Goldnir 2

Goldnir the housecarl, ‘of Wavendon’ (Bucks.)  (fl. 1066)
Male
DWP
4 of 5

Name

Goldnir

Summary

Goldnir 2 had a manor in north-east Buckinghamshire TRE assessed at only 2 hides; he was a housecarls of King Edward (Edward 15).

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
Buckinghamshire 12,36 Wavendon Golnil Goldnir 'of Wavendon' Edward, king Robert, count of Mortain Ralph 'the man of Robert, count of Mortain (in the East Midlands)' 2.00 2.00 1.00 B Map
Totals

Profile

Goldnir 2’s manor was one of seven small estates at Wavendon, a low ridge between the River Ouzel and one of its tributaries in north-east Buckinghamshire. The TRE holders of these estates came under at least five different lords and their lands passed to as many different successors after the Conquest, and there seems nothing to connect them beyond the location of their estates.

It is very likely that as well as having an Old Norse name Goldnir 2 was also of Scandinavian rather than insular origin because DB refers to him as one of King Edward 15’s housecarls; a term that, although virtually identical in status and function with the insular thegn, had a predominantly racial connotation by the mid-eleventh century if not before (Hooper 1985: 174-5). There is perhaps a hint here that he was in the king’s lordship by more than just commendation, yet since DB states that Goldnir ‘could sell’ his land and thus had power of alienation he was clearly not a dependent tenant.

This was the only estate recorded in DB as being held TRE by someone called Goldnir and there is no reason to consider Goldnir 2 in connection with any other estate or person.

Bibliography


Hooper 1985: N. Hooper, ‘The housecarls in England in the eleventh century’, Anglo-Norman Studies 7 (1985)