Re: St. Clair to Sinclair

["John S. Quarterman" <jsq@mids.org>]

[ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@zilker.net.
[ For more information, see http://www.mids.org/sinclair/list.html
-------

>According to a web site called Electric Scotland, here's the scoop:
>
>The name Sinclair is of Norman origin from "Saint-Clair-sur-Elle" and was
>established in Scotland in 1162 when Henry de St. Clair of Roslin was granted
>lands in Lothian.
>
>Anybody want to verify this?
>
>Johnnye

The name of the town is Saint Clair sur Epte in old-style French,
or Saint Clair sur l'Epte in more modern French orthography.
The name of the river is Epte.  Modern French likes to have
some form of "the" before placenames, so it's usually l'Epte
in the name of the town these days.  I've saw both forms
when I went there.

In a number of places on the web you will find Epte mistranscribed
as Eph, Ett, Elle, etc. by people who aren't familiar with the name.
But the name of the river is Epte, and the name of the town on it is
St. Clair sur l'Epte.

The town is named for Saint Clair, a hermit who lived and was
martyred near the town.  Our ancestors took their name the place name.

For more about our namesake predecessor and how it got to Scotland, see
 http://www.mids.org/sinclair/origins/

(The river Epte is most known these days for paintings of it by
Claude Monet, who lived at Giverny, only a few miles from Saint Clair
sur l'Epte.)

Thanks,
John
-- 
John Sinclair Quarterman <jsq@mids.org>
President, Matrix Information and Directory Services (MIDS)
mids@mids.org, http://www.mids.org, +1-512-451-7602, fax: +1-512-452-0127
1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 501W, Austin, TX 78723, U.S.A.
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