LANTZ GENEALOGY These German Landsknechts quite often not very wel- come visitors in the Roman lands and the difficulty which the Romans found in pronouncing Landsknecht prepared the way for the shortened form of the word. In order to take care of the latter situation and also on account of the displeasure which the intruders accorded the Roman peoples the word was shortened to Lanzo in Italian so that they might have an easy pronounced name for the foreign soldiers. The O element in the word is Roman, the Lanz part is German. The word Lantz which in this form was easy for the Romans to pronounce and which had taken on the Latin ending in 0 is also Italian, or Spanish, an abusive word standing for Germans in general. The Roman version be- longs therefore in the category of so called nicknames and sprang originally from a humorous and satirical tendency on their part. In a short time, however, the abbreviation changed from the Italian and Spanish word Lanzo to the German form where it dropped the Roman ending O and was shortened unto Lanz. Thus the Germanizing of the Roman form of the word was accomplished. So the family name grew gradually from this abbre- viation Lantz or Lanz. The families who bear this name apparently have been members of the families who were at one time Landsknecht imperial soldiers, or soldiers drafted somewhere in the empire. I imagine that this occu- pation was pursued for quite a number of generations in these families; so the assignment of family names is clearly psychological. A ready proof of this fact may be obtained in any individual case when, upon the basis of as many records as possible the famliy history is associated with the scene of language. It is worthy of note that your own name, Lantz, is found as early as the sixteenth century and from then on, however, you will probably have to get your information concerning the family, from the family records. If it should be desired, the author is ready to furnish Mr. W. T. Lantz further information which perhaps might lead to more thorough understanding of this particular ease. PROF. OTTO MAUKER. P. S. This translation was made by Mss Katherine B. Valient, who graduated from the Randolph Macon College having majored in German. I find the word, or name, Lance used in the naturaliza- tion papers of Bernard Lantz in the State of Virginia. In 3
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