ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1685 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1685 ************************************ From: Cardinal Ximenez 14 Jun 1999 Greetings, Here's the information we found on "Oonagh the Subtle," which you wanted to use as an Irish or Viking women's name from between 600 and 1200, and about your arms, which included a dragonfly and a border of acorns in red and gold. It's impossible to choose a name appropriate to the entire period 600-1200 because the languages and names practices changed substantially. Because you mentioned Vikings, we focused on the period between 800 and 1100, when the Vikings were most active. We looked at names in Gaelic (the language of Ireland) and in Old Norse (the most common language among the Vikings), and we've provided information for forming either a Gaelic name or an Old Norse one. For background information on Gaelic and Old Norse names, we can recommend some Web pages. For Old Norse: "A Simple Guide to Creating Old Norse Names" http://www.wctc.net/~randomsf/sg-viking.htm For Gaelic: "Quick and Easy Gaelic Bynames" http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/scotnames/quickgaelicbynames The name is a modern English form of the Gaelic name . (the indicates a with an accent). was especially popular later in period, but it would also be appropriate for an early-period Irish woman. [1] For a Norse name, there is an unrelated Old Norse name (with no accent) that you could use. [2] Since is an English word, we looked for Gaelic and Old Norse names that might have the meaning you're looking for. Descriptive names are not uncommon in Old Norse, and are more rare in Gaelic. In both languages, people are more often identified by patronymics-- names that mean "son of" or "daughter of." For more information on this, check out the articles we mentioned above. However, we found possibile names for you in both languages. In Irish, we found , meaning "self-restrained, placid, gentle, courteous, docile." [3] (pronounced roughly \OO-n@ VEEN\, where \@\ is like in ) would be a plausible Irish name for your period. In Old Norse, we found , which means literally "deep-minded" (the {dh} stands for "edh," a letter in Old Norse that is pronounced like "th" in "that" and looks like a lower-case "d" with a slash through the upper line). (pronounced roughly like \UN-@ DYOOP-oodh-g@\, where \U\ is the vowel of ) would be a good Old Norse name for the later part of your desired period. You should be aware that a woman named plays an important role in some of the Norse sagas. It is possible, but not certain, that the SCA College of Arms would refuse to register for being too similar to her name. Heraldic arms were invented in northwestern France in the mid-12th century, so your persona would not have used armory. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use arms in the Society: Many Societyfolk use arms even though their personas would not have done so. Whether you use arms or not depends on how you think about authenticity and your persona. You can find a few thoughts on this issue in an article we've posted on the web: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.itd.umich.edu/~ximenez/s.gabriel/faq/nonheraldic.html We couldn't find any evidence that a dragonfly was used in period heraldry; the only insects we found were flies, bees, and butterflies. [4] We also didn't find any examples of acorns in period heraldry. Given that, we can't really recommend any specific alternatives. It might be helpful to look at some medieval heraldry for ideas--the best book to use is "A Dictionary of Heraldry" by Joseph Foster, which contains thousands of English coats of arms from the 14th and 15th centuries. Walraven van Nijmegen, Aryanhwy Prytydes verch Catmael Caermyrddin, Arval Benicoeur, and Talan Gwynek contributed to this letter. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. In service, Alan Fairfax Academy of S. Gabriel [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990). [2] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). [3] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983). [4] Geoffrey de Muschamp, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, 1198-1208, bore "Azure, three flies Or". Glover's Roll has Muschamp "Azure, three butterflies volant Or"; Dorre, 'Per pale azure and gules, three gadflies or'; and Bodrigan, 'Vert, three gad-bees argent'. Thomas Jenyns' Book c.1410 has Hugh de Burninghill, 'Sable, three butterflies argent'. Parker, James, _A Glossary of Terms used in Heraldry_ (Charles E. Tuttle, 1982), s.v. Fly. Papworth, John W., _Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials_, reprint (Five Barrows Ltd., 1977), s.v. insect. Brault, Gerald J., _The Rolls of Arms of Edward I_, Aspilogia III, 2 vols. (London: Boydell Press, 1997), s.n. Muschamp. Wagner, Anthony Richard, _Aspilogia I: A Catalogue of English Mediaeval Rolls of Arms_ (London: The Society of Antiquaries, 1950), p.73. In Italy, Taddeo Barberini, born 1603, bore 'three bees' in 1638; he was the nephew of Maffeo Barberini, who became Pope Urban VIII in 1623 and who bore 'Azure, three bees or'. Neubecker, Ottfried, _Heraldry: Source, Symbols, and Meanings_ (Maidenhead, UK: McGraw-Hill Co., 1976), pp.130-1, 236. _Grand Larousse Encyclope/dique en dix volumes_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1960-1964), s.v. Barberini. In Tyrol, the family Waldbiene bore "A bee" in the 15th century. Pastoureau, Michel, _Heraldry: An Introduction to a Noble Tradition_, p.63 (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997)