[MR] Italian name help (Albrici)

[Karen]

Patricia asked:
> Does anyone have any plausible sources for Albrici?

Sure!

Albrici (or Alberici) is mentioned as part of a patronymic surname in the Domesday Book; this is referenced in Reaney & Wilson's Dictionary of English Names (one of the no-photocopy books, yay!)
s.n. 'Aubrey': "Walterus filius Alberici, Albrici, Alberi 1086 DB"
See http://books.google.com/books?id=fPoujUPs3hYC&pg=PA19

The Dictionary of English Surnames is a very useful book, if you don't already have a copy, and the full version is available at Amazon -- http://amzn.to/dd5GpA


What this is showing is the Latin version of the name as a patronym -- essentially, if she wanted to be a 11th century Englishwoman, then "Tirzah filia Albrici" [that is, "Tirzah, daughter of Alberic"] would be a possibility -- as well as demonstrating that the "e" in the middle may disappear and reappear -- but since you're looking for Italian, let's go that way.



(Also, it's worth noting that 'Alberici' or 'Albrici' is a sort of shorthand possessive -- you know the way there's an apostrophe-S after a name in English?  So 'Albrici' is kind of like saying "Alberic's ___' -- where in this case, we mean his daughter or his family member.  This is why you're going to find documents like "Chronica Albrici Monachi Trium Fontium" -- it's just using that sort of Latin version of the apostrophe-S.  Here, it means "Chronicle of the [Cistercian Abbey of] Alberic of Three Fountains," rather than really being the surname you're looking for.)



Another source -- "The History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages," Volume V -- finds Maddalena Albrici among a list of saints of the Renaissance.
http://books.google.com/books?id=5CoNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA565

There is another mention of her in "The Other Friars: The Carmelite, Augustinian, Sack and Pied Friars in the Middle Ages"
http://amzn.to/cPRVqA
"Women were also important founders of communities: in the fifteenth century, Maddalena Albrici (d. 1465, beatified 1907), from Brunate above Como in northern Italy, founded the monastery of Sant'Andrea, which was soon followed by nine other monasteries in the region."
http://books.google.com/books?id=ZyDj51DmdMEC&pg=PA134




Sure hope that's a start for you --


Karen Larsdatter
www.larsdatter.com