Gillian Lenfestey
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During the 12th century there was a family of merchants of this name
living in Guernsey, and the references to ‘Cornet’ in the island are taken
to refer to this family. The word ‘cornet’ is generally taken to mean horn, as in a wind instrument. But medieval surnames were often descriptive nicknames, so this name could refer to, for example, a loud voice, the fact that the person lived on the corner of the street, the shape of the hats he may have made or sold, or he may have made or sold musical instruments. It is possible that the most likely meaning is that of a loud voice. The family gave their name to Rue des Cornets (Cornet Street) and the Bordage Cornet which is nearby, off Bordage Street, in St Peter Port. It is likely that they lived in Cornet Street. It is also possible that a Mr. Cornet was probably the first Bordier (feudal official) for Fief le Roi in that area of St Peter Port, and gave his name to the bordage (area of land) for which he was responsible. The street which runs through the Bordage Cornet is known simply as the Bordage, and joins Fountain Street with the Charroterie. Cornet Street is also included in the Bordage Cornet. A Bordier held land from the Crown, or from the Seigneur of a Fief, for which he was obliged to perform certain services. He was accountable for all rents due from his bordage, which he had to collect and pay to HM Receiver, or his seigneur; he had to attend the Prevost of the fief as a guard when that official brought any criminal to court to be tried and if a criminal was condemned or sentenced he had to assist the Prevost to take the criminal to the place where the sentence was to be executed, and stay there until it was carried out. Castle Cornet is a small fortified islet at the entrance to St Peter Port harbour, and was originally called the Houmet Cornet (1). Very little is known about the history of the islet until the 1250s when it was first fortified and acquired the name Chateau Cornet (Castle Cornet). At one time there appears to have been a Porter, or Captain in charge of the Castle whose name was Cornet and who may have been a member of the same family as the merchants. It is also possible that the islet may have been owned or used by the family of Cornet to hunt rabbits which they would have kept in a warren there, and it may have acquired its name by long association with the family. In the collection of documents “Calendar of Documents Preserved in France” Vol.I. A.D.918-1206, which is held by the Island Archives Service, there are two documents which mention the family ‘Cornet’.
From these documents it would appear that there was a fairly wealthy family called Cornet living in Falaise in the 12th century. There is a small village called Corne on Route N147, about 3 miles east of Angers towards Tours, and in the small town of Rodes on route N116 which goes from Perpignan to Font-Romeu on the Spanish border, the most important family is called Cornet. In the 17th and 18th centuries the lowest commissioned officer of cavalry was called a ‘cornet’. The name is also used to describe a musical instrument, a brass wind instrument like a trumpet. Some of the family in America think that the name is a corruption of Canute, the Danish king who ruled England in the 11th c., and that they are descended from him. However although Canute had two sons, Harthacanute who was legitimate and Harold Harefoot who was illegitimate, both died without heirs, Harthacanute being succeeded by his half-brother, Edward the Confessor. On balance, the name would seem to come originally from France, and its Guernsey connection is through the merchant family who lived in St Peter Port in the Middle Ages. (1). Professor J H Le Patourel notes an early document which calls the islet a houmet, that is a small islet. |
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GML/3/01
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