the Quietists in the
seventeenth century. When the scenes that took place became a
scandal, the government intervened, with the result that a wag adorned
the church door with the following:

"De par le Roi, defense a Dieu
De faire miracle en ce lieu."]

CHAPTER X. METRONYMICS

"During the whole evening Mr. Jellyby sat in a corner with his head
against the wall, as if he were subject to low spirits."

(Bleak House, ch. iv.)

Bardsley first drew attention to the very large number of surnames
derived from an ancestress. His views have been subjected to much
ignorant criticism by writers who, taking upon themselves the task of
defending medieval virtue, have been unwilling to accept this terrible
picture of the moral condition of England, etc. This anxiety is
misplaced. There are many reasons, besides illegitimacy, for the
adoption of the mother's name. In medieval times the children of a
widow, especially posthumous children, would often assume the mother's
name. Widdowson itself is sufficiently common. In the case of second
marriages the two families might sometimes be distinguished by their
mothers' names. Orphans would be adopted by female relatives, and a
medieval Mrs. Joe Gargery would probably have impressed her own name
rather than that of her husband on a medieval Pip. In a village which
counted two Johns or Williams, and few villages did not, the children
of one might assume, or rather would be given by the public voice, the
mother's name. Finally, metronymics can be collected in hundreds by
anyone who cares to work through a few early registers.

FEMALE FONT-NAMES

Thus, in the Lancashire Inquests 205-1307 occur plenty of people
described as the sons of Alice, Beatrice, Christiana, Eda, Eva,
Mariot, Matilda, Quenilda, [Footnote: An Anglo-Saxon name, Cynehild,
whence Quennell.] Sibilla, Ysolt. Even if illegitimacy were the only
reason, that would not concern the philologist.

Female names undergo the same course of treatment as male names. Mary
gave the diminutives Marion and Mariot, whence Marriott. It was
popularly shortened into Mal (cf. Hal for Harry), which had the
diminutive Mally. From these we have Mawson and Malleson, the former
also belonging to Maud. Mal and Mally became Mol and Molly, hence
Mollison. The rimed forms Pol, Polly are later, and names in
Pol- usually belong to Paul (Chapter IX). The name Morris has three
other origins (the font-name Maurice, the nic