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I've come across the female name Alivia used twice in medieval Britain. One was Alivia de Hamme/de Hame (that was her married name anyway), and the other was Alivia Braose. Both lived in the 14th century. Alivia Braose was also called Alice. Was Alivia a 14th century variant of Alice? I doubt it was related to the Shakespearean name Olivia.
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In what contexts have you "come across" these? Is there more than one reference to each, or is it a unique reference? And have you examined the original records, or are these mentions from printed books reporting on original records?
If you haven't seen the original records, and there is only one mention each of these women, I would think there is a good chance that someone just misread Alicia as Alivia when consulting the records.
If you haven't seen the original records, and there is only one mention each of these women, I would think there is a good chance that someone just misread Alicia as Alivia when consulting the records.
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I certainly haven't seen any original records, so you may be right that Alivia is a typo for Alicia. On the other hand, if it's a mistake, then it's a mistake that many people have made. Google "Alivia Braose" or "Alivia de Braose" and you'll find numerous geneological pages that reference her. Curiously, some of these websites also call her Aline, a name which is supposed to be related to Adeline, not Alice.
I looked for some more medieval Alivias and came across two more: both of them named Alivia Bassett, both living in the 13th century. The second Alivia Bassett is *also* called Aline in some sources. She was the mother of a famous English lord named Hugh le Despenser the Elder, and is referred to as Alivia by more than one source. So I suppose Alivia is somehow related to either Alice or Aline.
BTW, all my "research" comes from the internet, so there's always the possibility that there are some of the websites I've seen aren't too reliable. :)
I looked for some more medieval Alivias and came across two more: both of them named Alivia Bassett, both living in the 13th century. The second Alivia Bassett is *also* called Aline in some sources. She was the mother of a famous English lord named Hugh le Despenser the Elder, and is referred to as Alivia by more than one source. So I suppose Alivia is somehow related to either Alice or Aline.
BTW, all my "research" comes from the internet, so there's always the possibility that there are some of the websites I've seen aren't too reliable. :)
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Alice is related to Adeline, though dimly (they both go back to Adelheid), so Aline is faintly connected to Alice, and may have been a stronger connection at the time.
I don't have any idea about the rest, but it's all very interesting.
I don't have any idea about the rest, but it's all very interesting.
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Even if the websites are reliable, you can't necessarily take the number of websites on something like genealogy as evidence of multiple sources. They could all be quoting the same single medieval document.
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Aline Bassett (mother of Hugh le Despenser) seems to referred to in books equally as Aline Basset and Aliva Basset. A few books have Alivia Basset, but not nearly as many. (I searched in Google Books).
One example from A History of England by James Franck Bright
http://books.google.com/books?id=FWEAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR48&dq=%22Aliva+Basset%22&ei=7NZGSKr7KIT8swOT5_CxDQ
One example from A History of England by James Franck Bright
http://books.google.com/books?id=FWEAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR48&dq=%22Aliva+Basset%22&ei=7NZGSKr7KIT8swOT5_CxDQ
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