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Family names are a matter of custom, and not all societies have used them. Even today, there are populous countries where they are not used much. In medieval Europe, there was no custom of using them.
There really was no need for them. In Western Europe, most people farmed and lived on farming estates. The estates were small, and everyone knew everyone else, so there was no need to retain information about a person's family in his name.
Our oldest evidence of medieval family names being used comes from Ireland, in the early 10th century. The use of family names was possibly established in England by the Normans, who used the name of the continental village their people came from as a name. Various English laws encouraged people to use family names, and they became commonplace there before the end of the Middle Ages.
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∙ 12y ago
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Did serfs have last names?
No. In the Middle Ages many people did not have family names.
Where did people learn in the middle ages?
they didnt only munks and nuns went to school
Why did people eat with their fingers during the Middle Ages?
because they didnt have silver ware
How did the middle ages clean their water?
They didnt
How many people sailed around the world in the middle ages and what are their names?
The first crew to sail around the world was the crew of Ferdinand Magellan, long after the Middle Ages.
What was the worst thing about living in the middle ages?
that they didnt know cures for dieseeses or they didnt know they had dieseeses
What are some things in ancient Egypt that middle ages didnt have?
pyramids
How did the papacy lose and then recover authority in the late Middle Ages?
he didnt
How is today's ice-cream different to the middle ages?
they didnt have none.
Did the middle ages have dental care?
they didnt they just had their teeth fall out or pulled them
What was the purpose of the Middle Ages?
the middle ages didnt have a purpose. they were a time period. im not really sure when, but it was the time of knights and lords and ladies and stuff llike that.
What other names are there for the middle ages?
The Dark AgesMedieval
