Section V Durans
Durans (enduring, or lasting) formed the name which no reader of Don Quixote can forget as that of the enduring hero, lying on his back on the marble tomb, in the cave of Montesinos, who uttered that admirable sentiment, “Patience, cousin, and shuffle the cards!”
The name of Durandus prevailed in other countries; and Durand, to our surprise, figures constantly in Domesday Book, probably having belonged to French immigrants. A Durand and Marta, who jointly owned a house at Winchester in the reign of Stephen, were almost certainly Provençal, since St. Martha was hardly known except in the scene of her exploit with the dragon. Durand Grimbald is a specimen of a French Christian and English surname then prevailing. Durandus is the Latinized surname of the great French lawyer of the middle ages; and Durandus again is familiar to the lover of mediæval symbolism; but none of these can approach in honour the great Florentine Durante Alighieri, whose glory, lasting like that of Homer and Shakespeare, has made his contracted appellation of Dante stand alone and singly.
Notes
77. Butler; Hanmer, Ireland; Chalmer, Caledonia; Montalembert; Ossianic Society; Pott; Michaelis.