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Denmark or “from the Fens”. 180 Sometimes thegns are identified as such, and others
are identified as earl or by some office such as constabularius (staller), notably
Ralph the Staller. Occasionally nicknames are given, such as Edric Grim and Manni
Sward.
When we come to look at the 1086 tenants-in-chief it is clear that the usage
of toponymic names among them was much more popular (Mandeville, Warenne,
Montfort, Tosny, Limesy, Ecouis, Rames, Courson, Beaufour, Arques, La
Beuvriere). Even amongst the 1086 subtenants toponymic names were common
(Vaux, Coleville, Wissant, Mont-Canisy, Glaville, Risbou, Émalleville, Valognes,
Corbon, Bosc, Loges, Pierrepont, Condos, Alençon, Lanquetot, Bouville, Saveney).
We even find one, and only one, example of an English toponymic in Robert of
Blythburgh. As J. C. Holt has said more generally, “the preponderance of French
toponymics is remarkable.” 181 There were still official or occupational names, such
as Gilbert the Crossbowman, Godric the Steward (dapifer) and Humphrey the
Chamberlain. Among the subtenants there is Norman the Sheriff, and Roger Bigod
is sometimes called Roger the Sheriff. There are still some comital titles: Count
Alan, Earl Hugh and the Countess Aumale. There are also more obscure bynames
which may be nicknames in origin: Robert Malet, Roger Bigot, Ralph Bainard,
Walter Giffard and Ranulf Peverel. There seems to be no post-Conquest equivalent
to the description, either indicating status or official position, of thegn.
If we look at the tenants-in-chief and their subtenants in the Cartae Baronum
of 1166 for the honours in Suffolk, the mixture in general is similar to that of
Domesday Book in 1086, except for one notable difference. By 1166, English
toponymics were a great deal more common though French toponymics are still
180 Clarke, English Nobility, p. 34.
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