Three acres of garden for the monks at Rochester Priory, c.1088-c.1094 AD

Account of Gilbert the Priest entering the monastic life, c.1091-1110

The account of Gilbert entering the monastic life and bishop Gundulf’s subsequent dealings with his relatives over land, c.1091–c.1100¹. Textus Roffensis, ff. 213v–214v². Translated from Latin and edited by Dr Christopher Monk.

Transcription

213v (select folio number to open facsimile)

De
_Postea³ uero non multo tempore Eastuna.
contigit ipsum Gislebertum mutasse habitum et uitam secularem
in uitam et habitum monachi apud Rofecestram. Iisdem
diebus remansit manerium Estuna quod situm est in
comitatu de Gloecestra, in manu praefati Radulfi filii
Gisleberti, et Osmundi generis Gisleberti. Qui ambo
regiis exactionibus tantum fuerunt grauati, ut uix
amplius hoc possent pati. Erant enim illis di-
ebus consuetudines regis grauissimę atque du-

214r

rissimę, per totum regnum Anglię. Itaque uenien-
tes pariter uterque ad domnum episcopum Gundul-
fum, rogauerunt illum quatinus propter Deum et
honorem suum manerium ipsum a rege requireret.
Quod si obtinere posset, de illo ulterius mane-
rium ipsum tenerent. Quo audito episcopus, quam ci-
tius potuit regem impigre adiit. Amicorum itaque
apud regem usus auxilio, tandem obtinuit
quod petiit. Dedit ergo episcopus Willelmo regi magni
( ) regis Willelmi filio xv libras denariorum, et
unam mulam quę bene ualebat centum solidos.
Isto tali ordine obtinuit Gundulfus episcopus praedi-
ctum manerium Estunam. Quod postquam ita
factum est, statim Radulfus et Osmundus deue-
nerunt homines episcopi, et ita tenuerunt ipsum
manerium de episcopo. Veruntamen non multo tempore
post iterum pariter requisierunt episcopum, rogan-
tes illum ut propter Deum illas quattuor hidas terrę
de Estuna, cambiret illis pro duabus hidis terrę
infra Hed>enm.⁴ Non enim ullatenus pati po-
terant amplius et malas consuetudines praedi-
dicti comitatus, et uiam longinquam ab Hed>en<-
ham et laborem magnum quem propterea sepissime
sustinebant. Accepto ergo consilio episcopus, fecit

214v

illis partim iuxta peticionem eorum, sed non
in omnibus. Dedit nanque Radulfo unam hidam
terrę, Osmundo uero non nisi dimidiam. Debebat
enim Osmundus episcopo quinquaginta solidos
denariorum pro multis placitis quę super eum
episcopus habuerat, et quia episcopus clamauit Os-
mundum quietum de ipsis quinquaginta soli-
dis et querelis multis, ideo econtra non rece-
pit ab episcopo nisi dimidiam hidam terrę. Et isto
modo habuit ipse episcopus ipsum praedictum ma-
nerium, ita liberum et quietum ab omni calumnia,
sicut Goda comitissa illud habuit unquam
melius in suo dominico tempore regis Eaduuar-
di. Dum hoc ita fuit, precepit episcopus domno Willelmo
monacho Rofensi praeposito de Hed>enm cu-
ram accipere eiusdem manerii, et monachis
ęcclesię Sancti Andreę singulis annis firmam
octo dierum inde reddere. Et quidem iuste,
quoniam terrae illae quę datę fuerunt pro ipsius
manerii cambitione fuerant primum de He-
d>enm quod penitus erat et est ad uictum
ipsorum monachorum.

Translation

See Translation Notes

Concerning Aston:⁵

Afterwards, indeed, it soon happened that Gilbert himself exchanged the secular condition and mode of life for the monastic condition and mode of life at Rochester. During this time the manor of Aston, which is situated in the county of Gloucester, remained in the hands of the aforementioned Ralf, Gilbert’s son, and Gilbert’s relative Osmund, both of whom were so greatly burdened by payments to the king that they should scarcely have been able to endure such any longer.⁶ Moreover, at this time, the heaviest and harshest customs of the king were [levied] throughout the entire kingdom of England.⁷ Consequently, on both coming together before the lord bishop Gundulf,⁸ they asked, on account of God and his honour, to what extent he was seeking this very manor from the king, and if it were possible to obtain from him at some future stage this manor they were holding.⁹ Upon hearing this the bishop, as soon as he could, went promptly to the king. Therefore, having made use of the assistance of friends near the king, he finally obtained that for which he had petitioned. And so the bishop gave to King William,¹⁰ son of great King William,¹¹ fifteen pounds of silver and one mule, which was rightly valued at one hundred shillings.

By such means bishop Gundulf obtained Aston, the aforementioned manor. And immediately after that happened, Ralf and Osmund came to the men of the bishop and immediately took possession of this very manor from the bishop.¹² Nevertheless, not long after, both sought out the bishop a second time, asking him if, on account of God, he would exchange with them those four hides of land of Aston for two hides of land below Haddenham. No longer indeed in any respect whatsoever were they able to endure, neither the bad customs of the aforementioned county nor the extensive labour needed for the long road from Haddenham, which they were most frequently having to support. Therefore, having accepted counsel, the bishop acted for them according to their petition, but in part, not in all things, insomuch as he gave to Ralf one hide of land and, indeed, to Osmund no more than a half. For Osmund was yet indebted to the bishop for fifty shillings of tithings due to the many pleas that the bishop had made against him, and despite the fact that the bishop had peacefully called on Osmund concerning those fifty shilling and with many a lament; therefore, on account of this, he did not receive from the bishop anything except the half a hide of land. And so in that manner the bishop himself held that aforementioned manor, that is, with freedom and peace from dispute, just as the Countess Goda¹³ rightly held it in demesne at the time of King Edward.¹⁴ For as long as this was so, the bishop gave orders to master William, a monk of Rochester, steward of Haddenham, to accept the responsibility for this manor also,¹⁵ and from there every year to render eight days of food rent to the monks of the church of Saint Andrew.¹⁶ And this is just, because those lands given which were exchanged for this manor were in the first place from Haddenham, which was and is entirely for the living of these very monks.

Footnotes

1 This is an account of events that took place sometime after the levying of high taxes by William II (‘Rufus’) in 1091 and the king’s death in 1100. It was likely copied from an original document into Textus Roffensis by the main scribe around 1123, though the first part of it was re-written by a later twelfth-century scribe as part of a replacement folio (f. 123).

2 This document follows on from ‘Bishop Gundulf confirms a grant by Gilbert the priest of three hides of land at Haddenham in exchange for Gilbert entering the monastic life, Textus Roffensis, ff. 213r–213v’, which is also available here.

3 There is a green ‘gallows-pole’ (or the Greek capital letter gamma), now faded, placed to the left of the red display letter ‘P’. This symbol is often used in Textus Roffensis to mark the beginning of a new document.

4 Hedenham (Haddenham): a later scribe has altered the spelling from Hedreham. This is repeated several times further on in the document. Hedenham is the spelling used in the previous document which appears on the replacement folio (f. 213), written in a later hand, whereas Hedreham is the spelling in Domesday Book (1086): available here [accessed 06.03.18].

5 Corresponding to present-day Aston Subedge in Gloucestershire.

6 Ralf and Osmund were evidently tenant owners of the king’s manor at Aston.

7 Customs: in this context, customary payments, i.e. taxes, to the crown.

8 Gundulf, bishop of Rochester, 1077–1108.

9 That is, Ralf and Osmund asked Gundulf if he would buy the estate at Aston from the king so that they would have a kinder lord in the bishop.

10 William II (‘Rufus’), r. 1087–1100.

11 William I (‘the Conqueror’), r. 1066–87.

12 That is, Ralf and Osmund became tenants of Aston with Gundulf as the new lord of the manor.

13 Goda, also known by her Old English name, Godgifu (‘gift of God’), was the daughter of King Æthelred the Unready (r. 978–1016) and his queen, Emma of Normandy (d. 1052), and thus the sister of Edward the Confessor (r. 1042–66). She is likely the same Goda whose illuminated gospel book ended up in the medieval library of Rochester Cathedral. This gospel book has recently been digitised: available here [accessed 05.03.18]. Countess Goda is recorded in Domesday Book as the owner (i.e. the lord) of Aston in 1066: available here [accessed 05.03.18].

14 ‘in demesne’, translating in dominico. ‘Demesne. […] land held for the lord’s own use rather than let or leased’: A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases, ed. Christopher Corèdon with Ann Williams (D. S. Brewer, 2005). Dominicus, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, ‘3c. demesne, land held for lord’s use’: available here [accessed 06.03.18].

15 i.e. Aston.

16 The Rochester Cathedral priory at which bishop Gundulf was prior.

Dispute between Bishop Gundulf and Pichot, Sheriff of Cambridge, a.1087

The dispute between bishop Gundulf and Pichot, sheriff of Cambridge, after 1087¹. Textus Roffensis, ff. 175r–176v. Translated and edited by Dr Christopher Monk.

Transcription

175r (select folio number to open facsimile)

De

contentione inter Gundulfum et Pichot:

175v

_Tempore² Uuillelmi regis Anglorum magni, pa-
tris Uuillelmi regis eiusdem gentis, fuit
quędam contentio inter Gundulfum Hrofensem
episcopum et Pichot uicecomitem de Grendebruge,
pro quadam terra quę erat de Frachenham et ia-
cebat in Giselham, quam quidam regis seruiens
Olchete nomine, uicecomite dante praesumpse-
rat occupare. Hanc enim uicecomes regis
esse terram dicebat, sed episcopus eandem beati Andreę
potius esse affirmabat. Qua re, ante regem ue-
nerunt. Rex uero pręcepit ut omnes illius co-
mitatus homines congregarentur, et eorum iudi-
cio cuius terra deberet rectius esse probaretur. Illi autem congregati, terram illam regis esse po-
tius quam beati Andreę, timore uicecomitis af-
firmauerunt. Sed cum eis Baiocensis episcopus qui
placito illi praeerat non bene crederet, praecepit
ut si uerum esse quod dicebant scirent, ex se ipsis
duodecim eligerent, qui quod omnes dixerant
iureiurando confirmarent. Illi autem cum ad
consilium secessissent, et inibi a uicecomite per in-
ternuntium conterriti fuissent, reuertentes
uerum esse quod dixerant iurauerunt. Hi
autem fuerunt, Eaduuardus de Cipenham,

176r

Heruldus et Leofuuine saca de Exninge, Eadric
de Giselham, Wfuuine de Landuuade, Ordmer
de Berlingeham, et alii sex de melioribus comi-
tatus. Quo facto, terra in manu regis reman-
sit. Eodem uero anno monachus quidam GRIM
nomine quasi a domino missus ad episcopum uenit. Qui cum audiret hoc quod illi iurauerant,
nimium admirans et eos detestans omnes esse
periuros affirmauit. Ipse enim monachus diu
prepositus de Frachenham extiterat, et ex eadem
terra seruitia et costumas ut de aliis terris
de Frachenham susceperat, et unum ex eisdem qui
iurauerant in eodem manerio sub se habuerat. Quod postquam episcopus Hrofensis audiuit, ad episcopum
Baiocensem uenit, et monachi uerba per ordi-
nem narrauit. Quę ut episcopus audiuit, mona-
chum ad se uenire fecit, et ab ipso illa eadem
didicit. Post hęc uero unum ex illis qui iuraue-
rant ad se fecit uenire, qui statim ad eius
pedes procidens confessus est se periurum esse. Hinc autem cum illum qui prius iurauerat
ad se uenire fecisset, requisitus se periurum esse
similiter confessus est. Denique mandauit
uicecomiti ut reliquos obuiam sibi Londoniam

176v

mitteret, et alios duodecim de melioribus eiusdem
comitatus, qui quod illi iurauerant, uerum esse
confirmauerant. Illuc quoque fecit uenire
multos ex melioribus totius Anglię baronibus. Quibus omnibus Londonię congregatis, iudicatum est
tam a Francis quam ab Anglis illos omnes periuros
esse, quandoquidem ille post quem alii iurauerant,
se periurum esse fatebatur. Quibus tali iudicio
condemnatis, episcopus Hrofensis terram suam ut
iustum erat habuit. Alii autem duodecim
cum uellent affirmare iis qui iurauerant
se non consensisse, Baiocensis episcopus dixit, ut hoc
ipsum iudicio ferri probarent. Quod quia se fa-
cturos promiserunt, et facere non potuerunt,
cum alii sui comitatus hominibus trecentas libras
regi dederunt.

Translation

See Translation Notes

The dispute between Gundulf and Pichot:

In the time of William, the great king of the English,³ father of King William of the same people,⁴ there was a certain dispute between Gundulf, bishop of Rochester,⁵ and Pichot,⁶ the sheriff of Cambridge, about certain land which belonged to Freckenham and which was situated in Gisleham,⁷ which a certain servant of the king, named Olchete, had presumed to occupy by grant of the sheriff. For the sheriff said this land was the king’s but the bishop affirmed that, rather, this very land was St Andrew’s.⁸ Therefore, they came before the king. And, indeed, the king ordered that all the men of that county be assembled and by their judgements it should be agreed to whom the land rightfully belonged.

However, those assembled affirmed, out of fear of the sheriff, that the land belonged to the king rather than to St Andrew. But when the bishop of Bayeux,⁹ who was presiding over that assembly, did not entirely believe them, he ordered that if they knew what they said to be true, then they should choose twelve from among themselves who should confirm with an oath what they had all said. Once, however, these ones withdrew to deliberate, and were there intimidated by the sheriff, via his intermediary, they swore on returning that what they had said was indeed true. These men were Edward of Chippenham; Harold and Leofwine, sake-holders of Exiling;¹⁰ Eadric of Gisleham; Wulfwine of Landwade; Ordmer of Berlingham; and six others from among the nobles of the county. That done, the land remained in the hand of the king.

In the same year, however, a certain monk named Grim, as if sent by the Lord, came to the bishop. When he heard what they had sworn by oath, greatly astonished and cursing, he affirmed them all to be perjured. For the monk himself had long since been steward of Freckenham, and out of that same land had received services and customs, as from all the other lands of Freckenham, and had had under him in that estate one from among those who had sworn the oath.

After the bishop of Rochester heard this, he came to the bishop of Bayeux and recounted the monk’s words. When the bishop heard this, he made the monk come to him, and he learned the same thing from him. Indeed, after this, he made one from among those who swore the oath come to him, who, immediately placing himself at [the bishop’s] feet, confessed to have perjured himself.

When, moreover, he made the one who first swore the oath come to him, he too, on being asked, confessed to have perjured himself. Finally, he ordered the sheriff to send the rest to meet him at London, as well as another twelve of the nobles of that county who had confirmed to be true what the others swore. And there also he made to come many from among the noble barons of all England.

When everyone had been gathered at London, it was judged, equally by the French as by the English, that all these ones were perjured, in that their swearing had followed that of the one who had admitted to perjuring himself. These ones having now been condemned by such justice, the bishop of Rochester thus had his land, as is just. But since the other twelve then wished to affirm that they themselves had not consented to that which the others swore on oath, the bishop of Bayeux said that they would have to prove this by the judgment of [hot] iron. Because they themselves promised to do this, but were unable to do so, they then, with the other men of their county, paid thirty pounds to the king.

Footnotes

1 This account was evidently originally written down sometime after William II took the throne in 1087, as he is referred to in the opening sentence. This was then later copied into Textus Roffensis by the main scribe around 1123. The events referred to took place sometime between the commencement of Gundulf’s bishopric in 1077 and the fall from grace and imprisonment of Odo, bishop of Bayeux, in 1082.

2 Tempore…

3 William I, ‘the Conqueror’, r. 1066–87.

4 William II, ‘Rufus’, r. 1087–1100.

5 Bishop Gundulf, r. 1077–1108.

6 Sometimes known as Picot.

7 Both in modern-day Suffolk.

8 That is, it belonged to the priory of Rochester Cathedral. Gundulf was not only bishop of Rochester but also prior of the monastery.

9 Odo, William I’s half-brother, and also earl of Kent, d. 1097.

10 ‘sake-holders’, translating saca, and likely indicating they were holders of certain land rights (‘sake and soke’); see saca, Dcitionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources: available here [accessed 06.03.18].

Concerning the Mercian Oath, early-11th-century

Several codes within Textus Roffensis provide information on the payment of wergild (the legal value set on a person’s life according to rank) within Mercian society.

The title is based on the rubric in the Cambridge manuscript, Corpus Christi College, MS 201, p. 102. This short legal tract is essentially an extract from a larger one composed, most likely, by Wulfstan, archbishop of York (r. 1002–23). However, Wulfstan added the clause comparing oaths of mass-priests and thegns and also the clause mentioning ‘the seven orders of the church’ to earlier Mercian material which forms the clause concerning the ‘twelfth-hundred man’, and which may date to as early as the ninth-century. See Patrick Wormald, The Making of English Law: King Alfred to the Twelfth Century, vol. 1 (Blackwell, 1999), pp. 392–94.

The text was copied by the principal scribe of Textus Roffensis, who completed his work around 1123.

Transcription

39v (select folio number to open facsimile)

_Mæssepreostes að, ⁊ woruldþegenes is on En-
gla lage geteald efendyre.⁊ for þam seofon
cyrichadan þe se mæssepreost þurh Godes
gife geþeah þæt he hæfde he bið þegenrihtes
wyrþe. _Twelfhyndes mannes að, forstent vi ceorla aþ,
for ðam gif man þone twelfhyndan >man< wrecan
sceolde, he bið full wrecen on syx ceorlan, ⁊ his
wergyld bið vi ceorla wergyld.

Translation

An oath of a mass-priest and of a worldly thegn is in English law reckoned as equally dear.

And because the mass-priest received what he had through God’s gift of the seven orders of the church, he will have the rights of a thegn.

An oath of a twelve-hundred man is equal to an oath of six ceorls,¹ because if one should avenge the twelve-hundred man, he will be fully avenged on six ceorls, and his wergild is the wergild of six ceorls.

Footnotes

1 A ceorl (or ‘churl’) was a freeman of the lowest order. This text refers to a king’s wergild and therefore can be seen as old-fashioned, as kings in Mercia had long ceased by the time Wulfstan either wrote or emended the law-code, the last king being Ceolwulf II who died in 879.

History of the estates of Bromley and Fawkham, 980-987

History of the estates of Bromley and Fawkham, Kent, in the time of King Eadgar¹ and immediately afterwards,² 980–987³. Textus Roffensis, ff. 162v–163v. Translated from Old English and edited by Dr Christopher Monk.

Transcription

162v (select folio number to open facsimile)

De Falchehan, ⁊ Bromleage.⁴
þus wæron ða land,⁵ æt Bromleage ⁊ æt
Fealcnaham, þam cinge Eadgare gereht,
on Lundenbyrig, ðurh Snodinglandes land-
bec. ða þa preostas forstælon þam biscope on
Hrofesceastre, ⁊ gesealdan heo Ælfrice Æsc-

163r

wynne sunu, wið feo dearnunga, ⁊ heo Æscwyn
Ælfrices modor sealde heo ær ðider in, ða
geacsode se biscop þæt ða becc forstolene wæron,
bæd þara boca ða geornlice, under ðam þa ge-
watt Ælfric, ⁊ he bæd ða lafe syððan, oð man
gerehte on cinges ðeningmanna gemote ðære
stowe ⁊ ðam biscope ða forstolenan becc Snodig-
landes, ⁊ bote æt ðære ðyfðe, þæt wæs on Lun-
dene, þær wæs se cing Eadgar, ⁊ se arcebiscop
Dunstan, ⁊ Aðelwold biscop, ⁊ Ælfstan biscop,
⁊ oðer Ælfstan, ⁊ Ælfere ealdorman, ⁊ fela
cynges witena, ⁊ man agæf ða into ðære
stowe ðam biscope ða becc, ða stod ðara wydewan
are, on ðæs cinges handa. ða wolde Wulfstan
se gerefa niman þa are to ðæs cinges handa,
Bromleah, ⁊ Fealcnaham. ða gesohte seo wy-
dewe ða halgan stowe, ⁊ ðane biscop, ⁊ agæf ðam
cinge Bromleages boc, ⁊ Fealcnahames, ⁊ se
byscop gebohte ða becc ⁊ ða land æt ðam cinge
on Godeshylle,⁶ mid fiftigan mancesan goldes,
⁊ hund teontigan, ⁊ ðrittigum pundum, þurh fore-
spræce, ⁊ costnunge, into Sanctę Andrea,⁷ siððan
ða lefde se biscop ðare wydewan, ðara lande
bryces, under ðam ða gewatt se cing. Ongan

163v

ða syððan Byrhtric ðare wydewan mæg, ⁊ heo
to ðam genedde þæt hy brucan ðara landa on
reaflace, gesohtan ða ðane ealdorman Eadwi-
ne, ⁊ þæt folc ðe wæs Godes anspreca, ⁊ geneddan
ðane biscop be ealre his are agiftes ðara
boca, ne moste he beon þara ðreora nanes
wyrðe ðe eallum leodscipe geseald wæs on wedde,
Tale, ne teames, ne ahnunga. þis is seo gewitnesse ðæs ceapes: Eadgar cing,
⁊ Dunstan arcebiscop, ⁊ Oswald arcebiscop, ⁊ Aðelwold biscop,
Æðelgar biscop, ⁊ Æscwi biscop, ⁊ Ælfstan biscop, ⁊ oðer Ælf-
stan biscop, ⁊ Sideman biscop, ⁊ ðæs cinges modor Ælf-
ðryð, ⁊ Osgar abbod, ⁊ Ælfere ealdorman, ⁊
Wulfstan on Dælham, ⁊ Ælfric on Ebbesham,
⁊ seo duguð folces on Westan Cænt, þær þæt
land, ⁊ þæt læð to lið.

Translation

See Translation Notes

Concerning Fawkham and Bromley:

Thus were given the lands at Bromley and at Fawkham⁸ to King Eadgar at London by means of the charters of Snodland.⁹

Then the priests stole them from the bishop of Rochester and sold them to Ælfric, son of Æscwyn, for secret money. Beforehand Æscwyn, mother of Ælfric, had given them up to [Rochester].¹⁰ And then the bishop realised that the charters were stolen. He then earnestly pleaded for the charters; meanwhile Ælfric died, and he later intreated [Byrhtwaru] his widow,¹¹ until the stolen Snodland charters were given to [Rochester] and the bishop, as well as compensation for the theft, at a moot of the king’s thegns in London. There was Eadgar the king, Dunstan the archbishop, bishop Athelwold, bishop Ælfstan and the other Ælfstan, ealdorman Ælfere, and many of the king’s witan.¹² And then those charters were restored to the bishop of [Rochester];¹³ and then the property of the widow rested in the king’s hand.

Then Wulfstan the reeve wished to take the property, Bromley and Fawkham, into the king’s hand.

However, the widow sought out the holy place and the bishop, and returned to the king the charter of Bromley and of Fawkham. And, at Gadshill,¹⁴ the bishop bought the charters and the land from the king with fifty mancuses of gold and one hundred and thirty pounds,¹⁵ by means of intercession and tribulation, for St Andrew’s;¹⁶ then afterwards the bishop permitted the widow use of the land. Meanwhile, the king died.

Then, afterwards, Byrhtric, a kinsman of the widow, set about persuading her that they obtain the lands by force.¹⁷ Then they sought out Eadwine the ealdorman along with the people, who were God’s accuser, and they compelled the bishop, on forfeit of all his property, to return the charters; nor was he to be worthy of any of those three things which were given to all people on pledging: neither talu,¹⁸ nor team,¹⁹ nor proof of ownership.²⁰

This is the list of witnesses of the transaction: King Eadgar, Archbishop Dunstan,²¹ Archbishop Oswald,²² Bishop Athelwold,²³ Bishop Æthelgar,²⁴ Bishop Æscwig,²⁵ Bishop Ælfstan,²⁶ the other Bishop Ælfstan,²⁷ Bishop Sideman,²⁸ Ælfthryth the king’s mother,²⁹ abbot Osgar, ealdorman Ælfere,³⁰ Wulfstan of Dalham, Ælfric of Epsom, and the honourable folk of West Kent, where also that land and property lie.

Footnotes

1 King Eadgar, r. 959-75.

2 Title from A. Campbell (ed.), Charters of Rochester (Oxford University Press, 1973), p. 53. Campbell briefly discusses the story behind this charter, and related charters, at pp. xx–xxii. For a more detailed account, see Colin Flight, ‘Four vernacular texts from the pre-Conquest archive of Rochester Cathedral’, Archaeologia Cantiana 115 (1995), pp. 121–153: online here [accessed 12.02.18].

3 Date assigned by Campbell. Flight argues reasonably for a date in the 990s: ‘Four vernacular texts’, pp. 128–29.

4 The rubric was not written by the principal scribe, as can be determined by comparing letter forms, such as ‘h’ and ‘g’. The spelling for Fawkham in the rubric, i.e. ‘Falchehan’ (‘-n’ is likely an error for ‘-m’), appears to be contemporary with the writing of Textus Roffensis (c.1123), since it differs from the spelling offered in the charter, ‘Fealcnaham’, which dates to the late tenth century. ‘Falchehan/m’ is not offered in Judith Glover, The Place Names of Kent (B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1976), p. 72.

5 ‘Þus wæron ða land…’.

6 The ‘y’ in ‘hylle’ as been altered from an ‘i’.

7 ‘Sanctę Andrea’: the text switches to Latin for ‘Saint Andrew’.

8 Pronounced Faykum: Judith Glover, The Place Names of Kent (B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1976), p. 72.

9 Charters: literally, ‘land-books’, Old English landbec. Subsequently referred to simply as becc ‘books’.

10 Literally, ‘to that place’; similar phraseology is used in the original where ‘[Rochester]’ appears elsewhere in the translation.

11 Named in a related will, which appears in Textus Roffensis at folios 144r–145r (Old English) and 145v–147r (Latin copy).

12 Witan, the king’s council.

13 ‘those charters’, referring specifically to ‘the charters of Snodland’ above. It seems, somewhat confusingly, that what follows in the account, below, is that either the widow hands over other charters relating specifically to Bromley and Fawkham, or the narrator is not being strictly chronological but is rather clarifying the whole process of how ‘those charters’ ended up back with the bishop of Rochester.

14 Perhaps Gads Hill, Gillingham.

15 ‘Mancus. A[nglo-]S[axon] term referring to one eighth of a (monetary) pound, i.e. 30d [pennies] or 2s 6d; it was a unit of account, not a coin. It was used in England from the late 8[th century].’ A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases, ed. Christopher Corèdon with Ann Williams (D. S. Brewer, 2005).

16 St Andrew’s, the cathedral church of Rochester, and by extension the monastery.

17 Literally, ‘in robbery, plunder’, Old English on reaflace.

18 ‘Talu. An accusation; also a claim, i.e. to a piece of land.’ Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases.

19 ‘Team. Right of a lord to supervise the vouching for the quality of goods and the presenting of evidence of the right to sell presented goods.’ Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. In the context, team here appears to relate to the right to produce assurances that the land was obtained honestly.

20 Old English ahnung, variant of agnung, ‘Agnung. Ownership, possession; also proof of ownership’: Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases.

21 Of Canterbury, r. 960–88.

22 Of York, r. 972–92.

23 Of Winchester, r. 963–84.

24 Of Selsey, r. 980–88.

25 Of Dorchester, r. c.977–1002.

26 Of Rochester, r. 964–95.

27 Of London, r. 961–c.996.

28 Of Crediton, r. 973–77.

29 Queen Consort of England (crowned 973), Edgar’s wife, and therefore not ‘the mother of’ King Eadgar, but the mother of his successor, their son, King Æthelred ‘the Unready’. The writer is writing from his own time perspective, which helps us to date this charter to after 978, when Æthelred succeeded to the throne.

30 Of Mercia, 956–83.

Laws of the Northumbrians, mid-10th century

Norðleoda Laga (‘Laws of the Northumbrians’), mid-tenth-century¹.

Transcription

Jump to Translation

93v

Be wergylde.

_Cynges wergild is inne mid Englum on folcriht

94r

xxx þusend þrymsa, Xv þusend ðrymsa byð
þæs weres, ⁊ xv þusend þæs cynedomes. Se wer
gebyreð þam magum, ⁊ seo cynebot þam leodum. Æ þelinges wergyld is xv þusend þrymsa. Bisceo-
pes, ⁊ ealdermannes viii þusend þrymsa. Hol-
des ⁊ hehgerefan iiii þusend þrymsa. Mæsse-
þegenes, ⁊ woruld-þegenes, ii þusend þrymsa. Ceorles wergyld is cc ⁊ vi ⁊ Lx þrymsa, þæt þæt bið
twa hund scillinga be Myrcna lage. 7 gif Wilisc
man geþeo þæt he hæbbe hywisc landes, ⁊ mage
cynges gafel forð bringan, þonne byð his wer-
gyld cc xx scillinga. 7 gif he ne geþeo butan to
healfre hide, þonne sy his wergyld Lxxx scillinga. 7 gif he ænig land næbbe, ⁊ þeh freoh sy, forgylde
man hine mid Lxx scillinga. 7 gif ceorlisc man ge-
þeo þæt he hæbbe v hida landes to cynges utware,
⁊ man hine ofslea, forgylde man hine mid ii
þusend þrymsa. 7 þeh he geþeo þæt he hæbbe helm
⁊ byrnan, ⁊ goldfæted sweord, gif he æ land
nafaþ, he byþ ceorl swa þeah. 7 gif his sunu ⁊ his suna
sunu þæt geþeoð, þæt hy swa micel landes
habbað, syððan byþ se ofspring gesiðcundes
cynnes, be twam ðusendum þrymsa. 7 gif hig
þæt nabbað ne to þam geþeon ne magan, gylde man
cyrlisce.²

Translation

See Translation Notes

Concerning Wergild

Among the English,³ the king’s wergild is, according to folk-right,⁴ 30 thousand thrymsa:⁵ 15 thousand thrymsa the man’s, 15 thousand the kingdom’s. The wer[gild] belongs to the family, and the ‘king-bot’ to the people.⁶

An atheling’s wergild is 15 thousand thrymsa.⁷

A bishop’s and an ealdorman’s, 8 thousand thrymsa.⁸

A hold’s and a high-reeve’s, 4 thousand thrymsa.⁹

A priestly thegn’s and a worldly thegn’s, 2 thousand thrymsa.¹⁰

A ceorl’s wergild is 266 thrymsa, which is two hundred shillings according to the law of the Mercians.¹¹

And if a Welshman thrives so that he has a hide of land, and can bring forth the king’s tribute, then his wergild is 220 shillings.¹² But if he thrives only as far as half a hide, then is wergeld is 80 shillings. And if he does not have any land, but he is nevertheless free, one must compensate him with 70 shillings.

And if someone of ceorlish rank prospers so that he has five hides of land, as king’s warland,¹³ and someone kills him, that one should compensate him with 2 thousand thrymsa.¹⁴ However, though he may prosper to the extent that he has a helmet and a byrnie and a gold-hilted sword, if he does not hold such land, he is a ceorl. And if his son and his son’s son prosper so that they hold much land, thereafter the offspring will become gesith-born kin with [a wergild] of two thousand thrymsa.¹⁵ And if they do not have that nor are able to prosper, one should compensate according to the rank of ceorl.

Footnotes

1 The text may have been amended by Wulfstan, archbishop of York (r. 1002–23), but the original can be dated to no later than the mid-tenth century due to its mention of a Northumbrian king, the last of whom, Eric Haraldsson (Eric Bloodaxe), was defeated in 954.

2 The scribe has bracketed off ‘cyrlice’ below the final ruled line rather than place it overleaf.

3 The wergild (‘man-payment’) was the monetary value put on the life of a free person within Anglo-Saxon compensation laws.

4 Or ‘Angles’.

5 Or ‘law of the people’. Patrick Wormald offers ‘customary law’: The Making of English Law: King Alfred to the Twelfth Century, vol. 1 (Blackwell, 1999), p. 392.

6 ‘Thrymsa [trymes]. A[nglo-]S[axon] gold or silver coin minted from c. 630, at first copying Roman style, then after c. 660 adopting distinctive AS decoration. Though initially issued in gold, by c. 650 the thrymsa was being alloyed with silver; by 675 it was a wholly silver coin. In c. 1000 the thrymsa was equal in value to 3d [i.e. three pennies].’ A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases, ed. Christopher Corèdon with Ann Williams (D. S. Brewer, 2005).

7 In texts discussing wergilds, Old English wer (‘man’) is often synonymous with wergild. In this particular passage, the sense is that half of the entire wergild is for the ‘man’, i.e. the king, and is given to the king’s family as his personal wergild. The other half is for the kingdom, and as the ‘king-bot’ (or ‘king-compensation’) it essentially compensates the king’s people, for whom the king acted as protector.

8 Or ‘prince’. An atheling (or ‘ætheling’) was a member of the royal family, either the heir to or considered worthy of the throne.

9 An ealdorman was the highest ranked nobleman in Anglo-Saxon society. We should note the equivalency of status given a bishop; this may have been one of archbishop Wulfstan’s amendments.

10 A hold was a title introduced by the Danish rulers of Northumbria, and is the Scandinavian equivalent to the highreeve.

11 A thegn (‘thane’) was essentially an aristocratic servant of a lord, or a king, and held a position in Anglo-Saxon society above ordinary freemen, i.e. ceorls, but below ealdormen. In this passage, a mass-priest is attributed the same status as a regular thegn. As with the attribution for bishop and ealdorman, this may represent archbishop Wulfstan’s involvement in amending the original text.

12 A ceorl was the lowest-ranked freeman in Anglo-Saxon society.

13 Old English ‘wilisc man’: ‘foreign person’, i.e. not English. Wilisc, from which ‘Welsh’ is derived, is often used in texts to describe Britons who were integrated into Anglo-Saxon society after the Germanic tribes invaded Britain and became the dominant force in most of what we now call England. It is particularly used with reference to the unfree or slaves. Here it appears to be used for individual Britons who have acquired a degree of autonomy, though we should note that their wergild does not equate with that of an English ceorl.

14 The king’s ‘warland’ (cyninges utwaru) was rateable land for which public services and/or taxation were owed. See Rosamond Faith, The English Peasantry and the Growth of Lordship (Leicester University Press, 1997), p. 90.

15 This shows that a prosperous ceorl could climb to a status equivalent to a thegn.

16 Essentially, a gesith-born man held the status of a thegn, as he was the son of a gesitha, a follower or retainer of the king. So, we are seeing, here, the potential for families from the rank of ceorl to climb the social ladder.

Articles of William I, 1066-1087 AD

Transcription

80r (select folio number to open facsimile)

hic intimatur quid Willelmus rex An-
glorum cum principibus suis constituit, post conquisitio-
_In primis quod super omnia unum uellet Deum >nem Anglię.
per totum regnum suum uenerari, unam fidem
Christi semper inuiolatam custodiri, pacem et secu-
ritatem inter Anglos et Normannos seruari.

80v

_[S]tatuimus¹ etiam ut omnis liber homo fędere et sacra-
mento affirmet, quod infra et extra Angliam Wil-
lelmo regi fideles esse uolunt, terras et honorem
illius omni fidelitate cum eo seruare, et ante eum
contra inimicos defendere. Volo autem ut omnes
homines quos mecum adduxi, aut post me uene-
runt, sint in pace mea et quiete. Et si quis de illis
occisus fuerit, dominus eius habeat infra quinque
dies homicidam eius si potuerit. Sin autem,
incipiat persoluere mihi quadraginta sex marcas
argenti, quamdiu substantia illius domini perdura-
uerit. Vbi uero substantia domini defecerit, to-
tus hundredus in quo occisio facta est, commu-
niter persoluat quod remanet. Et omnis Francige-
na qui tempore regis Eaduuardi propinqui mei,
fuit in Anglia particeps consuetudinum An-
glorum, quod ipsi dicunt on hlote et an scote,
persoluatur secundum legem Anglorum. Hoc decretum
sancitum est in Ciuitate Claudia. _Interdicimus etiam, ut nulla uiua pecunia uenda-
tur aut ematur nisi infra ciuitates, et hoc ante
tres fideles testes, nec aliquam rem >id est prohibitam< uetustam
sine fideiussore et waranto. Quodsi aliter
fecerit, soluat et persoluat, et postea foris-

81r

facturam. _Decretum est etiam ibi, ut si Francigena ap-
pellauerit Anglum de periurio, aut mordro,
furto, homicidio, ran, quod Angli dicunt apertam
rapinam[,] quę negari non potest, Anglus se defen-
dat per quod melius uoluerit, aut iudicio ferri,
aut duello. Si autem Anglus infirmus fuerit,
inueniat alium qui pro eo faciat. Si quis eorum uictus
fuerit, emendet xl solidos regi. Si Anglus
Francigenem appellauerit, et probare noluerit
iudicio aut duello, uolo tamen Francigenam
purgare se sacramento non fracto.
_hoc quoque pręcipio et uolo, ut omnes habeant et
teneant legem Eaduuardi regis, in terris et in
omnibus rebus, adauctis iis, quę constitui ad u-
tilitatem populi Anglorum. _Omnis homo qui uoluerit se teneri pro libero
sit in plegio, ut plegius teneat et habeat illum
ad iusticiam si quid offenderit. Et si quisquam ta-
lium euaserit, uideant plegii ut simpliciter
soluant quod calumniatum est, et purgent se, quia
in euaso nullam fraudem nouerunt. _Requiratur hundred et comitatus, sicut ( ) ante-
cessores nostri statuerunt. Et qui iuste uenire de-

81v

berent et uenire noluerint, semel summoueantur,
et si secundo uenire noluerint, accipiatur unus
bos, et summoueantur tertio. Et si non tertio ue-
nerint, accipiatur alius bos, quarta autem *>uice< si non ue-
nerint, reddatur de rebus hominis illius qui ue-
nire noluerit quod calumniatum est, quod dicitur
ceapgeld, et insuper forisfactura regis. _Ego prohibeo ut nullus uendat hominem ex-
tra patriam, super plenam forisfacturam meam._Interdico etiam ne quis occidatur
aut suspendatur pro aliqua culpa, sed eruan-
tur oculi et testiculi abscidantur, et hoc prę-
ceptum non sit uiolatum, super forisfacturam
meam plenam.

Translation

See Translation Notes

Here is shown what William, king of the English, with his principal men, decreed after the conquest of England.

First, above all, he would wish that one God is to be worshipped throughout the whole of his kingdom, one inviolable Christian faith always to be observed, and peace and security between the English and Normans to be protected. We wish, furthermore, that each free person may affirm faithfully by oath that, within and beyond England, they wish to be faithful to King William, to protect his lands and honour with all fidelity to him, and to defend him against his enemies.

I wish, moreover, that all persons whom I have brought with me, and those who subsequently came, may live in peace and quiet. And if any one of these is killed, his lord should hold his murderer within five days, if possible.² If not, he should begin to pay to me forty-six silver marks, as long as the wealth of that lord shall hold out. Whenever, in truth, the wealth of that lord should fail, the entire hundred in which the murder took place should together pay whatever is remaining.³

And each Frenchman who was in England at the time of king Edward, my relative, participating in the customs of the English, should pay that which is called lot and scot,⁴ according to the laws of the English. This decree was ratified in Gloucester.

Furthermore, we enjoin that no livestock may be sold or bought except inside towns, and in front of three faithful witnesses, nor any thing of long-standing – it is prohibited – without a guarantor and warrantor. But if he does otherwise, he should give back [the goods] and pay back [the money], and afterwards be fined.⁵

Furthermore, the decree, here, is that if a Frenchman should accuse an Englishman of perjury, or murder, theft, homicide, or ran⁶ (which is what the English call violent robbery),⁷ which cannot be denied, the Englishman may defend himself by whichever honest means he wishes, either trial by iron or duel.⁸ If, however, the Englishman is infirm, he may find another to take his place. If one of them is defeated, he should make amends of 40 shillings to the king. If an Englishman should accuse a Frenchman, but he does not wish to accept trial by duel, I wish nevertheless the Frenchmen to clear himself by an unbreakable oath.

This also I instruct and desire, that all may have and hold the law of King Edward,⁹ with regard to lands and all things, augmented by those laws which for usefulness to the English people will be constituted.

Every person who wishes to remain a freeman should be under pledge, so that if anyone should offend, the pledger may keep in custody that person for justice.¹⁰ And if any of such are acquitted, simply let the pledgers see to it that they free the one falsely accused, and exonerate him, because they found no crime in the acquitted one.

It is required that the hundred and shire be just as our predecessors established.¹¹ And those who lawfully are obliged to come but do not wish to come, on the first occasion are withdrawn; and if on the second occasion they do not wish to come, one ox may be accepted, and on the third occasion are withdrawn. And if they do not come on the third, another ox may be accepted. If, however, they do not come on the fourth occasion in succession, from the things of that person who does not wish to come, one may render to the one who is falsely accused what is called cheapgild,¹² and this in addition to the king’s fine.

I forbid anyone, upon my full penalty, to sell a man outside his homeland.¹³

I forbid, moreover, that anyone be slain or hanged for any crime, but eyes may be plucked out and testicles cut off; and this command should not be violated, upon my full penalty.

Footnotes

1 The original ‘S’ is missing due to damage.

2 The grammar is ambiguous as to whose lord is being referred to. However, the rest of the passage indicates that the murderer’s lord had the responsibility to imprison the murderer. It is, of course, quite possible that the lord of the murderer and the lord of the victim would be the same person, as both murderer and victim may have lived in the same area.

3 The hundred was a local administrative unit in later Anglo-Saxon England (especially from the tenth century), and was both a measure of land and the area served by a hundred-court. In the Midlands, hundreds were often assessed at a hundred hides, hence the name; however, in the south, this clear correspondence between size and name did not exist. See Sean Miller, ‘Hundreds’, in The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge et al (Blackwell, 2001), pp. 243–44. Hundreds and hundred-courts continued into the post-Conquest period.

4 ‘Scot and lot. A tax, i.e. scot, levied on members of a borough in varying proportions or shares, i.e. lot. Behind it was the idea that those who shared in the obligations and responsibilities by paying tax would also share in the privileges. It was a mark of status.’ A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases, ed. Christopher Corèdon with Ann Williams (D. S. Brewer, 2005).

5 This assumes that the goods being sold, without guarantor and warrantor, are stolen goods. The fine goes to the king.

6 Old English ran, ‘open robbery’: J. R. Clark Hall, A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Fourth Edition (University of Toronto Press, 1960, repr. 2004).

7 The Latin, here, is rapina, from which we derive the modern ‘rape’; however, the meaning of rapina is far broader, essentially meaning violent plundering or robbery, though it may also include abduction, including that of a woman, which may well have led to rape in the modern sense. See Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources: online here. [accessed 13 December 2017].

8 Trial by hot iron: see C. Monk, The Anonymous Law Known as Ordal [‘Ordeal’]: Textus Roffensis, ff. 32r–32v Online here. Trial by combat, the duel, was unknown in Anglo-Saxon England.

9 Edward the Confessor, r. 1042–66. There are no known laws written by Edward. William appears to be referring to the body of early English laws that had built up and were used during Edward’s reign, including the latest pre-Norman Conquest laws by Cnut, r. 1016–35. Textus Roffensis (ff. 58r–80r), contains what is popularly referred to as the Institutes of Cnut, a Latin translation of a compilation of Old English laws by Cnut, Alfred, Edgar, Æthelred the Unready, and various short anonymous treatises. This was produced sometime after the Conquest, and gives us an idea of what William was alluding to by his ‘law of Edward’.

10 On plegium liberale (‘free pledge’), more generally referred to as frankpledge, see John Hudson, The Formation of the English Common Law: Law and Society in England from the Norman Conquest to Magna Carta (Longman, 1996), pp. 63–66.

11 The hundred-court and shire-court were both features of Anglo-Saxon legal administration.

12 Compensation for stolen property. From Old English ceapgyld.

13 To sell into slavery.

Almsgiving in honour of Bishop Gundulf, 1114-1124

Bishop Ernulf sets up alms-giving in honour of Gundulf, 1114–1124¹. Textus Roffensis, ff. 197r–197v. Translated from Latin and edited by Dr Christopher Monk.

Transcription

197r (select folio number to open facsimile)

hęc est elemosina, quam
domnus Ernulfus episcopus consensu
et rogatu monachorum constituit singu-
lis annis faciendam pro anima patris nostri
Gundulfi episcopi in anniuersario ipsius.

197v

Secretarius debet dare quadraginta denarios. Camerarius quadraginta denarios. Celararius quadraginta denarios, et unum millenarium
allecium. Hedreham quattuor solidos, et duos salmones.
Frendesberi, Denintuna, Flietes, Wldeham,
sex solidos, et duos salmones; Stoches, duos salmones; Lamhetha, unum; Suthuuerca, unum. Hos
uiginti solidos recipiet celararius, et empto inde
pane et allece, ipse cum elemosinariis distribu-
et ipsa die pauperibus. Salmones autem
habebunt fratres in refectorio.

Translation

This is the alms-giving which the lord bishop Ernulf, ² having granted it at the request of the monks, set up to be made every year for the soul of our father, bishop Gundulf,³ on his anniversary.⁴

The secretary ought to give forty pennies. The chamberlain, forty pennies. The cellarer, forty pennies and one thousand herrings.⁵ Haddenham four shillings and two salmon. Frindsbury, Denton, Fleet, Wouldham, six shillings and two salmon.⁶ Stoke, two salmon; Lambeth, one; Southwark, one.

These twenty shillings the cellarer will receive,⁷ and then having acquired bread and herrings, he himself with the almoner will distribute these very things to the poor on this day. The salmon however, the brothers will have in the refectory.

Footnotes

1 This text was not written by the principal scribe, who completed his work c. 1123, but was added as part of a folio that was inserted later in the twelfth century to replace one that had been cut out. The note does however relate to the period of Ernulf’s bishopric (1114–1124), and may well be a copy of an original charter by the bishop.

2 Bishop of Rochester at the time of the writing of Textus Roffensis (r. 1114–1124). He likely oversaw its completion around 1123.

3 Bishop and prior at Rochester, from 1077 to 1108.

4 i.e. the anniversary of his death, 7th March 1108.

5 The secretary, chamberlain and cellarer were obedientaries, i.e. senior monks.

6 The responsibility was shared between these four villages in Kent.

7 The arithmetic is correct: note, 12 pennies to a shilling, so the 120 shillings of the three obedientaries is equivalent to 10 shillings; added to the four from Haddenham in Buckinghamshire, and the six from the four Kentish villages, that makes 20 shillings in total.

Bishop Ernulf grants privileges and lands, c.1114-c.1123

Bishop Ernulf grants privileges and lands to the church of St Andrew at Rochester, c.1114–c.1123. Textus Roffensis, ff. 196v–197r. Translated from Latin and edited by Dr Christopher Monk.

Transcription

196v (select folio number to open facsimile)

_Ernulfus Rofensis episcopus. Omnibus hominibus

de Buchingeham Francis et Anglis salutem.

Sciatus me concessisse ęcclesię Sancti Andreę de Roue-

cestra ad luminaria eiusdem ęcclesię ęcclesiam

de Edenham, et terras et decimas omnes quas ipsa

ęcclesia hucusque habuit uel deinceps habere

poterit, cum omnibus rebus in campis et pratis ad

ipsam ęcclesiam pertinentibus. Decimam etiam de do-

minio de Edenham et de Cudintuna in anno-

na, in uitulis, in agnis, in puleinis, in pur-

cellis, unam quoque hagam, et dimidiam hidam terrę

in Hedenham, quas Ansfridus clericus in uita sua

tenuit. Hęc omnia concessi et dedi ęcclesię Sancti An-

dreę, ut ipsa ęcclesia deinceps in perpetuum hęc

habeat et teneat pro anima mea, ita ut secreta-

rius ęcclesię quicunque ille fuerit post obitum meum

singulis annis in die anniuersarii mei det pro

anima mea decem solidatas panis pauperibus, et xxti

solidos in refectorium fratribus. Huius concessionis

testes sunt, ęcclesię Sancti Andreę prior Orduinus, et

totus fratrum conuentus. Heruisus eiusdem ęcclesię

197r

archidiaconus; Rodbertus Dofforensis; Egel-

uuordus et Helias clerici; Ansfridus Dapifer,

et miles eius Uuillelmus de Sancto Albano; Willelmus

de Cusintuna cum filio suo Wimundo; Ra-

dulfus Picot de Stisteda; Robertus et Ricar-

dus cubicularii et plures alii Franci et Angli. ¹

Translation

See Translation Notes

Ernulf, bishop of Rochester.² To everyone of Buckingham, to the French and the English, greetings. Know that I have granted to the church of Saint Andrew of Rochester, for the luminaries of the same church,³ the church of Haddenham, and lands and all the tithings which the church itself hitherto held or hereafter will be able to hold, with all things in ploughland and meadowland pertaining to this church. And also, the Sunday tithing of Haddenham and Cuddington in grain,⁴ in calves, in lambs, in piglets, as well as the piece of enclosed land⁵ and the half-hide of land in Haddenham, which Ansfrid the priest holds for his living.

All these things I granted and I gave to the church of Saint Andrew, in order that this very church may have and hold these hereafter in perpetuity for the sake of my soul, so that the secretary of the church, whoever he may be after my death, each year on the day of my anniversary, may give for my soul ten solid loaves to the poor,⁶ and twenty shillings to the brothers in the refectory.

The witnesses of this grant are: Ordwine, prior of the church of Saint Andrew, and all the brothers of the monastery; Harvey, archdeacon of the same church; Robert of Dover; Adelard⁷ and Elias, priests; Ansfrid Dapifer, and his knight William of Saint Albans; William of Cossington, with his son Wimund;⁸ Ralf Picot of Stisted; Robert and Richard, chamberlains; and many others of the French and English.

Footnotes

1 The text on folio 197r is not by the main scribe. The original folio has been cut out and replaced.

2 Bishop of Rochester at the time of the writing of Textus Roffensis (r. 1114–1124). He likely oversaw its completion around 1123.

3 Latin ‘ad luminaria’: this figurative expression appears to refer to the brethren of the priory as spiritual lights or luminaries; it may also allude to the monks’ work of honouring the dead and saints, since a luminare is a candle used in honouring the shrines of the dead and the saints: see logeion.uchicago.edu (accessed 14.11.17).

4 One tenth of the year’s produce in grains

5 Latin haga, ‘haw’, borrowed from Old English haga, meaning an enclosure, a piece of land surrounded by a hedge; from which the hawthorn gets its name, as it functions well as a hedge. See ‘haw’, Christopher Corèdon and Ann Williams, A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2005).

6 Or, ‘whole loaves’

7 Tentative; or, alternatively, Ealgheard.

8 Or, Wymund

Bishop Gundulf’s arrangements for the monk’s clothing,

Bishop Gundulf’s arrangements for the clothing of the monks, c.1089–c.1108¹. Textus Roffensis, ff. 196r–196v. Translated from Latin and edited by Dr Christopher Monk.

196r (select folio number to open facsimile)

_Hęc sunt quę ordinata sunt a domino nostro Gundulfo episcopo ad uestitum monachorum.

De Rouecestra, x libras. De molendino eiusdem uillę, xxx solidos. De cellario, xxiiii solidos. De Frandesberia, v libras et x solidas. De Stoches, xxx solidos. De Fletis, iiii libras et x solidos. De W[u]ldeham, maiori et minori, xxx solidos. De Hederham, v libras. De Tarenteford, ii libras. De Northfletis, iii libras et x solidos. De Cantuarię, iii libras. De Bullocesfelde, ii libras. De Grean, xv solidos. De Ærhetha, xx solidos. De Adeloldo de Cilesfelda, x solidos. De Uulmero eiusdem uillę, x solidos. Rodbertus de Uuateuilla, xv solidos. Radulfus Pincerna, vi solidos et viii denarios. De archidiacono, x solidos.

Willelmus de Editune, v solidos. Heimfred, vi solidos et viii denarios. Hunfrith Canuth, x solidos. Radulfus Pincerna, v solidos, de Culingis.

Et omnis decimas quas Anschetillus archidiaconus de Cantuaria tenebat de Adam fratre Eudonis Dapiferi.

Osbernus de Biliceham, xii solidos, Godefridus de Scræmbroce, x solidos. Ulgerius nepos

196v

Geroldi, v solidos. De Æilesford, xx solidos. De Suðtune, xx solidos. De Uuleuuic, iiii solidos. De Ciselherste, iiii solidos.

Translation

See Translation Notes

HERE ARE THE ARRANGEMENTS BY OUR LORD AND BISHOP GUNDULF² FOR THE CLOTHING OF THE MONKS.

From Rochester, 10 pounds. From the mill-house of the same estate, 30 shillings. From the cellarer,³ 24 shillings. From Frindsbury, 5 pounds and 10 shillings. From Stoke, 30 shillings. From Fleet, 4 pounds and 10 shillings. From Wouldham, Greater and Lesser, 30 shillings. From Haddenham,⁴ 5 pounds. From Dartford, 2 pounds. From Northfleet, 3 pounds and 10 shillings. From Canterbury, 3 pounds. From Bullocksfield,⁵ 2 pounds. From Grain,⁶ 15 shillings. From Erith, 20 shillings. From Æthelwold of Chelsfield,⁷ 10 shillings. From Wulmer of the same estate, 10 shillings. Robert of Watteville, 15 shillings. Ralf Pincerna,⁸ 6 shillings and 8 pennies. From the archdeacon, 10 shillings. William of Addington, 5 shillings. Heimfred, 6 shillings and 8 pennies. Hunfrith Canuth, 10 shillings. Ralf Pincerna of Cooling, 5 shillings. And of all tithings which Anschetill archdeacon of Canterbury was holding from Adam,⁹ brother of Eudo Dapifer. ¹⁰ Osbern of Belceham,¹¹ 12 shillings. Godfrid of Scræmbroce,¹² 10 shillings. Ulger, grandson of Gerald, 5 shillings. From Aylesford, 20 shillings. From Sutton, 20 shillings. From Woolwich, 4 shillings. From Chislehurst, 4 shillings.

Footnotes

1 The document lists Haddenham as one of the estates contributing to the clothing fund. Since the grant of Haddenham to St Andrew’s Priory at Rochester was confirmed after the death of archbishop Lanfranc in 1089, this is the earliest possible date of the original document. Bishop Gundulf died in 1108, thus marking the latest possible date. See notes 2 and 4 below.

2 Bishop Gundulf, second of the post-Conquest bishops of Rochester, was a monastic bishop, serving also as prior of the cathedral’s priory (St Andrew’s). He was consecrated as bishop in 1077 and served as bishop and prior until his death in 1108.

3 The cellarer was one of the obedientaries (senior monks) of the monastery. He would have kept his own accounts.

4 In Buckinghamshire. This estate was granted to Gundulf by archbishop Lanfranc, but after the archbishop’s death in 1089, King William II (William Rufus) disputed the grant forcing Gundulf to make a concession of fortifying Rochester Castle in exchange for the estate. A copy of the Domesday Book entry for Haddenham (‘Hedreham’) is preserved in Custumale Roffense, f. 8r, and the transference of the estate (‘Hedenham’) to Gundulf is recorded in a charter in Textus Roffensis, 173r.

5 Unidentified, but apparently somewhere in the parish of Bletchingley: kentarchaeology.ac, p. 224, n. 17.

6 Isle of Grain.

7 He was probably a knight and the brother of Baldwin, a monk of Rochester. See H. Tsurushima, ‘The Fraternity of Rochester Cathedral Priory about 1100’, Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1991, Anglo-Norman Studies 14 (1992), 313–337, at 326.

8 The surname pincerna means ‘butler’ or ‘cupbearer’; see Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources: http://logeion.uchicago.edu/index.html#pincerna.

9 Adam Sinclair, commissioner of Domesday Book and wealthy Norman landowner, serving under Bishop Odo. See: fionamsinclair.co.uk

10 Eudo Dapifer (dapifer is Latin for ‘server’, one who waits at tables), a Norman aristocrat, served as steward for William the Conqueror, William Rufus and Henry I. See Henry Ellis, A General Introduction to Domesday Book (1833), pp. 415–16.

11 Unidentified; however, there is a Belce Wood (Old English, Bylce wudu) in Sturry, Canterbury, which may indicate the approximate area. See Judith Glover, The Place Names of Kent (London: Batsford, 1976), p. 15.

12 Unidentified. The spelling has not been modernised; possibly ‘Sharnbrook’.

Funds for building and maintenance, 1114-1124

Funds for building and maintenance 1114-1124

December 14, 2017
Bishop Ernulf grants funds for the building and maintenance of St Andrew’s Priory, Date: 1114–1124¹. Textus Roffensis, f. 197r. Translated from Latin and edited by Dr Christopher Monk.

Transcription

197r (select folio number to open facsimile)

Notum sit omnibus tam posteris quam prę-
sentibus sanctę Rofensis ęcclesię fidelibus, quod
ego Ernulfus eiusdem ęcclesię episcopus concessi in
perpetuum ad edificandas et sustentandas
domos monachorum denarios quos presbiteri pa-
rochiani solent reddere uel quando
crisma accipiunt, uel ad synodum con-
ueniunt. Teste Heruiso archidiacono,
Guarnerio Cantuariensi monacho, Rodberto Dof-
forensi canonico, Ansfrido Dapifero, Athe-
lardo, Ricardo, Gosfrido, Scotlando, Ęlsta-
no filio Adelardi, Osberno filio Osmundi,
et multis de familia nostra, et aliis.

Translation

Let it be known to all (as much to the future as the present faithful of the holy church of Rochester) that I Ernulf,² bishop of the same church granted in perpetuity for the building and maintenance of the monks’ home the money which the priests of the parish are accustomed to render either when they receive chrism or assemble at the synod.³ Witnessed by Harvey, the archdeacon; Warner of Canterbury, monk; Robert of Dover, canon; Ansfrid Dapifer; Adelard; Richard; Gosfrid;⁴ Scotland;⁵ Ealhstan⁶ son of Adelard; Osborn son of Osmund; and many from our family and others.

Footnotes

1 This text was not written by the principal scribe, who completed his work c. 1123, but was added as part of a folio that was inserted later in the twelfth century to replace one that had been cut out. The note does however relate to the period of Ernulf’s bishopric (1114–1124), and may well be a copy of an original charter by the bishop.

2 Bishop of Rochester at the time of the writing of Textus Roffensis (r. 1114–1124). He likely oversaw its completion around 1123.

3 A list of the payments for chrism (holy anointing oil) due from the churches in the diocese of Rochester is found on ff. 220v–222r of Textus Roffensis.

4 Or, Geoffrey

5 Oddly, given as a personal name

6 I’ve used the slightly more familiar Old English spelling.

Privileges relating to the Church at Stourmouth, 1093-1108

Transcription

185v (select folio number to open facsimile)

hęc est conuentio
quam Haimo filius Vitalis fecit uersus Gun-
dulfum episcopum de Rouecestra, quod ipse Haimo
dedit episcopo et monachis ęcclesiam de Sturmu-
tha et suam dominicam decimam totam cum omnibus
consuetudinibus quę ad eandem ęcclesiam per-
tinent, et iiiior acros terrę qui in ęcclesia sunt,
et in eodem manerio pasturam ad centum
oues. Et hoc fecit pro anima patris sui et
matris suę et pro sua, et propter hoc quod quendam
fratrem suum fecit monachum in ęcclesia Sancti An-
dreę. Et hęc ipsa conuentio fuit facta coram
Anselmo archiepiscopo, ita quod ipsemet affuit,
et ita fieri concessit. Et isti sunt testes
qui affuerunt: Baldeuuinus monachus, Wido monachus, Ansfridus clericus, Ra-
dulfus camerarius, Iuo de mala uilla, et alii
plures de familia archiepiscopi, et Willelmus de Etesham.¹

Translation

See Translation Notes

This is the agreement which Haimo son of Vitalis² made with respect to bishop Gundulf of Rochester:³ to the bishop and monks this very Haimo gave the church of Stourmouth and all its Sunday tithing, with all customary payments which pertain to the same church, and 4 acres of land which are in the church, and in the same manor pasture for one hundred sheep. And this was made for the soul of his father and his mother and his own; and, on account of this, his brother was made a monk in the church of St Andrew. And this very agreement was made in the presence of archbishop Anselm, therefore he himself was present, and therefore he granted that it be done. And these are the witnesses who were present: Baldwin the monk; Guy the monk; Ansfrid the priest; Ralf the chamberlain; Ivo of Malaville,⁴ and several others of the archbishop’s household; and William of Adisham.⁵

Footnotes

1 The words ‘allii […] Etesham’ were added by a different, though contemporary, hand. There does not appear to be any erasure, so it would seem that a space was left by the principal scribe, who perhaps was unexpectedly taken from his work and forgot to complete the text on his return.

2 Vitalis of Canterbury: see K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, Domesday People: A Prosopograhy of Persons Occurring in English Documents 1066–1166 (Woodbridge: Boydell, 1999), I: Domesday Book, p. 443.

3 Bishop and prior at Rochester, from 1077 to 1108.

4 Or, Ives.

5 Adisham, tentatively for Etesham. Adisham was earlier known as Edesham (1006) and Eadesham (c.1100); see Judith Glover, The Place Names of Kent (London: B. T. Batsford Ltd., 1976), p. 3; Etesham may perhaps be a variant spelling.

Provisions from the Church at Northfleet, a.1093-1200

Land in Frindsbury to Rochester Cathedral, c.1100-c.1123 AD

Fifteen hides at Fen Stanton and Hilton, Hunts. to Rochester Cathedral, 1012

Six sulungs at Bromley to Rochester Cathedral with the use of forest in the Weald, 998

The King's Peace, late 10th century

This Old English version is unique to Textus Roffensis. This relates to physical boundaries or limits of the ‘King’s peace’.

Transcription

38r (select folio number to open facsimile)

_Ðus feor sceal beon þæs cinges grið, fram
his burhgeate þær he is sittende, on feo-
wer healfe his. Ð>æt< is iii mila 7 iii furlang, 7
iii æcera bræde, 7 ix fota, 7 ix scæftamunda,
7 ix berecorna.

Translation

See Translation Notes

Thus far shall be the king’s peace¹ from his city gate [or ‘gatehouse’] where he is seated, on its four sides. That is 3 miles, and 3 furlongs, and 3 acres, and 9 feet, and 9 spans, and 9 barleycorns.

Footnotes

1 OE grið, having the sense of a delimited area of sanctuary or protection.

How the person must swear an oath, c.900 AD

Transcription

38v (select folio number to open facsimile)

_On ðone Drihten Hu se man sceal swerie.³
þe ðes haligdom is forehalig, ic wille beon N⁴
hold, ⁊ getriwe, ⁊ eal lufian ðæt he lufað, ⁊ eal
ascunian ðæt he ascunað æfter Godes rihte, ⁊
æfter woroldgerysnum, ⁊ næfre willes ne gewe-
aldes, wordes ne weorces owiht don ðæs him
laðre bið, wið þam ðe he me healde swa ic earnian
wille, ⁊ eall þæt læste þæt uncer formæl wæs þa
ic to him gebeah, ⁊ his willan geceas. _On ðone Drihten þe ðes haligdom is forehalig
swa ic spæce drife mid fullan folcrihte butan bræde,
⁊ butan swice, ⁊ butan æghwylcum facne, swa me
forstolen wæs ðæt orf N ðæt ic onspece, ⁊ þæt
ic mid N befangen hæbbe.
_On ðone Drihten næs ic æt ræde, ne æt dæde,
ne gewita, ne gewyrhta, ðær man mid unrihte N
orf ætferede. Ac swa ic ( ) orf hæbbe swa ic
hit mid rihte begeat, ⁊ swa ic >hit< tyme swa hit me se
sealde ðe ic hit nu on hand sette, ⁊ swa ic orf hæb-
be swa ic orf hæbbe⁵ swa hit me se sealde ðe hit to
syllanne agte, ⁊ >swa< ic orf hæbbe swa hit of minum
agnum ðingum com ⁊ swa hit on folcriht min agen
æht is, ⁊ min infoster. _On ðone Drihten, ne teo ic N, ne for hete, ne

39r

for hele, ne for unrihtre feohgyrnesse, ne ic
nan soðre nat bute swa min secga me sæde, ⁊ ic
sylf to soðe talige ðæt he mines orfes þeof wære. _On ðone Drihten,
ic eom unscyldig ægðer ge dæde ge dihtes æt þære
tihtlan ðe N me tihð. _On ðone Drihten, se að is clæne ⁊ unmæne, ðe N swor. _On ælmihtiges Godes naman ðu me >be
clæne þæt þæt ðu me sealdest, ⁊ fulle ware wið
æftersp>r æce on ða gewitennesse ðe unc ða mid
wæs N. _On ælmihtiges Godes naman, swa ic her N, on
soðre gewitnesse stande unabeden, ⁊ ungeboht
to swa ic hit minum egum oferseah, ⁊ minum earum
oferhyrde ðæt ðæt ic him mid sæcge. _On ælmihtiges Godes naman, nyste ic on ðam
ðingum þe þu ymbe specst ful ne facn, ne wac ne
wom, to ðære dæityde ðe ic hit þe sealde, ac hit
ægðer wæs ge hal, ge clæne butan ælcon facne. _On lifiendes Godes naman
swa ic feos bidde swa ic gywanan hæbbe ðæs þe me
N behet ða ic him min sealde. _On lifiendes Godes naman, ne ðearf ic N

39v

sceatt, ne scylling, ne penig, ne peniges weorð,
ac eal ic him gelæste ðæt ðæt ic him scolde
swa forð swa uncre wordgecwydu fyrmest
wæroN.

Translation

See Translation Notes

How the person must swear an oath.

In the Lord,⁶ whose holiness is foremost: to [name of lord]⁷ I wish to be loyal and true, and to love all that he loves, and to shun all that he shuns according to God’s law and secular customs, and neither willingly nor intentionally to carry out either a word or deed which to him is hateful; I wish to live up to the regard with which he may hold me; and everything agreed between us I will carry out when I submit to him;⁸ and his will I have chosen.

In the Lord, whose holiness is foremost: thus I prosecute my suit, with full folk-right, without fraud and without guile, and without anything false; and thus from me was stolen the livestock by [name of defendant]; that [livestock] I lay claim to, and that [livestock] with [name of helper] I have seized.⁹

In the Lord: I was neither, in counsel or in deed, a witness or an accomplice at the place where a person unlawfully took away livestock from [name of plaintiff]. Moreover, therefore, I have livestock which I rightfully obtained, and thus I guarantee that he sold it to me, which I now confirm by swearing;¹⁰ and so I have livestock just as he sold it to me, which he delivered up as seller; and so by my own means I have livestock as it came; and it, according to folk-right, is my own property, mine to rear.

In the Lord: I accuse [name of defendant], not from malice, nor as a pretext, nor for unrighteous gain, nor, in truth, do I know anything besides that which my informant told me, and I myself truthfully do state that he was a thief of my livestock.

In the Lord: I am innocent, both in deed and intent, of the charge of which [name of plaintiff] accuses me.

In the Lord: the oath which [name of defendant or plaintiff] swore is pure and without falsehood.

In the name of Almighty God: you promised me that you sold it to me whole and clean, and in full awareness against an after-claim, for which [name of witness of transaction] was the witness for us both.

In the name of Almighty God: as I here stand for [names of parties to transaction] in true witness, unbidden and unbought, that I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears that which I declare on their behalf.

In the name of Almighty God: I did not know of the things of which you speak, neither filth nor fault, blight nor blot,¹¹ at the time which I sold it to you; rather it was both whole and clean, without any blemish.

In the name of the Living God: thus I make request for [my] goods as I do not have those which [name of defendant] promised me when I paid him.

In the name of the Living God: I did not steal from [name of plaintiff], neither a sceat nor a shilling,¹² a penny nor a penny’s worth; rather I furnished him everything I was obliged thenceforth [to give], just as we had firmly agreed verbally.

Footnotes

1 Also referred to by scholars as Swerian (‘to swear an oath’). We should note carefully that se man should not automatically be assumed to specifically mean ‘the man’, as man (a variant of mann), though grammatically masculine, is used in Old English to mean ‘person’, either male or female. That women did swear oaths, were ‘oath-worthy’, in Anglo-Saxon England, particularly in the contexts of disputes and defence against false accusation, is well attested. See Carole Hough, ‘Women’, in The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge et al (Blackwell, 1999), pp. 485–87, esp. p. 486.

2 Patrick Wormald observes: ‘An assortment of oath formulae is likely to have a whole variety of dates. Some may indeed go back a long way. […] Most of the transactions covered by Swerian formulae were at least as old as seventh-century laws. But the date of the collection as a whole cannot of course be earlier than the latest formula it contains.’ He proceeds to make a reasonable argument for a date from 900 onwards. See The Making of English Law: King Alfred to the Twelfth Century, vol. 1 (Blackwell, 1999), p. 384. Swerian was copied by the principal scribe of Textus Roffensis, who completed his work around 1123.

3 The rubric heading (red ink) has been set on the same line as the text proper.

4 The abbreviation ‘N’ (which in the manuscript resembles a stretched ‘H’ with a small symbol above it, and a full-stop both before and after the letter) is borrowed from Latin scribal practice: see note 4 above.

5 ‘swa ic orf hæbbe’ is accidentally repeated by the scribe.

6 ‘In the Lord’ appears to be an invocation of God/Christ as Lord to witness the oath, similar to modern day ‘I swear by Almighty God that…’.

7 At this point in the manuscript the abbreviation ‘.Ñ.’ is used, borrowed from Latin scribal practice, where it stands for nomine (i.e. ‘name’, in either the dative or ablative case). In Old English scribal practice, a form of the Old English word nama (‘name’) should be understood. The oath-taker supplies the relevant name of a person, in this first instance the name of the lord to whom loyalty is being sworn.

8 Grammatically, the oath-maker could be swearing to submit either to ‘it’, i.e. the aforementioned agreement (‘þæt formæl’), or ‘him’, i.e. his lord.

9 Alternatively, referring to the defendant, ‘whom I accuse, and whom … I have seized’, though grammatically such a translation is problematic.

10 Literally, ‘which I now set down in hand’.

11 I have tried to preserve the performative effect of the alliteration of the original language, though the second alliterative pair in Old English actually plays on the sound of ‘w’: woc (‘weakness’) and wom (‘stain/blot’). The alliteration is intentional, underscoring the power of words in the context of oath-making.

12 Sceat (roughly pronounced shat), plural sceattas: a small silver coin.

Restoration to Rochester Cathedral of six sulungs at Wouldham and one mansa at Littlebrook, 995

Cnut’s Charter for Christ Church, Canterbury, 1023 AD

Concerns the granting of the port of Sandwich and related water rights to Christ Church, Canterbury. Transcription and translation of Textus Roffensis, 57v by Jacob Scott (pending review).

Latin, dating to 1023. No rubric, though there is a space left for one. A space is left for a display initial; or perhaps the initial has been completely obliterated by water damage. The arm of Saint Bartholomew apparently refers to a relic; also mentioned are a large cloak and Bartholomew’s gold crown.

Transcription

57v (select folio number to open facsimile)

_[C]NVD rex anglorum dedit aecclesiae
xpi brachium Sancti Bartholomei
apostoli cum magno pallio, et sui capitis
auream coronam, et portum de sandwic,
et omnes exitus eiusdem aquae ab utraque
parte fluminis, ita ut natante naui
in flumine cum plenum fuerit, quam
longius de naui potest securis paruula
super terram proici, debet a ministris
aecclesiae xpi rectitudo nauis accipi. Null-
usque,

Translation

See Translation Notes

Cnut, king of the English, has given to the church of Christ, the arm of St Bartholomew the apostle with a large cloak, and of the head, a gold crown, and the port of Sandwich, and all of the outlets of the same water from both sides of the river, so that when a ship is in the river and it is full, how far from the ship can a small anchor be thrown on the ground, officials of Christ Church must assess the tightness of the ship, but none.

Acknowledgements

With thanks for the notes of Dr Christopher Monk.