Common medieval names male11/29/2023 ![]() “A new faith and a new name? Crusades, conversion, and baptismal names in medieval Baltics”, Journal of Baltic Studies 47(2): 179-196. “Eesti isikunimede kasutamisest meie rahva vanema ajaloo (XII–XVI saj.) uurimisel.” Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Toimetised. Locating confraternities in the late medieval and early modern city: 21-46. “Table Guilds and Urban Space: Charitable, Devotional, and Ritual Practices in Late Medieval Tallinn” In: Space, place, and motion. (Many thanks to Rebecca Le Get, whose many year’s study in Baltic names resulted in this info.) But once you start trying to answer the question of “why” diminutives and hypocoristics were so popular in medieval Estonia, the answers you find are fascinating. While the Dictionary aims to record given names used in Europe between 5, it does not include biographical information about individuals like a prosopographical database. The urban members of the Tallinn Table Guild (Tafelgilde), part of the Great Guild established by the German merchants of the city (Mänd 2017), are called names like Peter, Jakop, Johan or Hans, while those associated with rural manors on the island of Hiiumaa recorded with names like Peep, or Jake. For example, Hans has a higher status than Hannos, Jaagup is finer than Jaak and Peeter is better than Peep.Īnd the names we have listed in the DMNES seems to reflect reflect this hierarchy. ![]() In the sixteenth century Estonia (no earlier records are available), a social gradation of certain peasant name forms is visible. In Anti Selart (2016:182)’s article on the adoption of Christian given names in the Baltics, he argues that the form that a name took in medieval Estonia indicated social status:įor instance, when a merchant became a member of the City Council, Hans became her Johann (“Master Johann”). So a lot of the examples of names of Estonians in the Dictionary belonged to the indigenous peasants, as well as wealthier Europeans who had settled in the territory. These are socage registers that not only record the obligations of peasants to their manors, but also details such as the names of the heads of the peasant households. The short answer is that it is an artefact a lot of our name data coming from sources that focus on Wackenbücher. Uckelman, asked why was it in the Estonian name data, that “the nickname forms were more common than full forms”? For Throwback Thursday today, we’re revisiting this topic with some research that partially addresses the question: Thus, our surnames serve as subtle remnants of history, bearing witness to the societal dynamics of the Middle Ages.Back in December 2015 our editor-in-chief, Sara L. Their widespread presence today is a testament to the bygone era where surnames were laden with profound meaning and were a matter of great significance. Some of the commonly found surnames from medieval England include Clarke, Bennett, Cooper, King, and Knight to name a few. These were not just names but narratives, forming mini-biographies of individuals and families.įast forward to modern times and one is likely to encounter these surnames, their meaning often lost in time. Similarly, ‘Johnson’ would imply 'Son of John'. For instance, the name 'Smith' did not merely reflect a family's lineage but signified a career in blacksmithing, while the surname 'Baker' was indicative of their profession. Each was not assigned randomly, but thoughtfully chosen, to depict a crucial aspect of a person's identity. What's intriguing is the subtle meaning inherent in these surnames. The very fabric of medieval society was inherently tied to these designations, painting a vivid image of an individual's standing in the societal hierarchy. They were not mere appellations but profound markers of a person's character, trade, place of origin, or even physical attributes. Unlike today's approach where our surnames are merely inherited and bear little material implication, they were once vested with a critical function. In the medieval period, surnames served a more significant purpose beyond simple identification, particularly in England.
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