ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2666
http://www.s-gabriel.org/2666
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From: "Lisa and Ken Theriot"
9 Sep 2003
Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!
You asked for help constructing a Polish or Western Ukrainian feminine
name that could have been used between 1000 and 1350, with the given
name <Stefania> and either <Olkoska> or something meaning 'daughter of
Joseph' (possibly <Josephoska>) as your byname. You also asked about
the use of lions dormant and crosses osmorog in Polish arms. Here is
the information we have found.
Before we start, we'd like to apologize for the length of time it has
taken to answer your question. We hope that this information is still
useful to you.
<Stefania> is the standard modern Polish form of the name. The only
evidence we have found that the name was in use before modern times is
an undated citation of a surname which appears to be based on this given
name [1]. Another Polish name source states that <Stefania> "does not
appear in early Polish records, and may have entered the language in the
19th century in connection with literary works" [2, 3]. Since
<Stefania> doesn't appear in our principal source for Polish given names
from your period, we also reviewed our sources from surrounding areas,
including Eastern Germany and Russia and the Ukraine, and we have not
found a feminine form of <Stefan>/<Stephen> in use before 1600.
Therefore, we cannot recommend this name as a good recreation,
especially for your period, several centuries earlier.
The most common women's names in one area of Poland during the 13th
century were as follows (note these are modern spellings) [4]:
1. Ma{l/}gorzata
2. Katarzyna
3. Anna
4. Jadwiga
5. Agnieska
6. Elz.bieta
7. Gertruda
8. Krystyna
9. Zofia
10. Adelajda
The {l/} represents the slashed <l> used in modern Polish spelling, and
the dot after the <z> represents a dot placed over the <z> in modern
Polish spelling. If any of these names interests you, please write
again and we can provide you with spellings appropriate for your period.
If you'd like other ideas for a given name which may be more appropriate
for your period, we recommend this article available on the web:
"Medieval German Given Names from Silesia"
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/bahlow/
Silesia was originally part of Poland; German settlement there did not
begin until the 12th century, becoming heavier in the 13th century;
therefore we believe this data, mostly from the 14th century, still
shares a strong similarity with the Polish naming pool. Not all of the
names are appropriate for a Polish woman, but if you see a name that
interests you, please write again and we'll be happy to give you more
information. Note that we believe this list and article would be
inappropriate for choosing a name for a persona living earlier than
about 1250.
We believe <Olkoska> is a modern Polish surname based on the town known
today as Olkusz. This town was founded in 1257 and originally called
<Ilkusz> [5]. We find a woman recorded as <Katherina Ilkuszka> in 1441,
not long after your period [6]. <Ilkuszka> would be a fine byname for
you, meaning "woman from Ilkusz". We don't recommend the spelling
<Olkoska>, as we don't believe the town was known as <Olkusz> until well
after 1600.
Several forms of <Joseph> appear in Poland near your period [6]:
Ioseph 1234, 1237, ca. 1265
Jozeph 1239, 1317
Joseph 1259
Osep 1391
Oszep 1396
Jozep 1399
We also find the patronymic forms <Oszepow> in 1407 and <Iossipow> in
1442, as well as <Josypowicz> in 1437 and <Ozepowicz> in 1418 [6, 7]. A
patronymic is a name that identifies your father; these names were all
understood as meaning "son of Joseph". <Oszepowa>, for example, would
be an appropriate feminine form meaning "daughter of Oszep (Joseph)".
The spelling you suggested, <Josephoska>, is not a correct form:
feminine <-ska> and masculine <-ski> were endings used in locative
bynames, i.e. ones that identified a person by the place where he or she
lived.
Since the bynames <Ilkuszka> and <Oszepowa> indicate different things
(the first where you live and the second who your father is), they might
both have been used by the same woman under different circumstances. In
her home town, she might have been known as <Oszepowa> "Joseph's
daughter", and away from home she might have been known as <Ilkuszka>
"lady from Ilkusz". We would not be surprised to find the same woman
recorded in one document as <Katherina Ilkuszka> and in another as
<Katherina Oszepowa>.
Heraldry was established in Poland by the middle of the 14th century, at
the end of your desired period. In general, individuals did not have
heraldry. Rather, people belonged to a ro/d (clan) and used the arms of
their ro/d (the slash represents an acute accent over the previous
letter)[8]. The best way to recreate Polish practice would be either to
use actual period arms to signify ro/d affiliation, or to design arms
for your own ro/d (household). For a person living before the 14th
century, authentic practice would be the use of a clan badge [9].
The cross Osmoro/g is named for the ro/d Osmoro/g. As far as we can
tell, this is a charge that was used only by this particular ro/d [10].
A member of the ro/d would use the arms of the ro/d rather than bearing
individual arms with similar elements, so we don't believe it's likely
that even a member of the ro/d would have arms incorporating the cross.
We don't recommend you use it.
Lions are the most common beast in Polish heraldry; they typically
appear passant or statant [10]. We have not found an example of a lion
dormant and we recommend you use a passant or statant lion instead [11].
Polish heraldry typically consisted of a single charge or charge group
on a plain field. The most common color combination, by far, is argent
(white) on gules (red) [9]. The second most common combination is Or
(yellow) on azure (blue) [7]. Unfortunately, neither "Gules, a lion
passant argent" nor "Azure, a lion passant Or" are registerable with the
SCA College of Arms; they are both too similar to already registered
arms [12].
Other common charges in heraldry from your culture include crosses,
crescents, and horseshoes [10]. If you would like specific design
ideas, please write again.
We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't
hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have
further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided
by Maridonna Benvenuti, Walraven van Nijmegen, Iago ab Adam, Talan
Gwynek, Arval Benicoeur, Anplica dell'Isola, Blaise de Cormeilles, Eirik
Halfdanarson, and Julie Stampnitzky.
For the Academy,
Aryanhwy merch Catmael and Adelaide de Beaumont
9 September 2003
--
References:
[1] Walraven van Nijmegen and Arval Benicoeur, _Polish Given names in
Nazwiska Polako/w_ (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1998).
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/walraven/polish/
[2] Hoffman, William F. & George W. Helon. _First names of the Polish
Commonwealth: Origins and Meanings_ (Chicago: Polish Genealogical
Society of America, 1998), p. 311.
[3] The authors of the source at [2] credit their statement about
<Stefania> to Bubak, Jo/zef, _Ksi{e,}ga naszych imion_ (Book of Our
First Names). We have not examined this work directly.
[4] Mateusz Goli{n/}ski, _Biogramy mieszczan wroc{l/}awskich do ko{n/}ca
XIII wieku_ (Wroc{l/}aw: Prace Historyczne XVIII, 1995). Wroc(l/)aw is
in Silesia. Ma{l/}gorzata is a form of <Margaret>.
[5] Pierwszy, Tom. _Miasta Polskie: w Tysi{a,}cleciu_, 2 vols.
(Wroc{l/}aw, Warszawa, Krako/w: Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia
Ossoli{n/}skich, 1965), Vol. I, pp. 567-658.
[6] Taszycki, Witold (ed.), _S{l/}ownik Staropolskich Nazw Osobowych_,
vols. I-VII (Wroc{l/}aw: Zak{l/}ad Narodowy Imienia Ossoli{n'}skich,
Polska Akademia Nauk, 1965-1987), s.nn. Ilkuszka, Oz.ep, Oz.epow.
[7] Rymut, Kazimierz, _Nazwiska Polakow_ (Wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy im.
Ossolinskich - Wydawnictwo, 1991).
[8] Alison MacDermot & Da'ud ibn Auda, _Regional Style Heraldry in the
SCA_, 1993 KWHS Proceedings (Middle), Vol. I, pp. 5-25.
[9] Stefan Lasko/wski, Ksiazat Polskiego Heraldika (The Chronicle of
Polish Heraldry) in _Caidan Heraldic Symposium and Scribe's Conclave_
July 8-9, 1989, Los Angeles, California (2 vols.), Vol. I, p. 41.
[10] Szyman/ski, Jo/zef, _Herbarz: S/redniowiecznego Rycerstwa
Polskiego_ (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1993). The Osmoro/g arms
are: "Gules, an Osmoro/g cross with eight vetch berries between the arms
in annulo argent." The arms date from at least 1384.
[11] The source at footnote [10] includes one 14th century example of a
lion couchant, but it is being wrestled to the ground by Samson and
can't be taken as an example of a typical posture for a lion.
[12] Conflicts noted: Roswitha of Suanesfeld (reg. 01/99 via Atlantia),
"(Fieldless) A lion statant guardant argent," for Teodora Orsini; Mary
Margaret of Derby (reg. 07/74) "Azure, a domestic cat passant to
sinister Or."