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![Show Contents]() Reviers History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
 England
Reviers is a name that first reached England following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Reviers family lived in Revieres, near Creuilli, in the arrondissement of Caen, Normandy. This is one of the names given by Wace in his account of the battle of Hastings, "He who was then Sire de Reviers brought with him many knights who were foremost in the assault, bearing the enemy down with their war-horses." 1 Early Origins of the Reviers familyThe surname Reviers was first found in Devon where the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Baldwin de Reviers (Revere) who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. Soon after the conquest Baldwin and William (Quillaume) de Reviers, sons of Richard of Montebourg in Calvados received Plympton and Tiverton in Devon, the Isle of Wight, became Earl of Devon to which Baldwin succeeded in 1107. "There was a genuine and undoubted Richard de Reviers, who with William de Reviers (perhaps his brother) is to be found on the Dives Roll, and held a barony in Dorset in 1086. 2 He is presumed to have been the son of a William de Reviers who held land at Montebourg in Normandy a conjecture the more probable, as he, with the King's consent, founded an Abbey at Montebourg in 1088, and endowed it, among other grants, with one of his Dorset manors." 1 "A castle was erected in Tiverton in 1106 by Rivers, Earl of Devon, which continued for many ages the head of a barony, and, with the lordship of the hundred and the manor." 3 "In the reign of Henry I. the manor [of Tiverton] passed to the family of Redvers, and Richard de Redvers, about the year 1106, built the castle, which continued one of the principal seats of that powerful family for several generations. At the death of Baldwin de Redvers in 1245, his widow, Amicia, claimed the manor and lordship of Tiverton as part of her dower. The last of the family of Redvers that held the manor was Isabella's daughter Avelina, who married Edmund, Earl of Lancaster, second son of Henry III." 4 "In the reign of Henry I. we find Honiton [Devon] in the Redvers family, and in that line it continued mainly until it came to the Courtenays. " 4 Baldwin de Redvers, the 1st Earl of Devon (died 1155), was a feudal Baron of Plympton in Devon. His father was Richard de Redvers (or Reviers, Rivers, or Latinised to de Ripariis) (fl. c. 1066 - 1107) was a Norman from Reviers in Normandy. He rose to become the 1st feudal baron of Plympton. He may have been one of the companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest but he does appear on the Role of Battle Abbey. Guillaume held a barony in Dorset and he more properly sired the Redvers. Descending from this great Norman family name were the Redvers, the Reivers, the Courtnays, the Prouz, the Chudleighs, the Fortibus, and the Vernons. 5 Early History of the Reviers familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Reviers research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1255 is included under the topic Early Reviers History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Reviers Spelling VariationsIt is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Reviers are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Reviers include Redvers, Redverse, Radvers, Reviers, Reivers, Revere and many more. Early Notables of the Reviers familyMore information is included under the topic Early Reviers Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Migration of the Reviers familyFaced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Reviers, or a variant listed above: Elizabeth Rever, who settled in Barbados in 1651; Apollos Revere, who settled in Boston in 1715; Leonard Revor, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1738; Laurens Revere, who came to Charles Town, SC sometime between 1767 and 1768.
- Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 3 of 3
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Worth, R.N., A History of Devonshire London: Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G., 1895. Digital
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
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