Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 374

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 374

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/374

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 about your name, "Sarah bat Moshe."

This is a good name for a Jewish woman throughout our period. Both "Sarah" and "Moshe" were used throughout the Jewish world, but they were used in different ways at different times and places.

There were primarily two Jewish cultures in Europe during the Middle Ages. Sephardic Jewish culture began in the Arab-dominated areas of the Mediterranean, including Spain, Sicily, North Africa, and the Middle East. There were also Sephardic communities in Holland and in southern France. While under Arab rule their primary language was Arabic; after the Sephardic community in Spain was incorporated into Christian Spain they developed a language called "Ladino," which they continued to speak after they were expelled from Spain in the 15th and 16th centuries. Ashkenazic Jewish culture was based in northern Europe, including Germany and France, and developed Yiddish as its primary language.

For your name, the primary difference is that Ashkenazic Jews sometimes used an "s" sound where Sephardic Jews used a "t." So, if your persona was Ashkenazic your name would be pronounced "Sarah bas Moshe" (the Hebrew spelling would be the same.) There are other differences in pronunciation and also differences in the customs of the two groups. Modern Hebrew is based on Sephardic Jewish pronunciation.

Within a Jewish community, Jews commonly used Hebrew names like the one you've chosen. The exact form varied from one Jewish culture to another. Outside the Jewish community, Jewish names were often modified according to the local language. For example, in 13th century Paris, we find Jews whose names are recorded in French. So while your persona would have been called "Sarah bat Moshe" in Hebrew, she might have been "Sarre, fille de Mosse" in French records. (1)

Jaelle of Armida, Arval Benicouer, Alexandr Traveller, Daniel de Lincoln, Pedro de Alcazar, Lindorm Eriksson, and Talan Gwynek contributed to this letter.

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.

In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of S. Gabriel

(1) Catledge, S. "Paris Census of 1292." Article in the Proceedings of the 1996 Known World Heraldic Symposium.