1200 style. It's possible he wrote his name or or a variety of other ways. The important point is that his is the earliest use we have found of any form of as a byname, so we have no evidence that any spelling was used as a byname in your period. You also asked: [So while Finn Sinnach might be a name someone used during that time, if I were to submit it to the SCA that way they might see it as a claim to kingship? Or does that mean it was unlikely that anyone used Finn Sinnach at all?] We don't like to comment on what the SCA College of Arms might do with a submission, though we feel a responsibility to mention potential problems, however remote. We believe that the claim to kingship expires by the 13th century, when we have an example of the byname for a man who was clearly NOT lord of the Tethba [4]. As we said before, we believe would be a fine name for an Irish man living in the 13th century, though we don't believe it's plausible for your period. If the spelling matters more to you than your period, be assured that there are many examples in the Irish annals of people living after 1200 being recorded in the spelling style of the earlier period, so it's not impossible that a 13th century Irish man might have his name written . Regarding our comment: [If the sound of is most important to you, there is similar-sounding old Irish name from a root word meaning 'stormy'. We find a number of patronymics (names that indicate who your father is) and clan bynames based on this name early enough to work for you; a man was recorded as in 792, another appears as in 980, a reference was made to in 1018, and a record of 'Conn, descendent of Sinach' appears in 1033 [1, 2, 3].] You asked: [All of the cases you sent to me on this are patronymics. Does that mean that Finn would not have been used, and would only appear as a 'mac'?] Yes, that's correct. Unlike English, where "John, son of Robert" might just as commonly be called as , Gaelic has no practice of "unmarked patronymics" or the use of your father's first name to mean that you are his son. We don't believe that is a plausible name. Regarding our comment: [If the meaning of 'fox' is most important to you, you have an alternative, if you don't mind 'fox' being a reference to your father. We find meaning 'fox' as a relatively common Norse given name [5]. Since there are no close-sounding names to in Irish, it's possible your father could have been known as 'the fox' in place of his given name. We find a man recorded in 991 as 'The Fox, descendent of Leochan, king of Gailenga' [6]. Though this man was also a king, his practice of using or in place of his given name does not seem to have been passed to his heirs and cannot therefore be construed as a title. Epithets like this remained in use and did give rise to patronymic bynames; we find a man recorded as 'son of the fox' in 1148 [7]. We therefore believe is a possible name for you; based on other examples we've seen from your period, we believe the spelling is also likely.] You asked: [The next section with the example of a norse father Refr being called in sinnach, and the example of the fellow in 991. (This seems like the most logical to go with by the way) I'm curious as to why this would not fall under the claim to kingship deal above. Is it because of being the 'son of the fox' as opposed to 'the fox'?] No, it's because the latter fellow didn't pass the name to his sons. When Cathanach Sionnach died and passed the chieftaincy to his son, his son also called himself Sionnach, and the clan members were known collectively as "the foxes." The fellow in 991 who called himself 'the fox' did not call his followers 'foxes' nor did his son adopt the name. Further, the fellow who called himself "son of the fox" does not appear to be related to any Irish king. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Mari neyn Brian. For the Academy, Adelaide de Beaumont 13 October 2008 References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh, & Mavis Cournane, "Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 2", six volumes (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997-98), entry M1077.8 for Catharnach Sionnach, entry 1033.3 for Conn Ua Sinaich. The first four digits of the entry number are the year in which the event occurred. Note the Annals were often written long after the events they relate; accordingly, just because we find a spelling like dated to 1077 does not mean that spelling is appropriate for that time. Entry 1053.12 reads, "An army was led by the son of Brian, i.e. Donnchadh, and Conchobhar Ua Maelseachlainn, into Fine-Gall; and the men of Teathbha, i.e. the Sinnaigh (the Foxes)..." Entry M980.4 for Sionach, mac Murthuilen, abb Bendchair. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005B/ [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh, & Mavis Cournane, "Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 1", six volumes (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997-98), entry 792.3: Dubh Da Lethe, mac Sionaigh. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005A/ [3] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976). [4] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals" (WWW: Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001-2006). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/ [5] Uckelman, Sara L., "Viking Names found in the Landna/mabo/k" (WWW: privately published, 2005-2006). There are 7 instances of . http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/norse/landnamabok.html [6] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh, ed., "Annals of Tigernach" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1996). Entry 991.1: In Sindach h-ua Leochan, rí Gaileng. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100002/ [7] Murphy, Ruth, ed., "Annals in Cotton MS Titus A. XXV [Cottonian Annals]" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 2003). Entry 1148 K. Malachias ua Móngair mac in Sinnaig. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100012/