ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2260 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2260 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 23 Apr 2001 From: Judith Phillips Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked us whether would be an appropriate name for a Welsh woman living between 1300 and 1600. Here is the information we found. In your period, records in Wales were written in Welsh, Latin, or English; and names were written in different forms depending on the context. Names in non-Latin records might also be partially Latinized, and even in Latin records, the degree of Latinization varied. The exact form of the name could depend on the native language, education, and personal preferences of the scribe. A particular name could appear in several different forms depending on context, all of them equally correct. In addition, there were changes in spelling conventions over the 300 years of your period. We will suggest forms of your name appropriate to different parts of that period and to different linguistic contexts. is a Latinized version of the Welsh feminine name . was a fairly common name and is an excellent choice for your period. We would expect to see the spelling only in a Latinized or semi-Latinized Welsh context [1, 2]. was pronounced \gwen-LLEE-ahn\ [13], where \ll\ represents the unilateral hiss, a sound found in few languages other than Welsh. You make this sound by positioning your tongue as if to say a normal \L\ and then blowing air over one side of your tongue. English speakers usually recorded the name as [3, 4] and Latinized it as [5]. is the standard modern spelling of a common Welsh masculine name. The name itself seems to have fallen out of use during the 15th century, so we can only recommend it for the early part of your period, at which point it would have been spelled in Welsh records [7]. It was pronounced \K@N-wrik\ or \K@N-@-wrik\, where \@\ represents the sound of the in . In English records, usually appeared as , [3], or [4]; we think the fully Latinized form would probably have been . is a rare but attested Anglicized form of the common Welsh masculine name [2]. In Welsh, it was most typically spelled towards the beginning of your period [7] and towards the end [8]. It was pronounced , where represents the sound of the in . In English contexts, most often appeared as or [4, 9]. The fully Latinized form was [3, 10]. is a modern Welsh form of , the name of a town that appears to date at least to the 11th century. We found two Anglicized spellings of : in a 14th century document [11] and on a map from 1610 [12]. We aren't sure what form the name would have taken in between, and we haven't found any Welsh spelling in your period. We also found no Latin spelling; place names were rarely Latinized unless the document in which they appear was actually translated into Latin. The name was probably pronounced \TREL-lekh\. Here \kh\ represents the harsh, rasping sound in Scottish or German .. The overall structure of your name, with two patronymic bynames and one locative, is within the range of patterns found within your period. (A patronymic byname is one that identifies a person as her father's child; a locative byname identifies her by her place of residence or origin.) However, most Welsh names were much simpler, and under most circumstances you would have been identified only as your father's daughter. Your name does require a few adjustments to make it consistent with a single language and period. The Welsh feminine patronymic marker was rare in Latinized contexts, where it was usually replaced by . (The masculine patronymic marker , on the other hand, appeared in all contexts.) The locative, on the other hand, would have appeared as or only in a Latinized context. In a Latinized English source it might have appeared with the other bynames; in other contexts it is unusual to find a locative byname and a patronymic in the same Welsh name. These are the main points. There are other documentary tendencies that ought to be taken into account, but a detailed description would be a bit unwieldy. Therefore we've simply put together a table of authentic forms for different documentary contexts at both ends of your period. Welsh (no Latinization) early: Gwenllian verch Kynwric ap Gruffud late: Gwenllian verch Kynwric ap Gruffyth Anglicized (no Latinization) early: Wenllian verch Kenewric ap Griffith late: Wenllian verch Kenrick ap Griffith and were also common spellings. or early: Wenllian Trillek late: Wenllian Trylegh Anglicized (some Latinization) early: Wenllian filia Kenewric ap Griffith de Trillek late: Wenllian filia Kenrick ap Griffith de Trylegh or, less typically early: Wenllian verch Kenewric ap Griffith de Trillek late: Wenllian verch Kenrick ap Griffith de Trylegh and would also be appropriate. Fully Latinized (but still English context) early: Wenlliana filia Kenrici filii Griffini de Trillek late: Wenlliana filia Kenrici filii Griffini de Trylegh A woman might have been identified by two or more versions of her name in different contexts and on different occasions. I hope that this letter has been useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have any further questions. I was assisted in writing this letter by Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Arval Benicoeur, and Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Adeliza de Saviniaco 23 April 2001 ---------------------------------------------- References: [1] Pierce, T. Jones "Lay Subsidy Account 242/50 [A.D. 1293]" in BBCS vol.5 part 2 (May 1930) p.142-8. (manor of Nevyn) [2] Williams-Jones, Keith. The Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1976. [3] Ellis, T.P. 1924. The First Extent of Bromfield and Yale, A.D. 1315. Cymmrodorion Record Series No. 11. London. [4] Roberts, Glyn. "The Anglesey Submissions of 1406" in The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, XV(1952):39-60. [5] We believe this is the most reasonable form for your period, but we have no actual citation; close examples are [6] and [2]. [6] Roderick, A.J., & William Rees. 1950. "Ministers' Accounts for the Lordships of Abergavenny, Grosmont, Skenfrith and White Castle: PRO, Ministers' Accounts Bundle 1094, No. 11; Part I -- The Lordship of Abergavenny." In South Wales and Monmouth Record Society Publications: No. 2. [7] Jones, Thomas. Brut y Tywysogyon - Peniarth Ms. 20. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1941. [8] Morgan, T.J. and Prys Morgan, _Welsh Surnames_ (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1985) [9] Pierce, T. Jones "A Lleyn Lay subsidy Account" in BBCS Vol. 5 Part 1 (Nov 1929) p.54-71. [10] Jones, Emyr Gwynne. "Caernarvonshire Subsidy Roll 1597/9" in BBCSvol. 8 part 4 (May 1937) p.336-344. [11] Evans, J. Gwenogvryn. The Text of the Book of Llan Dav. Aberystwyth: The National Library of Wales, 1979. (Facsimile version of the 1893 Oxford University Press edition) [12] Speed, John. The Counties of Britain. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1989. [13] Unlike most Welsh names and words ending in <-ian>, in this particular name, that ending has two syllables, meaning that the <-i-> gets the primary stress in pronunciation. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, 2 May 2002, Arval: Based on Tanglws' comments on 2567, I've corrected the pronunciation of and added the explanation in note [13].