ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1047 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1047 ************************************ From: 17 Aug 1998 Greetings, Here's the information we found on a name for a woman living in York in the 9th century, which you wanted to be connected with the name "Ralph," and your arms "Argent a wolf's head erased gules in a chief invected sable three estoiles argent." The name derives primarily from the Frankish name "Radulf." We found in Old French in 944 (1). Since the French did not settle in England in significant numbers before the 11th century, this name is not likely to have been used there in the 10th century. However, the Norse masculine name (pronounced \RAHDH-oolvr\) is closely related, and was used in England (2). Some medieval examples of actually derived from this source. These spellings all use Roman characters. In your period, your name might also have appeared in runic characters. If you like, we can send you information on the runic form of your name as well. You will also need a given name, and we've come up with a list of names that were probably used in York your period. They come from a later source, but the author identifies them as being from your period. (4) In these lists, {th} stands for the letter "thorn" and represents an with a hook shaped like a reversed comma underneath it. * Gu{dh}ri/{dh}r * Gunnhildr * Gunnvo,r * Gu{dh}ri/{dh}r * Ingileif * Ingiri/{dh}r * Ragnhildr * Sigri/{dh}r * {Th}o/ra * {Th}o/rhildr or * {Th}o/rhilda In this list, {dh} represents the letter "edh", pronounced like the in , {th} is the letter "thorn", pronounced like the in , represents an with a hook shaped like a reversed comma underneath it, pronounced like the vowel in . Any of these would be reasonable for your persona. If you need pronunciation information on a particular name, let us know and we will send it to you. A woman in your period was generally known by her given name alone, or as her father's daughter. Gunnhildr, daughter of . We're written all the names we've discussed in their standard modern forms. Your name could have had several written forms--during your period, names in York were recorded in Latin, Old English, and Norse runic script. Once you choose a particular first name, we would be happy to explore the possible written forms it could use. Arms were first used in England and France in the 12th century, and spread from there to other parts of Western and Central Europe. Different countries came to develop their own heraldic styles, while there was also a "core style" that was found throughout Europe. A person in the 9th century would not have had a coat of arms. Of course, many SCA people with early personas design arms anyway. When they do, we recommend that they use arms within that core style--which is generally very simple. Your arms are appropriate for a 16th- century England, but not for earlier periods. In particular, the chief invected is a later development. If you want to have arms that would be found at an earlier period, we can suggest these designs. * Argent, a wolf's head erased sable and a chief gules. * Argent, on a chief indented gules three estoiles argent. In the first design, the wolf's head needs to be turned to dexter (that is, to the right from the viewpoint of a person holding the shield, to the left from the viewpoint of a person looking at it). We did not find a conflict between these designs and any armory protected by the SCA. Talan Gwynek, Lindorm Eriksson, Rouland Carre, Walraven van Nijmege, Arval Benicoeur, Margaret MacDuibhsidhe, AElfwyn aet Gyrwum, Jaelle of Armida, and Zenobia Naphtali contributed to this letter. We hope this has been helpful, and that we can continue to assist you. In service, Alan Fairfax Academy of S. Gabriel (1) Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle_, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), sn "Raulfus" (2) Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Ralph (3) Rundata, Inscription O:g 136 $. The slashes indicate accented letters, and the {dh} stands for the letter "edh," which is found in Norse and Old English. (4) Fellows Jensen, Gillian, _Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire_ (Copenhagen: 1968).