De Lucy

de Lucy or de Luci [1] is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lucé in Normandy,[2] one of the great baronial Anglo-Norman families which became rooted in England after the Norman conquest. The first records are about Adrian de Luci (born about 1064 in Lucé, Normandy, France) who went into England after William the Conqueror. The rise of this family might have been due to Henry I of England,[3] though there are no historical proofs that all de Lucys belonged to same family. The family name is Latin, Lucy, Luci, Lucé derive from Lucius, meaning "light", but like most Normans or Anglo-Normans, the origins may be Viking (Norsemen).

Coat of arms of de Lucy (or de Luci) Anglo-Norman family

Most notable people from de Lucy (Luci) family

Richard de Luci

Richard de Luci [4] (c. 1089–14 July 1179) was Sheriff of the County of Essex, Chief Justiciar of England and excommunicated by Thomas Becket in 1166 and 1169. He married Rohese, she might have been a sister of Faramus of Boulogne.

Walter de Luci

Walter de Luci (also Walter de Lucy) was brother of Richard de Luci. He was a monk at Lonlay Abbey in Normandy, then was elected Abbot of Battle Abbey in Sussex, England. He died while still abbot on June 21, 1171.

Godfrey de Luci

Godfrey de Luci (also Godfrey de Lucy) (c. 1124– 11 September 1204) was son of Richard de Luci. He was nominated Archdeacon of Derby, and Bishop of Winchester.

Charlecote Park circa 1880

Reginald de Luci

Reginald de Luci was an itinerant judge in the Counties of Nottingham and Derby in 1173. He was governor of Nottingham. He had a son, Richard, who succeeded him.[5]

Robert de Luci

Robert de Luci was sheriff of the County of Worcester in 1175. He was probably a relative of Richard de Luci, the Chief Justiciar of England.[6]

Stephen de Luci

Stephen de Luci (13th century), one of the sons of Walter de Charlecotte, the first with his brother William de Luci to use the surname Luci. His brother, William de Luci, was the ancestor of Thomas de Luci (also known as Thomas Lucy de Charlecotte). Stephen de Luci was nominated one of justice itinerant by Henry III of England in 1228.[7]

Anthony de Luci

Anthony de Luci (also Anthony de Lucy) (1283– 10 June 1343) was Chief Justiciar of Ireland in 1331.

Thomas Lucy de Charlecotte

Sir Thomas Lucy (24 April 1532 – 7 July 1600) was a magistrate and an evangelical living in Charlecote near Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. He persecuted recusant Catholic families in the area, including William Shakespeare's maternal relatives. He assumed the surname Lucy, probably descended from the Norman de Luci family by his mother's line.[8]

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Surname de Luci is the most ancient form, later substituted by Lucy (Mark Antony Lower, Patronymica Britannica, 1860, p. 202). Alternate spellings: Lucey, Lucie, Luce, Luci.
  2. ↑ The Norman invaders of England were the first in Western Europe to use surnames. They usually styled themselves after the name of the village that was under family feudal control by use of the french preposition de indicating possession or territorial origin. Lucé in Normandy is derived from latin name Lucius, "and is made use of in heraldry to denote a fish called a pike (or jack) full grown" (The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle, London, F. Jefferies, 1822, p. 130).
  3. ↑
    • Lewis Christopher Loyd, Charles Travis Clay, David Charles Douglas, The Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families, Genealogical Publishing Com, 1975, p. 55
  4. ↑ Latin: Ricardum de Luci, de Luciaco, de Luceio.
  5. ↑ Edward Foss, The Judges of England: with sketches of their lives, and miscellaneous notices connected with the Courts at Westminster, from the time of the Conquest, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848, p. 263
  6. ↑ Edward Foss, The Judges of England: with sketches of their lives, and miscellaneous notices connected with the Courts at Westminster, from the ime of the Conquest, Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848, p. 270
  7. ↑ Edward Foss, Biographia Juridica: A Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England from the Conquest to the Present Time, 1066-1870, The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 1999, p. 417
  8. ↑ John Burke, A genealogical and heraldic history of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland enjoying territorial possessions or high official rank: but uninvested with heritable honours, Henry Colburn, 1836, V.3, p. 97

Bibliography