Erlewin 8

Erlewin ‘of Peasemore’ (Berks.), fl. 1066
Male
DWP
4 of 5

Name

Erlewin
Erlewin 7

Summary

Erlewin 8 shared with Godwine a large estate in west Berkshire TRE assessed at 7 hides and with a value of £4; they had the power of alienation over their lands.

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
Berkshire 36,6 Peasemore Vrleuuine Erlewin 'of Peasemore' - Gilbert de Breteuil Richard 'of Peasemore' 3.50 2.00 2.00 C Map
Totals

Profile

Erlewin 8’s estate was at Peasemore, on a hill-spur among the downs of west Berkshire, which he held with Godwine TRE. DB gives no details as to how the estate was shared between the two men (and hence offer clues to any potential familial or other relationship between them), although the fact that there had been two halls TRE suggests that the two holdings were regarded as separate units. DB states that both men ‘could go where they wished’, indicating that they had the power of alienation over their land and were not dependant tenants.

Lewis has suggested that Erlewin 8 could be either the same man as Erlewin 7, the (now retired) father of Balwin 13, or perhaps an otherwise unrecorded brother of Baldwin’s (Lewis 1995: 134). The rarity of the name Erlewin and the proximity of Peasemore to Baldwin’s extensive TRE estates (the closest of which was at Hodcott, only 3 miles away) certainly render the former suggestion possible; but these were not the only instances of the name Erlewin in pre-Conquest England and the presence of Erlewin 8’s co-holder Godwine complicates the suggested interpretation. For these reasons Erlewin 7 and Erlewin 8 are best regarded as separate people.

Bibliography


Lewis 1995: C. P. Lewis, ‘The French in England before the Norman Conquest’, Anglo-Norman Studies 17 (1995)