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Archiver > GEN-MEDIEVAL > 2004-04 > 1080858547


From: Tim Powys-Lybbe <>
Subject: Re: Medieval ancestry for James Fowke/Fowkes of Accomac County, Virginia?
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 23:29:07 +0100
References: <942d5b80.0404011408.37fa1c48@posting.google.com>


In message of 1 Apr, (John Brandon) wrote:

> Gerard Fowke of Virginia is known to have been of gentle ancestry

I wonder what this meant?

My guess is that it came from the latin 'gens' meaning a race or a kind.
And the other feature of much medieval and post-medieval was that of
assiduously tracing one's ancestry to the Companions of the Conqueror.
In other words the race of the conquerors.

So was Gerard Fowke a racist?

--
Tim Powys-Lybbe
For a miscellany of bygones: http://powys.org

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