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Q: Woman's name, 12th-14th c. ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   6 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
Category: Relationships and Society > Cultures
Asked by: archae0pteryx-ga
List Price: $5.30
Posted: 07 Nov 2004 18:52 PST
Expires: 07 Dec 2004 18:52 PST
Question ID: 425931
For fictional purposes, I'd like a plausible name for a woman who
might have belonged to the sect known as the Albigensians.

I want a first and last name or byname, or first name and suitable
epithet such as would have been authentic for the time and place.  The
name would also preferably not defy the English-speaker's imagination
when it comes to pronunciation, but I don't want one that is
recognizably the same (or nearly the same) as a present-day woman's
name.

If the name has any particular meaning (such as, for example, Anne the
chandler's daughter or Catherine the ugly), please include it.

Thank you,
Archae0pteryx
Answer  
Subject: Re: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
Answered By: tehuti-ga on 08 Nov 2004 15:45 PST
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Thank you very much, Archae0pteryx, for accepting my comment as an
answer. I read this book when it first came out in the late 1970s, and
have never forgotten it because of the impact it had.

For the sake of completeness, I am reproducing the details in this space. 

The book "Montaillou" by Emmanuel Le Roy LaDurie is a useful source
(as well as being a gripping read in its own right). This is an
account of peasant life in a French Cathar village and is based on
documentation by Bishop Fournier, who was sent to the village by the
Inquisition and recorded the interrogations he carried out. Among the
descriptions, there are, of course, references to villagers by name.

It is published by Pengiun, and is available from the publisher
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,0_0140137009,00.html

and also from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394729641/qid=1099957226/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/103-3687821-9629433?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
archae0pteryx-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars
Thanks to your excellent memory, tehuti, and your willingness to offer a comment.

Archae0pteryx

Comments  
Subject: Re: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
From: tutuzdad-ga on 07 Nov 2004 19:04 PST
 
Try these names and let me know what you think:

Berengaria of Navarre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berengaria_of_Navarre

Eleanor of Aquitaine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine
(she was named after her mother and called "Alia Aenor", which in
Latin means "other Aenor", but it became "Eleanor" in English.)

Eleanor's daughter was Alice (Alix)Capet

Leonora of Aquitaine
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor
She has daughters named: 
Sancha (Sancha of Castile)
Mafalda (Mafalda of Castile)
Urraca (Queen of Portugal)
Blanca (aka Blanche)(Queen of France)
Constance (Constance of Castile)    
Leonor (Queen of Aragon) 
Constanza (Abbess of Las Huelgas)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor

tutuzdad-ga
Subject: Re: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
From: archae0pteryx-ga on 07 Nov 2004 19:13 PST
 
Thanks for your comment, tutuzdad.  Do we have reason to believe that
these royal names might also have been given to commoners' babies in
the times and places where the Albigensians were found?
Subject: Re: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
From: tutuzdad-ga on 07 Nov 2004 19:17 PST
 
Hard to say for sure. Commoners (generally held as property, or at
best vassals of the ruling monarchy) weren't commonly written about to
great extent.

tutuzdad-ga
Subject: Re: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
From: archae0pteryx-ga on 07 Nov 2004 19:50 PST
 
Well, tutuzdad, that's why I asked.

This question requires knowing two things:  (1) the region and time
period during which the Albigensians were active and (2) names of some
common folk for that time and place.

Such things are available.  For instance, I've come up with a list of
given names and bynames from the Lowlands during the Middle Ages. 
These are from census records and other sources.  But that's a
slightly different target area.

I'm afraid the names of French queens are not what I'm after.

Archae0pteryx
Subject: Re: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
From: tehuti-ga on 07 Nov 2004 20:20 PST
 
Hello Archae0pteryx,

May I suggest the book "Montaillou" by Emmanuel Le Roy LaDurie as a
useful source (as well as being a gripping read in its own right). 
This is an account of peasant life in a French Cathar village and is
based on documentation by Bishop Fournier, who was sent to the village
by the Inquisition and recorded the interrogations he carried out.
Among the descriptions, there are, of course, references to villagers
by name.

It is published by Pengiun, and is available from the publisher
http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,0_0140137009,00.html
Subject: Re: Woman's name, 12th-14th c.
From: archae0pteryx-ga on 07 Nov 2004 20:41 PST
 
Hi, tehuti--

Good lead!  The Amazon.com page for that book shows sample pages, and
as it happens, the displayed portion from the front of the book
contains an index of names of families in the village at the time.  I
can certainly glean what I need from this.

So I invite you to post an answer to this question.

Thank you,
Archae0pteryx

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