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Beorhtflæd 2

Name

Summary

Beorhtflæd 2 was a free woman with two estates near the Norfolk-Suffolk border TRE assessed at 3¼ carucates and with a value of 60s; she was commended to Bury Abbey at one of her estates while Eadric was her lord at the other.

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 Norfolk	Phil. ref. 14,21	Vill Starston	DB Spelling Brictflet	Holder 1066 Beorhtflæd 'of Starston'	Lord 1066 Baldwin, abbot of Bury St Edmunds	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Baldwin, abbot of Bury St Edmunds	1086 Subtenant Roger Bigod	Fiscal Value 2.00	1066 Value 2.00	1086 Value 1.00	Confidence C	Map
Shire Suffolk	Phil. ref. 6,62	Vill Rickinghall	DB Spelling Britfleda	Holder 1066 Beorhtflæd 'of Starston'	Lord 1066 Eadric of Laxfield	Tenant-in-Chief 1086 Robert Malet	1086 Subtenant -	Fiscal Value 1.25	1066 Value 1.00	1086 Value 3.00	Confidence C	Map
Totals								Fiscal Value	1066 Value	1086 Value

Bibliography

Beorhtflæd 2 held the largest of the seven or so estates at Starston in south Norfolk, straddling the valley of a tributary of the River Waveney and extending onto the higher ground to the north.  DB states that she was a free woman in the commendation of St Edmund (Bury Abbey); that the abbey was the tenant-in-chief in 1086 could indicate that Beorhtflæd had been its dependent tenant TRE, but this remains uncertain.  The limited details of her estate reveal that she had two ploughs on her demesne, 6 acres of meadow for the oxen of the plough-teams (and any other unrecorded livestock) and labour provided by her three slaves together with three villans and their households.

A slightly smaller estate at Rickinghall in north Suffolk, about 13 miles to the south-west of Starston, was also held by a free woman called Beorhtflæd TRE and, given both the rarity of the name and the proximity and similar size of the two estates, it is probable that the same woman, Beorhtflæd 2, held both estates.  The DB entry for Rickinghall states that her lord was Eadric of Laxfield, a local magnate, although it is not clear if Beorhtflæd was his dependent tenant or was in his commendation, or both.

The entry for Beorhtflæd’s estate at Rickinghall gives more details than that for Starston.  There were two ploughs on the arable of her demesne and a further half-plough on the land of her dependent peasants, who comprised one villan and four bordars with their households; she also had one slave.  There was a small amount of wood and meadow and the pastoral aspect of the estate was concerned mainly with sheep-farming, along with some goats and pigs and a half-dozen cattle.  Also recorded were four horses that were probably draft animals.

Although her name was rare and one of her lords was the abbot of Bury there is no reason to associate Beorhtflæd 2 with Beorhtflæd 3, a minor subtenant of the abbot in 1086, nor with any other person or estate.