Strugnell Family History

Unexplained; perhaps a drastic alteration of Middle English spigurnel, a word for an official who sealed the king's writs and also the name of a medicinal plant (dialectal Modern English spignel). As in Johannes Spygurnel 1379 in Poll Tax (King's Hill Warwicks) and Johanna Spignell' 1379 in Poll Tax (Fishbourne (Old) Sussex).

It appears that the evolution of the term can be traced through some such forms as *Stigurnel, *Strigunel, and *Strugunel. These variations suggest a change over time that has led to the current understanding of the term.

For uncertainty about the form of the original name, it is worth comparing Richard Sprigurnel from about 1275 in Staffs Archives. This case highlights the variations and the obscured lineage of the term.

Additionally, reference to the Anglo-Norman French sprigunelle further emphasizes the linguistic influences that may have shaped the variations of the name over the centuries.

The transformation of spigurnel into its different forms illustrates the complexities of language evolution and the myriad influences that contribute to the development of specific terms within the linguistic landscape.