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"Quelque diversité d'herbes qu'il y alt, tout s'enveloppe sous le nom de salade; de mesme, sous la considération

des noms, je m'en voys faire icy une galimafree de divers articles." (Montaigne, Essais, i. 46.)

Just as, in studying a new language, the linguist finds it most helpful to take a simple text and hammer out in detail every word and grammatical form it contains, so the student of name-lore cannot do better than tackle a medieval roll and try to connect every name in it with those of the present day. I give here two lists of names from the Hundred Rolls of 1273. The first contains the names of London and Middlesex jurymen, most of them, especially the Londoners, men of substance and position. The second is a list of cottagers resident in the village of Steeple Claydon in Bucks. Even a cursory perusal of these lists should Suffice to dispel all recollection of the nightmare "philology" which has been so much employed to obscure what is perfectly simple and obvious; while a very slight knowledge of Latin and French is all that is required to connect these names of men who were dead and buried before the Battle of Crecy with those to be found in any modern directory. The brief indications supplied under each name will be found in a fuller form in the various chapters of the book to which references are given.

For simplicity I have given the modern English form of each Christian name and expanded the abbreviations used by the official compilers. It will be noticed that English, Latin, and Anglo-French are used indifferently, that le is usually, though not always, put before the trade-name or nickname, that de is put before place-names and at before spots which have no proper name. The names in the right-hand column are only specimens of the, often very numerous, modern equivalents.

LONDON JURYMEN

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
William Dibel.	Dibble (Theobald).
Initial t- and d- alternate (Dialectic Variants, Chapter III) according to locality. In Tennyson, for Denison, son of Denis, we have the opposite change. The forms assumed by Theobald are very numerous (Chapter I). Besides Dibble we have the shorter Dibb. Other variants are Dyball, Dipple, Tipple, Tidball, Tudball, and a number of names in Teb-, Tib-, Tub-. The reason for the great popularity of the name is obscure.

Baldwin le Bocher.	Butcher.
On the various forms of this name, see Chapter XV.

Robert Hauteyn.	Hawtin
The Yorkshire name Auty is probably unconnected. It seems rather to be an altered form of a Scandinavian personal name cognate with Odo.

Henry le Wimpler.
The name has apparently disappeared with the garment. But it is never safe to assert that a surname is quite extinct.

Stephen le Peron	Fearon
From Old Fr. feron, ferron, smith. In a few cases French has -on as an agential suffix (Chapter XVIII).

William de Paris.	Paris, Parris, Parish.
The commoner modern form Parish is seldom to be derived from our word parish. This rarely occurs, while the entry de Paris is, on the other hand, very common.

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Roger le Wyn.	Wynne.
Anglo-Saxon wine, friend. Also a Celtic nickname, Identical with Gwynne (Chapter XXII).

Matthew de Pomfrait	Pomfret
The usual pronunciation of Pontefract, broken bridge, one of the few English place-names of purely Latin origin (Chapter XIII). The Old French form would be Pont-frait.

Richard le Paumer.	Palmer.
A man who had made pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Chapter XVII). The modern spelling is restored, but the -l- remains mute. It is just possible that this name sometimes means tennis-player, as tennis, Fr. le jeu de paume, once played with the palm of the hand, is of great antiquity.

Walter Poletar.	Pointer.
A dealer in poults, i.e. fowls. For the lengthened form poulterer, cf. fruiterer for fruiter, and see Chapter XV.

Reginald Aurifaber.	Goldsmith.
The French form orfévre may have given the name Offer.

Henry Deubeneye.	Daubeney, Dabney.
Fr. d'Aubigny. One of the many cases in which the French preposition has been incorporated in the name. Cf. Danvers, for d'Anvers, Antwerp, and see Chapter XI.

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Richard Knotte	Knott
From Scandinavian Cnut, Canute. This name is also local, from knot, a hillock, and has of course become confused (Variant Spellings, Chapter III) with the nickname Nott, with cropped hair (Chapter XXII)— "Thou nott-pated fool." (1 Henry IV, ii. 4.)

Walter le Wyte.	White
The large number of Whites is partly to be accounted for by their having absorbed the name Wight (Chapter XXII) from Mid. Eng. wiht, valiant.

Adam le Sutel.	Suttle.
Both Eng. subtle and Fr. subtil are restored spellings, which do not appear in nomenclature (Chapter III).

Fulk de Sancto Edmundo.	Tedman.
The older form would be Tednam. Bury St. Edmund's is sometimes referred to as Tednambury. For the mutilation of the word saint in place-names, see Chapter III.

William le Boteler.	Butler.
More probably a bottle-maker than what we understand by a butler, the origin being of course the same.

Gilbert Lupus	Wolf.
Wolf, and the Scandinavian Ulf, are both common as personal names before the Conquest, but a good many Modern bearers of the name are German Jews (Chapter IV). Old Fr. lou (loup) is one source of Low.

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Stephen Juvenis.	Young
Senex is rarely found. The natural tendency was to distinguish the younger man from his father. Senior is generally to be explained differently (Chapter XV).

William Braciator.	Brewer.
The French form brasseur also survives as Bracher and Brasher, the latter being also confused with Brazier, the worker in brass.

John de Cruce.	Cross, Crouch.
A man who lived near some outdoor cross. The form crouch survives in "Crutched Friars." Hence also the name Croucher.

Matthew le Candeler.	Candler, Chandler.
Initial c- for ch- shows Norman or Picard origin (Chapter III).

Henry Bernard.	Barnard, Barnett.
The change from -er- to -ar- is regular; cf. Clark, and see Chapter III. The endings -ard, -ald, are generally changed to -ett; cf. Everett for Everard, Barrett for Berald, Garrett for Gerard, Garrard, whence the imitative Garrison for Garretson.

William de Bosco.	Bush, Busk, Buss.
"For there is neither bush nor hay (Chapter XIII) In May that it nyl shrouded bene." (Romaunt of the Rose, 54.) The name might also be translated as Wood. The corresponding name of French origin is Boyce or Boyes, Fr. bois (Chapter XIV).

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Henry de Sancta Ositha.	Toosey.
Cf. Fulk de Sancto Edmundo (supra), and cf. Tooley St. for St. Olave St. (Chapter III).

Walter ate Stede.	Stead.
In this case the preposition has not coalesced, as in Adeane, at the dean, i.e. hollow, Agate, at gate, etc. (Chapter XII).

William le Fevere.	Wright, Smith.
The French name survives as Feaver and Fevyer. Cf. also the Lat. Faber, which is not always a modern German importation (Chapter XII).

Thomas de Cumbe.	Combe, Coombes.
A West-country name for a hollow in a hillside (Chapter XII).

John State.	State, Stacey.
Generally for Eustace, but sometimes perhaps for Anastasia, as we find Stacey used as a female name (Chapter III).

Richard le Teynturier.	Dyer, Dexter.
Dexter represents Mid. Eng. dighester, with the feminine agential suffix (Chapter XV).

Henry le Waleys.	Wallis, Walsh, Welch.
Literally the foreigner, but especially applied by the English to the Western Celts. Quelch represents the: Welsh pronunciation. With Wallis cf. Cornwallis, Mid. Eng. le cornwaleis (Chapter X).

John le Bret.	Brett, Britton.
An inhabitant of Brittany, perhaps resident in that Breton colony in London called Little Britain. Bret The Old French nominative of Breton (Chapter VIII).

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Thomas le Clerc.	Clark.
One of our commonest names. We now spell the common noun clerk by etymological reaction, but educated people pronounce the word as it was generally written up to the eighteenth century (Chapter III).

Stephen le Hatter	Hatter
The great rarity of this name is a curious problem (Chapter XV). The name Capper exists, though it is not very common.

Thomas le Batur.	Thresher.
But, being a Londoner, he was more probably a gold-beater, or perhaps a beater of cloth. The name Beater also survives.

Alexander de Leycestre	Leicester, Lester.
For the simpler spelling, once usual and still adopted by those who chalk the names on the mail-vans at St. Pancras, cf. such names as Worster, Wooster, Gloster, etc. (Chapter XI).

Robert le Noreys.	Norris, Nurse.
Old Fr. noreis, the Northerner (Chapter XI), or norice (nourrice), the nurse, foster-mother (Chapter XX).

Reginald le Blond	Blount, Blunt.
Fr. blond, fair. We have also the dim. Blundell. The corresponding English name is Fairfax, from Mid. Eng. fax, hair (Chapter XXII).

Randolf ate Mor.	Moor.
With the preposition retained (Chapter XII) it has given the Latin-looking Amor.

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Matthew le Pevrier.	Pepper.
For the reduction of pepperer to Pepper cf. Armour for armourer, and see Chapter XV.

Godfrey le Furmager.	Cheeseman, Firminger.
From Old Fr. formage (fromage). The intrusion of the n in Firminger is regular; cf. Massinger, messenger, from Fr. messager, and see Chapter III.

Robert Campeneys.	Champness, Champneys.
Old Fr. champeneis (champenois), of Champagne (Chapter XI).

John del Pek.	Peck, Peaks, Pike, Pick.
A name taken from a hill-top, but sometimes referring to the unrelated Derbyshire Peak.

Richard Dygun.	Dickens.
A diminutive of Dig, for Dick (Chapter VI).

Peter le Hoder.	Hodder.
A maker of hods or a maker of hoods? The latter is more likely.

Alan Allutarius.	Whittier.
Lat. alutarius, a "white-tawer", Similarly, Mid. Eng. stan-heawere, stone-hewer, is contracted to Stanier, now almost swallowed up by Stainer. The simple tawer is also one origin of the name Tower.

Peter le Rus.	Russ, Rush, Rouse.
Fr. roux, of red complexion. Cf. the dim. Russell, Fr. Rousseau (Chapter XXII).

MIDDLESEX JURYMEN

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Roger de la Hale.	Hall, Hale, Hales.
One of our commonest local surnames. But it has two interpretations, from hall and from heal (Chapter XII).

Walter de la Hedge.	Hedge, Hedges.
Other names of similar meaning are Hay, Hayes, Haig, Haigh, Hawes (Chapter XIII)

John Rex	King.
One of our commonest nicknames, the survival of which is easily understood (Chapter XV).

Stephen de la Novels Meyson.	Newhouse.
Cf. also Newbigging, from Mid. Eng. biggen, to 'build (Chapter XIII).

Randolf Pokoc.	Pocock, Peacock.
The simple Poe, Lat. pavo, has the same meaning (Chapter XXIII).

William de Fonte.	Spring, Wells, Fountain, Attewell.
This is the most usual origin of the name Spring (Chapter IX).

Robert del Parer	Perrier
Old Fr. périer (poirier), pear-tree. Another origin of Perrier is, through French, from Lat. petrarius, a stone-hewer.

Adam de la Denne.	Denne, Dean, Done.
A Mid. English name for valley (Chapter XII).

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Robertus filius Gillelmi.	Wilson.
For other possible names to be derived from a father named William, see Chapter VI.

William filius Radolfi.	Rawson.
A very common medieval name, Anglo-Sax. Raedwulf, the origin of our Ralph, Relf, Rolfe, Roff, and of Fr. Raoul. Some of its derivatives, e.g. Rolls, have got mixed with those of Roland. To be distinguished from Randolf or Randall, of which the shorter form is Ran or Rand, whence Rankin, Rands, Rance, etc.

STEEPLE CLAYDON COTTAGERS

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Andrew Colle	Collins, Colley
For Nicolas (Chapter V).

William Neuman	Newman, Newcomb.
A man recently settled in the village (Chapter XII).

Adam ate Dene	Dean, Denne, Adeane.
The separate at survives in A'Court and A'Beckett, at the beck head; cf. Allan a' Dale (Chapter XII).

Ralph Mydevynter.	Midwinter.
An old name for Christmas (Chapter IX).

William ate Hull.	Athill, Hill, Hull.
The form hul for hil occurs in Mid. English (Chapter XII).

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Gilbert Sutor.	Sutor, Soutar.
On the poor representation of the shoemaker see Chapter XV.

Walter Maraud.
It is easy to understand the disappearance of this name— "A rogue, beggar, vagabond; a varlet, rascall, scoundrell, base knave" (Cotgrave); but it may be represented by Marratt, Marrott, unless these are from Mary (Chapter X).

Nicholas le P.ker.
This may be expanded into Parker, a park-keeper, Packer, a wool-packer, or the medieval Porker, a swine-herd, now lost in Parker.

John Stegand	Stigand, Stiggins.
Anglo-Saxon names survived chiefly among the peasantry (Chapter I).

Roger Mercator.	Marchant, Chapman.
The restored modern spelling merchant has affected the pronunciation of the common noun (Chapter III). The more usual term Chapman is cognate with cheap, chaffer, Chipping, Copenhagen, Ger. kaufen, to buy, etc.

Adam Hoppe.	Hobbs, Hobson, Hopkins.
An example of the interchange of b and P (Chapter III). Hob is usually regarded as one of the rimed forms from Robert (Chapter VI).

Roger Crom.	Crum, Crump.
Lit. crooked, cognate with Ger. krumm. The final -p of Crump is excrescent (Chapter III).

Stephen Cornevaleis	Cornwallis, Cornish.
A name which would begin in Devonshire (Chapter XI).

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Walter de Ibernia	Ireland
A much more common name than Scotland, which has been squeezed out by Scott (Chapter XI).

Matilda filia Matildae	Mawson (for Maud-son), Till, Tilley, Tillett, Tillotson, etc.
One of the favourite girl-names during the surname period (Chapter X).

Ralph Vouler.	Fowler
A West-country pronunciation; cf. Vowle for Fowell, Vokes for Foakes (Chapter VI), Venn for Fenn, etc.

John filius Thomae.	Thompson, Tompkins, Tomlin, etc.
One of the largest surname families. It includes Toulmin, a metathesis of Tomlin. In Townson and Tonson it coalesces with Tony, Anthony.

Henry Bolle.	Bull.
In this case evidently a nickname (Chapter I).

Roger Gyle.	Gill.
For names in Gil- see Chapter VI. The form in the roll may, however, represent an uncomplimentary nickname, "guile."

Walter Molendarius.	Miller, Mellen, Milner.
In Milne, Milner, we have the oldest form, representing Vulgar Lat. molina, mill cf. Kilner, from kiln, Lat. culina, kitchen. Millard (Chapter XIX) is perhaps sometimes the same name with excrescent -d.

Thomas Berker.	Barker.
A man who stripped bark, also a tanner. But as a surname reinforced by the Norman form of Fr. berger, a shepherd (Chapter XV).

Hundred Rolls	Modern Form
Matthew Hedde.	Head.
Sometimes local, at the head, but here a nickname; cf. Tate, Tail, sometimes from Fr. tête (Chapter XIII).

Richard Joyet.	Jowett, Jewett.
A diminutive either of Joy or of Julian, Juliana. But it is possible that Joy itself is not the abstract noun, but a shortened form of Julian.

Adam Kyg.	Ketch, Beach
An obsolete adjective meaning lively (Chapter XXII).

Simon filius Johannis Nigelli.	Johnson, Jones, Jennings, etc.
The derivatives of John are numerous and not to be distinguished from those of Joan, Jane (Chapter X).

The above lists illustrate all the simpler ways in which surnames could be formed. At the time of compilation they were not hereditary. Thus the last man on the list is Simon Johnson, but his father was John Neilson, or Nelson (Chapter X), and his son would be—Simpson, Sims, etc. This would go on until, at a period varying with the locality, the wealth and importance of the individual, one name in the line would become accidentally petrified and persist to the present day. The chain could, of course, be broken at any time by the assumption of a name from one of the other three classes (Chapter I).