| BIRTH | Pierre was born in either 1312 or 1320 (others say 1325 or, even, 1358!) in Morlaix, Bretagne, Normandy, France[1, 2] |
| DEATH | He died in Shropshire, England in 1384; he was 64[1,2]. |
| NAME |
We start the history of the Perkins family with Pierre de Morlaix because it is he
that both established the line in England and provided the first name from which the
Perkins surname was derived. Pierre's surname was deMorlaix in contemporary Latin
& French records of 14th century England. Remember that French was the language
of the royalty, Latin that of the Church in these years after The Conqueror. Anglo-Saxon
English was the language of the peasant class and would not be used for official
records for many years to come. Thus, later translations of these French & Latin
records into English turned the surname into "de Morlaix", "de Morley"
and finally, "Morley"[3].
James Perkins tells us: "...His name indicates that although originally from Morlaix, Normandy, France he was part of the Celtic/Welsh group previously mentioned who migrated to England. During this time period surnames were not in common use. Everybody was known by some personal characteristic such as what they did, who there father was or where they came from, hence Pierre de Morlaix was from Morlaix, France...[3]" At the time less than 200 years removed from William the Conqueror these western parts of France were considered to be pieces of the British Empire. Of course, the British monarchs of the time were also more French than English. French was the language, and the lineage, of royalty great & small. During Pierre's lifetime, the winds of political fortune changed when Charles V "The Black", Prince of France renewed the hostilities of the Hundred Years' War between England & France. Having a French surname was no longer politically or personally expedient, and so "Pierre de Morlaix" became "Peter Morley"[3]. |
| SERVICE WITH THE DESPENCERS |
The date of Pierre's move to England from France is currently unknown, but he settled
in Shropshire upon his arrival. He soon obtained a position with the powerful noble Hugh
DeSpencer, eventually becoming High Steward of the latter's Oxfordshire
estate[3,4]. The DeSpencer family has a storied history itself going backwards
& forward from Hugh (or Hugo). Hugh's father also known as "Hugh
the Younger" was a favorite of King Edward II, but fell afoul of Isabella &
Mortimer when they invaded the country and was brutally executed by them as a traitor
in 1326. After this, the family name morphed from Despenser to DeSpencer or De Spencer.
By the 1400s, French surnames having fallen out of favor, the family was merely called
"Spencer" and eventually produced the Princess later Lady Diana.
It is likely that Pierre de Morlaix knew members of the DeSpencer family from his days in France, since the DeSpencer family's French lands were in the Morlaix region. This would also explain Pierre's quick rise to power within the DeSpencer household. A Senschal (High Steward) was not only the trusted keeper of the household; but was not unlike the Consigliare of a Mafia don. In records, he is variously referred to as "serviens" and "sevients" to the DeSpencers[4]. Other authors have described him as a "servus", "bailiff" or "sargent" to the DeSpencers, but I've yet to see record proof of this. |
| MYTH-BUSTING | Pierre/Peter was supposedly granted the right to bear a coat of arms and was given his coat of arms by his Lord DeSpencer. Legend has it that the French motto on this coat of arms translates to "We were born at an opportune time." However, later research by James Fulton Perkins, et. al. proves that Pierre's grandson, John, is the first Perkins to actually receive a Coat of Arms[3]. |
| MARRIAGE | Pierre married Agnes TAYLOR[1], daughter of John TAYLOR. Agnes was born in 1325 in Rutland, Rutlandshire, England[1,2]. We currently know of no siblings for their son Henry. |
| CHILD | 2. | i. | Henry PERKINS | Please see his own page. |
| GENERATION | Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great (G20) Grandfather |
| FAMILY NUMBER | 8,349,696 |
| SOURCES |
1. Placeholder, This Is,
A Title Of No Consequence Because It Does Not Exist.,
(NeverNeverLand: Spoof Publications),
[PlaceHold], III:1432.
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Return to the Perkins Index page. |
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| Return to the Family Index page. |
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Return to the Surname Index page. |
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Return to the Maddison Side Tree page. |
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