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ArchivesRe: Anaïs
in reply to a message by Amandine
Thanks so much for finding the reference to Anais of Brienne! She does get a mention as a mistress of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the English language Wikipedia article on him but doesn't get her own article as she does in the German language Wikipedia.
It's interesting, though, that Brienne is located in northern France, a bit to the east and south of Paris, just northeast of the city of Troyes, which sort of contradicts the idea that Anais was originally a Provencal form of Anne from southern France. And Anais's mother Elvira of Hautville was from a family whose surname comes from a town in Normandy today called Héauville, which would be even further from Provence. They were the Norman family that ruled Sicily in the Middle Ages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauteville_family
It's interesting, though, that Brienne is located in northern France, a bit to the east and south of Paris, just northeast of the city of Troyes, which sort of contradicts the idea that Anais was originally a Provencal form of Anne from southern France. And Anais's mother Elvira of Hautville was from a family whose surname comes from a town in Normandy today called Héauville, which would be even further from Provence. They were the Norman family that ruled Sicily in the Middle Ages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hauteville_family
This message was edited 4/5/2024, 9:15 AM
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Replies
Ah, very interesting, thank you! Is it possible that they traveled to Provence during their holidays or to visit relatives/friends and picked it up there? My guess is that they were quite affluent and I think going on a holiday to another region wouldn't have been unusual. Then again I don't know very much about the time period.
I also find this, which shows usage since 1610: https://www.geneanet.org/prenom/Anais
I also find this, which shows usage since 1610: https://www.geneanet.org/prenom/Anais
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I have no doubt that members of royal families did more travelling than the common people during the 13th century, but I doubt if anyone was just doing it for "holiday" purposes! They were doing it for purposes of conquest or diplomatic marriages.
The articles you link to says Anais probably was raised in Jerusalem at the court of her uncle who was King of Jerusalem (as a result of the Crusades), and that when she became Frederick's mistress she was living at the court in Brindisi in Apulia, which is in southern Italy. She was about 20 when she became the emperor's mistress in 1225. However, the English language Wikipedia article on her father Walter III of Brienne says that he died in 1205 and had a posthumous son who succeeded him as Walter IV in 1205. So Anais actually must have been born a bit before 1205 if she really was Walter of Brienne's daughter. The articles only say she was "probably" the daughter of Walter and Elvira -- perhaps she herself was really child of a mistress, or was actually some other sort of cousin to John of Brienne and his daughter Isabella. If she was the daughter of Walter III and Elvira, she was probably herself born near Taranto in southern Italy -- Walter had gone there with an army to try to conquer Sicily after he married Elvira, and was made Prince of Taranto in 1201. This gets things a bit more complicated in terms of the name again because it means Anais was probably born in a part of Italy that had a great deal of influence from Greece, even though her father was from northern France.
The articles you link to says Anais probably was raised in Jerusalem at the court of her uncle who was King of Jerusalem (as a result of the Crusades), and that when she became Frederick's mistress she was living at the court in Brindisi in Apulia, which is in southern Italy. She was about 20 when she became the emperor's mistress in 1225. However, the English language Wikipedia article on her father Walter III of Brienne says that he died in 1205 and had a posthumous son who succeeded him as Walter IV in 1205. So Anais actually must have been born a bit before 1205 if she really was Walter of Brienne's daughter. The articles only say she was "probably" the daughter of Walter and Elvira -- perhaps she herself was really child of a mistress, or was actually some other sort of cousin to John of Brienne and his daughter Isabella. If she was the daughter of Walter III and Elvira, she was probably herself born near Taranto in southern Italy -- Walter had gone there with an army to try to conquer Sicily after he married Elvira, and was made Prince of Taranto in 1201. This gets things a bit more complicated in terms of the name again because it means Anais was probably born in a part of Italy that had a great deal of influence from Greece, even though her father was from northern France.
This message was edited 4/14/2024, 1:33 PM
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Very interesting! Thank you :)
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I did find some Italian sources about Anaïs de Brienne, who was called “the flower of Syria”: Anaïs di Brienne, il 'fiore di Siria'. It does seem however that her paternity is uncertain, as she was simply described as “a cousin of Yolande de Brienne”.
https://www.afsu.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/F.-Eugeni_Bollettino-AFSU-Vol.II-2_17-30.pdf
As for her name, if she was indeed a member of the house of Brienne, then perhaps her name was one of the many variants of Adelaide / Adelais / Alix / Aelis used in that family. Or perhaps even a form of Agnes, since that was the name of her (supposed) grandmother. But many medieval names have origins that were lost in time (Eleanor is a good example), so it might well have been any name of Germanic/Latin/Greek origin.
http://racineshistoire.free.fr/LGN/PDF/Brienne.pdf
https://www.afsu.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/F.-Eugeni_Bollettino-AFSU-Vol.II-2_17-30.pdf
As for her name, if she was indeed a member of the house of Brienne, then perhaps her name was one of the many variants of Adelaide / Adelais / Alix / Aelis used in that family. Or perhaps even a form of Agnes, since that was the name of her (supposed) grandmother. But many medieval names have origins that were lost in time (Eleanor is a good example), so it might well have been any name of Germanic/Latin/Greek origin.
http://racineshistoire.free.fr/LGN/PDF/Brienne.pdf
This message was edited 4/5/2024, 11:03 AM
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I am skeptical of Anaïs being derived from Anahita as well, since names of deities were not commonly used in medieval times.
Instead, I agree with SugarPlumFairy's theory - it may be derived from Agnes. I came across a record of Old French names brought to England by the Normans, and these spellings look quite similar to Anaïs (source: http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/3009.txt).
* Annais 1218
* Annas 1194
* Anneis 1154x89
* Annes 1170x76
Also, compare how Agnes was recorded in medieval England (source: https://dmnes.org/name/Agnes).
1418 Anneys
1419–20 Anneys
1424–25 Anneys
1431 Anneys
1432–33 Anneys
1434 Aneys, Anys
1436 Anneys
1438 Anneys
Additionally, it was also recorded as Anes in Paris in 1292 (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/1292paris.pdf).
Anaïs de Brienne was likely named after her supposed grandmother, Agnes. Perhaps the name was later popularized in Occitania as it was conflated with Anna, just like Magali is regarded as a form of both Magdalene and Marguerite. Alongside this, the spelling may have been influenced by other Occitan names like Adalaís, Aélis, Alays, Alazaïs...
I also think the opera helped boost Anaïs' popularity, but as a pseudo-Greek name before the "original" etymology was reclaimed.
I really hope this helps! :)
Instead, I agree with SugarPlumFairy's theory - it may be derived from Agnes. I came across a record of Old French names brought to England by the Normans, and these spellings look quite similar to Anaïs (source: http://www.panix.com/~gabriel/public-bin/showfinal.cgi/3009.txt).
* Annais 1218
* Annas 1194
* Anneis 1154x89
* Annes 1170x76
Also, compare how Agnes was recorded in medieval England (source: https://dmnes.org/name/Agnes).
1418 Anneys
1419–20 Anneys
1424–25 Anneys
1431 Anneys
1432–33 Anneys
1434 Aneys, Anys
1436 Anneys
1438 Anneys
Additionally, it was also recorded as Anes in Paris in 1292 (http://www.ellipsis.cx/~liana/names/french/1292paris.pdf).
Anaïs de Brienne was likely named after her supposed grandmother, Agnes. Perhaps the name was later popularized in Occitania as it was conflated with Anna, just like Magali is regarded as a form of both Magdalene and Marguerite. Alongside this, the spelling may have been influenced by other Occitan names like Adalaís, Aélis, Alays, Alazaïs...
I also think the opera helped boost Anaïs' popularity, but as a pseudo-Greek name before the "original" etymology was reclaimed.
I really hope this helps! :)
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How interesting! Thank you for sharing.
I think we need to keep in mind that Agnes and Anaïs are pronounced ahnn-yes and ah-nah-ees is French (approximately, I can't explain it better). So they are more similar than you would think by first looking at them. I can easily see how they might be related.
I think we need to keep in mind that Agnes and Anaïs are pronounced ahnn-yes and ah-nah-ees is French (approximately, I can't explain it better). So they are more similar than you would think by first looking at them. I can easily see how they might be related.
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