In the truly historical age, the clan system seems to have died out, and each person bore, as a rule, only a single personal name. These names are almost invariably compounded of two elements, and the elements thus employed were comparatively few in number. Thus, we get the root _æthel_, noble, as the first half in Æthelred, Æthelwulf, Æthelberht, Æthelstan, and Æthelbald. Again, the root _ead_, rich, or powerful, occurs in Eadgar, Eadred, Eadward, Eadwine, and Eadwulf. _Ælf_, an elf, forms the prime element in Ælfred, Ælfric, Ælfwine, Ælfward, and Ælfstan. These were the favourite names of the West-Saxon royal house; the Northumbrian kings seem rather to have affected the syllable _os_, divine, as in Oswald, Oswiu, Osric, Osred, and Oslaf. _Wine_, friend, is a favourite termination found in Æscwine, Eadwine, Æthelwine, Oswine, and Ælfwine, whose meanings need no further explanation. _Wulf_ appears as the first half in Wulfstan, Wulfric, Wulfred, and Wulfhere; while it forms the second half in Æthelwulf, Eadwulf, Ealdwulf, and Cenwulf. _Beorht_, _berht_, or _briht_, bright, or glorious, appears in Beorhtric, Beorhtwulf, Brihtwald; Æthelberht, Ealdbriht, and Eadbyrht. _Burh_, a fortress, enters into many female names, as Eadburh, Æthelburh, Sexburh, and Wihtburh. As a rule, a certain number of syllables seem to have been regarded as proper elements for forming personal names, and to have been combined somewhat fancifully, without much regard to the resulting meaning. The following short list of such elements, in addition to the roots given above, will suffice to explain most of the names mentioned in this work. _Helm_: helmet. _Gar_: spear. _Gifu_: gift. _Here_: army. _Sige_: victory. _Cyne_: royal. _Leof_: dear. _Wig_: war. _Stan_: stone. _Eald_: old, venerable. _Weard_, _ward_: ward, protection. _Red_: counsel. _Eeg_: edge, sword. _Theod_: people, nation. By combining these elements with those already given most of the royal or noble names in use in early England were obtained. With the people, however, it would seem that shorter and older forms were still in vogue. The following document, the original of which is printed in Kemble's collection, represents the pedigree of a serf, and is interesting, both as showing the sort of names in use among the servile class, and the care with which their family relationships were recorded, in order to preserve the rights of their lord.