Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 471

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 471

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/471

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Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for our opinion of "Ximena Yanez de Talavedra" as a 13th century Toledan name. Here's what we've found.

The name "Ximena" was certainly in use in your period, in one of a number of possible spellings. The most common spelling in our references is "Xemena", of which we found four examples between 1042 and 1266. We also found one example of the surname "Ximenez" in 1237, which suggests that the spelling "Ximena" is also possible in your period. The other spelling for which we can find evidence in your period is "Gimena"; we found a citation of "Gimen", the masculine form, in 1276 [1, 2]. Regardless of the spelling, the name was pronounced \shi-MAY-na\.

The patronymic "Yan~ez" (spelled with a tilde ~ over the 'n') is recorded in 1106 as one of many forms derived from the given name "Johannes" [2]. Given the citation you found in the 15th century, we consider it quite likely that it was also in use in the 13th century. We are not certain that it was used in the region of Toledo; our source cites it from records in either Astorga or Oviedo (the author's notations are imprecise). The letter "n~" originated as a scribal abbreviation of "nn", so we believe that "Yannez" would also be a correct spelling of this name.

We could not find a reference to "Talavedra". We did find a town of "Talavera", on the north bank of the Tajo in Castile-La Mancha, near the confluence with the river Alberche. This town dated to Roman times and certainly existed in period [3]. The modern name derived from an ancient form "Talabriga" [4]; that spelling may be more appropriate for your period than "Talavera".

Taken altogether, we think your name is very probably correct for your period, though it might not be the most likely spelling for the region of Toledo.

I hope this letter has been helpful.

For the Academy,

Arval Benicoeur


References

[1] Talan Gwynek, A Glossary of Personal Names in Diez Melcon's 'Apellidos Castellano-Leoneses' (SCA Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 1993).

[2] R. P. Gonzalo Diez Melcon, "Apellidos Castellano-Leoneses: Siglos IX-XIII, ambos inclusive" (Universidad de Granada, 1957).

[3] Britannica Online, "Talavera de la Reina".

[4] Webster's Geographical Dictionary, "Talavera de la Reina".