Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 2 Vol 3.djvu/641

 APPENDIX C 621 Pontisara is said by some to do the same in the case of Bishop Sawbrid^c, but " Sawbridge " appears to be but a modern " fake," and the Bishop's true name to have been Pontoise. (Preface to Prerog. Court of Canterbury Wills, p. vi, ed. Challenor Smith.) Presumably Peter Simple would have been latinized as Petrus de Sancto Paulo. De Montalt (de Monte Alto) is troublesome from the number of forms of which this is the Latin, ranging as they do from Mold to Maude and Mohaut. Rudolph has not been found borne by an Englishman, except in modern times, as when used to emphasize a fancied Austrian descent by the Feilding family. Wychard seems to be the English form of the French Guichard (Scots surname Wis- hart), and as Wiscard it occurs in the thirteenth century both as a Christian and surname, e.g. John Wyschard was sum. 26 Edw. 1. A very good way of testing the tact whether a name is a genuine Test as to old English one, or of modern manufacture, is to look at the shop antiquity of fronts as one goes down the street, and see whether it occurs among names, the tradesmen's surnames. Thus you will never find a tradesman called Reginalds or Red, for they are modern words, but you will find Reynolds, and Reade, Reid, Rous or Roth, or Rod or Rudd, or other forms which described the colour we now call red. Another parallel may be given in the fact that Vicars, Parsons, Archdeacons, and Priests, all furnish surnames, whereas Rectors do not, for the Rector, when a cleric, was in old times always called the Parson. This test may also be applied to check a previous statement that Henry and Peter were uncommon, and Harry and Piers the usual forms, for Harris, Harrison, Peers, and Pearson are ubiquitous, whereas Henryson is most rare, and Henson or Hanson throw no light on the point, whilst Peterson, though fairly common, is, it is believed, almost always of Scan- dinavian origin. No doubt, however, different forms of the same name pre- vailed in different localities, and it is unsafe to dogmatize too confidently, for though in Scots vernacular writs Hary or Harry is general if not universal, yet Harrison is not a Scots name, and Hendry and Henderson are. The habit of giving children more than one name at baptism did not Two and more become common until the eighteenth century, and before the seventeenth baptismal names, century was very rare indeed. In the Visitation of Kent, 161 9, the name ot William John Brent occurs, and as his daughter married Lord Abergavenny before 15 15, he must have been born not later than about 1475. This is so early for a man to bear two Christian names that it has been supposed to be an error in the Visitation, or it may be explained by the fact that the Herald was not sure whether his name was William or John; but what look like even earlier instances can be given, as Magister Will. Mich. Stonhard occurs in 1421 (Add. Chs. 23538 and 23539). Thomas Henry de Hope was living in Sandhurst, Kent, 30 Edw. I (i 301/2) (Add Ch. 29550). In such a case as this it is possible that the names William Michael and Thomas Henry may really mean William son of Michael and Thomas son of Henry, or in the later case Hope may merely indicate Henry's place of origin. Thomas Arnold Williamson occurs m Harl. Ch. 50, D. 22, under date 147 1, but this is not a case of a man