ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2254 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2254 ************************************ 28 Mar 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 15th century Welsh woman. Here is what we have found. Your name is basically correct, though it is unusually complex for your period. We will suggest different spellings for some elements. It is important to understand that period Welsh names were recorded in different linguistic contexts: Welsh and English. Each language had its own spelling conventions and patterns of name formation, so a persons name could have been recorded in several different forms, each of them correct in context. However, elements used in one context were not necessarily also used in the other. is a 16th century spelling of , found in English-language documents in Wales. Other Anglicized spellings from the first half of the 16th century include , and [1]. The name appears in a Welsh source as [2]. It was pronounced \SIS-lee\ or \SIS-@-lee\. \@\ represents a schwa, the sound of the in or . is the standard modern spelling of this name, but it was uncommon in period records. We have found one example in English- influenced records from Mawddwy in 1415, but we do not recommend it as typical of your period [3]. More common English spellings included and [5]. We don't have many Welsh-language records from your period. The best ones we have universally abbreviate this name as or ; that would be a perfect appropriate practice for you to emulate in writing [4]. The name was pronounced \ll@-WEL-@n\, where \ll\ represents a Welsh phoneme that is made by positioning your mouth to say \L\ and then blowing air over one side of your tongue. was a very common name in your period, and this was the standard Welsh spelling of the name. In English it was often recorded in the Welsh form or the partially anglicized , but also with its English equivanelt, [3, 6]. It was pronounced \YEH-vahn\. The last element in your name, means "the poet, the composer". The word was pronounced \PR@-d@dh\, where \dh\ represents the sound of in . We have found several examples of this byname in period Welsh names: Eynon Predith (1292) [7] David y Prydydd (1406) [4] Ieuan lloyd brydydd (1406) [4] Ieuan ap D[avi]d ap y prydydd (1406) [4] Welsh occupational bynames normally do _not_ include the definite article when they directly follow the given name of the person they describe; but usually do include it when they are used without the given name. Thus, "Eynon the Poet" but "John son of David son of the poet". One of the examples we listed above violates this rule; it is extremely unusual and we do not recommend using it as the basis for your re-creation. In either a Welsh or non-Welsh context, is the expected 15th century spelling of the word for "daughter". The word for "son" was most often spelled in your period, and we recommend this spelling in both Welsh and English contexts. The modern practice of using before a consonant and before a vowel was not followed in your period; if was used at all, it was used consistently, not mixed with in a single name. The words and were pronounced \VAIRKH\ and \AHP\, where \KH\ represents the raspy sound in the Scottish word or German . Your name identifies your father and grandfather, and gives your grandfather's occupation. (If you intended to describe yourself as "the poet", then you should move that term immediately after your given name, .) Most names in 15th-16th century Welsh documents that we've studied are simpler than yours, identifying only the person's father; but a small percentage of our data has the same form as your name [1, 4]. Putting everything together, we recommend two forms of your name which are better re-creation of 15th century Welsh naming practices: for Welsh-language contexts , and for English contexts . 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, Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Elsbeth Anne Roth. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 28 Mar 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "Women's Names in the First Half of 16th Century Wales" (WWW: J. Mittleman 1998). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welshWomen16/ [2] Salesbury, William, _A Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe_ (Menston, UK: Scholar Press, Ltd., 1969, facsimile of the 1597 publication). This author listed names in Welsh-language forms; he has the name as . [3] Williams-Jones, Keith, "A Mawddwy Court Roll, 1415-16" in Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies vol. 23 (1970). [4] Roberts, Glyn, "The Anglesey Submissions of 1406" in _Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies_, vol. XV pp.39-60. [5] Talan Gwynek, "Late Sixteenth Century Welsh Names" (1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/talan/talanWelsh16.html [6] Jones, Heather Rose (aka Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 16th Century Welsh Names (in English Contexts)" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/tangwystyl/welsh16.html [7] Williams-Jones, Keith. The Merioneth Lay Subsidy Roll 1292-3. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1976.