ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1371 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1371 ************************************ 26 Nov 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for documentation of , which you want to use as a 12th to 16th century French feminine name. Here is what we have found. Before I start, I'd like to clarify the service that the Academy offers. We try to help Societyfolk in choosing and using names that fit the historical cultures they are trying to re-create. Our research can sometimes be used to support submissions to the College of Arms, but that it not our goal and our results are often incompatible with the College's needs. If your main goal is to register a particular name, then we may not be able to help you. is a French or Anglo-Norman masculine name. We find it in the forms and in late 13th century Paris, in 13th century England, and in the Latinized form in 11th, 12th and 14th century England [1, 2]. In all cases, it is a man's name. If you want a name suitable for a woman, you'll need to choose a different given name. You might consider or , which were used in England and France throughout your period [2, 3]. However, please note that this name was pronounced \AY-va\, not \EEV\ or \EE-va\. As you noted, the name was recorded in England in 1226, derived from the Old French "horseman". This is a very unusual form of the name which we have not found anywhere else. We think it is very unlikely to have been used elsewhere. In particular, we doubt it would have been used in this form in France at all or in England much later than the 13th century. The is an unusual variation from the original French, and the English surname eventually developed into , which is recorded 1672 [4]. If you want a Anglo-Norman name suitable for the 12th to 13th century, then the name or is appropriate. Note that this name would probably have been understood to mean that Eva's father or husband was a particularly good horseman. If you want a later-period name, you might consider . If you want a French name, then you may want to consider French surnames with similar meanings. The root word is one possibility: is a plausible 12th or 13th century French name. We found "the horsewoman" recorded in 14th century Picardy [3]. The name would be perfectly authentic for that time and place. We should note that is the feminine form of . That word literally means "horseman", but it later came to mean "knight". It is possible that the SCA College of Arms will not accept because it could be understood to mean "female knight". We think that translation is incorrect, but we can't guarantee the College of Arms will agree with us. We 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. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 26 Nov 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] 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 [2] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988), s.n. Ives. [3] Morlet, Marie-Therese, _Etude d'anthroponymie picarde, les noms de personne en Haute Picardie aux XIIIe, XIVe, XVe siecles_ (Amiens, Musee de Picardie, 1967). [4] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Chevenger.