Slavery in Coleshill, Berkshire: Wynflæd and Her Last Will and Testament, Part One

Wynflæd was an independent woman who owned several estates outright, one being Coleshill, Berkshire, the object of my hike this episode. She was a good indicator, in the record, of some sexual equality in the Early Medieval period (Dark Ages). But there were some important indications of quite horrible inequality, noticably the explicit references to slavery and slaves in her will. #coleshill #berkshire #wynflæd #wynflaed #slavery
These history walk videos are about the English landscape in and around the south west of England (though I make the odd foray into Wales). I often use ancient charters (such as Saxon charters) to give me insight into the way the landscape was viewed in the past.
But it is not the Saxons that interest me the mostv (though they do) but the prehistoric world and its ancient monuments, trackways and ditches.
#Archaeology #oldenglishcharters #antiquarians #historywalks #britishhistory

[@chitraprints]

Interesting to hear about this.. Thanks

[@WC21UKProductionsLtd]

Very interesting.
Can we begin to imagine what it must have been like to be a freed slave? What do you do next and how do you process what’s been done to you? Mind boggling.

[@AllotmentFox]

The Greek philosopher Epictetus was himself a freed slave. He talks about slavery, sometimes unsatisfactorily. There isn't any condemnation, for example

[@standingbadger]

Really fascinating. I wonder whether Wynflaed was an outlier of her time in terms of her thinking around slave ownership? Interesting names too: some of them sound like they may have a Norse/Scandinavian origin, like Elsa, or Germanic origin like Garsend - possibly from Gersende, while others seem of Roman import.

[@AllotmentFox]

Oh my, that’s interesting! So, international market in human beings rather than a subject Celtic people. That’s my theory blown, but blown in a very interesting way.

[@andymcgeechan8318]

@@AllotmentFox Eric Bloodaxe was a notorious slave trader, and one time king, operating between Ireland and Russia

[@iainmc9859]

Yeah, we tend to associate 'slavery' with the trading of people from Africa but our Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Norman ancestors did the same and serfdom in the medieval period was pretty much the same, churls and villians didn't own any land and they weren't allowed to remove themselves from their lord's estate. It wasn't until the Black Death swept through Britain that there was such a crisis in man(woman)power that ordinary people could scarper and head for a wage earning job (I know you know this, I'm just putting it on the record).
A couple of those 'slaves' names sound Celtic, Gersand and Bunac, but the majority were probably just local unfortunates; a multi-generational underclass ... some things never change.

[@AllotmentFox]

Thank you for that info about the Celtic names. I tend to think of slavery as an ancient institution rather than one from the modern period. It does show how they conditions that encourage it can resurface at different times. God help us.