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Eadhild 4

Name

Summary

Eadhild 4 was a subtenant of Geoffrey, bishop of Coutances (Geoffrey 2), with a holding of 1 ferling at Ruston in central Devon.

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

List of property and lordships associated with this name in DB

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
Shire Devon	Phil. ref. 3,95	Vill Ruston	DB Spelling Eddille	Holder 1066 Abbud 'of Ruston'	Lord 1066 -	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Geoffrey, bishop of Coutances	1086 Subtenant Eadhild 'of Ruston'	Fiscal Value 0.06	1066 Value 0.25	1086 Value 0.25	Confidence B	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Profile

Eadhild 4 was a subtenant of Geoffrey, bishop of Coutances (Geoffrey 2), with a tiny holding of just 1 ferling at Ruston, on a hill-spur at the fork of a stream in the Little Dart valley in central Devon.  Although her estate was very small its valuation of 5s and possession of ‘land for 1 plough’ could indicate a slightly larger holding than its assessment of just 1 ferling might suggest.  As well as having a plough on her arable land Eadhild also had a flock of thirty sheep and a few cattle, with 6 acres of meadow to augment the pasture for them and the oxen of the plough-team; labour for the estate was provided by her slave and her dependent peasant population of one villan and one bordar and their households. 

No other woman called Eadhild was recorded by DB as holding land in 1086.  It is however conceivable that Eadhild 4 was connected with the pre-Conquest holder of the land at Ruston, Abbud 2, because the usual means for a woman to acquire such a small and single estate would have been through marriage or inheritance.