Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
  Lawhorn Coat of Arms / Lawhorn Family CrestThe surname of LAWHORN was an occupational name 'the lawman' a lawyer. The small villages of Europe, or royal and noble households, even large religious dwellings and monasteries gave rise to many family names, which reflected the occupation or profession of the original bearer of the name. Following the Crusades in Europe in the 11th 12th and 13th centuries a need was felt for an additional name. This was recognized by those of gentle birth, who realised that it added prestige and practical advantage to their status. The earliest of the name on record appears to be LAGMAN (without surname) who was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. 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. Other records include Ranulf LAWEMAN, who was documented in the year 1273 in Huntingdonshire. Thomas LAWGHMON of County Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. A later instance includes Edward LAWMAN, who married Frances Kendall in London in the year of 1607. The name is also spelt LAWMON and LAWMAN. 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. Among the humbler classes of European society, and especially among illiterate people, individuals were willing to accept the mistakes of officials, clerks and priests as officially bestowing a new version of their surname, just as they had meekly accepted the surname they had been born with. In North America, the linguistic problems confronting immigration officials at Ellis Island in the 19th century were legendary as a prolific source of Anglicization. |
Orders over $90 qualify for Free Shipping within the U.S. |
