great part of the heraldic body's duty to prevent pretenders assuming arms, and encroachments in those that did. Cognizances became appendant to the arms of the most illustrious; these retain their original preeminence. The Queens left the oval seals to inferior ladies, and bore round ones, like their royal consorts.

Commerce displayed all her wealth. London fitted out a fleet, and transported armies to the Continent. Bristol, Exeter, and other large towns, became every way of consequence: they contributed greatly to the expense of the state. Foreigners, allured by the hopes of riches, flocked to England as the first trading nation in Europe. The influx of wealth was so great, that not only larger silver money was coined, but gold issuing from the mint became universally current. Henry III. attempted this in vain.

;

Surnames, which had been gradually adopted by the gentry, in imitation of the nobility, now descended to the lower orders, and in this reign had become almost general. Government encouraged the system, because the having only baptismal names was very inconvenient, from the difficulty of identifying persons, especially in towns, or other populous places. It would have been the height of presumption in the vassal to have taken a name like that of his master, of whom he held his land and even those who lived in towns, and had enriched themselves by trade, would not venture upon what would have been attended with dangerous consequences to themselves, and have gained them the just scorn and derision of all; they therefore generally took theirs from those trades to which they owed their maintenance. The names, Emperor, King, Duke, Earl, Baron, Bishop, Abbot, Priest, Deacon, Esquire, and Gentleman, adopted to distinguish families, Camden thinks, were borrowed from the first user of them having acted, or personated such characters, in the ancient Christmas games, especially the secular names. Some who took clerical names, might have been occasioned by their parents, when widowers, having gone into the church, and having gained a particular office in it, given that as a surname to their children, in remembrance of the circumstance; or, as I am inclined to think, such who took these names held under such who bore them. But as the names of trades, or of offices, could not suit all, every thing else that even fancy could dictate were adopted for surnames, as the names of quadrupeds,

birds,

birds, fishes, insects, trees, shrubs, flowers, rivers, colors, metals, minerals, and whatever else presented themselves, as hedge, wall, house, wood, highway, implements of household furniture or agriculture, properties of body or mind, baptismal name of the father, whether British, Saxon, Danish, or Norman, or its abbreviation, often with the word son added to it. Sometimes that of their mother; even cant, or nicknames. Some, in remembrance of their origin, took the names of French, Scot, Welch, Briton, Pichard, &c. generally with the article la, if of Continental descent. Warlike instruments, parts of dress, divisions. of time, divisions of money, and almost every thing else that could be adopted; nay even what seemed to mark their posterity with disgrace, such as Gallows, Bad, and others too indelicate and gross to mention.

The peasantry of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, and Ireland, usually add their father's baptismal name, as a surname for themselves. The Scotch prefix the word mac, the Irish o, the Welch ap; which, like the Hebrew ben, all signify son of. The lower orders in Russia in general have no surname, but add to their name witz, or owna, which is son, or daughter of: the Polish names usually terminate in sky, probably importing the same. We generally suppose such families in England which end in son to be of Danish extraction. It is extraordinary to see how many surnames may be formed from one baptismal one; for instance, from William comes Williamson, Wilson, Bilson, Willison, Wilkins, Wilkinson, kins being the diminutive, as we say little William, or little Will.

Since the time now spoken of, new names have arisen, by the numbers of foreigners settled here in different reigns; by many Welch, Irish, and more lately, Scotch coming hither. Many ancient names are extinct, others so altered, as scarce to be traced to their original sound and meaning. Illegitimate sons have received, or acquired new ones, intirely different from any preceding them. Family names were never so fixed as at present in England. Great latitude is used abroad: it was formerly so here. An alias, now a mark of ignominy and guilt, was often used by persons of honor and respectability. of surnames in this nation are almost beyond belief. A friend of mine amused himself with collecting all such which began with the letter A; they amounted to more than one thousand five hundred.

The number

It

It is well known that some letters of the alphabet are initials to more surnames than A: allowing for others which have not so many, the whole number will be between thirty and forty thousand, and even those will not be all from one stock, who bear the common names. Many individuals in every part of the kingdom would adopt names of animals, trades, or other things. Even those who take their names from places, because they are significant of situation, soil, &c. consequently there may, and are in most counties, places of the same name, especially such as Weston, Sutton, Easton, Norton, abbreviations of the four points of the wind, with the word ton, for town, added to them; much less are such as these peculiar to one family, At-hall, At-well, At-wood, At-hill, &c. On the contrary there are some families which bear different names, although descended from the same ancestor, yet these sometimes bear the same arms; others, again, though of one family, and the same surname, have taken different arms. Several counties have surnames, as it were, predominent. In Kent, many of the native families of the gentry end in wood or hurst, they being of the same import, and used as terminations of places: the common families abound in the names of animals of the earth, water, and air. In Cornwall, which is still more detached from other parts than Kent, being entirely peninsular, and consequently more cut off from the rest of the kingdom, it is said, from their constant intermarriages, "that all the Cornish men are cousins,' and of their surnames they have this adage:

"By Tre, Pol, and Pen*,

"You shall know the Cornishmen."

In fine" the English have borrowed names from every thing good and bad." The government of Richard II., was marked with cruelty, profusion, and extortion: the most luxurious potentate of that age, he disregarded the means by which he might obtain money to supply his extravagance. In this reign the commonalty revolted: it was the rebellion of slaves. The storm bid defiance to power, when by the death of an individual it ended, as unexpectedly as it arose. Had it continued, it would have been equal to that of the Jaquerie in France, the model of the present horrid system. In the height of their insolence they demanded to be manumitted: it was granted; but when they were dispersed, the extorted promise

Tre, signifies in the Cornish dialect, town; Pol, head; and Pen, top.

promise was broken. They were not sufficiently civilized to be trusted with those just privileges which they now so happily enjoy.

Richard was lavish of honors, creating at one time five dukes, one marquis (a title new in England), and five earls. Grand sergeanty, tournaments, pageantries, trials by arms, were arrived at their highest pitch. The English language by Gower and Chaucer was refined and written: before, Latin, French, or the Norman-French, were always used by the legislator, the historian, and the poet. This period was disgraced with strange, and often indecent tenures, contrived and established chiefly by John, Duke of Lancaster, the King's uncle. Blount, in his Jocular Tenures, has given many of these.

Henry IV. seized a crown to which he had no just pretensions. Suspicion and cruelty marked his administration, the constant attendants. upon guilt. The surrounding nations took advantage of that narrow policy which taught him to neglect foreign affairs, that he might be enabled to watch his own subjects, who soon repenting of their having deposed their lawful sovereign, rose against him, either to restore Richard, or to revenge his death; but they fell in the field, or upon the scaffold. England affords nothing memorable during this reign which deserves notice here, except the establishing the order of the Bath, a species of knighthood superior to knights bachelors, but not so high as bannerets: they have been usually created at coronations, or other solemn ceremonials. Forty-six were made by him, previous to his being invested with the royal ornaments. It is rendered void by receiving that of the Garter. Knighthood, in all its kinds, was in the highest estimation: a prince of the blood, if only honored with the lowest order of it, distinguished himself, and was addressed with "Sir," the usual prefix to such who receive it.

The splendid reign of Henry V, if it did not add to the wealth of the nation at large, gave rise to a number of great families, enriched by the spoils of Azincourt, the plunder of France, and the ransom of princes. Very many gallant officers claimed those honors which arms should bestow. All who had fought in the plains of Azincourt were allowed what they pleased to assume; but the heraldic body, which Henry peculiarly prized and protected, were commanded to degrade all future pretenders and usurpers of arms. This sovereign was whimsical in

the

the adoption of cognizances and devices, often changing them. The office of Garter, principal king of arms, was instituted by this great monarch. The title of esquire became more common. An inferior race of gentry arising, they were distinguished by the addition of gentleman.

The reign of the feeble Henry VI. was marked by disgrace abroad, and turbulence and blood at home. The violence of the Queen, and the ambition of Richard, Duke of York, was not to be stopped, but by the destruction of him who set upon, or him who wished to seize the throne. Richard fell his just claim, his valor, and his thirst for dominion, was inherited by Edward, his more fortunate son. In the quarrel the best blood in the nation was poured out with a lavish profusion, by the sword and the executioner. Unnumbered families lost the rewards of ages of prudence. Acrimony, discord, mutual wrongs, every where presented themselves. Landed property was constantly changing hands, as fortune turned the scale. Leaving these dreadful misfortunes, let us see the other remarkable occurrences of this reign which deserve a place here. We have an instance of the sovereign's investing one of his nobles with regal honors. The Isles of Wight, Jersey, &c. were erected into a kingdom; but they soon returned to the imperial crown of England. The title of viscount was first made an English hereditary honor. The nobility began to have vast numbers of retainers, and the sons of inferior persons were at this time educated in great men's housesThe custom of the French, in placing their arms upon their robes, which they covered in the same manner as they had the caparisons of their horses and surtouts, became general, and remained so for more than a century. Even the ladies adopted this singularly preposterous custom. Henry sent persons through many of the counties of England to collect the names of the gentry in each: these lists of names have reached our time. It is observable, that many are mentioned in them, who had stooped to the meanest trades, yet were still accounted gentry. We must suppose that they were the offspring of younger branches, whose fortunes were unequal to support them in a higher situation: it is evident that at this time trade, though it might depress, yet it did not destroy gentility. We find that now were two other orders of men, who were ranked between the gentlemen, and the artizan or labourer; the franklins, or free men, who possessed sufficient land to maintain themselves without

E