 |
| Tuckey Coat of Arms |
A
family story my dad passed down to me was that of the Viking tribe
Toki, our ancestors, and from whom the Tuckey name originates.
('Tuckey' comes from the Norse name Thorketill, meaning 'Thor's metal
cauldron.')
So how did this Viking name, and bloodline, sustain to the current
day? A theory states that the tribe landed in Toxteth in Liverpool,
founding that town. The
Vikings founded many towns across the country, and their dominance
lasted over a century. But the Toki tribe were one of the few Vikings
to convert to Christianity. I asked my dad his take. There's a few
gaps in our family knowledge, so if anyone wants to enlighten us,
please get in touch.
“We
doubt that they decided to 'give it a shot.' There was a continuous
battle between King Alfred the Great and Vikings in
various parts of England. Once or twice King Alfred managed to beat
them and they surrendered. He gave them a deal: If you submit to the
king and convert to Christianity, we'll let you live and farm here.
Otherwise you'll be killed. So they converted. We don't know if
history records that they stayed converted.
“Before
you (this writer) were born, we (writer's parents) went to an
exhibition in York – not Yorvick Viking Centre, but something similar. There
was a mention that there was a teaspoon in one of the major churches
in London, maybe St Paul's or Westminster, that was given to the
church when Toki converted to Christianity. I've not managed to find
anything else. I'll write to both, and ask which king they subscribed
to (Alfred the Great, of Britain, or
Guthrum, leader of Danelaw, the
Viking-held area of Britain).
“During
or after William the Conqueror's time,
They murdered a particular character.” (This was probably Copsig,
AKA Gospatric, Earl of
Northumbria. This assassination is regarded as the turning point and inciting incident for the end
of the Viking era.) “WtC got absolutely fed up with Vikings
starting petty wars all over the place so he ordered The Harrying of the North, 'harrying' as in the harrier bird which attacks other birds. He sent
an army northwards just to wipe out the Viking race. It was ethnic
cleansing. But he let those around Rugby off; the Toki tribe
survived. Is that because they'd become good Christian people? It's
possible. In the Harrying WtC wiped out the populations of 5 towns,
including Huddersfield and
Wakefield. He didn't just kill
the inhabiting Vikings, but salted the land so they couldn't grow
crops, and slaughtered the livestock. There wasn't a chance of the
Vikings' survival.”
The
Christian monk and Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis (1075-1142) was
horrified at what WtC's men had done. His diary entries survived for
historians to read.
'The King stopped at nothing to hunt
his enemies. He cut down many people and destroyed homes and land.
Nowhere else had he shown such cruelty. This made a real change. To
his shame, William made no effort to control his fury, punishing the
innocent with the guilty. He ordered that crops and herds, tools and
food be burned to ashes. More than 100,000 people perished of
starvation. I have often praised William in this book, but I can say
nothing good about this brutal slaughter. God will punish him.'
Dad
went on to explain, “It was a very effective wipeout, but the Tokis
survived. There are still loads loads of Tuckeys in the Rugby area,
around 20km (12m) east of Birmingham.” (Take a look at Tuckey's Farm, Warwickshire.)
We
don't have any immediate family there, but their ancestors would
undoubtedly have stepped off the same longboats as ours. I'd be
interested in hearing from you if you know anything about the above-
or are perhaps a distant relative! Tweet me.
No comments:
Post a Comment