Surname Origins, Their Source and Significations (1875)

I need not say, is still well represented. In the 'Man of Lawes Tale' the poet says:

The constable of the castel doun is fare

To see this wreck.

With him we may ally our not unfamiliar 'Castle-mans,' 'Castelans,' and 'Chatelains,' representatives of the old 'John le Chastilioun,' or 'Joscelin le Castelan,' or 'Ralph le Chatelaine.' The poet whom I have just quoted says elsewhere:

Now am I king, now chastelaine.

Doubtless this latter was but a synonym of the con-stable, and his duties as governor but the same. Of decidedly lower position, but not dissimilar in character, we have also 'Wybert le Portere,' or 'Portarius,'as he is Latinized in our rolls. An old book of etiquette says: --

When thou comes to a lordis gate

The porter thou shalle fynde therate.

He at the postern would as carefully look against hostile, as our former 'Peter le Ussher,' or 'Alan le Usser,' within would against informal approach.' The Saxon form, however, was evidently not wanting, for we have still 'Doorward' and 'Doorman ' ('Geoffrey le Doreward,' A., 'Nicholas le Doreman,' 0.) in our directories, not to mention their corrupted, 'Durwards,' immortalized by Walter Scott, and 'Dormans' and 'Domans.' The term 'doorward' is found in

1 Among other duties the usher lay at the door of his lord's sleeping apartment. The Boke of Curtasye says the

'Usher before the dore

In outer chambur lies on the flore.'

SURNAMES OF OFFICE.

many of our early writers. Thus .in an old metrical account of the bringing of Christ before Caiaphas, it is said of John when he returned to fetch in Peter:

He bid the dureward

Let in his fere.

Our 'Chamberlaynes' and 'Chambers,' '('Simon le Chamberlain,' M., 'Henry le Chaumberleyne,' B., ' William de la Chaumbre,' B.) had access to their lord'sinner privacy, and from their intimacy with his monetary affairs occupied a position at times similar to that of our more collegiate bursar. We have only to look at mediaeval costume, its grandeur, its colours, and its varied array, to understand how necessary there shouldbe a special officer to superintend his lord's wardrobe. Our 'Wardrops' are but the former ' de la Wardrobe,' or ' de la Garderoba,' while ' le Wardrober,' or ' le Garderober,' has bequeathed us our ' Wardropers.' Thus the 'Book of Curtasye' says:

The usshere shalle bydde the wardropere

Make redy for alle, night before they fere.

Equally important as an attendant was the 'Barbour.' He especially was on familiar terms with his master — when was he not ? I need scarcely say that among his other duties that of acting as surgeon in the house-hold was none of the lightest. Still his tonsorial capacity was his first one. No one then thought of shaving himself, least of all the baron. Even so late as the sixteenth century a writer defending the use of the beard against Andrew Boorde employs this argument:

1 Our friends across the border have this surname in the form of 'Chalmers.'