La, Le

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Basic Information:

A fairly common form of English byname derived from Anglo-Norman French uses the articles la or le plus a descriptive noun. These names are problematic because la is feminine and le is masculine, but English names using them don't always follow those French grammatical rules.

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Sources:

Academy of St. Gabriel "Medieval Names Archive" - [[1]] Database of medieval names (from the Medieval Names Archive) - http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/database/

Laurel Name Articles - http:heraldry.sca.org/laurel/

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Precedents:

Precedents of the SCA College of Arms - [[2]] Morsulus Heralds Website - [[3]] (to search the LoARs and Precedents)

From the March 2004 LoAR: Submitted as Ophelia Le Lavendere, there was some question regarding which forms of this byname would have been used in a woman's name in period. The form la Lavendere 'the Laundress' would be the typical spelling used in a woman's name in 13th C England. Both la and Lavendereare feminine forms. Reaney & Wilson (p. 273 s.n. Lavender) show an example of this byname in the name Ysabelle la Lauendere, which they date to 1253. The corresponding masculine byname was le Lavender. An example of this form may be found in Bardsley (p. 471 s.n. Launder) in the name Peter le Lavender, which he dates to 1273. As the English language evolved, and byname usage also evolved, some variations are found, mainly in the forms bynames took when used in a woman's name. Documented examples include Ralf la Lavendere dated to 1268 in Reaney & Wilson (s.n. Lavender). This name shows a masculine given name with the feminine byname form la Lavendere. Cecelia la Lavender is dated to 1273 in Bardsley (p. 471 s.n. Launder). This example shows the feminine particle la with the masculine form Lavender. Examples of a woman's given name combined with a masculine form of a byname were discussed in the December 2001 LoAR: > The question came up whether the particle le is appropriate in a woman's byname. Dr. D. A. Postles, "Lincolnshire Lay Subsidy Rolls" (http://www.le.ac.uk/elh/pot/lincscon.html), lists many women's bynames that include the particle la and some that include the particle le. These subsidy rolls date to 1332. Identified examples from the parish of Kesteven (village and line number are in parenthesis) include: Isabel le [sic] vescy (Welbourn, 1), Agnes le [sic] Palm[er] (Tallington, 2), Matilda le [sic] Schapman (Spanby, 1), Isabel le [sic] prouost' (Horbling, 13), Alice le [sic] Baker (Horbling, 16), Agnes le Hyrde (Horbling, 31), Alice le [sic] straunge (Colsterworth, 3), Matilda le [sic] Deye (Woolsthorpe [2nd], 13), Marg' le [sic] Bailyf' (Culverthorpe, 5), Quenilda le [sic] hyrde (Kirkby la Thorpe cum Laylthorp', 20), and Agnes le [sic] Wryth' (Wellingore, 8). Examples in the parish of Lindsey, village of Caenby, include: Alice le [sic] Couhird (line 3) and Avota le [sic] Couhird(line 12). [Eryngerd le Trewe, 12/2001 LoAR, A-Atlantia] These examples support a feminine given name combined with a byname that has a fully masculine form. However, no support was found for combining the masculine article le in an otherwise feminine byname. Therefore, support was found for Ophelia la Lavendere (fully feminine byname form), Ophelia le Lavender (fully masculine byname form), and Ophelia la Lavender(feminine article la, masculine form Lavender), but no support was found for Ophelia le Lavendere (masculine article le, feminine form Lavendere). Of these options, Ophelia le Lavender best retains the pronunciation that most modern English speakers would expect when seeing the submitted Le Lavendere. (In Middle English, the final e in Lavendere was not silent. Instead, it was pronounced approximately as a soft "eh" or "uh" sound.) As the submitter allows minor changes, we have changed this byname to the form le Lavender in order to register this name. [Ophelia le Lavender, 03/2004, A-Calontir] [[Interestingly le Ruse (Margareta le Ruse 1285, Reaney and Wilson, s.n. Rous) looks like an example of the masc. article le + feminine byname that was missing from the 2004 decision.]] http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/English.html

From the November 2003 LoAR: Listed on the LoI as Emelyn le Settere, this name was submitted as Emelyn la Settere. The submitter requested authenticity for 14th C English, and the byname was changed at Kingdom to match documented forms for that time. However, the College was able to find 14th C examples of women's occupational bynames using the article la, including Alice la Sopere and Alice la Goldar, from The Taxpayers of Medieval Gloucestershire: An Analysis of the 1327 Lay Subsidy Roll with a New Edition of its Text, and Emma la Sapere in Reaney and Wilson (s.n. Soper). Given these examples, Emelyn la Settere is an authentic name for 14th C England. Therefore, we have changed this name back to the originally submitted form. [Emelyn la Settere, 11/2003, A-Northshield] http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/English.html

From the March 2002 LoAR: Reaney & Wilson (p. 384 s.n. Rous) dates Margareta le Ruse to 1285. Bardsley (p. 655 s.n. Rous) dates Juliana la Rouse, Alicia Rouzeand Lucia la Russe to 1273. Since the submitter requested authenticity for 13th C Norman England, we would have changed the byname to one of these forms. However, changing the byname from French to English is a major change, which the submitter did not allow. Julienne la Rousse or Julianne la Rousse would be authentic 13th C French forms of this name. Gilian or Giliana as a given name and le Ruse, la Rouse, Rouze, or la Russe would be an authentic 13th C English form of this name. [Gilian la Rousse, 03/2002, A-Æthelmearc] http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/English.html

From the March 2002 LoAR: Listed on the LoI as Adela la Rouxe, the name was originally submitted as Adela de la Roux and changed at kingdom to correct the grammar. The submitter requested authenticity for early 16th C (unspecified language/culture) and allowed minor changes. The LoI noted that she prefers the submitted spelling and wants some version of 'Adela the Redhead'. As she did not specify a language or culture, both English and French are options. Bardsley (p. 655 s.n. Rous) dates the English names Juliana la Rouse, Alicia Rouze, andLucia la Russe to 1273. For French forms of the byname, Aalis la rousse is dated to 1292 in Colm Dubh's article "An Index to the Given Names in the 1292 Census of Paris" (http:www.sca.org/heraldry/laurel/names/paris.html). Also, the byname la Rossa is dated to 1521 in Talan Gwynek's article "Late Period Feminine Names from the South of France" (http:www.s-gabriel.org/names/talan/latefrenchfem/). As the submitter stated she preferred the submitted form, we have changed the byname to the documentable spelling closest to the submitted form. [Adela la Rouse, 03/2002, A-Meridies] http://heraldry.sca.org/laurel/precedents/CompiledNamePrecedents/English.html