Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Sable Coat of Arms / Sable Family CrestThis surname of SABLE was originally a Russian baptismal name, derived from the given name SAVELI, and rendered in medieval documents in the Latin form SABELLIUS. This name was borne by an early Christian theologian who was excommunicated by Pope Calixtus I, but whose ideas enjoyed a considerable cult in the East. The name SABELLIUS is an ethnic term, of uncertain origin, denoting a member of a minor Italic tribe that was subdued by the Romans in ancient times. The name has travelled widely in many forms, and variant spellings of the name include SABIN, SAVYLOV, SABELLI, SABELLI, SAVLICHEV and SAVELLINI. The name arrived in England in the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066, and early records of the name in England mention Saelferne (without surname) 757, County Bedfordshire. The name was documented in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Saverne (without surname). Gaimar Seuerne, 1205, was documented in the North Riding of Yorkshire. 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. Most of the European surnames in countries such as England, Scotland and France were formed in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The process had started somewhat earlier and had continued in some places into the 19th century, but the norm is that in the tenth and eleventh centuries people did not have surnames, whereas by the fifteenth century most of the population had acquired a second name. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God. However much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. |
