Gerard

Article summary

Gerard is a masculine forename of Proto-Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this case, those constituents are gari > ger- (meaning 'spear') and -hard (meaning 'hard/strong/brave'). Common forms of the name are Gerard (English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, Polish and Catalan); Gerrard (English, Scottish, Irish); (Italian, and Spanish); (Portuguese); (Italian); (Northern Italian, now only a surname); (variant forms and , now only surnames, French); (Irish); Gerhardt and Gerhart/Gerhard/Gerhardus (German, Dutch, and Afrikaans); (Hungarian); (Lithuanian) and / (Latvian); (Greece). A few abbreviated forms are Gerry and Jerry (English); (German) and (Afrikaans and Dutch); (Afrikaans and Dutch); (Afrikaans); (Dutch) and (Bulgarian). The introduction of the name 'Gerard' into the English language took place following the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Its original forms in Old French were " , " and " ". Patronymic surnames derived from a form of Gerard include Garrard, Garritsen, Gerard, Geertsen, Gerardet, Gerardi, Gerdes, Gerrard, Gerretsen, Gerrits(e), Gerritsen, Ghiraldi, and Giraud.…

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1946 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1700 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of birth: 1952 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of birth: 1948 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of birth: 1955 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. date of death: 1046 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. date of death: 1061 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1946". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1700". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of birth is "1952". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of birth is "1948". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of birth is "1955". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the date of death is "1046". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the date of death is "1061". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
10. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372388336