PASE

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Æthelfrith

Gender: Male

Author: DWP

Editorial Status: 4 of 5

Discussion of the name

Æthelfrith is an Old English masculine name comprising the elements æðele ‘noble, famous’ and frið ‘peace, security’; changes in late Old English mean that this name was one of those that gave rise to the form Alfrith, with which some confusion is possible (von Feilitzen 1937: 142, 144, 183).

There are 38 entries for this name in the PASE corpus. Æthelfrith 1-24 and 27-8 all pre-date c.1000 (there is no (Unknown Person)); Æthelfrith 25 witnessed two charters in the 1060s; Æthelfrith 29 is a catch-all category for occurrences of this name in DB; and Æthelfrith 30-39 were moneyers at various mints between 925 and 1036. The frequency and distribution suggest a widespread and once-common name that was becoming less so during the eleventh century.

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: Aeluert, Aieluert, Ailuert, Ailuerd, Aluerd, Aluert

Spellings in Exon: Aeluerus, Aelueruus, Agelferdus, Ailuerdus, Ailuert(us), Aluerdus, Aluertus

Forms in modern scholarship:

von Feilitzen head forms: Æðelfrið

Phillimore edition: Aethelfrith, Alfward

Alecto edition: Æthelfrith

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
Shire Dorset	Phil. ref. 47,3	Vill Chelborough	DB Spelling Aluert	Holder 1066 Æthelfrith 'of Worth'	Lord 1066 -	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Arundel	1086 Subtenant -	Fiscal Value 5.00	1066 Value 2.50	1086 Value 2.50	Confidence B	Map
Shire Dorset	Phil. ref. 47,4	Vill Langton Long Blandford	DB Spelling Aieluert	Holder 1066 Æthelfrith 'of Worth'	Lord 1066 -	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Arundel	1086 Subtenant Robert de Tilly	Fiscal Value 5.00	1066 Value 4.00	1086 Value 4.00	Confidence B	Map
Shire Dorset	Phil. ref. 47,9	Vill Worth Matravers	DB Spelling Ailuert	Holder 1066 Æthelfrith 'of Worth'	Lord 1066 Edward, king	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Arundel	1086 Subtenant -	Fiscal Value 16.63	1066 Value 16.38	1086 Value 16.38	Confidence B	Map
Shire Dorset	Phil. ref. 9,1	Vill Piddletrenthide	DB Spelling Aluerd	Holder 1066 Æthelfrith 'of Worth'	Lord 1066 Edward, king	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Riwallon, abbot of Winchester New Minster	1086 Subtenant -	Fiscal Value 15.00	1066 Value 15.00	1086 Value 0.00	Confidence B	Map
Shire Somerset	Phil. ref. 22,24	Vill Beckington	DB Spelling Ailuert	Holder 1066 Æthelfrith 'of Worth'	Lord 1066 -	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Arundel	1086 Subtenant -	Fiscal Value 10.00	1066 Value 10.00	1086 Value 6.00	Confidence B	Map
Shire Somerset	Phil. ref. 22,26	Vill Marston Bigot	DB Spelling Æluert	Holder 1066 Æthelfrith 'of Worth'	Lord 1066 -	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Arundel	1086 Subtenant -	Fiscal Value 3.50	1066 Value 6.00	1086 Value 7.00	Confidence B	Map
Shire Staffordshire	Phil. ref. 12,29	Vill Handsworth	DB Spelling Ailuerd	Holder 1066 Æthelfrith 'of Handsworth'	Lord 1066 -	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 William fitzAnsculf	1086 Subtenant Drew 'of Whitley'	Fiscal Value 0.50	1066 Value 0.50	1086 Value 0.50	Confidence B	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value