Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 1.djvu/469

 9 th S. I. JUNE 11, '98.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

461

LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1898. CONTENTS. -No. 24.

NOTES : Christian Names, 461 Joan of Arc, 462 A Read- ing in Milton Obscurities of Authors, 464 Duchesses of Perth Charles Inglis and Thomas Paine Eecovering Dead Bodies, 465 Boswell's Last London Residence Glad- stone's Heraldry Nature's Portrait of Gladstone- Glad- stone's Death" Mess of pottage "African Names, 466.

QUERIES : " Doon " Constable Samson Barbers Coincidence in regard to Washington Family Gorgotten Sir Hercules Langrish Rev. N. Nelson Tropenell St. Kevin, 467 Wada New Varieties of Cattle for Parks- Hare Proverb Original of Engraving Catalogue of Alton Towers Sale Rev. G. Buckeridge Birkie and Beggar-my- Neighbour, 468 Old Norse "The bonny boy is young, but he 'a growing," 469.

REPLIES : Arms of the United States. 469 Rotten Row, Nottingham, 470 Pattens "Stripper," 471 The Stand- Ing Egg Valettus Orders of Friars Goudhurst, 472 "Spalt" "Noblesse oblige "Valentines, 473 'Reading Mercury' Indexing Derivation of Foot's Cray William Penn "On" or "Upon," 474 Hugh Fitz Grip and the Martels " It blows rayther thin " Portrait of Lady Wentworth "Twopence more," &c. ."Scotch," 475 Aldridge Great Events from Little Causes, 476 Lanca- shire Names" To Sue" Song Wanted Arms of the See of Worcester Mediaeval Lynch Laws in Modern Use, 477 San Lan franco Puddle Dock French Peerage, 478.

NOTES ON BOOKS : Newdegate's ' Cheverels of Cheverel Manor ' ' Journal of the Ex-Libris Society ' Reviews and Magazines.

Notices to Correspondents.

CHRISTIAN NAMES.

THE index to Mr. J. H. Jeayes's ' Descrip- tive Catalogue of the Charters and Muni- ments at Berkeley Castle 'contains several

Christian names which one would not have thought of finding there. For example, among the witnesses of an undated charter of about 1150-1160 there occurs a Walter son of Albert (p. 7), and he appears again in a similar capacity some ten or twenty years later (p. 13). It is commonly believed that the name Albert was not used in this country before Albert the Prince Consort was known here. This is, of course, a mistake. It was rare before the Queen's marriage, but I have met with several instances of it in the seven- teenth century, not only in the ordinary spelling, but also in the Northern form of Halbert.* I do not, however, call to mind another mediaeval example. It is always the safer plan to disregard what people say as to the antiquity of Christian names. I have been told that Joseph was unknown as a Christian name in England until after the Reforma- tion ; but Joseph, a priest, occurs here (p. 39)

[* Halbert Glendi lining : Scott, ' The Monastery.']

witnessing a charter of the time of John, regarding land at Burton Lazars, in Leicester- shire. The same statement is made regarding Ignatius, with the addition that it was intro- duced into this country among Catholics by the Jesuit missionaries in honour of St. Ignatius Loyola. That this is not so is de- monstrated by the fact that Dom. Ignacius de Cliftun witnessed a charter relating to Berkeley, circa 1220-1243 (p. 93).

Names taken from Holy Scripture are not so common as in more recent times, but there are several of them. Absolom occurs once, Adam and Simon are common, and Elias and Helias very common. There are a few instances of Matthew and one Moses, or rather Moyses, who witnessed a charter of the time of Henry II. One Sampson occurs in the time of Henry III. I have noticed three ladies named Sara. Two nourished in the time of Henry III. and one in 1388.

There is also a late twelfth-century grant of land in Newington, Oxfordshire, in which Richard " novus homo " is mentioned (p. 28). This can hardly have been a surname, though it may have been on the way to develope into one. It would not be surprising if this Richard's children or grandchildren, if he had any, and they could be identified, were found bearing the name of Newman ; but what had Richard himself done, or omitted to do, that caused him to be thus strangely distinguished 1 Can the solution of this mystery of seven hundred years be simply that the "novus homo" was a stranger in those parts, alike unknown in the parish and the manor ; that he had come from a long way off, and was unknown to every one of the " old standards " a foreigner, indeed, as they would call him 1 Perhaps, too, he may have been a reticent man who did not tell his new neighbours where he was born or what was the name of his father, so that they could not coin for him a cognomen after the pattern of Burton, Roberts, or Johnson.

A twelfth-century grant of lands in Wick, co. Gloucester, is witnessed, among others, by "Siuard Superbus" and "Umfridus Super- bus " (p. 26). Are these the Latinized form of some such surname as Proud or Pride, both of which have existed and are probably in being now ; or are they nicknames, indicating that those who bore them were of a haughty and insolent demeanour 1

A grant from Thomas de Berkele of about 1220 (p. 58) is witnessed by a certain Walter, who is described as "homo persone." The interpretation of this I must leave to others. EDWARD PEACOCK.

Dunstan House, Kirton-in-Lindsey.