ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2146 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2146 ************************************ 02 Nov 2000 From: Dietmar Greetings on behalf of the Academy, You asked whether would be an appropriate name for an Englishman between the years 1100 and 1500. Here is the information we have found. Though is a New Testament name of Aramaic origin, we find no evidence of its use in England until after the Norman Conquest. However, it was quite popular from the 12th century onwards. Dated examples of this name include: 1196 (recorded in a Latin document), 1273, 1273, and 15th c. [1] Any of these would make a fine name for the period you have chosen. The byname is so common in the Society that it's a cliche, with nearly one hundred registered examples, but it's vanishingly rare in medieval languages. We've found no evidence that anyone in medieval England was identified as , so we strongly recommend against that particular byname. In general, bynames with this kind of meaning are quite rare in all languages, perhaps because "wandering" was almost never anyone's primary occupation and thus it was not a useful identifying label. It's also worthy of note that those who traveled from place to place without any means of support were regarded with great suspicion and given a number of uncomplimentary names, just as they are today. [2] The time period from 1100 to 1500 is too broad for simple generalizations of English naming customs because they changed too much across that span of time. In the early part of that period, the English generally used descriptive bynames like and . [3] From the late 14th century onward, the English usually used inherited surnames just as we do today. One might well find an Englishman in 1450 named , but one wouldn't expect him to be an archer: was simply his surname. The type of surname that's appropriate for your persona depends on what time period you want to re-create. Assuming you want to re-create the 12th or 13th century, a descriptive byname is a fine choice. However, we believe that an archer serving in a mercenary company is unlikely to have been known as or . Descriptive bynames were used because they helped to identify people. In a company of archers, isn't a useful label. [4] We suggest that if you want to set your persona in the 12th to early 14th centuries you choose a byname based either on the name of your persona's father (e.g. [3]) or on the place in England where your persona lived (e.g. [5]). If you want a later-period name, we recommend the following list of surnames: English Names from Pre-1600 Brass Inscriptions: Surname Index http://www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/brasses/lastnameAB.html We'll be happy to suggest some other sources for medieval English surnames. 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 writing this letter by Adelaide de Beaumont, Antonio Miguel Santos de Borja, Arval Benicoeur, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Juliana de Luna, Julie Stampnitzky, Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, Maridonna Benvenuti, Talan Gwynek, and Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn. For the Academy, Dietmar von Straubing Nov. 2, 2000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Withycombe, E.G., _The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names_, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988). s.n. Bartholomew [2] We have found a few examples of bynames with meanings related to travel: 1332, 1376 1251, 1260 Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.nn. Peddler, Pilgrim 1279 and 1246 Jo:nsjo:, Jan, _Studies on Middle English Nicknames_, v.1 Compounds (CWK Gleerup, date unknown). s.n. Widfare 1509 (By this time, a hereditary surname.) Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.n. Travalour [3] Reaney & Wilson. s.nn. Archer, Nottingham, Williams [4] As an example, analyzing lists of 14th c. Welsh mercenaries in France, none of them had military-related bynames. Nor did any have bynames referring to a nomadic lifestyle or status as a mercenary. On the other hand, a noticeable percentage had locative bynames presumably referring to their town or region of origin. In fact, the overall name patterns for this group of mercenaries wandering far from home are almost exactly the same as the kinfolk they left behind. Jones, Heather Rose. 1994. "Welsh Names in France in the Late 14th Century" in Proceedings of the Known World Heraldic Symposium. [5] Johnston, James B., _Place Names of England and Wales_ (London: Bracken Books, 1994 [1915]) s.n. Norwich