A mynach by any other name . . . : the anthroponymy of the welsh cistercians, c.1300–1540

Abstract

This paper analyses the forenames and 'surnames' of over 600 monks associated with Cistercian abbeys in Wales between c .1300 and c.1540 in an attempt to determine what these names can reveal about the ethnic identities or identifications of their individual bearers and of their respective houses. The names are compared with those of white monks and other religious in England during the same period, as well as with naming patterns among the laity of contemporary Wales and England. The names of the brethren at different monasteries could vary significantly, and it is argued that this was a result partly of the stronger Welsh identity of the monks at certain Cistercian houses, but was also because the practice of adopting 'monastic bynames' – common at monasteries in late medieval England – was followed at some Welsh abbeys but not all.