From: John Chaffe <john(a)d-t-c.co.uk>
To: Chaffee web page <Chaffee-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Subject: Re: the origins of the Name????
Date: 16 April 2001 13:08
Hi everyone,
In response to my e: mail regarding the origins of the name - Chaffe (et al)
I thought I'd outline my understanding of it's history (obviously E&OE).
Any more detail is difficult to go into here.
Hugo, a Frenchman, was a 'special or confidential advisor' to Queen Emma
(the second wife of King Ethelred 'the Unready' - this doesn't mean that he
was not ready or prepared but rather that he was 'unknowing', 'witless'
or
not up to speed with the world around him).
Emma despised her husband and hated the English (I don't know why, we seem
quite nice people to me - but I'm biased!). She secretly encouraged the
incursions into England by the Danes. Earl or 'Ealdorman' Hugo was given
command of the garrison of the city of Exeter which, on secret instructions
from Emma, he capitulated to the Danes who, under the command of Sweyn, had
laid siege to the city. The Danes put to the sword the people of Exeter and
demolished the fortifications. Writing in the reign of Henry II, Exeter was
betrayed, says Hovenden through 'perjurium et proditionem, Normanici
comitis, Quem Emma Domnamiae praeficerat'.
Hugo (who is mentioned in the Saxon Chronicles and the Domesday record) is
better known as Hugo the Thegn (which supplanted the tern Ealdorman. He
became the Thegn of Chaffcombe (Somerset) during the reign of Ethelred -
some think as payment by Emma for his devotion and for carrying out her
orders regarding Exeter. Chaffcombe stems from the English 'ceaf cumbe'
meaning light or breezy (some say 'winding') valley, I've visited the place
many times and it lives up to it's name!!)
Hugo held onto the lands under Saxons, Danes and finally the Normans - Queen
Emma having married the Danish King - Knut.
The lands passed to Reginald 'Fitz-Hugo' (Fitz meaning 'son of') and then
to
Ralph Fitz-Reginald, then to Robert Fitz-Ralph (described in the reign of
Henry I as 'Lord of Chaffecumbe'). It was the son of Robert Fitz-Ranulph who
assumed the regular surname, as derived from his property - 'Thomas Chafe'
of Chafecombe and thus, it is believed, begun the lineage that we all share!
The rest of the family and the various lines are too numerous to mention but
the spelling of the surname would vary with one person spelling his name
several ways, members of one family spelling their names differently and
then names being copied or transcribed incorrectly due to mishearing or bad
penmanship! Common variations are Chafy, Chaff, Chaf, Chafe, Chafey, Chafie,
my own Chaffe, Chaffie, Chaffee and Chaffey with Class, Chass, Classe etc
due to the written 'h' and 'L' and 's' and 'f being easily
misread.
Branches of the family moved throughout the South West counties of England
to Buckfastleigh, Sherbonne, Exeter etc. (an interesting fact - in the
1560's and 1570's Robert Chaffe was mayor of Exeter!). Eventually the
Chaffe's (et al) found their way to where ever you are.
Good sources for information are Charles Worthy's 'Devonshire Wills'
published about 1902 and 'Gesta Chaforum' privately printed (about 50
copies) also about 1904. Also The Anglo Saxon Chronicles, the Black Book of
the Exchequer and the Domesday records.
Well that's my understanding, please let me know any different versions...!
Regards
John Chaffe (London)