BLEASE was a baptismal name 'the son of Blaze'. St.Blaise was the patron saint of wool-combers and his festival, (Feburary 3rd) was commemorated in Yorkshire until the beginning of this century. A full-sized effigy of the bishop is carved in the principal entrance to the Bradford Exchange. Following the crusades in Europe in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, a need was felt for a family name to replace the one given at birth, or in addition to it. This was recognized by those of noble birth, and particularly by those who went on the Crusades, as it added prestige and practical advantage to their status. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function of the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield, and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped and flowing garment worn over the armour. Early records of the name mention in January, 1537, Princess Mary entered into the Privvy Purse 'item payed to Blease for brawdering a payre of sleeves for my ladys grace'. Blaze, daughter of Godwinne, who was baptised at St. Peter, Cornhill, London in the year 1550. James, son of Andrew Blase was baptised at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London in the year 1605, and Joseph Tucker and Mary Bleeze were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in the year 1744. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. |
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