Family history research on Bottrill, Bottrell, Boterel, Botterel, Botterill, Buttriss, Botreaux and Boterell - all variations of the original spelling
Click on the book cover to read Chapter I free, then click the button below to buy the novel.£4.99
What if you could tell your friends you are descended from one of the oldest Viking families in England?
The family trees above from 1066AD are just bare skeletons. They need to be fleshed out with family stories -
Who got arrested?
Where were the family estates?
Who was the richest Bottrill ever in England?
What parts did the Bottrills play in English history?
With some 220 pages, this historical novel gives you actual details of the Boterels' lives. You won't get them anywhere else!
It's a .pdf file, so you'll need Adobe Reader - it's free to download if you haven't got it.
'Boterel' was the original spelling of the family surname. The family originated in North Brittany in what is now France.
But we didn't have the name to begin with. In 1000AD, people didn't have surnames. You might be called Alan Rufus or Hamo Le Strange or John of London (nick-names), but generally you would just have one name. In battle armour, it was difficult to recognise who was who. William the Conqueror had to take off his helmet at the Battle of Hastings to dispel the rumour that he had been killed. Knights began to see the sense of carrying a shield with a device to identify them. Similarly, people could see the sense of having a second name - Michael Tanner, Thomas York etc. - indicating what you did, or where you came from.
Origin of the Bottrill surname
Geoffrey Boterel was born around 1025 to Eudes, Duke of Brittany (de facto), and Count of Penthièvre (de jure). But why was he called 'Boterel?' And why did he carry a silver shield bearing three black toads? There are three possible explanations;-
1. Geoffrey, a second cousin of William the Conqueror, may have been born unexpectedly at a place called 'Les Botereaux', in Normandy while his mother was travelling. 'Botereaux' is the plural of 'Boterel' and means 'The place of toads.' So his shield might show where he came from.
2. Perhaps he had narrow shoulders and wide hips - like a toad, or like a leather bottle (a bota) - and it was a nick-name. But, if you looked like that, would you carry a shield with three toads and be laughed at? Well, would you? Besides, 'Buttriss'- another spelling of the name 'Bottrill' - is more likely to come from 'Botereaux' than 'bota'.
3. William the Conqueror put round a rumour that Geoffrey or his father had signed a pact with the Devil for family advancement, and the Devil had insisted the family bear his own coat of arms - 'argent, three toads erect sable.' Duke Eudes had something on William the Conqueror and this may have been a tit-for-tat. Neither Eudes nor Geoffrey would support the Conquest, though others of the family did, and did incredibly well out of it - a successful pact? No one really believed the story because the family was never Christian, and there is no Devil in the Old Religion.
The fact is that Nicholas Boterel, Geoffrey's son, got a fief in Cornwall - later known as 'Botereles Castel' (now 'Boscastle'), and Alan Rufus, Geoffrey's brother, became Lord/Earl of Richmond - the fourth most powerful man in England. Stephen, another brother, became Duke of Brittany. The Cornish branch, which had the title, was known as the Barons Botreaux.
Bottrill family tree
Above, I've put some family trees over the centuries. They are based on what previous scholars have published from their Bottrill family research. But records are scanty before 1800, and such work is not always accurate. I've tried make the family trees more coherent, and offer them in case they're of any use to you. The trees shown are merely the ones I'm researching - there's a lot more to be done. I'll be happy to help with others if I can. Each tree only shows one main line - the other people on it, who may be your ancestors, haven't yet been followed up.
If you want to know more about your ancestors, you can now read (free) Chapter One of the first of five novels through the centuries - The King's Toads. It includes illustrations and maps, so you know where to go and look for yourself if you're planning a trip. The next book will continue the work. As the books continue, you may find they get nearer your line.
http://bottrillfamilyhistory.blogspot.com.es/ for more snippets of information
English exercises if you want to learn English
English books with an unusual slant
If you're thinking of living in a country like England but with reasonable weather - Spain - you might try http://smallholding in paradise.blogspot.com