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| Corbet | |
|---|---|
 One variant of the arms of the Corbet family: Or, a raven sable | |
| Country | Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Great Britain, United Kingdom |
| Founded | 11th century |
| Founder | Roger and Robert Corbet |
| Historic seat | Moreton Corbet Castle |
| Titles | List
|
| Motto | DEUS PASCIT CORVOS God feeds the Ravens |
The Corbet family is an aristocratic English family of Anglo-Norman extraction, who were amongst the early marcher lords, holding the barony of Caus. Following the extinction of the senior line (and therefore the loss of the barony) the junior line based at Moreton Corbet Castle would go on to become one of the most powerful and richest of the landed gentry in Shropshire.[citation needed] The family trace their ancestry to two barons found in the 1086 Domesday Book and they probably came from the Boitron and Essay region, near Sées in Normandy.[2]
The name Corbet derives from the Anglo-Norman word corb, meaning "crow" or "raven",[3] matching the modern French corbeau. Variants of the name include: Corbet, Corbett, Corbitt, Corbit, Corbetts, Corbete, Corben and possibly the variant of Corbin.[4] The underlying derivation is from the Latin word corvus, crow. Generally it is thought to be a jocular reference to a person who was thought to resemble a crow or raven: in hair colour, tone of voice or shape of nose. However, the Scandinavians believed that a raven on the battlefield was a beneficial omen and ensured victory.
Furthermore in Italy there are two families called Corvo (or Corbo) and Corvino (or Corbino), in English they mean Crow and Little Crow respectively. These families descend from the Roman gens Valeria, the first descendants of Valeri Massimi while the second descendants from Valeri Poplicola. The surname is really due to an event described by Tito Livius in book 7, chapter 26 of "Ab Urbe Condita". A battle is described where the Roman military tribune Marcus Valerius was helped by a crow during a duel and for this he took the nickname Corvus. In fact it could be a family that has Roman origins, which is why it is found throughout Europe with the same translated surnames and shields of similar or equal blazons: the Romans, in order to colonize the conquered territories, had the custom of installing some members of the 14 families founders of Rome, like the gens Valeria.
- ^ Sanders, I. J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, Caus, p. 29.
- ^ Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. (1999). Domesday People. Boydell Press. pp. 373, 400. ISBN 9780851157221.
- ^ Hanks et al. (2002), p. 141
- ^ Hanks et al. (2002), p. 152