Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Bonham Coat of Arms / Bonham Family CrestThis name was derived from the Old French 'bon homme' a nickname for a good man. The name was usually given to a man of the cloth, a priest or a friar. The order came into England from France in the 13th century. The name is also locational 'of Bonham' a now lost spot in County Somerset. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. The acquisition of surnames in Europe during the past eight hundred years has been affected by many factors, including social class and social structure, naming practices in neighbouring cultures, and indigenous cultural tradition. On the whole, the richer and more powerful classes tended to acquire surnames earlier than the working classes and the poor, while surnames were quicker to catch on in urban areas than in more sparsely populated rural areas. These facts suggest that the origin of surnames is associated with the emergence of bureaucracies. As long as land tenure, military service, and fealty were matters of direct relationship between a lord and his vassals, the need did not arise for fixed distinguishing epithets to mark out one carl from another. But as societies became more complex, and as such matters as the management of tenure and in particular the collection of taxes were delegated to special functionaries, it became imperative to have a more complex system of nomenclature to distinguish one individual from another reliably and unambiguously. Early records of the name mention Bonhum Luscus, 1277, County Norfolk. Bonham (without surname) 1219, Yorkshire. William Bonhume was documented in the year 1247 in the County of Bedfordshire. Edward Bonehamme of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on 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. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. |
