tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post6584079773062243244..comments2024-03-12T09:13:36.135-05:00Comments on Tudor Q and A: Question from Peter - Duties of the position of chapmanLarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16630629272030282584noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-47805196428095535032015-07-18T11:53:09.903-05:002015-07-18T11:53:09.903-05:00Further research reveals that Richard Pek was a &#...Further research reveals that Richard Pek was a 'Yeoman of the Crown' whose origins were the personal guards to the sovereign. Among other duties they slept/guarded outside his bedroom and checked out his bed before he went to sleep. <br /><br />So does this help with placing the social status of the role of 'chapman' and if so what is the status - where did Richard come in the 16th century pecking order?<br /><br />Very many thanks for any suggestions.<br />PeterAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05091033984969117733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-9035005515261127032015-07-08T11:23:31.340-05:002015-07-08T11:23:31.340-05:00I could not find a specific instance/definition of...I could not find a specific instance/definition of a "chapman to the king," but I did come across this interesting item:<br /><br />"Middlemen trading in a variety of goods were often described as 'chapmen,' a term which contemporaries used in a variety of ways ... In fact, the word was invariably applied in a general way to anyone who transported goods, especially in a middleman capacity." (<i>The Horse Trade of Tudor and Stuart England</i>, by Peter Edwards, Cambridge University Press).<br /><br />Other sources I looked at suggested chapmen at one end of the economic scale were synonymous with merchants, but at the other end ("pettie chapmen") they were higglers, pedlars, etc.Foosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-59242581245829630412015-07-08T04:30:46.847-05:002015-07-08T04:30:46.847-05:00That's an interesting thought, Marilyn. Could...That's an interesting thought, Marilyn. Could Chapman be derived from the Old English word Chepe, meaning bargaining or trade? It is certainly a common surname in the UK.Tudor Princesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16003630396634230743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-27016066991512873822015-07-07T15:57:25.683-05:002015-07-07T15:57:25.683-05:00Thank you Marilyn - do you know if that was the me...Thank you Marilyn - do you know if that was the meaning of the word in the early 16th Century?<br />PeterAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05091033984969117733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16981893.post-44224963901089962702015-07-06T07:22:58.553-05:002015-07-06T07:22:58.553-05:00One meaning of the word is a merchant or trader, b...One meaning of the word is a merchant or trader, but there may have been others.Marilyn Robertshttp://www.queens-haven.co.uknoreply@blogger.com