http://www.houseofnames.com/scarlett-family-crest
This surname of SCARLETT was derived from the Old French ESCARLAT 'scarlet'. The name was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Conquest and SCARLETT (without surname) was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. The original bearer of the name would have probably been a dyer of rich and bright fabrics. In 1086 the compilation of the Domesday Book was ordered by William the Conqueror (1027-87), king of England from 1066. He was born in Failaise, the bastard son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, by Arlette, a tanner's daughter. On his father's death in 1035, the nobles accepted him as a duke. When Edward the Confessor, king of England died in 1066, William invaded England that Autumn, on 14th October, 1066 killing Harold (who had become King). English government under William assumed a more feudal aspect, the king's tenants-in-chief and all title to land was derived from his grants, and the Domesday Book contains details of the land settlements, and the names of the owners of such. In early medieval documents the name appears in the Latin SCARLATA. Other records of the name also mention William Scarlet of the County of Staffordshire in 1185. Geoffrey Escarlat in 1195, ibid. Robert Skerlet of Yorkshire was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Gregory Skarlett was registered at the Oxford University in the year of 1506. Guy Scarlet and Ann Whitton were married at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London in 1650. During the Middle Ages, when people were unable to read or write, signs were needed for all visual identification. For several centuries city streets in Britain were filled with signs of all kinds, public houses, tradesmen and even private householders found them necessary. This was an age when there were no numbered houses, and an address was a descriptive phrase that made use of a convenient landmark. At this time, coats of arms came into being, for the practical reason that men went into battle heavily armed and were difficult to recognise. It became the custom for them to adorn their helmets with distinctive crests, and to paint their shields with animals and the like. Coats of arms accompanied the development of surnames, becoming hereditary in the same way.
This surname of SCARLETT was derived from the Old French ESCARLAT 'scarlet'. The name was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Conquest and SCARLETT (without surname) was listed as a tenant in the Domesday Book of 1086. The original bearer of the name would have probably been a dyer of rich and bright fabrics. In 1086 the compilation of the Domesday Book was ordered by William the Conqueror (1027-87), king of England from 1066. He was born in Failaise, the bastard son of Robert, Duke of Normandy, by Arlette, a tanner's daughter. On his father's death in 1035, the nobles accepted him as a duke. When Edward the Confessor, king of England died in 1066, William invaded England that Autumn, on 14th October, 1066 killing Harold (who had become King). English government under William assumed a more feudal aspect, the king's tenants-in-chief and all title to land was derived from his grants, and the Domesday Book contains details of the land settlements, and the names of the owners of such. In early medieval documents the name appears in the Latin SCARLATA. Other records of the name also mention William Scarlet of the County of Staffordshire in 1185. Geoffrey Escarlat in 1195, ibid. Robert Skerlet of Yorkshire was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Gregory Skarlett was registered at the Oxford University in the year of 1506. Guy Scarlet and Ann Whitton were married at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London in 1650. During the Middle Ages, when people were unable to read or write, signs were needed for all visual identification. For several centuries city streets in Britain were filled with signs of all kinds, public houses, tradesmen and even private householders found them necessary. This was an age when there were no numbered houses, and an address was a descriptive phrase that made use of a convenient landmark. At this time, coats of arms came into being, for the practical reason that men went into battle heavily armed and were difficult to recognise. It became the custom for them to adorn their helmets with distinctive crests, and to paint their shields with animals and the like. Coats of arms accompanied the development of surnames, becoming hereditary in the same way.