Collected Precedents of the S.C.A.: Descriptive / Epithet Bynames

[returning the nickname the Arronious] Period nicknames tend to be straightforward and to use common words: Thynnewyt "thin [of] wit, stupid", le Wis "the wise", Badinteheved "bad in the head", le Wilfulle, le Proude "the proud", le Hardy "the courageous", le Sour, le Cursede, le Deuyle "the devil", Blaksoule "black-soul". The learned erroneous simply doesn't belong in this company. Although the adjective in question is not a past participle, we do not consider this case to be significantly different from those of Adam the Unexpected (East, returned 2/96) and Deirdre the Distracted (Ansteorra, returned 4/94), whose bynames were returned partly for being too abstract. Similarly, erroneous is too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname. (Aurelius the Arronious of Bikeleswade, 10/96 p. 8)

Given this ruling, the byname the Oblivious is unregisterable if oblivious is "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname". The only documentation provided for the byname the Oblivious in the LoI was:

Oblivious - Online Etymology Dictionary at www.geocities.com/etymonline/o1etym.htm states: oblivion - late 14c, from L. oblivionem (nom. oblivio) "forgetfulness," from oblivisci "forget" originally "evenout, smooth over," from ob "over" + root of levis "smooth." Oblivious is c. 1450, from L. Obliviosus "forgetful," from oblivio. It has lost its original sense, however, and now means simply "unaware."

While this information demonstrates that oblivious was a word in period, it does not address the issue of whether this term was in regular use in the common tongue. Oblivious is an abstract term of the same type as forgetful, erroneous, et cetera, which have been ruled to be "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname". Lacking evidence that oblivious was a common term applied to people in period, this byname is not registerable. [Hannibal the Oblivious, 12/2003, R-Calontir]

[returning the nickname the Arronious] Period nicknames tend to be straightforward and to use common words: Thynnewyt "thin [of] wit, stupid", le Wis "the wise", Badinteheved "bad in the head", le Wilfulle, le Proude "the proud", le Hardy "the courageous", le Sour, le Cursede, le Deuyle "the devil", Blaksoule "black-soul". The learned erroneous simply doesn't belong in this company. Although the adjective in question is not a past participle, we do not consider this case to be significantly different from those of Adam the Unexpected (East, returned 2/96) and Deirdre the Distracted (Ansteorra, returned 4/94), whose bynames were returned partly for being too abstract. Similarly, erroneous is too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname. (Aurelius the Arronious of Bikeleswade, 10/96 p. 8)

Given this ruling, the byname the Forgetful is unregisterable if forgetful is "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname". The only documentation provided for the byname the Forgetful in the LoI was "Forgetful has been registered a handful of times, most recently in 1994." Citing previous registration of a name element is not documentation for a submission. Therefore, no evidence was provided with the submission showing that forgetful is a period word, much less whether or not it was a common term applied to people in period. The College found evidence of forgetful as a word derived from Old English, but presented no support in commentary for forgetful not being "too far from the common tongue to be at all believable as a period byname". Lacking such evidence, this byname is not registerable. [Niobe the Forgetful, 05/2002, R-Atlantia]

[Returning Deirdre the Distracted.] While the LoI documented the word "distract" to very late period, no evidence was presented, nor could any of the commenters find any, to demonstrate that epithetical nicknames were constructed in this way from a fairly abstract past participle. Without such evidence, we are unable to register this. [4/94, p.15]

[Returning Deirdre the Distracted.] While the LoI documented the word "distract" to very late period, no evidence was presented, nor could any of the commenters find any, to demonstrate that epithetical nicknames were constructed in this way from a fairly abstract past participle. Without such evidence, we are unable to register this. [4/94, p.15]

The LoI documented the byname from Cateline de la Mor's article "Sixteenth Century Norman Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/cateline/norman16.html). However, this article gives forms found in a history book; we do not know the actual forms the names took in period.

Marie-Thérèse Morlet, in Étude d'Anthroponymie Picarde, dates the masculine le Blanc and feminine la Blanche to 1363 and 1404 respectively. The form La Blanche is found in 1421 in Paris, in Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "French Names from Paris, 1421, 1423, & 1438" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/paris1423.html). As the submitter requested a byname meaning 'the white', we have changed to to the feminine form La Blanche to make this byname have her desired meaning while being authentic for Norman.

The surname Leblanc is a likely 16th C form. However, by then it would be a surname, not a descriptive byname indicating that the submitter is 'the white'. [Emma La Blanche, 03/2004, A-Æthelmearc]

The article inn is a masculine form. We have changed it to the feminine in in order to register this name. [Æsa in kyrra, 03/2004, A-Calontir]

In German descriptive bynames, the article (such as die) matches the gender of the word it modifies, not the gender of the person being described. Since Spatz is a masculine word, it cannot take the feminine article die, making the form die Spatz grammatically incorrect. Moreover, the College of Arms was unable to find evidence that an article was used either with this form, or with other bynames derived from birds. Therefore, we have dropped the article die, and changed the spelling of the byname to Spatz, the documented form closest in sound to the submitted form. [Gy�el Spatz, 03/2004, A-Atlantia]

<Lách> is a modern (mid-20th c. and later) spelling of <lághach>, from early <lagach>. According to the Dictionary of the Irish Language Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 1990, s.v. <lagach>, the word was an adjective 'with vaguely laudatory sense (always alliterating) gentle, pleasant, etc.'.

As this word was only used in alliterating contexts (where the modified noun begins with L), it is clearly not the kind of generally used word that might have led to a byname. Therefore, barring evidence that it was used in a more general context, or as a byname rather than simply a poetic description, it is not registerable.

The submitter might wish to know the submitted given name is a Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) spelling. In the 9th or 10th C, the given name would have been spelled Sétna. [Séadna Lách, 03/2004, R-Middle]

Ironhair is a constructed byname, following patterns of English nicknames such as Irnefoot (Ironfoot) 1332, Irenbard (Ironbeard) 1316, and Irenherde (Ironhard) 1379 (examples found in "A Study of Middle English Nicknames I. Compounds, Jan Jonsjo). These names could refer to the bearer's black, coarse hair, or to their strength.

The spelling Iron- shows up by the 13th C as shown in Reaney & Wilson (p. 249 s.n. Iremonger) which dates Elyas le Ironmmongere to 1294. Reaney & Wilson (p. 217 s.n. Hare) gives this byname as occasionally being "A nickname from the hair" and dates Henry Mytehare, Myttehere to 1253-4, identifying the meaning as "mid the here 'with the hair'".

Based on these examples, a byname such as Ironhare or Ironhere would be a plausible 13th C byname indicating the person's hair color. As no evidence was presented to support the spelling -hair in a period byname, we have changed this byname to the form Ironhare in order to register this name. [Guilla Ironhare, 02/2004, A-Artemisia]

Iror is documented as an Old Norse masculine given name in Geirr Bassi (p. 12). As such, it is undated but appropriate for up to approximately 1100. The word insane was documented as an English word dated to 1550. Therefore, this name has one weirdness for combining Old Norse and Middle English and one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years.

Any changes we could make in order to register this name would involve a complete change of the byname. The College found a number of options that may interest the submitter. As there are multiple options, and the form gives no indication of what is most important to the submitter, we are returning this name and providing the information found by the College so that the submitter may choose how he wishes to proceed.

A ruling found in the January 1997 LoAR lists a number of period Middle English bynames with similar meanings to the Insane:

There are plenty of genuinely period ways to express the idea: Reaney & Wilson s.nn. Witless and Giddy have John Wytles 1327 and Walter le Gidye 1219 'possessed of an evil spirit; mad, insane', and in his Origin of English Surnames (289) Reaney notes Ralph Badinteheved 1275 'bad in the head'. [Morgaine Lynn (Alternate name of Morgaine the Insane), 01/1997 LoAR, A-East]

A name combining the Old Norse given name Iror with one of these bynames would have one weirdness for combining Old Norse and Middle English in a single name, but would not have a weirdness for temporal disparity since the elements would be dated less than 300 years apart. Therefore, such a name would be registerable with only one weirdness.

Silver Nautilus found an Old Norse byname with a similar meaning in Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "Viking Bynames found in the Landnámabók" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/vikbynames.html), which lists the byname inn óði as having the meaning 'mad, frantic, raging'. This byname would support a Lingua Anglica byname such as the Mad, but not the Insane. Iror inn óði would be the fully Old Norse form of this name. [Iror the Insane, 03/2004, R-Calontir]

[...] Various members of the College researched this name to aid the submitter. Nebuly described issues with the submitted form von Schwei�guth:

Also, while the LoI is correct in saying that von is German for "of" in names, it is only used to mean "from the place named...". In other words, we need to know that there is a place named Schwei�guth for this name to be correctly constructed. No supporting evidence for a place with that name was presented. In fact, the name Schwei�guth was not properly documented, since no source for the information was provided. It is dated to 1427 in whatever roll of arms (Wappenbuch) the submitter or Atlantian College used, but we are not told which one that was. The only citation I have for Schwei�gut(h) is dated to 1700 in Brechenmacher (q.v.), without the preposition. Since the name Schwei�guth means either "good blood" or "goods gained through sweat/blood", it is unlikely that this is anything other than a nickname.

The College was unable to find support for a period location named Schwei�guth. Lacking such documentation, the submitted form von Schwei�guth is not registerable. Therefore, we have dropped von from the byname in order to register this name. [Susanna Schwei�guth, 02/2004, A-Atlantia]

Morlet's Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille (p. 230 s.n. C{oe}ur) lists C{oe}urdacier, but gives no date for this name. The College found few period C{oe}ur- style bynames dated to period. Hercule Geraud, Paris sous Philippe-le-Bel: d'aprés des documents originaux et notamment d'aprés un manuscript contenant Le R�le de la taille imposée sur les habitants de Paris en 1292 (p. 72, col. 2) lists Jehan Cuer-de-Roy. Colm Dubh's article "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" (http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/paris.html) lists the name Hunout le fuiz Cuer-de-Lion. In this construction, the element Cuer-de-Lion would be his father's byname. Therefore, we have support for Cuer-de-Roy 'heart of [the] king' and Cuer-de-Lion 'heart of [the] lion' (more commonly translated into modern English as Lionheart).

No evidence was found by the College of the cited C{oe}urdacier 'heart of iron' as a period byname. However, even were such evidence found, it would not support a byname such as C{oe}urdeverre 'heart of glass' without evidence of a larger pattern of bynames formed as C{oe}urde- + [a material]. Bynames relating to battle, armoring, and smithwork appeared in a number of languages. The cited C{oe}urdacier could easily be one of these. Such bynames often did not have parallels for other industries.

Lacking evidence of a definitive pattern of C{oe}urde- + [a material] style bynames in French in period, a byname meaning 'heart of glass' is not supportable and is not registerable.

Evidence was found of C{oe}ur as a byname on its own in period. Additionally, Dauzat & Rostaing (p. 693 s.n. Vaire-sous-Corbie, subheader V.-St-Denis) lists a location modernly known as Vaire-St-Denis and dates de Vere to 1204 as a reference to this location. Geraud (p. 142, col. 1) lists an example of a locative byname of this type in the listing for Jehan de Ver, le péletier.

Based on this information, Angelique C{oe}ur de Vere is a registerable form of this name, though it would mean that Angelique C{oe}ur was a woman from Vere. We have made this change in order to register this name. [Angelique C{oe}ur de Vere, 02/2004, A-Caid]

For the by-name <inn bíldr>, I think the <inn> should be dropped. Reviewing all the by-names listed in Geirr Bassi, those with <inn> all appear to be adjectives ("the wise", "the fat", etc.) whereas weapon names such as <geirr>, "spear", appear by themselves. <Bíldr> is defined as "axe; an instrument for bleeding, blood-letter", with the second meaning being demonstrated in the kenning <bíldr sk�ru> ("blood-letter of battle", a sword), and as a proper noun appears as one of the names of �ðinn as well as a human personal name.

Landnámabók has two examples of this by-name

ch. 87: <Sigmundr kleykir son �nundar bílds> (Sigmundr kleykir, son of �nundr bíldr)

ch. 100: <�órgrímr bíldr> (the brother of �nundr bíldr)

Lacking evidence that inn would be added to a byname of this type, we changed the submitted byname to the documented form bíldr in order to register this name. [Svarðkell bíldr, 02/2004, A-Caid]

The submitter has misinterpreted the documentation for the byname from Bahlow (s.n. Unruh). The complete entry appears as follows:

Unruh (LGer. Unrau [unrest]), also: von Unruh: 'troublemaker' (Nicclos Unru, Liegnitz 1390, Unrowe, Hildesheim 1368).

The misinterpretation is the result of incomplete translation into English by Gentry. The von at the end of the first line of the entry should have been translated to from, since it is used to indicate the etymology of the byname, and not as part of a byname construction.

The particle von is used in locative bynames that refer to specific placenames, for example von Köln meaning 'of Cologne'. Lacking evidence of Unruh as a German placename in period, the byname Von Unruh is not registerable.

A grammatically correct, and registerable, form of this name would be Jörg Unru or Jörg Unrowe. However, as the submitter allows no changes to his given name, we must return this submission. [Jörgen Von Unruh, 02/2004, R-Æthelmearc]

The byname ulfsvina 'wolf's friend' was submitted as a constructed byname formed from elements found in Geir T. Zo�ga, A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic (http://www.northvegr.org/zoega/). This source is a dictionary, not a name resource. While useful, it must be remembered that not every word in this source was applied to humans or would have been used as descriptive bynames in period. Some adjectives may never have been applied to a living creature. Some may have only applied to gods or mythical beasts in sagas or mythology. Others may have, indeed, been used to describe humans.

Therefore, while the submitted documentation could support the plausibility of ulfsvina as a word in Old Icelandic, it does not necessarily provide evidence that such a word would have been used as a descriptive byname for humans in period.

To determine the plausibility of ulfsvina as a descriptive byname, it must be compared to descriptive bynames known to have been used by humans in period. While the LoI noted that Geirr Bassi lists the descriptive byname barnakarl 'friend to children', no documentation was presented and none was found that a byname constructed as [animal] friend would have been used as a descriptive byname applied to humans in Old Norse. Lacking such evidence, ulfsvina is not registerable.

As the submitter requested authenticity for "Norse/Icelandic", she may wish to know that Thyra is a modern English rendering of the Old Norse feminine given name Þyri. There is some evidence that Thyra may have also appeared in late-period Danish. However, from the information that the College was able to find, the form Thyra is not authentic for the Old Norse period. [Thyra ulfsvina, 01/2004, R-Outlands]

The given name Lúta was cited with the incorrect accent on the u. Also, Valla- is a byname meaning 'field' that is prepended to a given name: in this case, as Valla-Lúta. We have made these corrections. [Valla-Lúta Kolladóttir, 12/2003, A-Middle]

The submitter requested authenticity for "Viking / Norse" and allowed minor changes. She also allowed no holding name. However, the LoI included none of this information.

We would remind submission heralds that proper summarization of forms, including changes allowed by the submitter and requests for authenticity, is required as part of the LoI. Improper summarization of a submission is cause for return of that submission. The College of Arms has a limited amount of time and all of us are volunteers. Asking the College to evaluate names based on incomplete or entirely missing data is both unfair to the College and a disservice to the submitter.

The submitted byname Hvithestr was submitted as a combination of two descriptive bynames found in Geirr Bassi, hvít 'white' (p. 23) and hestr 'horse' (p. 22). The most often cited example of the an Old Norse descriptive byname of the form [color] + [animal] is rauðrefr, found in Geirr Bassi (p. 26). Geirr Bassi gives the meaning of 'red fox' for this name. However, this byname and meaning have been found to be an error. Via italics, he indicates that this byname came from the Landnámabók. However, the Landnámabók does not have an example of any person with that byname. It seems to be a typo for rauðnefr 'red-nose'. When an earlier submission referred to the byname rauðrefr listed in Geirr Bassi, Gunnvör silfrahárr found this information:

Interestingly enough, I just went through the Old Icelandic version of Landna'mabo'k (see http://www.snerpa.is/net/snorri/landnama.htm) and I *did not* find a single instance of <rau{dh}refr>. I then searched the whole Netu'tga'fan website and the term does not occur in *any* of the sagas or chronicles they have up -- and that includes almost all of them.

Looking carefully through Landna'mabo'k, however, in chapter 92 I *did* find <Þo'rsteinn rau{dh}nefr>, son of <Hro'lfr rau{dh}skeggr>. This leads me to strongly question whether <rau{dh}refr> may not actually represent a typo for the by-name meaning "red-nose"! Cleasby-Vigfusson also does not list the <rau{dh}refr> compound under either <refr> or <rau{dh}r>.

As this information removes support for the byname rauðrefr in Geirr Bassi, we are left with no confirmed examples of descriptive bynames of the form [color] + [animal] in Old Norse. One commenter reported an example of rauðbekri 'red ram' as appearing in the Landnámabók, but the information provided was incomplete and we were unable to find the byname in the online version of the Landnámabók. Further, as stated in a previous ruling:

A pattern of anything cannot be derived from a single example. It takes multiple examples--the more examples found, the more likely it is that the theorized pattern is accurate. [Annalies Maria von Marburg, 09/01, A-Caid]

Lacking solid evidence of a clear pattern of descriptive bynames of the form [color] + [animal] in Old Norse, there is no support for the submitted Hvithestr as a plausible descriptive byname in Old Norse. [Kristin Hvithestr, 12/2003, R-West]

The adjective <mjór> (masculine) or <mjó> (feminine) means "thin, slim, tapering, narrow" (Cleasby-Vigfusson, p. 433, http://penguin.pearson.swarthmore.edu/~scrist1/scanned_books/png/oi_cleasbyvigfusson/b0432.png). It occurs in the by-names <mjóbeina> and <mjóbeinn>, "slim-leg" (also in (Cleasby-Vigfusson, p. 433).

The masculine variant was <mjóbeinn>, as seen in Landnámabók ch 40 where it occurs as the by-name of <Þrándr mjóbeinn>.

The feminine variant was <mjóbeina>, found in Kormáks saga ch 15 for <Steinvör mjóbeina Oddsdóttir>:

Maður hét Oddr. Hann bjó í Tungu. Það er í Bitru. Dóttir hans hét Steinvör, v�n og vel að sér. Hún var kölluð mjóbeina.

[There was a man named Oddr. He had his farm at Tunga, in Bitra. His daughter was called Steinvör, a pretty girl and well set up. She was called mjóbeina, "slim-leg".]

References:

Cleasby, Richard and Guðbrandr Vigfusson. An Icelandic-English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon. 1957.

Landnámabók (The Book of Settlements). http://www.snerpa.is/net/snorri/landnama.htm Netútgáfan Website.

Landnámabók. T. Ellwood, trans. The Book of the Settlement of Iceland (Kendal: T. Wilson. 1898). http://www.northvegr.org/lore/landnamabok/index.php

Kormáks saga. http://www.snerpa.is/net/isl/kormaks.htm Netútgáfan Website.

Kormáks saga. Trans. as "The Life and Death of Cormac the Skald" by W.G. Collingwood & J. Stefansson (Ulverston, 1901). Online Medieval and Classical Library (OMACL), University of California Berkeley. 1995. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/OMACL/Cormac/

We have changed this byname to the feminine form found by Gunnvör in order to register this name. [Svana mjóbeina, 11/2003, A-Meridies]

The byname in Boghanna Bernaig was submitted as a constructed byname meaning '[of] the Broken Bow'. This phrase combines elements in Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) forms (in and Bernaig) with an element in an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) or Modern (c. 1700 to present) form (Boghanna). The name Seamus was brought into use in Ireland by the Anglo-Normans. By the time it came into use among Gaels, the language in use was Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700). Therefore, we have changed this byname to a fully Early Modern Irish Gaelic form to meet his request for authenticity.

Additionally, the submitted Boghanna means 'bows'. All of the period descriptive bynames found so far refering to a weapon (axe, spear, etc.) use a singular word for a weapon rather than a plural. The Early Modern Irish Gaelic word for 'bow' is Bogha. Effric Neyn Ken3ocht Mcherrald explains:

Since Early Gaelic <in> (Strachan, _Old-Irish Paradigms_) and modern Scottish Gaelic <an> (Dwelly) in genitive masculine singular lenite, EMIr <an> should also lenite what follows.

Therefore, a byname meaning '[of] the bow' in Early Modern Irish would be an Bhogha, with '[of] the broken bow' being an Bhogha Bhearnaigh. Effric also provided a rough approximation for a pronunciation of this byname. We have included it her as a courtesy for the submitter:

It would be pronounced very roughly \ahn VOH-ghah VAIR-nee\ (or with a vowel rather like the one in <egg> or <vet> instead of \AI\; in very late period <-ghah> can also get pronounced as \-ah\, \ahn VOH-ah VAIR-nee\).

He can't be Barbarossa. It's the specific name of a very famous person. (KFW, 13 Aug 72 [32], p. 3)

While this ruling has never been explicitly overturned, Barbarossa has been registered several times. As it is a simple descriptive byname meaning "red beard", it is registerable, and not presumptuous.

This byname is also not unique to Frederick Barbarossa, as noted in a comment appended to the above precedent in "Precedents of the S.C.A. College of Arms: Volume II - The Early Years" (http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents/early/earlydayscombined.html):

[Actually, Barbarossa is a descriptive surname meaning "red beard." It was borne by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, and by the Turkish corsair Khair ad-Din and his brother.]

Nebuly provided information about the elements in this name:

[...]

The submitter has erred in choosing a byname meaning "the dark." The word �ntuneric means "dark" in the sense of twilight, or a lack of illumination, not in the sense of color. I'd expect to find cel negru as the correct form. My suggestion then is to register Dragos cel Negru, if the client allows.

As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed this name to the form suggested by Nebuly in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Dragos cel Negru, 10/2003, A-Artemisia]

The Old Norse byname gullskeggr 'gold-beard', cited in the LoI, shows a physical description referring to the color of a man's beard. It does not support an Old Norse byname constructed [gold] + [animal]. Gunnvör silfrahárr provided a copious list of Old Norse bynames referring to animals and summarized her findings:

On the byname <gullhrafn>, if we examine the recorded bynames from sources such as Landnámabók and the runic inscriptions, those that do contain animal names are overwhelmingly the animal name only. Otherwise the animal name is combined with a word describing a body-part. There are no <animal + adjective> or <adjective + animal> by-names in these sources:

Lacking evidence that gullhrafn is a plausible byname in Old Norse, it is not registerable. [Æsa gullhrafn, 10/2003, R-Atenveldt]

Terrien is a French byname, "man of the earth," which even in a very early period (5th to 9th C.) would suggest a common profession of the time, such as farmer (Bahlow, p. 566 s.n. Terre).

However, the College was unable to find this entry in Bahlow. Also, they found no support for Terrien except as a modern surname. Lacking evidence that Terrien is a plausible byname in period, it is not registerable.

No documentation was provided in the LoI for the byname the Goth and the College found no support for the Goth as a plausible byname in period. Lacking such evidence, this byname is not registerable. [Ricchar Terrien the Goth, 10/2003, R-Atenveldt]

We have corrected the misplaced accent in the given name. Also, the article inn is a masculine form. We have changed it to the feminine in in order to register this name. [Máría in sléttmála, 09/2003, A-Meridies]

The byname Agrissa was documented as the feminine form of a masculine hypothetical byname derived from the word agrios 'wild.' This byname has several problems. First, there is no evidence that agrios was used as a byname. The College was able to document Agrios as a masculine given name, but not as a byname. Patronymic bynames were occasionally used in Byzantine Greek. However, lacking evidence as to the form that a patronymic byname formed from the masculine name Agrios would take or whether such a construction is temporally compatible with this name, the element Agrissa is not registerable.

This submission justified Agrissa by referencing bynames that describe aspects of a person's character. However, the examples provided show bynames meaning 'of good character' and 'peaceful', which are not sufficiently similar to 'wild' to support a byname meaning 'wild'.

In addition, the element Agrissa is incorrectly formed. The feminine form of the adjective agrios is agrina, and a byname formed from would be expected to take the same form. The example that the submitter used to form Agrissa was an irregular form and would not apply to a feminine form of the word agrios.

As the submitter does not allow major changes, we were not able to drop the element Agrissa in order to register the name. [Màiri ni Raghallaigh, 09/2003 LoAR, R-Æthelmearc]

The given name appears on the cited list as Benef{s,}e, rather than with the finial "a". [...]

My article does not show "al-Raschid" as a masculine cognomen; the form there is al-Rashid, without the "c". [...] Al-Rashida would be the expected feminine form in Arabic, but I do not know whether Turkish feminized names by the same method.

Based on this information, Benef{s,}e al-Rashida is a registerable form of this name. The submitter requested authenticity for Turkish. Lacking evidence that the Arabic byname al-Rashida would have been used in Turkish, this form is not authentic for the submitter's requested culture. [Benef{s,}a al-Raschida, 09/2003 LoAR, R-Atlantia]

There was some discussion about whether the element Bháin should include lenition, or whether it should not include lenition and take the form Báin. The "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 4, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005D/), entry M1453.6, lists an example of the byname Bán 'white' used as a descriptive byname for a man's father: Eoghan mac Domhnaill Bháin Ui Raighilligh. As this example has the descriptive byname lenited, we have registered it in the lenitied form Bháin. [Lochlainn mac Faoláin Bháin, 08/2003 LoAR, A-�thelmearc]

If you're attached to the word "ravenhammer" and don't care about what it actually means, there is a way to use it. "hamarr" was a word for "a hammer-shaped crag, a crag standing out like an anvil." It's common in place names throughout Iceland and Norway. "Hrafn" is also found in placenames in the same area. Thus, it would be possible to create a place-name "Hrafnahamarr," or "raven's crag." You could be "Thorfinnr at Hrafnahamri," which means "Thorfinn at Raven's Crag." You could also use the name "Thorfinnr Hrafnahamaringr," which translates roughly as "Thorfinn Ravencragger."

This report contains no indication regarding where the information given above was found. Additionally, there is no indication that the element hamarr appeared in placenames in period. Given both of these issues, the submitted report is not sufficient to support Hrafnahamaringr as a plausible period byname in Old Norse. [Thorfinnr Hrafnahamaringr, 08/2003 LoAR, R-Calontir]

Therefore, we are upholding the current policy of requiring descriptive bynames in Old Norse to be registered in lowercase. The exceptions to this policy are (1) pre-pended descriptive bynames and (2) descriptive bynames based on proper nouns.

In this case, the byname Eyverska, refers to the Orkney Isles and falls into second category above, "descriptive bynames based on proper nouns". Therefore, this byname does not need to be put into lowercase. [Margrét Eyverska, 07/2003 LoAR, A-Atlantia]

There is also a Gaelic descriptive byname Fionn 'fair' (referring either to hair color or complexion). When used as a woman's descriptive byname, it lenites, taking the form Fhionn. A woman named Aine who has fair hair or a fair complexion could be referred to as Aine Fhionn.

As the submitter allows any changes, we have passed this name using the descriptive byname Fhionn, rather than the patronymic byname inghean Fhionn, as the descriptive byname form is closer to the submitted form of this name. [Aine Fhionn, 07/2003 LoAR, A-Ansteorra]

The documentation was not adequately summarized on the LoI: it is not sufficient to say that a name element is found on a book, we need to know what is said. As the College did not provide independent evidence, we have to return this as per the May [2000] LoAR cover letter. [Adelicia of Caithness, 03/2001, R-Caid]

As a reminder, inadequate summarization will continue to be a reason for return. In this case, the College provided no support for the Instigator as a plausible byname in period. Lacking support for the Instigator as a byname in period, this byname is not registerable. As the submitter allows no changes, we were unable to drop the problematic element in order to register this name. [Arthur Daniels the Instigator, 07/2003 LoAR, R-Atenveldt]

The term Judenfreund is so closely associated with its pejorative usage under the Nazi regime that any period documentation for it (and I did not find any obvious examples) would not redeem it. It was one of Hitler's favorite epithets and was applied to non-Jews who slept with Jews, non-Jews who defended or sheltered Jews, etc. Identification as a Judenfreund under the Third Reich opened you up not only to contumely but also could be a ticket to the concentration camps.

Given the use of this term in Nazi Germany, it violates RfS IV.4, "Offensive Political Terminology", which states:

Terminology specifically associated with social or political movements, or events that may be offensive to a particular race, religion, or ethnic group will not be registered.

Even if used without prejudice in period, such terms are offensive by their modern context. Thus, names that suggest participation in pogroms or repressive movements, like Judenfeind, which is a period German name meaning enemy of the Jews, may not be used.

The submitted documentation was inadequately summarized on the LoI, which stated:

The submitter's originally submitted name, Erik Eld-hjörtr is not supportable, so we are going with his second choice. Hjörtr is found on p.11 of Bassi; the byname Eldr is found in the Landnámábok, and Eld- would be the prefix form. Erik is found on p.9 of Bassi; the patronymic is formed normally. He wishes a Viking name from the period of the Rus expansion.

This submission included a letter from Gunnvör silfrahárr (formerly Gunnora Hallakarva) which provided support for some elements in the submitted name. However, since Gunnvör's letter was not summarized in the LoI, that documentation could not be judged by the College. Therefore, the submitted name must be judged according to the documentation presented to the College in the LoI, along with other information found by the College during the commentary process.

Hj{o,}rtr and Eiríkr, not Erik as stated in the LoI, are found in Geirr Bassi as masculine given names. A man named Eiríkr whose father was Hj{o,}rtr would be Eiríkr Hjartarson. A man named Hj{o,}rtr whose father was Eiríkr would be Hj{o,}rtr Eiríksson.

The byname eldr 'fire' is also found in Geirr Bassi. Eld- was submitted as a theorized prefix form of this byname. However, not all Norse bynames had prefix forms. Gunnvör's letter listed some names that included Eld- as a protheme in the name (for example, Eldgrímr and Eldjárn), though no examples of Eld- as a byname prepended to a given name (such as in the theorized Eld-Hj{o,}rtr). Lacking evidence that eldr would have been used in a prefix form, Eld- is not registerable as a byname.

Therefore, registerable forms of this name are Eiríkr eldr Hjartarson and Hj{o,}rtr eldr Eiríksson. As the first is the closer of these to the originally submitted name, we have changed this name to that form in order to register this name. [Eiríkr eldr Hj{o,}rtsson, 06/2003 LoAR, A-West]

Ze'ev is from Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 4, pg. 538; under the header Benjamin Ze'ev ben Mattathias of Arta who was a businessman from the early 16th century. A modern Hebrew dictionary gives Ze'ev as meaning "wolf".

Aryanhwy merch Catmael forwarded commentary regarding this name from Julie Stampnitzky:

<Ze'ev>: It's not clear that <Ze'ev> was used as a given name in period. In the example of <Benjamin Ze'ev>, it may be a literary alias. (See Academy of Saint Gabriel Report 1966 [http://www.s-gabriel.org/1966].) Note that <Benjamin Ze'ev> (or <Binyamin Ze'ev>, to give fully Hebrew form) can also be read as a Hebrew phrase meaning "Benjamin is a wolf"; this phrase occurs in the Bible, Genesis 49:27. Because of the Biblical reference, the double name <Binyamin Ze'ev> became popular post-period. On the other hand <Yosef Ze'ev> is not a meaningful combination. Even if the particular double name <Binyamin Ze'ev> was used in period, it doesn't necessarily show that <Ze'ev> would have been used in other combinations.

[...] <Yosef ben Ami> would be a fine early-period name."

Therefore, the only evidence we have of the use of Ze'ev in period is the cited example of it in the compound given name Benjamin Ze'ev which derives from a specific Biblical reference. (In a similar manner, the name Jean Baptiste derived from the Biblical reference to John the Baptist. Baptiste was not originally used as a given name on its own and would not have made sense when used in combination with a different given name at that time.) Lacking evidence that Ze'ev would have been used as a given name or byname on its own in period, or that it would have been used in a compound given name other than the cited Benjamin Ze'ev, the submitted combination Yosef Ze'ev is not registerable.

As the submitter allows any changes, we have dropped Ze'ev in order to register this name. [Yosef ben Ami, 06/2003 LoAR, A-West]

Therefore, the main use of the word healer in period is as a synonym for Saviour and calling a person the Healer in period would typically have been interpreted as calling them the Saviour, a claim which violates RfS VI.2 "Names Claiming Powers", which states that "Names containing elements that allude to powers that the submitter does not possess are considered presumptuous."

Regarding the modern meaning "One who heals (wounds, diseases, the sick, etc.); a leach, doctor; also, one who heals spiritual infirmities" (OED, s.n. Healer), this is, at best, a rare meaning for healer in period and no evidence has been found that healer was used as an occupational byname in period. As such, the submitted byname the Healer falls into the same category as Oakencask, which appears in the precedent:

Since the Oxford English Dictionary first dates the term cask to the middle of the 16th century, and there are period descriptive names for barrelmakers, such as Tunn/Tunnewrytte, we find Oakencask highly unlikely. [James Oakencask the Just, 06/99, R-Atenveldt]

As there are documented period descriptive bynames for people who practiced medicine (see Reaney & Wilson s.nn. Barber, Blood, Dubbedent, Farmery, Leach, Leachman, Letcher, Myer, Nurse, Pestel, Physick, Sucker, Surgenor, Surgeon), and the primary meaning of healer in period was as a synonym for Saviour, this byname is highly unlikely to have been used in period. Therefore, as with the example of Oakencask cited above, this byname is not registerable.

As there have only been 5 registrations of the byname the Healer (with the last being in 1988), this byname does not have the same level of popularity as other bynames such as the Wanderer necessary for an element to be SCA compatible. [Kaires the Healer, 06/2003 LoAR, R-Caid]

Longshafts -attached letter of explanation stating his arrows in archery are long and feels that the longshafts should be considered as a by-name

This statement, along with the attached letter, provides no evidence that Longshafts is a reasonable period byname. Lacking such evidence, it is not registerable.

Aryanhwy merch Catmael found examples of names using Long- with the name of a weapon or tool:

Reaney & Wilson s.nn. Longspey, Longstaff have some useful entries:

<Lungespee> 1166; <Longespee> 1219; <Langspey>, <Longspey> 1298; <Longspy> 1375
from "long sword"

<Langknyf'> 1332
from "long knife"

<Langstirap> 1183
from "long stirrup"

<Langstaf>, <Longstaf> 1210
from "long staff"

These support the construction <long> + <weapon/tool>.

Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Sharparrow) date Robert Sharparu to 1364, John Scherparowe to 1448, and William Sharparrow to 1568. From these examples, Longarrow is a reasonable English byname in the 16th C. We have changed the submitted byname to this form in order to register this name. [Aodhan Longarrow, 05/2003 LoAR, A-Ealdormere]

Does Nevetség mean "foolish, harlequin, laughable?" The LoI has documented its translation using a Finnish web site, which is not necessarily the best option. A better source is the respected Hungarian-English dictionary by Magay & Országh, who translate nevetség as a noun meaning "jeering, mockery, derision," with related expressions relating to ridicule.

There is no suggestion here that this word could refer to a harlequin, and so it is not equivalent to the LoI's translation as jester/joker. It should be noted that the LoI has actually given the translation of the adjectival form nevetséges, meaning "ridiculous, laughable, funny." Neither form appears as a byname in Kázmér's Dictionary of Old Hungarian Surnames, nor is there any byname listed there from this root. I have not found a period byname with the submitter's (apparent) desired meaning, and there may not be a Hungarian word meaning jester. Országh does give udvari bolond as the translation for "jester", and that phrase means "court madman." The closest period byname that I find is Bolond, a word that can mean jester, but that Kázmér translates as "lunatic, madman."

Lacking evidence that Nevetség(es) is a plausible period Hungarian word, much less a plausible period Hungarian byname, Nevetség(es) is not registerable. [Aneirin Nevetség(es), 04/2003 LoAR, R-Trimaris]

Nebuly found information information regarding the elements in this name:

The name Jan (John) appears in Polish at least as early as 1202 (SSNO, s.n. Jan), and is one of the most common Polish names for the next several centuries. Rymut documents Starszy to 1417 (s.n. Stary), and it does mean "the elder/older" as given in the LoI.

The word podró{z dot above}nika is the feminine form of podró{z dot above}nik, and so is grammatically out of place in an otherwise masculine name. I can find no evidence that this was a period byname, and think it unlikely a person would be known by two descriptive bynames. The only byname I've found with the submitter's intended meaning is Wandrownyk (SSNO, s.n. W{e,}drownik), but again I think the name "The older John, the wanderer" is unlikely for having two descriptive bynames.

This name would be registerable as Jan Starszy 'John the elder' or as Jan Wandrownyk 'John the wanderer'. However, both of these options are major changes. As the submitter did not allow major changes, we must return this name. [Jan Starszy Podró{z.}nika, 04/2003 LoAR, R-East]

While the Dictionary of the Irish Language Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials (s.n. Luch) shows that the word luch is period, this entry does not show any examples of luch used in a descriptive byname. Descriptive bynames based on animals are extremely rare in Gaelic. At this point, only a handful have been dated to period, specifically Cu 'wolf', Sinnach 'fox', Damán 'little stag, little ox', and Rón 'seal' (which may be unique to Áed Rón). It is important to note that none of these animals are rodents. The return of this submitter's previous name stated in part:

In a broader sense, no evidence was presented and none was found that any type of rodent would have been included as a root in [...] a descriptive byname. Lacking such evidence, this name is not registerable. [Eileen ingen Dubh-luchag, LoAR December 2001, R-An Tir]

No documentation was provided for the current submission and none was found to show that a descriptive byname formed from the name of a rodent is reasonable in Gaelic. Lacking such evidence, the byname in Luch is not registerable.

As the submitter noted that the meaning 'the Mouse' is most important to her, she may be interested in an English byname with this meaning. Bardsley (p. 544 s.n. Mouse) dates Roger Mus to 1273, John le Mous to 1302, Richard Mowse to 1550, and Richard Mouse to the first year of the reign of Queen Mary. [Eileen in Luch, 03/2003, R-An Tir]

The client would like to have the epithet "the silent" (in order of preference) in Ladino, Galician, Castilian, Hebrew, or English. [...] A consult in a Ladino dictionary, indicates that el akedado, el kayado, or el silensyozo would be possibilities, but we do not have the knowledge base here to decide between those options.

Clarion found support for this type of byname (though without a particle such as el): "Diez Melc�n has Alegre (mirthful) and Recio (rude)." Siren provided information regarding the terms listed on the LoI in our period (though not as early as the submitter's desired 10th C):

<Silento> is not correct. The latter two cited Ladino words match up with the two standard Castilian Spanish words for 'silent' - <callado>, the past participle of <callar> 'to be silent' and <silencioso> 'silent'. Each is documented to at least 1650 (the former is found throughout period, the latter in the grey period). I'd make this <el Callado> (just <Callado> would be even more likely). I know nothing really about 16th century Ladino, but would bet that at that time the spelling (when in Roman letters - it was also written with Hebrew letters) was not that different from Castillian.

We have changed this byname to Callado, as recommended by Siren, to match the submitter's desired meaning and language. [Zacarias Callado, 03/2003, A-Middle]

No evidence was presented to show that Edera was used in a byname in Italian in period or that edera was used as an Italian word in period. The College found that edera is the modern Italian word for 'ivy' and that it derives from the Latin word hedera. Therefore, it is plausible to assume that edera was a period word in Italian. Fucilla (pp. 76-78, 79-82, 97) shows bynames derived from the names of flowers, garden vegetables, and other plants. In these cases, the bynames do not use a particle. While Fucilla lists no surnames meaning 'ivy', Siren found listings on the Web for people in modern Italy with the surname dell'Edera, which means 'of the ivy'. Given all of this information, a byname deriving from Edera is plausible enough as a period name that it may be registered. We have registered this name using dell'Edera, because it is a demonstrated surname using Edera and it is closer than Edera to the appearance and meaning of the originally submitted di Edera. [Isabella dell'Edera, 03/2003, A-Outlands]

Submitted as ...the Brown-Eyed, English bynames were not formed from adjectival past participles. We have substituted the documented form. (Elisabeth Browneye, LoAR September 1994, p. 10)

Reaney & Wilson (p. 203 s.n. Graybeard) date Ralph Greyeye to the 13th Century. We would have changed this name to Silvana Greyeye in order to register this name. However, the change from the submitted English Sylvana to the documented French Silvana is a change in language, and so is a major change. As the submitter only allows minor changes, we were unable to make this change in order to register this name. [Sylvana the Grey-Eyed, 03/2003, R-Trimaris]

The LoI also noted that Kingdom had been unable to find examples of Sinister or Left-handed as bynames in Reaney & Wilson or Bardsley. The byname meaning 'left-handed' is difficult to find in Reaney & Wilson because the byname became corrupted over time. It is found on p. 275 s.n. Leffan. This entry dates Robert Lifthand to 1204, Ralph Lefthand to 1258, and John Leftehand to 1390. The LoI did not specify whether the submitter preferred a byname that sounded like Left-handed rather than Sinister. Therefore, we have registered this name with the documented form Senestre. We have provided the information from Reaney & Wilson in case the submitter preferred a byname that sounds like Left-handed. [Edward Senestre, 02/2003 LoAR, A-�thelmearc]

Diez Melcón, pg. 274, lists a number of bynames derived from animals, so the use of Oso is not a problem. None of the examples, however, included the article.

Lacking evidence that bynames derived from animals in Spanish would contain the article el 'the', we have dropped this article in order to register this name. [Ricardo Oso, 02/2003 LoAR, A-Calontir]

The submitted form of the byname al-Zahir is a masculine form. Arabic descriptive bynames must match the gender of the given name. As the name Scheherazade is feminine, we have changed the byname to the feminine form al-Zahira in order to register this name. [Scheherazade al-Zahira, 01/2003 LoAR, A-East]

I would note that, while <Wildhare> is a very plausible English byname (given dated forms <Wildecat> 1176, <Wildebef> 1327, <Wildehog> 1246, and <Wyldraven> 1300, all R&W s.n. Wildblood), I'm not at all convinced that the structure is documentable to Anglo-Saxon times.

However, while these examples support a byname such as Wildehare in Middle English, these examples do not demonstrate a similar naming pattern in Old English. Lacking such evidence, Wildehara is not registerable as a byname in Old English.

Gösta Tengvik, Old English Bynames (p. 358 s.n. Wilde), dates Wilde to 1066 and Wild to the Domesday Book. Since the submitter requested authenticity for 9th C Saxon and allowed any changes, we have changed this name to Hlothere Wilde in order to make this name authentic for Anglo-Saxon England and to partially comply with the submitter's request for authenticity. Since we were not able to document these name elements specifically to the 9th C due to the scarcity of surviving Old English records, we were unable to confirm that this name is completely authentic for the submitter's requested time period. [Hlothere Wilde, 11/2002, A-Ansteorra]

<Víga-> (note accent) is found in the Landnamabok (and Geirr Bassi) as a prefixed byname meaning "battle"; the appropriate usage of such a byname would be the construction <Víga-Sigur�r>. <Hamarr> is not found in the Landnamabok, though <sleggja>, "sledge-hammer" is; however, I don't believe we have any evidence for the use of two descriptive bynames in Norse names. [...] [T]he following information from Academy of S. Gabriel report #2431, [...] discusses <hamarr> as a byname:

"The Old Norse word for "hammer," <hamarr>, does occur by itself as a byname; however, it was usually not used to refer to the tool. Rather, <hamarr> was often used in place names to denote a rocky crag, and bynames using <hamarr> most likely reflected that fact. Examples that we found are <gar�hamarr> 'cliff [near a] farm' and <vegghamarr> 'wall-hammer, precipitous cliff.' Only two bynames that we found appeared to use the word to refer to the tool: <dráttarhamarr> 'pull-hammer' 1240-1244, and <hnió�hamarr> 'riveting hammer' 1243. [2] We cannot say for sure that these last two bynames were used literally of someone who worked with such tools; it is just as likely that they were used metaphorically, likening the bearer in some way to such a tool."

[2] is Lind's Personbinamn. On second thought, if the client is more interested in something like <Vígahamarr>, he might be interested in <vegghamarr>.

Lacking evidence that Vigahamarr is a plausible byname in Old Norse, it is not registerable. As the submitter did not allow major changes, we were unable to change this name to a registerable form since the changes suggested significantly affected the meaning and/or sound and appearance of the name. [Sigur�r Vigahamarr, 10/2002, R-East]

The byname blásleggja was submitted as a constructed byname combining the elements blá- 'black' and sleggja 'sledge-hammer'. There are several issues with this construction. First, the color referred to by blá- is a blue-black. The color we normally refer to as black (the same one seen in a box of Crayola markers) is refered to by the Old Norse term svartr.

More of an issue is the construction itself. No evidence was found a byname would be formed as [color]+[tool] in Old Norse. Lacking such evidence, blásleggja is not registerable. As the submitter did not allow major changes, we were unable to change the byname to sleggja in order to register this name. [Ulfr blásleggja Bjórnsson, 10/2002, R-Meridies]

The submitter included several alternates for Faramach. Some of these had other meanings, but all were similar in pronunciation to the submitted Faramach. As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the byname to the Irish Gaelic Fearmac as it is the documentable name element with the pronunciation closest to the submitted Faramach. Fearmac is a constructed descriptive byname indicating the family branch Ui Fearmaic, which is listed in Woulfe (p. 695) and which appears in several entries in the "Annals of the Four Masters" (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005C/, http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005E/). An example of this type of descriptive byname appears in the "Annals of Connacht" (Mavis Cournane, Vibeke Dijkman, Ivonne Tummers, ed., "Annála Connacht" http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100011/), entry 1349.12, which lists the name Murcertach Riaganach Mag Aengusa. In this case, the descriptive byname Riaganach indicates the family branch Ui Riagain, which is also listed in Woulfe (p. 696). Fearmac is the form that a descriptive byname would take that refers to the family branch Ui Fearmaic. We have changed the descriptive byname to Fearmac to meet the submitter's desire for a byname whose pronounciation is similar to Faramach and to register this name. [Duncan Fearmac MacLeod, 09/2002 LoAR, A-Calontir]

There was also a good bit of discussion regarding whether the constructed byname was offensive. We are declining to rule on that issue at this time. [Styrkárr toti�jalfi, 09/2002 LoAR, R-An Tir]

We were unable to find examples of a woman's name in Scotland containing a descriptive byname (regardless of whether or not it was followed by a patronymic byname). As the submitter only allows minor changes, we were unable to drop the descriptive byname in order to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture. [Elspeth le Fayre filia Duncani, 08/2002, A-East]

The trouble, of course, with pulling a bunch of name elements out of various sources to match a basic construction from another language (here, the English "the blue-eyed maiden Chaninai") is that the grammar will be, in all likelihood, incorrect. Such is the case here. The preceding "byname" is unlike anything I've ever seen in Arabic usage.

As a general rule, descriptive bynames of this sort follow the 'ism rather than precede it.

al-Zarqa', already being in the feminine (the masculine is azrak, see Jaschke's English-Arabic Conversational Dictionary, pp. 312, 371), has all the gender specificity needed or used in Arabic. To say "the feminine blue-eyed maiden" is redundant; I doubt very much you'd find it in English. I can say for certain I've never seen it in Arabic.

The genealogical part of the name, bint Ibrahim ibn Rashid, is non-problematical, I believe even with the Aramaic given. It is not uncommon, for example, to find Hebrew names in Muslim Spain using the Arabic patronymic particles.

I could support registering the name as Chaninai al-Zarqa' bint Ibrahim ibn Rashid.

As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed this name to the form suggested by al-Jamal in order to register this name. [Chaninai al-Zarqa' bint Ibrahim ibn Rashid, 08/2002, A-Atenveldt]

The submitted byname l'Estranier is a masculine form of this French byname. Since the given name is feminine, the byname needs to be in a feminine form. Marie-Thérèse Morlet, Étude d'Anthroponymie Picarde (p. 417), dates Jehan l'Estranier (a man) to 1438 and Jehenne l'Estrennere (a woman) to 1324. We have changed the byname to the feminine form dated to 1324 in the example above in order to register the name. [Thomasina l'Estrennere, 08/2002, A-Lochac]

According to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, the ON term is Húnar, and they are referred to in written literature c. 900 A.D.

Therefore, the Hun is a Lingua Anglica form of húnar. Eiríkr húnar would be a fully Old Norse form of the first two elements in this name. [Eric the Hun of Alta, 07/2002, A-Atenveldt]

Metron Ariston found evidence of a Latin word, lucipetus, with this meaning:

To my great surprise, there is actually a Latin word for "light seeking" and, what is more, it occurs in a work that would be familiar to educated men for most of our period, the Etymologies or Origines of Isidore of Seville (560-636). It even has an antonym (lucifugus). Mind you, the term is applied to a fly by Isidore who was dealing with the natural world at that point [...]

As we have no evidence that lucipetus, or a different phrase meaning 'light seeker', would have been used to describe a human in period, a byname with this meaning is not registerable. If evidence were found that a byname with this meaning would have been been used to describe a human in period, then Theodericus Lucipetus would be a registerable form of this name. [Theodericus Lucem Quaeror, 07/2002, R-Atenveldt]

Reaney does not list Vigilant as an English surname, but the submittor argues that it is no more abstract than 'le Téméraire' (French for 'the Bold') that was used as an eptithet for a 15th century Duke of Burgundy (although no evidence was presented to show that this was used of him in his lifetime). According to the Oxford Learner's English/Greek Pocket Dictionary, the equivalent word in modern Greek is agrupnos. As to whether or not agrupnos (or an earlier variant) is an appropriate epithet, we must rely on advice from anyone in the College who knows something about Greek names and who wishes to enlighten us.

Metron Ariston found a descriptive byname that can plausibly have the Lingua Anglica form the Vigilant:

The modern Greek form noted on the Letter of Intent actually means "without sleep" (as in Sleepless in Seattle...) However, one could use [pi rho omicron mu nu theta {nu'} sigma] as and adjectival byname: Dareios Rossos Promethes. (Yes, this is cognate with and almost indistinguishable from Prometheus in both Greek and English. The name Prometheus actually referred to his forethought or wary mind.)

Therefore, Dareios Rossos the Vigilant is registerable since the Vigilant is a Lingua Anglica rendering of Promethes. Dareios Rossos Promethes may be an authentic form of this name. However, given the few resources available for Byzantine Greek, we were unable to confirm that a person would be referred to by two descriptive bynames simultaneously in a written name. Since there are so few resources currently available, we are giving the double descriptive byname the benefit of the doubt at this time. Future research may confirm or refute this construction. As the submitter did not allow major changes (except as noted for registerability), we did not change this name to a fully Greek form. [Dareios Rossos the Vigilant, 07/2002, A-Lochac]

<Eolalia> is an early period name in Spain, dated to 1146 in Menendez Pidal Órigines de Espa�ol; <Xerez> did not fall under Spanish rule until later. Moreover, the article is generally only used with a final byname (tacked onto a more typical byname). So, I'd expect <Eolalia Roja de Xerez>[...]

Clarion found other examples of these elements:

Diez Melcon, pg. 90, s.n. Johannes, lists an Eulalia Johannes in 1113. On pg. 174, s.n. Eulalius, he dates both an Eicta Eolaliz in 1067 and a Maria Eulaliz in 1114. Thus the given spelling should be fine. I could not find la roja in Diez Melcon, but I did find the descriptive byname Roio which also means red. I believe that la Roja (note capitalization) is fine for at least later Spain. The article "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" lists de Xerez as a locative byname. I did not find it in Diez Melcon. [...] Eolalia Roia should be very authentic for 12th century Leon.

Diez Melcon (p. 284 s.n. Sta. Eulalia) dates Rodrigo St. Olalia to 1221, showing an O- form of this name. It is forms of this type that survive in late period. Elsbeth Anne Roth's article "16th-century Spanish Women's Names" (http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/spanish.html) lists Olall as a feminine given name. Juliana de Luna's article "Spanish Names from the Late 15th Century" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/juliana/isabella/) lists Olalla. This article also lists two names including colors: Juanica (la negra) and Alonso el Negro. Therefore Eolalia Roia is an authentic form of this name for 12th C Leon. Olalla la roja and Olalla Roja de Xerez are authentic forms of this name for 15th C Castile. As this last form is closest to the submitted name, we have changed this name to that form to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Olalla Roja de Xerez, 06/2002, A-Trimaris]

Bahlow (p. 620 s.n. Wolf(f)) dates Ortlof der Wolf to 1300 and Elbel Wolf to 1365. This entry also lists (undated) Wei�enwolf 'Whitewolf' and zum grauen Wolf 'at the Gray Wolf' as house names. Brechemacher (p. 829 s.n. Wolf) dates Haus zum Wolf and Zum grauen Wolf to 1460. Therefore, registerable forms of this name include Melchior der Wolf, which uses a descriptive byname meaning 'the Wolf', and Melchior zum grauen Wolf. Given the undated example of Wei�enwolf, combined with the dated examples of zum grauen Wolf, a locative form such as Grauenwolf is also plausible. We would have changed the name to one of these forms in order to register the submitter's name, but changing the byname to any of these forms is a major change, which the submitter does not allow. In the first case, the byname is still a descriptive, but it lacks the element meaning 'gray'. Since dropping that element significantly alters the meaning, look, and sound of the byname, it is a major change. In the second and third examples, the byname retains the element meaning 'gray', but instead of describing Melchior as 'the Gray Wolf', it means that Melchior lives at or is from a place whose name means 'the gray wolf'. Since changing the byname from a descriptive byname to a locative byname significantly affects the meaning, it is a major change. [Melchior der Grauwulf, 06/2002, R-Atlantia]

Phoebus [...] is the usual name for the sun god in Roman mythology, sometimes alone and sometimes attached to the Greek name of the god (i.e., Phoebus Apollo). This name was well-known through the medieval and Renaissance period, which is why its adoption as a byname by Gaston Phoebus, Count of Foix, is generally considered a somewhat hubristic move. I suspect the "martyr" mentioned by the submitter is to be associated with that Phoebus excommunicated by the Council of Seleucia (www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-04/Npnf2-04-64.htm), but several other names in that listing are bynames and it is known that Phoebus was used in antiquity as a byname, though relatively rarely.

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]

An Old Norse patronymic byname formed from the given name Ívarr would be Ívarsson rather than Ívarrson. Geirr Bassi (p. 23) shows that the proper spelling of this byname is h{o,}ggvandi rather than h�ggvandi. We have made these corrections.

Changing the order of the bynames is a major change, which the submitter does not allow. Lacking documentation that the submitter approved this change, we have returned the byname order to the originally submitted order to remove this major change. In addition to the change in sound and appearance caused by the changing of the bynames, this change also changes the meaning of the byname in this case. The original order indicates that h{o,}ggvandi, meaning 'hewer' or 'herdsman', refers to Ívarr rather than his son Eiríkr. [Eiríkr Ívarsson h{o,}ggvandi, 05/2002, A-Middle]

Jonsjo deals with Middle English nicknames, not Old English so he is dubious for the tenth century. Moreover, the Oxford English Dictionary (s.n. heir) tells us that the English word heir in all its forms appears to be derived from French so it is unlikely as a combinant in the tenth century. On the other hand, Selten (Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal Names, Vol. II, p. 119) notes that the feminine name Leofwynn, though rare, does exist in Middle English, citing the forms Leofwena from 1186, Lewana from 1198, Lefwenna from 1209, Lefwen' from 1199 and Lewen from 1327.

From this information, Lewen Kyndheir would be an authentic 14th C English form of this name. However, lacking evidence of a 10th C Saxon form of the byname Kyndheir, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's desired time and culture. [Leofwynn Kyndheir, 05/2002, A-Æthelmearc]

(1) �órsteinn surts inn spaka (Thórsteinn Black the Wise) - Laxd�la saga (c. 1245), ch. 6. Ósk hét hin fjór�a dóttir �órsteins rau�s. Hún var mó�ir �orsteins surts hins spaka er fann sumarauka. [Ósk was the name of the fourth daughter of �órsteinn rau�r. She was the mother of �órsteinn surts inn spaka, who found the "Summer eke".]

(2) Ari prests hins fró�i (Ari the priest the wise) - Landnámabók ch. 83. �órsteinn Hallsson var fa�ir Gy�rí�ar, mó�ur Jórei�ar, mó�ur Ara prests hins fró�a. [�órsteinn Hallsson was the father of Gy�rí�r, who was the mother of Jórei�r, who was the mother of Ari prests hins fró�a.]

(3) �órolfr Mostrarskeggr - Eyrbyggja saga ch. 3 (prepended and appended by-names) Hrólfr var höf�ingi mikill og hinn mesti rausnarma�ur. Hann var�veitti �ar í eyjunni �órshof og var mikill vinur �órs og af �ví var hann �órólfr kalla�ur. Hann var mikill ma�ur og sterkur, frí�ur s�num og haf�i skegg miki�. �ví var hann kalla�ur Mostrarskegg. [Hrólfr was a mighty chief, and a man of the greatest largesse. He had the ward of Thór's temple there in the island, and was a great friend of Thór, and therefore he was called �órolfr. He was a big man and a strong, fair to look on, and had a great beard; therefore was he called Mostrarskeggr, and he was the noblest man in the island.

Given these examples, a name using two non-patronymic bynames in Old Norse is registerable so long as the bynames could reasonably be used to simultaneously describe the same person. In the case of the submitted name, the two bynames mean 'shrieking' and 'woman from the Orkney Islands'. These bynames have different meanings and could both have described the same person at the same point in her life. Therefore, this name is registerable. [�órdís gjallandi eyverska, 05/2002, A-Outlands]

Selten (The Anglo-Saxon Heritage in Middle English Personal Names, II, pp. 75) says of Ealdhun/Aldhun This name is well evidenced in Old English, though apparently rare after that period. He also notes one Henricus Aldun de Bukeham from 1250.

No documentation was found to support the 'r' in the submitted Aldrhund. As the submitter allowed no changes, we were unable to drop this letter in order to register the name. [Einarr Aldrhund, 04/2002, R-Calontir]

Close examination of the entry for Gulli in Lind indicates that it is [...] a byname meaning gold. Both the examples use it as a byname rather than a patronymic and it is specifically associated with the adjective gull meaning gold. This byname, frequently prefixive, as it also appears in Lind, is given as well in Geirr Bassi (The Old Norse Name, p. 22).

In addition to the undocumented element agrai, no documentation was found that a descriptive byname combining 'gold, golden' and 'fair' is plausible in Old Norse. Lacking such documentation, this name is not registerable. [Halla Gulliagra, 04/2002, R-Calontir]

Despite our high respect for [Name] and her expertise in [language] (it's what she does for a living), we have to have some idea of why she thinks it is O.K. to register this name form. Specifically we need to have documentation of the meaning and construction of the elements in this name, information not included on the letter of intent or on the forms. (Alisoun MacCoul of Elphane, LoAR 30 Sep 89, p. 14)

In the case of this name, had the missing documentation been provided, it would have been of little help since the submitter does not allow major changes. Changing the language of the byname is a major change, so we would not be able to change this to an Old Norse form even if the documentation had been provided. Lacking the supporting documentation, Longarm cannot be considered a Lingua Anglica translation of a Norse descriptive byname.

No documentation was provided and none was found for an English byname Longarm. Reaney & Wilson (p. 283 s.n. Longenow) date Wlter le Longebak ('long back') to 1332, Godric Langhand ('long hand') to c1095, and Reginald Lungeiaumbe ('long leg') to 1212-23 among others. These examples support long + [body part] as a descriptive byname in this time frame. Reaney & Wilson (p. 14 s.n. Armstrong) dates William Arm(e)strang to 1250 and gives the meaning of this byname as 'strong in the arm'. This example documents the use of arm in an English descriptive byname. Therefore, Longarm is a plausible descriptive byname in English. [Rognvald Longarm, 03/2002, A-Outlands]

"Al-Badr is a laqaab based on the given name Badr." But laqabs are not created from given names. They are sometimes related to given names (Rashid and al-Rashid, for example) but the one does not necessarily lead to the other.

The lady in question seeks to establish a name that will express the notion of mangler of names and to have the name expressed in terms of the French language. It is a matter of certainty that no such name can be historically documented, and we therefore do not seek such documentation.

Barring evidence that such an epithet is period, we are forced to return the name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR December 1996, p. 14)

Unfortunately, there is no evidence that such poetic expressions were actually used as bynames, which were much more down to earth. We therefore reaffirm the precedent set in the 9/94 return of Hrolfr sverö-Freyr (Atenveldt), in which Laurel declined to register a similar kenning with the following explanation:

The relevant entry in Gordon is sverð-Freyr, literally `sword-Frey'. The usual transliterations without the edh would be sverd-Freyr and Sverdh-Freyr. However, as the context of the poem from which the phrase is taken shows, sverð-Freyr is not a straightforward word for `warrior'; rather it is a kenning taken from a form of court poetry. It is quite different from the more straightforward, earthy examples of bynames shown in Geirr Bassi and other sources. Without evidence for the use of such fanciful bynames by real people, we are reluctant to register it here. (Talan Gwynek, LoAR January 1996, p. 25)