Coteral History, Family Crest & Coats of ArmsEtymology of CoteralWhat does the name Coteral mean? The Norman Conquest of England in 1066 brought much change, including many immigrants with new names. Coteral is a name for a serf or bond tenant who held a cottage by service. The name is derived from the Old English cote, which means "shelter," or "cottage." "In feudal times, 'the coterellus held in absolute villenage and had his person and goods disposed at the pleasure of the Lord.' Kennet's Paroch. Antiq. He was probably so called, like the Cotmanni, or Cottarii of Domesd. from residing in a cottage. Another origin may be from the cotarelli, costeraux, cotemux, mercenary soldiers and freebooters whose trade was war and pillage, (Conf. Brabazon) and who were so called from the coterel, a large knife they carried. Cotgrave defines cotereaux as 'a certaine crue of peasantly outlawes who in old time did much mischiefe unto the nobilitie and clergie.' " 1 Early Origins of the Coteral familyThe surname Coteral was first found in Somerset where Stephan Coterel and Walter Coterel were both listed 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 2 The Pipe Rolls listed William Coterel in 1130 in London and Gerard Coterel in Berkshire in 1170. Later the Assize Rolls on 1288 listed Honde Cotrell. 3 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Richard Coterell, Devon; Alice Coterel, Cambridgeshire; and Henry Coterel, Bedfordshire. 4 In Devon, John Coterell was Warden of St Mary's College, Ottery St Mary in 1379. Early History of the Coteral familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Coteral research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1572, 1615, 1621, 1624, 1631, 1641, 1654, 1686, 1691, 1701, 1710, 1758 and 1847 are included under the topic Early Coteral History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Coteral Spelling VariationsNorman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Cotterell, Cotterel, Cotteral, Cotteril, Cotterill, Cottral, Cottrall, Cottrell, Cottrel, Coterall, Coterel, Coteril, Coterill, Cotrall, Cotrell, Cottrle, Cotral, Cotraul, Cotrelly and many more. Early Notables of the Coteral familyOutstanding amongst the family at this time was John Cotterell DCL (died 1572), from Wiltshire, an English clergyman and academic at the University of Oxford, one of the founding fellows of Jesus College, Oxford; Sir Clement Cotterell (died 1631), an English courtier and politician, Member of Parliament for Grantham (1621-1624) and for Boston in... Migration of the Coteral family to IrelandSome of the Coteral family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Coteral familyMany English families emigrated to North American colonies in order to escape the political chaos in Britain at this time. Unfortunately, many English families made the trip to the New World under extremely harsh conditions. Overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the stormy Atlantic. Despite these hardships, many of the families prospered and went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the United States and Canada. Early North American immigration records have revealed a number of people bearing the name Coteral or a variant listed above: Edward Cotterell who settled in Virginia in 1635; John Cotterell settled in New England in 1655; Timothy Cotterill arrived in Boston in 1765; Edward Cotteral arrived in Pennsylvania in 1772.
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