A quick bit of medieval smut for the new year … I recently found a very interesting name, in a King’s Bench plea roll of 1349 – William Wassheballok[e] … which raises all sorts of questions about how William ended up with that label. (Was his personal hygiene unusual … did it stem from some practical joke … and why the apparent singular?)

I cannot say that I have ever seen the name before, so assuming that, mercifully, it didn’t carry on down the generations.

GS

3/1/2024

And another one …

Not rude in the anatomical sense, but also a bit of an interesting name is the surname of Simon Godesbones, appearing in the KB plea roll for Easter 1368. He would seem to have been named after a theologically questionable oath (‘by God’s bones’!) So was it the result of him (or some predecessor) using that oath regularly, or did somebody exclaim it when they saw him? Or something else?

Image: courtesy of the wonderful AALT which was not set up for such unscholarly smut …