Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Yvaine

In Neil Gaiman's novel, Stardust, Yvaine was the name of a star that took human form when she fell from the sky. She was knocked down by a necklace sent by the King of Stormhold, as a test for his heirs. She landed in the the land of Faerie. There she encountered Tristran Thorne (Tristan in the film adaption), from the town of Wall, who tried to abduct her to take her as a gift to Victoria, a girl he was smitten with. She was also hunted by witches who wished to cut out her heart and use the magic to live forever, and by the heirs of Stormhold, who were after the necklace that knocked her from the sky. Tristran, her would be abductor, became her rescuer, and the two fell in love.

As far as I can tell, the name was invented by Gaiman, although some baby name websites have unsourced origins. The closest I can find that appears legitimate is the male name Yvain, which is of Welsh origin. Yvain is a form of Owain, meaning 'Youth', the name of a knight in the Arthurian legends. In 2012, 9 girls were named Yvaine.

1 comment:

  1. Yvain is actually of French origin; it is an Old French form of Owen found in medieval Arthurian cycles. Owen itself is from Greek Eugene 'well-born; of good kin/family', so I'm not sure where your sources got 'youth' from. Yvaine is the expected Middle French fem. form for the 13th or 14th C; by the 15th C, you'd be more likely to see Yvainne.

    For more information, see http://dmnes.org/name/Eugene

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