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Offa 12

Name

Summary

Offa 12 was a minor thegn holding two manors in Suffolk and Norfolk TRE with a combined assessment of 3 carucates and with a value of 50s; his lord was Archbishop Stigand (Stigand 1). Offa survived the Conquest and was still holding his Norfolk manor in 1086.

Profile

Flixton and Bedingham, by the river Waveney in north Suffolk and on one of its tributaries in south Norfolk respectively, lie only 3¾ miles apart. At both places there was a manor held TRE by a man with the unusual name Offa and who had Archbishop Stigand (Stigand 1) as his lord. Even though these two manors passed to different tenants-in-chief after the Conquest, therefore, it is beyond reasonable doubt that both were held TRE by the same man, Offa 12.

There were at least six manors and several smaller holdings at Flixton TRE, of which Offa held one of the largest at 2 carucates and with a share in the local church and mill. The DB entry describes him as a free man commended to Stigand, which suggests (albeit ex silentio) that Offa was not also one of Stigand’s dependent tenants.

At Bedingham there were only two manors TRE, along with a scatter of small holdings. Offa’s was the smaller of the two manors, with an assessment of 1 carucate. DB describes the TRE holder of the larger manor as a thegn of King Edward (Edward 15) and commended to Stigand, and Offa as a thegn of Stigand without clarification as to commendation or the precise nature of his tenure.

Offa 12 survived the Conquest and was still holding Bedingham in 1086, albeit now as the subtenant of Roger Bigod (Roger 6), the sheriff of Suffolk and perhaps of Norfolk too. His manor at this time seems to have been mainly arable, with two ploughs of his demesne (probably worked by two slaves) and a further three among the dependant population of twelve peasant households but only 3 acres of meadow. There were a few pigs and goats present, however, and he had two horses as well.