ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1279 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1279 ************************************ 12 Oct 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing names and arms for 14th century French characters for a book you are writing, one of them called . Here is what we have found. is a modern spelling, not used in 14th century Champagne. In that period, the name was probably spelling or . These forms appear in two 13th century chronciles written by men from Champagne [1, 2], and in records from Picardy from the 13th to the 15th centuries [3]. is recorded in Paris in 1292 [4], and in 13th century Lorraine [5]. was still in use in the 16th century [6]. Inherited family surnames, like the ones we use today, didn't exist in 14th century France. A nobleman of this period would almost always have been known by the lands his father held: meaning "Estene of Sains". Of course, place names were spelled differently in the 14th century, too. You can find 14th century spellings of many place names in the _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ [7]. French noblemen occasionally used descriptive nicknames. You can find a few 13th century examples on the web in source [8]. The epithet is possible, but not one we've seen in period sources [9]. It's more likely to have been used in informal circumstances. You wrote that you are also interested in names for your character's brother and mother. Here is a list of names for you to consider. This first list contains the ten most popular men's names in 14th century Picardy, but the spellings are ones recorded by those two men from 13th century Champagne. The result doesn't give you a perfect picture of name usage in 14th century Champagne, but it's probably pretty close [1, 2, 4]. Jehan, Jean Pierre Robert Guillaume Symon Gilles, Giles Raoul Mahi Oedes, Eudes Jaque There are fewer examples of women's names recorded in our sources. Here is a list of some women's names found in those 13th century books from Champagne. Only four names are actually recorded in the source, so these are the only spellings we can guarantee as correct for the period [1, 2]: Blanche Marguerite Marie Ysabel Some other names are known to have been used, but we don't know for certain how they were spelled at the time. These spellings are our best guesses [1, 2]. Adele Elisabeth Agnes Eschive Alix, Aelis Gisele Beatrix Jehanne Clemence Mahaut Eleonore Yolande Most of the women mentioned in the two chroncles, sources [1] and [2], are not named at all; they are only identified as "wife of" or "daughter of" some man. That practice probably continued into the 14th century, so your character would most often be identified by her given name alone, or as her father's daughter or her husband's wife. If her own family were important enough, she might be identified by her father's lands, but she would almost certainly not use the same surname as her husband or son. Here are a few sources you can consult in designing arms for your characters: Pinches, Rosemary and Anthony Wood, _A European Armorial: An Armorial of Knights of the Golden Fleece and 15th Century Europe_ (London: Heraldry Today, 1971). Foster, Joseph, _The Dictionary of Heraldry_ (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). These two books are heavily illustrated. The first includes arms from all over Europe, but the section on French heraldry is clearly identified. The second book contains English arms, but English and French heraldry style were pretty similar in the 14th century [10]. Brain R. Speer, "Analysis, Armorial, and Ordinary of Armory Recorded in Paul Bergman's Armorial De Flandre du XVIme Siecle" (WWW: Brain R. Speer, Privately published, 1997) http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1336/bergmans.html Van Helmont, Jan, "Gelre" (Leuven 1992, ISBN 90-74318-03-7). These two sources deal with arms from the Low Countries (modern Belgium and the Netherlands). Large sections of the Low Countries were owned by French rulers in the 14th century. The second of these sources requires some heraldic expertise to understand, but it is a very good source for your period. 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 Brian R. Speer and Sara L. Friedemann. For the Academy, Josh Mittleman 12 Oct 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Villehardouin, Geoffroy, _La Conque^te de Constantinople_, ed. & trans. Edmond Faral (Paris: Socie/te/ d'E/dition Les Belles Lettres, 1961). [2] De Joinville, Jean, _Histoire de Saint Louis_, M. Natalis de Wailly, ed. (Paris, 1874). [3] 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; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html [4] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967). [5] Jacobsson, Harry, _E/tudes d'Anthroponymie Lorraine les Bans de Tre/fonds de Metz (1267-1298)_ (Go:teborg: Gumperts Fo:rlag, 1955). [6] Cateline de la Mor, "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/norman16.html [7] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963). [8] Arval Benicoeur, "French Names from Two Thirteenth Century Chronicles" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/arval/crusades/ [9] La Chanson de Roland, line 3186, reads 'And Oliver the brave and valiant'. is a grammatical form of the word that would rarely if ever have been used in your period. [10] The illustrations are modern. We believe they are drawn in the artistic style of 16th or possibly 15th century England.