ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2140 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2140 ************************************ 3 Nov 2000 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a Norse man living in Scotland between 1350 and 1450. You also asked us to evaluate your heraldic design. Here is what we have found. Unfortunately, your requirements aren't consistent: There were Norsemen named in some parts of Scotland, and there could perhaps have been a place called in Gaelic, but not at the same time and place and in the same language. In order to construct a historically plausible name, you'll need to compromise a bit in one or another part of your persona history. Scotland was home to several cultures during various parts of the Middle Ages. Each culture had its own language and its own naming customs. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the main languages were: * Gaelic, spoken through much of the country; * English, mainly in the southeast; * Norse, in the far north and western isles; and * Norman French, spoken by Norman settlers and their descendents, mostly in the south. In the late 14th century, the languages of the south evolved into Scots, a close relative of Middle English. Scots was spoken in the Lowlands and was the language of the towns and the royal court. Gaelic retreated to the Highlands. These two cultures were quite distinct and their naming customs were very different. The northern islands (Orkney and Shetland) remained under Scandinavian rule until the late 15th century, and Norse cultural influence remained significant in Caithness; but from the 13th century on, the Norse language was progressively displaced by Gaelic in Caithness and by Scots in the northern islands. The Viking name <{TH}orfinnr> evolved into and in late medieval Scandinavian languages. The symbol {TH} represents the letter thorn, which looks like a 'p' superimposed on a 'b' so that they have one long vertical stroke and a single loop. It is pronounced like the in . The earliest example we found of spelled without the grammatical ending <-r> is from a 15th century Norwegian document [1, 2]. As you noted, there were two Norse Earls of Orkney named <{TH}orfinnr> who lived in the 10th century [3]. They spoke Norse, of course. We found some indirect evidence that the name was adopted into Gaelic: A document (probably in Latin) mentions or in Fife c.1150-52 [4]. Unfortunately, we haven't found an example of the name recorded in Gaelic, so we don't know how it would have been spelled. We can make an informed guess: in early medieval Gaelic, after 1200 or so [5]. In Gaelic, the name would have been pronounced \TOR-fin\. However, we found no evidence of this name in Gaelic later than the 12th century. The name <{TH}orfinnr> made its way to Scotland by another route, too. The Norse carried it to Normandy and England when they settled there in the early Middle Ages. Norman and English settlers in Scotland brought along their form of the name, , , or . We've found examples of the name in Scotland and England in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries [6, 7, 8]. is a straightforward Gaelic place name. The element "mound, fort, castle" is quite common, and often compounded with minor topographical terms: "mound of two marshes", "fort of the river", etc. [9, 10]. (The backslash here represents a long accent on the 'u'.) The element "rock; cliff; headland" was less common in medieval Scotland, found in place names only in the south of Scotland, specifically in Ayrshire or Perthshire [11]. The compound is therefore likely to have been used only in these areas. The basic problem with your name is that you've combined elements, and , that weren't obviously used at the same time and place. In addition, you've combined two languages, Norse and Gaelic. Languages weren't mixed together in a name this way. A man's name might be recorded in different languages by people of different lingustic backgrounds, but we've seen essentially no evidence that a mixture of languages would ever have been used in a single rendering of a name. We therefore need to ask ourselves two questions: Is there a time and region when a man named something like could have lived at a place called ? If so, how would he have been identified in the languages spoken there? This combination was most likely in Scotland in the 12th century. That was a time when cultural mixing was relatively common and names from one language were often adopted into another. We've established that forms of were used in Gaelic, English, and Norman-French in Scotland in that period. A man of any of those ethnic groups, living in 12th century Ayrshire or Perthshire, could have been named in Gaelic, in English or Norman-French, and could have lived at a place known to Gaels as . The next step is to figure out how his family and neighbors might have identified him in their own languages. The Gaelic wouldn't have been used in any language other than Gaelic, but it might have been adapted to fit another language. The word transliterates to in many English or Latin names [18]: Richardus de Dunbretan, 1235 Walter de Dunoun, 1255 Dovenaldus de Dunfermelyn, 1304 We find transliterations of in examples of the modern place name . That name originated as the Gaelic , and we find it recorded in English, French, and Latin in a variety of spellings [12]: Karric, c.1140 Duncan Karryc, before 1224 Rolland de Karryk, 1260 Carryke, 1286 Duncan de Carrike, 1296 Nigel de Karrik, 1320 Robertus Nigelli de Karrik, 1320 (in Latin) The French and the Latin would be fine choices for 12th century Perthshire or Ayrshire, and are plausible for the 13th century as well. We have less evidence on which to base an English form of the name, but from later-period examples, we think that or are likely forms [19]. Note that at this point, was pronounced \ohf\, not \uv\. If this man were a Gael or had contact with Gaels, he would have been identified in Gaelic as well as other languages. However, a Gael wouldn't have identified him as "Torfinn from Dun Carraig" in Gaelic. Place names were almost never used in personal names in Gaelic. It was quite common in English, French, and Scots for a man to be identified by the place where he lived, like , but it was not a normal part of Gaelic naming customs. In Gaelic in Scotland, a man was almost always known as his father's son, like "Torfinn son of Torcall". If you'd like to choose a name for your father, you can find a list of suitable choices on the web: A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.shtml That article explains how to construct a Gaelic name and gives a list of Gaelic names found in a 12th century document. This is the only time and place where we can support the possibility of a man named living at a place called . Unfortunately, it's about 200 years earlier than your period and doesn't accommodate a Norseman. If one of those elements of your persona is most important to you, then we can offer some alternatives. The simplest way to place a Norseman in Scotland is to have him living in Orkney, Shetland, or Caithness, early enough that Norse culture was still dominant. Of course, that precludes having him live in , but he could certainly be named <{TH}orfinnr>. Norsemen were most often identified as their fathers' children, like <{TH}orfinnr {TH}orketilson> "{TH}orfinnr son of {TH}orketill". If you want to build a name of this type, you can find some help on the web in this article: A Simple Guide to Creating Old Norse Names http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/sg-viking.html Caithness was known in Old Norse as . {TH}orfinnr from Caithness could also have been known in Old Norse as <{TH}orfinnr a/ Katanesi>, literally "Thorfinn in Caithness" [13, 14]. Finally, we can suggest one scenario that places a Scandinavian in Scotland in the 14th or 15th century: a Norwegian merchant living in a Scottish port. Such a man could certainly have been named , but he wouldn't have had any significant contact with Gaelic culture: Foreign trade in late-period Scotland was conducted by Lowlanders. If you're interested in this approach, write us again and we can discuss it in more detail. Heraldry was invented in northern France in the mid-12th century. The Normans carried the custom to Scotland, and it remained very popular in Scoto-Norman and later in Lowland culture throughout the rest of our period. The other cultures of Scotland were very slow to adopt heraldry. We know of a few examples of arms used by Gaelic chiefs and their immediate families, but most Gaels did not use heraldry [15]. A 12th or 13th century Gaelic or Norse man would not have used arms. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use arms in the Society if you choose to be a 12th century Norseman: Many Societyfolk use arms even though their personas would not have done so. Whether you use arms or not depends on how you think about authenticity and your persona. You can find a few thoughts on this issue in an article we've posted on the web: What Do I Use for Arms if my Persona Wouldn't Have Used Arms? http://www.s-gabriel.org/faq/nonheraldic.html The arms you described can be blazoned "Per chevron gules and argent, two owls and a tower counterchanged". This is a very nice design. Unfortunately, it isn't a particularly likely medieval Scottish design. The tinctures gules and argent were quite common in Scottish heraldry, but divided fields like "per chevron" were rather unusual, counterchanging was rare, and owls and towers were apparently not used at all. Some designs more consistent with the overall style of late medieval Lowland heraldry are "Argent, two owls and a tower gules" or "Argent, a chevron between two owls and a tower gules". Replacing the owls and tower with charges documented in use in the culture would improve the design further, e.g. "Argent, two martlets and a castle gules" [16]. We're guessing that you intend your arms to echo the arms of your shire, which are "Per chevron gules crusilly bottony argent and argent, in base a cross bottony within a laurel wreath gules." You may not know that those arms were themselves designed to echo the arms of the Scottish Earls of Carrick, "Argent, a chevron gules," recorded in the second half of the 15th century [17]. You might consider going straight to the source and choosing arms that are a variant of the historical coat. Indeed, you might even want to name yourself and adopt the persona of a minor 13th century member of that noble Scoto-Norman family. For your arms, you could use something like "Argent, a chevron between two marlets and a castle gules" or "Argent, a chevron between two owls gules and a tower azure." As far as we can tell, any of these suggestions or the ones in the previous paragraph could be registered with the SCA College of Arms. 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 Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, Africa neyn Kenneoch, Zenobia Naphtali, Blaise de Cormeilles, Adelaide de Beaumont, Amant le Marinier, Hartmann Rogge, Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn, Dietmar von Straubing, and Julie Stampnitzky. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 3 Nov 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Fleck, G. (aka Geirr Bassi Haraldsson), _The Old Norse Name_, Studia Marklandica (series) (Olney, Maryland: Yggsalr Press, 1977). [2] Lind, E.H., _Norsk-Isla:ndska Dopnamn ock Fingerade Namn fra*n Medeltiden_ (Uppsala & Leipzig: 1905-1915, sup. Oslo, Uppsala and Kobenhavn: 1931), s.nn. Thorfinnr. [3] Magnusson, Magnus & Hermann Pa/lsson, trans. Laxd{ae}la Saga, (London: Penguin Books, 1969), ch. IV. [4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.n. Mactorfin. [5] The Old Norse name was adopted into Gaelic in Scotland as , and eventually rendered in Scots as . Black, op. cit., s.n. Torquil. In Ireland, the Norse names and were adopted into Gaelic as and [Brian O'Cuiv, "Personal names as an indicator of relations between native Irish and settlers in the Viking period", in _Settlement and Society in Medieval Ireland_, ed. John Bradley (Boethius Press, 1988)]. We are therefore confident that would be rendered in Gaelic. Gaelic had a native name element <-finn>, so we would expect it to have been used to represent the same sound in a Norse-origin name. We therefore recommend the Gaelic spelling up to about 1200. In later-period Gaelic, we'd expect the spelling to reflect the general change in spelling conventions that occurred around 1200. For example, the early medieval Irish name became later in period; by analogy we'd expect to become . (The shift from to in more accurately indicated the fact that the was silent. Since the in is not silent, the is not needed. [6] Black, op. cit., s.n. Turpin. He cites 1178-98, bishop of Brechin, who witnessed a charter c.1165-71, who exchanged lands at Kenny for those in Othirlony c.1226-39, on a jury concerning lands of Mefth, 1262, , witness to a 12th century charter. He notes the forms and in Liber Ecclesie de Scon. [7] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995), s.n. Turpin. , 1066, 1130, t. Henry II, 1180, 1196, 1202, 1204, 1230, 1187. [8] Fellows Jensen, Gillian, _Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire_ (Copenhagen: 1968), s.n. {TH}orfinnr. [9] Darton, Mike, _The Dictionary of Scottish Place Names_ (Moffat, Scotland: Lochar Publishing, 1990), s.n. Du\n da Ghaoithe. He also has "castle [on] the top" (of a rock above the harbor), "fort [of] the birch tree", "fortress [on] a rise", "mound of the tree", "mound of the blackthorn". Note Watson's derivation of from British roots [11]. [10] Johnston, James B., _Place-Names of Scotland_, 3rd ed. (London: John Murray, 1934), p.508. s.n. Dunoon. He confirms that and are period names. He also mentions , perhaps from "fort of the bog", p.222-3. , p.144, derives from "place of wisps or tufts of grass". [11] Watson, William J., _The History of the Celtic Place-Names of Scotland_ (London: William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., 1926), p.508 s.n. Dunoon, p.521, note to p.424. He says that Scottish Gaelic "rock, steep mountain" is rare word, a "loan or survival" from the British word that also produced Old Welsh and Breton . His examples of it in Scottish place names are in Ayrshire, Perthshire, and on Loch Goil, which is on the west coat near the Clyde. A similar construction is , which Watson p.141 derives from British "summit fort". We did find the element used in place names on Mull in the Hebrides, but we believe that they are post-period names. [MacQuarrie, Duncan M., _The Place Names of Mull_ (Inverness: D. M. Macquarrie, c.1982)] [12] Johnston, op. cit., s.n. Carrick and Black, op. cit., s.n. Carrick. [13] Watson, op. cit., p.30. [14] Vigfusson, & W. Craigie, _An Icelandic-English Dictionary_ (Oxford: At the University Press, 1975). In personal names, is the most common preposition used with place-names containing the element <-nes>, and <-i> is the dative singular case ending required by Norse grammar after the preposition . [15] Campbell of Airds, Alastair, Unicorn Pursuivant of Arms, "A Closer Look at West Highland Heraldry", _The Double Tressure_ (#19). [16] Schweitzer, Leslie, and David Hunter of Montlaw, 'Late Medieval Scottish Heraldic Design' and 'Charge Use in Late Medieval Scots Heraldry' (pre-prints). This sample is later than your period; we expect that earlier Scottish heraldic style was even more restricted. They found divided fields in only 3.5% of their sample, with "per chevron" being one of seven types used. Only 4 of 566 coats had charges counterchanged over a divided field. They found no owls; birds other than eagles and martlets were used for canting. Constructed artifacts were rare except for buckles, cushions, and ships, and a few other charges used for canting. They did find one instance of a castle. Chevrons were quite common, and it was common to place a chevron between a group of charges with two like charges in chief and a different charge in base. These mixed-type groups of charges were usually the result of cadency (e.g. a second son would change one of the set of charges to create distinct arms). [17] Campbell, Colin, _The Scots Roll: A Study of a Fifteenth Century Roll of Arms_ (Heraldry Society of Scotland 1995; ISBN 0 9525258 0 1). The Earldom of Carrick existed by the late 13th century, but we don't know if the arms date that early. ("Bruce family" Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic?eu=16982&sctn=1> [Accessed 23 October 2000]). [18] Black, op. cit., s.nn. Dumbarton, Dunfermline, Dunoon. [19] The earliest examples we have from Scotland of names written in English come from the poem "The Bruce" by John Barbour. These names use the preposition or . Barbour, John, _The Bruce_, ed. A. A. M. Duncan (c.1375; Edinburgh: Canongate Classics, 1997).