DOMESDAY SURVEY from his lord.' 1 It is very unusual, however, to find as here both these pre- positions used with reference to the tenure of the same land at the same time. In general the consideration of difficult identifications is reserved for the notes, but a few words on the subject may be in place here. The number of Derbyshire place names which have resisted all attempts at theij: identification is rather considerable, but we have to remember, first, taat most of these names refer to places which even at the date of the Survey must have been very unimportant, and, secondly, that no reliance can be placed upon the forms of proper names in the Survey. Thus Alfreton appears as ' Elstretune,' 3 Trusley as 'Toxenai,' Duffield as ' Duvelle,' Bubnell as ' Bubenenli,' and Sinfin as ' Sedenefeld.' Dalbury is represented in one entry by ' Delbebi,' in another by ' Dellingeberie ' ; ' Bredelawe ' and ' Braidelei ' both stand for Bradley, as do ' Hoogen ' and ' Hoge ' for Hoon. Mere carelessness as to exact spelling on the part of the compilers of Domesday is not the only cause of our perplexities, we have also to be on our guard against scribal errors. Thus ' Dulvestune ' undoubtedly represents Edlaston, the initial E having probably dropped off in the process of transcription, while the latter part of one name, ' Ravenes . . .,' is quite illegible in the manuscript. Ilkeston appears with an initial T ; this however is possibly not a mistake, but represents the final letter of the Anglo-Saxon preposition 'ast' (at), which was frequently compounded with place names in the period before the Conquest. 3 In one case in the county we are supplied with alternative spellings of a place name. The scribe had rendered the modern Osleston as ' Oswardestune,' and then without deleting his mistake * added the letters c laves ' above the line. When all these considerations are taken into account it will not seem surprising that a number of place names in the county refuse to be resolved into their modern equivalents. One of the most extraordinary names in the county is ' Muchedeswelle,' which occurs twice over, once on the king's land as a berewick of the manor of Hope, and once on the fief of Henry de Ferrers in association with Wormhill. It is therefore evident that it must have lain in the north-west of the county in the neighbourhood of the Upper Wye and Dove, and with this clue to its general position and having regard also to its double ownership in Domesday the problem might appear to be simplified, for we should expect to find the place divided in later times between William Peverel, representing the king in these parts, and the Earls of Derby, the heirs of Henry de Ferrers. King Sterndale and Earl Sterndale in fact lying on the Dove south of Buxton might seem reasonably to represent ' Muche- deswelle ' were it not that William Peverel's portion of Sterndale already within fifteen years of Domesday appears in his charter to Lenton Priory as Stauredal. 6 We cannot reasonably accept so quick a name 1 Dom. Bk. and Beyond, 154, with reference to land in Cambridgeshire. 1 The uncorrupted form of this name, ' -iElfredingtune,' is preserved in the will of Wulfric Spot. 8 On this point see Mr. Plummer's edition of Bede, ii. pp. 103-104.
- Deletion in Domesday is to be understood by the scribe drawing a line underneath the words to
be considered erased. 5 Dugdale, Mm. v. ill. 325
