Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 581

Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 581

This report is available at http://www.s-gabriel.org/581

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 the English name "Elizabeth of the Grove". Here is what we have found.

The name "Elizabeth" was used in England at least from 1205 to the end of our period [1]. It is an excellent choice. We have also found examples of other spellings of the name:

Elizabet (1303)
Elezabeth (16th C)
Elysabeth, Elyzabeth (16th C) [1]

The byname "of the Grove" is almost right, but not quite. The modern English "of the" was not used in our period. In written records, it was quite common to use the Latin or French "de" in English names. For example, our sources cite:

Ralph de Graua 1119 (Note that the 'u' here represents a 'v' sound) Osbert de la Graua 1197
John de la Grove 1275
Willelmus del Grove 1379 [2, 3]

In spoken Middle English, the same idea was also expressed with "atte", meaning "at the". Some examples are:

Hawysa atte Grove 1312
Robert ate Groue 1317 [2, 3]

In other cases, the preposition was omitted altogether:

William Grove 1327 [2]

Which form you pick depends on when you want to set your persona. The forms with "de", "de la", "del" and those with "ate", "atte" are most appropriate from the Norman Conquest through the late 14th century. The plain "Grove", without any preposition, is appropriate from the early 14th century through the end of our period. If you intend your name to mean, literally, "Elizabeth, who lives near the grove", then you'll want to set your persona earlier rather than later.

I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek and Tangwystyl ferch Morgant Glasfryn.

For the Academy,

Arval Benicoeur


References

[1] Talan Gwynek, Feminine Given Names in A Dictionary of English

Surnames (SCA: Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 1994).

[2] P. H. Reaney & R. M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames (Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1995).

[3] Charles Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames

(Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980).