This unusual and interesting name is a medieval English occupational surname for a 'writer', a clerk, especially one who writes and copies books and manuscripts. The derivation of the name is from the Olde French 'escrivein', 'escrivain', writer, scribe, from the Latin 'scribanus', a derivative of 'scribere', to write. In the modern idiom the spelling variants include Scriven(s), Scrivener, Scrivenor, Scriver, Scrivinor and Scrivner.The marriage between 'John Scrivener' and 'Jone Fallis' was recorded on the 12th of November 1570, at the church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, London. Fredrick Henry Ambrose Scrivener (1813 - 1891) followed a distinguished career as a divine, including obtaining his LL.D., at St. Andrews in 1872. He assisted in the revision of the New Testament (1870 - 1882) and published scholarly works relating to the text of the New Testament. The original and ancient Coat of Arms associated with the surname dates from the time of Henry 111 (1216-1272). The blazon is a red field charged with a chevron between two leopards faces in chief and a bugle in base, all silver. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Simon Scriviner, which was dated 1218, in the Early Charters of the Cathedral of St. Paul, London, 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.

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