Just a little bit of Google humor today, I decided to do something I do every so often and do a google search for my name, Nicholas Moline. I was pleased to see that 8 out of the first 10 results were indeed about me (a few of which were by me), but I happened across a listing that made me smile.
Google Book Search found my name in a very old book: The Egerton Papers: A Collection of Public and Private Documents, Chiefly Illustrative of the … contains an interesting mention on Page 403
PATENT FOR SIR NICHOLAS MOLINE.
Nicholas Moline, a foreigner in whose favour the following Privy Seal was issued, had been knighted by the King in his eagerness to augment the list of persons upon whom the distinction was conferred. He was also to have “a canton to his arms,” confirmed to him under the Great Seal of England. From the indorsement of the Lord Chancellor we should be led to suppose that Moline, at the date of the instrument, was Ambassador from Venice, but he had ceased to be so, and in the Privy Seal itself is called “late Ambassador.”
Right trusty and right welbeloved Chancellor, we greet you well. Where we have upon the good opinion by us conceaved of Nicholas Moline, gentleman, of Venice, and late Ambassador with us from the Duke and State of that cite, bestowed upon him the honor of Knighthood, and an addition of a canton to his armes, and are pleased to give him the same by our lettres patentes under our Great Seale for the better manifestation thereof to all men. Our pleasure therefore is, that unto the bill contayning the said graunt, which is signed with our hand, you shall cause our Great Seale of England to be put, and the same so delyvered to the saide Nicholas Moline.
I’m not sure if those spelling errors are problems in Google’s OCRing of the pages of the book or the way things were spelled in 1605 in England, but I still found it quite interesting that I apparently had a namesake who was an Ambassador from Venice, and Knighted by the King of England.