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The Latinisation of names in the vernacular was a procedure deemed necessary for the sake of conformity by scribes and authors when incorporating references to such persons in Latin texts. The procedure was used in the era of the Roman Republic and Empire. It was used continuously by the Papacy from the earliest times, in religious tracts and in diplomatic and legal documents. It was used by the early European monasteries. Following the Norman Conquest of England, it was used by the Anglo-Norman clerics and scribes when drawing up charters. Its use was revived in the Renaissance when the new learning was written down in Latin and drew much on the work of Greek, Arabic and other non-Latin ancient authors. Contemporary Italian and European scholars also needed to be Latinised to be quoted in such treatises. The different eras produced their own styles and peculiarities. Sophistication was the trademark of the Renaissance Latinisers. The Anglo-Norman scribes on the other hand were not so learned, and often simply translated the vernacular name into Latin words based on similar sounds, without much effort to make sense or to avoid absurdity, which produced some strange results due to the complexity.
In central European circles of academia and ecclesial writers, a specific practice of Latinisation arose during the 15th century with the rediscovery of ancient literature. Thereby writers would seek connection to the ancient writers by taking up surnames or international pen names. We encounter names that follow naming conventions of those ancient languages, especially Latin and Greek, so the occasional Greek names for the same function are also included here.
Especially in the German-speaking regions the use of a “Humanistenname” or “Gelehrtenname” was common for many an academic, cleric, and secular administrative who wished to ascend in societal rank. The other region where the practice became equally common was 1600s Scandinavia and the Swedish Baltic colonies where this practice was called 'lärda namn' or 'humanistnamn'. [10] Further reasons for assuming such internationally recognisable names, especially in Scandinavia, included leaving agrarian conditions behind and embracing an urban and cosmopolitan way of life. [11] Some academics never had a surname nor a patronymic surname as per their region of origin. However, academics came to Central European universities from all corners of Europe, with surnames from rare languages, so clarity in distinguishing students was necessary. Some Latinizations and Grecizations are exact vernacular translations of profession surnames or dwelling names, but others seem to bear no known connection or resemblance. Humanist names reached varying degrees of stability and heritability, and some exist to this day. [12] [ circular reference ] [13] [ circular reference ]
Recent articles and dissertation by Daniel Kroiß have systematically categorized the origin of Humanist names and their declension patterns in the German and Dutch speaking regions. Some humanist names derived from common professions as replacements of the vernacular term, and were found throughout Central European university cities. They included:
Some humanist surnames that were not clearly based on profession or location included:
The Complete Peerage (1913) states concerning the Latinization of English names: [15] "When a clerk had to render a name in a charter he usually sought for the nearest Latin equivalent, sometimes took a correct one, as "de Bello Campo" for "Beauchamp"; sometimes a grotesque one". The latter refers to the mediaeval Anglo-Norman family of Orescuilz, which held amongst others the Somersetshire manor of Sandford Orcas (named after it), [16] whose surname was Latinised as de Aureis Testiculis, [17] [18] from French "Couilles [19] d'Or".
A list of "Latin forms of English surnames" is included as an appendix in Andrew Wright's Court Hand Restored, or the Student's Assistant in reading Old Deeds, Charters, Records, etc., [20] published in 9 editions up to 1879.
In 1910 Charles Trice Martin expanded on Wright's list (the 9th edition of which he had edited) in his The Record Interpreter: a collection of abbreviations, Latin words and names used in English historical manuscripts and records which included a chapter "Latin forms of English Surnames". [21] He acknowledged [22] in compiling his list the assistance of an anonymous work The Norman People and their Existing Descendants (London, 1874). [23] In the preface, p. xi, Martin stated of that chapter: "Many of the [place names and] surnames have been found in classes of records which contain documents in both languages referring to the same case, like the Chancery Proceedings, in which bills and answers are in English and writs in Latin."
Martin stated that some of the Latin names were "due to the ingenuity" of officials and clerks inserting what they thought would be a translation of an English name, being ignorant of its real meaning and history. This led to spurious translations such as Ventus Morbidus (literally "sick wind") for the place name 'Windsor', and de Umbrosa Quercu (literally "from the shady oak") for the surname 'Dimock'. He went on to say that the list includes many names collected from Latin inscriptions on brasses, tombstones, and other monuments, many of them dating to the sixteenth century and later, and said that he had supplied the English equivalents of these from other sources of information.
One of the most abundant sources of Latinized names is in biological taxonomic nomenclature, particularly binomial nomenclature. Many thousands of species are named after individuals, chiefly but not exclusively scientists. This most often involves, in principle, creating a Latinized equivalent of the name in question. In some cases this will involve a traditional latinization; for example, the grey penduline tit, Anthoscopus caroli, derives its specific name from the genitive of the traditional Latin form Carolus for the first name of the Swedish explorer Karl Johan Andersson. In most cases, the names are "one-off" Latinized forms produced by adding the genitive endings -ii or -i for a man, -ae for a woman, or -orum in plural, to a family name, thereby creating a Latinized form. For example, a name such as Macrochelys temminckii notionally represents a latinization of the family name of Coenraad Jacob Temminck to "Temminckius." Another example, Acisoma attenboroughi , Latinizes the name of Sir David Attenborough as if "Attenboroughus."
In Spain, a comarca is either a traditional territorial division without any formal basis, or a group of municipalities, legally defined by an autonomous community for the purpose of providing common local government services. In English, a comarca is equivalent to a district, county, area or zone.
A matronymic is a personal name or a parental name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patronymic surnames. In some cultures in the past, matronymic last names were often given to children of unwed mothers. Or if a woman was especially well known or powerful, her descendants might adopt a matronym based on her name. A matronymic is a derived name, as compared to a matriname, which is an inherited name from a mother's side of the family, and which is unchanged.
Macarius is a Latinized form of the old Greek given name Makários (Μακάριος), meaning "happy, fortunate, blessed"; compare the Latin beatus and felix. Ancient Greeks applied the epithet Makarios to the gods.
Dominicus Gundissalinus, also known as Domingo Gundisalvi or Gundisalvo, was a philosopher and translator of Arabic to Medieval Latin active in Toledo, Spain. Among his translations, Gundissalinus worked on Avicenna's Liber de philosophia prima and De anima, Ibn Gabirol's Fons vitae, and al-Ghazali's Summa theoricae philosophiae, in collaboration with the Jewish philosopher Abraham Ibn Daud and Johannes Hispanus. As a philosopher, Gundissalinus crucially contributed to the Latin assimilation of Arabic philosophy, being the first Latin thinker in receiving and developing doctrines, such as Avicenna's modal ontology or Ibn Gabirol's universal hylomorphism, that would soon be integrated into the thirteenth-century philosophical debate.
Vitello was a Polish friar, theologian, natural philosopher and an important figure in the history of philosophy in Poland.
John of Seville was one of the main translators from Arabic into Castilian in partnership with Dominicus Gundissalinus during the early days of the Toledo School of Translators. John of Seville translated a litany of Arabic astrological works in addition to being credited with the production of several original works in Latin.
Hugh of Saint Victor was a Saxon canon regular and a leading theologian and writer on mystical theology.
Johannes de Garlandia or John of Garland was a medieval grammarian and university teacher. His dates of birth and death are unknown, but he probably lived from about 1190 to about 1270.
Khālid ibn Yazīd, c. 668–704 or 709, was an Umayyad prince and purported alchemist.
Mauger is a Norman surname of Germanic origin. It was used first as a given name in the Middle Ages. pronunciation API : French [moʒe] ; English [ˈmeɪ.dʒ.ə(ɹ)].
Juhel de Totnes, Latinised to Judhellus filius Aluredi, "Juhel son of Alured") was a soldier and supporter of William the Conqueror (1066–1087). He was the first feudal baron of Totnes and feudal baron of Barnstaple, both in Devon.
Old Spanish, also known as Old Castilian or Medieval Spanish, refers to the varieties of Ibero-Romance spoken predominantly in Castile and environs during the Middle Ages. The earliest, longest, and most famous literary composition in Old Spanish is the Cantar de mio Cid.
Onomastics is an important source of information on the early Celts, as Greco-Roman historiography recorded Celtic names before substantial written information becomes available in any Celtic language.
In Sweden, a person must have a surname and one or more given names. Two given names are common. Surnames are inherited from the parents in the order of "same as elder sibling, if any, specified by parents, or mother's last name," and given names must be chosen by the parents at birth. The calling name, by which the person is normally identified in conversation, is one of the given names but not necessarily the first. In contexts in which the full name is spelled out, the calling name is often indicated by an asterisk, capital letters, underlining or italics. For example, Märta Birgit* Nilsson is known as Birgit Nilsson, and Björn* Kristian Ulvaeus is known as Björn Ulvaeus.
Fulk I FitzWarin was a powerful marcher lord seated at Whittington Castle in Shropshire in England on the border with Wales, and also at Alveston in Gloucestershire. His grandson was Fulk III FitzWarin the subject of the famous mediaeval legend or "ancestral romance" entitled Fouke le Fitz Waryn, himself the grandfather of Fulk V FitzWarin, 1st Baron FitzWarin (1251–1315).
Al-Andalusi is an Arabic-language surname common in North African countries that literally means “the Andalusian”, and it denotes an origin or ancestry from al-Andalus or from the modern-day region of Andalusia. Al-Andalusi may refer to:
Sardinian surnames are surnames with origins from the Sardinian language or a long, identifiable tradition on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia.