Oh what a tangled web we weave

We simply wanted to purchase a cheese knife. Nothing more, nothing less. But instead... we got a history lesson and then that happened to tie into a bit of genealogy... We just wanted to buy a knife!

French meals always include a cheese course. After the plat (plate, or main course), a salad is served to “clear the palate”. Then, after the salad comes a cheese board with an assortment of various cheeses. We've grown to appreciate this ritual and decided to buy a nice cheese board and a knife… the kind with the little prongs that you use to stab the cheese to pick it up. I found a cheese board but the knife was a bit more elusive. So off we went to hunt for a couteau à fromage.

When we finally found one at a specialty knife store, Paul just had to ask where the knife was made... and oh boy... here comes the history lesson. Seems the knife we had just purchased has a boxwood handle. It is made in an area of France known as the Dordogne and the city of Périgord. We were told that this is the kind of knife with which King Henry IV was stabbed and killed.

from a tourist web site: http://www.perigord-hotel.com/activitesgb.htm
To the North is the town of Nontron with its museum of antique dolls. It has a famous cutlery industry (knives with box-wood handles). Legend tells that King Henry IV was assassinated by Ravaillac with a Nontron knife.


I am currently reading a book on the life and times of Catherine de Medici. Henry IV hasn’t yet become king in the book (but geez... the lady in the store spoiled the ending for me!) And next to add to my reading list... Henry IV... again with a whole new perspective.

So what does all this have to do with geneology? Well, my great great grandmother’s (maw maw’s grandmother) last name was Pedigo... a name morphed from Perigord.

Copied from someone's personal geneology website:
The evolution of the name Pedigo received a new impetus at this time. In investigating some old records in Henry County, one deed of Robert's was found where the family name was spelled five different ways. For example: Peregoy, Pedigoy, Pedigoe, and Pedigo. All the Pedigos in the South are descended from these two runaway brothers. They are scattered from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. Wherever, you meet them you will find among them a well crystallized tradition that they descended from the Perogords of Southern France and that royal blood flows in their veins. The name Perigord, from which Peregoy and afterwards Pedigo are derived, is an extremely ancient and illustrious name in France.

Check it out: web

We found a lot more than just a simple cheese knife!