Simon?

[rymenhild]

I should make an extensive post to celebrate my one-year LJ anniversary (November 27). Instead, I am trying frantically to finish enough of the current paper to present it in class tomorrow. I'm only posting right now to make one frustrated shriek:

Why, oh WHY, can't families think of more than three names to give to their children? Also, if one must repeat a family name, can one at least keep track of how many people have had that family name? Yes, Simon de Montfort, I'm looking at you. Also at your father, Simon de Montfort, and your son, Simon de Montfort, and about two or three other unidentified Simons de Montfort. One of these Simons I have found identified as Simon III in one source and Simon IV in another.

There are also several people named Amaury de Montfort and several more named Guy de Montfort to add to the fun.

Comments

[a-trick-mind.livejournal.com]

Happy anniversary and good luck on the paper.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :)

[ladybird97.livejournal.com]

Here - I'll trade you a William and a Geoffrey for a Simon or two :)

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Would you like an Eleanor with them?

[nuqotw.livejournal.com]

Back in the good old days when disputes were settled at dawn instead of during interminable court proceedings, it paid to have several people by the same name, thus obfuscating the question of which Simon (Henry, Louis, etc.) actually deserved to be (pick one: shot, slashed to ribbons, tortured with hot coals, sold to the enemy for nefarious purposes).

Of course, if everyone were named Simon, a particularly vengeful and frustrated rival (graduate student) might choose to obliterate the entire clan. Having two or three names floating around (although what possessed anyone to pick Amaury is beyond me) gave just enough variety to protect the family.

Best of luck.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I think they all deserved to be shot, slashed to ribbons, tortured with hot coals or sold to the enemy. Nasty people, the de Montfort family.

Conquer the Simons! Hurrah!

[silveraspen]

Happy LJversary, and I extend you great sympathy and offers of soothing tea from over here in the land of my own unfinished paper.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

*accepts tea; offers vegetable soup*

[le-cloitre.livejournal.com]

we share a lj anniversary as well as a distaste for the medievals' repetitive use of nomens. i have a running card catalogue of parisian students in the twelfth & thirteenth that has about thirteen adams to date.

good luck!

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I'll take some of the Adams off of your hands. There aren't very many of them in England. We have Geoffreys, Williams, Roberts and Johns instead.

[obopolsk.livejournal.com]

I laughed out loud reading this, because I had the same train of thought about Simons de Montfort just a few weeks ago. Good luck on your paper! I too, am going to go frantically attempt to finish some work.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Good luck!

[jandersoncoats.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I'm going through this with the Hugh/Roger Bigod clan in East Anglia. It's maddening.

I'm friending you - don't sic Simon me, please.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I've definitely seen that name, but I didn't realize there were several Bigods. They have a great name, though. I like that it can be both a name and an oath:

Hugh Bigod! Hugh! Bigod, 3wat dost thu here?

[jandersoncoats.livejournal.com]

A window to my hell:

Roger Bigod comes over with William of Normandy. He has two sons; Hugh and Roger. They each have sons named Hugh and Roger. And those two both have sons with those names, as well. Four freakin generations.

Would it have killed them to throw in a Robert or a Henry? Or even an Amaury?

And yes, there's actually a pun in one of the chronicles I translated for my latest project about the name/oath thing. It's from Rishanger, so it's not trustworthy, but it is funny. Give the guy that.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Would that be eight of Roger Bigod and seven of Hugh Bigod, or have I lost count somewhere? I feel your pain.

It's interesting that they're Anglo-Norman but their name is Middle English. I wonder why.