Page 9 - 3rdPub1
P. 9
The Blaker Society © accents that indicate abbreviations. We therefore have to rely on her
Fenwick’s transcript does not preserve the various signs and
r
judgment that none of the Blaks or Blakes above conceals a Blak or
r
Blak e. The two Blaks are shown as such, not Blak’. If we cannot rely on
her judgment, all the Blak and Blake are suspect, but Black and Blake
being common surnames we would expect there to be a fair scattering of
them.
If we take an unequivocally –er surname, such as Carpenter, there
are 21 Carpent* entries in Sussex, 19 as Carpenter, 1 Carpentir, 1
Carpentyr, none rendered as Carpent’ (although that appears in the
Wiltshire returns), and certainly no Carpent. So there is nothing there to
suggest that Fenwick clips her entries.
With two-syllable occupational surnames such as Carter and
Thatcher, the spelling is often as –ere, i. e., Cartere, Thatchere. And these
occupational surnames appear more frequently among the ‘commoners’
than the ‘artisans’, so we have nothing in this record to militate for or
against Blaker originating as an occupational surname. It is striking how
many Millers were millers, Taylors tailors, &c., showing that surnames
were still forming or had formed recently in Sussex in 1379. Patronymics
such as Johnson (filius Johannis) &c. are almost completely absent, that
form of hereditary surname having yet to emerge for the underclasses.
Bloker
9
The only Blok* entry is:
Fishersgate Half-Hundred
Villata de Southwyke
Southwick
...
E179/189/42/3d
...
Johanna Wytyng 4d
Simon Chate 4d
Beatrix Chate 4d
Robertus Wegge 4d
Alice Cokayle 4d
Alice Blokere 4d
Ricardus Gerveys 4d
Summa 10s 8d
9 p, 587