Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 509

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 509

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/509

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

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!

You asked for our opinion of "Armand de Sancler" as a 14th century French or Scottish name. Here's what we've found.

The cultural legacy of the Anglo-Norman settlers of the 12th and 13th centuries had a strong, lasting influence on Scots naming. The nobility of the two countries certainly intermarried, but you don't need so complicated a background for your persona to justify the use of a Norman name by a Scots nobleman. For a little more historical background, you may find it useful to read the article "Scottish Names 101", available on the web at <URL:http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scot_names_101.html>.

We aren't sure where you found "Armand"; we can't find it on any of our web pages. Could you perhaps have mis-read "Arnaud" on one of the French name lists? In any case, "Armand" is a French form of "Herman", and it appeared in England after the Conquest in various spellings, including "Armand" in the 14th century [1]. Since many Norman names were also imported to Scotland, it is not unreasonable to suppose that "Armand" could also have been in use in Scotland in the 14th century. However, we have not found any evidence of it, and it is always better re-creation to use names that we know were in use rather than ones that we suppose might have been in use. Therefore, you may want to consider another choice for your given name.

As you noted, "de Sancler" is recorded as a 14th century Scots surname [2]. If you want a Scots persona, then "Armand de Sancler" is a plausible name. If you want a French persona, then your given name is fine, but you should consider another spelling of the surname: "Sancler" is not a spelling that would have been used in France. The most likely spellings for 14th century France are "de Saint Clair" or "de Sainclair". In writing, you might also used the latinized form "de Sancto Claro" [3, 4]

I hope this letter has been helpful. Talan Gwynek, Effirc neyn Kenneoch, and Pedro de Alcazar contributed to this letter.

For the Academy,

Arval Benicoeur


References

[1] E.G. Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd

ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).

[2] Symon Fraser of Lovat, 13th & 14th Century Scottish Names,

(pub. J. Mittleman, 1996,
<URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/scottish14/>).

[3] Morlet, Marie-Therese, Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de

l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle, vol III (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972)

[4] Dauzat, Albert, Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et

Prenoms de France (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987).