ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 959 http://www.s-gabriel.org/959 *********************************** ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports * * contain errors that we haven't yet * * corrected. Please use it with caution. * * * ************************************************* From: "S Friedemann" 27 May 1998 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You were interested in using the name for a Scottish feminine persona, and said you were looking for variations in Irish or Scottish. You also said you were looking for a surname along the lines of to reflect your affiliations with horses. For your arms, you wanted to use a blue horse and a rose. Here is the information we have found. Unfortunately, , or , is not name used by real people in period, regardless of the spelling. is the name of a literary character found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's work, and even there it was a misreading of an Old Welsh masculine name . The earliest examples that we found of this name in use by real people date only to the 19th century [3]. The element does appear in quite a few period names, spelled both and , but only in Welsh. None of the names were used in Ireland or Scotland, as far as we can tell. We noticed that you signed yourself ; that would be a fine name for a Welsh woman in period. Three other common names with this element are , , and . [5,6] Since we are unsure whether it is more important to you to place your persona in Scotland or Ireland, or to use a name based on the element , we'll suggest two options: You could relocate your persona to Wales and use one of the names we suggested above, or you could choose a different, Gaelic name. If you'd like a Scottish name, please let us know, and we will be happy to send you a copy of "Scottish Names 101," which you said you had problems accessing. There are also other articles in the Academy Library that you might find useful. We would be happy to help further if you have questions on Irish or Scottish names. is an English name, and since there was extensive interaction between the Welsh and English in the last four hundred years of our period, would be a fine name for a woman living along the Anglo-Welsh border. However, in period didn't mean "someone who trains." The surname derives from the Middle English "to lay a train or snare, to set a trap" [2]. We've found some surnames that had meanings closer to what you are looking for [2]: 1148-79, 1201, 1276 This name was used, in at least some cases, by people who worked with horses. 1226-7, 1327 1199 "horse driver" 1401 "horse knave" probably meaning "groom" 1279 "horse dealer" Another possibility would be the name . is a Welsh surname that is derived from the Welsh word for "horse." [4] You said you would like to use a blue horse on your arms, possibly with a purple rose. A design such as "Or, a horse rampant azure, between three roses purpure," (yellow background, blue horse rearing, with a purple rose in each corner), includes the elements you were interested in, and appears to be free from conflict with an other arms protected by the SCA College of Arms. We suggest, though, that you consider a different color for the rose, as we have not found a single instance of purple used in Scots heraldry before 1600. We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Alan Fairfax, Arval Benicoeur, Blaise de Cormeilles, Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Zenobia Naphtali. For the Academy, Aryanhwy Prytydes merch Catmael Caermyrdin --------------------------------------------------------- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). [3] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). [4] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "A Welsh Miscellany", _Compleat Anachronist_ #66 (Milpitas, CA: SCA, Inc.). [5] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996) URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/welsh13.html. [6] Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names (in English Contexts)" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996) URL:http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/welsh16.html.