In a charter of c. 957 AD, King Eadwig (r. 955–959) granted twenty hides of land to Abingdon Abbey.
Interpretation of place names :
The abbey had previously been destroyed by Danes of Viking origin at the beginning of the reign of Alfred the Great (r. 871–899).In about 954 King Eadred appointed Æthelwold as its abbot.
It is known that there had been a population of Danes who had lived in the Oxford area prior to the St. Brice's Day massacre (AD 1002). Many of those had become integrated with the native population and spoke a mix of Old English and Old Danish. Place name evidence suggests that some of the land granted in the charter had previously been occupied by Danes of Viking origin. The charter suggests anti Danish sentiment and a sense of purpose of retribution for the previous destruction of the abbey.
This has been interpreted as Hinksey near the City of Oxford.
The name element hengeste is from Old English hengest ("stallion, steed, horse, gelding").
The name element sige is from Old English sige ("victory, success, triumph").
This has been interpreted as the deserted medieval village of Seacourt, near the City of Oxford.The site is now mostly beneath the Oxford Western By-pass (A34), about 0.3miles south of the Seacourt/Hinksey Stream crossing.[1]
The element Seof is from Old Danish sef : ("sedge or rush").
The element fecan is from Old Saxon fekan or Old English fâcen ("deceit, fraud, treachery, sin, evil, wickedness, crime").
The element wyrthe is from Old English worðig : ("farm enclosure, homestead enclosure").
A possible explanation for the use of the fekan element might have been be to clarify which village was intended, since there were two villages with a similar name.
There were two settlements with similar etymology recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086:
| Modern name | Domesday | Part 1 | Part 2 | Interpretation 1 | Interpretation 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEACOURT | Seuaworde[2] | Seva | worde | English dialect seave. | Old English worð – worþ. | |
| SUGWORTH[3] | Sogoorde[4] | Sog | wrde | Middle English segge. | Old English worð. |
In the 10th century, a new variation of the name was recorded, that replaced the appendix 'worth' with the appendix court.
Seovecurt : (Seove-curt) 10th century
The name element Seove is from local dialect seave : (" sedge, rush ").
The village name continued to change and evolve (with appendix court):
However the original version of the name (with appendix worth) continued to be used concurrently, but drifted towards using Old English secg : ("sedge, reed, rush, flag").
Archaeological excavations at Seacourtfound remains of wooden structures and several ditches that suggest evidence of a farm settlement with ditched animal enclosures and wooden byre's.A long and very narrow building was also discovered that was characteristic of a Viking long-house.
Dark red glass beads were found during excavations that had similar features to Viking glass beads found at York.
The Viking style long-house byre, the Viking glass beads, place name evidence and the anti Danish sentiment found in the charter, all point to the Danish origin of the deserted medieval village of Seacourt, Oxfordshire.
The archaeological evidence suggests that the Danish settlers were pastoral farmer's who continued to practice the traditional method's of summer transhumance farming that were customary in their Scandinavian homeland.
It is envisaged that during the summer months livestock were grazed on summer pasture on the higher uplands of Wytham Woods, while the lower meadows were used for the production of hay.
My Lady's Seat is an elevated summer pasture located at the head of the valley known as Wytham Park.[5] As of Summer 2021 sheep were grazed on My Lady's Seat while the lower meadows of Wytham Park were used for the production of hay. It would be expected that the Danish settlers used the land in a similar way, but stayed in summer shielings (primitive dwellings) beside the sæter, in order to safe guard the animals day and night.
During the winter the livestock were moved back to the farm settlement where they were kept in wooden byre's and fed with hay from the summer hay meadows.
Archaeological evidence suggests that the farm settlement consisted of ditched enclosures and wooden byre's for keeping livestock. It is envisaged that man made ditches (rather than hedges) were used to create animal enclosures, in order to keep animals safe. The shallow water was ideal for sedges to grow, which might have been intentional since they have many practical uses.
Practical uses for sedge and rush (seaves):
Types of sedge and rush that prefer shallow water:
Types of rush that prefer water logged ground:
This has been interpreted as Wytham Village near the City of Oxford.
Wytham Village is on the lower slopes of Wytham Woods, above the floodplain of the River Isis and Seacourt Stream.[6]
The name element Wiht is from Old English wiht : ("weight, land mass, the act of lifting").
The name element ham is from Old English hâm ("dwelling, house, manor, estate, hamlet").
Examples of place names with a similar etymology might include:
Many Old Norse words became absorbed into the English language during the Viking Age.
The local dialect word seave is an anglicisation of Old Norse sef : ("sedge or rush").
The local dialect word saeter is borrowed from Old Norse sætr : ("Upland summer pasture, a shieling or farmstead").
Place name examples in the English Lake District:
Place name examples in England:
The local dialect word saeter is borrowed from Old Norse sætr.
Place name examples in the English Lake District :
The name element seat is common in North Yorkshire (for fell summits), especially in the sheep-farming area's of the Yorkshire Dales, and especially in Swaledale :
Timeline for Oxford and Abingdon Abbey in the Viking Age, in the context of other events.
See main article: 8th century in England.
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 700–750 | Start of the Viking Age. | |
| 793 | Lindisfarne Priory is destroyed during a Viking raid. |
See main article: 9th century in England.
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 865 | The Great Heathen Army of Viking invaders lands in East Anglia | |
| 865–871 | The reign of Æthelred I. | |
| 866–871 | Abingdon Abbey is destroyed by Danes of Viking origin. | |
| 871–899 | The reign of Alfred the Great. | |
| 871–886 | The reign of Alfred the Great –– King of Wessex. | |
| 878–890 | Peace talks between Alfred the Great and the Danish king Guthrum. | |
| 879 | Guthrum moves his large army across Oxfordshire en route from Cirencester to East Anglia. | |
| c. 879–880 | The Watlington Viking Hoard is buried in Oxfordshire. | |
| 886–899 | The reign of Alfred the Great –– King of the Anglo-Saxons. | |
| 899–924 | The reign of Edward the Elder –– King of the Anglo-Saxons. |
See main article: 10th century in England.
| Date | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 924–939 | The reign of Æthelstan (disputed) –– King of the Anglo-Saxons. | |
| 927 | Æthelstan becomes the first King of the English. | |
| 939–946 | The reign of Edmund I –– King of the English. | |
| 946–955 | The reign of Eadred –– King of the English. | |
| 954 | The Northumbrians drive out their Norwegian Viking king Eric Bloodaxe and submit to Eadred. | |
| King Eadred appoints Æthelwold abbot of Abingdon Abbey. | ||
| 955–959 | The reign of Eadwig –– King of the English. | |
| c. 957 | Eadwig's Charter to Abingdon Abbey. | |
| 959–975 | The reign of Edgar the Peaceful –– King of the English. | |
| 975–978 | The reign of Edward the Martyr –– King of the English. | |
| 978–1013 | The first reign of Æthelred the Unready –– King of the English. |
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1002 | Æthelred the Unready orders the massacre of Danes in England (St. Brice's Day massacre). |
| The massacre of Danes in Oxford | |
| 1002–1012 | Sweyn Forkbeard raids against England to avenge the massacre of Danes in England. |
| 1009 | Oxford is put to the torch in a revenge attack. |
| 1013 | Æthelred the Unready escapes to Normandy and Sweyn Forkbeard becomes the first Danish King of the English. |
| 1014 | Sweyn Forkbeard dies and Æthelred the Unready regains tenure as King of the English. |
| 1016 | Æthelred the Unready dies and is succeeded by Edmund Ironside –– King of the English. |
| 1017–1035 | The reign of Cnut the Great –– King of the English. |
| 1018 | Cnut the Great is crowned at Oxford. |
| 1035–1040 | The reign of Harold Harefoot –– King of the English. |
| 1040–1042 | The reign of Harthacnut –– King of the English. |
| 1042–1066 | The reign of Edward the Confessor –– King of the English. |
| 1066 | The reign of Harold Godwinson –– King of the English. |
| Battle of Stamford Bridge, Gefeoht æt Stanfordbrycge |