LANTZ GENEALOGY


       These German Landsknechts quite often not very wel-
     come visitors in the Roman lands and the difficulty which
     the Romans found in pronouncing Landsknecht prepared
     the way for the shortened form of the word.
       In order to take care of the latter situation and also on
     account of the displeasure which the intruders accorded
     the Roman peoples the word was shortened to Lanzo in
     Italian so that they might have an easy pronounced name
     for the foreign soldiers.
       The O element in the word is Roman, the Lanz part is
     German.  The word Lantz which in this form was easy for
     the Romans to pronounce and which had taken on the Latin
     ending in 0 is also Italian, or Spanish, an abusive word
     standing for Germans in general.  The Roman version be-
     longs therefore in the category of so called nicknames and
     sprang originally from a humorous and satirical tendency
     on their part.  In a short time, however, the abbreviation
     changed from the Italian and Spanish word Lanzo to the
     German form where it dropped the Roman ending O and
     was shortened unto Lanz.  Thus the Germanizing of the
     Roman form of the word was accomplished.
        So the family name grew gradually from this abbre-
     viation Lantz or Lanz.  The families who bear this name
     apparently have been members of the families who were
     at one time Landsknecht imperial soldiers, or soldiers
     drafted somewhere in the empire.  I imagine that this occu-
     pation was pursued for quite a number of generations in
     these families; so the assignment of family names is clearly
     psychological.  A ready proof of this fact may be obtained
     in any individual case when, upon the basis of as many
     records as possible the famliy history is associated with
     the scene of language.  It is worthy of note that your own
     name, Lantz, is found as early as the sixteenth century and
     from then on, however, you will probably have to get your
     information concerning the family, from the family records.
      If it should be desired, the author is ready to furnish Mr.
     W. T. Lantz further information which perhaps might lead
     to more thorough understanding of this particular ease.
                                  PROF.  OTTO MAUKER.

     P. S. This translation was made by Mss Katherine B.
     Valient, who graduated from the Randolph Macon College
     having majored in German.
         I find the word, or name, Lance used in the naturaliza-
     tion papers of Bernard Lantz in the State of Virginia.  In

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