|
[The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly]
Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel.
You asked for our assistance in finding a late period byname
to go with Isabeau and assistance with your arms and hawking. In answer to your question, hawking was practised by the nobility since its invention. It was certainly practised in France during your chosen era.
The name "Isabeau" was used in France from the 12th century on through to the end our period. For example, we have found it recorded in 16th century Normandy. [1]
You might try to choose a byname which deals with hawking or
sounds like 'falcon'. There are many names French names which would be appropriate. Patronymics are bynames which refer to your father. Some patronymics based on the name 'Falco', a word related to falcon, are: [2]
Fauque
Faucon
Falc
Falk
Falco
Falque
Falconi
Falcon
Falcou
Falconet
Falconnet
Falconat
Fauconnet
Fauconneau
Falconnet
You could also use an occupational byname for a falconer; here are some French possibilities:
Fauconnier
Faulconnier
Falconnier
For most of your period, your byname would have been inherited. Even by 1400 an 'Isabeau Fauque' probably wouldn't have been the daughter of a man whose given name was 'Fauque', though a century earlier she might well have been. The same goes for occupational bynames: at the beginning of your period an 'Isabeau Fauconnier' would very likely have been the daughter, wife, or widow of a falconer,
but later on she would simply have been the daughter of a man surnamed <Fauconnier>.
Choosing a byname that deals with hawking, or sounds like falcon, it would allow you the opportunity to design canting
arms. Canting arms are arms which make a pun on a name. The hawk in your arms would make an allusion to your last name. Such an allusion is quite common in period armory.
If we had a more specific time period or place, we might be able to help you tailor your name and arms a little more. If
you were to let us know about field tinctures - which is the background colour of your arms - and the posture of your falcon, we could help you fine tune your arms for a specific time and place. In period armory falcons are almost always depicted 'close', that is, standing in profile
with their wings folded. (We have assumed this posture in the suggestions below.) They may be hooded, and they are often shown 'belled and jessed', i.e., with thongs and hawk's bells tied to their legs.
Hawk's bells are a fairly unusual charge, but they have been
found in period. You might also consider "<field colour> a
falcon and in chief three hawk's bells" or "<field colour> a
falcon and on a chief three hawk's bells". With both of these we are presuming 2 tinctures.
I hope that this letter has been helpful. If we can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact us.
In Service
Quintinus Alexander
For the Academy of St. Gabriel
[2] Dauzat, Albert, Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de
Famille et
Prénoms de France, Libraire Larousse, Paris, 1987.