ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2171 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2171 ************************************ 15 Jan 2001 From: Judith Phillips Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help creating an authentic 13th century Welsh masculine name, with as your first name, and a descriptive surname dealing with music or academics. Here is the information we have found. Your choice of given name is excellent for your period. We find it spelled as 1221, or 1221, 1242, and or 1286-9. [1] In your period, records in Wales were written in Welsh, Latin, or Anglo-French. Additionally, some records used the Welsh spelling system, while other records used the English spelling system. A man's name might have recorded in several different ways by different scribes using different languages and/or spelling systems. We can recommend possibilities for your surname from each of these categories. In many cases, all of our examples of a Welsh byname are recorded under the English spelling system; when this happens we have given the most likely 12th-13th century Welsh spelling system form as well. The following surnames we found in the 13th and 14th centuries mean "scholar," "clerk," or "scribe": _Welsh_ from the root "scholar" [2,3,4] Scholeyk 1292 Scholheyk 1292 Scolheig 1292 Scholhayke 13th c. Scholayke 13th c. Scolhaic 1406 yscolheic c.1325 _Latin_ from the root "clerk" [2,5,6,7,8] Clericus 1292, 1300, 1315 from the root "scribe" [2] Scriptor 1292 _Anglo-French_ from the root "clerk" [9] le clerk 1406 Of these, the Latin is the most widespread. For musical bynames, there are many options based on specific instruments or related to composition, both poetic and musical. _Welsh_ from the root "bard" [2,3,10] Barth 1292 Barthe 1346 The most typical Welsh spelling of the 12th-13th centuries would be . from the root "composer [of poetry]" [2,3,9,10] Predith 1292 Predet 1292 Predyth 1326 brydydd 1406 The most typical Welsh spelling of the 12th-13th centuries would be . from the root "crwth" (a type of musical instrument) [2,10] Crouthor 1292 Crouthour 1292 Crouthur 1292 The most typical Welsh spelling of the 12th-13th centuries would be . from the root "harper" [2,10] Talennyour 1292 The most typical Welsh spelling of the 12th-13th centuries would be . _Latin_ from the root , meaning "singer" [2] Cantor 1292 from the root , meaning "harper" [2] Chitharista 1292 from the root , probably meaning "chorister" [2] Corista 1292 _Anglo-French_ from the root , "harper" [5] le harpur 1292 from the root , "trumpeter" [5,8] le trumpe 1292 Tromper 1315 The spelling of your given name would probably have varied with the language used as well. For example, the spelling was characteristic of Latin documents, where it might even have appeared as , while and were found in all three language contexts. Some typical full names in each language using the surnames above include: _Welsh_ Oweyn Scholheyk Owein Telynor _Latin_ Owen[us] Clericus Owen Chitharista _Anglo-Norman_ Owein le Clerc Oweyn le harpur We would like to note that while any of the above is an appropriate choice for your name in the appropriate language, a typical Welsh name in your period would also have included a patronymic surname, one based on your father's given name. For information on patronymics, we recommend the following article in our library: "A Simple Guide to Constructing 13th Century Welsh Names" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/welsh13.html 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 were provided by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Adelaide de Beaumont, Arval Benicoeur, and Julie Stampnitzky. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Adeliza de Saviniaco 15 January 2001 --------------------------------------- References: [1] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Owen [2] Williams-Jones, Keith. The Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1976. [3] Morgan, T. J., & Morgan, Prys. Welsh Surnames. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985. s.nn. bardd, prydydd, ysgolhaig [4] Williams, Ifor. Pedeir Keinc y Mabinogi. Caerdydd: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, 1982. [5] Hopkins, Anthony. 1996. "The Lay Subsidy of 1292: Monmouth and the Three Castles" in Studia Celtica 30:189-196. [6] Jones-Pierce, T. "Lay Subsidy Account 242/50 [A.D. 1293]" in BBCS vol.5 part 2 (May 1930) p.142-8. [7] Sanders, I.J. "The Boroughs of Aberystwyth and Cardigan in the Early Fourteenth Century" in BBCS Vol.15 Part 4 (May 1954) pp.282-292. [8] Ellis, T.P. 1924. The First Extent of Bromfield and Yale, A.D. 1315. London: The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. [9] Roberts, Glyn. "The Anglesey Submissions of 1406" in The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, XV(1952):39-60. [10] Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru. Caerdydd: Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru, 1950-1987.