| Laurel: | Date: (year.month.date) | Precedent: |
| Aidan | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.08 | There was some discussion of possible temporal incompatibility in this name as the submitted documentation dated Aidan to c608 and Cambel to 1296. Aidan is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic masculine given name Áedán. Ó Corráin & Maguire (pp. 13-14 s.n. Áedán) say that this was the name of some "twenty-one saints". Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (pp. 8-9 s.n. Aidan), identifies one of these saints and gives his death date as 651. Therefore, Aidan is registerable as an Anglicized form of this saint's name under the guidelines for registerability of saints' names (see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for more details). An Anglicized form of this saint's name is reasonable for the time period of the byname. Therefore, as both elements are Anglicized and use of a saint's name carries no weirdness in and of itself, this name is registerable with no weirdnesses. [Aidan Cambel, 08/2002, A-Meridies] |
| Ailbe, Ailbhe | ||
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Ailbe is a Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name. The corresponding Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form is Ailbhe. This name has been used as both a masculine given name and as a feminine given name. There were a couple of early Irish male saints named Ailbe, including one who was a bishop or archbishop (d. 528-541 according to various Irish annals). However, Gaels during our period generally considered the names of prominent saints too holy to use as names for their children. This likely explains why the use of Ailbe as a masculine given name fell out of use long before the submitter's desired time period (though it was still used as a feminine given name in the 15th C).
Based on the registerability of saints' names (summarized in the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR), the Early Modern Irish Gaelic form Ailbhe is registerable as a 15th C form of this masculine name. We have changed the submitted Ailbe to Ailbhe to make this name consistently Early Modern Irish Gaelic, which was used during the submitter's desired time period. [Ailbhe mac Branáin uí Eidirsceóil, 03/2004, A-Drachenwald] |
| Bede | ||
| François la Flamme | 2001.11 | No documentation was presented and none could be found that Venerable was included in English place names. As Bede was not officially a saint, the question is whether a place named for him would include Venerable, Saint, or no title at all. At least one church was dedicated to him in period since Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (p. 506 s.n. Wulfstan) says of Saint Wulfstan (c. 1008-95), "He was specially devoted to the English saints, notably Bede, to whom he dedicated a church". Unfortunately, Farmer does not say what the actual name of the church was. Speed, The Counties of Britain, (p. 75, "map of Durham") includes the phrase, "which as Beda sayth" in a description of the city of Durham. So Speed did not use a title when he referred to Bede in this context. From this information, we know that at least one location (a church) was named for Bede, but we don't know what form it took. The location Bedminster, listed in Ekwall (p. 34 s.n. Bedminster), dates the forms Beiminstre and Betministra to the Domesday Book and gives the meaning of this name as 'B{e-}da's minster or church'. ({e-} represents 'Latin small letter e with macron', a lowercase e with a horizontal bar above, here Da'uded because not all programs can display it correctly via e.) These are the earliest forms found for the name of this location Bedminster, so perhaps this is the location of the church Wulfstan founded, as the Domesday Book dates from during his lifetime. Ekwall (p. 34) lists a number of places that incorporate the name B{e-}da, including Bedburn 'B{e-}da's stream' and Bedfont 'B{e-}da's spring', among others. A placename combining an element derived from 'B{e-}da's' and an element refering to a geographical feature or structute (stream, church, spring, etc.) would be registerable.
Since the submitted name does not use a naming pattern demonstrated to have been used in period English (specifically, the use of Venerable in a place name), this submission must be returned. [Venerable Bede, College of, 11/01, R-Outlands] |
| Brigit, Brighid | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.07 | The submitter requested authenticity for 6th to 10th C Irish. However, the only examples found of Brigit used in Gaelic in period were as names of saints. Lacking evidence that Brigit in common use among regular people, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture. [Brigit ingen Taidc, 07/2003 LoAR, A-Meridies] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.06 | Listed on the LoI as Brygyt d'Arcy of Glen Meara, this name was submitted as Brighid d'Arcy of Glen Meara. The submitter requested authenticity for 12th to 13th C Irish and allowed minor changes.
Brighid is found as a header in Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 36 s.n. Brigit). It is the Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form and is registerable as a saint's name. Lacking evidence that this name was used in Ireland in period except as the names of saints, it is not authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture. As changing the language of Brighid from Gaelic to the English form Brygyt is a major change, which the submitter does not allow, we have returned this element to the submitted form Brighid when registering her holding name. [Brygyt d'Arcy of Glen Meara, 06/2003 LoAR, R-Trimaris] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.01 | Submitted as Brighid ingen Mac Tíre Ruadh, the submitter requested authenticity for 11th to 12th C Irish and allowed minor changes.
Brighid is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form. The corresponding Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name is Brigit. We have changed the name to this form to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity. While we have no evidence of any form of Brighid used as a given name in Gaelic except by saints, the name is registerable as a saint's name, though it is not authentic. (See the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for more details regarding the registerability of saints' names.) [Brigit ingen Meic Thíre Ruaidh, 01/2003 LoAR, A-An Tir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.04 | Submitted as Brighid Fleming, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed any changes. The name Brighid was considered too holy to use by Gaels in Ireland throughout period, though it is registerable as a Gaelic name under the clarification of the registerability of saints' names (see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for details). However, the name Bridget did come into use in England in various spellings. [Bridget Fleming, 04/2002, A-Calontir] |
| Broinnfind, Broinninn | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.06 | The given name Broinninn was documented from Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 38 s.n. Broinnfind), which gives this as the name of the sister of one saint and the mother of another. No other evidence was found that this name was used by humans in period. As such, it falls afoul of the precedent:
Lacking evidence that Broinninn was used by humans in period, or that it was the name of a saint (and so would be registerable under the guidelines for registerability of saints' names), this name is not registerable. The next question is whether Broinninn should be considered SCA-compatible as was the case with Aislinn:
In the case of Broinninn, this name has been registered only eight times: in the forms Broinnfind (twice in 1993, 1999), Broinnfinn (2001), and Broinninn (1996, 1997, 1999, 2002). While this shows some recent popularity of the name, it does not demonstrate the same level of popularity shown in Aislinn. Therefore, it is not SCA-compatible. [Broinninn nic an Ghabhann, 06/2003 LoAR, R-Caid] |
| Brynach | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.06 | The submitter requested authenticity for Welsh. Brynach was the name of a 5th to 6th C saint who came to North Pembroke from Ireland. As no evidence was found that this name was used in Wales except as the name of this saint, it does not seem to be an authentic name for a native Welshman. However, since Brynach is the Welsh form of this saint's name, it is registerable as a Welsh name under the guidelines for the registerability of saints' names outlined in the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR. [Brynach ap Rhys, 06/2002, A-An Tir] |
| Cáemgen, Caoimhín | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.12 | Submitted as Caoimhín Ó Draighneán, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed all changes. Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 41 s.n. Cáemgen) documents this as a saint's name and gives Caoimhín as the Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name. Therefore, while we have no evidence of any form of Caoimhín used as a given name except by saints, the name is registerable as a saint's name (for more details, see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR), though it is not authentic.
[I]n medieval Ireland, the names of many saints were considered too holy to use by regular people. Instead of naming a child Míchél ("Michael"), parents would name their sons Máel Míchél ("devotee [of Saint] Michael") or Gilla Míchél ("servant [of Saint] Michael") if they wanted their child's name to refer to the saint. [Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR] Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 111 s.n. Gilla Cáemgein) list the Early Modern Irish form of this name as Giolla Chaoimhín, showing an example of this pattern of naming a child in reference to the saint. As Giolla Chaoimhín is actually a different name than the submitted Caoimhín, we have left the given name in the submitted form. [Caoimhín Ó Draighneáin, 12/2002, A-Meridies] |
| Cassair | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.02 | Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 46 s.n. Cassair) gives this as the name of a holy virgin included in the legend of Saint Kevin. No evidence has been found that this name was used by humans in period. Names of saints are registerable, regardless of whether they are apocryphal or not. This policy is due to the practice in many cultures (though not in Gaelic) of naming children for saints. (For more details, see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR.) As Cassair was not herself a saint and the name has not been documented as having been otherwise used in period, it falls into the category of a legendary name and is not registerable. [Cassair Warwick, 02/02, R-Atlantia] |
| Cassia | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.02 | The LoI proposed Cassia as English feminine given name "based upon English use of feminized Roman names". However, the examples provided in the LoI were found not only in Roman Latin but also in medieval Latin sources. Cornelius and Lucius were the names of popes who became saints and this likely influenced the use of Cornelia and Lucia in England. Additionally, Lucia is also the Latin form of the name of Saint Lucy, who was popular in England in the Middle Ages. In the case of Claudia, Withycombe (p. 68 s.n. Claudia) says that the late 16th C example of this name in Lancashire is "probably taken from the 2nd epistle to Timothy where it occurs as the name of a Roman convert." Cassius, and by extention Cassia, is documented only as a Roman Latin name. Given the drastic temporal disparity between Roman Latin and Scots, a name combining Roman Latin (or perhaps Classical Latin) and Scots is not registerable. [Cassia MacWilliam, 02/02, A-Ansteorra][Ed.: Cassia was documented as an Italian saint's name.] |
| Ciar | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.07 | The submitter requested authenticity for 10th C Irish Gaelic. Ciar is the name of a 7th C Irish saint. As such, it is registerable according to the guidelines for use of saints' names (see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for more details). Lacking evidence that it was in use by regular people in the 10th C, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time period. [Ciar ingen Dáire, 07/2003 LoAR, A-Caid] |
| Damán, Damhán | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.02 | Aryanhwy merch Catmael found a similar name under a different header in Ó Corráin & Maguire:
As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the given name to Damhán, which is similar in both sound and appearance to the submitted Daimhín (both entries list Davin as an Anglicized form), in order to register this name. [Damhán le Milner, 02/2003 LoAR, A-Caid] |
| Damiana | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | This name change was submitted with the explanation:
Unfortunately, neither the original nor the current submission provided support solid support for the form Dimiana. The submitted spelling was supported only by printouts of a web search on the spelling Dimiana. This printout lists instances of a Saint Dimiana which seems to be a modern variant form of Saint Damiana. The College found support for Damiana as a period form of this saint's name when the previous form of this name was put before the College for commentary. Lacking evidence that Dimiana is a plausible period form of this saint's name, it is not registerable. [Dimiana bint al-Katib, 07/2002, R-Outlands] |
| Delphine, Delphina | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | The submitter requested authenticity for the 16th C and did not specify a language or culture. Delphina is a Latinized form of the French name Delphine, which was the name of a saint from Provence who lived in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. Bardsley (p. 505 s.n. Mad) dates Jordan le Madde to temp. Edward I. By the 16th C, surnames had virtually completely replaced literal bynames in both France and England. As we were unable to find appropriate forms of either element in the 16th C, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time period. [Delphina the Mad, 07/2002, A-Atlantia] |
| Elphin | ||
| Baldwin of Erebor | 1984.11.07 | On [a previous ruling, 28 Sept 84] ... I stated that the name Elphin would appear to be acceptable "so long as the device does not contain any of the symbols commonly associated with elves." This is a more restrictive statement than I had intended; "reeking of eldarin symbolism" is more like it. A single compass star doth not an elvish stench make. [BoE, cvr ltr, 7 Nov 84, p.2] |
| Baldwin of Erebor | 1984.09.28 | Given the entry for St. Elphin in the Oxford Dictionary of Saints, this would appear to be an acceptable given name, so long as the device does not contain any of the symbols commonly associated with elves. [BoE, 28 Sept 84, p.17] |
| Elysabel | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.10 | Listed on the LoI as Elizabel Lengeteyll, this name was submitted as Elysabel Lengeteyll and changed at Kingdom to match submitted documentation.
Metron Ariston found evidence that Elysabel was used in period literature to refer to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary:
As Elysabel is used in period as a form of the name of a saint, it is registerable under the guidelines for registerability of saints' names. Therefore, we have changed the given name back to the originally submitted form. [Elysabel Lengeteyll, 10/2003, A-Atlantia] |
| Engelbert | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.12 | Engelbert was documented as the name of a saint who was born in 1185. However, the Web site used for documentation of this name merely lists saints. Many such sources routinely normalize the names of saints and, so, do not support the headers used for saints' names as appropriate spellings in period, even for the time period in which that saint lived. The College found support for the spelling Engelbertus in France dated to a917-42. Engelbert is likely a vernacular form of Engelbertus. The section "From Pelican: Regarding the Registerability of Saints' Names", in the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR, explains the conditions under which saints' names are registerable, including:
No evidence was provided and none was found that Englebert was used later than the 10th C, even as a reference to this saint. Lacking such documentation, Englebert must be evaluated as a 10th C French name. [Engelbert the Pious, 12/2003, A-Middle] |
| Erníne, Ernín | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.03 | Submitted as Erníne inghean ui Fiannaidhe, the submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed minor changes. Gaelic names are registerable if accents are used or omitted consistently. Therefore, we have added the missing accent in uí. Additionally, the byname was not lenited as required by Gaelic grammar. We have made this correction.
As submitted, this name combines Erníne, which is a Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) form, with inghean ui Fiannaidhe, which is an Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form. We have changed this name to a completely Early Modern Irish form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. As Erníne, later Ernín, was only found as the name of a saint, we were unable to make this name completely authentic. [Ernín inghean uí Fhiannaidhe, 03/2003, A-Middle] |
| Faílenn, Faoileann | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.09 | Submitted as Faílenn ingen Tigernaig, the submitter requested an authentic 14th C 'Irish Celt' name. The submitted name is an Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) or Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form. Faoileann inghean Tighearnaigh would be the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name. The only dated examples we have of any form of Faílenn used as a feminine given name in period are for women who lived in the 7th C. Since there are saints of this name, Faoileann is registerable as an Early Modern Irish form of this saints name under the guidelines for the registerability of saints's names discussed in the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR.
Although most names lenite after inghean, names that begin with T, such as Tighearnaigh, do not. [Faoileann inghean Tighearnaigh, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Middle] |
| Fiamuin | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | Precedent states:
Similarly, Fiamuin is only found as the name of the mother of Saint Berchán of Clonsast. As she was not herself a saint and as the name has not been documented as having been otherwise used in period, it falls into the category of a legeendary name and is not registerable. [Fiamuin Kareman, 11/2003, R-East] |
| Flavia | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.06 | Listed on the LoI as Flavia Elena Glamorganshire, this name was submitted as Flavia Elena ab Glamorganshire. [...]
Flavia was documented in the LoI as "the name of a 6th C. female saint, martyred by Moorish corsairs". Upon examining the submitted documentation, it merely states that Flavia was a sister of a saint named Placidus, not that Flavia was a saint herself. Siren found other information regarding Flavia as the name of a saint:
As stated in "From Pelican: Regarding the Registerability of Saints' Names", included in the Cover Letter to the September 2001 LoAR, the names of saints are registerable as part of an SCA name, with some restrictions, including:
In this case, Flavia has been documented as a Roman saint. No evidence was provided, and none was found by the College, that an early saint named Flavia was known in the Middle Ages. Just as in the Sadok example above, we have no evidence that a Welsh, or even English, parent would have known of a saint named Flavia. If they did not know of a Saint Flavia, they could not have named a child for her in their language. Lacking references to one of these saints named Flavia in another language (such as Middle English), the name Flavia can only be considered as the (Roman) Latin name of a 1st and/or 6th C woman, and only appropriate for that language and time. Therefore, the submitted name combines a 1st and/or 6th C Roman Latin given name (Flavia), with a given name documented as both English and Welsh (Elena), and the English name for a Welsh shire (Glamorganshire). Lacking evidence that combining 6th C Roman Latin with Welsh spoken in the Middle Ages is plausible in period, this combination is not registerable. As the submitter allows major changes, we have dropped Flavia in order to register this name. [Elena Glamorgan, 06/2003 LoAR, A-Atenveldt] |
| Ignacia | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | Ignacia is the feminine form of Ignacio, a name popularized by Ignatius Loyola, the saint who died in 1566. The masculine form Ignacio is found in the 16th and early 17th century. While the College was unable to find evidence that Ignacia was used before 1600, it seems reasonable to give the submitter the benefit of the doubt, given a broad pattern of forming feminine names from masculine saint's names in 16th century Spain, as illustrated by Francisca, Melchora, and Andrea. [Ignacia la Ciega, 11/2003, A-East] |
| Irene | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | [T]he element Irene was justified as a saint's name. However, she is not a Catholic saint, but an Orthodox one. Barring evidence of a cult of Saint Irene in Germany, the name is only justifiable in linguistic traditions in which Orthodox saints were venerated. [Engel Irene Lassin, 11/2003, R-East] |
| Jules | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | While no clear evidence of the use of Jules in period was found, Jules is the French name of several saints (Latin Julius). By long precedent, saint's names are registerable. [Jules de la Croix, 11/2003, A-Caid] |
| Luaithren | ||
| François la Flamme | 2001.11 | ... Luaithren was documented from The Book of Irish Saints by Eoin Neeson. On examination, this doesn't appear to be a trustworthy source. Of the twelve saints listed in the photocopies we received, at least three (including Luaithren) aren't corroborated in Farmer's The Oxford Dictionary of Saints or Ó Corráin & Maguire. Seven of the remaining names don't have the Gaelic forms of the saints' names correctly spelled. Additionally, Neeson is not consistent in his headers. Some have Gaelic forms as the first listed header form; others use Anglicized forms, with no indication of which is which. In at least one case (Saint Brioch), Neeson incorrectly describes the saint as being from Ireland. All of these factors combine to render Neeson's book unsuitable for our purposes. Barring documentation of Luaithren from another source, we can't register it at this time. [Luaithren bean Seabhcir, 11/01, R-An Tir] |
| Macha | ||
| Shauna of Carrick Point | 2004.05 | The question arose whether the name Macha was registerable, since Macha is the name of one of the three war-goddesses of the Tuatha Dé Danann. However, Ó Corrain and Maguire also cite a Saint Macha; upon further investigation, Saint Macha is the patron saint of Kilkinney, who, according to her hagiography, with her five sisters founded a church around the 6th C. Therefore, the name is registerable as a saint's name. [Macha Drake, 05/04, A-Caid] |
| Maura | ||
| François la Flamme | 2001.09 | [Maura MacLeod] This is an appeal of a change made at Laurel. The ruling that appears in the October 1999 LoAR is:
Submitted as Maura MacLeod, no documentation was given showing that Maura was a period given name. The Irish Gaelic form Maire appeared so late in Irish as a solitary given name that we are doubtful that English diminutives appeared within our period. We therefore replaced the given name with a documented form.The documentation provided in the appeal includes references to four saints. Many modern dictionaries of saints index the saints under modern spellings of their names. As such, they contain unmarked normalization of the saints' names and often mask the forms by which they were known in period. While names of saints are registerable, they are not exempted from weirdness counts. So the question we must ask about the submitter's desired name of Maura is what language(s) this spelling appropriate for. Among the documentation submitted with this appeal were references that asserted that a church in Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, Scotland is dedicated to a Saint Maura and therefore Maura was the name of a saint known in Scotland. This derivation does not match what we currently know of Gaelic. The letter s is not used to indicate possessive in Gaelic. A placename meaning '[name]'s church' is formed by adding the genitive form of [name] after Cill. As such, the meaning "'Church of Saint Maurus' (a French saint)" which Johnston gives for this placename is plausible where 'Church of Saint Maura' is not. Other submitted documentation mentioned a Saint Maura in conjunction with a Saint Beya (also spelled Baya) who are supposed to have flourished in the 9th C in "Little Cumbrae". Lacking supporting evidence for these names in the 9th C, we must assume they are later renderings, likely post-period, of the names of those saints since neither Maura nor Beya are appropriate for the languages that were spoken in 9th C Scotland. Searches of period English parish registers and other documents turned up no evidence of the name Maura. As such, we have no evidence that the name Maura was used at all in the British Isles during period. Until such time as documentation is uncovered that provides such evidence, the name Maura must be limited to the languages and time periods for which it can be proven. Of those, 12th C French is the most helpful to the submitter. Dauzat and Rostaing (p. 636 s.n. Ste-Maure) date S. Maura as a form of this placename in 1136. Therefore, at least one saint (probably the saint known as Maura of Troyes, d. 850) was certainly known by this name in France in the 12th C. As such, the name Maura may be registered in the context of a 12th C French name. The submitter may wish to know that the similar-sounding name Mora, a Latinized form of the Gaelic feminine name Mór is dated to 1541 in Scotland. (Note: see the Cover Letter for further clarification regarding the registerability of saints' names.) [Maura MacLeod, 09/01, A-Æthelmearc] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.02 | Maura is not justifiable as a period Irish name, as it is a diminutive of Maire, which did not appear in Ireland until the end of our period. There is a possible justification of Maura as a feminization of an 8th c. Frankish male name, but there are other problems. Morlet lists Maura to 739, while MacPharlain is first cited in 1385 (Black, s.n. MacFarlane). Thus the name would have two weirdnesses: the combination of French and Scots Gaelic and temporal incompatibility. [Maura MacPharlain, 02/00, R-Atlantia] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 1999.10 | Submitted as Maura MacLeod, no documentation was given showing that Maura was a period given name. The Irish Gaelic form Maire appeared so late in Irish as a solitary given name that we are doubtful that English diminutives appeared within our period. We therefore replaced the given name with a documented form. [Mary MacLeod, 10/99, A-Æthelmearc] |
| Mella, Mealla | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.08 | Mealla is the modern form of Mella, which Ó Corráin & Maguire state was the name of the mother of Saint Manchán of Lemanaghan. Precedent states that the names of people mentioned in saints' legends are not registerable:
Similarly, as Mealla was not herself a saint and the name has not been documented as having been otherwise used in period, it falls into the category of a legendary name and is not registerable. [Mealla Caimbeul, 08/2003 LoAR, R-Caid] |
| Mugain, Mughain | ||
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 140 s.n. Mugain) lists Mugain as the names of two women, one of whom is listed as a saint. Given that the other has a feast day, she is also most likely a saint. As Ó Corráin & Maguire mention no date for either of these women, they are most likely early figures. While we have no evidence of Mugain used as a given name in Gaelic except by saints, the name is registerable as a saint's name, though it is not authentic. (See the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for more details regarding the registerability of saints' names.) Mughain is the Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this name. [Mughain inghean Donnghaile, 03/2004, A-Æthelmearc] |
| Ness, Neassa | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.10 | Neassa is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700-present) form of the name Ness listed in Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 145 s.n. Ness). This name is only given in legendary contexts and as the name of a mother and a sister of saints. Unlike the names of saints, the names of their relatives listed in their legends are not automatically registerable. An example is the return of Cassair:
Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 46 s.n. Cassair) gives this as the name of a holy virgin included in the legend of Saint Kevin. No evidence has been found that this name was used by humans in period. Names of saints are registerable, regardless of whether they are apocryphal or not. This policy is due to the practice in many cultures (though not in Gaelic) of naming children for saints. (For more details, see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR.) As Cassair was not herself a saint and the name has not been documented as having been otherwise used in period, it falls into the category of a legendary name and is not registerable. [Cassair Warwick, R-Atlantia, 02/2002] Lacking evidence that any form of Ness was used by humans in period, it is not registerable. [Neassa de Si�n, 10/2002, R-Ansteorra] |
| Phoebus | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.05 | This name was originally submitted as Phoebus Alexander Craythorne. Lacking solid documentation for Phoebus as a given name, it was dropped at kingdom. The documentation provided by the submitter for Phoebus was from Weidenham, Male Christian Names, which lists Phoebus as an Antiochan martyr. The problem is that Phoebus was a descriptive byname. Lacking firm evidence that it was this martyr's given name, we must assume it was his byname. Metron Ariston explains:
Lacking documentation of the existence of Phoebus as a given name in period, it is not registerable as a given name. [Alexander Craythorne, 05/2002, A-Middle] |
| Ríán | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.05 | There was some question regarding the registerability of the name Ryan. Both Ryan and Rian are plausible Anglicized Irish forms of the Gaelic masculine given name Ríán, which was the name of a saint (per � Corráin & Maguire, p. 155 s.n. Ríán). Therefore, Ryan and Rian are registerable as Anglicized Irish forms of this saint's name under the guidelines for registerability of saints' names (see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for details). [Ryan de Caergybi, 05/2003 LoAR, A-Outlands] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.12 | Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 155 s.n. Ríán) lists Rian as an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) or a Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1700 to present) form of this name. This entry also lists a saint of this name. Therefore, while we have no evidence of any form of Ríán used as a given name except for this saint, the name is registerable as a saint's name (for more details, see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR). [Rian Mulligan, 12/2002, A-Meridies] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.08 | The LoI noted that the submitter originally wanted Ryon as a given name, but could not document that spelling. Given that information, the submitter may want to consider the Irish Gaelic given name Rian. Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 155 s.n. Ríán) which lists a saint of this name and notes that the modern surname Ó Riain (O Ryan) derives from this name. Rian is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of this given name and would be registerable under the guidelines for the registerability of saints' names given in the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR. Therefore, Rian McHenrik would have a single weirdness for mixing Gaelic and Scots in a name, but would not have the temporal disparity that exists in the name Rhain McHenrik. As the submitter did not allow major changes, we were unable to make this change in order to register this name. [Rhain McHenrik, 08/2002, R-Outlands] |
| Sabina | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | This name was originally submitted as Sabina Bragança and changed at Kingdom to match documented examples of Portuguese locative bynames. The submitter requested authenticity for 16th C Portuguese. Sabina was documented as a header spelling in Francisca Arana de Love, Nombres Propios Espa�oles, (p. 323) which gives it as the name of a 4th C martyr. This source should be used with care. Clarion explains:
Lacking evidence of Sabina in use in Spain or Portugal, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired culture. As Sabina is the Spanish form used to refer to the 4th C Roman saint, it is registerable as a saint's name in Spanish. [Sabina de Bragança, 07/2002, A-Middle] |
| Serena | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.06 | Submitted as Serena Iustina Bryenrissa, the submitter requested authenticity for 6th to 11th C Roman-Byzantine and allowed any changes. Serena was documented only from a Web site of dubious quality and there is some doubt that this name was actually used by Romans. Metron Ariston explains:
No documentation was presented and none was found to support two given names in Byzantine names. Therefore we have dropped Serena, which is dubious for the submitter's desired time and culture, and corrected the byname in order to register this name. [Iustina Bryennissa, 06/2003 LoAR, A-Trimaris] |
| Tassach | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.01 | Submitted as Tassach mac Tearlaich, Tassach is the name of a saint and so is registerable under the guidelines for registerability of saint's names (see the Cover Letter for the September 2001 LoAR for details). [Tassach mac Tairdelbaig, 01/2003 LoAR, A-Atlantia] |
| Theophilius | ||
| François la Flamme | 2002.02 | The LoI stated that "The Catholic Online Saint's Index http://saints.catholic.org/stsindext.html#T list 10 different saints by the name of Theofilus, ranging in dates from 181 to 1676." These articles do not give an indication of which languages used the form Theophilius to refer to these saints. We would need such information to determine if a hypothetical Theophilia would be registerable in combination with a Polish byname. Nebuly searched for Teofilia in Polish:
I have checked my various Polish sources for evidence of Teofilia, and can find none. I do find the masculine name Theophilo as an ecclesiatical name in 15th century Poland (SSNO, s.n. Teofil), but this does not justify Teofilia. Slavic cultures did not form feminine names by tacking on feminine endings, as seems to have happened with some regularity in other parts of Europe.[Teofilia Karaszkiewicz, 02/02, R-Atlantia] |
| Turvon | ||
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | There was some discussion about the registerability of this name, since the dated examples for the given name and the byname have a temporal disparity of approximately 1400 years. The documentation for Turvon references a martyr who was a contemporary of the apostles. Given this information, the name Turvon falls into the category of a saint's name. As discussed in the September 2001 cover letter, a number of cultures had a tradition of giving their children the names of saints. Therefore, it is possible that this name remained in use long after Turvon's death, making this name registerable despite the temporal disparity in the name as documented. [Turvon Kuznetsov, 10/01, A-Atlantia] |
| Victoria | ||
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Metron Ariston found that "According to Farmer (Oxford Dictionary of Saints, pp. 390- 391) Victoria was a Roman virgin martyr and she was known in England since Aldhelm used her in his treatises on virginity." Additionally, Victoria is dated to 1520 in England on p. 38 of William Jerdan, ed., "The Field of the Cloth of Gold", Rutland Papers (New York, NY: AMS Press, 1968). [Victoria of Vig, 10/01, A-Trimaris] |
| General | ||
| François la Flamme | 2003.12 | Listed on the LoI as Brénainn mac Giolla Phádraig, this name was submitted as Brénainn Mac Giolla Phádraig. The submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed minor changes. As submitted, this name combined the Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) given name Brénainn with the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) byname Mac Giolla Phádraig.
Brénainn was the name of a number of prominent saints, including two that lived in the 6th C. Brénainn can also be found listed in various Irish annals as the name of men, most of whom lived in the 6th C, who are not saints. In Gaelic, unlike in English, children were not given the names of prominent saints, because those names were viewed as too holy to use. Not surprisingly, the name Brénainn fell out of use soon after the 6th C - probably due to the prominence of these saints. Therefore, an authentic name using the given name Brénainn would only have appeared in or near the 6th C. Giolla Phádraig is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic form. Gilla Pátraic is the corresponding Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form of this name. Gilla Pátraic came into use as a masculine given name in the late 10th C. Therefore, while Brénainn mac Gilla Pátraic is a consistently Old Irish and Middle Irish form of this name, it cannot be made fully authentic because there is no time period where the names Brénainn and Gilla Pátraic were in use such that a man named Gilla Pátraic would have had a son named Brénainn. We have changed this name to the fully Old Irish and Middle Irish form in order to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Brénainn mac Gilla Pátraic, 12/2003, A-Ansteorra] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | This name has several problems. First, Engel was submitted as a feminine name based on a citation in Bahlow (s.n. Engel) of H. domine Engele. However, it is not clear that this is a reference to a given name, let alone a feminine one. Nebuly explains:
Second, the element Irene was justified as a saint's name. However, she is not a Catholic saint, but an Orthodox one. Barring evidence of a cult of Saint Irene in Germany, the name is only justifiable in linguistic traditions in which Orthodox saints were venerated. [Engel Irene Lassin, 11/2003, R-East] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | The name Gerlanda was documented as a modern name. The masculine Gerlando was only documented to period as the name of a saint whose cult was essentially limited to Sicily. Barring some evidence that the masculine form was in general use in period, we cannot give the submitter the benefit of the doubt that the feminine form was used in period. [Gerlanda Amori d'Agrigento, 11/2003, R-East] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.09 | There seems to be some confusion about the current policy regarding the registerability of saints' names. Here is a summary of current policy and recent pertinent precedent.
The theory behind the registerability of saints' names has been that parents could use the given name of a saint when choosing a given name for their child. However, this practice was not the case in all cultures. For example, in medieval Ireland, the names of many saints were considered too holy to use by regular people. Instead of naming a child Míchél ("Michael"), parents would name their sons Máel Míchél ("devotee [of Saint] Michael") or Gilla Míchél ("servant [of Saint] Michael") if they wanted their child's name to refer to the saint. Regardless, it seems unreasonable at this time to change our current policy by limiting the registerability of saints' names only to cultures where this practice can be solidly documentable. Therefore, if a saint can be documented to period, their given name may be used as a given name in an SCA name. However, the form that the saint's name takes in the submitted name is subject to the standard rules and precedents, including those regarding weirdnesses that were set down in the August 1999 cover letter. This policy is in line with previous limitations put on the registerability of saints' names. For example: Unfortunately for the submitter, mixed Irish / Spanish names are not allowed (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR of July 1997). As Teresa was not used in the British Isles until after our period we have to return this. [Teresa Callan, 04/01, R-Atenveldt]Teresa was considered a Spanish name in this ruling since Saint Teresa was a 16th C Spanish saint whose cult did not spread to the British Isles until after period. Therefore, as Saint Teresa was not known in Ireland in period, Irish parents could not have named daughters for her and the name had to be considered Spanish in this submission. Since Teresa is the name of a saint, it was registerable. But that registerability did not override the ban on mixing Irish and Spanish. Some combinations are clearly not likely. Wickenden (3rd ed., p. 304) gives Sadok (a masculine name) as the name of a 4th C Russian saint-martyr. Though Sadok is a saint, no evidence exists that he was known in Westen Euroope, so it does not seem reasonable that Welsh parents would know about this saint and choose to name their son after him. So the name Sadok ap Rhys would not be registerable because Russian and Welsh are not a registerable combination. Some combinations are not so clear-cut. Saint Bernard (c. 1090-1153) was a Cistercian monk and abbot of Clairvaux. Eventually the order spread to England, Wales, Ireland, and throughout Europe (Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, 3rd ed., pp. 51-52 s.n. Bernard). As such, Saint Bernard is referred to in documents written in many languages. In Italian, he is referred to as San Bernardo (De Felice, Dizionario dei Nomi Italiani, pp. 89-90 s.n. Bernardo). In English, he is referred to as Saint Bernard (Withycombe, p. 48 s.n. Bernard). In Irish Gaelic, he is referred to as San Bernartt ("Annals of the Four Masters, vol. 5", entry M1584--the character e is used to indicate a "long e" in some Gaelic scripts, rendered "ea" in English characters). No evidence has yet been found that the name Bernard (in any form) was adopted as an Irish Gaelic given name in period. Regardless, the form Bearnartt would be registerable since it is a documented reference to Saint Bernard. Therefore Bearnartt Ó Domhnaill would be registerable with no weirdnesses, as both the given name and the byname are documented as Irish Gaelic. Bernard Ó Domhnaill would be registerable, since Bernard is documented as English and Ó Domhnaill is documented as Irish Gaelic. An English and Irish Gaelic combination is registerable with one weirdness. Bernardo Ó Domhnaill would not be registerable even though Bernardo is documentable as a saint's name. The reason is that the form Bernardo is documented as Italian and Ó Domhnaill is Irish Gaelic. An Italian and Irish Gaelic combination is not registerable. So, in summary, given names which can be documented as the given name of a saint may be registered as a given name. The use of a name documented as a saint's name carries no weirdness in and of itself. The only weirdnesses that derive from using that name come from the lingual mix of the submitted form of the saint's name with the rest of the submitted name. [09/01, CL] |