ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1174 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1174 ************************************ 24 Aug 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the name or , which you want to use as a 13th century Occitan feminine name. Here is what we have found. is a modern woman's given name, which we've found in use in the Phillipines and Central America, suggesting that it might derive from a Spanish name [1]. However, we have found no such name in period, in Spain or anywhere else. If you are interested in a similar-sounding given name, you might consider or . The masculine is recorded in Paris in 1292, along with lots of examples of feminine names ending <-ele> [6]. In your period, the final in this name was pronounced. In French, is a surname, a feminine variant of , which was originally an occupational term meaning "farrier". (The slash in the name represents an accent on the preceding letter.) The name is recorded in Paris in 1292 [6]. The form apparently is not common in the south of France; another form, is found there [2]. We aren't sure when the form first appeared, but in your period, occupational surnames had not yet become fixed and inherited; they were still descriptive and varied from one individual to the next. A woman would have been called because she was a farrier (or perhaps the wife of a farrier), not because she was a member of a family called . Therefore, unless you intend your persona to be a 13th century farrier's wife, this name is probably not an appropriate choice. , as you know, is a name recorded in Languedoc in the mid-13th century [3]. It is therefore a fine choice for your persona. or is the name of four different places in France. One of them, in the de/partement of Gironde in southwestern France, is recorded in 1263 as . Another, in Arie/ge, in the mid-Pyrenees, is recorded in 1241 in the Latin form "castle of Montsegur" [4]. The spelling is probably appropriate for either of them in your period. Double surnames were very unusual in Old French in your period. From your letter, we're guessing that you are thinking of as a compound surname meaning "the branch of the Marichelle family living in Montsegur". Unfortunately, that isn't the way surnames were used in your period. Because family names were not inherited, it wouldn't have made sense to speak of "a branch of the Marichelle family". As you can see in the two lists of 13th century French names available on the web [5, 6], people were typically identified by a single surname. Women tended to be recorded as their father's daughters or their husband's wives, by their given names alone, or by their occupations. If you want to use as an occupational surname, then is a reasonable combination. However, if you don't plan to be a farrier, then or is a better choice; it is certainly more appropriate for a member of the upper classes. I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Barak Raz, Jibra'il al-Nasrani, Aryanhwy Prytydes, Walraven van Nijmegen, and Elsbeth Anne Roth. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 24 Aug 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Alta Vista search for "Marichelle" http://www.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=q&kl=XX&q=Marichelle [2] Dauzat, Albert, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Famille et Prenoms de France_ (Paris: Libraire Larousse, 1987), s.nn. Marichelle, Mare/chal. [3] Cateline de la Mor, "Names from Thirteenth Century Languedoc" (SCA: Trimarian Known World Heraldic Symposium, AS XXIX; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/cateline/languedoc.html [4] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963). [5] Ramons lo Montalbes, "French/Occitan Names From The XII And XIII Century" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/ramon/occitan/ [6] Colm Dubh, "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris", Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium 1996 (SCA: Montgomery, Alabama; WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -