ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2354 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2354 ************************************ ************************************************* * * * NOTE: Later research turned up additional * * information relevant to this report. * * See the end of the letter for details. * * * ************************************************* 2 Oct 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether is an appropriate name for a 14th century Scottish Gaelic woman. Here is what we have found. The name is basically correct, but the particular spelling you've chosen is not appropriate for your period and the correct pronunciation is not obvious. is a modern Scottish Gaelic spelling [1] of a name that may well have been used by Gaels in your period. Evidence that the name was used by Gaels in Scotland appears in mid-15th century documents [2, 3]. We haven't found 14th century evidence, but we wouldn't be surprised if we did: The name was in use among non-Gaels in Scotland by the 13th century [11]. Unfortunately, we don't know how the name was spelled in 14th or 15th century Scottish Gaelic. Our best guess is or . The name was probably pronounced \EESS-bel\, but there is some evidence for a three-syllable pronunciation \EESS-@-bel\, where \@\ represents the schwa sound of the in [4]. is a fine choice for your father's name; it was in use among Scottish Gaels throughout the later Middle Ages [5, 6, 9]. We believe that in the 14th century, the first element would have been spelled or [7]. The normalized spelling for the second element is ; it may also have been spelled or [10, 12]. The slash in the name represents an acute accent mark on the preceding letter. The name was pronounced \GILL-@ KHREEST\, where the \G\ is hard as in and \KH\ stands for the hard, rasping sound found in Scottish or German . However, after the word "daughter", Gaelic grammar requires a softening of the initial sound, which was indicated in your period by adding an 'h' after the 'G'. The resulting phrase "daughter of Gilla Chriosd" was pronounced \EEN-y@n YILL-@ KHREEST\. Gaelic was rarely used as a written language in period Scotland. If your name were written, it would most likely have been in Latin and might have been rendered [6]. 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 Effrick neyn Kenneoch, Adelaide de Beaumont, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Ursula Georges, and Juliana de Luna. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 2 Oct 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Peadar Morgan, _Ainmean Chloinne: Scottish Gaelic Names for Children_ (Scotland: Taigh na Teud Music Publishers, 1989), s.n. Iseabail. [2] From around the 14th century, the two main languages spoken in Scotland were Gaelic, spoken in the Highlands and Western Isles; and Scots, spoken in the Lowlands, including the royal court and towns. Gaelic was the same language spoken in Ireland at this time; Scots was closely related to contemporary English. [3] Watson, William J., ed., _Scottish Verse from the Book of the Dean of Lismore_, Scottish Gaelic Texts, Volume 1. (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1937). The original source was written circa 1525, containing poems by earlier poets. It was written in Gaelic, but using Scots-influenced orthography. Thus, his spellings are neither standard Scots nor standard Gaelic, but they do show what names were in use and how they were pronounced. [4] These Gaelic spellings correspond to the pronunciation of the 15th century forms we found in [3]: , , and . These spellings indicate an \s\ sound in the first syllable rather than the \sh\ sound that is implied by the spelling or the \z\ used in modern English . Two of the period forms indicate a two-syllable name rather than a three-syllable \EESS-@-bel\. [5] Krossa, Sharon L. (Effric neyn Kenyeoch vc Ralte), "A Simple Guide to Constructing 12th Century Scottish Gaelic Names", (WWW: Privately published, 18 June 1997). http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/simplescotgaelicnames12.shtml [6] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986), s.nn. Gilchrist, Macgilchrist. Examples include 1302-3, c.1300. [7] The spelling appears in a 12th century Gaelic source; a 15th century source uses , but it tends to favor archaic spellings and shows some Irish influence. We consider the better choice for your period, but is also possible [8, 9]. [8] Jackson, Kenneth, _The Gaelic Notes in the Book of Deer_ (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972). [9] A photograph of the "1467 MS", a Gaelic genealogical manuscript, which is shelf-marked 72.1.1 in the Scottish National Library. Colm O'Boyle has kindly helped with our transcriptions from this manuscript. [10] The second element appears as in our 12th century source (see note [7]). The normalized spelling for the period 1200-1700 is or , but we haven't found spellings in Scottish sources. A normalized spelling can be thought of as a theoretically correct spelling according to the rules for the period under consideration rather than the most common spellings actually found. [11] Talan Gwynek, "A List of Feminine Personal Names found in Scottish Records" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1996). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/scottishfem/ [12] Sharon L. Krossa (aka Effrick neyn Kennyeoch) "Scottish Gaelic Given Names: For Men" (www: privately published, 2002) http://www.MedievalScotland.org/scotnames/gaelicgiven/men.shtml - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Correction, Arval, 4 Jun 2002: Clarified the discussion of spellings of .