Primary sources

OUD = Oudenaarde

Renteboek van het hospitaal te Oudenaarde, mei 1272.
Article nr 122 in: M. Gysseling (ed.), Corpus van Middelnederlandse Teksten (tot en met het jaar 1300), Reeks I: Ambtelijke Bescheiden, Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage, 1977.
Accounts of the hospital in Oudenaarde, May 1272, in Middle Dutch. About 450 names of Flemish citizens.

GEN = Gent

Statuten en ledenlijst van de broederschap van Sint-Jacob in het Sint-Jacobsgodshuis te Gent (Sint-Jansparochie), 1270 - 1301
Article nrs 92, 93, 94 in: M. Gysseling (ed.), Corpus van Middelnederlandse Teksten (tot en met het jaar 1300), Reeks I: Ambtelijke Bescheiden, Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage, 1977.
Regulations and list of members of the fraternity of Sint-Jan in Ghent during the last quarter of the 13th century, in Middle Dutch. About 900 names of Flemish citizens; although it's a fraternity, the list contains over 100 feminine names.

MEI = de Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch

Camps, H.P.H., Oorkondenboek van Noord-Brabant tot 1312, I: de Meierij van 's-Hertogenbosch, Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage, 1979.
The 13th century charters from Noord-Brabant are mostly written in Latin. All charters dated between 1250 and 1300 were used. Only persons that could be located in the Meierij were considered. Identification of individuals was based on the persons-index, provided in the book. 670 individuals were counted, including 250 citizens of the town of 's-Hertogenbosch.

DOR = Dordrecht

Burgers, J.W.J. & Dijkhof, E.C. (eds), De oudste stadsrekeningen van Dordrecht 1283-1287, Verloren, Hilversum, 1995.
See also article nrs 534, 601, 702 in: M. Gysseling (ed.), Corpus van Middelnederlandse Teksten (tot en met het jaar 1300), Reeks I: Ambtelijke Bescheiden, Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage, 1977.
Accounts of the town of Dordrecht in the 1280's, in Middle Dutch. Identification of individuals was based on the persons-index, provided in the book. Nearly 600 persons were recorded.

HOL = Holland

Oudste leenregister van Holland, grafelijke kanselarij, 1280 - 1287.
Article nr 308 in: M. Gysseling (ed.), Corpus van Middelnederlandse Teksten (tot en met het jaar 1300), Reeks I: Ambtelijke Bescheiden, Nijhoff, 's-Gravenhage, 1977.
See also charter nr 2047 in: Kruisheer, J.G., Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland tot 1299, Deel IV: 1278 tot 1291, Van Gorcum, Assen, 1997.
Oldest feudal register of the county Holland, 1280 - 1287. Mostly Middle Dutch, with some parts in Latin. About 500 citizens and noblemen from the present province of South-Holland. There may be a small overlap with the Dordrecht accounts.

RIN = Rinnegom

Oorkonde van Rinnegom, 23 juni 1264
Charter nr 1361 in: Kruisheer, J.G., Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland tot 1299, Deel III: 1256 tot 1278, Van Gorcum, Assen, 1992.
Charter containing over 200 names of servants of the Egmond Abbey, living in the small town of Rinnegom, in North-Holland. Written in Latin on June 23, 1264. Interestingly, 50% of the persons recorded at Rinnegom are female.

GRO = Groningen, Drenthe, Friesland, and Overijssel

Blok, P.J, Feith, J.A., Gratama, S., Reitsma, J. & Rutgers, C.P.L, Oorkondenboek van Groningen en Drente, Deel I: tot 1372, Wolters, Groningen, 1896.
Charters from the Northern and Eastern regions, mostly in Latin. All charters dated between 1250 and 1300 were used. Only persons that could be located in the northern provinces were considered.
Although this was the largest region, not many individuals have been recorded: just under 300, mostly from the provinces Groningen and Drenthe.

Other references

Debrabandere, F.

Woordenboek van de familienamen in België en Noord-Frankrijk, Veen, Amsterdam/Antwerpen, 2003.
The complete dictionary of family names in Belgium and Northern France. My primary reference for identifying the meaning of bynames.

de Jong, A. & A. Kruijssen (eds.)

Huizinga’s Complete lijst van Voornamen, Tirion, Baarn, 1998.
I used Huizinga's list when Van der Schaar (1992) did not provide information about the elements of which Germanic names were composed.

MNW

Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, AND Publishing Technology, Rotterdam, 1998.
The Middle Dutch Dictionary, compiled between 1885 and 1929 by Verwijs and Verdam, now available on CD. My secondary reference for identifying the meaning of bynames.

van der Schaar, J.

Uit de wordingsgeschiedenis der Hollandse doop- en familienamen, Van Gorcum & Comp., Assen, 1953.
Classic study on Dutch names. Provides rules for pronunciation, spelling, and the composition of names.

van der Schaar, J.

Woordenboek van Voornamen, Spectrum, Utrecht (1992, orig. 1964).
A dictionary of (modern and historic) Dutch names. My primary reference for finding the origins of given names. See also the Meertens Instituut website, below.

Schoonheim, T.

Vrouwennamen in Middeleeuws Holland. Germaanse en niet-Germaanse vrouwennamen in Holland tot 1300. In: Van vader- naar moedertaal. Latijn, Frans en Nederlands in de dertiende-eeuwse Nederlanden, Brussel, 2000, p. 101-117.
An article on feminine names in Holland, with special emphasis on the Rinnegom charter. In Dutch.

Schoonheim, T.

Pieterse, een vrouwennaam uit de dertiende eeuw, Naamkunde 33, 2001, p. 63-71.
Article on the feminine name Pieterse. In Dutch.

Interesting digital links

Medieval names in the Low Lands

www.keesn.nl/names - given names and bynames before 1150.

www.keesn.nl/nordic - Nordic names in the Low Countries.

www.keesn.nl/sources - Dutch medieval sources.

Meertens Instituut of the KNAW (Royal Dutch Acedemy of Sciences)

www.meertens.knaw.nl/voornamen/VNB - Dutch given names data bank, based on the latest edition of Prisma Voornamen, compiled by dr. J. van der Schaar, edited by dr. Doreen Gerritzen (13th edition, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, Utrecht 2000). In Dutch.
On the same site, also only in Dutch:
www.meertens.knaw.nl/NFD/nfd.html - the Dutch family names data bank.

The Medieval Names Archive

www.s-gabriel.org/names - the perfect starting point for medieval and dark age names from various cultures.

Link sites for names (in Dutch):

namen.beginthier.nl - Namen Begint Hier.

namen-voornamen.pagina.nl - Startpagina Voornamen.

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