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Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!
You asked our opinion of "Jacqueline de Bucquoy Bois Jole" as a 14th century French name. Here's what we've found.
Your client's name is a very good start. We have a couple suggestions to improve it.
<Jaqueline> and <Jaquelinne> are recorded in the 1292 census of Paris, as well as the masculine name <Jacquemin> [1]. From these examples, we conclude that <Jacqueline> is quite appropriate in the late 13th century Since the name evolved toward this form by the end of our period, it is certainly appropriate for the 14th century as well. Of course, the documented spelling is always the best re-creation.
<Bucquoy> is the modern name of a town in Picardy. The name is recorded in 1072 as <Buschoi>. We're not sure what form the name would have taken in the 14th century, but we can guess by looking at similar place names. Several French place names derive from the same Latin root as <Bucquoy>: <boscus> plus the suffix <-ittum> or <-etum>. These names are recorded in several forms over the centuries [2]:
<Boschetus> 922 for modern <Bousquet>
<Bosculo> 11th C for <Bouchet>
<Boquetto> 1221 for <Bouchet>
<Boschet> 1227 for <Bouchet>
<Bocheto> 1156 for <Bouquet>
<Bosqueto> 1368 for <Bousquet>
Our best guess is that <Busquoi> is a likely 14th century form of <Bucquoy>.
The final phrase, <Bois Jole>, is not appropriate. Period French personal names did not add descriptions of places to the place names themselves. The forest of Busquoi might have been described as "un bois jolie", but it would not have been re-named for that. It was the place's name that was incorporated into personal names.
Therefore, our advice is that the lady called herself <Jaqueline de
Busquoi>, using the documented form of the given names and our best
re-construction of a 14th century form of the place name.
I hope this letter has been useful. If you have any further questions, please write us again. We'll be happy to help.
For the Academy,
Arval Benicoeur
Reference
[1] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris",
Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama).
[2] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de
Lieux de la France (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963).