Matriculation Books. 387 the same as the William of Wells, Bishop of Rochester (1437- 1414). The Latin prepositions de and a became in French de, in German von, and thus we find many names, sounding like the names of the landed gentry, the bearers of which and their descendants had never any landed property or nobiliary title. In the matriculation books the gentleman or nobleman is always distinguished by the additional qualification of nobilis or ingenuus. Amongst modern family names the French de and the German von have frequently their origin in the Low-German article de, the. Thus we have de Grote (the tall one), de Luttke (the little one), de Vriendt (the friend), which have become von Grote, von Luttke, whilst the good Low-German name of the well-known family of German actors, de Vriendt, is pronounced throughout Germany always as if it were a French name. The use of von in Germany as a nobiliary prefix is of very recent origin, and has become universal only after the downfall of the old German empire. The old imperial Heralds Office always added some distinctive name to the family name. Thus the great founder of the famous school of surgery at Vienna, Mederer, was ennobled in 1787 as Mederer von Wuthswehr. The family subsequently dropped the Wuthswehr and styled themselves von Mederer. Many of the names in the matriculation books are Latin or Greek translations of names from the vulgar tongue. Thus Weber became Textor. Those members of the family who entered a learned profession called themselver Textor, those who remained in trade retained their name of Weber. Some time ago a controversy arose about the real name of Melanch- thon. The publication of the Heidelberg Register has finally settled this matter. On October 14, 1509, he was entered as Philippus Swartzerd de Bretthen, Spir. dioc. ; a later hand has subsequently added Melanchthon. In the Acta Universitatis he reappears as Philippus Melanchthon, and his nephew is entered as Sigismundus Melanchthon. The Greek name had become a German family name. A very curious instance of the changes of family names by translation is that of the family of Bley, called Pflaumenbaum. Bley (Biley), like von der Leyen, means "of or near the Slate-rock." The first Bley who had his name entered on a register was translated into Plumbum by a man who did not know the meaning of the provincial Rhenish word Ley. The family settled in Lower Germany and the Latin Plumbum was transformed into the Low-German Plumbom 29
