ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3271 http://www.s-gabriel.org/3271 ************************************ 23 Mar 2007 From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel! You asked for help developing a name which would be authentic for an late-period Italian woman originally from the south of Italy now living in Venice, with a form of as your given name and as your byname. You also wanted to know whether a heraldic design using a bee would be appropriate. Here is what we have found. Italy today is a unified country with a common language. That was not true in our period: Pre-modern Italy was home to several languages, each of which was used in a range of dialects, some quite similar, some quite different. The dialects of Italian can be divided into three main groups: northern, central, and southern. For a more detailed map of the primary dialects of medieval Italy, see: http://web.archive.org/web/20041013112006/http://www.netaxs.com/~salvucci/ITALmap.GIF We find the surname recorded in 1447 in the Sangro Valley, in the south of Italy. [1] The surnames in this source were all recorded in Latinized forms, but is also the expected Italian form, so it is a fine choice for your surname. This is a fine choice for someone living in the south of Italy; however, we don't know if the surname would take a different spelling in central or northern dialects. The question of the given name is more difficult. There is no doubt that some form of is appropriate for your period, but the name was spelled differently in different parts of Italy. In Florence in 1427, the name is spelled ; we also find this spelling in early 17th-century Milan. [4,5] In modern times, the standard spelling in northern Italy is [2] so it's likely that this form was also used at the end of our period. Finally, in 16th-century Palermo the name is found as [3], so you can see that the variation of forms is fairly wide. We can confidently say that is an authentic name for a woman living in southern Italy. However, even if she was born in southern Italy, if she was living in Venice, she may have been known as . Using a bee in your armory is a fine choice. The arms of the Barberini were "Azure, three bees Or". Pope Urban VIII (1623-44) was a member of this family, and you can see a picture of his arms at: http://www.heraldica.org/topics/national/italy/italy3-09.jpg In one study of armory from the region comprising Savoy, the Dauphine/, Provence, and Italy, the tincture combinations found are as follows: [6] argent & gules 23% Or & gules 22% argent & azure 14% Or & azure 12% argent & sable 10% Or & sable 9% Or & vert 1% A design such as "Or, three bees gules" would be lovely recreation for an Italian woman of your period. [7] We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Cobhlaith Mhuimhneach, Sabine Berard, Margaret Makafee, Talan Gwynek, Maridonna Benvenuti, Adelaide de Beaumont, and Ursula Georges. For the Academy, -Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 23 March 2007 -- References: [1] Faraglia, N.F. "1800 Surnames Recorded in 1447" (WWW: Abruzzoheritage.com, 2002) http://www.abruzzoheritage.com/magazine/2002_06/d.htm [2] Academy of S. Gabriel Report #1043 http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/1043 [3] Academy of S. Gabriel Report #2492 http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/2492 [4] Arval Benicoeur, "Feminine Given Names from the Online Catasto of Florence of 1427" (WWW: Academy of Saint Gabriel, 1998). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/arval/catasto/ [5] "Cesare Negri's Le Gratie d'Amore / Nuove Inventioni Di Balli (1602/1604)" (WWW: Gregory Blount of Isenfir). http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/negri/ http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/negri/transcription/0006.clean.html [6] Pastoureau, Michel, _Traite/ d'He/raldique_, 2nd ed. (Paris: grands manuels Picard, 1993), pp. 118-9. [7] So far as we can tell, this design would be registerable with the SCA College of Arms. If you want to consider alternative color combinations, you'll want to be aware of the following registered arms: "Argent, a bee gules" (Ealdormere) "Or, three bees and a bordure embattled sable" (Amy of Calafia) "Gules, three bees Or" (Signe Scriffuerska)