Monastic Surnames?

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pamr
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2016 3:20 pm

Monastic Surnames?

Post by pamr » Thu Oct 13, 2016 12:29 am

Dear All,

A couple of questions have been on my mind since perusing postings here. I could use some help with sources, I think. I'm still working on gathering enough resources to sort the applesauce from the hard cider.

This is from Wikipedia. Sometimes you catch a rotten apple or two there, but if worst comes to worst maybe you can make vinegar:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaelic_Ireland

"Before the Norman invasion, it was common for priests and monks to have wives. This remained mostly unchanged after the Norman invasion, despite protests from bishops and archbishops. The authorities classed such women as priests' concubines and there is evidence that a formal contract of concubinage existed between priests and their women. However, unlike other concubines, they seem to have been treated just as wives were.[30]"

Would anyone care to comment on the practice of priests and monks taking wives? Would that account for surnames like Minogue--indicating the family of the monk, or Mullins (bald), referring to the practice of tonsure?

Sources?

Second question: About the surname Mullins. When did this family first appear in County Clare? Are they native, imported, or a mix? Here's the source of my wondering:

Found in Surnames of Ireland: Edward MacLysaght: Books https://www.amazon.com/Surnames-Ireland ... MacLysaght

http://maley.net/maleyhome/distortion_o ... _even_.htm

". . . When Mulvihil has thus become Melville and Loughnane Loftus, resumption of the true patronymic necessitates (in practice, though not in strict law) certain legal formalities. - am told that there are people whose name was originally Mullins ( Maolain) using the form de Moleyns. I have not met a case myself. According to Burke's peerage the best known family of the name, the head of which is Lord Ventry, are not true Irish Mullinses at all, and they presumably had justification for assuming the form de Moleyns in place of Mullins, a step which they took in 1841. . ."

Thank you in advance for your time helping me sort the apples (I'm sure all Mullins are good as any, it's just a question of understanding the origin)!

Oh, now that I think of it, the Mullins family of West Virginia is responsible for cultivating the Golden Delicious apple, it seems!

--Pam

darrenoconaill
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 7:48 pm

Re: Monastic Surnames?

Post by darrenoconaill » Sun Oct 16, 2016 9:18 pm

Not sure about your second question but in relation to your first there are two interesting Irish surnames both of which may show evidence of Irish clergy having wifes and indeed children:

McTaggart (Mac an tSagairt) meaning 'son of the priest'

and

McAnespie (Mac an Easpaig) meaning 'son of the bishop'

Both surnames are most common in the northern counties.

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