Father of Sir John Hody (-1441)

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Robert Forrest

Father of Sir John Hody (-1441)

Legg inn av Robert Forrest » 14 okt 2005 20:28:02

Digging around among the Hody ancestors of Henry Sampson of the "Mayflower",
I found this in the Dictionary of National Biography:

"Hody, Sir John (d. 1441), chief justice of the king's bench, of an old
Devonshire family, son of Thomas Hody, lord of manor of Kingston Magna near
Shaftesbury, Dorset, and king's escheator there under H5, by Margaret, dau.
of John Cole of Nitheway, Torbay..."

But then I looked in "Somerset Medieval Wills 1501-1530, with some Somerset
Wills Preserved at Lambeth," ed. Rev. F. W. Weaver, 1903, Somerset Record
Society, Vol. 19, pp. 336-337, which presents the complete will of Sir John
Hody, which says, in part:

"1441. John Hodye, Knt. (481 Chichele.)

....To Thomas Hody my uncle a cup of silver gilt which lately I had of Robert
Coker...I make my executors the said Elisabeth, William Carent, Thomas Hody
and Alexander Hody..."

I spent some time believing DNB had erred, and that perhaps Sir John was
orphaned as a child and raised by his uncle Thomas. I made no headway with
this idea, and finally thought of looking at the original Latin will as
transcribed in Chichele (Register of Henry Chichele, Archbishop of
Canterbury 1414-1443; Vol. II, Wills Proved before the Archbishop or his
Commissaries, ed. E. F. Jacob, pp. 605-606):

"Johannes Hodye...Printed in Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vii.
23)...Item lego Thome Hody patri meo unum ciphum argenti deaurati quem nuper
habui de Roberto Coker...facio et constituo dectam Elizabeth, Willelmum
Carent, Thomam Hody et Alexandrum Hody meos executores..."

Even with my nearly complete ignorance of Latin, I know that "patri meo" is
"my father", not "my uncle". How could such a blunder slip past Rev. Weaver
in 1903?

So to the old saw, "It is wise to check originals," I would add: "...or as
close to originals as you can get!"

Robert Forrest

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