A poll!

[msmcknittington]

Which name do you guys prefer as a replacement for Lady Maisry's name? Given that Maisry appears to be from the 18th century and Scottish, I don't want to use it in 13th century Wales.

I'd really prefer it if I could find something that still sounded pretty but actually meant "horrible person with a black heart", but girls don't tend to get named things like that.

So, the two choices I've discovered are sound-alikes, but Welsh. They might not be 13th century or even medieval, but they're a heck of a lot closer than Maisry and also avoid that whole "Isn't that a ballad?" thing.

Mairwen -- Combination of Welsh form of Mary (Mair) with gwen, which means "white, fair, blessed". I guess it could mean anything from "blessed virgin" to "white sea of bitterness", so there's a range of meanings there.

Meinwen -- Means "slender and white", from the Welsh main, meaning "slender", and gwen. I'm sort of imagining Lady not-Maisry as a sort of cross between Lady Macbeth and Galadriel from Lord of the Rings. Ambitious and social climbing, but tall and slender and fair. Also a mega-bitch.

[Poll #1298278]

Comments

[jennnlee.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, I love Possession. That book just sucked me in and was juat...magical. I've been dying to read it again, but it's packed away somewhere in our Boxes of Books Awaiting Bookshelves (5 years and counting!).

Ahem. Back on topic, I picked Mairwen. Of the two, it flows better as a name, I think.

[msmcknittington.livejournal.com]

I know! It's one of my absolute favorite books. I lent my copy to my sister a couple years ago and she still has it. :( It's one of the few books I can quote lines from, because I just do not have a mind that uses quotes well.