The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-03-05
William
ECofnhill hfasaxine.

! Nnen the franks moved eastward from
their Teutonic home into the country t,
which they have given the name Frank
erich or France, they naturally took witt
them all their German names. Whethe
Wilhelm was one Of these, or whether i
came in later with the dynasty of Karl tht
Great-our Charlemagne-I can not tel
you; though perhaps some more learned
person may have met with the name in
the pages of Gregory of Tours or mis- sue.
cessors. AT any rate, it speedily passed
into general use in Normandy, as soon az
the Scandinavian settlers had called the
rich Province of Neustra after their own
race.
The first generation of Northmeni III Gaul
naturally bore such Norwegian names as
Hrolf, Grim, Biorn, Harold, Thor and
Haco. But the younger crop of Christian
lied and Galicized Normans copied the
baptisnal designations of their Frankish
over-lordship and thus Hrolr himealf, the
Rollo of our mutilated histories, first Duke
Of the new Principality, gave his son and
successor the Frankigh name of Wilhelm.
This Wilhelm was followed by continu-
Gus line of Richards, Roberts, and other
Wilhelms, till at last the dynasty culmin-
| ated in the great Conqueror of England,
who introduced the new Norman titles in
to his Kingdom.
William the Conqueror himself spelled
his name WILHELM, though, for reason to
be mentioned hereafter, the form Pilielm
occurs most often on his coins. Even be-
fore the Conquest, Williams were by no
means unknown in England; for the Nor
manizlng tendency had already begun at
the Court Of Edward the Confessor. evil
lelm Biscop," as the "Chronicle' calls
him, was well known parsonage under
che sanity King; and English families
even then had taken a fancy for ca1fiiig
their sons after the intrusive foreigners
who flocked to the hospitality of Westmin-
ster and Winchester In fact, Norman
names were getting fashionable. But after
the Conquest, the fashion became an ire
sistible tide.
In few years all our native names had
disappeared, and every Dudtla and Tate in
England was christening his or her chill
dren 'sRobert, 'Heanrign and "Gesfrei,'
the Robert, Henry and Godfrey of later
days. OF course, the royal cognemen
Willelm was the greatest favorite among
Ill these new importations. Mr.. Bardsley
finds no less than sixty eight persons SO
called in "Domesday Book so that it had
spread widely even during the lifetime OF
the victor of Hastings. '"rhis name,'' says
Camden, "hath been most common in Eng
land sinse William the Conqueror, inso-
much that on a festal day in the Court of
King Henry II, when Sir William St. John
md Sir William FItzhamon. especial Off
GERS, had commanded that none but the
name Of William should dine in the great
chamber with them, they were accompa-
nied with one hundred and twenty Will
iiams,all knights, as Robert Montensis
recordeth, ammo 1173.''
Next, it passed into the lowIands of Scot
land with William the Lion. Through the
Middle Ages, however, it began to decline
again as John and Henry came into fash
ion. / must ask leave to quote once more
Mr.. Bardsley's interesting account of its
subsequent history, after its failing popu-
arity during the Plantagenet period; for
althobghI / have once before extracted it.
apropos of John, we can not well omit it
here, where its bearing upon our present
subject must chiefly be considered. 1T is
interesting says that painstaking author,
ssto trace the way in which William has
again recovered itself. in later days.
Throughout the Middle Ages it occupied a
sturdy second place, fearless Of any rival
beyond the one that had supplanted it. It's
dark hour was the Puritan commonwealth. /
Al a Pagan name, it was rejected with
horror and disdain. From the day of the
Protestant settlement and Williams acees-
sion, however, it again looked up from the
cold shade into which i had fallen, and
now once more stands easily, MS eight een-
turies ago, at the head of our baptisnaI
registers. John, on the other hand, tho
il had the advantage Of being in no way.
hateful to the Puritan conscience, had, +
from one reason OF another, gone doW.a in
the world, and now has again resumed its
early place as second.
A Hssvar.ss ERras