Ecclesiastical Names
If we deal here with ecclesiastical names, as being really nicknames (Chapter XV), that will leave the trader and craftsman, the peasant, and the official or servile class to be treated in separate chapters. Social, as distinguished from occupative, surnames have already been touched on, and the names, not very numerous, connected with warfare have also been mentioned in various connections.
Among ecclesiastical names Monk has the largest number of variants. Its Anglo-French form is sometimes represented by Munn and Moon, while Money is the oldest Fr. monie; cf. Vicary from Old Fr. vicarie. But the French names La Monnaie, de la Monnaie, are local, from residence near the mint. The canon appears as Cannon, Channen, and Shannon, Fr. chanoine—
“With this chanoun I dwelt have seven yere”
(G, 720);
but Dean is also local sometimes (Chapter XII) and Deacon is an imitative form of Dakin or Deakin, from David (Chapter VI). Charter was used of a monk of the Charter-house, a popular corruption of Chartreuse
“With a company dyde I mete,
As ermytes, monkes, and freres,
Chanons, chartores...”
(Cock Lorelles Bote.)
Charter also comes from archaic Fr. chartier (charretier), a carter, and perhaps sometimes from Old Fr. chartrier, “a jaylor; also, a prisoner” (Cotg.), which belongs to Lat. carcer, prison. 1
Charters may be from the French town Chartres, but is more likely a perversion of Charterhouse, as Childers is of the obsolete “childer-house,” orphanage.
Among lower orders of the church we have Lister, a reader, 2 Bennet, an exorcist, and Collet, aphetic for acolyte. But each of these is susceptible of another origin which is generally to be preferred. Chaplin is of course for chaplain, Fr. chapelain. The legate appears as Leggatt. Crosier or Crozier means cross-bearer. At the funeral of Anne of Cleves (1557) the mass was executed—
“By thabbott in pontificalibus wthis croysyer, deacon and subdeacon.”
Canter, Caunter is for chanter, and has an apparent dim. Cantrell, corresponding to the French name Chantereau. The practice, unknown in English, of forming dims. from occupative names is very common in French, e.g. from Mercier we have Mercerot, from Berger, i.e. Shepherd, a number of derivatives such as Bergerat, Bergeret, Bergerot, etc. Sanger and Sangster were not necessarily ecclesiastical Singers. Converse meant a lay-brother employed as a drudge in a monastery. Sacristan, the man in charge of the sacristy, from which we have Secretan, is contracted into Saxton and Sexton, a name now usually associated with grave-digging and bell-ringing, though the latter task once belonged to the Knowler—
“Carilloneur, a chymer, or knowler of bells” (Cotgrave).
This is of course connected with “knell,” though the only Kneller who has become famous was a German named Kniller.
Marillier, probably a Huguenot name, is an Old French form of marguillier, a churchwarden, Lat. matricularius. The hermit survives as Armatt, Armitt, with which cf. the Huguenot Lermitte (l’ermite), and the name of his dwelling is common (Chapter XIII); Anker, now anchorite, is also extant. Fals-Semblant says—
“Somtyme I am religious,
Now lyk an anker in an hous.”
(Romaunt of the Rose, 6348.)
Notes
1 The sense development of these two words is curious.
2 Found in Late Latin as legista, from Lat. Legere, to read.