ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1480 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1480 ************************************ 22 Feb 1999 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Jewish man living between 1100 and 1150, specifically if the spelling is accurate. Here is what we have found. The spelling of your name depends on the language in which you want to record it. It could be recorded in Hebrew, of course, in which case the Biblical spelling of each name is appropriate. Depending on where you persona lived, your name could also have been recorded in Latin, Arabic, and the local vernacular. We have found that when medieval Jews ventured outside their communities, they were often known by different names, often names typical of the surrounding community. You can see some examples of medieval Jewish names from England, France, and Spain on the web: http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/other.html#jewish If you look at the names in the Paris census, you'll see that some Jews are recorded by French forms of Hebrew names, like or , but others used typical French names like or or [1]. The relationship between a man's Hebrew name and his vernacular name is sometimes simple, sometimes complicated, and occasionally mysterious. and are fine names, both used by medieval Jews in at least some parts of Europe [1, 2, 3]. We could not find the name in our sources. If you can tell us where you found it, we may be able to tell you more. It may be worth pointing out that a lot of Hebrew names have been invented in the 19th and 20th centuries, so a modern Hebrew name is not necessarily one that existed in period. Middle names (or second given names) were very rare in the Middle Ages. We have found only one example of a medieval Jew who had two given names, a woman in early 13th century Castile [3]. We recommend that you use only one given name. would be a fine name for your period, probably throughout the Jewish world. It might have been recorded in Latin as , in English as , in French as , and in Spanish as either or [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. 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 Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 22 Feb 1999 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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] Eleazar ha-Levi, "Jewish Naming Convention in Angevin England" (WWW: SCA, Inc., 1997). http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/jewish.html [3] Juliana de Luna, "Medieval Spanish Jewish Names of the 13th and 14th Centuries" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1998). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/juliana/iberian-jewish/ [4] Rodri/guez Ferna/ndez, Justiniano,_La Juderia de la Ciudad de Leo/n_ (Leon: Centro de Estudios e Investigacio/n "San Isidoro" 1969). [5] Garci/a-Arenal, Mercedes and Be/atrice Leroy, _Moros y Judios en Navarra en la Bqaja Edad Media_ (Madrid: Ediciones Hiperio/n, 1984).