Our Frost Family History Through Eighteen Generations

Our Frost name is of Scandinavian origin and is common today in Denmark and in those parts of Europe that were overrun by the Danish Viking pirates a thousand or more years ago. It seems certain that our ancestors were brought into England by the Danes in the ninth century as the Frosts were in England before the Norman Conquest.

Vikings in England

The word Viking means one who lurks in a 'vik' or bay, in effect, a pirate. The Danes began their invasions in 793 in the north at Lindisfarne, in the Kingdom of Lindsey, which is considered to be the beginning of the Viking Age in England. Alcuin, a Northumbrian scholar in Charlemagne's court at the time, wrote: "Never before has such terror appeared in Britain as we have now suffered from a pagan race. . . .The heathens poured out the blood of saints around the altar, and trampled on the bodies of saints in the temple of God, like dung in the streets."

During the early 9th century, Wessex, in south England, became the dominant kingdom. In the 9th century the Vikings invaded in earnest. King Alfred the Great (871-899) held them to the lands in the Danelaw (map). Many legends were told of Alfred, the favorite one being that once he visited the Danes' camp as a minstrel to assess the enemy's forces. Click the image to see a larger illustration.

In 865, Ragnar Lodbrok, invaded Northumbria and Ragnar, captured by King Ælla, was thrown to his death in a pit of vipers. Ragnar's younger sons, Björn Ironside, Ubbe, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, and Hvitserk tried to avenge their father's death but were beaten back by King Ælla's warriors. Ivar the Boneless, the eldest and wisest son, went to King Ælla to seek reconciliation by asking for only as much land as could be covered by an ox hide swearing to never again wage war against the king. Ivar cut the ox hide into strands so fine that he could envelope a large fortress to take as his own. Early sagas record the fortress as York but whether this is a fable or is true is not known. Still seeking vengeance on Ragnar's death, King Ælla was captured and a 'just' punishment was sought to avenge their father. Ivar suggested that they carve the "blood eagle" on his back. According to popular belief, this meant that Ælla's back was cut open, the ribs pulled from his spine, and his lungs pulled out to form 'wings'.

From Southampton in Hants County England History and Geography: Southampton, a seaport, borough, and market town, and a county of itself, under the designation of 'The Town and County of the Town of Southampton,' locally in the county of Hants, 75 miles (S.W. by W.) from London. This place probably derives its name from the ancient British Ant, the original name of one of the rivers which empty themselves into its fine estuary. To the northeast of the present town, on the opposite bank of the Itchen, the Romans had a military station, called Clausentum, which was succeeded by the Saxon town of Hantune, on the site of the present Southampton. In 838, the Danes, with a fleet of thirty-three ships, effected a landing on the coast, but were repulsed with considerable loss by Wulphere, governor of the southern part of the county, under Ethelwolf; and in 860 they again penetrated into the county, and burned the city of Winchester. In the reign of Athelstan, two mints were established here. In 981, a party of Danish pirates having made a descent from seven large vessels, plundered the town, and laid waste the neighbouring coast. In the reign of Ethelred II, Sweyn, King of Denmark, and Olave, King of Norway, landed here with a considerable force, plundered and burned the town, massacred the inhabitants, and committed the most dreadful depredations in the surrounding country, till Ethelred purchased peace by the payment of £16,000, on the receipt of which, the invaders retired to Hantune, where they embarked for their own kingdom.

It's very likely that our ancestor was in one of the Danish groups who invaded in 838 and 860 with the Viking pirates led by the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok. If our Frost ancestors were in the later invasion with the kings of Denmark and Norway, they most likely settled in the area near Southampton. Some of the last Viking invasions were around the southern area of England near present day Southampton near the area where Alwin Frost settled as he was listed as a Lord in the Domesday Book until 1066, after the Norman conquest.

From piracy to piety. The next record of our name is in 1135, in Cambridge, England, when Henry Frost founded the Hospital of the Brothers of Saint John the Evangelist. Out of this hospital grew Saint John's College, founded in 1509, which stands on the identical lot given by Henry Frost nearly eight hundred years ago. Henry Frost had a son, Robert, who bestowed a message on the Priors of Saint Johns. However, the text of the message has not been discovered. Early in the next century, the direct descendants of Henry of Cambridge settled in County Suffolk. Click on the image to see a larger photo of Saint Johns College.

While early records of the Frost name were scattered though various documents, we have no direct links until we come to William Frost from Glemsford, Suffolk, who was born about 1495. From there, we can trace our direct descendants for eighteen generations.

The menu on the left gives details about each ancestor and clicking on a name will take you to a separate page about that person.