Re: Adding to what Dawn said...
in reply to a message by thegriffon
Actually, I have to add, we DO have continental "a" for High German "ei" in names such as Hamo and Hama, also recorded as Haima, Haimo, as well as the High Germ Heim, OE Hám- . It may not definitively explain feminine Burgundian "rada", but it's no stretch to expect that if we have hám for haim in continental names, not just English, then we should also have rád for raid, and even Forstemann lists Herireit, Sigirait, and several names in Raid-, Rait- and Reid-, so "raid" as a feminine name element is documented. He even accepts á for ai as a regular variant for other name elements, so surely feminine -rád, "raid" should be assumed over a purely conjectural feminization of otherwise masculine réd, rád "council".