ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3326 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3326 ************************************ 5 May 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You wanted to know if is an authentic name for an 8th-10th century Irish woman living along the north-east coast of Ireland. Here is what we have found. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend either part of your name as good re-creation. The example of that you found in the Irish Annals is not the name of a person, but the name of a place. [1] The form can be found in Irish legend as a woman's name, but we have no evidence that this name was ever used by real people, in or out of your period. [2] We therefore recommend that you pick a different given name. The following source is a good place to chose from: "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Feminine Given Names 701 - 1050" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Feminine/701-1050.shtml If you find a name on this list that interests you, please let us know and we'll tell you how it was pronounced. We have also not yet found any evidence that the Dal tribe names were ever used in bynames. The only examples that we have of these names are in titles of office or rank, not as part of a person's name. [3,4] A woman of your period would most likely have had a patronymic byname, e.g. one which indicates her father's given name. If you'd like a chose a name for your father, you can find suitable choices in the following: "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Given Names: 701-800" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/701-800.shtml "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Given Names: 801-900" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/801-900.shtml "Index of Names in Irish Annals: Masculine Given Names: 901-1000" http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/Masculine/901-1000.shtml Once you've chosen a name for your father, again please feel free to write us for help with the correct grammar of your byname, as well as for a pronunciation. We hope that this letter has been useful to you. Research and commentary on this report were provided by Mari neyn Brian and Cobhlaith Mhuimhneach. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 05 May 2007 -- References: [1] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh, & Mavis Cournane, "Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 1", six volumes (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997-98), M717.4, M794.14, M866.10; M804.3, M837.4, M882.3; M827.4; M902.3. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005A/ [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990)., s.n. Finnabair [3] Academy of S. Gabriel Report #2168 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2168 Our examples here are specifically for the Dal Cais, but the same conclusion hold for the Dal nAraidhe. [4] As a result, such bynames have been ruled unregisterable in the SCA: "The fundamental problem with this name is that no evidence has been found that any of the Dal tribe names (Dal Riada, Dal Cais, Dal nAriade, et cetera) were used in personal names except as part of a ruler's title. For example, Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, ed., "The Annals of Ulster" (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100001/), entry U778.7, lists "Aedh Finn m. Echdach rex Dal Riati". The phrase "rex Dal Riati" indicates that Aedh was king of the Dal Riada. "Lacking evidence that the name of anyone other than rulers would include a Dal tribe name, a byname such as the submitted of Dalriada, even in a Lingua Anglica form, is a claim to be a ruler of this tribe and so violates RfS VI.1 "Names Claiming Rank" which states that "Names containing titles, territorial claims, or allusions to rank are considered presumptuous"." [Robin of Dalriada, LoAR 03/2004, R-Drachenwald]