Page:The house of Cecil.djvu/18

 4 THE CECILS

proved to his own satisfaction that the family was descended from the Ceciles of Frasne in Burgundy, and that David Cecil of Stamford was the first who settled in England. 1 The other suggestion is that of Richard Verstegan, who, speaking of the Welsh people, says, " it is not to be doubted but that during the space of about 500 years that they were subject unto the Romans, divers of the Romans settled and mixed themselves among them ; whose posterity hath since remained in account as being of the ancient families of Wales ; and I do find very probable reason to enduce me to think, that among others, the honourable family of the Cecils, being issued from Wales, is originally descended from the Romans." 2

Returning to reasonable probabilities, it may be said that although the pedigrees which assign a long lineage to the Cicelts or Seycelds of Allt yr Ynys are entirely untrustworthy, there seems no reason to doubt that a connection did exist between them and the Cecils of Stamford.

The Herefordshire family, " a race of yeomen or small gentry," certainly claimed kinship with the Northamptonshire Cecils, and made frequent requests for preferment and help on the strength of the connection. The Cecils on their side admitted the relationship and Burghley adopted

1 See Nares, Memoirs of Burghley, III. App. I.

2 Restitution of Decayed Intelligence in Antiquities, ed. 1673, p. 346. Mr Andrew Lang considered that the name of Cecil was derived from the Roman Ca?cilius, which may very likely be the case. He also stated that Russell Lowell thought the original form of the name was " Sicile," and that the family were Jews from Sicily (Illustrated London Newi>, November nth, 1911, p. 762).

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