Late Period Feminine Names from the South of France

by Talan Gwynek (Brian M. Scott)
scott@math.csuohio.edu
© 1999 by Brian M. Scott; all rights reserved.

Introduction

The following names appear in Appendix B, Lists of Prostitutes, of Leah L. Otis, Prostitution in Medieval Society. Citations dated 1357 are from Uzès (near Nîmes); all others are from Toulouse. The 1514 and 1521 citations were preceded by the definite article la irrespective of their form: la Johanna dela Crotz (forename + byname), la Granda Maria (byname + forename), la Ramonda (forename alone), la Vinhala `vine-keeper' (byname alone).

Diminutive forms are grouped with the root name. Multiple examples of the same name are indicated by a number in parentheses after the date.

Forenames

Angelline			1528
Anne			1528
Anthonye			1514
	Tonyna		1514	This identification as a pet form of Anthonia is uncertain.
Astrugue			1528
Bernarda			1425
Bertrande			1528
Blanca			1514
Catharina			1514
	Catharine		1528
	Quataryna		1521
	Quatalina		1521
Clareta			1514, 1521
Domenge			1528
Francesa			1514, 1521(3)
Guirauda			1521
Jacquelyna			1514
	Jaquelyna		1521
Jammeta			1521
Janseranda			1357
Johanna			1514(4)
	Johana		1514, 1521
		Johanetta	1357(2)
		Johaneta	1425(2)
	Joana		1521
	Jehanne		1528(6)
Laurensa			1521
Lisette			1528(3)
Loise			1528
Magdalaine			1528
Margarette			1528
	Marguaritte		1528
	Margarida		1521
		Margot	1514
Maria			1514(2)
	Marette		1528
	Marieta		1425, 1514, 1521
Marta			1521
Mondette			1528
Nonela			1521
Olyna			1521	Perhaps a misreading of Olyva?
Pieret			1357
	Peyrinne		1528
	Peyrrine		1528
Ramonda			1514
Tomasa			1521
Tuffayna			1514	Otis hesitantly suggests that this may be a byname `hairy', but Tiphaine was not an uncommon name.
Valentina			1357
Ysabel			1514, 1528(2)

Bynames

Bynames (individually-descriptive surnames) are divided into several categories: toponymic bynames (based on a place name), topographic bynames (based on a description of a place), ethnic bynames (an adjective based on a place name), occupational bynames, nicknames, patronymics (based on the name of the woman's father), and some bynames of uncertain origin.

Toponymic Locatives

Where Otis has given the modern form, I've put it in parentheses after the date. Note that in some cases there are several places with the same name, so a definite identification is impossible. Question marks are taken from Otis.

dAlby	1528	(Albi)
de Beumont	1521	(Beaumont)
de Bourdeaulx	1514	(Bordeaux)
de Camsas	1528	(Campsas)
Cassaigne	1528	(Cassaigne)
de Castilhon	1528	(Castilhon)
de Castras	1514	(Castres)
de Corneri	1425	Otis suggests a variety of modern place-names.
dela Couste	1528	(La Coste?)
dela Crotz	1514	(prob. Lacroix-Falgarde)
de Feurillet	1528	(?)
de France	1514	(Ile-de-France)
de Guera	1521	Otis suggests no identification.
de Livrono	1357	(Livron)
de Lymos	1514	(Limoux)
de Montalba	1528(2)	(Montauban)
de Montat	1528	(La Montat)
Morlhone	1528	(Morlhon-le-Haut)
de Moyssac	1528	(Moissac)
de Navarra	1425	(Navarre)
de Nogarolis	1521	(Nogaro)
Peche	1528	(Pech)
de Privite	1357	(Privas)
du Puy	1528	(Le Puy)
de Rebelh	1521	(Revel)
de Romano	1357	(Romans)
de Sancto Petro	1425	(Saint Pierre)
Sarlade	1528	(Sarlat-la-Canéda?)
de Sartaigne	1528	(Sardinia)
de Saulmuves	1528	(?)
de Tors	1514	(Tours)
de Valencia	1357	(Valens)
de Valenssa	1528	(Valence)
Vendomes	1528	(Vendomes?)

Topographical Locatives

del Mas

1521

'at the isolated rural house'

Ethnic Bynames

la Bordelasa	1514	'la Bordelaise' (Bordeaux)
la Bordalesa	1521
la Compaignere	1528	(Compains?)
Compaignere	1528
la Gasconna	1514	'la Gasconne' (Gascony)
la (Granda, Petita) Lombarda	1514	'la Lombarde' (Lombardy)
Lansquanette	1528	(Lansac?)
la Lyonnesa	1514	'la Lyonnaise' (Lyon)
Maleta	1425	Otis suggests that this may refer to Malause, but it could be some other kind of byname altogether.
la Maurilhaca	1514	(Mauriac)
la Pymontoise	1528	'la Piémontaise' (Piémont)
Serere	1528	(Sere?)
la Tholosane	1528	'la Toulousaine' (Toulouse)

Occupational Bynames

la Vinhala

1514

'vine-keeper'

Nicknames

Bastarde	1528	'bastard'
la Bastoyna	1521	'pack animal'?
la Bedossa	1514	'stutterer'
la Berena	1521	bera is 'old ewe', so perh. a dimin. of this
la Borgueta	1514	'little town'
la Bornieta	1521	'one-eyed'
la Esclopiera	1521	'gimpy'
la Garacha	1514	'plowing field' (or from garcha 'ewe')
la Granda Lombarda	1514	'the big Lombard'
la Granda (Maria)	1514	'Big Maria'
la Mandeta	1521	'vixen' (or perh. mandreta 'prostitute')
la Morelesa	1521	'negress, Moor'
la Petit Delh	1521	'the little Delh'; is Delh a forename or a common noun?
la Petit Hoeyl	1514	oelha is 'ewe', so perh. 'the little ewe'
la Petita (Fransesa)	1521	'Little Fransesa'
la Petita Lombarda	1514	'the little Lombard'
la Porreta	1514	'little leek' or 'little mulberry bush'
la Puta (Nonela)	1521	'the whore Nonela'
la Repentye	1528	'the penitent'
la Rossa	1521	'redhead'
la Soillarda	1514	'dirty woman'?
la Torta	1521	'gimpy'

Patronymics

All are Germanic in origin: BERN-HARD, WALD-BERHT, SIGI-WIN. The usual French forms are Bernard, Gaubert, and Seguin.

Bernade	1528
Gaulbert	1528
Seguine	1528

Ambiguous or Uncertain

Otis offers no interpretation of the byname Blanque; it could be either a nickname or a metronymic. She offers the nickname interpretations of la Serena. Withycombe mentions a 13th c. English instance of Serena, and Morlet (II:105a) has it as late as 1090, but in this case a nickname seems more likely.

Blancque	1528	'fair, white', or the forename Blanca?
la Serena	1514	'gentle' or 'siren', or perh. the forename Serena.
de la Terrada	1514	perh. topon., Terre-Basse, or perh. topog., 'sown field'

I can offer no certain explanation for these bynames.

la M[a] de Guera	1521	The 'a' in square brackets is a superscript. This appears to be some sort of locative, but Otis makes no comment about it at all.
la Petit Delh	1521	What is Delh?
la Feloy	1521	What is Feloy?
la Pastra	1521	What is Pastra?

References

Otis, Leah L., Prostitution in Medieval Society (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987).

Withycombe, E.G., The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).

Morlet, Marie-Therese, Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle, three volumes (Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1972), II:105a.

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