Does anyone happen to have, or know where I might find, any information regarding the De Greet (sometimes De Gret) family who were in Doddington, Kent from 1100 until 1300? I have tried the Domesday Book.
I suspect they may have been of Norman origin but I believe that it was fashionable to use a French sounding name at that time.
Regards & thanks
John Adey
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Thread: De Greet family from Kent
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10-01-2006, 10:36 PM #1johnadeyGuest
De Greet family from Kent
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19-01-2006, 9:50 AM #2geoffpowersGuest
De Greet family
It sounds as if this surname could well be Flemish, and not Norman (Breton is another possibility). There were strong familial ties between the Norman ducal family and the rulers of Flanders and Brabant, ditto Brittany. There were almost certainly similar ties among the lesser nobility of the period.
Substantial numbers of Flemings and Bretons were involved in the invasion force in 1066 and in the occupation of England in the succeeding years. During the reigns of William I ('The Bastard') and William II Rufus, and also after 1100, when Henry I came to the throne, it is fairly certain that these links with the European mainland would have been maintained.
Alternatively, de Greet may have been the name of a mercantile trading family from the Low Countries (present day Netherlands and Belgium) who were not members of the nobility, and who, for business reasons, chose to settle in Kent. --- In French (Norman French) 'de' = 'of'; in Dutch/Flemish 'de' = 'the'; This is its origin in many present day Netherlandic surnames, e.g. de Groot ('Mr Large'!), etc.
Regards
GeoffLast edited by geoffpowers; 20-01-2006 at 11:38 PM. Reason: typo
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20-01-2006, 11:24 AM #3johnadeyGuest
De Greet
Thank you.
That is very interesting. As with most old names the spelling is not consistant, sometimes De Greet or De Gret and sometimes De Grit. You wouldn't be able to offer a translation of any of these assuming Flemish origin would you?
Thanks again
John Adey
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20-01-2006, 1:10 PM #4GeoffersGuestOriginally Posted by johnadey
Alternatively - in Old English 'gret' was a of variant of 'great' and also 'greot' (as in modern 'grit')*. Flemish and English were very similar languages at this time.
Geoffers
* See Stratmann's Middle-English Dictionary pages 307-8.
Geoffers
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20-01-2006, 11:32 PM #5geoffpowersGuest
de Greet
Geoffers
Your ace has trumped my king! I hadn't got as far as thinking about Middle English, but if the name became established in the late 11C we should probably be talking about Late Old English, technically speaking. But then languages don't stand still, do they?
Your suggestion for the etymology sounds very plausible. I don't have any Middle English resources to hand to consult. As German is my specialism, not English, my slender knowledge of Dutch has fallen through the gap in the middle!
Cheers
Geoff
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21-01-2006, 11:28 AM #6GeoffersGuestOriginally Posted by geoffpowers
Geoffers
PS I shall bear you in mind for Germanic references as my knowledge of that labguage is bound to be less than yours is of Dutch
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21-01-2006, 11:58 PM #7geoffpowersGuest
De Greet family
John, Geoffers!
A much more mundane, but much more likely explanation: there is a small hamlet called Greet, tucked into the North Downs about 2 miles SE of the village of Wichling, Kent (south of the section of M2 between Sittingbourne and Faversham)........., but you say it doesn't feature in Doomsday, John?
(There are quite a lot of Greets elsewhere in England according to Streetmap.com, but I'm assuming that the one in Kent is the most relevant.)
Almost any Tom, Dick or Harry could say he was of (de) such-and-such a place in the Middle Ages. It does not mean he was anyone special, but then most of William's barons weren't anyone special either........ mostly a bunch of brigands!
(Thinks: Now why didn't I look at the map first? So much for my my far-fetched Flemings. Ah, well!)
GPLast edited by geoffpowers; 22-01-2006 at 11:40 AM.
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22-01-2006, 8:52 AM #8GeoffersGuestOriginally Posted by geoffpowers
Geoffers
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22-01-2006, 10:32 AM #9
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Plenty of gravel in the Sittingbourne - Faversham area too.
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22-01-2006, 8:22 PM #10johnadeyGuest
De Greet
Thanks all.
I have since found out that the family were later in Doddington , Kent which puts it very close to the area mentioned.
Regards
John Adey
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