Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
  Massingham Coat of Arms / Massingham Family CrestThe surname of MASSINGHAM was a locational name 'of Massingham' the name of two parishes in County Norfolk. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. Early records of the name mention Walter de Massingham, County Cambridge, 1273. Thomas de Messyngham of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Surnames derived from placenames are divided into two broad categories; topographic names and habitation names. Topographic names are derived from general descriptive references to someone who lived near a physical feature such as an oak tree, a hill, a stream or a church. Habitation names are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages and farmsteads. Other classes of local names include those derived from the names of rivers, individual houses with signs on them, regions and whole countries. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. A later instance of the name mentions Henry Ford and Harriot Massingham who were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in the year 1799. The associated arms are recorded in Burkes General Armory. Surnames as we know them today were first assumed in Europe from the 11th to the 15th Century. The employment in the use of a second name was a custom that was first introduced from the Normans. They themselves had not long before adopted them. It became, in course of time, a mark of gentler blood, and it was deemed a disgrace for gentlemen to have but one single name, as the meaner sort had. 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 and draped garment worn over the armour. |
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