Scragg Donald (Edited). Edgar, King of the English 959-975: New Interpretations (Pubns Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies)

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74 SIMON KEyNES

Wilts., with the permission of Osweard, to Ælfﬂæd, femina. For Osweard, cf. S

803 (king’s kinsman).

S 749 (Burt 22), from Burton. AD ‘967’ for ?972. Edgar, king of the whole of

Britain, grants 3 hides at Breedon (-on-the-Hill), and 10 hides at three other

places, Leics., to Æthelwold, bishop [of Winchester], not to be taken from the

church of Breedon. Elements of ‘Edgar A’ formulation.

S 785 (Bath 19), from Bath. AD 972. Edgar, king of the whole of Albion, grants

10 hides at Corston, Somerset, to Bath Abbey. ‘Dunstan B’ formulation; attested

by the king.

S 668 (BCS 1145), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD ‘922’, for ?972. Edgar,

king of the English, grants 10 hides at Winterburnan, to Eadric, his thegn.

S 805 (BCS 1309), from Westminster. AD ‘878’ for ?972. Edgar, king of the

whole of Britain, grants 5 hides at Hampstead, Middlesex, to Mangoda, his

thegn. ‘Edgar A’ formulation.

See also S 786 (Pershore) and S 788 (Worcester), in section C.

Charters of 973

In 973, on the day of Pentecost (11 May), at Bath, Edgar was consecrated king, in the

thirteenth year after he succeeded to the kingdom [calculated from 960], and in the

thirtieth year of his life [calculated from 943].

S 793 (BCS 1291), from Glastonbury. AD 973. Edgar, king of the English,

grants 5 hides at Berrow, Somerset, to Wulfmær, his thegn. Elements of formula-

tion recur in S 834, dated 979, from Peterborough.

S 790 (BCS 1292), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD 973. Edgar, king of

the whole of Albion, grants 7 hides at Harwell, Berks., to Ælfric, his thegn.

‘Dunstan B’ formulation; attested by the king.

S 791 (BCS 1294), from Glastonbury. AD 973. Edgar, king of the whole of

Albion, grants 7 hides at (High) Ham, Somerset, to Glastonbury Abbey, in ex-

change for land at Braunton, Devon. ‘Dunstan B’ formulation; attested by the

king.

See also S 792 (Thorney), in section C.

Charters of 974

S 794 (BCS 1305), from Westminster. AD 974. Edgar, king of the whole of

Britain, grants 2½ hides at (West) Wratting, Cambs., to Ælfhelm, his thegn.

Single sheet (probably a non-contemporary copy), written by a scribe not oth-

erwise identiﬁed, with ‘Edgar A’ formulation.

S 794a (‘Kemble’), from Westminster. AD 974. Edgar, king of the whole of

Albion, grants 9 hides at Brickendon, Herts., to Ælfhelm, his thegn. ‘Dunstan

B’ formulation; attested by the king.

S 795 (BCS 1303), from Crediton. AD 974. Edgar, king of the whole of Britain,

grants 3 hides at Nymed (Woolﬁn, in Down St Mary), Devon, to Ælfhere, his

thegn. Single sheet (probably original), written by a scribe not otherwise identi-

ﬁed; with an intriguing gap in the witness-list.

CONSPECTUS OF EDGAR’S CHARTERS 75

See also S 796 (Malmesbury), S 798 (Ramsey) and S 799 (Wilton), in section

Charters of 975

S 800 (BCS 1316), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD 975. Edgar, king of

the whole of Britain, grants 5 hides at Fyﬁeld, Hants., to Ælfweard, his thegn.

‘Edgar A’ formulation.

S 801 (BCS 1312), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD 975. Edgar, king of the

whole of Britain, grants 3 hides at Madeley, Staffs., to Æthelwold, bishop [of

Winchester]. Single sheet (possibly original), written by a scribe not otherwise

identiﬁed, with ‘Edgar A’ formulation.

S 802 (BCS 1315), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD 975, at Glastonbury.

Edgar, king of Albion, grants 3 hides at Aston (in Wellington), Salop, at the

request of his kinsman, the monk Ælfwine, to Ealhhelm, his thegn. ‘Dunstan B’

formulation; not attested by the king.

S 803 (BCS 1314), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD 975. Edgar, king of

the whole of Albion, grants 4 hides at (South) Stoke, Sussex., to his kinsman

Osweard (replacing a charter lost by ﬁre). ‘Dunstan B’ formulation; attested by

the king. For Osweard, cf. S 784, dated 972, from Wilton.

C. ‘PROBLEMATIC’ CHARTERS

The charters grouped together in this section are separated from the charters listed above

because they are for one reason or another ‘problematic’, in the sense that they do not

appear to be acceptable in their received form. In several cases the charters are demon-

strably spurious; in other cases, the inclusion of a charter in this section is a matter of

judgement. Many are texts of the kind which Edgar’s reputation as a supporter of the

cause of monastic reform was bound to attract to his name, in a process which probably

began in the late tenth century (above, p. 47). Also included in this group are a number

of charters from outside the main series: S 833 (Abingdon); S 1213 (Bury St Edmunds);

S 1214 (Evesham); S 1293 (Westminster); S 1294 (Crowland); in some of these cases,

signiﬁcant elements of formulation appear to have been derived from authentic texts.

S 670 (BCS 1048), from Westminster. AD ‘951’ for ?959, enacted at Glaston-

bury Abbey. Edgar, king of the whole of Albion, grants 5 hides (on the river

Thames), to the church of St Peter at Westminster (for 120 gold solidi); with

reference to an ancient charter of King Offa. Single sheet (s. x ex), with elements

of ‘Dunstan B’ formulation; lacks a witness-list.

S 673 (Abing 84), from Abingdon. AD ‘958’. Edgar, king of the English, re-

stores four estates in Berkshire to Abingdon Abbey, with afﬁrmation of the

community’s right, after the death of Abbot Æthelwold, to choose a successor

from among their own number, and with afﬁrmation of privileges and lands as

granted to the abbey in the past. An ‘Orthodoxorum’ charter in the name of King

Edgar; cf. S 658 (Abing 83), dated 17 May 959, in the name of King Eadwig.

S 1293 (BCS 1050), from Westminster. AD 959 (4th yr). Dunstan, bishop of

76 SIMON KEyNES

London, announces King Edgar’s instigation of grants of privileges and lands

to Westminster Abbey. A twelfth-century forgery.

S 686 (BCS 1057), from Paris, Saint-Denis. AD 960, 26 December (2nd yr), at

york. Edg

ar, king of the English, restores land in Sussex to St Denis.

S 1214 (BCS 1092), from Evesham. AD 962. ‘Private’ charter, by which ‘Ufa

the Hwede’, sheriff of Warwick, granted 6½ hides at Wixford and (Temple)

Grafton, Warwicks., to Evesham Abbey. Spurious, but with formulation and

witness-list drawn from a charter of 962; cf. S 707.

S 833 (Abing 95), from Abingdon. AD 962. ‘Æthelred’, king of the English,

grants woodland near the Claybrook, Leics., to Leofric, his thegn. Spurious in

this form, but based on a charter of 962, with ‘Edgar A’ formulation.

S 810 (‘Kemble’), from St Kew. Undated (?961 x 962). Edgar, king of the

Anglo-Saxons, grants 2 hides at Lanow (in St Kew), Cornwall, to the minster [at

Plympton, Devon], with reversion to the minster of SS Dawe and Kew.

S 811 (BCS 1319), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD ‘8[…]’. Edgar, ruler

of the English, renews grant of 65 hides at Meon, Hants., to his grandmother

Eadgifu (replacing a charter which she had entrusted to him when an ætheling,

and which he had lost). Spurious in this form, but with witness-list drawn from

a charter of 962.

S 1213 (BCS 1084), from Bury St Edmunds. AD 963. ‘Private’ charter, by which

Wulfstan grants 4 hides at Palgrave, Suffolk, to St Edmund’s Abbey. Spurious,

but with elements of formulation and witness-list drawn from a charter of 963.

S 728 (‘Kemble’), from Ghent (St Peter’s). AD 964 (6th yr). Edgar, king of the

English, restores land in Kent to St Peter’s, Ghent.

S 729 (‘Kemble’), from Muchelney. AD 964. Edgar, king of the whole of Britain,

grants privileges to Muchelney Abbey: that Bishop Ælfwold [of Sherborne or

Crediton] should govern the community during his lifetime, and that after his

death the community should choose a successor from among their own number;

with conﬁrmation of all the abbey’s estates (not speciﬁed). Probably spurious,

but with elements drawn from authentic charters of Edgar.

S 731 (BCS 1135), from Worcester (St Mary’s). AD 964, 28 December (6th yr),

at Gloucester. Edgar, king of the English, gives an account of recent history,

including the foundation of 47 monasteries, and afﬁrms the creation of Oswal-

deslaw. A famous forgery, known as the ‘Altitonantis’ charter.

S 732–4, from Abingdon, in section B (965), with witness-list from a charter

of 970.

S 741 (BCS 1178), from Crowland. AD 966. Edgar, king of the whole of Britain,

grants privileges and lands to Crowland Abbey. Patently spurious.

S 1294 (BCS 1179), from Crowland. AD 966, at St Paul’s, London. Archbishop

Dunstan, Archbishop Osketel, with the bishops of Winchester, Worcester and

Dorchester, make known the grant of privileges and lands to Crowland Abbey.

Patently spurious.

S 746 (WinNM 24), from Winchester (New Minster). AD 966. Edgar, king of

the English, grants 5 hides at Donnington, 28 hides at Southease, and 10 hides

at Telscombe, Sussex, and 2 hides at Winterburna (in Maddington), Wilts., to

the New Minster. ‘Edgar A’ formulation.

CONSPECTUS OF EDGAR’S CHARTERS 77

S 752 (BCS 1195), from Chertsey. AD 967. King Edgar conﬁrms privileges

and lands to Chertsey Abbey. Patently spurious, although it incorporates some

interesting information.

S 756 (Abing 108), from Abingdon. AD ‘958’ or ‘968’. Edgar, king of the

English, grants 72 hides at Bedwyn, Wilts., to Abingdon Abbey. Patently spu-

rious, using a witness-list from 968.

S 757–60, from Abingdon, in section B (968), with witness-list from a charter

of 966.

S 806 (BCS 1219), from Winchester, Old Minster. AD ‘978’ (Easter), ? for 968

(10th yr), at Cheddar. Edgar, king of the English, renews the liberty of Taunton,

Somerset, as previously granted to the Old Minster by his grandfather, Edward

(the Elder); with a record of Bishop Æthelwold’s payment to King Edgar and

to (Queen) Ælfthryth. Anomalous in form and content; using witness-list drawn

from a charter of c. 968.

S 774 (BCS 1264), from Westminster. AD 969 (13th yr). Edgar, king of the

English, conﬁrms Westminster Abbey in its possession of lands and privileges.

Patently a twelfth-century forgery.

S 776 (BCS 1265), from Ely. AD 970, Easter (13th yr), at Woolmer, Kent.

Edgar, king of the whole of Albion, grants Ely Abbey to Æthelwold, bishop of

Winchester, with land at Melbourn and Armingford, Cambs., in exchange for

land at Harting, Sussex.

S 779 (BCS 1266), from Ely. AD 970 (13th yr), at Woolmer, Kent. Edgar,

king of the whole of Albion (etc.), conﬁrms the establishment of Ely Abbey by

Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester, with grant of land at Melbourn and Arming-

ford, Cambs., and Northwold, Norfolk, in exchange for land at Harting, Sussex.

Bilingual charter (Latin/Old English).

S 783 (BCS 1277), from Glastonbury. AD 971, at London. Edgar, king of the

English, grants privileges to Glastonbury Abbey. Patently spurious; not in the

‘Liber Terrarum’ (below, p. 79).

S 809 (CantStA 29), from Canterbury (St Augustine’s). Undated (963 x 971).

Edgar, king of the English, grants 4 sulungs at Plumstead, Kent, to St Augus-

tine’s Abbey, Canterbury. The formulation is archaic (cf. S 332).

S 787 (Pet 16), from Peterborough. AD 970/972 (10th/16th yr). King Edgar

grants privileges and lands to Peterborough Abbey. Patently spurious, although

it incorporates some interesting information.

S 786 (BCS 1282), from Pershore/Worcester. AD 972. Edgar, king of the English,

for the church of Pershore: that after the death of Abbot Foldbriht the members

of the community shall choose a successor from among their community, in ac-

cordance with the Rule of St Benedict; with a grant of privileges on the same

terms as established by King Coenwulf for Ealdorman Beornoth, in the old

charter, and with a list of estates in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. An ‘Or-

thodoxorum’ charter in the name of King Edgar; single sheet, written s. x/xi.

S 788 (BCS 1284), from Worcester. AD 972. Edgar, king of the English, for

the church of Worcester, in similar terms (but without a list of estates). An

‘Orthodoxorum’ charter in the name of King Edgar; probably modeled on S

786 (Pershore).

78 SIMON KEyNES

S 671 (Roch 29), from Rochester. AD ‘955’, ?for 973. Edgar, king of the

English, grants 10 hides at Bromley, Kent, to the church of Rochester, in return

for payments from Bishop Ælfstan and the reeve Wulfstan. Single sheet (s. x/xi),

presumably fabricated at Rochester.

S 812 (BCS 1187), from Romsey. Undated. Edgar, king of the English, for the

church of Romsey: that after the death of Abbess Merewenne the members of

the community shall choose a successor from among their community, in ac-

cordance with the Rule of St Benedict; a wood given in exchange for 900 gold

mancuses in a beautifully made bowl. An ‘Orthodoxorum’ charter in the name

of King Edgar.

S 792 (BCS 1297), from Thorney. AD 973 (1st yr of royal dedication). Edgar,

king of the English, grants privileges and lands to Thorney Abbey. A spurious

foundation charter, although it incorporates some interesting information.

S 751 (BCS 1201), from Worcester. AD ‘967’, ?for 973 (13th yr). Edgar, king

of the English, grants 2 hides at Suthtune (?Ullington in Pebworth, Gloucs.)

and at Bickmarsh, Warwicks., to Byrhtnoth, his thegn, with assignment (with

Byrhtnoth’s son) to the church of Worcester.

S 808 (CantCC 129), from Canterbury (Christ Church). Undated (?973), Pen-

tecost, at Bath. Edgar, king of the whole of England, grants land at Sandwich,

Kent, to the church of Canterbury. A fabrication reﬂecting awareness of literary

accounts of the submission to Edgar at Chester in 973.

S 798 (BCS 1310), from Ramsey. AD 974. Edgar, king of the English, grants

privileges and lands to Ramsey Abbey. A spurious foundation charter, although

it incorporates some interesting information.

S 799 (BCS 1304), from Wilton. AD 974 (15th yr, and 34th yr of his age).

Edgar, king of the whole of Britain, to Wulfthryth, abbess, and Wilton abbey:

afﬁrmation of privileges, conﬁrmation of Chalke, Wilts., and of other lands (not

speciﬁed).

S 796 (Malm 30), from Malmesbury. AD 974 (14th yr of reign, and 1st of coro-

nation). Edgar, king of the whole of Albion, restores 10 hides at Eastcourt (in

Crudwell), Wilts., to Ælfric, abbot of Malmesbury. Interestingly anomalous in

various respects, and not certainly spurious; see also S 797.

S 797 (BCS 1300), from Crowland. AD 974 (1st yr of coronation). Edgar, king

of the whole of Albion, restores land at Nene to Ælfric, abbot of Malmesbury.

A bowdlerized version of S 796 (974), from Malmesbury.

S 820 (BCS 1307), from Winchester (Old Minster). Undated (‘17’ years after

his accession, in the ﬁrst of his coronation, ? for 973–4). Edgar, king of the

whole of Albion, grants 45 hides at Crondall, Hants., to the Old Minster. Based

in part on ‘Edgar A’ formulation.

S 807 (BCS 1302), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD ‘984’, for ? 974. Edgar,

king of the whole of Britain, grants land in Winchester to the Old Minster, New

Minster, and Nunnaminster, Winchester.

S 804 (BCS 1313), from Winchester (Old Minster). AD 975. Edgar, king of

the English, grants 5 hides at Bleadon, Somerset, to the Old Minster. Seriously

spurious.

S 813 (Sherb 10), from Sherborne. Undated. King Edgar grants 5 hides at

CONSPECTUS OF EDGAR’S CHARTERS 79

Oborne, Dorset, to Sherborne. Ostensibly derived from an entry in a gospel-

book.

S 814–19 + 821–7 (BCS 1150, etc.), from Winchester (Old Minster). Edgar,

king of the English, grants, conﬁrms, or restores land in various counties (Hants,

Wilts, Somerset, Surrey) to the Old Minster.

D. ‘LOST’ CHARTERS OF KING EDGAR

Examples of ‘lost’ or ‘incomplete’ charters in the name of King Edgar have been

noted among records relating to the archives of Abbotsbury, Buckfast, Canter-

bury (Christ Church), Canterbury (St Augustine’s), Ely, Glastonbury, London

(St Paul’s), Ramsey, Winchester (Old Minster), Winchester (New Minster), and

Worcester; many of them are registered in Sawyer’s catalogue (1968), and full

details will be found in the ‘Revised Sawyer’ (above, p. 60).

The

most

signiﬁcant group of lost charters comprises those formerly pre-

served at Glastonbury Abbey.

The Liber Terrarum of Glastonbury, a cartulary

compiled probably in the late eleventh century and known only from a list of

its contents drawn up in 1247 (Cambridge, Trinity College R.5.33, fol. 77rv),

contained the texts of 16 charters of King Edgar. Four of these charters (LT,

nos. 82–3, 103, 113) are known by virtue of their inclusion in the thirteenth-

century ‘Great Cartulary’ of Glastonbury (Longleat House, Wiltshire, 39), and

are thus included in section B above (S 743, 747, 775, 791); 12 others (LT, nos.

70, 71, 72, 74, 80, 81, 86, 90, 111, 114, 117, 119) are now lost (S 1759–70).

Many of the charters preserved at Glastonbury were still extant in single-sheet

form in 1247, when they were listed (Cambridge, Trinity College R.5.33, fols.

77v–78v). Of those in the name of King Edgar, two had been entered in the

Liber Terrarum

747, S1762); ﬁve appear in the ‘Great Cartulary’ (S 721,

S 747, S 764, S 783, S 793); and two others, not included in LT or GC, are

otherwise unkno

wn (S 1771–2). One other charter of King Edgar, not included

in the Liber Terrarum and not listed in 1247, appears in the ‘Great Cartulary’

(S 742). Of the ﬁfteen lost charters of Edgar from the Glastonbury archive, 11

were in favour of laymen, and four (including three in the Liber Terrarum) were

in favour of Glastonbury.

cer

tain cases it is not clear whether a lost charter seemingly of King

Edgar would have been one issued in his name, or an older title-deed which

changed hands in the context of a transaction known to have taken place during

For text and translation, see Rumble, Property and Piety, pp. 98–135; and for further

discussion, see Sophie Rixon, ‘Monastic Foundation Charters’ (PhD dissertation, Univ. of

Cambridge), in preparation.

For a more detailed presentation and discussion of this material, see L. Abrams, Anglo-

Saxon Glastonbury: Church and Endowment (Woodbridge, 1996), pp. 14–27, with pp.

31–4 (list of the contents of the Liber Terrarum), 35–7 (lists of the single-sheet charters

still extant in 1247), and 38–9 (charters included in a ﬁfteenth-century inventory).

80 SIMON KEyNES

his reign.

In other cases we are on different ground. Three charters of Edgar

were registered by John Chase among single sheets seen by him at Winchester

in 1643 (S 1814–16); another was registered by William Dugdale among single

sheets seen at Worcester in the same year, and, most interestingly, is said to

have been a charter, dated 970, by which Edgar granted 7 hides at Bishampton,

Worcs., to Ely Abbey (S 1844); at least two more were among those excerpted by

seventeenth-century antiquaries investigating the archives of St Paul’s (LonStP

17–18).

E.g. Libellus Æthelwoldi episcopi, chs. 5 (charter for 40 hides at Hatﬁeld, Herts., given by

Edgar to Ely Abbey) and 49 (charter for land at Sudbourne, Suffolk, given by Edgar and

Ælfthryth to Bishop Æthelwold, on condition that he translate the Rule of Benedict into

English, and then given by Æthelwold to Ely); see LE, pp. 79 and 111, and Anglo-Saxon

Ely: the ‘Libellus Æthelwoldi Episcopi’ and other records of Ely Abbey 970–1066, ed.

Keynes and A. Kennedy (forthcoming).

Edgar before 959

Eadwig and Edgar: Politics, Propaganda, Faction

SHASHI JAyAKUMAR

HE difﬁculty with Edgar’s regime is not just that so little is known about it,

but that the monastic memory of him sought to plug a gaping hole by im-

posing its own image. In some ways Edgar was similar to Edward the Confessor

– an iconic ﬁgure representing a golden age and ‘the good law’.

The aim of this

chapter is to shed light on comparatively neglected aspects of Edgar’s rule – on

the principals at court and the relations between the nobility and the king.

A g

reat deal of the politics of Edgar’s reign has its roots in the years imme-

diately preceding, and the issue must ﬁrst be touched on. Eadwig’s rule very

quickly came under a type of damnatio memoriae: it clearly became politic

under Edgar to mount a campaign against his predecessor. In his Preface to the

English translation of the Benedictine Rule (written c. 970–3), Bishop Æthel-

wold wrote

It was not before long his brother [Eadwig] ended the time of this transi-

tory life, who through the ignorance of childhood dispersed his kingdom and

divided its unity, and also distributed the lands of the holy churches to rapa-

cious strangers.

This, of course, represents the earliest of many character attacks on Eadwig and

the basis for the much-repeated assertion by medieval writers that Eadwig was

no friend of the church. This accusation was developed by later writers, some

of whom tended to portray Eadwig as being hostile to monasticism as a whole.

William of Malmesbury followed this line and made Eadwig responsible for the

introduction of secular canons at Malmesbury as well as at other houses.

The most technical piece of evidence can be dealt with ﬁrst. An investigation

In the twelfth century for example Eadmer was to open his Historia Novorum with a

glowing panegyric on Edgar along just such lines. Eadmer, Historia Novorum in Anglia,

ed. M. Rule (London, 1884), p. 3.

Councils & Synods, pp. 142–54, at 146. Æthelwold’s authorship of this tract was estab-

lished by D. Whitelock, ‘The Authorship of the Account of King Edgar’s Establishment

of Monasteries’, Philological Essays in Honour of Herbert Dean Meritt, ed. J. L. Rosier

(The Hague, 1970), pp.125–36.

William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum Anglorum, ed. R. Mynors, R. Thompson and

M. Winterbottom, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1998–9), I.238–9.