Besi 2

Besi ‘of Whitwell’ (Rut.), fl. 1066
Male
DWP
4 of 5

Name

Besi
Besi 3

Summary

Besi 2 had a small manor in Rutland TRE assessed at 1 carucate and with a value of 40s.

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
Lincolnshire 56,18 Whitwell Besy Besi 'of Whitwell' - Judith, countess Herbert 'of Whitwell' 1.00 2.00 2.00 C Map
Rutland 2,13 Whitwell Besy Besi 'of Whitwell' - Judith, countess Herbert 'of Whitwell' 1.00 2.00 2.00 C Map
Totals

Profile

Besi 2’s small manor was at Whitwell, an area of mainly grassland slopes between moorland and a tributary of the River Wash in Rutland.  The details of this manor are entered twice in DB, once in the Rutland folios at the end of the Nottinghamshire section and once in the folios for Lincolnshire, but the two entries differ from each other only in minor details.

By 1086 Whitwell had passed to a subtenant of Countess Judith (Judith 3), the widow of Earl Waltheof (Waltheof 2) and his successor for other estates in Rutland and elsewhere; but although this raises the possibility that Besi had been in Waltheof’s lordship TRE it also falls far short of proving it.

Palmer et al. (2007: DB Rut. 2,13; Lincs. 56,18) appear to identify Besi 2 with Bisi 3 in the text but to argue against this in the notes; this latter position is the more tenable, because although Besi was in one instance a spelling for Bisi in DB and both names were extremely rare none of Bisi 3’s known estates passed to Judith and the nearest lay more than 40 miles from Whitwell. 

Whitwell was one of only three estates recorded in DB as held TRE by someone called Besi and at around 75 miles away the other two were too distant to have been held by the same person; there is no reason to consider Besi 2 in connection with any other estate or person.

Bibliography


Palmer et al.: J. Palmer, F. Thorn, C. Thorn and N. Hodgson, eds., Electronic Edition of Domesday Book (Colchester, 2007), DB Rut. 2,13; Lincs. 56,18.