|
History and origin
About the history and origin of the
family Corduwener there is probably much to tell and much to write. So I hope to get as many reactions
as possible of everyone who knows something about the family name Corduwener.
Hopefully, see you soon,
Wim Corduwener
The Cordoba theory:
According to the stories of
my family, the name Corduwener comes from the Spanish Cordoba. At the
time of the inquisition there were many tanners that were hunted on authority
of the inquisition. They escape to the free North and settled down in
Antwerp and the Netherlands (sixteenth century). They became the tolerated
men from Cordoba: Cordubeners, what has gradually been changed in Corduwener
or also in Cordeweners. The last name is kind of common in the
province of Limburg. Corduwener a bit more common in the city of Nijmegen.
|
|
Best regards,
Jeroen Corduwener
|
Corduwanier (Cordwainer)
The term ‘Cordwainer’ is
an Anglicization of the French word cordonnier,
introduced into the English language after the Norman invasion of England
in 1066. The word itself is derived from the city of Cordoba,
in the south of Spain, a stronghold of the mighty (we all know him) Omeyyad
Kalifs until its fall in the 12th century. Moorish Cordoba was celebrated
for two staple trades in the early Middle Ages, silversmithing and the
production of cordouan(cordovan)leather, called ‘cordwain’ in
England. Originally made from the skin of the Musoli goat, this leather
was "tawed" with alum after a method supposedly known only to the Moors.
English Crusaders brought home much plunder and loot, including the finest
leather the English shoemakers had ever seen. Gradually
cordouan, or cordovan leather became the material most
in demand for the finest footwear in all of Europe.
The English term cordwainer,
meaning shoemaker, first appears in 1100. By the late 13th century
a distinction grew in England between Cordwainers.
On the left (or for some computers above) the
arms of The Honourable Cordwainers' Company were initially derived from
the arms granted to The Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, circa 1579. For
a better display you have to wait a while, but striking is the crescent shaped ‘round
knife’ appearing on top f the crest. This knife is in use by leather workers since the Egyptian Dynasties.
|
|
|
|
