Ælfheah

Male
DWP
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Discussion of the name

Ælfheah is an Old English masculine name comprising the elements ælf ‘elf, sprite’ and hēah ‘high, tall, haughty’.

There are 68 entries for this name in the PASE corpus, all of which predate the mid-1040s except for Ælfheah 53, a catch-all for instances in DB, and Ælfheah 60, a Shrewsbury moneyer in 1059-62.  The PASE and DB data show that the name was both widespread and common.

Bibliography

von Feilitzen 1937: Olof von Feilitzen, The Pre-Conquest Personal Names of Domesday Book, Nomina Germanica 3 (Uppsala: Almqvist and Wiksells, 1937)

Forms of the name

Spellings in Domesday Book: Alfa, Alfac, Alfag, Alfah, Alfahc(us), Alfec, Alfeg(a), Alfeih(e), Ælfag, Ælfec(h), Ælfeth, Elfac, Elfag, Elfeg

Spellings in Exon: Alfeh, Alfeus

Spellings in FBB: Ælfah

Forms in modern scholarship:

  von Feilitzen head forms: Ælfhēah

  Phillimore edition: Alfeah, Alfheah, Alfsi

  Alecto edition: Ælfheah

Distribution map of property and lordships associated with this name in DB

List of property and lordships associated with this name in DB

Holder 1066

Shire Phil. ref. Vill DB Spelling Holder 1066 Lord 1066 Tenant-in-Chief 1086 1086 Subtenant Fiscal Value 1066 Value 1086 Value Conf. Show on Map
Cornwall 5,24,16 Tregunnick Alfeg Ælfheah 'of Tregunnick' - Robert, count of Mortain Rabel 'of Cornwall' 0.25 0.25 0.05 C Map
Cornwall 5,7,2 Lametton Alfeg Ælfheah 'of Tregunnick' - Robert, count of Mortain Jovin 0.08 0.15 0.20 D Map
Derbyshire 6,34 Barton Elfeg Ælfheah 'of Barton' - Henry de Ferrers Ralph 'of Bagpuize' 0.50 0.50 0.50 D Map
Derbyshire 6,42 Hollington Elfag Ælfheah 'of Barton' - Henry de Ferrers - 0.25 0.33 0.33 D Map
Derbyshire 7,4 South Normanton Elfag Ælfheah 'of Normanton' - William Peverel Edwin 'of South Normanton' 2.00 1.00 0.50 C Map
Essex 37,17 Mountnessing Alfega Ælfheah 'of Ing' - Ranulph brother of Ilger William de Bosc 1.11 1.00 1.00 B Map
Hampshire 2,5 Easton Ælfeth Ælfheah 'of Easton' Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury Walkelin, bishop of Winchester Thurstan Rufus 0.43 0.00 0.00 B Map
Hampshire 3,1 Chilcomb Ælfec Ælfheah 'of Easton' Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury Walkelin, bishop of Winchester unnamed monks of Old Minster, Winchester, in 1086 0.25 1.08 2.40 B Map
Norfolk 4,17 Rudham - Ælfheah 'of Syderstone' - Alan, count Fanceon 0.50 0.43 0.43 C Map
Norfolk 4,17 Syderstone Alfah Ælfheah 'of Syderstone' - Alan, count Fanceon 3.00 2.57 2.57 B Map
Norfolk 4,2 Narford Alfahcus Ælfheah 'of Syderstone' - Alan, count Fanceon 0.00 4.00 5.00 C Map
Norfolk 4,29 Lyng Alfah Ælfheah 'of Syderstone' - Alan, count - 3.00 3.38 4.23 C Map
Norfolk 9,233 Beechamwell Alfeih Ælfheah 'of Syderstone' - Roger Bigod Robert de Vaux 2.02 1.60 1.60 D Map
Nottinghamshire 10,34 Beeston Ælfag Ælfheah 'of Normanton' - William Peverel - 1.00 0.50 0.50 E Map
Nottinghamshire 10,51 Basford Alfag Ælfheah 'of Normanton' - William Peverel Sasfrid 'of Catesby' 1.19 1.00 1.00 E Map
Nottinghamshire 28,1 Stanford on Soar Ælfag Ælfheah 'of Stanford' - Robert fitzWilliam - 1.25 2.00 0.00 C Map
Nottinghamshire 28,2 Leake - Ælfheah 'of Stanford' - Robert fitzWilliam - 0.13 0.00 0.00 C Map
Nottinghamshire 30,29 Papplewick Alfa Ælfheah 'of Normanton' - 1 king's thegn 'of Papplewick' - 0.79 0.33 0.00 E Map
Shropshire 4,25,2 Lee Brockhurst Elfac Ælfheah 'of Lee' - Roger, earl Norman the hunter 0.33 0.22 1.00 B Map
Suffolk 14,43 Wortham Alfahc Ælfheah 'of Wortham' Baldwin, abbot of Bury St Edmunds Baldwin, abbot of Bury St Edmunds - 0.25 0.50 0.50 C Map
Suffolk 4,15 Middleton Alfac Ælfheah 'of Middleton' Munulf Hugh, earl Roger Bigod 0.07 0.07 0.07 C Map
Surrey 19,2 Bletchingley Ælfech Ælfheah 'of Newtimber' Edward, king Richard fitzGilbert - 3.33 4.33 9.99 D Map
Sussex 10,80 Langney Alfec Ælfheah 'of Langney' - Robert, count of Mortain William de Cahagnes 1.00 0.42 0.25 E Map
Sussex 12,34 Newtimber Ælfech Ælfheah 'of Newtimber' Edward, king William de Warenne Ralph de Quesnay 10.00 7.00 8.00 B Map
Totals

Lord 1066

Shire Phil. ref. Vill DB Spelling Holder 1066 Lord 1066 Tenant-in-Chief 1086 1086 Subtenant Fiscal Value 1066 Value 1086 Value Conf. Show on Map
Norfolk 4,2 Narford Alfahcus 4 free men Ælfheah Alan, count Fanceon 1.00 0.00 0.00 C Map
Norfolk 4,29 Bawdeswell - 1 sokeman Ælfheah Alan, count - 0.25 0.28 0.35 D Map
Norfolk 4,29 Lyng - 5 sokemen Ælfheah Alan, count - 0.20 0.23 0.28 D Map
Norfolk 4,29 East Tuddenham - 1 half-sokeman Ælfheah Alan, count - 0.10 0.11 0.14 D Map
Norfolk 9,233 Beechamwell - 3 free men Ælfheah Roger Bigod - 0.50 0.40 0.40 E Map
Totals

Subtenant in 1086

Shire Phil. ref. Vill DB Spelling Holder 1066 Lord 1066 Tenant-in-Chief 1086 1086 Subtenant Fiscal Value 1066 Value 1086 Value Conf. Show on Map
Essex B3a Colchester Alfeihc - - William, king Ælfheah the priest, burgess 0.21 0.00 0.00 B Map
Totals