Fitz is the old Norman French word for fils, son; and was used as a prefix in certain surnames, as Fitzgerald (son of Gerald), Fitzherbert (son of Herbert), Fitzmaurice (son of Maurice), Fitzwilliam (son of William), especially in the surnames of the illegitimate sons of kings or princes of the blood, etc as, Fitzroy, Fitzclarence. Research Fitz
Mac is a prefix in modern Irish and Gaelic signifying 'son', as MacDonald, son of Donald. But there are numerous historical uses of the prefix in the sense of 'great', evidently a corruption of the 'mag' in 'magnus'. The Welsh equivalent is Map or Ap, the Norman equivalentFitz and the Irish O'. Research Mac
James Fitz-James Duke of Berwick was the natural son of the Duke of York (afterwards James II) and Arabella Churchill, sister of Marlborough. He was born in 16760 at Moulins, in the Bourbonnais and died in 1734. He first went by the name of Fitz-James. He received his education in France, served in the army in Hungary, returned to England at the age of seventeen, and received from his father the title of duke. On the landing of the Prince of Orange he went to France with his father, and he was wounded at the battle of the Boyne, where he nominally commanded. He afterwards served under Luxembourg in Flanders; in 1702 and 1703 under the Duke of Burgundy; then under Marshal Villeroi. In 1706 he was made marshal of France, and sent to Spain, where he gained the battle of Almanza, which rendered Philip V again master of Valencia. In 1709 he held with honour the command in Dauphine, displaying the highest strategic skill against the superior forces of the Duke of Savoy. He was killed at the siege of Philipsburg by a cannon-ball in 1734. Research Duke of Berwick
Fitz-Greene Halleck was an American writer. He was born in 1790 at Connecticut and died in 1867. He was a-counting-room clerk in a New York banking house from 1811 to 1849. In partnership with Joseph Drake he published the 'Croakers' in 1819. He wrote 'Twilight', 'Fanny', 'Marco Bozzaris' and 'Young America' and was renowned for his fluent and polished style. Research Fitz-Greene Halleck
Fitz-James O'Brien was an Irish-born American poet. He was born in 1828 and died in 1862. He went to America from Ireland in 1850. He served on the staff of General Lander in 1862, and died of wounds received in battle. Research Fitz-James O'Brien
The Hamilton family are a family long connected with Scotland, though probably of English origin, the name being evidently territorial. The first person of the name in Scotland of whom we have reliable information was Walter Fitz-Gilbert of Hamilton, who, in 1296, swore fealty to Edward I of England for lands in Lanarkshire, and held BothwellCastle for the English at the time of the Battle of Bannockburn. For his early surrender of this fortress King Robert Bruce gave him important grants of land. He continued faithful to King David Bruce, and had a command at Halidon Hill under the Steward of Scotland.
In 1445 the family was ennobled in the person of Sir James Hamilton of Cadyow, who was created Lord Hamilton of Cadyow. At first he adhered to the Douglases against the crown; but, deserting them opportunely, he was rewarded by large grants of their forfeited lands, and at a later period by the hand of the Princess Mary, eldest daughter of King James II and widow of Thomas Boyd, earl of Arran. He died in 1479.
His only son was James, second Lord Hamilton and first Earl of Arran, who died in 1529, and was succeeded by his son James, whose nearness to the throne, and his great possessions and following, made him a person of such mark and consequence that Henry II of France gave him a grant of the duchy of Chatelherault; and his eldest son was proposed at one time as the husband of Elizabeth I of England, and at another as that of Mary of Scotland. This son having become insane, the second son, LordJohn Hamilton, created Marquis of Hamilton in 1599, succeeded in 1575 to the family estates.
Dying in 1604 he was succeeded by his son James, who was created Earl of Cambridge in 1619, and died in 1625. His son James, the third marquis, one of the ablest and most distinguished of the family, created Duke of Hamilton in 1643 by Charles I was taken prisoner by the parliamentary forces soon after the battle of Preston, and beheaded in March, 1649.
A successor was created Duke of Brandon in 1711, and was killed in a duel with Lord Mohun in 1712.
James George, seventhduke, on the death of Archibald, duke of Douglas, in 1761, became also the male representative and chief of the red or Angus branch of the house of Douglas, with the titles of Marquis of Douglas and Earl of Angus. He died in 1769, and was succeeded by his brother, Douglas, eighth Duke of Hamilton, who, in 1799, was succeeded by his uncle Lord Archibald Hamilton. He died in 1819, and was succeeded by his eldest son Alexander, who, dying in 1852, was succeeded by his only son William Alexander Anthony Archibald. In 1843 he married the PrincessMarie of Baden, and he died at Paris July 15, 1863.
The ennobled offshoots of the Hamiltons are numerous and distinguished. Among these are the Dukes of Abercorn, the Earls of Selkirk, Orkney, and Haddington, and the Viscounts Boyne. Research Hamilton
John Pope was an American politician. He was born in 1770 and died in 1845. He represented Kentucky in the US Senate as a Democrat from 1807 to 1813. He was Territorial Governor of Arkansas from 1829 to 1835. He represented Kentucky in the US Congress from 1837 to 1843.
John Pope was an American soldier. He was born in 1822 at Louisville, Kentucky and died in 1892. Educated at the military academy at West Point, he served with distinction in the Mexican War, and was also engaged at different times on surveying and engineering work including the exploration of Minnesota and the survey of the Pacific Railroad. In 1861 he received a command in Missouri. Shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War he was appointed Brigadier-general in 1861, and was generally successful, until defeated by Lee and Jackson at the second Battle of Bull Run in 1862, a defeat for which John Pope blamed McCellan and Fitz-John Porter. At his request, John Pope was relieved of his command and transferred to the North-West Department to keep the Indians in subjection. He retired from the army in 1886. Research John Pope
Joseph Rodman Drake was an American poet. He was born in 1795 at New York and died in 1820. He was the author of the 'Culprit Fay', written in 1816, and a life-long friend of Fitz-Greene Halleck, with whom he wrote the 'Croakers'. Research Joseph Drake
Robin Hood was a legendary English folk hero who led a band of outlaws in Sherwoodforest and opposed the tyranny and excessive taxes of King John.
Robin Hood is first mentioned by the Scottish historian Fordun, who died in 1386. According to Stow, he was an outlaw in the reign of Richard I (twelfth century). He entertained one hundred tall men, all good archers, with the spoil he took, but 'he suffered no woman to be oppressed, violated, or otherwise molested; poore men's goods he spared, abundantly relieving them with that which by theft he got from abbeys and houses of rich carles'. He was an immense favourite with the common people, who have dubbed him an earl. Stukeley says he was Robert Fitzooth, Earl of Huntingdon.
According to one tradition, Robin Hood and Little John were two heroes defeated with Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham, in 1265. Fuller, in his Worthies, considers him an historical character, but Thierry says he simply represents a class - that is the remnant of the old Saxon race, which lived in perpetual defiance of the Norman oppressors from the time of Hereward.
An old sporting magazine of December, 1808, says the true name of Robin Hood was Fitzooth, and Fitz being omitted leaves Ooth, and converting th into d it became 'Ood'. He was grandson of Ralph Fitzooth, Earl of Kyme, a Norman, who came to England in the reign of William Rufus. His maternal grandfather was Gilbert de Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln, and his grandmother was Lady Roisia de Bere, sister to the Earl of Oxford. His father was under the guardianship of Robert, Earl of Oxford, who, by the king's, order, gave him in marriage the third daughter of Lady Boisia.
The traditions about Fulk Fitz-Warine, great-grandson of Warine of Metz, so greatly resemble those connected with 'Robin Hood', that some suppose them to be both one. Fitz-Warine quarreled with John, and when John was king he banished Fulk, who became a bold forester.
The traditional bow and arrow of Robin Hood are religiously preserved at Kirklees Hall, Yorkshire, the seat of Sir George Armytage; and the site of his grave is pointed out in the park.
It is generally thought that Robin Hood died in 1325, which would bring him into the reign of Edward II, not Richard I, according to Sir Walter Scott.
In the accounts of King Edward II's household is an item which states that Robin Hood received his wages as king's valet, and a gratuity on leaving the service'. One of the ballads relates how Robin Hood took service under this king. Research Robin Hood
Abbreviations
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