Wadard was an 11th-century Norman nobleman who is mentioned 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086, and is depicted in the

Bayeux Tapestry The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...

. Wadard was a noble who travelled to England in 1066 with Duke William of Normandy. He is depicted and named in the Bayeux Tapestry on a foraging expedition, and may have been in the logistics section of William's army. His portrait suggests that he held a senior rank. By the time of the

, Wadard is recorded as a tenant of Odo, bishop of Bayeux, holding estates amounting to about 1,260

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

s in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

and elsewhere, and providing him with an income of around £127. His holdings included Farningham, Combe, and six houses in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, in Kent;

Cassington Cassington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire about northwest of Oxford. The village lies on gravel strata about from the confluence of the River Evenlode with the River Thames. The parish includes the Ha ...

, Thrupp, Cogges, and Little Tew in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, Thames Ditton in Surrey; and Glentham in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. The 14th century chronicler William Thorne states that Scolland, Abbot of St Augustine's Abbey granted Wadard certain land in Northbourne for life, on condition that "he pay every year on the feast of

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

the sum of 30 shillings, together with a tenth part of everything he derived from the land". He is recorded as a witness to a land grant to the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Préaux in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, and he was also a tenant of St Augustine's Abbey.

Family

*His son Rainald held two estates from Odo at Somerton and Fritwell, adjoining his father's estate at Fringford. *Two other sons, named Martin and Simon, are mentioned in the cartulary of the Abbey of Préaux.

References

Sources

*{{cite book , last1=Crossley , first1=Alan , last2=Elrington , first2=C.R. (eds.) , authorlink2=Christopher Elrington , last3=Baggs , first3=A.P. , last4=Blair , first4=W.J. , last5=Chance , first5=Eleanor , last6=Colvin , first6=Christina , last7=Cooper , first7=Janet , last8=Day , first8=C.J. , last9=Selwyn , first9=Nesta , last10=Townley , first10=Simon C. , year=1990 , title=A History of the County of Oxford , volume=12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock , series=

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

, place=London , publisher=

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for the

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, isbn=978-0-19722-774-9 , pages=36–54 , url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/oxon/vol12 , ref={{harvid, Crossley, Elrington, 1990 Year of birth unknown Anglo-Normans Norman warriors Companions of William the Conqueror Norman conquest of England