Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 356

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 356

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/356

Some of the Academy's early reports contain errors that we haven't yet corrected. Please use it with caution.

Greetings,

Here's the information we found on the name "Gallin of Redcastle."

We recommend that you read the Web page "Scottish Names 101" before reading this. It contains background information which is necessary for this letter. The URL is:

http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scot_names_101.html

We didn't find "Galin" as a Scots or Scots Gaelic name. We did find a French name "Gale", and "Galin" would have been a likely diminutive form. However, we have no evidence that this name was used in Britain, so it is not appropriate for a Scottish persona.

We did find "Galant," which was used by Normans in England. (1) It's a reasonable name for a Scoto-Norman as well.

We also found "Gavin," which is a Scots form of "Gawain." (2) The earliest citation we have is from 1477, which is later than your period but not too far off.

The only Gaelic name that we found which is similar to what you wanted is "Glinn." (2)

A byname like "of Redcastle" is Scots, not Scottish Gaelic--almost all Gaelic bynames are patronymics like "MacDonald" or "Mac Innes." On the other hand, names based on places were common in Scots.

We didn't find a place called "Redcastle" in Scotland, but we did find one in England. (3) English and Scots are similar enough that we're fairly sure "Redcastle" could also have been a Scottish name. The evidence of other Scottish place-names containing the elements "red" and "castle" indicates that in the 13th century this name would most likely have been spelled "Redecastel." Scottish records generally use "de" rather than "of," so "de Redecastel" would be a reasonable name for 13th century Scotland. In a Latin document this would probably have been written "de Rubeo Castro."

"Galant de Redecastel" or "Galant de Redecastle" are plausible 14th-century Scots names. There's no equivalent to "Redcastle" in Gaelic names, but we did find the first name "Glinn." If you want to have a Gaelic persona, you could use "Glinn" and choose a Gaelic byname. Whatever you do, we will be happy to assist you.

Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystl verch Morgant Glasvryn contributed to this letter.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel

(1) Reaney & Wilson, "Dictionary of English Surnames."

(2) Black, G. "The Surnames of Scotland."

(3) Ekwall, E. "The Oxford Dictionary of English Placenames."