Godwin Carpenter (abt. 1100 - aft. 1148)

Born about 1100 in Suffolk, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1148 after about age 48 in Suffolk, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Godwinus carpentar', is one of the many witnesses to a charter in which Anselm, Abbot of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, grants Leo and his heirs land at Bury, Westley, Fornham, Hengrave, Chevington and Saxham, all in Suffolk.^[1]

The charter is not dated, though it is given as between 1121-1148.^[1] when Anselm was Abbot at Bury St Edmunds, though technically Anselm was elected Bishop of London in 1136 and was in Rome in November 1138, but returned as Abbot of Bury St Edmund that year until his death on 3 January 1148. The charter Godwin signed had to be dated 1121-1136 or 1138-1148.^[2]

Although Godwin is cited by The Oxford dictionary of family names in Britain and Ireland, as an early bearer of the name Carpenter,^[3]it's clear from the charter that 'carpentar' is still designating his occupation, and is not his surname if he had one at all, as it is not capitalised, nor is it entered as 'de Carpentar' as for other signatories.

This charter appears to be the only record of Godwin that is known.

As we don't know when the document was dated, we can't in reality know with any exactness when Godwin lived. The current dates on his profile, indicate that if it was signed early in the designated time period, then Godwin had to have been an adult, and if it was signed later in that time period, Godwin had to be still alive. They could however be 10 or 20 years either side of those dates. He presumably lived his life in Suffolk, if not in Bury St Edmunds.

False Carpenter Genealogy

A genealogy or perhaps several genealogies, attempt to join many members with the name or trade of Carpenter into the one family and Godwin is given a father and a child or children, when none are specified in the sole document we have.

As it was proposed without any evidence that the originator of this family line was William (Guillaume), Vicomte de Melun, who participated in the first crusade and was given the nickname 'the Carpenter'.^{[citation needed]}Godwin is given an ancestry making William de Melun an ancestor and he is sometimes said to be born in Melun.

He is also equated in some genealogies^[4] with a Gaufrido Carpentario, who is a witness to a charter of Jordan de Champernon, confirming his brother Richard's gift to canons of Plessis and Ivrande, in the Diocese of Bayeux. The charter is undated but is presumably dated to about 1189-1199 as are the charters either side of this one.^[5]

However Godwinus and Gaufrido are definitely not variations on the same name as the genealogy suggests.^[4] Nor does there seem to be any reason why Godwinus would be in Normandy, and lastly, even if Godwin signed the Bury St Edmunds charter at the latest possible date, in 1148, it is still unlikely he would still be alive to be witnessing charters in the late 12th century. Though this is presumably why his death is sometimes recorded in St Stephen, Bayeux, Normandy, France in 1194.^[4]

Raymond George Carpenter, American Genealogist: "In1121 A.D. a Godwin Carpenter resided in Suffolk County, England."

Godwin is either the father or direct relative to Ailric or RobertCarpenter. Godwin was probably born in France, but no record is listed until a Suffolk record of 1121 and 114? (not readable) in which of the latter date he was probably the 1 CONC scribe. He is believed to be the descendant of William the Carpenter, b. abt 1098.

If what Raymond George Carpenter wrote about is true, then William the Carpenter whose son Godwin, who was of age in Suffolk, England in1121 AD He would have been over 21 years of age or born about or before 1100.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Feudal documents from the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, ed. by D.C. Douglas, vol. 8 of The British Academy records of the social and economic history of England and Wales (london: Oxford University Press, 1932.) 119-120. Digital image, HathiTrust, https://www.hathitrust.org : accessed 6 July 2020.
2. ↑ Knowles, David, Brooke, C.N.L. & London, Vera C.M., (eds), The heads of religious houses: England & Wales, vol 1. 940-1216, 2nd ed. (Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2001). pp. 32 & 242.
3. ↑ The Oxford dictionary of family names in Britain and Ireland, ed. by Patrick Hanks, Richard Coates & Peter McClure (Oxford University Press, 2016). Online database, Oxford Reference (https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780199677764.001.0001 : accessed 23 December 2023.)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Carpenter, John R., Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2001: A print version of the Carpenter CD Project 2001 (self-published, 2001). p. 25 (image 50 of 222)Digital image, FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/382990-carpenters-encyclopedia-of-carpenters-william-carpenter-born-23-may-1605-of-wiltshire-england-and-who-died-7-february-1658-59-his-ancestors-and-descendants-a-study-of-the-rehoboth-ma-branch-of-the-carpenter-family-in-america-vol-a?offset=3 : accessed 8 July 2020).
5. ↑ Round, J. Horace, (ed.), Calendar of documents preserved in France, illustrative of the history of Great Britain and Ireland: Vol. 1. A.D. 918-1206 (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1899). p. 195, no. 563. Digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 8 July 2020).

See also:

• Carpenter, Bruce Edwin, Carpenter-Charpenter, Carpentier_Charpentier: Addendum to Brewer's memoir of the town clerk of London, (http://web.archive.org/web/20070103052704/http://st.tezukayama-u.ac.jp/~carp/CLERK.htm#_ednref12 : accessed 6 July 2020).