Eadwig's Charter to Abingdon Abbey c.957

In a charter of c. 957 AD, King Eadwig (r. 955–959) granted twenty hides of land to Abingdon Abbey.

"aet Hengestesige, and aet  Seofecanwyrthe , and aet  Wihtham"

Interpretation of place names :


 *  Hengestesige; Hinksey near the City of Oxford.
 *  Seofecanwyrthe; The deserted medieval village of Seacourt near the City of Oxford.
 *  Wihtham; Wytham near the City of Oxford.





Abingdon Abbey
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.

Danes in Oxford
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.

Hengestesige
This has been interpreted as Hinksey near the City of Oxford.


 * (Hengeste..sige)

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").

Toponym

 * The place of horse breeding and racing.
 * The victory of Hengist and Horsa.
 * The success of the Anglo-Saxons.

Seofecanwyrthe
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 0.3 mi south of the Seacourt/Hinksey Stream crossing.

Name corruption

 * (Seof, fecan, and wyrthe)

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").


 * (Conclusion)


 * The middle element fekan was not part of the actual name.
 * The actual name was probably Seof wyrthe
 * The use of the word fekan was a reference to the Danish people who had previously lived there
 * The use of the word fekan strongly suggests anti Danish sentiment

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.

Seacourt Domesday
There were two settlements with similar etymology recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086:

Name history
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):


 * Seove-curt	(10th century).
 * Seve-curt (11th century).
 * Sewe-courte (16th century).
 * Sea-court (20th century).

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").


 * Seof-wyrthe  (c. 957).
 * Seua-worde  (Domesday 1086).
 * Sewke-worth  (12th century).
 * Seuek-wrth  (12th century).
 * Sevek-worth (13th century).
 * Seck worth  (15th century).
 *  Sek-worth  (16th century).

Archaeological evidence
Archaeological excavations at Seacourt found 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.

Danish origin
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. 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.

Farm settlement
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):


 * Thatching.
 * Ground cover.


 * Pleated and woven products (mats, baskets).


 * Rushlights.

Types of sedge and rush that prefer shallow water:


 * Sedge family – Cyperaceae.
 * Schoenoplectus lacustris.
 * Bulrush family – Typhaceae.
 * Typha latifolia.

Types of rush that prefer water logged ground:


 * Rush family – Juncaceae
 * Juncus effusus.

Wihtham
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.


 * (Wiht-ham) (c. 957)

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").

Toponym

 * Small village that lifts up from the flood plain
 * Small village that rises from the flood plain

Examples of place names with a similar etymology might include:


 * Isle of Wight : The island that lifts up out of the sea

Anglicisation of Old Norse
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 (seave)
Place name examples in the English Lake District:


 * Seathwaite, Borrowdale, Cumbria.
 * Seathwaite, Duddon Valley, Cumbria.
 * Seavy Side, Mosedale, near Haweswater Reservoir, Cumbria.
 * Candleseaves Bog, Skiddaw Forest.

Place name examples in England:


 * Seamore Tarn, near High Cup Nick, Cumbria.


 * Seavy Rigg, Swindale Beck near Brough, Cumbria.


 * Candleseaves Sike near Rogan's Seat, Swaledale, North Yorkshire.


 * Seavy Sike near Tan Hill, North Yorkshire.

Place name examples (saeter)
The local dialect word saeter is borrowed from Old Norse sætr.

Place name examples in the English Lake District :


 * Seat Sandal : Sandulfr’s sætr or Sandal’s summer pasture or shieling
 * Seatoller ('Seat-oller') : Olafr’s sætr
 * Seatallan ('Seat-allan') : Aleyn's sætr

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 :


 * Hugh Seat, Mallerstang, on the border between Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
 * Ravenseat Farm, Whitsun Dale at the head of Swaledale.
 * Robert's Seat (near Ravenseat Farm).
 * Alderson Seat (near Ravenseat Farm).
 * Satron (sætr, tûn) (village, side, moor, tarn) near Gunnerside, Swaledale.
 * Rogan's Seat, Northern Dales, Stainmore Gap to Swaledale
 * Great Pinseat near Reeth, Northern Dales, Stainmore Gap to Swaledale
 * Lovely Seat (Lunasett) Northern Dales, Swaledale to Wensleydale

Oxford in the Viking age
Timeline for Oxford and Abingdon Abbey in the Viking Age, in the context of other events.