It is sometimes odd to see how some elements impose themselves, beyond our controlThis is particularly the case for the names and the first names of my characters.
My history takes place in France. It would therefore appear logic that the first names of the protagonists be French speakers, at least for those from the countryI could have chosen. Rock, Paulette or even Hugo. This is what I did in the first pages of writing.
Very quickly, however, I realized that this did not suit me. These men and these women were not distinguished by their name or their first name in the construction of this nascent history, but rather by their job, their SKILLS, their Status or even, for one of the key figures, by its incompetence.
I will not reveal theplot, but to illustrate my about, you will find in the excerpts section of this blog a short extract mentioning a certain "Mr. Bob".
So most of my characters are identified by a nickname, a denomination that differentiates them from each other. It has become a kind of distinctive mark demon writing process. It seems to me that this is not very fluent today. But, by curiosity, I asked my virtual friend about the very famous "William the Conqueror" : what was his surname ?
Its answer was as follows:
" William the Conqueror had no surname in the modern sense, because the hereditary names were not yet used at that time. It was called William of Normandy, because he was Duke of Normandy, or even William I of England after his conquest of theEngland in 1066.
He was son of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, and sometimes it was referred to by its original nickname : William the Bastard.
THE surnames, as we know them today, gradually appeared in Europe between the 11th and 14th centuries, but their use only became widespread much later... »
Besides, who knows the surname ofHelen, of Jesus, of Moses or of Socrate ? They were referred to by their origin : Helen of Sparta (or of Troy), Jesus of Nazareth (Or Jesus son of Joseph), Moses “drawn from the waters”, or even Socrates of Athens.
In light of this little investigation, I feel relieved and comforted in my choice : do not give any name — and sometimes not even first name — to my important figures, except for those that appear from the first pages, as I mentioned above.
