ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 680 http://www.s-gabriel.org/680 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* From: Jodi McMaster () 20 Jan 1998 Greetings from the Academy of St. Gabriel! You wrote asking about an appropriate byname and badge for an Orkney-born Scot of Scandinavian descent who is a Hanseatic envoy to the Court of Russia during the period 1350-1600. The Hanseatic League coalesced in the 14th century, reaching the peak of its influence in the 1360s. By the end of the 14th century the Earldom of Orkney was in the hands of a Scots family, but Orkney didn't actually become a part of Scotland until 1468. Thus, a Scotsman of Orkney origin is more likely to be from the later part of your period. From the standpoint of constructing a persona with a Russian connection this is just as well, since the references that we've found concerning Scotsmen in Russia concentrate on the period after about 1500. [1, 2, 3, 4] As a result, we've concentrated on this period in making our suggestions. The contacts of Scotsmen with Russia are limited. Of the few examples we've found, the most common situation was for Scots to serve as soldiers, usually via Sweden or Poland. Less common were interactions between the Russians and Scottish merchants. There were some Scottish connections to the Hanseatic League, but we think it improbable that a Scotsman would have found himself in Russia as a Hanseatic envoy. Your chosen given name is Gaelic in origin. In a sample of masculine given names found in Orkney rent records c.1500, three names (, , ) out of the 24 that appear more than once are also of Gaelic origin. [5] isn't among them, but the surname is recorded in Orkney in 1550, so was probably available in the Orkney name pool in the 16th century. [6] To give you an idea of Orkney men's names c.1500, we've listed the names from that sample. In each case the most common spelling is given first, with variants in parentheses. Adam (Adame, Ade) Alexander (Sandie, Sandy) Andro Angus Bernard Brandy [from the Old Norse ] Christie (Chrystie, Cristie) David Donald Henry Hucheoun (Houchown, Huchon, Huchown, Hew) James John (Johne, Johne) Magnus (Mawnis, Mannie) Males (Malis) Nicholas (Nichole) Olave (Olay, Olaye) [from ] Patrick Peter (Peris) Richeart (Richard, Riche) Robert Symoun (Simond, Syme, Symon) Thome (Thomas, Thom) William (Will, Wilyame, Wilyam, Willie) We have little information on Orkney given names before the 16th century. The islands were ruled by Scandinavians until the 14th century, so Scandinavian names were probably common. Some Scandinavian names are found elsewhere in Scotland; it is not unlikely that they were also used in Orkney. Here are some examples, with the year when they were recorded in Scotland: Erlend [7] Kolbein (1231) [6] Olaf (1369) [6] Sigurd (1369) [6] Sigvat (1325) [7] Thorkel (1137) [6] Thorvald (1299) [7] Thorwald (1330) [6] You also asked for a descriptive byname referring to either your appearance (as a large man) or your arms (per pale vert and Or a massacre counterchanged, on a chief triangular sable a mullet Or). Like the given names, we know very little about Orkney bynames before the 16th century. Many -- perhaps most -- of the bynames recorded in the 16th century seem to have been inherited, just like modern surnames. Thus, even those of nickname type would probably describe an ancestor, not you. Still, size and arms are both inherited: bynames appropriate to an ancestor might also be appropriate to you, and we do have a couple of suggestions along these lines. Both are bynames found all over Scotland by the 16th century, though we have no certain Orkney examples of either. [8] The first is , from a Middle Scots word meaning 'big'. There was a very similar Old Norse word, , with the same meaning, so it wouldn't be surprising to find this byname in Orkney. The other is or . Someone who bore this surname might well have chosen arms featuring a massacre. (Armorial references like this are said to 'cant' on the surname.) We think that both of these are plausible as 16th century Orkney surnames. However, you may prefer to choose a more typically Orcadian surname. The most common sort seem to be Orkney place-names; often they refer to a farm, and the names of the various islands are also quite common. Here are some examples of probable Scandinavian origin: [5, 6] Bimbister Birngarth Birsay Campstayth/Camstath Colsetter Cornequoy Coubister Cursiter Foubister Habreck Inkseter/Inksettir Lummisdaill Ness Northskaill Papay Swannay Tulloch Winksetter Yairfa There are also many examples of bynames derived from the given name of an ancestor. Two of these of ultimate Scandinavian origin are and . We already mentioned , and another of this type is "son of Magnus." Bynames derived from nicknames seem to have been rare, though we did find and , , or . The first of these is from a Scandinavian word for the Norwegian language and must have meant "Norse-speaking." The other is from the Norwegian word for "Norway" and may originally have been applied to a settler from Norway. Either of these would be very suitable for an Orkneyman of Scandinavian ancestry. Your current arms are not inappropriate for your new persona, though the chief triangular is a very rare charge. If you would like to develop new arms for your new persona, let us know and we will be glad to assist you in this area. The one general comment that we can offer is that a "boat Or" is often used to allude to the Orkneys. Since your persona is associated with the Hansa, you may want to consider using a merchant mark for a badge. Such marks were borne by individual members of the Hanseatic League as personal insignia unconnected with any office (e.g., envoy). A good reference is "Hausmarken: Heraldry of the German Renaissance," by Erasimierz Waspanieski; it was published in the proceedings of the 1990 Known World Heraldic Symposium held in Ansteorra. [9] We hope this letter has been helpful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. Arval d'Espas Nord, Margaret Makafee, Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Zenobia Naphtali, Lindorm Eriksson, and Talan Gwynek contributed research and comments to this letter. For the Academy, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum ____________________ References: [1] Dukes, Paul. 'The First Scottish Soldiers in Russia', in _The Scottish Soldier Abroad 1247-1967_, ed. Grant G. Simpson, The Mackie Monographs (Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd, 1992), pp. 47-54. [2] Barnhill, James W. and Paul Dukes, 'North-east Scots in Muscovy in the seventeenth century', Northern Scotland, 1, 1 (1972), pp. 49-63. [3] Dukes, Paul. 'Scottish soldiers in Muscovy', in Paul Dukes et al., _The Caledonian Phalanx: Scots in Russia_ (Edinburgh: 1987), pp. 9-23. [4] Steuart, A. Francis. Scottish Influences in Russian History: from the end of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century: an essay (Glasgow: 1913). [5] Tacksmen of the Kingslands Rent Records of the Earldom of Orkney, 1492, 1502-3. [6] Lamb, G. Orkney Surnames (Edinburgh: Paul Harris, 1981). [7] Records of the Earldom of Orkney 1299-1614, J. Storer Clouston, editor, Scottish Historical Society, Edinburgh, 1914 [8] Black, George F. The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History (New York: The New York Public Library, 1989). [9] We believe that this is available from Free Trumpet Press West. Starting about 1 January 1998 the address is: SCA Inc.--Free Trumpet Press West 1613 N. School St. Normal, IL 61761-1240 USA