Beorhtwig 11

Beorhtwig ‘of Bradfield’ (Wilts.), fl. 1066
Male
DWP
4 of 5

Name

Beorhtwig
Beorhtwig 10
Beorhtwig 12

Summary

Beorhtwig 11 and Alwig held a small Wiltshire estate TRE that had a total assessment of 2½ hides and was valued at 30s.  It is highly likely that Beorhtwig 11 was a moneyer at Malmesbury for both Edward the Confessor (Edward 15) and then King Harold II (Harold 3).

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
Wiltshire 41,3 Bradfield Bristuui Beorhtwig 'of Bradfield' - Ralph de Mortimer Edward of Salisbury 1.25 0.75 0.75 D Map
Totals

Profile

Beorhtwig 11 shared a small estate TRE at Bradfield, in north-west Wiltshire.  Bradfield lies only 3½ miles to the south-west of Malmesbury, where Beorhtwig 6 had been a moneyer for Edward the Confessor (Edward 15) in 1059-62 and where Beorhtwig 7 was in moneyer for King Harold II (Harold 3) in 1066.  Given the close proximity of Bradfield to Malmesbury, the tight chronological overlap between the people concerned and the rarity of the name Beorhtwig, it is highly likely that Beorhtwig 6, Beorhtwig 7 and Beorhtwig 11 were the same person.

That Beorhtwig 11 and Alwig were recorded as the co-holders of Bradfield TRE suggests that they could have been related.  In this regard it is worth noting that their names share the Old English element ‑wig, which can be a feature of familial naming patterns, although given the narrower range of themes available the sharing of a second element is more open to chance than the sharing of a first element.  For similar reasons, and because the trade of moneyer could run in families, it is likely that Beorhtwig 6+7+11 was related to Ealdwig 5, a moneyer for King Edward at Malmesbury in 1050-6 (Smith 2011).

Bibliography



V. Smith, pers. comm., 17 Apr 2011.