Page:The parochial history of Cornwall.djvu/127

Rh received a great sum of money annually for communicating the secrets of the Queen and Parliament to the Secretary of the French King, which as soon as he understood, by a letter shown him under his own hand, he instantly went home to his lodgings, burnt all his papers, and committed the felo-de-se aforesaid.

Bo-carne, in this parish, id est, cows, kine, cattle, and white spar-stones, comparatively rocks, is the dwelling of William Flammock, Gent, that married Reynolds, and giveth for his arms, out of a supposed allusion to their name, Argent, a chevron between three estoiles Sable, (that is, in a wavy or flaming posture,) for flammock, after the Cornish-British, must be interpreted a flame and smoke; since the Latin words flamma, or flame, or bright burning fire-sparkle, and flammans, burning, flaming, are both derived from the British word flam; for exæstuo is the proper and native word, to burn, or flame.

Again, this family indifferently wrote their name Flam-mank, Flam-mane, id est, in Cornish, flaming or burning glove, sleeve, or gauntlet; so called, perhaps, for that some of this family was a notable soldier, and famous in the combat at sword and gauntlet, (viz. military glove,) or a sleeve and gorget of mail, as the above name. And flammock may relate to some soldier of this tribe that was as renowned in his charge with the fusee or firelock, soon after the invention of guns: for Camden, in his Remains, tells us that in Edward the Third's French wars gunaria, or gunarii, had its pay; which was before the invention of guns in Germany.

But if flammeck, flammeg, flammock, be a monosyllable, and not a compound or conjugated word, it signifies in British blear-eyed-ness, or one that hath a sparkling or flaming eye, either by natural or accidental infirmity, an obstruction of sight.

I take this gentleman to be the lineal descendant of