Nature v. Nurture cont'd.
If you read my last post, you're probably wondering, "Why in the heck has he reading about medieval English monarchs?" Well, I asked myself the same question, and then I remembered the answer: I was trying to trace my ancestry. As far as I know, the name Payne comes from the same root as the word pagan - the word peon is also a possible influence on the name. So I was trying to trace the origins of the Payne family, and I found a citation that said the origins of the Payne's in England was with a nobleman who assisted William of Normandy, later William I of England, at the Battle of Hastings. So I dug around a bit more and found that there was a baron under William named Pagen who owned a lot of land in England. Incidentally, the origin of last names began with the Normans in the 11th century, so it's very likely that Payne was among the first surnames to exist in European history. Now, shortly after the Norman conquest of England, the First Crusade was launched towards the Holy Land. One of the knights of this crusade was named Hugh de Payen, and after the termination of the crusade, he stayed behind to found the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon - popularly known as the Knights Templar. The order was dedicated to protecting the conquests of the crusade and more particularly protecting the Christian pilgrims who came to visit the holy sites now that they were no longer under control of the Saracens. Whether this was what they were actually doing is still debated, but Hugh was their first Grand Master and came to be powerful and influential in Europe because of this position.
So these are a couple of my ancestors - maybe. In any case they share my name and that means that we are all descended from Rollo, first Duke of Normandy - or from his followers, known as 'Northmen' because they came from Norway, who were expelled from Denmark with him around anno domini 911. They came to France and were eventually granted lands there by King Charles III of France (probably for military aid against the previous holders of the land who were in rebellion).
All of this specious family history got me to thinking: a lot of families can trace their origins back to one man. In my case it's not one man, but a small group of men from Norway who somehow ended up in France about a thousand years ago. My question is, did I get anything from Rollo other than the name that his descendants received for their refusal to convert to Christianity? Did I get anything from the Baron Pagen other than a word that tagged him as nouveau riche because he grew up in the boonies of Normandy? Did the fact that Hugh founded one of the most powerful chivarlic orders to ever exists say anything about me now? Does being distantly related to Thomas Paine give me any more common sense than I would have had otherwise? The bottom line is this: How great can one man's influence on his children be? And that's what sparked this whole investigation. If I were to make a new name for myself to pass on to my kids, would even my grandchildren retain any trace of what I tried to make it mean? Looking back on men who had great influence on the course of history because of their actions as individuals, it actually gives me hope that either my actions or my dedication as a father could leave a legacy that continues to change the world long after I'm out of here.
So these are a couple of my ancestors - maybe. In any case they share my name and that means that we are all descended from Rollo, first Duke of Normandy - or from his followers, known as 'Northmen' because they came from Norway, who were expelled from Denmark with him around anno domini 911. They came to France and were eventually granted lands there by King Charles III of France (probably for military aid against the previous holders of the land who were in rebellion).
All of this specious family history got me to thinking: a lot of families can trace their origins back to one man. In my case it's not one man, but a small group of men from Norway who somehow ended up in France about a thousand years ago. My question is, did I get anything from Rollo other than the name that his descendants received for their refusal to convert to Christianity? Did I get anything from the Baron Pagen other than a word that tagged him as nouveau riche because he grew up in the boonies of Normandy? Did the fact that Hugh founded one of the most powerful chivarlic orders to ever exists say anything about me now? Does being distantly related to Thomas Paine give me any more common sense than I would have had otherwise? The bottom line is this: How great can one man's influence on his children be? And that's what sparked this whole investigation. If I were to make a new name for myself to pass on to my kids, would even my grandchildren retain any trace of what I tried to make it mean? Looking back on men who had great influence on the course of history because of their actions as individuals, it actually gives me hope that either my actions or my dedication as a father could leave a legacy that continues to change the world long after I'm out of here.