ÆTHELMEARC
COLLEGE OF HERALDS - commentary archive
Letter of Intent #81
Ermina
This is NOT Margaret speaking. This is Margaret's quiet twin
sister, Ermina. Ermina knows not much about names and devices, so
nothing she says or doesn't say should be taken as an official
pronouncement. This is just her opinion on things. (translation
-- I'm stuck at the office, I'm bored, figured to give the names a
passthrough just for fun).
So:
3. Aiden MacLachan
Is this MacLach_an_, which is what is shown on the 3. Aiden MacLachan
line, or MacLacn_l_an, which is what is documented. Any
justification for Aiden as opposed to Aidan?
5. Alis inghean M{a/}el{/a}n.
I believe that M{a/}el{a/}n needs to be both lenited and put in the
genetive. Perhaps Alis inghean Mh{a/}el{a/]in?
6. Avelina Deldolce
The Catasto data eliminates space and capitlizations in the data.
This is probably del Dolce. Mixing English and Italian is "one
step beyond period practice."
9. Brion Donall Gilbert
This is an interesting question -- this name is two steps from period
practice (using a middle name in a Scots or partially Gaelic name) and
mixing English and Gaelic in the same name. The problem of a
middle name or unmarked patronymic in Gaelic is grandfathered to him,
but not Scots. His original name didn't mix Gaelic and another
language, so that problem wsn't present in the original name
either. The main question is will the grandfather clause get him
through these waters. No clue. I occasionally curse Talan
for muddying the waters about the scope of the grandfather clause (see
the return for Roxanne Blackfeather).
12. Cera inghean Cernaich
Yup, the particle should be changed in ingen to be temporally
consistent with the rest of the name. Lenition is requested both pre
and post 1200 for the letter c, so Cera ingen Chernaich. What do
OC&M say about the name Cera?
16. Dyfan ap Idris
Dated to 171?? Is this a typo for 1171?
21. Emrys Gwynedd
No comment on conflict. On the other hand, there are no kings of
princes of Gwynedd names Emrys.
22. Fa{i/}lenn ingean Cernaich
The particle should be changed in ingen to be temporally consistent
with the rest of the name. Lenition is requested both pre and post 1200
for the letter c, so Fa{i/}lenn ingen Chernaich.
29. Matteo Pesci
Nice cant. The list of surnames of Florentine office holders shows 5
examples of Pesci (www.stg.brown.edu/project/tratte/doc/SURNAM1.html
-- Florentine Renaissance Resources: Online Tratte of Office Holders
1282-1532, David Herlihy.)
32. Muireann Ni Muirchertaig
Ni is an English phonetic rendering of the Gaelic ingen/inghean, and
cannot be registered as part of a Gaelic name phrase. Since these are
documented as early names, I would suggest "ingen".
41. S{e/}amus Macpherson
Mixes ENglish and Gaelic in the same name, one step from period
practice.
May conflict with James Macpherson (article from Encyclopedia
Britannica, below). I doubt it, though, the way things are going
these days.
born October 27, 1736, Ruthven, Inverness, Scotland
died February 17, 1796, Belville, Inverness
Scottish poet whose initiation of the Ossianic controversy has obscured
his genuine contributions to Gaelic studies.
Macpherson's first book of poems, The Highlander (1758), was
undistinguished; but after collecting Gaelic manuscripts and having
orally transmitted Gaelic poems transcribed with the encouragement of
the poet John Home and the financial support of the rhetorician Hugh
Blair, he published Fragments of Ancient Poetry?Translated from the
Gallic or Erse Language (1760), Fingal (1762), and Temora (1763),
claiming that much of their content was based on a 3rd-century Gaelic
poet, Ossian. No Gaelic manuscripts date back beyond the 10th century.
The authenticity of Ossian was supported by Blair, looked on with
skepticism by the Scottish philosopher David Hume, admired with doubt
by the English poet Thomas Gray, and denied by the panjandrum of
English letters, Samuel Johnson. None of the critics knew Gaelic.
Macpherson often injected a good deal of Romantic mood into the
originals, sometimes closely followed them, and other times did not.
His language was strongly influenced by the Authorized Version of the
Bible. The originals were published only after Macpherson's death.
48. Tuathflaith ingen u{i/} Cellaich
Should be ingen u{i/} Chellaich, since c's lenite both pre- and
post-1200.