ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1802 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1802 ************************************ From: "Braddon Giles" 6 Nov 1999 Greetings from the Academy of St Gabriel. You asked us to consider what would be the Welsh version of your name , from the mid 1500's. You helped us by letting us know that the names and are your fathers' and grandfathers' legal names. Also, you were interested in arms featuring a dragon rampant azure. During this period in Wales there was widespread use of both English and Welsh names. Several names became standard substitutes for each other in the other language, for example, and . A Welshman named might be referred to as in English company. Not all names in each language had a substitute in the other. The Welsh version of was , although both names were also used independently. Together and were among the most popular masculine names found in Welsh records in the 15-16th centuries. is pronounced \YEH-wahn\, where the emphasis is on the capitalized syllable. [1] and were not used as surnames in Welsh in your period, so we suggest you avoid them. Period Welsh names were constructed differently from modern English names. People had only one given name, without a middle name, and their surnames were generally descriptive rather than inherited family names. A man in 16th century Wales might be known as his father's son, or be identified by his occupation or some physical characteristic. Most often, a Welshman was identified as his father's son. John, son of Edward ap Lloid, would have been called . The word means "son". It is pronounced \AHP\. The actual occupational byname for a miller recorded in the 16th century was spelled variously as , , , and . All are reasonable spellings, although we recommend the spellings with initial "v" as much more typical of the written records of the time. This word was pronounced \veh-LINN-@dh\, where the \@\ is a schwa, the first vowel sound in , and \dh\ is the first sound in . [1] You told us that your mundane father's name is and your grandfather's is . If you want to incorporate those into your Society name, you certainly can: both were used in Wales in your period. was not a common name, but is found in the 14-15th century name , and the similar around 1600 in . and were more widely used, some examples from around 1600 being , and . [1,2] To summarise, you could use either or as a first name, then have a patronymic or an occupational byname, or both. For example, an excellent choice for you could be which would be pronounced \YEH-wahn AHP YOHR-wehrth veh-LINN-@dh\. It would literally mean 'Ieuan, son of Iorwerth, the miller'. If you were interested in a name with more English influence you could choose . Indeed, it would be entirely authentic to use both in different contexts: they are simply two forms of the same name. Please note that in your period this is not used as a "middle name" in the modern sense, but as a functional patronym. >From your description we would blazon your arms "Quarterly sable and argent, a dragon rampant and incensed azure". Incensed means breathing fire. Perhaps surprisingly dragons were only used in heraldry very late in the SCA period, however they would be fine for the mid 1500's. [3] Your whole design, with a simple two color field and a single charge, is elegant and appropriate for your period. As far as we can tell, you ought to be able to register this design with the SCA College of Arms. [3] We hope this letter has been useful. Please write to 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 Rouland Carre, Margaret Makafee, Talan Gwynek, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Blaise de Cormeilles, Arval d'Espas Nord, Barak Raz, Talorgen nei Wrguist, Walraven van Nijmegen and AElfwyn aet Gywrum. For the Academy, Giles Leabrook. 6/ Nov /99 _____________________________________ Bibliography. [1] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985). s.nn. Ieuan, Melinydd. [2] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names and Naming Practices in some North Pembrokeshire Toll Books 1599- 1603)" in Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings (SCA: 1992). [3] Dennys, Rodney, _The Heraldic Imagination_ (New York: Clarkson and Potter Inc., 1975), p.119.