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Swetmann 12

Name

Summary

Swetmann 12 was a free man with land in two adjacent vills in south-east Suffolk TRE; the total assessment of his shares may have been about 13¼ acres that were perhaps worth 4s 8d. His lord TRE was Northmann and Swetmann probably retained at least one of his holdings in 1086, which he then held as a sub-subtenant of Northmann’s successor, Roger Bigod (Roger 6).

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
Shire Suffolk	Phil. ref. 7,77	Vill Burgate	DB Spelling Suetmanus	Holder 1066 Swetmann 'of Burgate'	Lord 1066 Northmann the sheriff	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Bigod	1086 Subtenant Northmann the sheriff	Fiscal Value 0.05	1066 Value 0.11	1086 Value 0.11	Confidence D	Map
Shire Suffolk	Phil. ref. 7,80	Vill Burgh	DB Spelling Suetmanus	Holder 1066 Swetmann 'of Burgate'	Lord 1066 Northmann the sheriff	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Bigod	1086 Subtenant Northmann the sheriff	Fiscal Value 0.06	1066 Value 0.13	1086 Value 0.13	Confidence D	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Sub-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 Suffolk	Phil. ref. 7,77	Vill Burgate	DB Spelling Suetmanus	Holder 1066 Swetmann 'of Burgate'	Lord 1066 Northmann the sheriff	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Roger Bigod	1086 Subtenant Northmann the sheriff	Fiscal Value 0.05	1066 Value 0.11	1086 Value 0.11	Confidence D	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Profile

Swetmann 12 is identified by the close proximity and small size of his two holdings, the relative rarity of his name and the distance of his holdings from those held by anyone else called Swetmann.

Swetmann 12 was named sixth among fourteen free men (fourteen are named, although the DB text says there were thirteen) holding 80 acres between them at Burgate and was named second among sixteen free men similarly holding 1 carucate at Burgh. The two vills were adjacent, in or overlooking the valley of the River Lark in south-east Suffolk, and given this proximity and the rarity of the name it is probable that the same Swetmann was meant in both instances. The holdings were too small and too far removed from any others held TRE or TRW by other men of that name for any connection between them to be considered.

These free men were among many such in Colneis Hundred in the lordship of a local magnate, Northmann. After the Conquest the same men or their successor often continued to hold their land under Northmann, who retained his lands albeit as the subtenant of Roger Bigod (Roger 6); both Northmann and Roger were sometime sheriffs of Suffolk. In the entry for Burgh DB Northmann is described as the men’s lord by commendation, whereas that for Burgate states simply that he held them without stating the nature of his lordship. The latter entry also implies (explicit in one case) that Swetmann and the others were now Roger’s men, rendering it more likely than not that Swetmann 12 had survived the Conquest and retained his holding, albeit now as a sub-subtenant.

The entries for both estates record ploughs for the arable land and some tiny amounts of meadow, presumably for the oxen of the plough-teams. No livestock or pastoral farming is recorded for either estate but a note elsewhere in DB suggests that there was pasture common to all the men of the hundred. It is impossible to determine exactly how much land Swetmann held but if both estates were divided evenly between their holders then his combined shares may have been in the order of 13¼ acres with a value of 4s 8d.