Trusler

This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval English and French origin, and is an occupational surname for a "wolf-hunter". The name was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and is derived from the Old French verb "trousser, trusser", to truss, bind, carry off, with the Anglo-Norman French word "love", wolf, thus "bind wolf", a hunter or trapper of wolves. These existed in large numbers in medieval Europe and were a constant danger to domesticated animals and travellers, especially during the winter; a wolf-hunter would be a skilled and respected person during the Middle Ages. The name development includes: Nicholas Trusselove (1296, Sussex), and Thomas Truslowe (1524, Wiltshire), and the modern surname can be found as Truslove, Trusler and Trussler. One Somset Trusler married Isabel Brodhurst at St. Matthew's Church, Walsall, Staffordshire, on June 9th 1742. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry de Trusseluue, which was dated 1221, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Warwickshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.