Donation to Rochester Cathedral of ten yokes of land and a village with rights in meadow, forest, and marsh near Rochester, 855
Æthelwulf of Wessex grants to his minister, Dunn, ten yokes of land and a village, together with rights in meadow, forest, and marsh near Rochester (855). Dunn’s will is added. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 139v-140r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 23. The text begins with a red display initial ‘I’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin. Dunn’s will begins on 140r with a green display initial ‘I’ is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin. The will is written in Old English.
Transcription
139v (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ In nomine trino
diuino, ego oeðeluulfus rex occidentalium saxonum
necnon et cantuariorum, pro decimatione agrorum quam
deo donante cęteris ministris meis facere de-
creui, tibi dunne ministro meo dabo unam
uillam, quod nos saxonice an haga dicimus in me-
ridię castelli hrobi, et decem iugera a meridia-
no plaga uilluli illius adiacentia, necnon et duo
iugera prati, et x. carros cum siluo honestos
in monte regis, et communionem marisci quę
ad illam uillam antiquitus cum recto pertinebat, et
hoc ipsum tibi ad habendam et possidendam con-
cedendo donamus, et post dies tuos cuicunque
herede tibi placuerit derelinquendam cum ple-
na libertate habeas potestatem. Hanc predictam
donationem et libertatem ego oeðeluulf rex
deo donante perfeci anno dominicę incarnationis
dccclv. indictione iii.a hoc est diuina gratia
largiente qua>ndo< ultra mare romam perrexi, coram
his testibus qui hoc mecum consentiendo subscri-
pserunt. + Ego aeðeluulf rex hanc meam
donationem et libertatem cum signo sanctę crucis christi
roboraui et subscripsi. + Ego ceolnoð archiepiscopus
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego aeðelberht rex con-
sensi et subscripsi. + Ego lullede dux consensi et
subscripsi. + Ego aeðelmod dux consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego ælfred filius regis consens>i< et subscripsi. + Ego eadred dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
æðelric dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego cineheh
miles consensi et subscripsi. + Ego milred miles con-
sensi et subscripsi. + Ego ceolmund miles con-
sensi et subscripsi. + Ego lulla miles consensi et sub-
scripsi. + Ego æðelred miles consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego wulflaf miles consensi et subscripsi. + Ego æðelred miles consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
wæhtgar miles consensi et subscripsi. + Ego duduc
miles consensi et subscripsi. + Ego osberht miles
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego sigenoð miles consensi
et subscripsi. + IN nomine domini. Dunn hafað þas boc gesald
his wife ⁊ ðæt land þe þær an gewriten is
an godes ęst, ðæt hio hæbbe hire dæg ⁊ his
bruce, ⁊ efter hire dæge, geselle hit on
ðæs halgan apostoles naman sancte andreas
ðam hirode >in< mid unnan godes ⁊ his ha>l
for unc buta ⁊ ealle uncre eldran butan hi
hit mit unnan hiredes of gan to rihtan gafo-
le swaswa hyt hy geðingian magan, butan ælcen
bræde, oððe beswice,⁊ hy ðonne se hired hit geearnian
mid heora godcundnæsse ofer twelf
monoð, ⁊ stande simle mid cwide seo boc on ðæs
hiredes handa.
Translation
+ In the name of the divine Trinity, I, Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons as well as of the Kentish, for the tithe of the fields which, by God's grace, I have decreed to give to my other ministers, I will give to you, Dunne, my servant, one village, which we Saxons call "haga," situated to the south of Rochester Castle, and ten acres on the southern side of that village, as well as two acres of meadowland, and ten honorable loads of wood from the forest on the king's mountain, and the shared use of the marshland which has traditionally belonged to that village by right. This gift I grant to you for your possession and enjoyment, and after your days, you shall have the right to bequeath it to any heir of your choosing with full freedom. This donation and freedoms I, King Æthelwulf, with God's help, have completed in the year of the Lord's incarnation 855, in the third indiction. This is by the divine grace that was bestowed upon me when I journeyed beyond the sea to Rome, in the presence of these witnesses who have agreed and subscribed with me. I, King Æthelwulf, have confirmed and subscribed to this gift and freedoms with the sign of the holy cross of Christ.
+ I, Archbishop Ceolnod, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, King Æðelberht, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Lulled agreed and signed.
+ I, Duke Aeðelmod, agreed and signed.
+ I, Ælfred, son of the king, consented and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Eadred, agreed and signed.
+ I, Duke Edelric, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Cineheh the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Milred the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Ceolmund the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Lulla the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Ædelred the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Wulflaf the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Ædelred the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Waehtgar the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Dudoc the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Osberht the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Sigenoð the knight, agreed and subscribed.
In the name of the Lord… his wife ⁊ ðæt land þe þær an gewriten is an godes ęst, ðæt hio hæbbe hire dæg ⁊ his bruce, ⁊ efter hire dæge, geselle hit on ðæs halgan apostoles naman sancte andreas ðam hirode >in< mid unnan godes ⁊ his ha>l gena for unc buta ⁊ ealle uncre eldran butan hi hit mit unnan hiredes of gan to rihtan gafo-le swaswa hyt hy geðingian magan, butan ælcen bræde, oððe beswice, ⁊ hy ðonne se hired hit geearnian mid heora godcundnæsse ofer twelf monoð, ⁊ stande simle mid cwide seo boc on ðæs hiredes handa.
Donation of land to Rochester Cathedral partly within and partly to the north of Rochester, 868
Æthelred I of Wessex grants to Cuthwulf, bishop of Rochester, land partly within and partly to the north of Rochester (868). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 131r-132r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 26. Probably genuine, but note Campbell: ‘This charter is of unusual form’. No rubric. The text begins with purple display initial ‘R’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin. The boundaries are written in Old English, beginning on the first line of 141r, marked by a black cross, and continuing for another thirteen lines.
Transcription
140v (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ Regnantem in perpetuum domino deo nostro omnipoten-
ti sabaoth, cui patent cuncta penetra-
lia cordis et corporis, terrestria simul et
caelestia, necnon super aethera regnans in sedibus al-
tissima, et alta omnia sua dicione gubernans, cuius
amore et ęternis premiis ego aeðered rex occi-
dentalium saxonum necnon et cantuariorum, dabo et
concedo amico meo cuðwulfo hrofensis ęcclesię
episcopo aliquam partem terrę iuris mei hoc est in
duo loco, alia in ciuitate dorobroeuia, alia
in aquilone ciuitate marisco et prata longe et
lato alta et aquęflua, usque ad flumine modico
et magno meadowege flumina, uocatus et
ueribracho et fretos circulo et cingulo. In-
cipiunt pellati, pirigfliat, et scipfliat,
pausunt in flumine. + Her sint ða gemæra
oð miadowegan fram dodding hyrnan west
andlanges stræte, ut oð weall ⁊ swa be norðan
wege ut oð liabinges cota, ⁊ swa be liabinges
cotum oð þæt se weall east sciat, ⁊ swa east bin-
nan wealle oð ða miclan gatan angæn dodding
hirnan, ⁊ swa ðanne suð an geriaht fram
ða gatan andlanges weges be eastan ði lande
suð oð doddinghyrnan. Þanne be norðan weal-
le mers ⁊ maeða, oð mediwægan sindan þa gemæra.
Fram miadawegan binnan twam fliatum tiala
sint genemde, pirifliat, ⁊ scipfliot, ða gescea-
dað æt land westan ⁊ eastan oððæt weallfæ-
stenn. Þus >hit< is befangen mid friodome, amen >soð<.
+ Ego æðered rex hęc omnia dabo et concedo cuð-
wulfo meo dilecto fratre et episcopo in sempiternam he-
reditatem sibi habendum et possidendum, feliciterque
in dies eius perfruendum, et post dies eius cuicunque
ei herede placuerit ad derelinquendum liberam
ab omni seruitute >et< regali subiectione liberrima,
quam diu christiana fides in terra serbatur ęternaliter
permaneat, hoc ipsumque omnibus successoribus nostris
in nomine omnipotentis dei obserbare precipimus.
Et si quis hoc serbare uoluerit, seruet eum
omnipotens deus. Si quis uero per tyrannicam potestatem frin-
gere aut minuere uoluerit, sciat se maledi-
ctum esse a christo nisi emendare boluerit deo et ho-
minibus. Manente hac kartula in sua nichilo-
minus firmitate roborata, his testibus consen-
tientibus, quorum hic, illic, nomina infra scripta
sunt, et signo sanctę crucis corroborata.
+ Ego æðered rex confirmationem cum uexillo
sanctę crucis christi corroborabi et subscripsi. + Ego
alhferð episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego heah-
mund episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego wulfhere
dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego eadred dux con-
sensi et subscripsi. + Ego ælfstan dux consensi
et subscripsi. + Ego wigstan dux consensi et sub-
scripsi. + Ego ælfstan dux consensi et subscripsi.
+ Ego drihtwald dux consensi et subscripsi.
+ Ego ecgbearht minister consensi et subscripsi.
+ Ego beorhtnoð minister consensi et subscripsi.
+ Ego ordulf minister consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
æsca minister consensi et subscripsi. Actum est
autem anno ab incarnatione domini nostri iesu christi
dccclxviii.
Translation
Reigning eternally our Lord God the Almighty of Hosts, to whom all the interior parts of the heart and body, both terrestrial and celestial, as well as over the ether reigning in the highest seats, and governing all high things by his dominion, are revealed to him, by whose love and eternal rewards, I, Æthelred, King of the West Saxons as well as of Kent, will give and grant to my friend Cuðwulf, bishop of the church at Rochester some part of the land of my right, this is in two places, one in the city of Rochester, the other in the north of the city of Marisco[?], and meadows far and wide, high and flowing, as far as the little river and the great meadow rivers, called, and the arm, and the belt, and the girdle. They begin to be driven, to Pirigfliat and Scipfliat, they pause in the river. oð miadowegan fram dodding hyrnan west andlanges stræte, ut oð weall ⁊ swa be norðan wege ut oð liabinges cota, ⁊ swa be liabinges cotum oð þæt se weall east sciat, ⁊ swa east binnan wealle oð ða miclan gatan angæn doddinghirnan, ⁊ swa ðanne suð an geriaht fram ða gatan andlanges weges be eastan ði lande suð oð doddinghyrnan. Þanne be norðan wealle mers ⁊ maeða, oð mediwægan sindan þa gemæra. Fram miadawegan binnan twam fliatum tiala sint genemde, pirifliat, ⁊ scipfliot, ða gesceadað æt land westan ⁊ eastan oððæt weallfæstenn. Þus >hit< is befangen mid friodome, amen >soð<.
+ I, King Ered, will give all this and grant to Cuðwulf, my beloved brother and bishop, to have and possess as an eternal inheritance for himself, and to enjoy it during his days, and after his days to whomsoever he pleases as an heir to leave free from all servitude >and< free from royal subjection, as long as the Christian faith is preserved on earth, may it continue eternally, and this very thing we command all our successors to observe in the name of Almighty God.
And if anyone wants to keep this, let him keep it, Almighty God will keep him. If any one wishes to break or diminish by tyrannical power, let him know that he is cursed by Christ unless he is willing to make amends to God and man. Remaining in this charter, strengthened in its firmness nonetheless, with the consent of these witnesses, whose names here and there are written below, and strengthened with the sign of the holy cross.
+ I, King Ælthelred, with the sign of the holy cross of Christ confirmed and subscribed.
+ I, Bisop Alhferð, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Heamund, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Wulfhere, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Eadred, agreed and signed.
+ I, Duke Ælfstan, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Wigstan, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Ælfstan, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Drihtwald, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Ecgbearht the minister, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Beorhtnoð the minister, agreed and signed.
+ I, Ordulf the minister, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, æsca the minister, agreed and subscribed. Enacted in the year from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 868.
Three sulungs at Cuxton to Rochester Cathedral with the church of St Michael, 880
Æthelwulf of Wessex grants to St Andrew’s and Bishop Swithwulf three sulungs at Cuxton with the church of St Michael (880). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 141v-142v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 27. Fraudulent charter. Campbell: ‘This is a very doubtful charter. King Æthelwulf died in 858, but this charter is dated 880, the indiction agreeing. [...] the charter is [...] the work of a reckless compiler, who did not disturb himself to ascertain the dates of a king so well known as Æthelwulf, nor recall that 880 would fall in the reign of Ælfred the Great.’ The text begins with a green display initial ‘R’ and is marked by a black cross in the left margin. ‘ The boundaries, beginning at line six and finishing at line 12 of 142r, are written in Old English mixed with the Latin terms ‘in meridie’ (‘in the south’), ‘In occidente’ (‘in the west’), and ‘In aquilone’ (‘in the north’).
Transcription
141v (select folio number to open facsimile)
De cucolanstane.
+ Regnante in perpetuum domino nostro iesu christo, ego
aeðelulf rex saxonum, dabo pro remedio animae
meę terram ad ęcclesiam sancti andree apostoli christi et
suuiðuulfo episcopo aliquam partem in illo loco quę dicitur
cucolanstan atque ęcclesiam sancte michaelis archan-
geli. Hęc sunt termina trium aratrum circumia-
centia. In oriente miodowæge, in meridie healling
wara mearc up wið halles meres. In occidente
briogoning wara mearc oð norðdune norðan.
In aquilone east and langnes dune oð cinges
mear’, ⁊ ut fram cingesmerce, oð ða aldan
stræt east be ðare aldan stræte oð hlið, ⁊
þanan ut be ðan hliðe oð þa ea medewegan,
ut habeat et possideat et cuicumque uoluerit
illo uiuente seu moriente derelinquat, et post
se tradendum concedamus liueram ab omni seruitu-
te cum omnibus ad eam rite pertinentibus, cum furis
comprehensione et cum omnibus rebus quę ad ęcclesiam
sancte andreę pertinent cum campis siluis pratis pa-
scuis paludis, in minimis et in maximis notis
et ignotis. Si quis uero quod absit heredum successo-
rumque nostrorum donationem immutare aliter uel
minuere studeat, sciat se in primis omnipo-
tentis dei iram incurrere, et uiuentem in hac
uita benedictionem carere, et in nouissimo
maledictione subiacere. Qui uero hęc augenda cu-
stodierit nichilque inrogarit aduersi, sit be-
nedictus in secula seculorum, amen. Scripta est hęc
kartula anno dominicę incarnationis domini nostri
iesu christi dccclxxx. indictione xiii. his testi-
bus consentientibus et subscribentibus quorum
hic nomina infra tenentur ascripta. + Ego
æðelred archiepiscopus cum signo sanctę crucis christi confirma-
ui. + Ego swiðuulf episcopus consensi et subscripsi.
+ Ego æðelwald dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego beorn-
uulf dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego ealhmund
miles consensi et subscripsi. + Ego beornuulf miles
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego beorhtuulf miles consen-
si et subscripsi. + Ego deoruulf miles consensi et
subscripsi. + Ego ceolbald miles consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego ealhhere miregus consensi et subscripsi.
+ Ego deoring miregus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
beornhelm minister regis consensi et subscripsi.
+ Ego osmund minister regis consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego beorhtred minister regis consensi
et subscripsi. + Ego noðhelm minister regis
consensi et subscripsi. + Hęc sunt prata æt
cetham duos agros. Æt scite cocce, oðer healf
æcer mæde.
Translation
Concerning Cuxton:
Reigning perpetually, our lord Jesus Christ, I, Æthelwulf, king of the Saxons, will give for the remedy of my soul land to the church of Saint Andrew the Apostle of Christ and to Swithwulf the bishop some part in that place called Cuxton and the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel. These are the boundaries of the three ploughs: In the east miodowæge, in the south Halling wara mearc up wið halles meres. In occidente briogoning wara mearc oð norðdune norðan. In aquilone east and langnes dune oð cinges mear’, ⁊ ut fram cingesmerce, oð ða aldan stræt east be ðare aldan stræte oð hlið, ⁊ þanan ut be ðan hliðe oð þa ea medewegan, that he may have and possess it and leave it to whomsoever he wills, living or dying, and after surrendering himself let us grant freedom from all servitude with all that properly belong to it, with the arrest of thieves and with all things that belong to the church of Saint Andrew with fields, forests, meadows, pastures, marshes, in the least and in the greatest known and unknown. If anyone, who is absent from our heirs and successors, endeavours to change or diminish the gift in any other way, let him know that he will be the first to incur the wrath of Almighty God, and that he will be deprived of a living blessing in this life, and will be subjected to a very new curse. He who shall keep this thing to be increased, and nothing shall be questioned against him, may he be blessed for ever and ever, amen. This letter was written in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ’s Incarnation 880, indictment 13. To these consenting witnesses and subscribers whose names are here below written.
+ I, Archbishop ædelred, confirmed with the sign of the holy cross of Christ. I, Bishop Swiðuulf, agreed and subscribed. I, Duke Edelwald, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Beornuulf, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Ealhmund the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Beornwulf the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Beorhtwulf the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Deorwulf the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Ceobald the knight, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Ealhhere Miregus, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Deoring Miregus, agreed and signed.
+ I, Beornhelm the king's minister, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Osmund, the king's minister, consented and subscribed.
+ I, Beorhtred the king's minister, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Noðhelm the king's minister, agreed and subscribed. Here are meadows and two fields. And Scite the cook, took care[?]
Three plough-lands at Malling to Rochester Cathedral, Kent 942-946
Edmund I grants land at Malling, Kent, to Bishop Burhric of Rochester (c.942-944). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis folios 143r-144r by Jacob Scott (reviewed by Dr Christopher Monk). Translation of Old English, commentary and notes by Dr Christopher Monk.
The authenticity of this charter of King Edmund (or Eadmund) is uncertain. A. Campbell, in his Charters of Rochester, explains its difficulties:
The date clause has been omitted, and the style rex Anglorum necnon et Merciorum [‘king of the English and also/indeed of the Mercians’] can be due only to scribal addition of necnon et Merciorum, because Angli would naturally include Mercii. […] The language and formulae of the charter recall the Rochester charters of the period before 900, and Eadmund’s favourite formulae are not introduced.’ (Campbell, p. xxvi)
Campbell's argument, that the formulation of the charter seems old-fashioned and is lacking in Edmundian characteristics, is well made. If the Textus Roffensis copy does derive from an authentic original, then we would have to agree with Campbell that ‘it is not well preserved’ (Campbell, p. xxvi); it has possibly been corrupted during its transmission, or it may be a copy of a fraudulent charter.
Campbell’s querying of the monarch’s style ‘king of the English and also the Mercians’ needs closer analysis, however, and may be an unnecessary criticism of the charter in view of the history of Edmund’s reign.
Edmund I reigned from 939 to 946. He was ‘king of the English’ on succeeding his half-brother, King Æthelstan, as king of all England.1 However, by the end of his first year, he lost Northumbria and part of Mercia. He reconquered Mercia in 942 and Northumbria in 944 (Lapidge et al, p. 159). We should, I suggest, interpret necnon, in relation to the Mercians, as the emphatic ‘and indeed’; and thus we might understand that Eadmund, via his scribe, is emphasising the recent reconquering of Mercia: I am in fact the king of the Mercians, we might be hearing him say.
The boundary clause, with its appended list of seven swine pastures, is written in Old English, as is typical of charters of the period. The gifted three ‘ploughs’, or ‘ploughlands’, best understood as not simply a measurement of land but a unit of land used to calculate taxation, relate to an area around the modern-day market town of West Malling, south-west of Rochester. Some of the place-names of the boundary clause can be identified; several of the swine-pastures, however, cannot be pinpointed with accuracy. Unidentified place-names appear in italics in the translation; and some of the more obscure ones have also not been transliterated into modern English.
Transcription
143r (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ IN nomine dei summi, De meallingas.
et saluatoris nostri iesu christi, ipso quoque in perpe-
tuo regnante disponenteque suauiter omnia. Quapropter ego eadmundus rex anglorum necnon
et merciorum, meo amabili episcopo nomine burhric,
concedo aliquantulum mei telluris, ubi dicitur
meallingas, trium uidelicet aratrum pro reme-
dio animę meę in sempiternam hereditatem,
ad augmentum monasterii eius quę est dedica-
ta in honore sancti andreę apostoli germanus petri,
et socius in passione, cum omnibus rebus ad eam per-
tinentibus cum campis, siluis, pratis, pascuis,
necne et aucupiis, et hoc quoque cum consilio
optimatum et principum meorum quorum nomina
infra scripta reperiuntur. Vnde adiuro in no-
mine domini dei nostri iesu christi qui est omnium iustus
iudex, ut terra hęc sit libera ab omni regali ser-
uitio in perpetuum. Si quis uero minuere uel frau-
dare presumpserit hanc donationem, sit separatus
a consortio sanctorum, ita ut uiuens benedictione
dei sit priuatus, et sit damnatus in inferno in-
feriori, nisi satisfactione ante eius obitum
emendauerit quod inique gessit, manente tamen
hac cartula nichilominus in sua firmitate. Qui
uero tunc augere uoluerit dona nostra, augeat
illi dominus cęlestia dona, et ęternam uitam tribuat. Ðis syndon ða landgemæro ðæs bufan cwede-
nan landes. Ærest on suð healfe oð cincges
firhðe, of cincges fyrhðe on offahames ge-
mære, ðanan on here-stræt, andlang stræte
ofer lylleburnan oð east meallinga gemære,
⁊ swa riht suð be eastan ðam cwyllan2 oð þa
wyde stræte, suð andlang stræte on geriht
oð cincges fyrhðe. Ðænne syndon þis ða den-
bæro, east lindrhecg,3 ⁊ otanhyrst, >xxx porci<4 ⁊ fræcincg-
-hyrst, ⁊ sceorfestede, xxx porci. ⁊ wihtherincg-
faladsto, gafol, ⁊ holanspic, >xxx borda<5 ⁊ pætlanhrycg.
+ Ego eadmundus rex anglorum signo crucis con-
firmaui. + Ego eadred frater regis roboraui. + Ego
eadgife mater regis adfui. + Ego oda archiepiscopus
subscripsi. + Ego ælfeh episcopus consensi. + Ego
ðeodred episcopus. + Ego wulfstan archiepiscopus.
+ Cenwald episcopus. + Ego ælfred episcopus. + Ego ælfric
episcopus. + Ego æthelgar episcopus. + Ego ælfgifu con-
cubina regis affui. >+ Wulfgar dux. + Æðelstan dux.<6 + Eadmund dux. + scula
dux. + Sigferð minister. + Wulfric minister. + Ealdred
minister. + Ælfstan minister. + Ordeah minister. + Eadwerd
minister. + Wulfric minister. + Odda minister. + Ælla minister. + Ælf-
gar minister. + Osferð dux. + Wihtgar minister. + Wulf-
sige minister. + Birhtwald minister.
Translation
Concerning Malling:
In the name of the supreme God, and of our saviour Jesus Christ, he who also in perpetuity is reigning and ordaining all things sweetly .
Therefore, I, Edmund, king of the English and also the Mercians, to my beloved bishop named Burhric,7 grant a portion of my land, which is called Malling, that is to say three ploughs,8 for the deliverance of my soul into an everlasting inheritance, for the enlarging of his monastery which is dedicated in honour of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the brother of Peter, and companion in [Christ’s] Passion, with all things pertaining to it, fields, woods, meadows, pastures and also fowling,9 and this also with the counsel of my nobles and leaders whose names are found written below. Wherefore I swear in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the just judge of all, that this land may be free from all royal servitude in perpetuity. Moreover, if anyone presumes5 to diminish or defraud this gift, let him be separated from the company of the saints, so that he may be deprived of the blessing of God while alive, and be damned in hell below, unless through penance before his death he has made amends10 for what he has done unjustly, abiding yet, nonetheless, by this charter in its validity. Whoever, in truth, then wishes11 to increase our gifts, may the Lord increase his heavenly gifts and grant him eternal life.
These are the boundaries of the above-mentioned lands. First, on the south side as far as King’s Wood,12 from King’s Wood to the Offham boundary, then onto High Street,13 along this street over the Leybourne14 as far as the East Malling boundary; and so due south, with the well/spring to the east,15 as far as the wide street, south along this street right on as far as King’s Wood. Then, these are the swine-pastures:16 East Lindridge and Otanhurst,17 30 pigs;18 and Fræcincghyrst19 and Sceorfestede,20 30 pigs; and Wihtherincgfaladsto, gavel,21 and Holanspic, a herd of 30,22 and Petteridge.23
I, Edmund, King of the English, with the sign of the cross made confirmation.
+ I, Eadred,24 brother of the King, made ratification.
+ I, Eadgifu,25 mother of the king, was present.
+ I, Archbishop Oda,26 signed to confirm.
I, Bishop Ælfheah,27 agreed.
I, Bishop Đeodred.28
+ I, Archbishop Wulfstan.29
+ I, Bishop Cenwald.30
+ I, Bishop Ælfred.31
+ I, Bishop Ælfric.32
+ I, Bishop Æthelgar.33
+ I, Ælfgifu,34 [queen] consort of the King.
+ Wulfgar, duke.
+ Æthelstan, duke.
+ Eadmund, duke.
+ Scula, duke.
+ Sigferð, minister.
+ Wulfric, minister.
+ Ealdred, minister.
+ Ælfstan, minister.
+ Ordeah, minister.
+ Eadwerd, minister.
+ Wulfric, minister.
+ Odda, minister.
+Ælla, minister.
+ Ælfgar, minister.
+ Osferð, duke.
+ Wihtgar, minister.
+ Wulfsige, minister.
+ Birhtwald, minister.
Cited works
Campbell, A., Charters of Rochester (Oxford University Press, 1973).
Corèdon, Christopher with Ann Williams, A Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases (D. S. Brewer, 2004).
Glover, Judith, The Place Names of Kent (B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1976).
Lapidge, Michael, John Blair, Simon Keynes and Donald Scragg (eds.), The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England (Blackwell Publishing, 1999).
Sinclair Williams, C. L., 'The cwylla of King Edmund's West Malling Charter', Archaeologia Cantiana 89 (1974), pp. 135–39, available here
Whitehead, Annie, Women of Power in Anglo-Saxon England (Pen & Sword History, 2020).
Footnotes
1 Æthelstan reigned as ‘king of the Anglo-Saxons’ from 924/5 to 927, and as ‘king of the English’ from 927 to his death in 939; see ‘Athelstan’ in Lapidge, p. 16.
2 For a discussion of the boundary and particularly its reference to cwylla, see Sinclair Williams.
3 There is a scribal alteration of the spelling: from ‘lindrhycg’ to ‘lindrhecg’.
4 The scribe, probably the main scribe, has written ‘xxx p’ above ‘⁊ otanhyrst’.
5 The scribe, probably the main scribe, has written ‘xxx borda’ above ‘holanspic’.
6 The scribe provides an insertion mark after ‘affui.’ and a corresponding mark in the bottom margin followed by ‘+ Wulfgar dux. + Æðelstan dux.’.
7 Burhric (or, Burgric), bishop of Rochester, c. 933/934-c.946-964.
8 Or, ‘ploughlands’.
9 Fowling, that is, land for and the right to hunt game birds. Implicit with the mention of the other types of land is the granting of rights associated with the lands, for example, the rights to gather fuel for wood and take timber, and the right to pasture animals.
10 Or ‘will have presumed’, translating ‘presumpserit’ in the next line.
11 Or, ‘will have made amends’.
12 Or, ‘will have wished’.
13 Or ‘the king’s wood’. This is not the Kingswood east of Maidstone, which is too far away from Malling.
14 Or, ‘the highway’; Sinclair Williams prefers ‘Army street’: see Sinclair Williams, p. 136, and n. 7.
15 Leybourne, here, seems to refer to the name of the stream that runs between West Malling and the village of Leybourne; see Sinclair Williams, and Glover, p. 117.
16 Sinclair Williams (p. 138) identifies the cwylla of the charter with a pond just east of the boundary between West Malling and East Malling.
17 On the swine pastures in Rochester’s charters, including those named in this particular charter, see Campbell, pp. xvii-xix.
18 The ‘-hyrst’ element of the name means ‘wood’. The archaic English hurst, deriving from the Old English, means a wooded rise or hillock.
19 ‘30 pigs’, meaning the swine-pasture is sufficient for 30 pigs. The same number of pigs is stipulated for some of the other swine-pastures, below.
20 This may correspond to the modern place-name Frenchhurst; see Glover, pp. 75-6.
21 The ‘-stede’ element of the name has the sense of an occupied place; stede survives in the modern English word ‘farmstead’.
22 Old English gafol (‘gavel’), broadly meaning ‘rent’, may here be short for gafol-land and as such refer to the Kentish form of land tenure known as gavelkind, for which rent was paid rather than service due; see ‘Gavelkind’ in Corèdon. See also Campbell, p. 34, n.1; Campbell implies an amount for the rent may have been inserted at some point in the charter’s transmission history.
23 I’ve tentatively translated ‘xxx borda’ as ’a herd of 30 (pigs)’. The meaning of ‘borda’ is unclear; it is likely an error of transmission; Campbell suggests it is an error for hiorda, a Kentish variant of heord meaning ‘herd’. The intended meaning of sufficient pasture for a herd of 30 pigs seems most likely.
24 Literally, ‘Pætla’s ridge’; see Glover, p. 147. A different hand has written ‘pechelinge recg’ above.
25 The future King Eadred, king of the English from 946 to 955.
26 Eadgifu’s landed power and role in royal politics is notable; her story is opened up in Whitehead, esp. pp. 76-83.
27 Archbishop of Canterbury, 942-58.
28 Bishop of Winchester, 934-51.
29 Bishop of London, c.915-c.960.
30 Archbishop of York, 931-56.
31 Aka as Coenwald, bishop of Worcester, 929-57.
32 Or Alfred; most probably bishop of Selsey, appointed between 940 and 943 and died between 953 and 956.
33 Most probably bishop of Hereford, appointed either 934 or between 937 and 940 and died either between 949 and 958 or in 971.
34 Bishop of Crediton, 934-53.
35 The first wife of Edmund, died 944.
Ten sulungs at Bromley to Rochester Cathedral in return for money, 955
Eadgar of Wessex grants ten sulungs at Bromley to St Andrew’s in return for money paid by Bishop Ælfstan of Rochester to himself and his præfectus Wulfstan (955). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 150r-152r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 29. This is a copy of the extant, tenth-century document, British Library, Cotton Charters, viii. 33.
A description of the places to which the charter relates is written in Old English, beginning on 151r, fourth line before the rubric; and the boundaries are also written in Old English following the rubric, ‘Istis terminibus circumgirata est terra suprascripta & multis nota’, starting with the last word on 151r (‘Þis’, with a red Þ) over to 151v, line 9.
This charter, the Edgar charter, is one of several relating to the estate of Bromley, which was granted, according to another Rochester charter (not actually copied into the TR cartulary), by Æthelberht III to his servant Dryhtwald in 862. The monks of Rochester challenged this in a lawsuit. This Edgar charter aims to record the success of the suit, to ‘strengthen the claim of the priory to Bromley and the other estates involved’ (Campbell, p. xxiv).
Campbell (p. xxv) describes the original compiler (not the TR scribe-copyist) of this retrospective record as incompetent. The document is dated 955 even though Edgar did not become king until 959. The list of signatures points to 973. Campbell further suggests that the original Edgar charter dates to 980-987.
Transcription
150r (select folio number to open facsimile)
De bromleage;
+ In nomine regnantis in perpetuum domini nostri iesu
christi. Ego Eadgar rex anglorum cęterarumque gen-
tium, considerans et recolens quod etiam uas
electionis ueracissimis innotuit uerbis, quod
in nouissimis temporibus instarent tempora peri-
culosa. Iccirco unus quisque de semetipso plenius
poterit agnoscere quod quanto quis in hoc terreno
habitaculo longiorem protraxerit uitam,
tanto ueraciora esse omnia quę olim antiqui
uates diuinitus edocti, implenda esse predixe-
runt. Quod cernens ego necessarium duxi,
ut per intercessionem plurimorum pro uenia delictorum
meorum et requie ęterna adipiscenda animae
meę aliquid ex eis quę michi largitor bonorum christus
dominus donare dignatus est, hoc est decem man-
sas, quod cantigene dicunt x. sulunga, in
illo loco ubi iam dudum solicole illius regionis
nomen imposuerunt, æt bromleage, tibi uenerabili
apostolo christi, sancto andreę, et pro placabili
pecunia ælfstani antistitis ęclesię hrofensi
concedo, cum omnibus utensilibus quę deus cęlorum
in ipso telluris gramine creauit, tam in no-
tis causis et ignotis, in modicis et in ma-
gnis, campis, pascuis, pratis, siluis, siluarumque
densitatibus, donans donabo libertatem, pręter ex-
peditione, et pontis, arcisue instructione,
quia tanti pretii emptum est suprascripta terra,
octuaginta mancusis auri purissimi, et sex
pondus electi argenti. Et insuper dona meo
prefecto uulfstano donando auxit xxx. man-
cusas auri, ut fixa et immobilis permaneat
sempiternaliter nostra donatio. Ita adiuro in no-
mine domini dei nostri iesu christi qui est omnium iu-
dex iustus ut nec michi nec alicui successorum
meorum regum seu cuiuslibet dignitatis, aliquid
fraudare uel minuere, sed absque aliqua re-
tractione inlesa iugiter permaneat sine fine.
Si quis autem propria temeritate uiolenter inuade-
re presumpserit, sciat se proculdubio ante tri-
bunal districti iudicis titubantem treme-
bundumque rationem redditurum, nisi prius
digna satisfactione emendare maluerit.
Hęc utilitas siluarum ad eandem terram pertinet
in andredre, billanoran, belindhyrste, ⁊ on
glæppanfelda, scearndæn, ⁊ þar rihte wið
þornden, ⁊ broccesham be eastan ea, ⁊ tannera
hole, ⁊ trindhyrst. Istis terminibus circum-
girata est terra suprascripta et multis nota. Þis
synt þara tyn sulunga land gemæro to bromleage.
Ærest on eastan cysel hyrstes gemæro,
þonne on croptunes gemæro, þonne þanon
on ruge beorges gemæro, þonne on suð healfe,
cysse stanes gemæro forð be weard setlan, þonne
be westan wichammes gemæru, ⁊ beohha hammes
gemæru, þonne be norðan beringa hammes
gemæru, ⁊ modingahammes gemæro, ⁊ þonon
eft east on cinges gemæro, þæt on cysel hyrst.
Acta est hęc prefata donatio, anno ab incarnati-
one domini nostri iesu christi dcccc.mo l.mo v.to indictione
uero nouem. + Ego eadgar rex anglorum sub si-
gillo sanctę >+< crucis corroboraui. + Ego dunstan
dorobernensis ęcclesię archiepiscopus >+< crucis christi
conclusi. + Ego ælfþryþ mater regis predictum
donum confirmaui. + Ego oswald archiepiscopus e-
borace ciuitatis >+< crucis christi impressi. + Ego
aþelwold wintaniensis ęcclesię episcopus subscripsi
et confirmaui. + Ego ælfstan lundoniensis
ęcclesię episcopus corroboraui. + Ego ælfstan episcopus con-
signaui.+ Ego eadelm episcopus consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego sydemann episcopus conclusi. + Ego alfold
episcopus corroboraui. + Ego bryhtelm episcopus roboraui.
+ Ego byrhtferð minister. + Ego æþelweard
minister. + Ego ælfwerd minister. + Ego æþel-
mær minister. + Ego ælfsige the minister. + Ego
wulfstan minister. + Ego ælfric minister.
+ Ego ælfheah minister. + Ego ealdred mini-
ster. + Ego leofstan minister. + Ego ælfhere
dux. + Ego æþelstan dux. + Ego æþelwine dux.
+ Ego byrhtnoð dux. + Ego ordgar dux. + Ego
ælfric minister. + Ego alfwold minister. + Ego
wulfsige minister. + Ego sigred minister. + Ego
eadelm minister.
Translation
Concerning Bromley:
+ In the forever-reigning name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I, Eadgar, king of the English and other nations, considering and recalling that even in the most sincere words of his choice, he informed us, that in the most recent times perilous times would arise. In this way each one of himself will be able to recognize more fully that the longer he has lived in this earthly abode, the more true will be the fulfilment of all that was once taught by the ancient sages of the gods. Seeing that I thought it necessary, that through the intercession of many, for the atonement of my offenses and the eternal rest of my soul, I might obtain some of those things which Christ the Lord, the benefactor of good things, has deigned to bestow on me, this is ten mansas, which cantigenes say 10 sulungs, in that place where they have long ago imposed the name of that region, at Bromley, I grant to you the venerable apostle of Christ, Saint Andrew, and for the pacifying money of Ælfstan the antistite of the church of Rochester, with all the utilities which the god of the heavens created in the very grass of the earth, as well as in the known for causes and unknown, in small and great, fields, pastures, meadows, forests, and thickets of thickets, I will give freedom, besides the expedition, and the bridge, and the instruction of the castle, because the above-mentioned land was bought for such a price, eighty mancuses of the purest gold, and six weight chosen silver And besides, by giving gifts to my prefect, Uulfstan, he increased by 30 gold bars, so that our gift may continue forever fixed and immovable. Thus I adjure in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the just judge of all, that neither I nor any of my successors, kings, or of any rank, shall cheat or diminish anything, but without any retraction it shall continue unharmed forever and without end.
But if any one, through his own rashness, presumes to encroach violently, let him know that he will doubtless give a trembling account before the tribunal of the district judge, unless he first prefers to make amends with a worthy satisfaction. This utility of forests belongs to the same land in andredre, billanoran, belindhyrste glæppanfelda, scearndæn, ⁊ þar rihte wið þornden, ⁊ broccesham be eastan ea, ⁊ tannera hole, ⁊ trindhyrst.
The above-mentioned land is surrounded by these borders and is known to many: This synt þara tyn sulunga land gemæro to bromleage. Ærest on eastan cysel hyrstes gemæro, þonne on croptunes gemæro, þonne þanon on ruge beorges gemæro, þonne on suð healfe, cysse stanes gemæro forð be weard setlan, þonne be westan wichammes gemæru, ⁊ beohha hammes gemæru, þonne be norðan beringa hammes gemæru, ⁊ modingahammes gemæro, ⁊ þonon eft east on cinges gemæro, þæt on cysel hyrst. This aforesaid donation took place, in the year from the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ 900, in the first, fifth indiction in the new[?].
+ I, Eadgar, king of the English, strengthened under the seal of the holy >+< cross.
+ I, Dunstan, Archbishop of the Church of Canterbury >+< confirmed with the cross of Christ.
+ I, Ælfþryþ, mother of the king, confirmed the aforesaid gift.
+ I, Oswald the archbishop of the city of York >+< impressed with the cross of Christ.
+ I, Aþelwold, Bishop of the Church of Wintani, subscribed and confirmed it.
+ I, Ælfstan, Bishop of the Church of London, confirmed.
+ I, Bishop Ælfstan, subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Eadelm, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Sydemann, confirmed.
+ I, Bishop Alfold, confirmed.
+ I, Bishop Bryhtelm, confirmed.
+ I, Byrhtferð the minister
+ I, Æþelweard the minister.
+ I, Ælfwerd the minister.
+ I, Æþelmær minister
+ I, Ælfsige the minister.
+ I, Wulfstan the minister.
+ I, Ælfric the minister.
I, Ælfheah the minister.
+ I, Ealdred the minister.
+ I, Leofstan minister.
+ I, Duke Ælfhere.
+ I, Duke Æþelstan.
+ I, Duke Eþelwine,
+ I, Duke Byrhtnoð.
+ I, Duke Ordgar.
+ I, Ælfric the minister.
+ I, Alfwold the minister
+ I, Wulfsige the minister
+ I, Sigred the minister
+ I, Eadelm the minister.
Three sulungs and a fourth at Bromhey with a fishery and swine-pastures, 801
Coenwulf of Mercia and Cuthred of Kent grant to Swithun, minister, for his good service and his money, three sulungs and a fourth one nearby at Bromhey, with the use of a fishery and four swine-pastures (801). A note of Swithun’s bequest of the land to St Andrew’s follows. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 135v-136v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Coenwulf of Mercia and Cuthred of Kent grant to Swithun, minister, for his good service and his money, three sulungs and a fourth one nearby at Bromhey, with the use of a fishery and four swine-pastures (801). A note of Swithun’s bequest of the land to St Andrew’s follows. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 135v-136v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 16. On 135v several words have been underlined in a fainter, brown ink. At 136r there is the annotation ‘bocland’ (‘bookland’) in the right margin, written in a later hand.
Transcription
135v (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ Regnante et adiuuante nos deo et domino nostro
iesu christo, ego coenuulfus gratia dei rex
merciorum, anno v.o imperii nostri, una cum
fratre meo cuðredo rege scilicet cantua-
riorum, dabo in perpetuam possessionem suiðhune
nostro in commune ministro modicam telluris por-
tionem trium scilicet aratrorum ubi nominatur
aet bromgehaege in prouincia cantię, et unius
aratri adiacentem altera terra quod uocatur aeðiluul-
fing lond adiecto uno piscatorio on tæmise
flumine ubi dicitur fiscnæs, adiectis iiii. denbe-
ris in commune saltu id est on cæster sæta walda,
his locis aet otan sihtre, ⁊ aet crangabyrum,
⁊ aet frecinghyrte, ⁊ aet haeseldenne predicto
uiro uel eius posteris sub perpetua libertate
concedimus cum omnibus ad se pertinentibus rebus
pro eius beneplacabile pecunia simul et deuoti fa-
mulatus sui parientia, ut habeat et posside-
at quam diu uiuat, et post se cui uoluerit re-
linquat in sempiternam possessionem eo uideli-
cet iure si ipse nobis et optimatibus nostris fide-
lis manserit minister, et inconuulsus amicus.
+ Ego coenuulfus rex donationem meam signo
crucis confirmo. + Signum manus cuðredi re-
gis cantuariorum. + Signum manus ceolberhti du-
cis. + Signum manus berhthuni et byrnwaldi
comitum. Hoc item secunda die pascę adfirmant
coram rege cuðredo in urbe cantuariorum archiepiscopus
aeðilheard, ⁊ merciorum abbas daeghelm cum
optimatibus quorum hic scripta sunt nomina.
+ Aeðilheard archiepiscopus. + Daeghelm presbiter
abbas. + Heaberht. + Osuulf. + Egnulf. + Alh-
mund. + Beornheard. + Esne. + Ealdberht. + Haehfrið.
+ Ealdberht. + Osmod. + Wiohthert. + Bealðheth.
Quomodo suiðun hanc terram sibi datam a re-
gibus, concessit sancto andreae post obitum suum.
+ Ego swiðun post obitum meum trado terram
huius libelli pro remedio animę meae
omnibusque sibi pertinentibus sancte andreę in perpetuum.
Et si quis augerit, ęternam uitam tribuat ei deus,
si quis tunc minuere uoluerit, mortem supplicium
cum diabolo in ęternum sit passus.
Translation
+ By our reigning and sustaining God, and our Lord Jesus Christ, I will bestow on you by the grace of God King of the Mercians, in the 5th year of our empire, along with my brother Cuthred, King of the Kentishmen, I will give to Swithun our common minister a small portion of the earth, namely, the three plows where he is named Bromhey in the province of Kent, and the land adjoining another one plow, which is called Aeðwulf Land, with the addition of one fishery on the River Thames, where it is called Furs, an addition of 4 in commune saltu id est on cæster sæta walda, in these places at Otan Sihtre, and at Crangabyrum, and at Frecinghyrte, and at Haeselden to the aforesaid man or his posterity, we grant under perpetual freedom with all matters pertaining to him for his good money at the same time also bearing his devout service, that he may possess, and possess as long as he lives, and leave behind him to whomever he wishes to be in perpetual possession by the right, if he himself remain a faithful servant to us and our nobles, and a good friend.
+ I, King Coenwulf, confirm my gift with the sign of the cross.
+ Signed by the hand of Cudred, King of Kent.
+ Signed by the hand of Duke Ceolberht.
+ Sign of the hand of Berthhun and Byrnwald of the community. They also assert this on the second day of Easter before King Cuðred, in the city of Canterbury, Archbishop Aeðilheard, bbot of the Mercians, together with the nobles whose names are here written.
+ Archbishop Aeðilheard.
+ Abbot Daeghelm the presbiter.
+ Heaberht.
+ Osuulf.
+ Egnulf.
+ Alhmund.
+ Beornheard.
+ Esne.
+ Ealdberht.
+ Haehfrið.
+ Ealdberht.
+ Osmod.
+ Wiohthert.
+ Bealðheth.
How Swithun bequethed this land, granted to him by the king, to Saint Andrew’s after his death:
+ I, Swithun, after my death, hand over the land of this book for the relief of my soul and all that belongs to Saint Andrew forever. And if any man should increase, may God grant him eternal life; if any one then wish to diminish, he would suffer death and punishment with the devil forever.
Eighty acres and half a village, and also a marsh, 860 (altered to 790)
King Æthelberht II of Wessex grants to Bishop Wærmund (of Rochester), in return for his money, eighty acres and half a village, and also a marsh, 860 (altered to 790).
Campbell, no. 24. This is probably a copy of the extant tenth-century document, British Library, Cotton Charters, viii. 29.
Fraudulent charter. Campbell: ‘This is a crude forgery. The date was originally 860, and this suits the king and witnesses. But someone has learned (?from 14) the approximate date of Bishop Wærmund, and has altered the date to 790. Whoever altered the date no doubt knew that Æthelberht II of Kent was an eighth-century benefactor of Rochester, but he has still not made his date early enough for that king to be assumed to be the one involved.’
Transcription
134r (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ IN nomine domini nostri iesu christi saluatoris. Si ea
quę secundum decreta canonum ac statuta syno-
dalia salubriter definiuntur, quamuis sermo
solus ad testimonium sufficere possit, at tamen
ob incertam futurorum temporum conditionem fir-
missimis scripturarum indiciis et cautionum
cyrographis sunt roboranda. Quoniam quidem sepe
ex ignorantia, sepe quod est execrabilius ex impro-
bitate contingit ut denegatio rerum uere
et recte gestarum nascatur. Qua propter ego aeðel-
bearht rex occidentalium saxonum seu cantuua-
riorum uuaermundo episcopo trado terram iuris
mei id est xx. æcra, et unum uiculum dimidium
ciuitatis hrobi, et unum mariscum quę ad illum
pertinet, pro eius pecunia quam ab eo accepi, hoc est
xv. pund’, et xxx. mancuso, ut habeat et pos-
sideat, et cuicumque uoluerit illo uiuente seu
moriente ęternaliter tradendam concedo cum
omnibus ad eas rite pertinentibus in minimis
et in maximis notis et ignotis sine fine in
euum permaneat liuera. Si quis uero quod absit he-
redum successorumque meorum hanc nostram piam dona-
tionem immutare aliter uel minuere studue-
rit, sciat se in primis omnipotentis dei iram in-
currere, et uiuentem in hac uita benedictione
carere, et in nouissimo maledictione subia-
cere. Qui uero hęc augenda custodierit,
nichilque inrogarit aduersi, sit benedictus
a domino. Scripta est hęc cartula, anno dominicę
incarnationis dccxc. his testibus qui haec
consentientes subscripserunt, quorum hic nomi-
na infra tenentur asscripta.
+ Ego aeðelbearht rex hanc meam donationem
signo sanctę crucis christi roboraui et subscripsi.
+ Ego ciolnoð archiepiscopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
ealhstan episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego Swiðhun
episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego guðheard episcopus
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego dioruulf episcopus consensi
et subscripsi. + Ego æðelred filius regis. + Ego
ælfred filius regis. + Ego uullaf abbas. + Ego uuer-
ferð abbas. + Ego uulfhelm presbiter. + Ego uuer-
enberth minister. + Ego ceolmund minister.
+ Ego eannulf dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
oric dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego uulfhere
dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego aetheluulf dux
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego humbearht dux consensi
et subscripsi. + Ego uullaf dux consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego aldred dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
æðelred dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego dryhtwald
dux consensi et subscripsi. + Ego biorhtuulf dux
consensi et subscripsi. Diuisiones supradictę terrę.
Ðanne is >ðer< se leah ðe man ðæt lond mid friðe
haldan scæl. An east healfe sio ealde stræte,
an suð halfe horsum stide, an west halfe
biddanstiorf, an norð halfe pume lond.
Ðanne sind Diuisiones supradicti marisci.
ðæs londes gemæra an west healfe scipfli-
ot, an norð healfe meodowæge, an east hal-
fe liofwinne mearc, ðanne fram cioldry-
ðe londe west be ðare aldan stræte swæ sio
twoentig ęcra.
Translation
+ In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If those things which according to the decrees of the canons and the statutes of the synods are defined, although speech alone may be sufficient for testimony, because of the uncertain condition of future times, they must be strengthened by the most reliable indications of scriptures and surety bonds. For indeed a fence from ignorance, a fence which is more execrable from impiety, occurs so that the denial of things truly and rightly done is born. For this reason I, Aeðelbearht, king of the Western Saxons, and of the Kentish, give to Bishop Waermund, the land of my right, that is, 20 acres, and one lane, half of the city of Hrobi, and one marsh which belongs to it, for his money which I received from him, this is 15 pounds, and 30 mancuso, that he may have and possess it, and to whomsoever he wills, living or dying, I grant that it may be given eternally, with all that properly pertains to them, in the least and in the greatest, known and unknown, to continue in his possession without end. If any one, who is absent from my heirs and successors, endeavors otherwise to alter or diminish this pious gift of ours, let him know that he will be the first to incur the wrath of Almighty God, and that the living will be deprived of the blessing of this life, and subject to the latest curse. He who shall keep this thing to be increased, and shall ask no question of what is brought against him, may he be blessed by the Lord. This letter was written in the year of the Lord’s incarnation 790. to these witnesses who have subscribed their consent to these things, whose names are here written below.
+ I, King Aedelbearht, confirmed and signed this donation of mine with the sign of the holy cross of Christ.
+ I, Archbishop Ciolnoð, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Ealhstan, agreed and subscribed.
I, Bishop Swiðhun, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Godheard, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Dioruulf, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Aedelred son of the king.
+ I Alfred the king's son.
+ I, Abbot Olaf.
+ I, Abbot Werferð.
+ I, Uulfhelm the presbyter.
+ I, Enberth the minister.
+ I, Ceolmund the minister.
+ I, Duke Eannulf, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Oric, agreed and signed.
+ I, Duke Uulfhere agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Aetheluulf, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Humbearht, agreed and signed.
+ I, Duke Olaf, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Aldred agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Aedelred, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Dryhtwald, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Biorhwulf, agreed and subscribed.
Divisions of the above-mentioned land:
Ðanne is >ðer< se leah ðe man ðæt lond mid friðe haldan scæl. An east healfe sio ealde stræte, an suð halfe horsum stide, an west halfe biddanstiorf, an norð halfe pume lond.
Divisions of the above-mentioned marsh:
Ðanne sind ðæs londes gemæra an west healfe scipfliot, an norð healfe meodowæge, an east halfe liofwinne mearc, ðanne fram cioldryðe londe west be ðare aldan stræte swæ sio twoentig ęcra.
One and a half yokes of land at Rochester for enlarging the monastery, 789
King Offa of Mercia grants to Bishop Wærmund (of Rochester) one and half yokes of land at Rochester for enlarging the monastery (789). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 133r-134r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
King Offa of Mercia grants to Bishop Wærmund (of Rochester) one and half yokes of land at Rochester for enlarging the monastery (789). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 133r-134r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 13. No rubric. The text begins with a red display initial ‘i’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin.
Translation
133r (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ In nomine domini nostri iesu christi. Omnem hominem
qui secundum deum uiuit et remunerari a deo
sperat et optat, oportet ut piis precibus assen-
sum hilariter ex animo prebeat. Quoniam certum est
tanto facilius ea quę quisque a deo poposcerit consequi
posse, quanto et ipse libentius hominibus recte
postulata concesserit. Quo circa ego offa
rex merciorum tibi uenerabili uuaermundo
antistiti ut diligenter postulasti aliquam par-
ticulam terrę iuris mei id est quasi unius
et semis iugeri in ciuitate hrofi ad augmen-
tum monasterii tui ęternaliter possidendam
concedo ac describo cum omnibus scilicet ad eam
pertinentibus rebus. Hęc autem terrula ab aquilo-
nali et ab oriente ciuitatis iacet, et pertingit
usque ad septentrionalem murum prefatę ciuita-
tis intra terras uidelicet quas antea ab
oriente et occidente possedisti, et ideo haec tibi
satis accommoda quia in medio iacebat. Si quis
autem contra hanc donationem meam aliquando
uenire inuido maliuoloque animo temptaue-
rit, sit in presenti separatus a communione sanctę
ęcclesię christi, et in futuro a societate sanctorum om-
nium segregatus. Manentem hanc kartulam
in sua semper firmitate signo dominicę cru-
cis roboraui, et idoneos testes ut et id ipsum
facerent adhibui. Actum anno dominicę in-
carnationis dcclxxxix. indictione xii.
in loco ubi nominatur celchyth.
+ Ego offa rex merciorum hanc donationem
meam signo sanctę crucis roboraui. + Ego ecgfrið
rex consensi et subscripsi. + Ego iaenberhtus
gratia dei archiepiscopus consentiens subscripsi. + Ego
hygeberht archiepiscopus subscripsi. + Ego ceoluulf
episcopus subscripsi. + Ego heard>red< episcopus subscripsi. + Ego
unuuona episcopus subscripsi. + Ego cyneberht
episcopus subscripsi. + Ego algheard episcopus subscripsi.
+ Ego uuaermund episcopus subscripsi. + Ego eadgar
episcopus subscripsi. + Ego uueohthun subscripsi.
+ Signum manus ealhmundi abbatis. + Signum manus
beonnan abbatis. + Signum manus brordan. + Signum
manus berhtuualdi. + Signum manus aeðilhardi.
+ Signum manus uuigcgan. + Signum manus ceol-
mundi. + Signum manus ceolheardi. + Signum
manus eadbaldi. + Signum manus forðredi. + Sig-
num manus uuigcgan. + Signum manus heaberhti.
+ Signum manus ubban.
Translation
+ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every man who lives according to God, and hopes and desires to be rewarded by God, must cheerfully offer his assent to pious prayers. Since it is certain that the more easily one can obtain those things which God should demand, the more willingly he himself has conceded the right demands to men. About which I, Offa, King of the Mercians, to you, the venerable Bishop Waermund, you have diligently asked for a small piece of land of my right, that is one and a half acres in the city of Rochester, for the growth of your monastery, I grant you to possess it eternally, and describe it with all the things pertaining to it. This small piece of land lies on the north and east of the city, and extends as far as the northern wall of the aforementioned city within the lands which you previously purchased from the east and west, and therefore these things are well suited to you, because it lay in the middle. But if any one should at any time attempt to come up against this gift of mine with an envious and malevolent mind, let him be in the present separated from the communion of the holy church of Christ, and in the future separated from the fellowship of all the saints. I validated this remaining charter in its steadfastness with the sign of our Lord's Cross, and I summoned competent witnesses to do the same. Act in the year of our Lord's incarnation 789, 12th indiction, in the place where Celchyth is mentioned.
+ I, Offa, king of the Mercians, validated this gift with the sign of the holy cross.
+ I, King Ecgfrid agreed and subscribed.
I, Jaenbert, by the grace of God archbishop, consented and signed.
+ I, Archbishop Hygeberht, subscribed.
I, Bishop Coewulf, subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Heardred, subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Unuuona, subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Cyneberht, subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Algheard, subscribed.
+ I. Bishop Waermund, subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Eadgar, subscribed.
+ I, Weohthun, subscribed.
+ Signed by the hand of Abbot Ealhmundi.
+ Signed by the hand of Abbot Beonnan.
+ Signed by the hand of Brordan.
+ Signed by the hand of Berhtwald.
+ Signed by the hand of Aeðilhard.
+ Signed by the hand of Wigcan.
+ Signed by the hand of Ceolmund.
+ Signed by the hand of Ceolheardi.
+ Signed by the hand of Eadbald.
+ Signed by the hand of Forðredi.
+ Signed by the hand of Wigcgan.
+ Signed by the hand of Heaberht.
+ Signed by the hand of Ubban.
Three sulungs at Rochester with the use of six swine-pastures, 811
Coenwulf of Mercia grants three sulungs at Rochester to Bishop Beornmod (of Rochester), with the use of six swine-pastures (811). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 136v-137v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Coenwulf of Mercia grants three sulungs at Rochester to Bishop Beornmod (of Rochester), with the use of six swine-pastures (811). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 136v-137v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 17. This is probably a copy of the extant ninth-century document, British Library, Cotton Charters, viii. 31.
Transcription
136v (select folio number to open facsimile)
De borcstealle. + IN nomine domini nostri iesu christi.
Regnante in perpetuum eodem deo et domino nostro
iesu christo, ego coenuulf gratia dei rex merciorum,
uiro uenerabili beornmodo episcopo, trado
terram iuris mei id est quasi tria aratra,
ad meridianam plagam ciuitatis quę dicitur hro-
fescester, ut habeat et possideat, et cuicumque
uoluerit illo uiuente seu moriente ęternali-
ter, tradendam concedo. Sunt autem huius tellu-
ris termini notissimi ab oriente uia puplica,
a meridie uuldaham, ab occidente flubius
meduwege, ab aquilone meara teag. Si quis hanc donatio-
nem meam infringere aut minuere temptaue-
rit, sciat se rationem redditurum ante tribu-
nal ęterni iudicis nisi prius deo et hominibus di-
gne emendauerit, et predicta terra sit libera
ab omni regali et seculari seruitio. Adiectis
denberis in commune saltu, otanhyrst, et frae-
cinghyrst, sceorfes stede, crangabyras, wihtherinc
falad sto, et haeseldaen. + Ego coen-
uulf rex merciorum hanc donationem meam
signo sanctę crucis christi confirmaui. + Ego uul-
fred archiepiscopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
deneberht episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
aeðeluulf episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
sigered rex consensi et subscripsi. + Ego Aelbðrið
regina consensi et subscripsi. + Ego heardberht dux
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego beornmod episcopus con-
sensi et subscripsi. + Ego beornnoð dux consensi
et subscripsi. + Ego cynehelm dux consensi et sub-
scripsi. + Ego eadberht dux consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego cyneberht propinquo regis consensi et
subscripsi. + Ego coenwald propinquo regis consensi
et subscripsi. + Ego quoenðryð filia
regis consensi et subscripsi. + Ego eanberht
dux consensi ( ) et subscripsi. + Ego aeðelheah
consensi et subscripsi. Scripta est autem hęc kar-
tula anno dominicę incarnationis dccc.a xi.a indi-
ctione iiii.a his testibus consentientibus et sub-
scribentibus.
Translation
Concerning Borstal:
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Reigning forever, the same God and our Lord Jesus Christ, I, Coenwulf, by the grace of God king of the Mercians, to the venerable man Bishop Beornmod, I hand over the land of my right, that is, three plows, on the south side of the city which is called Rochester, that he may have and possess it while he was living or dying eternally, I allow it to be handed over. The most well known borders of this earth are on the east a public road, on the south Wouldham, on the west the river Medway, and on the north Meara Teag. If any man shall attempt to infringe or diminish this gift, let him know that he will render account before the tribunal of eternal judgement by God and men unless he first amends worthily, and the aforesaid land is free from all royal and secular service. You will be added into the common forest, Otanhyrst, and Fraecinghyrst, Sceorfes Stede, Crangabyras, Wihtherinc Falad Stand[?], and Haeseldaen.
+ I, Coenwulf, King of the Mercians, have confirmed this gift of mine with the sign of the holy cross of Christ.
+ I, Archbishop Wilfred, agreed and signed.
+ I, Bishop Deneberht, have agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Edeluulf, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, King Sigared, consented and signed.
+ I, Queen Aelbðrið consented and signed.
+ I, Duke Heardberht, consented and signed.
+ I, Bishop Beornmod, consented and signed.
+ I, Duke Beornmod, consented and signed.
+ I, Duke Cynehelm, consented and signed.
+ I, Duke Eadberht, consented and signed.
+ I, Cyneberht, the King’s propinquo[?] consented and signed.
+ I, Coenwald, the King’s propinquo[?] consented and subscribed.
I, Quoenðryð daughter of the king, consented and subscribed.
+ I, Duke Eanberht, consented and subscribed.
I, Aeðelheah consented and signed. This charter was written in the year of our Lord’s incarnation 811, in the 4th interdiction, with the consent and signature of these witnesses.
Ansgot of Rochester grants tithing from Delce and other privileges to St Andrew’s Priory
Ansgot of Rochester grants tithing from Delce and other privileges to St Andrew’s, Rochester. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folio 197v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Ansgot of Rochester grants tithing from Delce and other privileges to St Andrew’s, Rochester. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folio 197v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Scribal note: A pointing finger appears in the lower left margin, probably by a later hand.
Transcription
197v (select folio number to open facsimile)
Ansgotus de roucestra accepit societatem
beneficiorum ecclie sancti Andree et monacho-
rum tempore Gundulfi episcopi et dedit eidem
ecclie et monachis. Totam dedimas sua’
de deltsa. Et de molendino similiter
quod postea fecit.
sa est infra murum monachorum uersus australia
et quinque acros terre uxta prestefelde dedit
eis et ipsi iuxta peticionem sua’ dederint
ei pannos monachicos in articulo moras
sue. Et fecerunt serutau’ pro eo ficua pro
monachorum.
Translation
Ansgot of Rochester received the society and favour of the church of Saint Andrew and the monks in the time of Bishop Gundulf, and he gave to that church and monks the whole of his sue[?] of Delce. And of the mill in like manner which he did afterwards. The whole tenth and a small part of the land which is enclosed within the wall of the monks to the east and gave them the acres of land near Priestfields. They will, according to their request, give him the monks’ cloths at the moment of his delay[?]. And they made seutau’ by means of a ficua[?] for the monks.
Land in connection with the Church of St Mary’s at Lambeth
William II grants land to St Andrew’s, Rochester, in connection with the Church of St Mary’s at Lambeth. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 211r-211v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
William II grants land to St Andrew’s, Rochester, in connection with the Church of St Mary’s at Lambeth. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 211r-211v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Transcription
211r (select folio number to open facsimile)
De lamhytha. + QVISQVIS deo seu pro deo aliquid pręstat,
non hoc ipsum a se alienat, sed melius
sibi ipsi in posterum reseruat. Qua
spe ductus ego Willelmus dei gratia rex anglo-
rum trado de iure meo ęcclesię rofensi sancti an-
dreę apostoli ęcclesiam sanctę marię de lamhytha,
de me semper et de successoribus meis cognoscen-
dam et tenendam, cum omnibus quę ad eandem ęcclesiam
pertinent, tam in terris, siluis, aquis, pratis,
quam in omnibus aliis rebus tam intra burgum
quam extra, saca, et socne, toll, et team, cum
aliis consuetudinibus quas comitissa GODA
prius habuit, et ego hactenus in dominio meo
habui. Et hoc concedo pro salute animę meę,
patris mei, et omnium parentum meorum, et pro re-
stauratione damni quod eidem ęcclesię licet
inuitus intuli, pro conquirendis inimicis meis
qui intra iam dictam ciuitatem contra me et
contra regnum meum iniuste congregati erant,
de quibus omnipotens deus sui gratia uictoriam michi
contulit. Hanc ergo donationem propria manu signo
et confirmo, presentibus testibus et assentientibus
de baronibus meis, Thoma archiepiscopo eboracensi,
Rogero comite scropesbyriensi, Henrico comi-
te uuaruuicensi, Henrico de ferrariis,
Rogero bigoto, Iuone taillebosc, Willelmo peurel,
et aliis pluribus.
Translation
Concerning Lambeth:
+ Whoever does anything for God, does not alienate himself from Him, reserves the best for himself for the future. By this hope I, William, by the grace of God king of the English, hand over to my rights to the church at Rochester, the Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the church of Saint Mary at Lambeth, always concerning me and my successors to know and hold, with all things that belong to the same church, both on earth, forest, water, meadows and all other things both within the borough and outside, sac, and socne, toll, and team, among other customs which Countess Goda had before, and I have hitherto held it in my dominion. And I grant this for the safety of my soul, of my father, and of all my parents, and for the restoration of the damage which I had, though unwillingly, to that church, for seeking out my enemies who had within the said city unjustly gathered against me and against my kingdom, of whom the grace of Almighty God conferred victory on me. Therefore I confirm this gift with the sign and my own hand, with the present witnesses and assent of my barons, Thomas, archbishop of York, Roger earl of Scropebyry, Henry Earl of Warwick, Henry the blacksmith, Roger Bigot, Iono Tailley, William Peurel, and many others.
Gundulf affirms the grant of land by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux
Gundulf affirms the grant of land by Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, to the Church of St Andrew and its monks. Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 211v-212r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Transcription
211v (select folio number to open facsimile)
Gundulfus rofensium gratia dei episcopus, haimo-
ni uicecomiti et omnibus baronibus regis
de cænt francigenis et anglis, salutem et
benedictionem dei et suam quantum potest.
Volo uos omnes scire me iam quietum esse aduer-
sus regem de illa cambitione terrę quam ei promi-
si post uuærram rofę, pro illis tribus acris quos
odo baiocensis episcopus dedit ęcclesię sancti andreę
et monachis nostris ad faciendum ibi ortum suum
iuxta murum deforis uersus australem par-
tem ciuitatis forinsecus, qui iam inclusi sunt
muro circumquaque. Et illos tres acros terrę
quos pro illis tribus dedi regi in cambitionem
liberaui iam ministris uicecomitis, Rodberto
scilicet de sancto amando, et Rodberto latimier,
et ælfuuino fratre eius preposito de cetham, et gren-
toni de rouecestra, de nostra dominica terra de
burchestealla, presentibus testibus istis, Ans-
goto de rouecestra, Gosfrido talebot, Gois-
frido de ros, Radulfo pincerna adę, Rodul-
fo clerico, et aliis multis de nostra familia et
de ciuibus eiusdem uillę.
Translation
Gundulf, by the grace of God, bishop of Rochester, to Hamo the sheriff and to all the king's barons, both French and English, greetings and blessings from God and his family. I want you all to know that I am now at peace with the king on that level of land I promised him after Rochester, for those three acres which the bishop of Bayeux has given to the church of St. Andrew and our monks, to make its origin there by a wall outside on the south side of the city. which were now enclosed in a wall on every side. And those three acres of land, which I gave to the king in exchange for those three, I have already delivered to the ministers of the sheriff, namely, to Robert of Saint Amando, and to Robert Latimer, and to his brother Ellwin, the provost of Etham, and Grenton of Rochester, of our lord's land at Borstal, those present witnesses, Ansgot of Rochester, Geoffrey Talebot, Goisfrid of Ros, Ralph the servant of Adam, Rudolf the clerk, and many others of our family and citizens of the same town.
Donation to Rochester Cathedal of four sulungs at Snodland and Holborough, with a mill, village and various rights, 838
Ecgberht of Wessex grants to Bishop Beornmod (of Rochester) four sulungs at Snodland and Holborough, with a mill, rights of gathering wood, and of pasturing swine in four districts, and a village (838). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 131r-132r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 19. Campbell: ‘The form of this document is unusual. Some of the usual elements of the old English charter are missing; in particular there is no sanction. The document would seem to be an abbreviation of a charter.’ This is probably a copy of the extant, tenth-century document, British Library, Cotton Charters, viii. 30. Note: At the start of the document, in the left margin, there is an annotation in Latin (much later hand) indicating that the exemplar can be found in the Cotton Library.
Transcription
138v (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ In nomine domini De snodilande.
nostri ih’u iesu christi saluatoris mundi, anno dominicę
incarnationis dccc.xxx.viii. indictione i.a
ego ecgbearhtus rex cum consensu dilectissi-
mi filii nostri æðelwulfi regis dabo debotissi-
mo episcopo meo beornmodo aliquam terrę par-
tem iuris mei quattuor aratrorum, in loco quę
dicitur snoddingland et ęt holanbeorge, ut
habeat et possideat, et cuicumque uoluerit re-
linquat, ita ut predicta terra sit liuera ab omni
serbitia. + Scripta est hęc cartula in bica
regali, quę dicitur fręricburna, is testibus consen-
tientibus et subscribentibus quorum infra nomina
tenentur, et unam molinam in torrente qui dicitur
holanbeorges burna, et in monte regis quinqua-
ginta carrabas lingnorum, adiectis quattuor
denberis, hwoętenstede, heahdęn, hese, helman-
hyrst. + Egcberht rex. + Ęðeluulf rex. + Cial-
noð archiepiscopus. + Beornmod episcopus. + Ealhstan
episcopus. + Eadhun episcopus. + Cynred episcopus. + Ceolberht
episcopus. + Wlfheard dux. + Ęðelwulf dux. + Eanulf
dux. + herebearht dux. + Ęðelwulf dux. + Eðelheard, et in oriente
ciuitatis hroui unum uiculum.
Translation
Concerning Snodland:
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, in the year of our Lord’s incarnation 838, 1st indiction, I, King Ecgberht, with the consent of our most beloved son, King Æthelwulf, will give to my most deserving bishop some part of the land of my right, four plows, in the place which is called Snodland and at Holborough, so that he may have and possess it, and leave to whomsoever he will, so that the aforesaid land is land free from all servitude.
+ This document was written on the royal plate, which is called Fraericburna, with the consent and signatures of those witnesses whose names are kept below, and one mill in the brook called Holborough Burna, and on the king's mountain fifty carts of firewood, in additional four are to be found, Hwoetenstede, Heahdaen, Hese, Helmanhyrst.
+ Egbert the King.
+ King Aeðelwulf.
+ Archbishop Cialnoð,
+ Bishop Beornmod.
+ Ealhstan
+ Bishop Eadhun.
+ Bishop Cynred.
+ Bishop Ceolberht.
+ Wlfheard the chief.
+ Duke Aeðelwulf.
+ Duke Eanulf.
+ Duke Herebearht.
+ Duke Aeðelwulf.
+ Eðelheard, and in the east of the city, one hamlet.
Two sulungs at Holborough to Rochester Cathedral, 841
Æthelwulf of Wessex grants to Bishop Beornmod of Rochester two sulungs at Holborough (841). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 139r-139v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 20. The text begins with a green display initial ‘R’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin.
Transcription
139r (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ REgnante in perpetuum De holanbeorge;
domino nostro iesu christo, qua propter + ego oeðeluulf
rex occidentalium saxonum dabo et conce-
do + beornmodo hrobensis ęcclesię episcopo aliquam
partem terrę iuris mei, in loco quę appellatur
holanbeorges tuun duo aratrum cum consilio et licen-
tia episcoporum et principum meorum ut habeat et prefruet
in hereditatem sempiternam, et cuicumque uoluerit
relinquat, et sit illa terra liuera ab omne rega-
le seruitute in magnis et minimis notis et
ignotis cum pratis et pascuis et paludis cum
omnibus rebus quę ad illam terram pertinet. Scrip-
ta est hęc scedula, anni domini dccc xli. Indicti-
ne iiii. his testibus consentientibus et subscri-
bentibus, quorum hic nomina continentur. + Ego
ęðeluulf rex hanc meam donationem cum uexillam
sanctę crucis rouorabi et confirmo. + Ego eðelstan >rex consensi et subscripsi. + Ego ealhstan<
episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego helmstan episcopus
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego beornmod episcopus consen-
si et subscripsi. + Signum manus ęðeluulf dux.
+ Signum manus ealchere dux. + Signum manus duduc.
+ Signum manus ęðelmod. + Signum manus uchtred.
+ Signum manus tuca. + Signum manus eðelred. + Sig-
num manus sigbeorht. + Signum manus boba.
Translation
Concerning Holborough:
+ Reigning forever our Lord Jesus Christ, for which I, Æthelwulf, King of the West Saxons, will give and concede to Beornmod, bishop of the church of Rochester, some part of the land of my right, in the place which is called Holborough, tuun two plows, with the council and permission of my bishops and princes, that he may have and free himself for an everlasting inheritance, and leave it to whomever he wishes, and let that land be free from all royal service great and small and unknown, with meadows, pastures, and marshes, with all the things which pertain to that land. This document was written in the year of the lord 841, in the fourth interdiction. With the consent and signature of these witnesses, whose names are contained here.
+ I, King Æthelwulf, confirm this my gift with the sign of the holy cross.
+ I, Ethelstan >king, consent and subscribe. + I, Bishop Ealhstan,< agreed and signed.
+ I, Bishop Helmstan, agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Beornmod, agreed and subscribed.
+ Signed by the hand of Oeðeluulf.
+ Signed by the hand of Duke Ealchere.
+ Signed by the hand of Duduc.
+ Signed by the hand of Oeðelmod.
+ Signed by the hand of Uchtred.
+ Signed by the hand of Tuca.
+ Signed by the hand of Eðelred.
+ Signed by the hand of Sigbeorht.
+ Signed by the hand of Boba.
Ecgberht of Wessex makes a general grant of privileges to Rochester Cathedral
Ecgberht of Wessex makes a general grant of privileges to St Andrew’s, Rochester (823). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 137r-138v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Ecgberht of Wessex makes a general grant of privileges to St Andrew’s, Rochester (823). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 137r-138v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 18. Fraudulent charter. Campbell: ‘This is a highly suspicious document. The title rex Anglorum [‘king of the English’] is not used by Ecgberht elsewhere, and the year and indiction do not agree. A vague, general grant of priviliges would be [of] most use in the post-Conquest disputes, and the document may be a forgery of that time.’ Scribal note: On 137v certain words are underlined in brown ink (later hand).
Transcription
137r (select folio number to open facsimile)
De libertate aecclesię
sancti andreę apostoli; + IN nomine domini nostri iesu christi, ego ecgberhtus gratia dei
rex anglorum, cum consensu episcoporum ac principum
meorum hanc libertatem donabi ęcclesiae quę
sita est in ciuitate hrobi et omnibus agellis quę
ad ęcclesiam sancti andreę apostoli pertinent, pro remedio
animę meę et filii nostri aetheluulfi quem regem
constituimus in cantia, ut omnes >agros< sint libera ab
omni regali seruitio, a pastu regum et principum,
ducum et prefectum exactorumque, ab equorum et fal-
conum accipitrumque et canum acceptione, et illorum
hominum refectione quod nos festing menn
nominamus a parafrithis, et ab omnibus difficul-
tatibus regalis uel secularis seruitutis notis
et ignotis, cum furis comprehensione intus et
foris maioris minorisue, preter pontis constru-
ctione et expeditione, ęternaliter liberata per-
maneat. Hanc libertatem predicte ęcclesię donabi,
pro humili oboedientia uenerabilis episcopi beorn-
modi, et pro amore apostoli sancti andreę, et beati
paulini archiepiscopi cuius corpus in predicta ęcclesia
requiescit. Sic etiam >omnibus< successoribus uel heredibus
meis, necnon cuicunque gradu regibus seu princi-
pibus in nomine sanctę trinitatis et per tremendum
dei iudicium precipio ut hęc donatio mea fir-
ma et inlibata inconcussaque permaneat. Si quis
uero hoc beniuola mente obseruare uoluerit,
seruetur ei benedictio sempiterna, hic et in ęter-
num. Si autem quod absit aliquis insurrexerit
tyrannica potestate fretus seu diabolica te-
meritate instigatus qui hanc libertatem infrin-
gere aut minuere uel maluit conuertere
temptauerit quam a nobis constitutum est, sci-
at se separatum a communione sanctę dei ęcclesiae et
a participatione omnium sanctorum dei et ęternis
ignibus esse nodatum nisi prius digne et perfe-
cte hic in seculo emendare uoluerit. Scripta
est hęc cartula anno dominicę incarnationis
dccc. xx. iii. indictione vi. his testibus con-
sentientibus et signo sanctę crucis christi confir-
mantibus, quorum nomina infra tenentur ascri-
pta. + Ego ecgberhtus rex anglorum hanc
donationem meam huius libertatis signo sanctę cru-
cis christi confirmaui et subscripsi. + Ego ae-
theluulf rex consensi et subscripsi. + Ego uul-
fręd archiepiscopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego wig-
ðegn episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego ealhstan
episcopus consensi et subscripsi. + Ego beornmod episcopus
consensi et subscripsi. + Ego wulfhard dux consen-
si et subscripsi. + Ego monnędę dux consensi et
subscripsi. + Ego osmod dux consensi et subscri-
psi. + Ego dudda dux consensi et subscripsi. + al-
dred. + Oshere. + ætheluulf. + duduc. + boba.
+ Ealhhere. + Sigaesteb. + æðelhard.
Translation
Concerning the freedom of the Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle:
+ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I, blessed by the grace of God, King of the English, with the consent of my bishops and princes, I grant this freedom to the church which is located in the city of Rochester and to all the flocks that belong to the Church of Saint Andrew the Apostle, for the remedy of my soul and that of our son Aethelulf which king we set in song, that all the fields should be free from all royal servitude, from the pasture of kings and princes, dukes and prefects and executors, from the reception of horses and falcons and hawks and dogs, and from the refreshment of those men whom we call feasting men from Parafriths, and from all the difficulties of royal or secular servitude, known and unknown, with the arrest of thieves within and without, greater or less, beyond the construction of the bridge and the expedition, may he remain eternally freed. I will grant this liberty to the aforesaid church, for humble obedience to the venerable Bishop Bernard, and for the love of the apostle St. Andrew, and the blessed Archbishop Paulinus, whose body rests in the aforesaid church. So also to all my successors or heirs, as well as to kings or princes of any degree, in the name of the holy trinity and by the terrible judgment of God, I command that this gift of mine continue firm and unbroken and unshaken. If any one is willing to observe this with a kind heart, he will receive an everlasting blessing, here and forever. But if any one who is absent, relying on tyrannical power, or instigated by diabolical recklessness, who has attempted to infringe or diminish this liberty, or who prefers to turn away from what has been established by us, let him know that he is separated from the communion of the holy church of God, and from the participation of all the saints of God, and that he is bound to the eternal fires only before He wills to make amends with dignity and perfection here in the world. This letter was written in the year of the Lord's incarnation 823, 4th indiction. These witnesses agreeing and confirming with the sign of the holy cross of Christ, whose names are written below.
+ I, Ecgberhtus, king of the English, have confirmed and subscribed my grant of this liberty with the sign of the holy cross of Christ.
I, King Aetheluulf, agreed and subscribed.
I, Archbishop Uulfraed, consented and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Wigðegn agreed and subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Ealhstan, agreed and subscribed. + I, Bishop Beornmod, agreed and subscribed. + I, Duke Wulfhard, agreed and subscribed. + I, Duke Monnędę agreed and subscribed. + I, Duke Osmod agreed and subscribed
+ I, Duke Dudda agreed and subscribed.
+ Aldred.
+ Oshere.
+ ætheluulf.
+ Duduc.
+ Boba.
+ Ealhhere.
+ Sigaesteb.
+ æðelhard.
The same half a sulung and a marsh in Bromhey
King Ecgberht II of Kent again grants half a sulung and a marsh to Deora in Bromhey (779). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 130r-130v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
King Ecgberht II of Kent again grants half a sulung and a marsh to Deora in Bromhey (779). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 130r-130v by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 10. The text begins with a red display initial ‘I’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin.
Transcription
130r (select folio number to open facsimile)
Item de bromgehege;
+ IN nomine domini nostri iesu christi.
Cum quis religiosorum uirorum fideliter deo famu-
lantibus ex temporalibus terrenisque substantiis
donare decreuerit, hoc pro certo christo dona-
tori bonorum omnium redonare constat. Vnde
et ego egcberht rex cantię tibi uenerando
dioran hrofensis ęcclesię antistiti trado di-
midiam partem unius aratri contiguam uidelicet
eiusdem quantitatis terrulam, in regione uo-
cabulo bromieheg, a me antea traditae. Insuper et adiciam mariscem pertinentem ad aridam
et ad aquę ripam iaenlade habentem quasi
quinquaginta iugerum, et ut in tua sit facul-
tate in perpetuum habendam possidendam traden-
damque cuicunque elegeris hominum, et si quis
tam ausus sit hanc donationem meam infringere
temptauerit, sit anathema maranatha. Hanc cartulam in sua stabilitate manentem con-
sentientibus religiosis personis et subscriben-
tibus signo crucis christi roboraui quorum nomina
cum propriis infra notentur signaculis. Actum
anno ab incarnatione christi dcclxxix. in ci-
uitate supradicta. + Ego ecgberhtus donator
signum crucis christi impressi. + Signum manus
boba. + Signum manus balthard. + Signum manus
uuealhard. + Signum manus banta. + Signum
manus billnoth. + Signum manus osuulf. + Si-
gnum manus bubba. + Signum manus balthard.
Translation
Likewise concerning Bromhey:
+ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When any of the religious men who faithfully serve God decides to donate from temporal and earthly goods, it is certain to give back this for certain to Christ, the donor of all goods. Whence also I, Egberht, King of Kent, in honouring the venerable Dioran, bishop of the church of Rochester, hand over to you one half part of an adjoining plow, namely a small piece of the same size, in the region under the name of Bromhey, which was formerly delivered by me. Moreover, I will also add a marsh that extends to dry land and to the waters bank of about fifty acres, and that it may be in your capacity in perpetuity to possess and deliver over to any man whatever you choose. And if anyone so dare to attempt to break this donation let him be accursed.
This document, which remains in its stable state, with the consent of the religious persons and those who signed it with the sign of the cross of Christ, validated their names with their respective seals below. Enacted in the year from the Incarnation of Christ 779, in the above-mentioned city.
+ I Egbert, the donor, signed with the cross of Christ.
+ Signed by the hand of Boba.
+ Signed by the hand of Balthard.
+ Signed by the hand of Wealhard.
+ Signed by the hand of Banta.
+ Signed by the hand of Billnoth.
+ Signed by the hand of Oswulf.
+ Signed by the hand of Bubba. Signed by the hand of Balthard.
Half a sulung and a marsh at Bromhey, Kent, 778
King Ecgberht II of Kent grants to Bishop Deora of Rochester half a sulung and a marsh at Bromhey, Kent (778). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 129r-130r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
King Ecgberht II of Kent grants to Bishop Deora of Rochester half a sulung and a marsh at Bromhey, Kent (778). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 129r-130r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 9. This was probably copied from the tenth-century, single sheet document, British Library, Cotton Charters, viii. 34. Campbell: ‘This charter seems genuine, although the extant single sheet may be later than the time of grant, and in any event the boundaries are a subsequent addition.’ The text begins with a green initial ‘I’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin. The boundaries are written in Old English, beginning line 2, folio 130r: ‘on eastan’ (‘in the east’).
Transcription
129r (select folio number to open facsimile)
De bromgehege; + IN nomine domini nostri iesu christi. Pietatis bene-
ficium quod quisque fidelium pro christi reuerentia
seruo dei fideliter domino seruienti misericorditer
contulerit, christo hoc conferre dinoscitur. Nam ipse in fine mundi ad electos suos loquens
dicturus est . Cum uni ex minimis meis feci-
stis, michi fecistis. Iccirco ego egcberhtus rex
cantiae, hanc dominicam sententiam memoriter re-
tinens, et piis operibus deo instigante adimple-
re curabo, tibi dioran hrofensis ęcclesię an-
tistiti aliquam partem terrę iuris mei liben-
ter concedo, id est dimidiam unius aratri par-
tem ubi nominatur bromgeheg, simul et ma-
riscem uocabulo scaga, et ut per omne ab hac die
et deinceps subsequens tempus cum notissimis
terminis omnibusque utilitatibus ad eam rite pertinen-
tibus tuo proprio iuri ęternaliter habendam possiden-
dam tradendamque cuicumque hominum uolueris
hilari concedo animo. Huius autem marisci ter-
minus, est aqua pene undique circumperfusa. Si quis
ergo heredum successorumque meorum contra hanc piam
donationem meam uenire fuerit ausus et teme-
rare eam inuido maliuoloque temptauerit animo,
sit anathema maranatha. Manente hac car-
tula in sua nichilominus stabilitate, quam robora-
re propria manu curaui, et alios idoneos religio-
sosque testes ut id ipsum agerent adhibui, quorum
nomina infra caraxata continentur. Actum anno
dominicę incarnationis dcclxxviii. in ciuitate do-
rouerni. + Ego egcberhtus rex cantię, hanc
donationem meam signo crucis Christi roboraui.
+ Ego iaenberhtus archiepiscopus testis consentiens
subscripsi. + Signum manus escuualdi presbiteri.
+ Signum manus uban. + Signum manus boban.
+ Signum manus uualhard. + Signum manus ubban.
+ Signum manus aldhun. + Signum manus sigired.
+ Signum manus esni. + Signum eaniardi.
Huic uero terrę adiacent pratę ubi dicitur hreodham,
in iiii.or locis. In uno loco xvii. agros, on eastan
clifwara gemære, ⁊ on suðan tucincgnæs,
⁊ on wæstan culinga gemære, ⁊ on norðan.
Et in alio loco xii. agros, on eastan is culinga
gemære, ⁊ on suðan clifwara gemære, ⁊ on
westan, ⁊ on norðan. Et in tertio loco vii.
agros, be eastan is mearcfleot, ⁊ be suðan,
⁊ be westan ⁊ be norðan is clifwara gemære.
Et in quarto loco vi. agros, be eastan is clif-
wara gemære, ⁊ be suðan is culinga gemære,
⁊ be westan is ⁊ be norðan clifwara gemære.
Translation
Concerning Bromhey:
+ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The benefit of piety, that each one of the faithful has a reverence for Christ as the merciful servant of God, is determined to confer this on Christ.
For he himself will say at the end of the world, speaking to his chosen ones, "When you did it for one of the least of mine, you did it to me." For this reason I, Egbert, King of Kent, remembering this Sunday sentence, and will take care to fulfill it at the instigation of God's pious works, will willingly grant to you Dioran, bishop of the church of Rochester, some part of the land of my right; so that, from this day forward, one-half of the plow in the part named Bromhey, the same time as the marsh, by the name of Scaga, and as from this day and the following period, with the best known terms and all the interests duly pertaining to it, to your own right, I will for ever permit you to possess and deliver it to whatever people you want with a cheerful mind. But the boundary of this marsh is surrounded by water almost everywhere. If, therefore, any one of my heirs and successors has dared to come against this pious gift, and attempt to violate it with an envious and malevolent spirit, let him be accursed. While this document was nevertheless in its own stability, which I had taken care to strengthen by my own hand, I also summoned other competent and religious witnesses to do the same, whose names are contained in the letter below. Act in the year of our Lord's Incarnation 778 in the city of Canterbury.
+ I, Egbert, King of Kent, have validated my gift with the sign of the cross of Christ.
+ I, Archbishop Jaenbert, a consenting witness, signed.
+ Sign of the hand of Escuwald the priest.
+ Sign of the hand of Uban.
+ Sign of the hand of Boban.
+ Sign of the hand of Walhard.
+ Sign of the hand Ubban.
+ Sign of the hand of Aldhun.
+ Sign by the hand of Sigired.
+ Sign of the hand of Esni.
+ Sign of the hand of Eaniard.
But adjacent to this land, where it is called Hreodham, in four places. In one place 17 fields, on eastan Clifwara gemære, and on south Tucincgnæs, and on West Cooling gemære, and on the north.
And in another place 12 fields, on the east is Cooling gemære, and on the south Clifwara gemære, and on the west, and on the north. And in the third place of 12 fields, by east is Mearcfleot, and by south, and by west, and by north is Clifwara gemære. And in the fourth place fields, by east is Clifwara gemære, and by South is Cooling gemære, and by west and by North is Clifwara gemære.
Land with similar boundaries to the Rochester Cathedral foundation charter, purported date 761
King Æthelberht of Wessex and Kent (r. 860-866) grants to Bishop Deora of Rochester land with similar boundaries to that granted in the cartulary’s opening charter (purported date 761). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 130v-131r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
King Æthelberht of Wessex and Kent (r. 860-866) grants to Bishop Deora of Rochester land with similar boundaries to that granted in the cartulary’s opening charter (purported date 761). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 130v-131r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 11. Campbell, ‘The basis of this charter is obviously a charter of Æthelberht of Wessex (king of Wessex and Kent, 860-6) [...] The charter has been re-cast to appear to be a charter of 761, recording a grant to Bishop Deora of Rochester (elected c. 770). In the extant single-sheet copy [British Library, Cotton Charters, vi. 4], 761 has been altered to 781.’ The text begins with a green display initial ‘I’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin. Note: The boundaries are written in English, beginning at line 2 of 131r. They are underlined.
Transcription
130v (select folio number to open facsimile)
+ IN nomine domini nostri
iesu christi, cui patent cuncta penetralia
cordis et corporis. Ego ethelberhtus rex
occidentalium saxonum necnon cantauuariorum
concedo hrofensis ęcclesię antistiti deoran ali-
quantulum terrę iuris mei intra moenia
supradictę ciuitatis in parte aquilonali, id est
fram doddinc hyrnan oð ða bradan gatan
east be wealle, ⁊ swa eft suð oð þæt east geat,
⁊ swa west be stræte oð doddinc hyrnan, ⁊
ðreo hagan be eastan porte butan wealle, ⁊ ðar
to feower æceras mæde be westan, ee. Hoc
in augmentum monasterii tibi concessi sancti an-
dreę, ut mea donatio immobilis permaneat
semper. Et si quis hanc donationem meam au-
gere uoluerit, augeat dominus ei uitam. Si quis
uero tunc minuere presumpserit, sit separatus
a conspectu domini in die iudicii nisi prius emenda-
uerit ante eius transitum quod nequiter gessit.
Actum dominicę incarnationis dcclxxxi. + Ego
ethelberhtus rex hanc meam donationem si-
gno sanctę crucis confirmaui. + Ego geanberht
archiepiscopus corroboraui. + Ego deora episcopus con-
signaui. + Signum manus uualhard. + Signum
manus uban. + Signum manus udan. + Signum
manus ealhere. + Signum manus dudec. + Signum
manus wullaf.
Translation
+ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all the innermost parts of the heart and body are open. I, Ethelberht, King of the West Saxons as well as the Kentish, grant to the bishop of Rochester in the church of Deora a small part of the land of my right within the walls of the above-mentioned city on the north side, that is from Doddingherne as far as Broadgate east along the wall, and as far south as Eastgate, and so west along Street from as far as Doddingherne, and …eastern part of the wall, and as …west, ee. This I have granted to you for the growth of the monastery of Saint Andrew, so that my gift may remain forever. And if any one wishes to increase my gift, let the Lord increase his life. But if any one then shall presume to reduce it, let him be separated from the Lord's presence on the day of judgment unless he first amended before his passing what he had done wickedly. Enacted in the year of our Lord’s incarnation 781.
I, King Ethelbert, have confirmed this gift of mine with the sign of the holy cross.
+ I, Archbishop Geanberht, corroborated it.
+ I, Bishop Deora, have signed.
+ Signed by the hand of Walhard.
+ Signed by the hand of Uban.
+ Signed by the hand of Udan.
+ Signed by the hand of Ealhere.
+ Signed by the hand of Dudec.
Signed by the hand of Wullaf.
Six sulungs at Trottiscliffe with the right to pasture swine in three districts, 788
King Offa of Mercia grants to St Andrew’s and the bishopric of Rochester six sulungs at Trottiscliffe, Kent, with the right to pasture swine in three districts (788). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 131r-132r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
King Offa of Mercia grants to St Andrew’s and the bishopric of Rochester six sulungs at Trottiscliffe, Kent, with the right to pasture swine in three districts (788). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 131r-132r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 12. The text begins with a purple display initial ‘I’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin.
Transcription
131r (select folio number to open facsimile)
De trottesclyua; + IN nomine dei summi et saluatoris nostri iesu
christi, ipsoque in perpetuo regnante disponenteque
suauiter omnia terrena quoque sceptra et regalia
iura temporaliter distribuerit. Vnde et ego
offa rex merciorum aliquam terram pro remedio
et salute animę meę tradam, id est sex ara-
trorum ubi nominatur trottesclib ad ęcclesiam
beati andreae apostoli et ad episcopium castelli quod
nominatur hrofescester ubi beatus paulinus
pausat, quam etiam episcopalem sedem modo
in presenti rite regit uuaermundus religi-
osus antistes. Hanc itaque supradictam terram
ad hanc condicionem perpetualiter habendam
et possidendam concedo cum omnibus ad eam rite
pertinentibus rebus cum campis siluis pascuis pra-
tis pastinationibus et cum propriis terminis. Huius
autem telluris termini sunt isti, ab oriente et
a meridie boerlingas, ab occidente uurota-
ham, ab aquilone meapaham. Ad hanc quoque
terram pertinent in diuersis locis porcorum pa-
stus id est uuealdbaera ubi dicitur holen-
spic bi suðan ee eppanhrycg non longe ab eo
loco langanhrycg. Quisquis uero contra hanc
donationis cartulam callido malignoque trac-
tatu contraire presumpserit, nouerit >se< quisquis ille
fuerit in discreto dei iudicio sinistrę partis
socium fore et a christi et dei corpore sanguineque se-
gregandum. Manente hac cartula in sua nichi-
lominus firmitate propria manu signaculo cru-
cis christi roborare curaui, et testes religiosos
et consen>tien
nomina cum propriis cruciculis infra adno-
tentur. Actum anno dominicę incarnationis
dcclxxxviii. + Ego offa rex merciorum hanc
suprascriptam donationem meam hoc signum cru-
cis impressi. + Ego ecgfrid rex merciorum
testis consentiens subscripsi. + Ego cyne-
drith regina consensi et subscripsi. + Ego
iaenberhtus gratia dei archiepiscopus signum crucis
christi impressi. + Ego hygeberht archiepiscopus sub-
scripsi. + Ego ceoluulf episcopus subscripsi. + Signum
manus brordani prefecti. + Signum manus berhtuual-
di. + Signum manus eadbaldi. + Signum manus
ceolmundi.
Translation
Concerning Trottiscliffe:
+ In the name of our supreme God and our Savior Jesus Christ, and in his perpetual reign and disposition all earthly scepters and royal temporal rights distributed. Whereupon I, Offa, King of the Mercians, will hand over some land for the relief and salvation of my soul, that is, the six plows where the Trottiscliffe is named, to the church of the blessed Apostle Andrew, and to the bishop of the castle, which is named Rochester, where Blessed Paulinus rests, which also the bishopric seat of the Waermund at present now duly governs a religious bishop. I, therefore, grant this aforesaid land on this condition to be possessed eternally and I grant to possess it, with all due to it properly pertaining to it, with plains, wood pastures, grazing meadows, and with their own boundaries. And the boundaries of this earth are these, on the east and on the south boerlingas, on the west Wrotham, on the north meapaham. They also belong to this land in different places feeding on pigs, that is, Wealdbaera where it is called Holenspic bi suðan ee eppanhrycg not far from that place langanhrycg. Whoever will presume to go against this gift by a clever and malignant design, let him know that whoever he was, shall be a partner in the discrete judgment of God on the left, and must be separated from the body of Christ and the blood of God.
While this document remained in its place, nevertheless, with the firmness of my own hand, I took care to strengthen it with the seal of the cross of Christ, and I summoned religious and consenting witnesses acting on it, whose names with their own crucifixions are recorded below. Act in the year of our Lord's Incarnation 788.
+ I, Offa, King of Mercia, have impressed my gift with this sign of the cross.
+ I, Egfrid king of the Mercians, a consenting witness, signed.
+ I, Queen Cynedrith consented and signed.
I, Jaenbert, by the grace of God archbishop, impressed on the sign of the cross of Christ.
+ I, Archbishop Hygeberht, subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Ceoluulf, subscribed.
+ Signed by the hand of Prefect Brodran.
+ Signed by the hand of Berhtwald.
+ Sign of the hand of Eadbald.
+ Signed by the hand of Ceolmund.
A sulung at Bromhey, 789
King Offa of Mercia grants a sulung at Bromhey to Bishop Wærmund and the church at Rochester (789). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 132r-133r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
King Offa of Mercia grants a sulung at Bromhey to Bishop Wærmund and the church at Rochester (789). Translation from Latin of Textus Roffensis, folios 132r-133r by Jacob Scott (pending review).
Campbell, no. 14. The text begins with a green display initial ‘I’ and is marked by a large, black cross in the left margin.
Transcription
132r (select folio number to open facsimile)
Item de bromgehege. + IN nomine domini nostri iesu christi >saluatoris<. Si ea quę secundum
decreta canonum ac statuta synodalia salu-
briter definiuntur, quamuis sermo solus ad te-
stimonium sufficere possit, at tamen ob incer-
tam futurorum temporum conditionem firmissimis
scripturarum indiciis et cautionem cyrographis
sunt roboranda. Quoniam quidem sepe ex ignorantia, sepe
quod est execrabilius ex improbitate contingit,
ut denegatio rerum uere et recte gestarum
nascatur. Qua propter ego offa rex merciorum tibi
uuaermundo antistiti necnon et ęcclesię quae
sita est in castro quod nominatur hrofescaester
trado terram unius aratri ubi nominatur broom-
geheg cum certissimis terrę huius limitibus,
quę habet ab oriente uuiodafleot, a meridie
uero fons quidam et fossa circumdata, et ex inde
sepis quędam, itemque fossata ab occidente et no-
tis signis designatur, ab aquilone mariscem uo-
cabulo scaga, quam etiam circumfluit iaegnlaad.
Hanc autem terram tibi tradendam et possiden-
dam et ęcclesię usui mancipandam, quam tu iure
gubernas concedo. Si quis uero successorum meorum uel
principum hanc donationem meam immutare
temptauerit, sit anathema maranatha usque
dum dominus ueniat qui iudicaturus est orbem
terrę in aequitate. Hanc cartulam signaculo cru-
cis christi confirmare uolens proprio manu necnon
et alios religiosos adhibui testes quorum nomina
infra adnotentur. Actum anno dominicae incar-
nationis dcclxxxix. in loco ubi dicitur celchyð.
+ Ego offa rex merciorum hanc supradictam do-
nationem meam signo sanctę crucis christi roboraui.
+ Ego iaenberhtus gratia dei archiepiscopus consensi
et subscripsi. + Ego hygeberht archiepiscopus sub-
scripsi. + Ego ceoluulf episcopus subscripsi. + Ego
heardraed episcopus subscripsi. + Ego unuuona
episcopus subscripsi. + Ego cyneberht episcopus subscri-
psi. + Ego ealghearhd episcopus subscripsi.
+ Ego eadgar episcopus subscripsi. + Ego ealgmund
abbas subscripsi. + Ego beonna abbas subscripsi.
+ Signum manus ecgfrithi regis merciorum. + Si-
gnum manus berhtuualdi. + Signum manus ead-
baldi. + Signum manus brordan. + Signum manus
aethilheardi. + Signum manus ceolmundi. + Si-
gnum manus ubban. + Signum manus heaberhti.
+ Signum manus forðredi. + Signum manus uuigcgan.
+ Signum manus ceolheardi.
Translation
Likewise concerning Bromhey:
+ In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ >savior<. If those things which are beneficially defined according to the decrees of the canons and synodal statutes, although speech alone may be sufficient for evidence, yet, on account of the uncertain future condition of the times, must be strengthened with the most solid evidence of the Scriptures and a bill of crypts[?].
Since, indeed, it often happens from ignorance, that which is more execrable from dishonesty occurs, so that the denial of things truly and rightly may arise. For which reason I shot the king of the Mercians, to you Waermundo the bishop and to the church which is situated in the castle which is named Rochester I hand over the land of one plow where it is named Broomgeheg with certain limits of this land, which has on the east uuiodafleot, on the south a certain spring and ditch surrounded and it is denoted some fences, and likewise ditches on the west and north denoted by signs, from the north marsh by the name of Scaga, which also flows around Iagnlaad.
This land is to be handed over to you, to be possessed, and to be handed over to the use of the church, which you are rightfully governer. But if any of my successors or princes should attempt to change this gift of mine, let him be accursed until he comes as the lord who will judge the world in justice. It was my desire to confirm this document with the seal of the cross of Christ in my own hand, as well as other religious witnesses whose names are to be recorded below. Enacted in the year of our Lord's Incarnation 789 in the place which is called Celchyð.
+ I, Offa, king of Mercia, have validated my gift with the sign of the holy cross of Christ.
+ I, Jaenbert, archbishop by the grace of God, agreed and signed.
+ I, Hygeberht, archbishop, subscribed.
+ I, Ceoluulf, bishop, subscribed.
I, Bishop Heardraed subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Unuuona, subscribed. + I, Bishop Cyneberht subscribed. + I, Bishop Ealghearhd subscribed.
+ I, Bishop Edgar subscribed.
+ I, Abbot Ealgmund, subscribed.
+ I, Abbot Beonna subscribed.
+ Signed by the hand of Egfrith, king of the Mercians.
+ Signed by the hand of Berhtwaldi. Signed by the hand of Eadbald.
+ Signed by the hand of Brordan. Signed by the hand of Aethilheard.
+ Signed by the hand of Ceolmund.
+ Signed by the hand of Ubban.
+ Signed by the hand of Heaberht. Signed by the hand of Forðred.
+ Signed by the hand of Wigcgan. Signed by the hand of Ceolheard.