Gerin 2

Gerin ‘of Southampton’ (Hants), fl. 1066
Male
DWP
4 of 5

Name

Gerin
Gerin 3

Summary

Gerin 2 was among those holding quit-land in Southampton from the king TRE, of which he held 18 acres; he was presumably a burgess.

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
Hampshire S2 Southampton Gerinus Gerin 'of Southampton' Edward, king William, king - 0.15 0.00 0.00 C Map
Totals

Bibliography


Gerin 2 occurs in DB in a list of men who held ‘quit-land’ from King Edward (Edward 15) in the borough of Southampton TRE, where he held 18 acres of land.  As Munby (1982: S2; idem 2010: 137) suggests, this list distinguishes men made quit by King Edward from those in a second list enfranchised by King William (William 1) and probably means that their lands within the borough were quit not only of land-rent but also of geld and customary dues.  Although DB does not explicitly say so, Gerin was presumably a burgess; in an urban context in a southern English port, his continental name would be unusual but not unprecedented (cf. Lewis 1995: 135-6).

The extreme rarity of the personal name, the association with royal tenure and the relative proximity of the places involved mean that it is conceivable that Gerin 2 was the same person as Gerin 3, a king’s thegn and subtenant in 1086 with a small estate on the Isle of Wight that had been in King Edward’s farm TRE.  However, a continental name would be less unusual after the Conquest and the lack of a definite link between the holdings and the intervening twenty years mean that it is more likely than not that Gerin 2 and Gerin 3 were different men.