Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
  Greenstreet Coat of Arms / Greenstreet Family CrestThe surname of GREENSTREET was a locational name 'the dweller at the street of green trees' from residence nearby. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. Almost every city, town or village existing in the Middle Ages has served to name one or more families. Where a man lived was his means of identification. When a man left his birthplace or village where he had been known, and went elsewhere, people would likely refer to him by the name of his former residence or birthplace, or by the name of the land which he owned. Early records of the name mention Bartholomew de Grenestrete, 1257, County Oxford. Johanna de Gremestrate, was documented in County Cambridge in 1273. Peter de Grenestret of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Symon Greenstreet and Mary Treswellen were married in Canterbury, Kent in the year 1669. 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 flowing a draped garment worn over the armour. The rise of surnames, according to the accepted theory, was due to the Norman Conquest of 1066 when Old English personal-names were rapidly superseded by the new christian names introduced by the Normans. Of these, only a few were really popular and in the 12th century this scarcity of christian names led to the increasing use of surnames to distinguish the numerous individuals of the same name. Some Normans had hereditary surnames before they came to England, but there is evidence that surnames would have developed in England even had there been no Norman Conquest. The development of the feudal system made it essential that the king should know exactly what service each person owed. Payments to and by the exchequer required that debtors and creditors should be particularized, and it became official that each individual acquired exact identification. The associated coat of arms is recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. Ulster King of Arms in 1884. Registered in Sittingbourne, County Kent. Granted in 1451. |
Orders over $90 qualify for Free Shipping within the U.S. |
