Cyneweard of Laughern
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Cyneweard of Laughern or simply Cyneweard (died 1079 x 1086) was a mid-11th century Anglo-Saxon
thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there ...
and sheriff in
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...
, England. Probably the son of Æthelric Kiu and grand-nephew of Wulfstan Lupus,
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
(1003–1023), he was one of the leading nobles of the county at the Norman Conquest of England. On the death of Edward the Confessor he held lands in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
and
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
as well as Worcestershire. A
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
of the
bishops of Worcester A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, he was sheriff in the county until 1069. He lost this after the arrival of
Urse d'Abetot Urse d'Abetot ( - 1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after the ...
, and it was Urse and his brother Robert Despenser who deprived Cyneweard and his family of many of their holdings in the region. Cyneweard's other holding were taken by this family after his own death, which occurred sometime between 1079 and 1086.


Domesday estates in 1066

Cyneweard's name was uncommon in Anglo-Saxon England. It occurs only seven times in the ''
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...
'', and it is probable that all references are to Cyneweard of Laughern.Williams, "Introduction", p. 24 From the evidence in ''Domesday'', Cyneweard held under the Bishop of Worcester half a hide at Laughern, Wichenford, five hides at
Wyre Piddle Wyre Piddle is a village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. It is on the River Avon, near where that river is joined by the Piddle Brook - between Evesham and Pershore. History Two archaeological excava ...
, two hides at Elmley Castle, and along with his probable vassal Ulfkil, a manor of three hides at Hanley.Williams, "Introduction", p. 24; Williams and Martin (eds.), ''Domesday Book'', pp. 476–77, 489 In
Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...
Cyneweard possessed, along with a thegn named Beorhtric, six hides at Stretton-on-Fosse.Williams, "Introduction", p. 24; Williams and Martin (eds.), ''Domesday Book'', p. 668 In
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
, he held a manor of two hides at Duntisbourne Abbots, and in the same county in the vill of Coates he held one of three manors; his manor was worth one hide, with another one-hide manor being held by Beorhtric, and a third manor worth half a hide being held by a thegn named Leofwine.Williams, "Introduction", p. 24; Williams and Martin (eds.), ''Domesday Book'', pp. 463, 465, 469 It is likely that Cyneweard held in 1066 the five hide manor of Duntisbourne Abbots later given by the mother of
Roger de Lacy Roger de Lacy (died after 1106) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, a Marcher Lord on the Welsh border. Roger was a castle builder, particularly at Ludlow Castle. Lands and titles From Walter de Lacy (died 1085) he inherited Castle Frome, Herefor ...
to
Gloucester Abbey Gloucester Abbey was a Benedictine abbey in the city of Gloucester, England. Since 1541 it has been Gloucester Cathedral. History Early period A Christian place of worship had stood on the abbey site since Anglo-Saxon times. Around 681, with ...
.Williams, "Introduction", p. 24; Williams and Martin (eds.), ''Domesday Book'', p. 455


Background

Cyneweard was probably the son of Æthelric Kiu, a relative of Wulfstan (nicknamed "Lupus"),
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
(1003–1023) and Bishop of Worcester (1003–1016).Williams, "Introduction", p. 25 Archbishop Wulfstan's sister Wulfgifu had married a Worcester thegn named Wulfric.; Williams, "Introduction", p. 25 It is known that Wulfgifu (presumably with Wulfric) had a son named Beorhtheah, who himself became Bishop of Worcester (1033–1038); it is likely that they had another son called Æthelric, as Hemming describes Æthelric and Beorhtheah as brothers. Historian Ann Williams argued that, on the evidence land-holdings, Cyneweard was the son of this Æthelric. This argument has been accepted by other historians, such as the historian of the earldom of Mercia, Stephen Baxter.Baxter, ''Earls of Mercia'', pp. 248, 252, and p. 253 figure 6.3 A
thegn In Anglo-Saxon England, thegns were aristocratic landowners of the second rank, below the ealdormen who governed large areas of England. The term was also used in early medieval Scandinavia for a class of retainers. In medieval Scotland, there ...
named Godric is known directly to have been the son of this Æthelric too, and thus Cyneweard's brother. They had a sister named Eadgyth, who became a nun and was still living in 1086.Baxter, ''Earls of Mercia'', p. 253 figure 6.3; Williams and Martin (eds.), ''Domesday Book'', p. 479 Beorhtheah used his position as bishop to lease to his brother Æthelric, Cyneweard's probable father, manors at Alton, Himbleton, Lower Wolverton and
Whittington Whittington may refer to: Places * Whittington, Victoria, Australia * Whittington, Illinois, United States England * Old Whittington, Derbyshire * New Whittington, Derbyshire * Whittington Moor, Derbyshire * Whittington, Gloucestershire * Whit ...
. Æthelric complemented the family's landholdings by receiving more leased land from his brother's successor Lyfing, bishop of Worcester with a little interruption from 1038 or 1039 until 1046.Barlow, "Lyfing"; Williams, "Introduction", p. 25 This included Elmley Castle held by Cyneweard in 1066, as well as Armscote, Bentley-in-Holt and Hill Croome. These bishops leased out other lands to other members of this family, meaning that in 1066 Cyneweard was a leading member of a kin-group, closely related to the famous bishop, strongly entrenched and dominant in the region.Williams, "Introduction", pp. 25–26 Not associated (unlike some thegns in the region) with the family of the
Earl of Mercia Earl of Mercia was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Danish, and early Anglo-Norman period in England. During this period the earldom covered the lands of the old Kingdom of Mercia in the English Midlands. First governed by ealdormen under t ...
, Williams describes Cyneweard and his kindred as "in the ''mouvance'' of the bishops of Worcester just as much if not more than the king".Williams, "Vice-Comital Family", p. 291


Career

It is clear from a document dating to 1079 x 1089 that Cyneweard held, at an earlier date, the position of sheriff of Worcester.Green, ''Sheriffs'', p. 87 Records are poor, and it is unclear when he obtained this position, but he probably held it until the arrival of the Norman knight
Urse d'Abetot Urse d'Abetot ( - 1108) was a Norman who followed King William I to England, and became Sheriff of Worcestershire and a royal official under him and Kings William II and Henry I. He was a native of Normandy and moved to England shortly after the ...
in 1069.Williams, ''The English'', p. 163; Williams, "Introduction", p. 26 He had survived the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, and however he lost this position to Urse in 1069 (it is not known), he was still alive in 1072 when he witnessed a charter s ''Kineward de Lauro''of
Robert de Stafford Robert de Stafford ( 1039 – c. 1100) (''alias'' Robert de Tosny/Toeni, etc.) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman, the first feudal baron of Stafford in Staffordshire in England, where he built as his seat Stafford Castle. His many landholdings are l ...
.Green, ''Sheriffs'', p. 87; Williams, ''The English'', p. 163; Williams, "Introduction", p. 26 He was the last Anglo-Saxon sheriff of the county. He probably survived for some time after that, as he was present at a
plea In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...
between the church of Worcester and
Evesham Abbey Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in Worcestershire, England between 700 and 710 following an alleged vision of the Virgin Mary by a swineherd by the name of Eof. According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the Nor ...
regarding the estates of
Bengeworth Bengeworth is a locality adjoining Evesham in Worcestershire, England. In 1887 it had a population of 1,311. Today it has a school and an Anglican church. History Bengeworth was an early hamlet in one of the three Anglo-Saxon hundreds (Cuthburg ...
and Hampton heard at an unknown date between 1079 and 1083.Green, ''Sheriffs'', p. 87; Williams, "Introduction", p. 26 These manors were held by Evesham but Worcester claimed them as part of the triple
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...
of the Oswaldslow.Williams, ''The English'', p. 163 The suit was between Bishop Wulfstan (II) of Worcester and Walter, Abbot of Evesham, and Cyneweard's appearance was made, along with other Worcestershire notables, to substantiate Wulfstan's claim, a claim to which Abbot Walter yielded.Williams, ''The English'', p. 163, and n. 51 According to Hemming, after Cyneweard's death his manors of Laughern and Elmley Castle were seized by Urse d'Abetot's brother Robert Despenser.Williams, "Introduction", p. 26 This must have occurred before 1086, when it was recorded in ''Domesday Book'' that they were in Robert's possession. Cyneweard's brother Godric had lost his land at Alton to William fitz Osbern sometime in or before 1071, the year of William's death, though despite this Godric was still alive in 1086.


Notes


References

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External links

* , and also ,
Map of Cyneweard's holdings
PASE Domesday {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyneweard of Laughern 11th-century births 11th-century English people Anglo-Saxon thegns History of Gloucestershire History of Warwickshire History of Worcestershire Medieval legends Norman conquest of England High Sheriffs of Worcestershire 11th-century deaths