ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 952
http://www.s-gabriel.org/952
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* NOTE: Some of the Academy's early reports     *
*       contain errors that we haven't yet      *
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08 Jun 1998
From: Diana Slivinska 

Greetings from the Academy of St Gabriel!

You asked us about a given name, preferably of pagan rather than
Christian origin, that would sound good with the surname "de la Haya."
You also indicated that you would like to set your persona in 14th
century Scotland. Here is what we have found.

The first of the Hay family in Scotland was probably "William de Haya"
(c.1178-82).  Other forms of the name in use during your period include
"William de Haia" (c.1206-11); "David de Haya" (c.1200-14); "Thomas de
Haya" (c.1202-38); "John de Haye" (1228); "Edmund de la Haye" (1296);
"Thomas de Hay" (c.1300-20); "Thomas del Hay" (1363).(1)

One "Guillaume de la Haye," of Norman origin, was butler to Malcolm IV
and then or soon after acquired the lands of Errol in Perthshire.
Gilbert Hay of Errol became hereditary Constable under Robert I and the
office still remains with the family. (2)

In England, forms including "de Lahaia" (1119), "del Haye" (1275), "del
Heye" (1275), and "de Haia" (1123) were used.(3)

You also asked us about the possible use of "Athelia" or "Athalia" as a
given name for a Scotswoman.  We do not believe that either of these
would be a good choice because they are Biblical names from the Old
Testament; these were rarely used in pre-Reformation Christendom.

You also asked about a pagan name.  During the 14th century, the
distinction between pagan and Christian names was largely irrelevant.
The region in which you have chosen to set your persona had been
Christianized several centuries before your chosen time period.  Thus,
everyone was Christian, by law, belief, and practice; apparently, there
weren't even any Jews living in medieval Scotland.  So, in practical
terms, any name in use was Christian irrespective of its cultural
origin.

We suggest that you consult the following articles on Scottish women's
names, and choose for yourself.

A List of Feminine Personal Names Found in Scottish Records
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/scottishfem/

Early 16th Century Scottish Town Women's Names
http://www.stanford.edu/~skrossa/medievalscotland/acr_1501_womens_names.html

You also asked us to pass along any other bits of your family's history
that we might come across.

Slains Castle is located in Aberdeenshire. It has been the property of
the Hays from the reign of Robert I; the 9th Hay of Slains became Earl
of Errol in 1452.  The old castle was destroyed by James VI in 1594
because the Errol of the time plotted with Spain; a new one was built in
1664 and rebuilt with extensions, but is now ruinous.(2)

You have the geography of Slains Castle confused.  It does not lie
between Elgin and Banff, which are on or near the north coast of
Grampian, but rather on the east coast, about 25 miles north of Aberdeen
and about 5 miles south of Peterhead.(4)

You didn't ask about arms; however, some of our members had suggestions
about the kind of arms that would be designed by the branches of this
family. If you are interested, we would be happy to let you know; we did
not do so in this letter in order not to burden you with excessive
length on a topic you did not specifically request.

We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you.

Talan Gwynek, Zenobia Naphtali, Walraven van Nijmegen, Aryanhwy Prytydes
merch Catmael Caermyrdin, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, Effric neyn
Kenyeoch vc Ralte, Fergus Stout and Arval d'Espas Nord contributed to
this letter.

In service,
Giulietta da Venezia
Academy of S. Gabriel

(1) Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland, The New York Public
Library, 1986.

(2)  Donaldson, Gordon and Robert S. Morpeth, _A Dictionary of Scottish
History_(1977; reprint, Edinburgh: John Donald Publishers Ltd, 1994).

(3)  Reaney & Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames, Oxford
University Press, 1995.

(4)  Multi Media Mapping,
http://uk5.multimap.com/map/places.cgi