| Laurel: | Date: (year.month.date) | Precedent: |
| Shauna of Carrick Point | 2004.05 | The given name is documented as the name of a King of the Goths and dated to 410. Combined with the 16th C spelling of the surname, there is a more than 1000 year gap between the dates for the names. This is an unregisterable combination; in such cases either documentation must be found that lessens the dates between the names, or the name must be returned. In this case, documentation was found that lessens the gap in dates. Morlet, Les Noms de Personne sur le Territoire de l'Ancienne Gaule du VIe au XIIe Siecle dates Alaricus to the 12th C. This is a Latin form, but the vernacular would be Alaric. This leaves only a 400 year gap between the names; this is still one step from period practice, but it is registerable. [Alaric Wintour, 05/04, A-Caid] |
| Shauna of Carrick Point | 2004.03 | This name combines a 12th C placename with an otherwise 16th C name. However, this temporal disparity is only one step from period practice. A possible 16th century form this of name is Fergus MacCarlich of Earlistoune; this spelling of the locative is dated to 1553 in Black. [Fergus MacCarlich of Ercildune, 03/04, A-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Cyneswith is an Old English feminine given name dated to 656. Old English and Gaelic is registerable with a weirdness (see the discussion for Eithne of Cantwaraburg, registered in August 2002). In order to avoid a second weirdness for a temporal disparity, the byname would need to be dated no later than 300 years after the date for Cyneswith. Ó Corráin & Maguire (p. 85 s.n. Eithne) give Eithne as the name of a woman who died in 795 and who was the daughter of "Domnall Mide, the high-king". This reference supports Domnall as a mid to late 8th C name, less than 300 years after the date for Cyneswith. Therefore, the name Cyneswith ingen Domnaill would be registerable with a single weirdness for combining Old English and Old Gaelic in a name. [Cyneswith a bíth inghean Domnaill, 03/2004, R-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | Submitted as Odriana vander Brugghe, the submitter requested authenticity for Flanders and allowed minor changes.
Odriana was documented from Walraven van Nijmegen's article "Dutch Womens' Names before 1100" (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1336/name1100vr.html). The byname vander Brugghe is dated to 1465 in Loveday Toddekyn's article "Flemish Names from Bruges" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/docs/bruges/). As submitted, the elements of this name had a weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. In that amount of time, most languages in our period evolved and changed to some degree. Therefore, a name authentic for pre-1100 would likely have at least minor changes to spelling of the byname. A name authentic for 1465 would likely have at least minor changes to the given name. In this case, the College found information regarding authentic forms of this given name appropriate for late period. The submitted given name Odriana was only found in Walraven's article (dated to pre-1100). The form Adriana is found dated to 1391-1428 in Guntram von Wolkenstein's article "Vlaamse Vrouwennamen" 'Dutch Women's Names' (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/guntram/vlaamse.htm). Adriana is also found dated to 1589 in Loveday's article cited above. As the form Odriana seems to have fallen out of use by the 15th C (the date for the submitted byname), we have changed the given name to the form Adriana in order to make this name temporally consistent for a single time period in Flanders in order to meet the submitter's request for authenticity. [Adriana vander Brugghe, 03/2004, A-Æthelmearc] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | This name is being returned for a combination of linguistic and temporal compatibility issues.
Both elements of this name were documented from Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "Early Irish Feminine Names from the Index to O'Brien's Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae" (http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/irish-obrien.html). The author has requested that this article be withdrawn, as it does not distinguish between legendary names and names known to have been used by real people in history, and other articles are now available covering this area of interest. However, the College was able to find other documentation for these elements. As Colm Dubh's article, "The Ban-Shencus: A Dated Index", KWHS 2003 Proceedings (pp. 1-4), dates a Conandil to the 7th C, Conandil is registerable in that context. Going to the source for Tangwysytl's article cited above, and comparing these entries to those in annals, it is possible to identify that the men who had Glass as a byname lived in time periods that must be considered legendary. One appears in the "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 1, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100005A/) in entries M4291.1 and M4296.1, which roughly correspond to 903 B.C. and 898 B.C. The earliest example of a non-legendary man with Glas as a byname occurs in the 14th C. Lacking evidence that this byname was used during the Old Irish (c. 700 to c. 900) period, the Old Irish form Glass is not registerable. Based on this information, Conandil is supported as an Old Irish (c. 700 to c. 900) form of a name dated to the 7th C, and Glas is supported as an Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) byname dated to the 14th C. Therefore, this name has one weirdness for combining elements that are dated more than 300 years apart. A form of this name that would combine these documented forms would be Conandil Ghlas, which uses the documented form of this byname and adds lenition. However, it has been previously ruled that the differences between Early Modern Irish Gaelic and Middle Irish Gaelic are sufficient that a name mixing these forms of Gaelic carries a weirdness. Therefore, the form Conandil Ghlas would have a second weirdness for combining Early Modern Irish with Old Irish and, so, would not be registerable. [Conandil Glass, 03/2004, R-Northshield] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | This name is being returned for having two weirdnesses.
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:
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] |
| François la Flamme | 2004.03 | This name is being returned for having two weirdnesses: one for the lingual mix and a second for temporal disparity.
The documentation showed that the given name Ago was used as a Frankish name recorded in 974. Frankish is the dialect of Old High German spoken in what is today France. The byname Praunfalk is a Middle High German byname dated to 1560. Just as there is a weirdness for combining Old English with Middle English, or Middle Gaelic with Early Modern Gaelic, there is a weirdness for combining Old High German and Middle High German. Since the given name is dated to 974 and the byname is dated to 1560, this name also has a weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years between the elements. [Ago Praunfalk, 03/2004, R-Drachenwald] |
| 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. While documentation was presented showing that pious was a word in 1603, no documentation was presented and none was found that the word pious was used before 1600. Descriptive bynames using words documented only to late period or just post-period are problematic. By the 16th C, inherited surnames had replaced literal descriptive bynames. Therefore, it is highly improbable that (1) a literal descriptive byname would have been used circa 1600, and that (2) it would have used a word new to the English language. At this time, descriptive bynames of this type are registerable on a case by case basis depending upon the plausibility of the byname in question. As a result, this name combines a 10th C French name with a circa 1603 English descriptive byname. There is no weirdness for combining French and English in a name. Therefore, this name has a single weirdness for combining elements with a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years and is registerable. [Engelbert the Pious, 12/2003, A-Middle] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.12 | Submitted as Donnghal Buchanan, Donnghal is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form of a name found in Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) and Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) as Donngal. No evidence was found of this name used later than circa 1100. Lacking evidence that this name was in use when Early Modern Irish Gaelic was in use, we have changed this name to the Middle Irish Gaelic form Donngal in order to register this name.
Buchanan is a location in Scotland. It is found as a byname in Scots (a language closely related to English) and in Latin in period. Aryanhwy merch Catmael notes that "R&W s.n. Buchanan cite Black for <de Buchanan> c.1270, 1373, <Buchanan> 1506-82." Based on this information, the submitted form of this name combined a Gaelic given name dated no later than circa 1100 with a Scots byname found in that form in the 16th C. As a result, it had one weirdness for combining Gaelic and Scots in a name and one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. We have changed the byname to a 13th C form in order to remove the weirdness for temporal disparity in order to register this name. [Donngal de Buchanan, 12/2003, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | Submitted as Annya Allrasystir Úlfsdóttir, the submitted name combines a 16th C Russian given name with a pair of Old Norse bynames (appropriate for c. 1100 or earlier). As a result, this name has two weirdnesses: one for combining Russian and Old Norse in a name, and one for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. Having two weirdnesses, this name cannot be registered in the submitted form. The submitter gave permission to change her given name to the earlier Russian spelling Anna in order to remove the weirdness for temporal incompatibility. We have made this change.
We have lowercased the descriptive byname allrasystir 'everyone's sister' to use standard transliteration conventions. (See the Cover Letter for the October 2002 LoAR for more information.) [Anna allrasystir Úlfsdóttir, 11/2003, A-East] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.11 | Submitted as Skara Skye, the only evidence found for Skara was as an accusative form of the Old Norse masculine given name Skári. As a given name needs to be in the nominative case, we have changed the given name to the nominative form Skári, as allowed by the submitter, in order to register this name.
This name combines an Old Norse given name with the byname Skye, which may be considered either English or Scots (a language closely related to English). However, no support has been found for the spelling Skye before 1610:
Therefore, this name had two weirdnesses: one for combining Old Norse and English, and one for elements that are dated to more than 300 years apart. We have changed the byname to the form Skey in order to remove the temporal disparity and register this name. [Skári Skey, 11/2003, A-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.10 | Listed on the LoI as Cineád O' Hosey, this name was submitted as Cináed O' Hosey and two letters were transposed in the given name on the LoI. The submitted documentation supported the byname form O'Hosey rather than O' Hosey. We have made this change.
As submitted, this name combined the Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) Cineád with the Anglicized Irish byname O'Hosey, which was dated to the mid-16th C to the early 17th C. This name had one weirdness for combining Gaelic and Anglicized Irish in a name. There was a second weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years since the given name dates to pre-1200 and the byname dates to mid-16th C to early 17th C. We have changed the given name to the Early Modern Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form Cionaodh in order to remove the temporal disparity and register this name. [Cionaodh O'Hosey, 10/2003, A-Ansteorra] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.10 | Submitted as Cináed MacFie, this name combined the Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) given name Cináed with MacFie, which was documented as an undated byname in Scots (a language closely related to English).
No support was found for the submitter's desired form MacFie as a period form. Aryanhwy merch Catmael found dated forms of this byname in Black:
Based on these examples, MacFee is the closest supportable spelling to the submitted MacFie. We have changed the byname to this form in order to register this name. As submitted, this name had one weirdness for combining Gaelic and Scots in a name. There was also a weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years, since the given name dates to pre-1200 and the submitted form of the byname is only documented post-period. We have changed the given name to the Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form Cionaodh in order to remove the temporal disparity from this name. Thereby, having only the single weirdness for the lingual combination of Gaelic and Scots, this name is registerable. [Cionaodh MacFee, 10/2003, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.09 | The submitter requested authenticity for Byzantine and allowed any changes. Lailiane was documented as a Greek feminine name found in "A Lexicon of Greek Personal Names", and Asenina was documented as the byname of the empress Eirene Asenina Cantacuzene (1347-1354). Metron Ariston provided information regarding the elements found in this name:
This name contains one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years between the dates for the given name Lailiane and the byname Asenina. [Lailiane Asenina, 09/2003, A-Meridies] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.09 | Submitted as Gobbán Fahy, the submitter allows any changes. As submitted, this name combined Gobbán, which is an Old Irish Gaelic (c. 700 to c. 900) or Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form, with Fahy, which is an Anglicized Irish form. Woulfe (p. 522 s.n. Ó Fathaigh) dates the Anglicized Irish form O Fahy to temp. Elizabeth I-James I. Therefore, the submitted form of this name contained two weirdnesses: one weirdness for combining Gaelic and Anglicized Irish in the same name and one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. We have changed the given name to the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form Gobán in order to remove the temporal disparity and register this name. [Gobán Fahy, 09/2003, A-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.08 | The College only found one example of the name Auguste dated close to period. Aryanhwy merch Catmael's article "French Names from 1601" (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french1601.html) lists the name August as appearing once, and the form Auguste as appearing once, in the source document. The College was unable to find any evidence that this name was used in France earlier than this time.
Therefore, this name combines a French given name dated to 1601 with an Old Norse byname. As Valason is documented from Old Norse sources that record names used before approximately 1100, this name has one weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. This submission did not provide information regarding the level of contact between French speakers and Old Norse speakers. Depending upon the level of contact between speakers of these languages, combining French and Old Norse in a name is either a weirdness or not registerable. Either status, when combined with the temporal disparity, is cause for return in this name. Therefore, we are declining to rule on whether the combination of French and Old Norse in a name is a weirdness or unregisterable at this time. We would ask the College to consider this issue, that they may offer advice if this combination is submitted in the future. [Auguste Valason, 08/2003 LoAR, R-Ealdormere] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.04 | The elements in this name have a temporal disparity of more than 1000 years. Una is a Gaelic name dated to 1310 and later. Orcadiana is a locative byname referring to the Orkneys. The root of this byname is Orcades, dated to the mid-2nd C in section II.A.1 of Tangwystyl verch Morgant Glasvryn's article "A Consideration of Pictish Names" (http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/tangwystyl/pictnames). As these two elements are dated to more than a millennium apart, this name must be returned. [Una Orcadiana, 04/2003 LoAR, R-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.02 | Submitted as Fiachrae the Bonesetter, the submitter requested authenticity for 13th to 14th C Ireland. As submitted, this name combined the Middle Irish (c. 900 to c. 1200) masculine given name Fiachrae with an English byname. Additionally, the term bonesetter was dated to c. 1510 as an English word. In the spelling boone setter, it was dated to c. 1470. Therefore, the submitted form of this name had two weirdnesses: one for combining Gaelic and English in a name, and a second for elements whose forms are dated more than 300 years apart. To remove the weirdness for temporal disparity in order to register this name, and to partially meet the submitter's request for authenticity, we have changed the given name to the Early Modern Irish (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form Fiachra. Lacking evidence that the Bonesetter would have been used as occupational byname for a Gael in Ireland, we were unable to make this name authentic for the submitter's requested time and culture. [Fiachra the Bonesetter, 02/2003 LoAR, A-Æthelmearc] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.02 | Submitted as Eadric Longfellow, the submitter requested authenticity for an unspecified language/culture (presumably English based on the documentation) and allowed any changes. As submitted, this name combines an Old English given name with a Middle English byname dated only to 1475 and later.
Combining Old English and Middle English in a single name is a weirdness because of the dramatic linguistic and orthographic differences between the two languages. A modern English speaker can usually read unmodernized versions of plays by Shakespeare with few difficulties. Many can read unmodernized versions of works by Chaucer, though with more difficulty. If you hand them a copy of Beowulf that is not modernized (or translated), very few will be able to make heads or tails of it. These differences are the basis for the weirdness for using Old English and Middle English in the same name. The weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years is a different issue from the lingual mix of Old English and Middle English. As explained recently:
Therefore, the submitted form of this name had two weirdnesses; one for the lingual mix of Old English and Middle English, and a second for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. As the submitter indicated that the sound of the name was most important to him, we have changed the given name to the form Edric, which is dated to the 13th C in Talan Gwynek's article "Men's Given Names from Early 13th Century England" (http://www.s_gabriel.org/names/talan/eng13/eng13m.html), to change this name to a completely Middle English form in order to register this name. [Edric Longfellow, 02/2003 LoAR, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.02 | Submitted as Osa Hrafnsdóttir, the submitted form of this name had two weirdnesses. Osa was documented as a Swedish given name dated to 1406. Hrafnsdóttir is an Old Norse patronymic byname. Combining Swedish and Old Norse in a name has previously been ruled a weirdness (Bjarki Einarson, April 2002). Since Old Norse dates to the 11th C and earlier, this name had a second weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years. We have changed the given name to Asa, the Old Norse form of Osa, in order to register this name. [Asa Hrafnsdóttir, 02/2003 LoAR, A-West] |
| François la Flamme | 2003.01 | Diana is the name of an ancient Roman goddess. No documentation was presented and none was found that Diana was used as a Roman name except for this goddess. Lacking evidence that it was used as a given name for humans in the Roman period, it is not registerable as a Roman name. The only evidence presented of Diana used by humans in period is from Withycombe (p. 40-41, s.n. Diana), which lists Diana Luttrell as being born in 1580. So we have evidence of Diana as a name used in late 16th C English. Spartene was submitted as the feminine form of the masculine byname Spartenos, which is dated to 1246 in Bardas Xiphias's article "Personal Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the Later Byzantine Era" (http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/byzantine/family-names.html).
Therefore, the submitted name mixes an English given name dated to 1580 with a Byzantine Greek byname appropriate for 1246. Because these elements are dated more than 300 years apart, this name has a weirdness for temporal disparity. No evidence was presented that England and the Byzantine Empire had significant contact in period. Lacking such evidence, a name mixing English and Byzantine Greek is not registerable. Were such evidence found, this lingual mix would be a weirdness, and this name would have two weirdnesses, one for temporal disparity and one for the lingual mix. And so, having two weirdnesses, this name would still have to be returned. [Diana Spartene, 01/2003 LoAR, R-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.11 | The submitter requested authenticity for Irish and allowed any changes. This name combines the Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) form Sáerlaith with an Einigh, which is an Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form. By precedent, combining Middle Irish Gaelic and Early Modern Irish Gaelic carries a weirdness.
There was some question whether this name had an additional weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years, since Sáerlaith was dated only to 969 and an Einigh was dated to 1473. Not only did languages change over time, the pool of names that were in use changed over time as well. Therefore, when one element in a name is only dated early and another is only dated late, it is unlikely that these two elements would have been appeared in the same name. The greater the temporal disparity, the less likely these name elements would have appeared together. RfS III.1 states in part that "Each name as a whole should be compatible with the culture of a single time and place." Currently, there is no weirdness for elements that are dated within 300 years of one another, but there is a weirdness for elements dated between 300 and 1000 years apart. Elements that are dated more than 1000 years apart are not registerable, due to the significant temporal disparity. In this case, the earliest example found as yet of an Einigh as a descriptive byname appears in the "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 3, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005C/), entry M1338.1, which lists "Ruaidhri an Einigh Mag Uidhir" (the underlined e represents a "long-e" character in Gaelic). This brings the temporal disparity between these two elements down to 369 years. However, the word enigh meaning 'hospitality' was used to describe people earlier. An example is found in the "Annals of the Four Masters", vol. 2, (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100005B/), entry M1162.18, which reads in part "Maol Sechlainn, mac Tighernáin Uí Ruairc, ríogh-dhamhna Bréifne, caindel gaisccidh, & enigh Leithe Chuinn". The translation given for this text at the same website is "Maelseachlainn, son of Tighearnan Ua Ruairc, royal heir of Breifne, lamp of the chivalry and hospitality of Leath-Chuinn". As this entry shows enigh to be a term used to describe people within 300 years of the date for Sáerlaith, this name does not have a second weirdness for temporal disparity. Lacking evidence that a form of Sáerlaith was still in use when an Einigh became used as a descriptive byname, we were unable to make this name authentic. [Sáerlaith an Einigh, 11/2002, A-Æthelmearc] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.10 | As submitted, this name had two weirdnesses: one for combining Gaelic and Anglicized Irish forms in a name, and another for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years between the name elements. As the submitter allows any changes, we have changed the byname to an Early Modern Gaelic form in order to remove the lingual mix and register this name. An authentic form of this name would be Muirenn ingen hui Rodáin. It would be appropriate for approximately the 7th through 10th C. [Muireann inghean uí Rodáin, 10/2002, A-An Tir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.08 | This name combines a Welsh name dated to the 5th to 9th C with a Scots byname dated to 1590. Therefore, this name has two weirdnesses (one for mixing Welsh and Scots, and one for a temporal disparity of more than 300 years), which is cause for return.
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] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.08 | Submitted as Caelainn McFers, this name combined a Middle Irish Gaelic (c. 900 to c. 1200) given name with a Scots (a language closely related to English) surname, dated to 1539 in that form. Combining Gaelic and Scots in a single name is a weirdness. Black (pp. 493-4 s.n. MacFerries) only shows examples of this surname in the 16th C and later. Earlier forms are listed on p. 493 s.n. MacFergus, are all in Latin, and all retain the 'g' in the byname. So, the submitted form combines a given name which dates from before 1200 and a byname which is dated no earlier than 1527. As the temporal disparity is more than 300 years, this disparity carries a weirdness. Therefore, the submitted form had two weirdnesses, which is cause for return. We have changed the given name to the Early Modern Irish Gaelic (c. 1200 to c. 1700) form in order to eliminate the temporal disparity and register this name. A fully Middle Irish Gaelic form of this name would be Cáelainn ingen meic Fhergusa. A fully Early Modern Irish Gaelic form of this name would be Caoilinn inghean mhic Fhearghusa. [Caoilinn McFers, 08/2002, A-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.07 | As submitted, this name had two weirdnesses. Ulf was documented as an Anglo-Saxon given name dated to 960 and 1080. The byname de Frisbois was documented as a French byname dating to c. 1420-1459. Therefore, this name had one weirdness for a lingual mix of Old English and French, and a second weirdness for a temporal disparity of greater than 300 years but less than 1000 years. Argent Snail provided alternate documentation for the given name:
This documentation removes the weirdness for temporal disparity. Additionally, if Ulf is considered as an English name under the Fellows Jensen example from 1285, the lingual weirdness is removed as mixing English and French in a name does not carry a weirdness. [Ulf de Fribois, 07/2002, A-Drachenwald] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.05 | As originally documented, this name was not registerable due to excessive temporal disparity. Deodonatus was dated to 1205 in England (Withycombe, s.n. Deodatus). Cervarius was documented as the name of a Roman knight who conspired with Piso against Nero (Lemprire's Classical Dictionary, p. 156). Since the two elements had a temporal disparity of over a millennium, this name was not registerable with the submitted documentation. Metron Ariston found that "the byname is a relatively common Latin adjective meaning 'of or pertaining to deer'. One Fernandus Cervarius apparently signed a document relating to the monastery at Sarria in Spain in the year 1219 (www.sarriaweb.com/convento.htm)." This information eliminates the temporal disparity between the two elements in this name. [Deodonatus Cervarius, 05/2002, A-Caid] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.04 | The submitter requested authenticity for 8th C "Vendel", and allowed no changes. All of the elements of this name were documented as Old Norse. Einarsson, not Einarson, is the correct patronymic form of the Old Norse name Einarr. As the submitter allows no changes, we were unable to correct the byname to be authentic for Old Norse. As Sveriges medeltida personnamn (vol. 5, s.n. Enar) dates Thorgyl Enarson to 1439 and Einar Suenson to 1435, Einarson is plausible for Swedish in the 1430s. The byname went through some evolution over the years. Examples in this entry show that that a double 's' form, such as Einarsson, would exist before that point, and En- forms, such as Enarson, would exist after that point. Given the linguistic relationship between Old Norse and Swedish, a name mixing these two languages is registerable, though it is a weirdness (similar to mixing Old English and Middle English in a name). Therefore, the submitted name has one weirdness for combining Old Norse and Swedish. As documentation for Bjarki was only found in Old Norse (c. 800-c. 1100), and Einarson is only plausible for the 1430s, this name has a temporal disparity of over 300 years, which is a second weirdness, and so is cause for return. [Bjarki Einarson, 04/2002, R-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.03 | Submitted as Gabrielle de Brandune, the submitter requested authenticity for 15th to 16th C. As submitted, this name combined a 16th C French given name and a 10th C Old English byname. There is one weirdness for the lingual mix of French and Old English and a second weirdness for a temporal disparity greater than 300 years. Therefore, the submitted form of the name was not registerable. In order to register this name, we have changed the spelling of the byname to de Brandon, which is dated to 1379 in Bardsley (p. 129 s.n. Brandon). [Gabrielle de Brandon, 03/2002, A-Drachenwald] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.03 | Submitted as Ignacio James, Ignacio was documented from Withycombe (p. 162 s.n. Inigo) as "a Spanish given name found since the 8th Century A.D.". The LoI also states that it is the submitter's legal given name but gives no documentation (such as a photocopy of a driver's license or other proof) to support a claim for the Legal Name allowance. Therefore, the name must be considered only on the merits of the documentation. As Ignacio was documented as an 8th C Spanish given name and James was documented as an English surname dating to the 12th to 13th C, this submission had two weirdnesses: one for a lingual mix and one for temporal disparity, since the elements were documented to more than 300 years apart. Since the submitter allows any changes, we have substituted the Italian Ignazio, which De Felice Dizionario dei nomi Italiani (pp. 208-9 s.n. Ignazio) cite in reference to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish saint who lived in the 16th C. Since Bardsley (p. 425 s.n. James) dates Alice James to 1566-7, Ignazio James has one weirdness for mixing Italian and English in a single name, but has no weirdness for temporal disparity. [Ignazio James, 03/2002, A-Atenveldt] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.02 | This name is being returned for excessive temporal disparity. Virus is documented as a given name in Bardas Xiphias's article "Common Names of the Aristocracy in the Roman Empire During the 6th and 7th Centuries" (http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/names/byzantine/early_byz_names.html). Boromeus is documented as a Latinized form of the surname of Saint Charles Boromeo (died 1584, canonized 1610). Therefore, this name combines a 6th or 7th C Roman given name and a 16th C Latinized Italian byname, which is not registerable. [Virus Boromeus, 02/02, R-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2002.01 | The submitted name is a combination of an Anglicized Irish given name and an Old Norse byname. Mixing Scots and Old Norse in a name has been ruled unregisterable:
The combination of an Old Norse given name and an Anglicized Scots patronymic had too severe a temporal disparity. We have therefore changed the spelling of the given name to medieval Norwegian. [Ulvar MacVanis, A-Lochac, LoAR 07/2000]Anglicized Irish and Scots existed in similar time period. Therefore, just as a mix of Scots and Old Norse is not registerable, a mix of Anglicized Irish and Old Norse is not registerable. [Davin Steingrimsson, 01/02, R-An Tir] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.12 | The name Aeschylus was documented as "the name of a great classical Greek playwright who lived from 535 BCE until 456 BCE." No evidence was found that this person was known in medieval England. Such evidence would be necessary to support the theory that this name was among the classical names revived in the 12th or 16th centuries in England. Additionally, most of the names revived at those times were Latin and were fairly well known.
Since the documentation stands with the reference to the 5th-6th C BC Greek playwright which is more than 1000 years before an appropriate date for the byname (which is dated to 1180 in Reaney & Wilson, p. 207 s.n. Grindel), this name must be returned for excessive temporal disparity. [Aeschylus Grendel, 12/01, R-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.12 | The name, as submitted, had two weirdnesses: one for lingual mix and one for temporal disparity (since the given name is dated no later than 1200 and the desired spelling of the byname is appropriate to c. 1610). As the LoI stated that the submitter preferred the spelling Inverness, we have changed the given name to the post-1200 form to remove the temporal disparity in order to register this name. [Breacnait of Inverness, 12/01, A-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.11 | This name has two weirdnesses: one for lingual disparity and a second for temporal disparity. The given name Temair is documented to 665 as an Irish Gaelic feminine given name. The element Sweynsei is documented to 1188 as a place name in English. Therefore, the submitted name combines Irish Gaelic and English, which is a weirdness, and combines elements more than 300 years apart, which is another weirdness. [Temair Sweynsei, 11/01, R-Calontir] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Submitted as Jorid Bielke, the submitter requested an authentic Swedish name. The spelling Jorid was documented as "a Norse (Icelandic) name, runic Swedish 'Jofridh'". No documentation was found that the spelling Jorid was in use in period Swedish. As Bielke was dated to the 16th C, it would not have been combined with the significantly earlier Jofridh. Therefore, we have changed the given name to the documented spelling Iyrid, which Lind's Norsk-isländska dopnamn ock fingerade namn från medeltiden (s.n. Ióríðr) dates to 1356. [Iyrid Bielke, 10/01, A-Drachenwald] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | The mix of a 4th C Coptic given name with an Arabic byname that could date from no earlier than the 7th C is a weirdness. [Damiana bint al-Katib, 10/01, A-Outlands] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | There is a weirdness for mixing elements whose spellings are only documented as Old English (Saxsa) and Middle English (Corduan). As there are no other weirdnesses in this name, it is registerable. [Saxsa Corduan, 10/01, A-Meridies] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | Upon further review, the few examples of matronymics in Gaelic that are currently known are in Irish Gaelic and date from after 1200. Therefore, barring examples that such constructions were used in Old Irish or Middle Irish, matronymics are only registerable for Early Modern Irish Gaelic (after 1200). A matronymic construction using name elements dated only to before 1200 would add a lingual disparity and make the name unregisterable. [Ceara ingen uí Líadnáin, 10/01, A-Atlantia] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.10 | This name has one weirdness for mixing the post-1200 spelling Ceara with the pre-1200 ingen uí Líadnáin. [Ceara ingen uí Líadnáin, 10/01, A-Atlantia] |
| 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] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.09 | Submitted as Michelina Cenomani da Trento, Cenomani is documented as the name of a Roman-era Celtic tribe. No evidence was provided that the name of a Celtic tribe would have been used in a personal name. Even if such a construction is plausible, this name has two weirdnesses: one for lingual mix and one for temporal disparity. Michelina da Trento, 09/01, A-Æthelmearc] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.09 | ... and the construction (feminine given name + Mac-form byname) are all dated within a 300-year period, there is not a second weirdness for temporal disparity. Therefore, this name is registerable as it only has one weirdness for the lingual mix.
(Note: see the Cover Letter for further clarification regarding the registerability of saints' names.) [Maura MacLeod, 09/01, A-Æthelmearc] |
| François la Flamme | 2001.08 | Submitted as Arion the Falcon, the given name Arion was documented as the name of a "semi-legendary Greek poet of the 7th C BC, reputedly the first poet to use dithyramb". The suggestion was made that Arion could be viwed as one of the names revived in the Renaissance. Metron Ariston found a reference to this Arion in the poetry of John Gower (circa 1325-1408). However, this is the only reference to Arion that the College found in English works from the Middle Ages. Barring evidence that the Greek poet Arion was more broadly known in England than a single reference in poetry, it is not likely that the name Arion was revived. As such, the documentation stands with only the reference to the 7th C BC Greek poet, which is more than 1000 years before an appropriate date for the byname, and therefore it would be returnable. [Aron the Falcon, 08/01, A-Atenveldt] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2001.07 | The submitter requested an authentic 16th century Gaelic name. We were not able to comply with this request: in fact, the College did not find evidence that the given name was used later than 8th century. While we consider a temporal disparity of eight centuries a weirdness we do not consider it sufficient reason to return the name. [Rónán mac an Stalcair, 07/01, A-Atlantia] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2001.06 | Submitted as Faílenn inghean Mheanmain of Ulster, the name had two weirdnesses: combining an Anglicised locative byname with Gaelic elements, and a temporal difference of several centuries between the given name and the patronymic. We have corrected the former by dropping the locative. Note that evidence suggests that Irish locative bynames were normally adjectives � that is, one would be called the Ulsterwoman instead of of Ulster. [Faílenn inghean Mheanmain, 06/01, A-Atlantia] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2001.03 | Submitted as Murchadh inn digri, the name combined Irish and Norse elements. While this is registerable it is a weirdness; to prevent a second weirdness we have changed the given name to a temporally compatible form. [Murchad inn digri, 03/01, A-Meridies] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.05 | Submitted as Gerlinda Uda Agast , the name had two moderately serious problems. First, there was a five-century gap between the documented dates for the given names and the byname; second, we have found no evidence that double given names were used in Dutch-speaking regions in our period. Neither of these problems would in itself be grounds for return, but the combination is unacceptable, as it would take the name two steps away from period practice. We have therefore dropped the second given name. [Gerlinda Agast, 05/00, A-Middle] |
| Elsbeth Anne Roth | 2000.04 | Submitted as Anu of Shelmerdine, this name has two weirdnesses: it combines English and Irish orthography, and the form Anu was only found before 1300 and Selmerdine is dated to the 16th century, therefore the name is temporally incompatible. We have, therefore, changed the given name to a late period form. [Ana of Shelmerdine, 04/00, A-Middle] |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1998.06 | [Medb Ceitinn] It would be more temporally consistent to use the spelling Maeve for the given name. [Name was registered.] (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR, June 1998) |
| Jaelle of Armida | 1996.10 | Submitted as Gauzelen Upwode von Bamberg, which had a late first millenium CG forename combined with a 16th century English surname and a German locative byname. Fortunately, commenters were able to document something similar to what was submitted as an entirely English name. (Jaelle of Armida, LoAR October 1996, p. 6) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1995.11 | The name was submitted as Cyneburh Ceridwen MacDougall, which contains at least four `weirdnesses': (1) the names are from three different cultures and languages; (2) Ceridwen seems not to have been used by human beings in period and is allowed only on sufferance; (3) there is a huge chronological gap between Cyneburh and MacDougall; and (4) the overall structure has been documented only for the language of the weakest element (Ceridwen) or for a date completely incompatible with Cyneburh. We have replaced the given name with a later form to ameliorate the last two and consider the first two not quite extreme enough to warrant further changes. Nevertheless, the name would be far more authentic without the Ceridwen. [Registered as Kyneburgh Ceridwen MacDougall] (Talan Gwynek, LoAR November 1995, pp.1-2) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.10 | A combination of an Old English forename with what can only be a fairly late English form of an Irish surname is too far from period practice. [The name was returned.] (Wege Teague, 10/94 p. 12) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 2nd year) | 1994.10 | Margaret is far, far too late to be combined with the name of an early Irish tribe (they arrived in Ireland between 500 and 100 B.C.) with a temporal difference of a millennium or more. [The name was returned.] (Margaret of the Érainn, 10/94 p. 16) |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year) | 1994.05 | [Registering Sarai Rose Perlea.] Submitted as Sarai Rose Perlai, the submitted form of the placename is from the Domesday Book, and is entirely out of place with the late period form of the name. We have modified the spelling of the locative to a documented form more compatible with the remainder of the name. [5/94, p.2] |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year) | 1994.04 | [Returning Kendrick of the Saxon Shore.] Kendrick is acceptable in this spelling only as a late period given name. The phrase "Saxon Shore" comes from a 5th Century document called the Notitia Dignitatem, which includes a list of stations under the command of an officer called comes litoris Saxonici ("Count of the Saxon Shore"). This title (not name element) dates from the late 3rd Century at the earliest, and [no] evidence of its use appears after the breakdown of Roman authority in Britain (late 5th Century). It does not appear to have been used in any other way (say, as a placename). The combination of an extremely unlikely placename, "lingua franca" or not, which would only have been used (if at all) in early period with a late period given name exceeds the "Rule of Two Weirdnesses", iterated by Baron Bruce in his May 8, 1993 Cover Letter: "If the elements of a submitted name are dated too far apart, then any other anomaly in the name may combine to force it to be returned. ... [H]enceforth, excessive temporal mismatch may contribute to a name's unacceptability; another problem with the name may cause it to be returned." (Cover Letter, May 8, 1993, p. 4) [4/94, p.18] |
| Da'ud ibn Auda (2nd tenure, 1st year) | 1993.12a | [Fearghus Ó Siadhail] Submitted as Fergus ó Siadhail, the name was modified to correct the grammar by better matching the spelling of the given and the byname temporally. [12a/93, p.3] |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1993.03 | [Catherine of Deva] The city now called Chester ceased to be called Deva around the time of the birth of Christ; the use of the latter with the name of a 3rd Century martyr is, in Lady Harpy's words, "screamingly improbable." It is, however, the only "weirdness" in the name, and we're generally forgiving of such anachronisms. (Catherine of Deva, March, 1993, pg. 9) |
| Bruce Draconarius of Mistholme | 1993.03 | A couple of our onomasticists have argued for increased standards of temporal compatibility in SCA names: that the English of the 5th and 16th Centuries are as culturally immiscible as Aztec and Viking, and should be as unacceptable, per Rule III.2. The College has mostly been concerned that the parts of a name be compatible geographically (e.g. French and Italian); we've never been strict about the equivalent temporal mismatches. Both Mistress Alisoun and Master Da'ud declined to make temporal compatibility a reason for return. To paraphrase Mistress Alisoun, in a Society where a 10th Century Viking can sit beside an Elizabethan lady at a feast, temporal requirements probably aren't worth the grief. Moreover, some names changed very little over time, in any given country (the modern English John hasn't changed in half a millennium); temporal problems are thus more difficult to demonstrate than geographic problems.
I've no intention of completely overturning the policy of my predecessors. However, in a number of my recent rulings, I've ruled that excessive temporal mismatching can be considered a "weirdness", costing the submitter the benefit of the doubt. With this LoAR, I hereby make the new policy official: If the elements of a submitted name are dated too far apart, then any other anomaly in the name may combine to force it to be returned. The greater the temporal divide, the greater the anomaly: a given name and byname whose spellings are documented within, say, a century of each other will probably be all right, but a three-century divide is pushing it. By itself, temporal incompatibility is still not sufficient reason for return. I haven't yet been faced with a case so extreme (a couple of millennia, say) to require a return; our worst instance of temporal mismatch (Tamas of Midian) also involved geographic mismatch as well. But henceforth, excessive temporal mismatch may contribute to a name's unacceptability; another problem with the name may cause it to be returned. (8 May, 1993 Cover Letter (March, 1993 LoAR), pg. 4) |