Surname Origins, Their Source and Significations (1875)

Pantlers,' and ferocious-seeming 'Panthers,' descendants of such folk as 'Richard le Panter,' or 'Robert le Paneter,' or 'Henry de le Paneterie,' are but relics of a similar office. They had the superintendence of the ' paneterie,' or pantry; literally, of course, the bread closet. It seems, however, early to have become used in a wider and more general sense. In the Household Ordinances of Edward IV. one of the sergeants is styled ' the chief Pantrer of the King's mouth.' John Russel in his 'Boke of Nurture' thus directs his student

The furst yere, my son, thou shalt be pantere or buttilare,

Thou must have three knyffes kene in pantry, I sey thee, evermare,

One knyfe the loaves to choppe, another them for to pare,

The third, sharp and kene, to smothe the trenchers and square.'

Of the old 'Achatour' (found as 'Henry le Catour' or 'Bernard le Acatour'), the purveyor for the establishment, we have many memorials, those of 'Cater,' 'Cator,' and 'Caterer' being the commonest. Chaucer quaintly remarks of the 'Manciple,'2 who was so

Wise in buying of victuals,

that of him

Achatours mighten take ensample.

The provisions thus purchased were called 'Cates,'a favourite word with some of our later poets.

1 The Sewer muste speke with the panter and offycers of ye spycery for fruytes that shall he eten fastynge.' — The Boke of Kervynge.'

2 A manciple was an achatour for a more public institution, such as an Inn of Court or College. It is quite possible that our 'Mansels' and 'Maunsels' are thus derived, relics as they undoubtedly are of the ' le Maunsels' or 'le Mansells' of this period. The corruption colloquially of 'manciple' into 'maunsell' would be a perfectly natural one. An instance of the purer form is found in the name of 'Thomas Mancipill,' met with inMunimenta Academica (Oxon.) p. 525, under the date 1441.That this was a common term at that university we may prove from an indenture found in the same hook, dated 1459, in which are mentioned 'catours, manciples, spencers, cokes, lavenders, &c.'(I'. 346.) It may be interesting to some to state that to this day this is the term for the chief cook in several of the colleges.

SURNAMES OF OFFICE.

Equivalent to the more monastic 'le Cellarer,' 'which is now obsolete, are our numberless 'Butlers,' the most accepted form of the endless 'Teobald le Bo-tilers,' 'Richer le Botillers,' 'Ralph le Botelers,' ' William le Botellers,' 'Walter le Butillers,' or 'Hugh le Buteilliers,' of this time. As we shall observe by-and-by, however, this was also an occupative name.2

With so many officers to look after the preparations, we should expect the dinner itself to be some-what ceremonious. And so it was — far more ceremonious, however, than elegant in the light of the nineteenth century. Our 'Senechals ' and 'Senecals ' ( Alexander le Seneschal,' B., 'Ivo Seneschallus,' T.), relics of the ancient 'seneschal,' Latinized in our records as 'Dapifer' ('Henry Dapifer,' A.), arranged the table. The root of this word is the Saxon 'schalk,' a servant which, though now wholly obso-

1 A 'William Celarer' is mentioned in the Churchwardens 'Accounts of honey, Surrey, 1526. (Brand. vol. i. 226.) A Saxon form of this existed in the term, 'Hoarder,'i.e. one who stored up. 'Richard le Hordere'(H. R.), 'Adam le Horder'(Parl. Writs). The form ' bor. destre,'or cellaress, is met with in contemporaneous writings.

2 The duties of Butler and Panter being so all-important, they are often found encroaching on one another', vocation. Thus the Boke of Curtasue says:-

Botler schalle sett for each a messe,

A put, a lofe, withouten distress.'