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CHAPTER 1
MIGRANTS, NATIVES AND NAMES
In this chapter my primary concern is to examine the changes in the identity
of landholders in eastern Suffolk that resulted from the migration associated with the
Norman Conquest, bearing in mind the more general “Frankish” aristocratic
diaspora which, according to Bartlett, led to the Europeanization of Europe. First, I
will look at the origins and identities of the 1086 tenants-in-chiefs and, as far as
possible, their subtenants. Then I will look, as far as the sources allow, at the
identities of the 1066 landholders. Not only do I want to examine the change in the
ethnic origin of the landholders, but also their relationships with the king. Finally, I
will also discuss how complete the change in the landholding classes was.
First of all, it is useful to look at the economic wealth of the king and the
tenants-in-chief in eastern Suffolk in 1086. In Table 1, the value of their lands is
given, together with the number of carucates and acres where these are available.
The table starts with the wealthiest landholder in 1086 in the area and continues in
descending order. However, it must be noted that in some of the Domesday Book
entries the exact values of lands were not recorded. Thus, the numerical values in
Table 1 reflect only the recorded values of the lands. The table also gives the origins
of the 1086 tenants-in-chief. Tables 2-7 show the 1086 valuations for the individual
hundreds. Some of these tenants-in-chief had lands in all hundreds and others held
the bulk of their lands in only a few of them, or even had land in only one hundred.
Looked at on this very local scale, the relative importance of the landholders
sometimes changes.
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