ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2697 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2697 ************************************ 21 Jul 2003 From: Galiana de Baiona Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked if we could find a variant or variants of the name occuring in Occitania. You also expressed an interest in English or French variants of this name, and bynames having something to do with a raven. As you are probably aware, for most of our period, northern and southern France used different languages. The language in northern France, including Paris, was French (also called "Langue d'Oil"), while the southern language was Occitan (also called "Langue d'Oc" and "Provencal"). The name is a variant of the given name . We found it several times in Provence in the following forms: Elionor 12th-13th centuries, 15th century [1,2,3] Elienor 12th-13th centuries [2] Alienor Alionor Elianor 15th century [3] In England the name is recorded in the following ways: Alianor 1273, 1281 [4] Alienor c. 1202, 1211 Alienora 1199, 1213, 1297 L Alyenora 1182-1272 L Alianor 1281 [14] Alianora 1428 Alienor c.1202, 1211 Alienora 1199, 1213, 1297 Eleanor 1361 Eleanora 1205, 1207 Elianora 1303, 1346, 1483 Elinora 1274 Elyenora 1273 Elianor 1581 [9] Elioner 1584 Elionora 1591 Elianora 1591 Elionor 1592 Elionara 1609 Elyanor 1613 Those names marked with the letter "L" are Latin documentary forms. They were most typically made by adding the suffix <-a> to the vernacular (spoken) forms. We have not found the name or variants thereof in northern France. It is therefore difficult to recommend a name suitable for that area. The French place is located north of Paris, and thus is not a good match for a Provencal given name. We do, however, find some similar sounding bynames in Provence: Corberii 1318 [5] de Corneus 12th-13th century [1] de Corsson Corbes 14th century [6] Corbas 13th century [7] Corbelianum 11th century Corberas c. 1550 de Corbeiras 1214 de Corbessio 1315 Cornillans 1282 [8] de Cornilhone 1121 The first is Latinized, possibly a genitive of the Latin . The second and third are vernacular locative bynames. is certainly a byname, most likely locative, though we are not exactly sure. is a Latin place name. is a Latin locative byname. and and are all vernacular place names. and are in the vernacular. We would expect to appear as a byname in the spelling . In England we find the following bynames related to Old French 'a raven': Corbat 1599, 1606 [9] Corbatt 1602 Corbett 1613 Corbye 1568 Angot le Corb 1206-7 [10] Robert Corbet 1158 [11] Thomas le Corbet 1323 Roger Corbin 1201 [12] Walter Corbyn 1219 Hugo de Corburn 1086 In England we also found various bynames associated with the word "raven". Raven 1133-60 [13] Reven 1279 Ravenes 1312 le Reven 1327 atte Raven 1344 These represent several different sorts of bynames. The first two are likely of patronymic origin, from the Old English or Old Norse , masculine forenames identical to the OE and ON words for 'raven', though either could be a nickname 'raven'. is a byname we find attached to a woman. It likely indicates that her husband's byname was , or it alternately might be the byname of her father or employer. In any case, as in the previous two instances it might be ultimately patronymic or a nickname. is a nickname meaning 'the Raven'. The last byname, , is what is called a sign name. It indicates residence at a particular place, in this case an inn called 'The Raven'. We believe that the names or or would be appropriate for a woman living in the south of France in the 12th-13th centuries. A name such as would be fine for a woman living in 12th-13th century England. The name would be appropriate for a woman living in 16th century England. We hope that this letter has been useful and that you will not hesitate to contact us if anything has been unclear or if you have further questions. I was assisted in writing and researching this letter by Arval Benicoeur, Adelaide de Beaumont, Aryanhwy merch Catmael, Talan Gwynek, Julie Stampnitzky, Juliana de Luna, and Maridonna Benvenuti. For the Academy, Galiana de Baiona 21 July 2003 ----------------- [1] Ramons lo Montalbes, "French / Occitan names from the 13th century" (WWW: Ramons lo Montalbes, 1997) http://s-gabriel.org/names/ramon/occitan/ [2] _Gesta Comitum Barcinonensium_, ed. L. Barrau Dihigo and J. Massó Torrents (Barcelona, 1925). [3] Joseph J. Gwara, Jr., "The Sala Family Archives: A Hand List of Medieval and Early Modern Catalonian Charters" (WWW: Jessica-Julia Vitz, 1996) http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/professional/pubs/sala/handlist.ht ml [4] Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 2232. (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 2002) http://www.s-gabriel.org/2232 [5] Arval Benicoeur, "Languedoc Names circa 1300" (WWW: privately published, 1998) http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/toulouse/. [6] Juliana de Luna, "Occitan Townspeople in the 14th Century" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 2002). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/occitan/ [7] Dauzat, Albert & Ch. Rostaing, _Dictionnaire Etymologique des Noms de Lieux de la France_ (Paris: Librairie Larousse, 1963). s.n. Corbas, 13th C. s.n. Corbeil, for modern , 11th C s.n. Corbe\re, c.1550 for modern s.n. Corbe\re, 1214 for modern s.n. Corbe\re, 1315 for modern [8] Ibid. s.n. Corneilhan [9] Julie Stampnitzky, "Surnames in Durham and Northumberland, 1521- 1615" (WWW: privately published, 2001). http://www.yucs.org/~jules/names/parish/surnames.html [10] Reaney, P. H., & R. M. Wilson, _A Dictionary of English Surnames_ (London: Routledge, 1991; Oxford University Press, 1995). s.n. Corb [11] Ibid. s.n. Corbet [12] Ibid. s.n. Corbin [13] Ibid. s.n. Raven [14] Talan Gwynek, "Feminine Given Names in _A Dictionary of English Surnames_" (SCA: KWHS Proceedings, 1994; WWW: J. Mittleman, 1997). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/reaney/