ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2098 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2098 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 18 Jul 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for our opinion of as a Welsh masculine name for a man living sometime between 1050 and 1350 AD. In addition, you asked about the use of griffins, eight pointed mullets, and engrailed borders in Welsh heraldry. Here is what we found. First, some general comments about the structure of the name. While technically correct, the structure of this name is unlikely to be found in any ordinary context. A string of five patronymics would normally only appear in a genealogy or a similar context. Typically, only one or two patronymic names are recorded. A string of three is found only in unusual contexts. We recommend that you use a smaller number of patronymics. In Wales in your period, several languages were in widespread use. Welsh, Anglo-Norman Frnech, and English were all spoken, and Latin was commonly used as a written language. Exactly how your name was spelled and structured would depend on who was writing it and what language he was using. It would also depend on what language he spoke, since Welsh-speaking scribes and English-speaking scribes recorded names differently even when both were writing in Latin. Two possibilities cover most situations in your period: Welsh and Welsh-based Latin contexts in the early part of your period (through about 1250), and English and English-based Latin contexts (mostly from the latter part of your period). Either way of writing these names is correct, but pieces of the two styles were unlikely to be mixed. is a Latinized form of the Welsh name , a rather common name, found consistently throughout your period of interest. The Latinized form, of course, is found only in Latin contexts, such as 1130 [1]. These are documentary forms, and do not reflect actual pronunciation. In Welsh-language documents, or are the normal spellings [2]. Toward the end of your period, we find examples of Anglicized forms such as and [3]. appears in both Welsh and English contexts [4]. We have found examples of this name throughout your period, but it was never common. The name does not appear in our references. We do find the similar name , which was used only in the early part of your period (before 1200). During its period of use, the name most commonly appears as [5]. In later Welsh records referring to that period, it is spelled [6]. We only found the name once in an English source, where it was spelled [7]. This name was never common, and virtually disappeared by the 13th century. We did not find , but we did find the similar name , a relatively uncommon name that appears occasionally throughout your period. In Welsh contexts, this name appears as or [8]. In later English sources, we've seen a variety of forms, including , , , and [9]. is a heavily Anglicized form of the name . This name was found only in limited geographic areas, and was not a particularly common name in your period. In Welsh contexts, it appears as or [10]. In English contexts, we've found , , , and [11]. was a rare name. This is the only spelling we've found, and it appears in both Welsh and English contexts [12]. The patronymic particle (the word which goes before the father's name) was also written differently in different contexts. In Welsh contexts, it was generally written , though occasionally the older forms or appear [13]. In English sources, it was generally written or [14]. However, within a single rendering of a name, one spelling should be used consistently. In summary, we recommend that you use a smaller number of patronymic phrases. Your name could then be rendered with either Welsh-context or English-context spellings, but you should use one system consistently each time you write your name. For example, in Welsh it might be . The same name might appear in an English context as . In everyday speech, you'd probably not be identified by anything more than . Heraldic arms were invented in northwestern France in the mid-12th century, so a persona set earlier than that wouldn't have used arms at all. 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.s-gabriel.org/faq/nonheraldic.html The English adopted heraldry very soon after its invention and they carried it to Wales. As a consequence, Welsh heraldic style is essentially the same as English style. However, the native Welsh were apparently slow to adopt heraldry; we have few examples of Welsh arms before the 14th century [15]. You can get a good idea of the motifs common in medieval English heraldry by looking through the illustrations in Joseph Foster's Dictionary of Heraldry (New York: Arch Cape Press, 1989). If you focus on the simpler designs, you'll see the styles typical of your period. Griffins, bordures embattled, and mullets were all used in Welsh arms [16]. In English and Welsh arms, mullets were almost invariably drawn with five points, so we recommend that form. We have found no examples of eight-pointed mullets in Welsh heraldry. Combining all three of these charges will produce a set of arms that's a bit more complex than was typical in your period, but not so much so as to be implausible. However, you might consider dropping one element. A griffin between three mullets, or a griffin within a bordure embattled would be very typical of medieval heraldry. The more complex design, a griffin between three mullets all within a bordure embattled, would be less typical but is possible, especially at the late end of your period. To complete your design, you'll need to choose its colors. We _strongly_ recommend that you choose only two tinctures: one metal (silver/white or yellow/gold) and one color (ideally red, black, or blue). Use one of these two tinctures for your field and the other for all the charges. 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 Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Juliana de Luna, Mari neyn Bryan, Zenobia Naphtali, Walraven van Nijmegen, Rouland Carre, and Julie Stampnitzky. For the Academy, Juliana de Luna & Arval Benicoeur 18 Jul 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Griffin. [2] Bartrum, P.C., _Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1966), pp. 36, 38. [3] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Names and Naming Practices in the Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3", in Known World Heraldic Symposium Proceedings, 1991 (SCA: Laurel, Maryland, 1991). Hopkins, Anthony. 1996. "The Lay Subsidy of 1292: Monmouth and the Three Castles" in Studia Celtica 30:189-196. [4] Bartrum, p. 38 et al., Ellis, T.P. 1924. The First Extent of Bromfield and Yale, A.D. 1315. The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, London. [5] Bartrum, p. 36. [6] Jones, Thomas. 1941. Brut y Tywysogyon: Peniarth Ms. 20. University of Wales Press, Cardiff, see index. [7] Ellis, Henry. 1838. The Record of Caernarvon. Public Records Commission, London(?), p. 211. [8] Bartrum, P.C., p. 47. [9] Ellis, op. cit. Heather Rose Jones, op. cit. Hopkins, Anthony, op. cit. Jones-Pierce, T. 1930. Lay Subsidy Account 242/50 (A.D. 1293) in Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 5:142-8. [10] Book of Llandav, index, Bartrum, P.C., p.47 et al. [11] Heather Rose Jones, op. cit. Vinogradoff, Paul & Frank Morgan. 1914. Survey of the Honour of Denbigh 1334. British Academy, London. [12] Bartrum, P.C., p. 39. Heather Rose Jones, op. cit. [13] Bartrum, P.C., pp. 36, 38. [14] Unpublished research by Heather Rose Jones into English context sources of the later 13th to mid 14th century. [15] Siddons, Michael Powell, _The Development of Welsh Heraldry_, 3 vols. (Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales, 1991-3), I.2. [16] Jones, Evan John. _Medieval Heraldry: Some Fourteenth Century Heraldic Works_ (Cardiff: William Lewis Ltd., 1943), pp.45, 77, plate VIII, and passim. Siddons, I.219, III passim. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval, June 2005: note [14] was incomplete.