Montfichet

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. It is a surname of an Anglo-Norman baronial family in England ; it also names a medieval castle that once stood in London
2. The term denotes an early Norman noble house in England ; it also refers to a fortified stronghold built in medieval London
3. This name belongs to a family of Norman barons in England ; it further designates a castle formerly erected on a site in London

Etymology: Montfichet is a surname and place name, not a common word. It comes from Montfiquet, a place in Normandy, and the family that took the name adopted it as their surname after they settled in England following the Norman Conquest. The spelling "Mountfitchet" appears in later English records, and the family's English seat gave its name to the village of Stansted Mountfitchet in Essex. The Norman family's castle at Stansted, built as a motte-and-bailey fortification, was the centre of their English holdings. The name thus traveled from a Norman village to an English castle and parish, and the surname stayed attached to the family and their lands long after the castle's military role ended.