ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 914
http://www.s-gabriel.org/914
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* NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports     *
*       contain errors that we haven't yet      *
*       corrected.  Please use it with caution. *
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02 Jun 1998
From: Jaymi Bouziden 

Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel.

You asked for information on the name <Corvinus Nenius>, as used by 
a Romano-British man in northern England around 550 A.D.  You wrote 
that you had tried to masculinize "nenia" (meaning dirge or funeral
song) to create <Nenius>.

We have little information on what names Romano-Britons were using in
the 6th century in the north of England.  An examination of the
_Gododdin_, a poem written around 600 A.D. commemorating events in that
time and place, indicates that the overwhelming majority of people were
using names of native origin, rather than Latin names; but we have no
assurance of the accuracy of this information.  On the other hand, we 
do know that a few Latin personal names were adopted into Brythonic (the
branch of the Celtic language that developed into Welsh, Cornish, and
Breton), and survived in Welsh into the medieval period and later.  In 
your period Brythonic-speakers were still a solid presence in the north
of Britain.  However, it is highly unlikely that a 6th century Briton
would still be using the classical Latin form for a name, or anything 
resembling a family name.  Instead, a man of your period would have 
probably been known as his father's son, and his name would have 
followed the pattern <given name> <filius> <father's given name in the
genitive, or possessive, form>. <Filius> means "son".

We found <Corvinus> in Latin inscriptions, although we are unable to
establish an exact time or place for its use. [1]  We also found a single 
example of <Corvinus> as a nickname. [2]  So <Corvinus> could be a
plausible given name for your period.

We really don't have enough information to comment on the plausibility of 
deriving <Nenius> from the classical Latin "nenia" (funeral song, dirge).
However, if you are more interested in the sound of the name <Nenius> than
the meaning, <Nennius> was the name of a well-known Welsh scholar in the
9th century.  His name is recorded in the earliest texts as <Nemnius> and 
<Nemniuus>, later as <Nennius>.  The spelling <Nennius> may either be a
misreading of the script of the earlier manuscripts or may be a spelling 
change based on the spoken form of the name. [3]  Another Latin form is
<Ninias>.  We also found the Welsh forms <Nennue> and <Nynnyaw>, and the 
Breton form <Niniau>, which would indicate that this name enjoyed at
least moderate popularity. [4]

So <Nemnius> or <Nennius> is plausible as a given name for your period, but
not as a family name or nickname.

Since both <Corvinus> and <Nemnius> are plausible only as given names, the
name <Corvinus Nenius> would not follow the examples of name construction 
that we know for your time/place.  However, if you would like a Latin name, 
you might use <Corvinus> as your given name and <Nemnius> as your father's 
name: <Corvinus filius Nemnii>, "Corvinus son of Nemnius".  (The spelling 
change from <Nemnius> to <Nemnii> is required by Latin grammar.)  <Corvinus
Nemnii> might also be possible; while we don't have any specifically 
British examples from the period, this could be possible in a Latin
context. <Corvinus filius Nennii> or <Corvinus Nennii> is also possible.

If you would like to construct a Brythonic name, we would be happy to
continue to work with you to develop an authentic name.

We hope this letter has been useful.  Please write us again if you have any 
more questions or if any of this letter has been unclear.  Arval Benicouer,
Talan Gwynek, Pedro de Alcazar, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn
contributed research and commentary for this letter.

For the Academy,

Livia Montgomery

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[1] Morlet, Marie-Therese. _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de
l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XII Siecle_, 3 vols. Paris: Centre National
de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972, vol. 2, p. 37.

[2] Solon, Heikki and Olli Salomies. _Repertorium Nominum Gentilium et
Cognomium Latinorum_. Hildesheim : Olms-Weidmann, 1988.

[3] Williams, Ifor. "Notes on Nennius", in _The Bulletin of the Board of
Celtic Studies_, vol.7, May 1935, p. 380ff.

[4] Hutson, Arthur E. _British Personal Names in the Historia Regum 
Britanniae_. Berkeley : The University of California Press, 1940.

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