The surname of LA BLANC was originally derived from the Old French 'blanchart' a nickname for one with white hair. A name brought to England with the Conqueror in 1086. Many of the early names recorded in medieval documents denote noble families but many also indicate migration from the continent during, and in the wake of the Norman invasion of 1066. There was a constant stream of merchants, workmen and others arriving in England during this time. In 1086 the Record of Great Inquisition of lands of England, their extent, value, ownership and liabilities was made by order of William the Conqueror. It is known as the Domesday Book. Early records of the name mention Blanchard de Morba 1180 County Devon. Gilbert Blanchard was recorded in County Lincolnshire during the reign of Henry III (1216-1272). Thomas Blansherde, was documented in 1330 in Lancashire. Willelmus Blaunchard was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Buried. Ann Blanchard, at Kensington Church, London in the year 1587. The names introduced into Britain by the Normans were of three kinds. There were names of Norse origin which their ancestors had carried into Normandy; names of Germanic origin which the Frankish conquerors had brought across the Rhine and which had ousted the old Celtic and Latin names from France, and Biblical names and names of Latin and Greek saints. These names they retained even after the customs and language of the natives of Northern France had been adopted by them. After the Norman Conquest not only Normans, but Frenchmen and Bretons from other parts of France settled in England, and quite a few found their way north into Scotland. In many parts of central and western Europe, hereditary surnames began to become fixed at around the 12th century, and have developed and changed slowly over the years. As society became more complex, and such matters as the management of tenure, and in particular the collection of taxes were delegated to special functionaries, it became imperative to distinguish a more complex system of nomenclature to differentiate one individual from another. |
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