ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 862 http://www.s-gabriel.org/862 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* 30 Mar 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for documentation of and as Welsh feminine given names. Here is what we have found. Before I get to the specifics, I'd like to clarify the purpose of the Academy. We assist Societyfolk in choosing and using names that fit the period cultures that they want to re-create. Our work can often be used to support a submission to the College of Arms, but documenting submissions is not our focus. Our interests are not always consistent with the goals of the College's submission rules. In particular, if your primary interest is registering your name or using a specific name without regard to its authenticity, we may not be able to help you. Our references do not mention either of the names about which you asked. Both names include elements found in Welsh names, but neither of them could be a Welsh woman's name: The element <-wyn> is exclusively masculine in Welsh names. It derives from the word , the masculine form of the Welsh word for "white" or "fair" [1]. The equivalent feminine element is <-wen>, from , the feminine form of the same Welsh word. The confusion is not surprising: There is a common but unrelated element <-wynn> in Old English names which is feminine [2]. We couldn't find any element like in period Welsh names, so we can't postulate any way that medieval Welsh speakers could have constructed . If you found this name in modern or period use, let us know your source: We may be able to discover more information about it. is an Old English spelling of , a common first element in Welsh men's names. The element appears in men's names like , , [1, 3], and is recorded in Old English sources in the names (the 7th c. Anglo-Saxon poet who had a Welsh name, equivalent to modern ) and (a 7th century king of Wessex) [4, 5]. We haven't found any women's names built from this element, nor any Welsh example where it is spelled . Again, if you can tell us where you found the name, we might be able to help more. For more information about period Welsh names, you may want to read several articles available on the web at http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/celtic.html The "Simple Guides" are excellent recipes for constructing authentic Welsh names. 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 verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Gruffudd, Heini, _Enwau i'r Cymry/Welsh Personal Names_ (Talybont: Y Lolfa, 1984). [2] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [3] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985). [4] Jackson, Kenneth, __Language and history in early Britain; a chronological survey of the Brittonic languages, first to twelfth century A.D._ (Edinburgh, University Press, 1953), p.244. [5] Searle, William George, _Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum_ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1897). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -