The Surname Hort
A
Dictionary Of British Surnames
By P.H.Reaney
P.H. Reaney, considered the most authoritative on British
surnames and their origins. Reaney wrote that the very ancient origin of the
family name HORT was Anglo Saxon, carried to Britain by the plundering raids of
the Saxons from Schleswig (described as "Migratory Invasions" by more charitable
historians than Reaney), about the period 450-500 a.d., five centuries prior to
the Norman invasion and conquest of Britain under William I (William the
Conqueror) in 1066.
This period of time saw raids by
these Nordic warriors, more often called Danes, Vikings or Norseman (Norse) than
Saxons on most countries of the then world. Consequently their influence on the
origins of names in both Europe and Britain was considerable and widespread.
It should be mentioned that many
of those who accompanied William to the invasion of Britain were of ancient
Saxon origin, the raiding Saxons having greatly influenced the population of
both Normandy (Normandie) and Breton (Bretagne) five centuries prior to the
Norman invasion of Britain. It is stated by historians, that William I who was
the bastard son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, was of ancient Saxon origin on his
mother's side. It could therefore be said that the battle of Hastings was to a
great extent Saxon against Saxon: Harold II, who had reigned briefly from
January until October of 1066 and fell at the battle of Hastings, was a Saxon
King of England.
In Britain the origin of the
name Hort was recorded in the Domesday Book (First official record of names in
Britain under the Norman's, commonly termed William the Conqueror's Census, and
compiled 1066-1086).
According to P.H. Reaney, the
origin of the name was first noted and recorded in Britain in 1060, (six years
prior to the recording of the Domesday Book. Being noted to the person Aelfric
de Horte in the County of Hampshire and the styling of 'Hort' did derive from
this source. Styled exactly as 'Hort', the name was first noted to Simon le Hort
in the County of Kent in the year 1197. It is pointed out in reference to the
prefixes 'le' and 'de' often given to names which were early recorded, perhaps
giving a 'French' appearance, that in this period of time almost all recordings
of names were completed by the Norman's. Consequently numerous 'Old English' and
'Anglo-Saxon' names were given such prefixes though their bearers had no
connection with French ancestry.
The name
was of considerable note in the field of military enterprise in the 'Border
Country' of England and Scotland during the troubled times of the thirteenth
century, according to 'Scot's Kith and Kin', sometimes under the Scottish
Banner.
LINKS
Hort
Family
Hort
Book
Places
of interest Gloucestershire & Wiltshire
