Chapter 8

"Praetorian here, praetorian there, I mind thebiggingo't."(Antiquary, ch. iv.).

DWELLINGS

The obsolete verb tobig,i.e. build, whenceBiggar, a builder, has given usBiggins,Biggs(Chapter III), andNewbigging, while from tobuildwe haveNewbouldandNewbolt.Cazenove, Ital.casanuova, means exactly the same. Probably related tobuildisthe obsoleteBottle, a building, whenceHarbottle.Ahumble dwelling was called aBoardâ€”

Borde, a little house, lodging, or cottage of timber (Cotgrave)â€”

whenceBoardman,Border. Other names wereBooth,Lodge, andFolley, Fr. feuillÃ©e, a hut made of branchesâ€”

"FeuillÃ©e, an arbor, or bower, framed of leav'd plants, or branches" (Cotgrave).

Scale, possibly connected withshealing, is a Scandinavian word used in the north for a shepherd's hut, hence the surnameScales. Bower, which now suggests a leafy arbour, had no such sense in Mid. English. Chaucer says of the poor widowâ€”

"Ful sooty was hirbourand eek hire halle."(B, 4022.)

"Ful sooty was hirbourand eek hire halle."

(B, 4022.)

Hence the namesBowerman,Boorman,Burman.

But the commonest of names for a humble dwelling wascotorcote

Born and fed in rudenesseAs in acoteor in an oxe stalle(E, 397)

Born and fed in rudenesseAs in acoteor in an oxe stalle

(E, 397)

the inhabitant of which was aColman,Cotter, or, diminutively,Cottrell,Cotterill. Hence the frequent occurrence of the nameCoates.

There are also numerous compounds, e.g.Alcott(old),Norcott,Kingscote, and the many variants ofCaldecott,Calcott, the cold dwelling, especially common as a village name in the vicinity of the Roman roads. It is supposed to have been applied, like Coldharbour, to deserted posts. The nameCottonissometimes from the dative plural of the same word, though, when of French origin, it representsColon, dim. of Cot, aphetic for Jacot.

Names such asKitchin,Spence, a north-country word for pantry (Chapter XX), andMews, originally applied to the hawk-coops (seeMewer, Chapter XV), point to domestic employment. The simpleMew, common in Hampshire, is a bird nickname.Scammellpreserves an older form ofshamble(s), originally the benches on which meat was exposed for sale. The nameCurrie, orCurry,istoo common to be referred entirely to the Scot.Corrie, a mountain glen, or to Curry in Somerset, and I conjecture that it sometimes represents Old French and Mid. Eng.curie, a kitchen, which is the origin of Petty Cury in Cambridge and of the famous French name Curie. Nor canFurnessbe derived exclusively from the Furness district of Lancashire. It must sometimes correspond to the common French name Dufour, fromfour, oven. We also have the nameOvens.Stables, when not identical withStaples(Chapter XIII), belongs to the same class asMews.Chambers, found in Scotland asChalmers, is official, the medievaldelaChambreoften referring to the Exchequer Chamber of the City of London.Bellchambershas probably no connection with this word. It appears to be an imitative spelling of Belencombre, a place near Dieppe, for the entrydeBelencumbreisof frequent occurrence.

Places of confinement are represented byGale, gaol (Chapter III),Penn, whenceInkpen(Berkshire),Pond,Pound, andPenfoldorPinfold. ButGalesis also for Anglo-Fr.Galles, Wales.Buttsmay come from the archery ground, whileButtisgenerally to be referred to the French name Bout (Chapter VII) or toBudd(Chapter VII).Cordery, fordelacorderie, of the rope-walk, has been confused with the much more picturesqueCorderoy,i.e.coeurderoi.

SHOP SIGNS

As is well known, medieval shops had signs instead of numbers, and traces of this custom are still to be seen in country towns. It is quite obvious that town surnames would readily spring into existence from such signs. The famous nameRothschild, always mispronounced in English, goes back to the "red shield" over Nathan Rothschild's shop in the Jewry of Frankfurt; and within the writer's memory two brothers named Grainge in the little town of Uxbridge were familiarly known as Bible Grainge and Gridiron Grainge. Many animal surnames are to be referred partly to this source, e.g.Bull,Hart,Lamb,Lyon,Ram,Roebuck,Stagg;Cock,Falcon,Peacock,Raven,Swann, etc., all still common as tavern signs. The popinjay, or parrot, is still occasionally found asPobgee,Popjoy. These surnames all have, of course, an alternative explanation (ch. xxiii.). Here also usually belongAngelandVirgin.

A considerable number of such names probably consist of those taken from figures used in heraldry or from objects which indicated the craft practised, or the special commodity in which the tradesman dealt. Such areArrow,Bell,Buckle,Crosskeys,Crowne,Gauntlett,Hatt,Horne,Image,Key,Lilley,Meatyard, measuring wandâ€”

"Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, inmeteyard, in weight, or in measure" (Lev. xix.35)â€”

Mullett,[Footnote:A five-pointed star, Old Fr.molette, rowel of a spur.]Rose,Shears, and perhapsBlades,Shipp,Spurr,Starr,Sword. Thomas Palle, called "Sheres," died in London, 1376.

But here again we must walk delicately. The Germanic name Hatto, borne by the wicked bishop who perished in the MÃ¤useturm, gave the French nameHattwith the accusative formHatton,[Footnote:In Old French a certain number of names, mostly of Germanic origin, had an accusative in -on, e.g. Guy, Guyon, Hugues, Hugon. From Lat.Pontiuscame Poinz, Poinson, whence ourPoyntz, less pleasinglyPunch, andPunshon. In the Pipe Rolls these are also spelt Pin-, whencePinch,Pinchin, andPinches.]Hornis an old personal name, as in the medieval romance of King Horn,Shippisa common provincialism forsheep,[Footnote:Hence the connection between the ship and the "ha'porth of tar."]Starrhas another explanation (seeStarling) andBellhas several (chapter 1). I should guess thatPorteouswas the sign used by some medieval writer of mass-books and breviaries. Its oldest form is the Anglo-Fr.Porte-hors, corresponding to medieval Lat.portiforium, a breviary, lit. what one carries outside, a portable prayer-bookâ€”

"For on myporthorshere I make an oath." (B, 1321.)

But as the name is found without prefix in the Hundred Rolls, it may have been a nickname conferred on someclericuswho was proud of so rare a possession.

CHAPTER XIVNORMAN BLOOD

"Such, however, is the illusion of antiquity and wealth that decent and dignified men now existing boast their descent from these filthy thieves"(EMERSON,EnglishTraits, ch. iv.).

"Such, however, is the illusion of antiquity and wealth that decent and dignified men now existing boast their descent from these filthy thieves"

(EMERSON,EnglishTraits, ch. iv.).

Not every Norman or Old French name need be included in the group described by Emerson when talking down to an uneducated audience. In fact, it is probable that the majority of genuine French names belong to a later period; for, although the baron who accompanied the Conqueror would in many cases keep his old territorial designation, the minor ruffian would, as a rule, drop the name of the obscure hamlet from which he came and assume some surname more convenient in his new surroundings. Local names of Old French origin are usually taken from the provinces and larger towns which had a meaning for English ears. I have given examples of such in chapter xi. Of course it is easy to take a detailed map of Northern France and say, without offering any proof, that"Avery(Chapter VIII) is from Evreux,Belcher(Chapter XXI) from Bellecourt,Custance(Chapter X) from Coutances," and so on. But any serious student knows this to be idiotic nonsense. The fact that, except in the small minority composed of the senior branches of the noblest houses, the surname was not hereditary till centuries after the Conquest, justifies any bearer of a Norman name taken from a village or smaller locality in repudiating all connection with the "filthy thieves" and conjecturing descent from some decent artisan belonging to one of the later immigrations.

That a considerable number of aristocratic families, and others, bear an easily recognizable French town or village name is of course well known, but it will usually be found that such names are derived from places which are as plentiful in France as our own Ashleys, Barton, Burton, Langleys, Newtons, Suttons, etc., are in England. In some cases a local French name has spread in an exceptional manner. Examples areBaines(Gains, 2[Footnote:The figures in brackets indicate the number of times that the French local name occurs in the Postal Directory. The above is the usual explanation ofBaines. found withdein the Hundred Rolls. But I think it was sometimes a nickname,bones, applied to a thin man. I find WilliamBanesin Lancashire in 1252; cf. Langbain.] ),Gurney(Gournai, 6),Vernon(3). But usually in such cases we find a large number of spots which may have given rise to the surname, e.g.Beaumont(46, without countingBelmont),Dampier(Dampierre,i.e. St. Peter's, 28),Daubeney,Dabney(AubignÃ©, 4, Aubigny, 17),Ferrers(FerriÃ©res, 22),Nevill(Neuville, 58),Nugent(Nogent, 17),Villiers(58). This last name, representing Vulgar Lat.villarium, is the origin of Ger. -weiler, so common in German village names along the old Roman roads, e.g. Badenweiler, Froschweiler, etc.

When we come to those surnames of this class which have remained somewhat more exclusive, we generally find that the place-name is also comparatively rare. ThusHawtreyis from Hauterive (7),Pinpointfrom Pierrepont (5),Furneauxfrom Fourneaux (5),Vipontand Vipan from Vieux-Pont (3), and there are three places calledPercy.

The following have two possible birthplaceseachâ€”BelleworPellew(Belleau),Cantelo(Canteloup[Footnote:But the doubletChanteloupis common.]),Mauleverer(MaulÃ©vrier),Mompesson(Mont PinÃ§on or Pinchon),Montmorency,Mortimer(Morte-mer). The following are uniqueâ€”Carteret, Doll[Footnote:This may also be a metronymic, from Dorothy.](Dol),Fiennes,Furnival(Fournival),Greville,Harcourt,Melville(Meleville),Montresor,Mowbray(Monbrai),Sackville(Sacquenville),Venables. These names are taken at random, but the same line of investigation can be followed up by any reader who thinks it worth while.

CORRUPT FORMS

Apart from aristocratic questions, it is interesting to notice the contamination which has occurred between English and French surnames of local origin. The very common French suffix -villeis regularly confounded with our -field. ThusSummerfieldisthe same name asSomerville,Dangerfieldis for d'Angerville,Belfieldfor Belleville,Blomfieldfor Blonville, andStutfieldfor Estouteville, whileGrenville,Granvillehave certainly become confused with ourGrenfell, green fell, andGreenfield. Camden notes thatTurbervillebecameTroublefield, and I have found the intermediateTrublevillein the twelfth century. The case of TessDurbeyfieldwill occur to every reader. The suffix -forthas been confused with our -fordand -forth, so thatRochfordis in some cases for Rochefort andBeeforthforBeaufort or Belfort. With the first syllable ofBeeforthwe may compareBeevorfor Beauvoir, Belvoir,Beechamfor Beauchamp, andBeamishfor Beaumais.

The nameBeamishactually occurs as that of village in Durham, the earlier form of which points Old French origin, frombeaumes, Lat.bellummansum, a fair manse,i.e. dwelling. Otherwise it would be tempting to derive the surnameBeamishfrom Ger,bÃ¶hmisch, earlierbehmisch, Bohemian.

A brief survey of French spot-names which have passed into English will show that they were acquired in exactly the same way as the corresponding English names. Norman ancestry, is, however, not always to be assumed in this case. Until the end of the fourteenth century a large proportion of our population was bi-lingual, and names accidentally recorded in Anglo-French may occasionally have stuck. Thus the nameBoyesorBoycemay spring from a man of pure English descent who happened to be described asdelboilinstead ofattewood, just asCapron(Chapter XXI) meansHood. While English spot-names have as a rule shed both the preposition and the article (Chapter XII), French usually keeps one or both, though these were more often lost when the name passed into England. Thus ourRoachisnot a fish-name, but corresponds to Fr.LarocheorDelaroche;and the blind piratePew, if not a Welshman, ap Hugh, was of the race ofDupuy, from Old Fr.Puy, a hill, Lat.podium, a height, gallery, etc., whence also ourPew, once a raised platform.

In some cases the prefix has passed into English; e.g.DiproseisfromdesprÃ©aux, of the meadows, a name assumed by Boileau among others. There are, of course, plenty of places in France calledLesPrÃ©aux, but in the case of such a name we need not go further than possession of, or residence by, a piece of grass-landâ€”

"Je sais un paysan qu'on appelait Gros-Pierre,Qui, n'ayant pour tout bien qu'un seul quartier de terre,Y fit tout alentour faire un fossÃ© bourbeux,Et demonsieur de l'Isleen prit le nom pompeux."(MoliÃ¨reL'Ecole des Femmes,i.1.)

"Je sais un paysan qu'on appelait Gros-Pierre,Qui, n'ayant pour tout bien qu'un seul quartier de terre,Y fit tout alentour faire un fossÃ© bourbeux,Et demonsieur de l'Isleen prit le nom pompeux."

(MoliÃ¨reL'Ecole des Femmes,i.1.)

The Old French singularprÃ©alisperhaps the origin ofPrall,Prawle. SimilarlyPreece,Prees, usually forPrice, may sometimes be fordesPres. WithBoyes(Chapter XIV) we may compareTallisfrom Fr.taillis, a copse(tailler, to cut).Garrick, a Huguenot name, is Fr,gangue, an old word for heath.

TREE NAMES

Trees have in all countries a strong influence on topographical names, and hence on surnames.Frean, though usually from the Scandinavian name Fraena, is sometimes for Fr.frÃªne, ash, Lat.fraxinus, whileCainandKaines[Footnote:There is one family ofKeynesderived specifically from Chahaignes (Sarthe).]are Norm.quÃªne(chÃªne), oak. The modern French for beech ishÃªtre, Du.heester, but Lat.fagushas given a great many dialect forms which have supplied us with the surnamesFay,Foy, and the plural dim.Failes. Here also I should put the nameDefoe, assumed by the writer whose father was satisfied withFoe. With Quatrefages, four beeches, we may compare such English names asFiveash,Twelvetrees, andSnooks, for "seven oaks."

In Latin the suffix -etumwas used to designate a grove or plantation. This suffix, or its plural -eta,isvery common in France, becoming successively -ei(e), -oi(e), -ai(e). The nameDobreeisa Guernsey spelling of d'Aubray, Lat.arboretum, which was dissimilated (Chapter III) intoarboretum.Darblay, the name of Fanny Burney's husband, is a variant. Fromau(l)ne, alder, we have aunai, whence ourDawnay. So also frÃªnaihas givenFreeney,chÃªnai,Chaney, and the Norm.quÃªnaiis one origin ofKenney, while the olderchesnaiappears inChesney.Houssaie, fromhoax, holly, givesHussey;chastenai, chestnut grove, exists in Nottingham asChastener;coudrai, hazel copse, givesCowdreyandCowdery;VerneyandVarneyare fromvernai, grove of alders, of Celtic origin, andVineycorresponds to the French nameVinoy, Lat.vinetum.

We have alsoChinnery,Chenereyfrom the extendedchÃªnerai, andPomeroyfrompommerai. Here again the name offers no clue as to the exact place of origin. There are in the French Postal Directory eight places called Ã‰pinay, from Ã©pine, thorn, but these do not exhaust the number of "spinnies" in France. Also connected with tree-names areConyers, Old Fr,coigniers, quince-trees, andPirie,Perry, Anglo-Fr.pÃ©rie, a collective frompeire(poire).

Among Norman names for a homestead the favourite ismesnil, from Vulgar Lat.mansionile, which enters into a great number of local names. It has given ourMeynell, and is also the first element ofMainwaring,Mannering, frommesnil-Warin. The simplemes, a southern form of which appears in Dumas, has given usMeesandMeese, which are thus etymological doublets of the wordmanse. WithBeamish(Chapter XIV) we may compareBellasis, frombel-assis, fairly situated.Poyntzissometimes fordesponts;cf.PierpointforPierrepont.

Even Norman names which were undoubtedly borne by leaders among the Conqueror's companions are now rarely found among the noble, and many a descendant of these once mighty families cobbles the shoes of more recent invaders. Even so the descendants of the Spanish nobles who conquered California are glad to peddle vegetables at the doors of San Francisco magnates whose fathers dealt in old clothes in some German Judengasse.

CHAPTER XVOF OCCUPATIVE NAMES

"When Adam delved and Eve span,Who was then the gentleman?"ChantofWatTyler'sfollowers.

"When Adam delved and Eve span,Who was then the gentleman?"

ChantofWatTyler'sfollowers.

The occupative name would, especially in villages, tend to become a very natural surname. It is not therefore surprising to find so large a number of this class among our commonest surnames, e.g.Smith,Taylor,Wright,Walker,Turner,Clark,Cooper, etc. And, as the same craft often persisted in a family for generations, it was probably this type of surname which first became hereditary. On the other hand, such names asCook,Gardiner,Carter, etc., have no doubt in some cases prevailed over another surname lawfully acquired (Chapter I). It is impossible to fix an approximate date for the definite adoption of surnames of this class. It occurred earlier in towns than in the country, and by the middle of the fourteenth century we often find in the names of London citizens a contradiction between the surname and the trade-name; e.g. WalterUssher, tanner, JohnBotoner, girdler, RogerCarpenter, pepperer, RichardleHunte, chaundeler, occur1336-52.

The number of surnames belonging to this group is immense, for every medieval trade and craft was highly specialized and its privileges were jealously guarded. The general public, which now, like Issachar, crouches between the trusts and the trades unions, was in the middle ages similarly victimized by the guilds of merchants and craftsmen.

Then, as now, it grumblingly recognized that, "Plus Ã§a change, plus Ã§a reste la mÃªme chose," and went on enduring.[Footnote:If a student of philology were allowed to touch on such high matters as legislation, I would moralize on the wordkiddle, meaning an illegal kind of weir used for fish-poaching, whence perhaps the surnameKiddell. From investigations made with a view to discovering the origin of the word, I came to the conclusion that all the legislative powers in England spent three centuries in passing enactments against these devices, with the inevitable consequence that they became ever more numerous.]

SOCIAL GRADES

By dealing with a few essential points at the outset we shall clear the ground for considering the various groups of surnames connected with trade, craft, profession or office. To begin with, it is certain that such names asPope,Cayzer,King,Earl,Bishopare nicknames, very often conferred on performers in religious plays or acquired in connection with popular festivals and processionsâ€”

"Names also have been taken of civil honours, dignities and estate, asKing,Duke,Prince,Lord,Baron,Knight,ValvasororVavasor,Squire,Castellon, partly for that their ancestours were such, served such, acted such parts; or were Kings of the Bean, Christmas-Lords, etc." (Camden).

We find corresponding names in other languages, and some of the French names, usually preceded by the definite article, have passed into English, e.g.Lempriere, a Huguenot name, andLevÃªque, whence ourLevick,Vick,Veck(Chapter III).Barongenerally appears asBarron, andDuke, used in Mid. English of any leader, is often degraded toDuck, whence the dim.Duckett. But all three of these names can also be referred to Marmaduke.

It would be tempting to putPalsgravein this class. Prince Rupert, thePfalzgraf,i.e. Count Palatine, was known as the Palsgrave in his day, but I have not found the title recorded early enough.

WithLordwe must put the northernLaird, and, in my opinion,Senior;for, if we notice how much commonerYoungisthanOld, and Fr.LejeunethanLevieux, we must conclude thatjunior, a very rare surname, ought to be of much more frequent occurrence thanSenior,Synyer, a fairly common name. There can be little doubt thatSeniorisusually a latinization of the medievalleseigneur, whence alsoSaynor.Knightisnot always knightly, for Anglo-Sax.cnihtmeans servant; cf. Ger.Knecht. The word got on in the world, with the consequence that the name is very popular, while its medieval compeers, knave, varlet, villain, have, even when adorned with the adj. good, dropped out of the surname list,Bonvalet,Bonvarlet,Bonvillainare still common surnames in France. FromKnightwe have the compoundRoad-night, a mounted servitor. ThusKnightismore often a true occupative name, and the same applies toDringorDreng, a Scandinavian name of similar meaning.

Other names from the middle rungs of the social ladder are also to be taken literally, e.g.Franklin, a freeholder, Anglo-Fr.frankeleinâ€”

"How called you yourfranklin, Prior Aylmer?""Cedric," answered the Prior, "Cedric the Saxon"(Ivanhoe, ch. i.)â€”

"How called you yourfranklin, Prior Aylmer?"

"Cedric," answered the Prior, "Cedric the Saxon"

(Ivanhoe, ch. i.)â€”

Burgess, Freeman, Freeborn. The latter is sometimes forFreebairnand exists already as the Anglo-Saxon personal name Freobeorn.Denison(Chapter II) is occasionally an accommodated form ofdenizen, Anglo-Fr.deinzein, a burgess enjoying the privileges belonging to those who lived "deinz(in)la citÃ©." In 1483 a certain Edward Jhonsonâ€”

"Sued to be maydeDenisonfor fer of yepayment of yesubsedy."(LettertoSirWilliamStonor, June9, 1483.)

"Sued to be maydeDenisonfor fer of yepayment of yesubsedy."

(LettertoSirWilliamStonor, June9, 1483.)

Bondis from Anglo-Sax,bonda, which means simply agriculturist. The word is of Icelandic origin and related toBoor, another word which has deteriorated and is rare as a surname, though the cognateBaueris common enough in Germany.Holderis translated byTennant. For some other names applied to the humbler peasantry see Chapter XIII.

To return to the social summit, we haveKingson, often confused with the localKingston, and its Anglo-French equivalentFauntleroy.Faunt, aphetic for Anglo-Fr.enfaunt,iscommon in Mid. English. When the mother of Moses had made the ark of bulrushes, or, as Wyclif calls it, the "junket of resshen," sheâ€”

"Putte the litil fauntwith ynne"(Exodusii. 3)

"Putte the litil fauntwith ynne"

(Exodusii. 3)

The Old French accusative (Chapter I) was also used as a genitive, as in Bourg-le-roi, Bourg-la-rein, corresponding to our Kingsbury and Queensborough. We have a genitive also inFlowerdew, found in French as Flourdieu. Lower, in hisPatronymicsBritannica(1860), the first attempt at a dictionary of English surnames, conjecturesFauntleroyto be from an ancient French war-cry DÃ©fendez le roi! for "in course of time, the meaning of the name being forgotten, thedewould be dropped, and the remaining syllables would easily glide intoFauntleroy."[Footnote:I have quoted this "etymology" because it is too funny to be lost; but a good deal of useful information can be found in Lower, especially with regard to the habitat of well-known names.]

ECCLESIASTICAL NAMES

Names of ecclesiastics must usually be nicknames, because medieval churchmen were not entitled to have descendants. This appears clearly in such an entry as "Bishopthe crossbowman," or "JohannesMonacuset uxor ejus Emma," living in Kent in the twelfth century. But these names are so numerous that I have put them with the Canterbury Pilgrims (ch. xvii.). Three of them may be mentioned here in connection with a small group of occupative surnames of puzzling form. We have noticed (Chapter XII) that monosyllabic, and some other, surnames of local origin frequently take an -s, partly by analogy with names likeWills,Watts,etc. We rarely find this -sin the case of occupative names, butParsons,VicarsorVickers, andMonksare common, and in fact the first two are scarcely found without the -s. To these we may addReeves(Chapter XVII),Grieves(Chapter XIX), and the well-known Nottingham nameMellers(Chapter XVII). The explanation seems to be that these names are true genitives, and that JohnParsonswas John the Parson's man, while JohnMonkswas employed by the monastery. This is confirmed by such entries as "WalteratteParsons,""JohndelParsons,""AllenattePrestes," "WilliamdelFreres,""ThomasdelaVicars,"all from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Another exceptional group is that of names formed by adding -sonto the occupative names, the commonest being perhapsClarkson,Cookson,Smithson, andWrightson. To this class belongsGrayson, which Bardsley shows to be equivalent to the grieve's son.

Our occupative names are both English and French,[Footnote:We have also a few Latinizations, e.g.Faber(wright),Messer(mower). This type of name is much commoner in Germany, e.g. Avenarius, oat man, Fabricius, smith, Textor, weaver, etc. Mercator, of map projection fame, was a Fleming named Kremer,i.e. dealer.]the two languages being represented by those important tradesmenBakerandButcher. The former is reinforced byBollinger, Fr.boulanger,Pester, Old Fr.pestour(Lat.piston), andFurnerâ€”

"Fournier, a baker, or one that keeps, or governs a common oven" (Cotgrave).

The English and French names for the same trade also survive inCheesemanandFirminger, Old Fr.formagier(fromage).

We have as endings -er, -ier, the latter often made into -yer, -ger, as inLockyer,Sawyer,Kidger(Chapter XIX),Woodger,[Footnote:Woodyer,Woodger,mayalso be for wood-hewer. SeeStanier] and -or, -our, as inTaylor,Jenoure(Chapter III). The latter ending, corresponding to Modern Fr. -eur, represents Lat. -or, -orem, but we tack it onto English words as in "sailor," or substitute it for -er, -ier, as inFermor, forFarmer, Fr.fermier. In the Privy Purse Expenses of that careful monarch Henry VII. occurs the itemâ€”

"To bere drunken at afermorshouse . . . 1s."

In the same way we replace the Fr. -our, -eurby -er, as inTurner, Fr.tourneur,Ginner,JennerforJenoure.

The ending -er, -ierrepresents the Lat. -arius. It passed not only into French, but also into the Germanic languages, replacing the Teutonic agential suffix which consisted of a single vowel. We have a few traces of this oldest group of occupative names, e.g.Webb, Mid. Eng.webbe, Anglo-Sax.webb-a, andHunt, Mid. Eng.hunte, Anglo-Sax.hunt-aâ€”

"Withhunteand horne and houndes hym bisyde"(A,1678)â€”

"Withhunteand horne and houndes hym bisyde"

(A,1678)â€”

which still hold the field easily againstWebberandHunter.

So also, the German nameBeckrepresents Old High Ger.pecch-o, baker. To these must be addedKemp, a champion, a very early loan-word connected with Lat.campus, field, andWright, originally the worker, Anglo-Sax.wyrht-a.Campissometimes forKemp, but is also from the Picard form of Fr,champ,i.e.Field. Of similar formation toWebb, etc., is Clapp, from an Anglo-Sax. nickname, the clapperâ€”

"OsgodClapa, King Edward Confessor's staller, was cast upon the pavement of the Church by a demon's hand for his insolent pride in presence of the relics (of St. Edmund, King and Martyr)."

(W. H. Hutton, Bampton Lectures, 1903.)

NAMES IN -STER

The ending -sterwas originally feminine, and applied to trades chiefly carried on by women, e.g.Baxter,Bagster, baker,Brewster,Simister, sempster,Webster, etc., but in process of time the distinction was lost, so that we findBlaxterandWhitsterforBlacker,Blakey, andWhiter, both of which, curiously enough, have the same meaningâ€”

"Bleykesterorwhytster, candidarius"(Prompt.Parv.)â€”

for thisblackrepresents Mid. Eng.bla-c, related tobleakandbleach, and meaning paleâ€”

"Blake, wan of colour,blesme(blÃªme)"(Palsgrave).

Occupative names of French origin are apt to vary according to the period and dialect of their adoption. ForButcherwe find alsoBooker,Bowker, and sometimes the laterBosher,Busher, with the same sound for thechas inLabouchÃ¨re, the lady butcher. ButBookermay also mean what it appears to mean, as Mid. Eng.bokereisused by Wyclif for the Latinscriba.

Butcher, originally a dealer in goat's flesh, Fr.bouc, has oustedflesher. German still has half a dozen surnames derived from names for this trade, e.g.Fleischer,Fleischmann,[Footnote:Hellenized as Sarkander. This was a favourite trick of German scholars at the Renaissance period. Well-known examples are Melancthon (Schwarzerd), Neander (Neumann).]Metzger,Schlechter;but ourflesherhas been absorbed byFletcher, a maker of arrows, Fr.flÃªche. Fletcher Gate at Nottingham was formerly Flesher Gate. The undue extension ofTaylorhas already been mentioned (Chapter IV). Another example isBarker, which has swallowed up the Anglo-Fr.berquier, a shepherd, Fr.berger, with the result that theBarkersoutnumber theTannersby three to one

" 'What craftsman are you?' said our King,'I pray you, tell me now.''I am abarker,' quoth the tanner;'What craftsman art thou?' "(EdwardIV. andtheTannerofTamworth.)

" 'What craftsman are you?' said our King,'I pray you, tell me now.''I am abarker,' quoth the tanner;'What craftsman art thou?' "

(EdwardIV. andtheTannerofTamworth.)

The name seems to have been applied also to the man who barked trees for the tanner.

MISSING TRADESMEN

WithBarkerit seems natural to mentionMewer, of which I find one representative in the London Directory. The medievallemuurhad charge of the mews in which the hawks were kept while moulting (Fr.muer, Lat.mutare). Hence the phrase "mewed up." The word seems to have been used for any kind of coop. Chaucer tells us of the Franklinâ€”

"Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in muw" (A, 349).

I suspect that some of theMuirs(Chapter XII) spring from this important office. SimilarlyClayerhas been absorbed by the localClare,Kayer, the man who made keys, byCare, andBlower, whether of horn or bellows, has paid tribute to the localBloor,Blore.

Sewer, an attendant at table, aphetic for Old Fr.asseour, a setter, is now a very rare name. As we know thatsewer, a drain, becameshore, it is probable that the surnameShoresometimes represents this official or servile title. And this same nameShore, though not particularly common, and susceptible of a simple local origin, labours under grave suspicion of having also enriched itself at the expense of the medievallesuur, the shoemaker, Lat.sutor-em, whence Fr.Lesueur. This would inevitably becomeSewerand thenShore, as above. Perhaps, in the final reckoning,Shawisnot altogether guiltless, for I know of one family in which this has replaced earlierShore.

The medievallesuurbrings us to another problem, viz. the poor show made by the craftsmen who clothed the upper and lower extremities of our ancestors. The nameHatter, once frequent enough, is almost extinct, andCapperis not very common. The nameShoemakerhas met with the same fate, though the trade is represented by the Lat.Sutor, whence Scot.Souter. Here belong alsoCordner,Codner,[Footnote:Confused, of course, with the localCodnor(Derbyshire)]Old Fr.cordouanier(cordonnier), acordwainer, a worker in Cordovan leather, andCorser,Cosser, earliercorviser, corresponding to the French nameCourvoisier, also derived from Cordova. Chaucer, in describing the equipment of Sir Thopas, mentions

"His shoon ofcordewane"(B, 1922).

The scarcity ofGroser, grocer, is not surprising, for the word, aphetic forengrosser, originally meaning a wholesale dealer, one who soldengros,isof comparatively late occurrence. His medieval representative was Spicer.

On the other hand, many occupative titles which are now obsolete, or practically so, still survive strongly as surnames. Examples of these will be found in chapters xvii.â€“xx.

Some occupative names are rather deceptive.Kisser, which is said still to exist, means a maker ofcuishes, thigh-armour, Fr,cuissesâ€”

"Helm,cuish, and breastplate streamed with gore."(LordoftheIsles,iv. 33.)

"Helm,cuish, and breastplate streamed with gore."

(LordoftheIsles,iv. 33.)

Corkeris for caulker,i.e. one who stopped the chinks of ships and casks, originally with lime (Lat.calx)â€”

"Sir, we have a chest beneath the hatches,caulk'dand bitumed ready"(Periclesiii.1).

Cleaverrepresents Old Fr,clavier, a mace-bearer, Lat.clava, a club, or a door-keeper, Lat.clavis, a key. Perhaps evenclavus, a nail, must also be considered, for a Latin vocabulary of the fifteenth century tells usâ€”

"Claves, -vosvel -vasqui fert sitclaviger."

NeitherBowlernorScorerare connected with cricket. The former made wooden bowls, and the latter was sometimes ascourer, or scout, Mid. Eng.scurrour, a word of rather complicated origin, but perhaps more frequently a peaceful scullion, from Fr.Ã©curer, to scour, Lat.ex-curareâ€”

"Escureur, ascourer, cleanser, feyer" (Cotgrave).

[Footnote:Feyer:A sweeper, now perhaps represented byFayer.]

ALeaperdid not always leap (Chapter XVII). The verb had also in Mid. English the sense of running away, so that the name may mean fugitive. In some cases it may represent a maker ofleaps,i.e. fish baskets, or perhaps a man who hawked fish in such a basket.

ASlayermadeslays, part of a weaver's loom, and aBloomerworked in a bloom-smithy, from Anglo-Sax.blo-ma, a mass of hammered iron.WeightmanandWarmanrepresent Mid. Eng,waÃ¾eman, hunter; cf. the common German surname Weidemann, of cognate origin.ReaderandBookerare not always literary. The former is forReeder, a thatcherâ€”

Back to Index Next