The use of literary names after the advent of Printing

This is some of the lost work I've been re-creating.  Originally it was a page or so inserted after English medieval names in the main body of the text, but I've done it out nicely and it's now ready to be one of the essays in the appendices of the great name book.  

The use of literary names after the advent of Printing, [and lists of names to be found in Medieval literature]

The publishing of ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’ by Malory in 1485 has to have had some influence upon the choices of names within the literate community.  It was the first work of prose to be printed in the English language, despite its French title.

It is impossible to discuss the use of literary names without some discussion on literacy in late medieval Britain.

The literate community in Britain was large, compared to that in many places, largely owing to the influences of Lollardy, which had moved from being an upper class conceit as a counter to the power of the church in the mid fourteenth century, to being a religion more of the incipient middle classes in the fifteenth century.  Literacy, with the intent of being able to read English language Bibles, was a strong tenet of Lollardy.  It should be noted that printing presses sprang up in such places as Bungay, which was also a hotbed of Lollardy, including such figures as William of Bungay who was burned in Norwich in 1512.

Literacy too was popular with the mercantile classes even if they were not inclined to Lollardy, since being able to read their own contracts meant that they could both avoid being stiffed, and save money on a clerk. It was a period of increasing numbers of Grammar Schools, including those with places for clever poor boys, like the Ipswich School founded by Felawe, which was attended by Thomas Wolsey.

The names from the tales of Arthur were known before printing, of course, by many, and the incidence of the Cornish name Guinevere or Jenefer in the fourteenth century cannot be entirely explained by Cornish girls bearing the name.  However, it is in the fifteenth century that we see male names like Ninian, Gawain and Percival appearing in sufficient numbers to be noted.  The more common version of Ninian, Vivian, had been around for a great deal longer, but it is certainly worthy of speculation that the literary form may have been an influence.   With the spread of printing, too, other sources became available, in addition to various Arthurian legends, which I will address in detail.  Other literary sources include the ‘Song of Roland’ and its related early sixteenth century works, ‘Orlando Furioso’ and ‘Amadis the Gaul’; as well as other works like ‘Roman de la Rose’, ‘Valentin et Orson’, Chaucer’s various tales, a selection of fairy tales, and of course the various gestes, or tales, of Robin Hood. 

Robin Hood probably remained one of the most popular sets of tales, crossing all social and class boundaries.  However, it is impossible to say how much influence it may have had on naming traditions, as the names within it are ordinary English names, which may be seen to be popular throughout the period, and were probably popular in any case.  Names for men such as Robert, Richard, John and William were always in the top ten,  equally Marion as a variant of Mary for women, and certainly Bettrys [Beatrice] was frequently used, if less common, even as George was less frequently used [George the Pinner of Wakefield and his bride, Bettrys].  Robin Hood was, like Chaucer’s tales, written in English and hence more accessible than the majority of French language romances, which carried the snob value of Norman French, out of the reach of many readers, though even as early versions of fairy tales appear to have been common currency, so were the Arthurian tales, at least in basic versions.

I will undertake first to list names from Malory, and then from other Arthurian legend bases.   One of these, ‘Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight’, is said by some sources to contain allegorical reference to John of Gaunt, an early champion of Lollardy.

Arthurian cycles

Morte d’Arthur

These are the most prominent characters appearing in the 8 books

Male			Female
Agravaine	Ector	Mark	Elaine
Arthur	Gaheris	Mellyagaunce	Gwynevere
Balan	Gareth	Merlin	Iseult [Isolde]
Balyn	Gawaine	Mordred	Lynette
Bedivere	Galahad	Ninian	Lyonesse
Blamore	Gorlois	Palamedes	Morgan
Bleoberys	Launcelot	Peregrine	Margawse
Bors	Leodegrance	Tristrams	Ygraine
Cei [Kay]	Lot	Urry
Dinadan	Lucan	Uther

Brothers: Balan & Balyn; Gawaine, Gareth & Gaheris. 

Chretien de Troyes [5 narrative tales c 1160-1190]

Male				Female
Alexander	Dodinel	Grain	Morhut	Blanchfleur
Alis	Erec	Gru	Nut	Enide
Amauguin	Escalados	Kay	Perceval	Fenice
Aras	Eslit	Labigodes	Sagremor	Guinevere
Arthur	Evroic	Lac	Taulas	Laudine
Bademagu	Gaheriet	Lancelot/Lanceloz	Tenebroc	Lunete
Bedoiir [Bedivere]	Galegantin	Loholt	Tor	Orcades [Morgawse]
Bertrand	Gales	Lot	Tristan	Soredamors
Bliobleheris	Garravain	Meleagant	Uriien	Ygraine
Bran	Gawain	Meliadoc	Yder
Calogrenant	Girflet	Meliant	Yvain
Carabes	Gornemant	Meliz
Cligès	Gornevain	Mordred

Other Arthurian cycles, often involving marriage to a fey [fairy]

There are many tales in which a knight of the Round Table meets a fairy woman and marries here but is under geas not to speak about his wife, which of course he breaks, bringing sorrow.  She usually repents and rescues him.  Another theme is that of the ‘loathly lady’ stories, a version of which Chaucer includes in the ‘Tale of the Wife of Bath,’ where a knight is challenged to find what women want, and is constrained to marry an ugly hag to do so.  On their wedding night she becomes a beautiful woman and tells him she may be lovely by day when others see her, or by night when he takes her to bed.  The proper knight leaves the choice to her, freeing her from haghood at any time.  Other themes involve resisting seduction by a hostess and the obligatory beheading games. 

Authors include Thomas Chestre, Marie de France, John Gower’s ‘Confessio Amantis’ [included for the loathly lady story of Sir Florent] and anonymous writers of works like ‘The Awntyres [adventures] off Arthure’, Geoffrey of Monmouth’s ‘Historia Regum Britannia’, and ‘Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight’. I do not include the main protagonists save where they have name variations or a leading role like Gawain[e].  I have not included the Mabinogian, although it influenced some writers as the names are distinctly Welsh and unlikely to be borrowed in England when Anglicised names were more familiar.

Male		Female
Bertilac	Launfal /Landeval/ Lanval	Anna/Morgawse aka Orcades, Seife
Branchus	Loholt	Clarissant
Florent	Mardoc	Gaynour/ Guinevere
Galeron	Melwas	Olwen
Gawaine	Olyroun	Ragnelle
Gingalain	Percival	Soredamor
Gorlois	Thopas	Tryamour
Gromer	Valentine	Thametis/Thameta/Thenilis
Hoel		Winlogee/Guinevere

Thametis is said to be the sister of Gawaine and the daughter of King Lot, and is probably synonymous with legendary Scottish saint Teneu.  In some texts Loholt is the illegitimate son of Arthur, but in ‘Perlesvaus’ he is the legitimate son of Arthur and  Guinevere.  ‘Perlesvaus’ is a 13^th century continuation of Chretien de Troyes’ ‘Percival’. There were a number of continuations, so presumably the world’s first fanfiction…

Perceforest

An anonymous six volume romance in French, loosely related to the Arthurian cycle, a fanciful history of England and one of the earliest tellings of the Sleeping Beauty legend, Troylus et Zellandine. Written between 1330 and 1344, printed 1528.  I have left out such historical figures as Alexander the Great who were included, and the usual suspects from the Arthurian cycles.

Male		Female
Bethides	Gaddifer	Circe	Themis
Betis	Perceforest	Lucina	Venus
Darmant	Troylus	Sebille	Zellandine
Darnadon

The Melusine cycle

It is still a French proverb that one may weep like Melusine.  This is a two generation cycle of husbands disobeying conditions laid on them by their wives  about not seeing them at certain times.   This also has connections to the Arthurian cycle as knights descended from those of the Round Table appear as heroes. The best known literary version is by Jean d’Arras composed 1382-1394

Male		Female
Elynas	Nathas	Melior	Palatyne
Geoffrey	Raymond	Melusine	Pressyne

Song of Roland

The Song of Roland purported to be a history of the first Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charlemagne, or Charles the Great.  Tales of derring-do and the theme of friendship between Oliver and Roland.  Dodgy for Merovingian names but certainly a source for late medieval ones.  Some characters appear to be shared with the Arthurian cycles, probably reflecting a similar folk source.

Male	Male	Female
Alard	Guy	Angelina
Allery	Hoel	Berenice
Amadis	Lambert	Bertha
Astolfo	Malagigi	Blanchefleur
Aymon	Nayme/Nami	Bradamant
Baldwin	Ogier	Dianora
Basin	Oliver	Dorigen
Berengar	Otuël	Elizana
Doon	Peridan	Oriana
Ferumbias/Fierabras	Renaud/Rinaldo
Florismart	Richand
Ganelan	Richard
Geoffrey	Riol
Guerin	Roland/Orlando
Guichard	Samson
Guillaume	Thiery

Chaucer

Chaucer’s characters are a mix of names that were extant in his time, and those from tales he borrows wholesale from the classics.  Other tales he tells are often borrowed wholesale from Boccaccio and Gower like Patient Griselda or Grishilde. I have not included the names of Greek gods, nor have I included names from Bible stories like Judith and Holofernes which are too well known to require listing

Names in common currency

Male		Female
Absolon[Absolom]	Oliver	Alice	Jill
Alan	Oswald	Alisoun	Mabely
Gervase	Peter/Piers/Perkin	Blanche	Malkin
Guy	Ralf	Cecily	Maudelayne
Harry	Robin/Robert	Constance	Molly
Hubert	Roger/Hodge	Crysede	Prudence
Hugh	Simon/Simkin	Eglantyne	Rosemund
Jack/John/Jankyn	Solomon	Emelye[Emily]	Sophia
Maurice	Thomas	Grishilde	Theodora
Nicholas	Walter	Helen

Classical/pseudo-classical & Persian names in Chaucer

Male		Female
Achilles	Hector	Alcestis	Livia
Achelous	Hercules	Alcyone	Lucilla
Aella	Jason	Anelida	Lucrece
Aeneas	Julius	Ariadne	Medea
Apollonius	Leander	Briseis	Myrrha
Appius	Lucan	Canace	Pasiphaë
Arcite	Lycurgus	Clytemnestra	Penelope
Arrius	Odenatus	Creusa	Philomela
Cambyses	Palamon	Crysede	Phyllis
Capaneus	Pandarus	Deianira	Progne
Ceryx	Pirathous	Dido	Thisbe
Claudius	Pyramus	Eriphyle	Virginia
Creon	Theseus	Helen	Zenobia
Cyrus	Tiburce	Hero
Deiphobus	Troylus	Hermione
Demophon	Valerian	Hypermnestra
Diomed[es]	Virginius	Hyppolyta
Emetreus		Hipspyle

Other mythic names in Chaucer [including those from Arthurian cycles]

Male			Female
Algarsyf	Elephaunt	Percival	Canacee
Aurelius	Ganelan	Pleyndamour	Donegild
Averagus	Guy	Thopas	Dorigen
Bevis	Hermanno	Thymaldo	Elpheta
Cambal	Libeaus	Ugolino	Hermengild
Cambuscan	Melibee	Ypotis	Theodora

Interestingly, some scholars postulate that the tale of the Wife of Bath shows that she has an interest in Lollardy, if not actually being a Lollard, since remarriage of widows was a tenet of the beliefs, and her extremely free thinking suggests Lollard influences.  Where Chaucer stood on this is, of course, a moot point.  He did write a disclaimer to the effect that opinions of his characters did not necessarily reflect his own.  However, as an author myself, I cannot think that he was not pleased that Lollard literacy meant more sales of his books.  Religion is religion but business is business!

Here’s one more table of literary names available by the 16^th century, mostly from French romances and ballads:

Male	Female
Abelard	Argentine	Electra
Amylion	Beatrix	Erembors
Amys	Belisant	Heloise
Aucassin	Bessee	Idoine
Flore	Blanche	Margeurite
Orson	Blancheflore	Nicolette
Pippin	Calafia	Yolande
Valentin	Douette

references: Chaucer, selected works; Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight; A lytel Geste of Robin Hood; Wiki on Malory, Chretien de Troyes etc [because I need to go to the library to look at the damn books but Wiki is a shortcut and I can check properly later, and there's only so much Middle English I can take before I get a headache]; the Oxford Treasury of French Literature. 

The Elements of Romance [and an appeal]

The appeal first, as I have lost all my recent work when the cats totalled my flashdrive; I know I let someone have a copy of my weather data beyond what's posted here.  If it was you, please contact me!
This article below was first blogged on Kat Kane's Romance blog, last year.

The Elements of Romance

The elements of a romance are, not necessarily in order of importance:

1. A heroine
2. A hero
3. A villain
4. Tension
5. A plot
6. Attraction

It may sound obvious, but the first things a romance needs are a hero, and a heroine.

It’s not as obvious as it sounds.

1. The Heroine has to be attractive, and, since most readers [though not all] tend to be women, someone with whom the reader can identify.  This means that she needs to be at least one and preferably two or three from a combination of:

 Beautiful; clever; spirited; full of common sense; rich; socially well-connected; compassionate; or popular.

It is important that she should not be all of these, or even too many, because that heads towards the realms of the dreaded ‘Mary Sue’ whom everyone wants to slap upside of the head.  This removes, for the reader, the designation of ‘popular’.  A heroine must have a flaw, and preferably one which will get her into trouble [see point 4, tension] such as being terribly innocent in the ways of the wicked world and easily manipulated by the villain [see point 3].  Compassion can be a flaw as well as a virtue, if her compassion leads her to rescue mongrels, climbing boys or Covent Garden whores, and involving any gentleman with whom she is associated willy-nilly into such endeavours.   

The heroine must, however, be someone the reader can love.

It is entirely possible to have a heroine who is not beautiful, nor especially spirited; Heyer manages it brilliantly with Drusilla in ‘The Quiet Gentleman’, a plot which may appeal more to the older reader than to the younger, but then, the heroine of any romance will always appeal more to some than others.  A good writer will manage to present a selection of heroines whose appeal varies.  So long as they are matched by their respective heroes, the story should be enjoyable even if each person has their favourites.  And these may change; as a teenager, I enjoyed Heyer’s ‘These Old Shades’ with the effervescent Leonie and her demonic Duke of Avon; being officially middle aged now, I can take it or leave it, and prefer Miss Heyer’s more thought-provoking stories like ‘A Civil Contract’ which, in my youth, I disliked intensely. 

2. The Hero should be swoonworthy.  This can be difficult as the tastes of all women do differ; I, for example, consider Jane Eyre’s Mr Rochester more in need of kicking than kissing because he’s a liar. However, the general consensus appears to be that a hero is best if tall, dark and handsome, ‘in possession of a good fortune’, not easy to get to know, witty, humorous and a leader of fashion.

This tends to fill me with feelings of perversity when writing since I rather object to the idea of filling the world with Mr Darcy clones.  There are enough out there.

Some people feel that a hero must be a rake; a true rake is not actually a very admirable or satisfactory person, but a hero might have got the reputation either unfairly or when, released onto the town with too much money, he sowed his wild oats rather too freely.  As convention tends to dictate a virginal heroine, it is wise for the hero to be at least experienced.  A girl wants to feel that she is kissed masterfully and successfully, not be engaged in a clumsy bout of nose hockey.

The main point of a hero is to be heroic; to be someone who is there for the heroine when she needs him.  Whether this is knocking down the villain as he attempts an abduction, or merely being able to obtain a hackney carriage in the rain, he should impress by his ability.  This can be quiet competence; or a flamboyant approach.  The hero may be a sportsman, even a Corinthian, or he may be a scholar.  It is much, much harder to make a hero of a dandy, though so long as he does not love his appearance more than he is capable of loving others, not impossible.  It is my contention that the most successful hero has some combination of the main qualities of sportsman, scholar, dandy or man-about-town.  A Corinthian namely mostly for his ability to drive to an inch who is also knowledgeable about the running of his lands, and has picked up some eclectic nursing knowledge when serving on the Peninsula, like my own Gervase, in ‘Cousin Prudence’ for example.

As the heroine has virtues, so too does the hero:

Good with the ladies; sportsman; clever; humorous; stylish; handsome; rich; well-connected.   Pick three and stir thoroughly. 

3. The Villain should be truly villainous, though some saving grace in him is permitted.  It also leaves openings for him to reform and be the hero of a sequel.* He may be a rival for the hand of the heroine, or a wicked uncle, or he might even be a female, the hero’s ex-mistress, a cruel mother/stepmother, a designing hussy or any person who opposes the romance between the Hero and the Heroine for whatever reason.  The Villain can even be dead, and it is his will which is the bone of contention, preventing the Heroine from marrying where she wishes, for example, by only leaving her his money if she is betrothed to a certain person. Who might, or might not, turn out to be the Hero. The Villain can be a plot device to show the Hero as heroic in opposing him, or not succumbing to her wiles; or as a red herring to lead the Heroine astray and cause trouble between her and the Hero.

4. Tension is needed to play on the feelings of the Hero and Heroine.  There are many plot devices to introduce tension, of which the Villain is one.  They tend to include a secret which is not told, causing suspicion; doubt regarding identity or the truth surrounding one of the protagonist’s backgrounds; jealousy arising from an overheard or glimpsed encounter which appears to be more than it truly is; lies sown by a third party to cause trouble; lies sown by a third party with the best of possible intentions; the well-meaning intervention without understanding of a third party;  and misunderstandings where both Hero and Heroine are talking at crossed-purposes.  Tension may also arise from the embarrassing behaviour of friends or relatives, including having to bail them out of debt, and keep it secret; the open or concealed hostility of one or more associates; and of course the sexual tension between the characters that may even manifest initially as hostility.  

5. A Plot is necessary. Boy being meets Girl being, they suffer tribulations and kiss under the silvery moon is not enough. [with apologies to Douglas Adams.]

It has been said that there are only seven original plots, but it’s the twists on them that make the differences.  Your star-crossed lovers might not be named Montague and Capulet, but they might love across class or, if you feel brave enough to tackle it across religion or colour.  It happened!  Plagiarism is a dirty word, but revamping a plot with a new twist is what is generally called research, and Shakespeare is dead and can’t sue.  However, there are plenty of ideas to be found in the very act of research for temporal authenticity; I can’t recall offhand how many plot bunnies Kat Kane has sparked for me, with her excellent blog ‘The Regency Redingote’, qv.  However, the point is that there needs to be a reason for the main protagonists to meet; some point of interest which keeps them meeting; adversity within that to give them Tension; and a resolution of both plot, and love, with all ends tied up neatly, even if only by implication, and the Hero and Heroine smooch their way into the last page, roll credits, organ music, reader sighs with satisfied delight and realises her coffee has got cold because she was too interested in the denouement. 

And yes, some plots are a little weak and contrived, but so long as they exist AND the characters and dialogue are strong, you can get away with it.  Even Heyer had her off days; I find both ‘Charity Girl’ and ‘Sprig Muslin’ rather too much alike and somewhat trite, especially compared to some of her stronger works.  However any Heyer is worth reading for her wonderful secondary characters and her witty dialogue.

6. Attraction  has to exist between the Hero and the Heroine.  This might easily be displaced into self-destructive behaviour out of perversity, or through a misunderstanding of feelings, but it has to exist.  The initial misunderstanding and the arguments, which both may find as exciting as they find it exasperating, can be a good way of building up their knowledge of each other and discovery of self as well as each other, and to demonstrate an initial physical but antagonistic attraction growing into something greater.

Equally, the characters may have no conflict between themselves, unless engineered by a third party, but still have to come to know each other, and move from being strangers to a gradually warmer friendship and beyond.  This can be harder to demonstrate, but when done well is very rewarding.  The example that springs immediately to mind is Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ where Emma’s mental transition to adulthood through the book brings with it her awareness that Mr Knightley is a man she cares for as more than an old family friend.  Here, the protagonists are already known to each other, but the Heroine still has much to learn about the Hero – and herself.

If your characters are engaging in insipid dialogue and do not create sparks from each other, you might as well go back and rewrite each with a different lover.  They are not going to get it on with each other.  Now I like my romance without any hard biology, though I don’t object to well-written, well-placed erotic passages where the plot is strong enough to merit it, but even in a gentle romance, you should be able to sense the sexual tension seething under the surface.  Which is to say, the reader with the imagination that wishes to go that far, should be able to picture the Hero and Heroine going to bed together, rather than finding their greatest thrill in writing elegiac poetry together. 

It is also about more than the sex; because they should be sufficiently perfectly suited to be envisioned, in a quarter of a century, playing with their grandchildren, or taking tea and toast together in their wrap and banyan with their hair still tousled from the night.  That’s the difference between romance and bodice-rippers.  The sex early on is implied but the attraction of personalities lasts a lifetime.

I’ve been married 31 years and my husband and I are still in love, so I claim that as a qualification to lecture.

NOTE: I originally used the word 'feisty' instead of 'spirited' for a heroine, because I knew everyone would know what it meant.  However, it should be remembered that it should never be used in a Regency novel itself, since at the time it was cant and referred to the tendency of small dogs to break wind.  We don't really want a flatulent heroine.  Moreover I have seen too many stories where the heroine is described as 'feisty' in which it appears to be a synonym for rude and overbearing.  I suppose that's apt; a sort of verbal flatulence. 

* I've used this plot bunny for the second book in the Brandon Scandals series, which will be called 'The Reprobate's Redemption' featuring Evelyn, Marquis Finchbury, from 'The Hasty Proposal'.  Coming soon.