DOMESDAY SURVEY 



Otbold, Sinod, Ingelbert, Ralph, Waleran, and the wife of Hugh. At Stalbridge 

 (no. 42) Lambert held 2 hides, and at Beaminster (no. 46) the knights held 10 hides and 

 a virgate. Two of them were obviously French (H. de Cartrai and Sinod) but the names 

 Algar and Brictuin show that two others were English. At Netherbury (no. 47) Tezelin 

 had 5 hides, 3 virgates, William and Godfrey 2 hides each, and Serle li hide. Walter 

 held Buckham (no. 54) and two knights, Walter and William, held Chardstock (no. 49). 

 Three knights, Godfrey, Osmar, and Elfric, held Bowood (no. 53), which three thegns 

 held T.R.E. Two of these knights also must have been English. Of the Glastonbury 

 manors Okeford Fitzpaine was held by knights, namely the wife of Hugh, who held 4 

 hides, and Alvred of Epaignes and Chetel who held 2 hides each. Four thegns had held 

 the manor T.R.E. At Sturminster Newton (no. 63) Waleran held 6 hides, Roger i hide, 

 and Chetel i hide, and at Buckland Newton (no. 65) the wife of Hugh had 7 hides, li 

 virgate, and Warmund 2 hides. A knight and a widow held 3 hides at Piddletrenthide 

 (no. 6g) belonging to the New Minster, Winchester. 



The meaning of the term 'thegnland' which occurs in connexion with some 

 ecclesiastical land is obscure. It does not seem to have been held by military service, 

 although a French knight {miles francigenus) held 2 hides of thegnland at Nettlecombe 

 (nos. 88 and li). In some cases it seems to have been liable to some kind of service. At 

 Cerne Abbas (nos. 76 and xxxix) Brictuin held 4 hides of land, which he also held 

 T.R.E. et non potuit recedere ab ecclesia. Exon. Domesday records that the land was 

 thegnland and that Brictuin rendered 305. to the church excepto servitio. A similar entry 

 is that of Cranborne (nos. 16 and xxii), where 3 thegns held 3 hides of land (not 

 specifically said to be thegnland) for which they rendered £2i excepto servitio. Exon. 

 Domesday adds that they held the same land T.R.E. of Beorhtric and non poterant 

 separari ab eo. It is not altogether clear from these entries whether the thegns both 

 performed service and rendered money, or rendered money instead of doing service. 

 Other evidence favours the latter interpretation. Durnford (Wilts.) was held T.R.E. by 

 3 Englishmen, two of whom paid 5^. while the third serviebat sicut tainusfi^ At Winsford 

 (Som.) there was | hide which 3 thegns held T.R.E. et serviebant preposito manerii per 

 consiietiidinem absque omnifirma donante. If these thegns did not contribute to the farm 

 because they performed some service, then presumably the Dorset thegns who paid 

 money renders did not serve. The \ hide attached to Winsford is entered twice, 

 appearing again under the name of Robert de Odburville, who held it in 1086. Accord- 

 ing to the second entry the land was judged to be thegnland {modo diratiocinata est in 

 tainland).^^ This second entry implies that the thegns rendered service in the capacity of 

 foresters, and suggests that the thegnland was set aside for men serving in a ministerial 

 capacity. But from other entries it is plain that the term could be used simply to describe 

 land once held by thegns. At Loders (nos. 13 and ix) there were 2 hides of thegnland 

 que non ibi pertinent , which 2 thegns held T.R.E. In the Geld Roll for Loders hundred 

 (which consisted solely of the manor of Loders), it is stated that ii hide quas tenuerunt 

 tagni tempore regis Edwardi sunt addite hide mansioni. There is no reason to suppose that 

 these thegns owed either service or money to the manor of Loders. At Hinton a priest 

 held a hide of thegnland T.R.E. et poterat ire quo volebat. This terminology does not 

 suggest land owing a service to the holder of Hinton.^^ Jn 1086 the land was in the king's 



<" Dom. Bk. (Rec. Com.), i, f. 67b; V.C.H. Wilts, ii. "' The statement that a manor owed service is in itself 



81. There is a similar entry in Dorset relating to Tatton ambiguous. It could mean service like that described in the 



(nos. 345, 398 and cxxxi). Part of Tatton had been held Wmsford entries, or it could mean the rent in money or 



T.R.E. by a thegn of Cerne Abbey, who won poterat ab ea kind derived from the manor. When the Som. Domesday 



separari, while the other portion was held by 2 thegns of states, in enumerating the manors in Som. taken from the 



the same abbey for rent (prestito). abbey of Glastonbury, that the church had lost the 



** Dom. Bk. (Rec. Com.), i, flf. 86b, 98b. service (ecclesia servitium inde non habet, ecclesia servitium 



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