Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Skala Coat of Arms / Skala Family CrestThis Scandinavian surname of SKALA is a topographic name for someone who lived in a hut or shed or a temporary building. The name was derived from the Old word SKALA. Other spellings of the name include SKALI, SCALE, SCALES, SCHOLES and SKALYS. Habitation names were originally acquired by the original bearer of the name, who, having lived by, at or near a place, would then take that name as a form of identification for himself and his family. When people lived close to the soil as they did in the Middle Ages, they were acutely conscious of every local variation in landscape and countryside. Every field or plot of land was identified in normal conversation by a descriptive term. If a man lived on or near a hill or mountain, or by a river or stream, forests and trees, he might receive the word as a family name. Almost every town, city or village in early times, has served to name many families. Early records of the name include SKALES (without surname) who was recorded in the year 1269, and Ribelton SCALES was documented in the year 1252. The Scandinavian element in English place names is very considerable. It is an outcome of the extensive Scandinavian settlements made in England from the latter half of the ninth century onwards. They were mostly Danes, but in the north-western parts of the country such as Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumberland and West Yorkshire, the settlers were mostly Norwegians. Many English names adopted by Scandinavians were changed in form to conform better to Scandinavian habits of speech. A later instance of the name includes SKALYS, who was recorded in Cheshire in the year 1501. 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. |
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