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Re: Begga and Allowin
in reply to a message by lac
Allowin is probably "All" in the extended sense of "entire/complete/perfect" + "wine" meaning "friend/lover". There are other protothemes which may be shortened to "All/Al", but they would generally not appear in the "Allo-/Ala-" form. St Begga is harder to ascertain. It may be a Gallic approximation of an abbreviated Frankish name beginning with *Beki-, Dutch and Saxon Beek, German Bach, English Beck, "stream" (compare the Norse Bekkhildr). Forstemann refers it to the other beck, a pickaxe, however the Medieval Latin forms are besca, bessa, bescia, modern French bêche (pronounced besh), and it seems implausible that a Frankish name would be rendered "Begga" instead. Possibly not her real name at all, her brother Allowin being commonly known as St Bavo.
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