A.D. 759 for 777 x c. 781. Offa, king of the English, to the church of St Peter, Worcester; grant of 40 hides (cassati) at Readanoran (Pyrton, Oxon.). Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Worcester
MS: BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 197r-198r (s. xi2)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 443-5; K 123 and vol. iii. 380-1; B 216; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 60.
Comments: Stenton 1918, p. 448 n. 67, spurious (= Stenton 1970, pp. 62-3 n. 2); Ekwall 1932, p. 51 n. 1, on bounds; Grundy, Oxon., pp. 47-8; Forsberg 1950, pp. 168, 201, on bounds; PN Oxon., i. 86-9, on bounds, the charter is a late 10th-century forgery, see also i. 2, 84, 92, 123; Stenton 1955, p. 74 n. 1, on identification; Davies 1972, pp. 462, 469, spurious; Gelling, ECTV, no. 260, spurious, perhaps fabricated in 10th or 11th century; Scharer 1982, pp. 175, 234-5, forgery; Blair 1994, pp. xx, 128, on topography; cf. S 1568.
Note. Witness-list from a document of 777 x c. 781.
A.D. 764 (Canterbury). Offa, king of Mercia, to Eardwulf, bishop of Rochester; grant of 20 sulungs (aratra) at Islingham, Kent. Latin.
Archive: Rochester
MSS: 1. Maidstone, Kent Archives Office, DRc/R1 (Textus Roffensis), 123v-125r (s. xii1; facsimile)
2. Maidstone, Kent Archives Office, DRb/Ar2 (Liber Temporalium), 6v (s. xiv)
Printed: Mon. Angl., i. 28, ex MS 1; Hearne, Textus Roffensis, pp. 72-4, ex MS 1; K 111 ex MS 1; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 162-3 (no. 6), ex MS 1; B 195 ex Hearne, K and MSS 1, 1*; Earle, pp. 334-6; Campbell, Rochester, no. 6.
Comments: Vinogradoff 1893, p. 15, spurious or questionable; Stenton 1918, p. 448 n. 66, authenticity uncertain (= Stenton 1970, p. 62 n. 1); Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 49-50, on place-names; John 1966, p. 25, cited; Brooks 1971, p. 79, note on immunity clause; Stenton 1971, p. 206, cited; Vollrath-Reichelt 1971, p. 172, spurious; Campbell, Rochester, pp. xv-vi, on estate, p. xviii, on swine-pastures, p. xxiii, authentic; Witney 1976, p. 234, on swine-pastures; Scharer 1982, pp. 217-22, probably forged in 10th or 11th century on basis of genuine document of 760s, compare S 28, 33; Brooks 1984, p. 112, treats as authentic; Kelly, St Augustine's, pp. 53-4, probably authentic; Faith 1997, p. 104, cited.
A.D. 764 for 767. Offa, king of Mercia, to Stithberht, abbot; grant of 30 hides (manentes) between Harrow and the Lidding (Wealdstone Brook) and east of the Lidding, Middx., in exchange for 30 hides at Wicham in Ciltinne. Latin.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MS: BL Cotton Aug. ii., 26 (s. viii2; BM Facs., i. 9; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 186)
Printed: K 116; B 201; Earle, p. 47; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 53.
Translated: Whitelock, EHD, no. 73 (p. 500).
Comments: Sweet, OET, p. 430 (no. 11); Lowe 1935, pp. xiii-xiv, trustworthy; PN Middx, pp. 1, 7, 51; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 186, contemporaneous, very probably original; Bruckner 1965, pp. 26, 28, on script, p. 43 n. 162, p. 45; Ch.L.A., iv, p. xvi, opisthograph, pp. xvii, xviii, on script, p. xxiii, on production; Stenton 1971, p. 205, orginal; Sawyer 1978, p. 101, contemporary, note on political background; Gelling, ECTV, no. 202, original, suggests Wicham may be Wickham in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, and a district-name Ciltinne may be preserved in nearby East and West Chiltington, p. 188, discussion of Ciltinne; Whitelock, EHD, p. 500, contemporary; Scharer 1982, pp. 233-4, genuine and contemporary; Brown 1986, p. 134, on script; Kelly, Selsey, p. lxxxi n. 69, on Gelling's identification, p. 49, on script; Bailey 1996, p. 66.
Note. See S 1186a for endorsement, c. 799 x 801.
A.D. 765 (2 Feb.). Offa, king of Mercia, to Milred, bishop of the Hwicce; grant of 10 hides (manentia) at Pyrton, Oxon. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 28rv (s. xi1)
2. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 175rv (s. xi2)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 59-60, 388-9; K 129; B 221.
Translated: Jones 1958, pp. 69-70.
Comments: Gelling, ECTV, no. 261, spurious, evidence shows that the estate was called Readanoran until at least the end of the ninth century (see S 217); Scharer 1982, pp. 232-3, spurious.
Note. No dating clause, but in MS 1 Archbishop Jænberht attests on the day of his consecration.
A.D. 772 (15 August). Offa, king of the English, to Oswald, bishop; grant, for the foundation of a minster, of 8 hides (cassati) at Bexhill, Sussex, with reversion to the bishopric of Selsey. Latin with English bounds and a list of gavel-land appurtenant to Bexhill, namely, Barnhorne, Worsham, on Ibbanhyrste, Crowhurst, on Hricge, on Gyllingan, Foxham (lost, in Crowhurst), on Blacanbrocan (? Black Brooks in Westfield), and Icklesham, all in Sussex.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church (? ex Selsey)
MS: London, Lambeth Palace, 1212, pp. 387-8 (s. xiii)
Printed: B 208; Barker 1947, pp. 90-2, with translation,pp. 92-4; Kelly, Selsey, pp. 107-9.
Comments: Stenton 1918, p. 448 n. 67, spurious (= Stenton 1970, p. 62 n. 2); Barker 1947, pp. 94-5; Dulley 1966, p. 26, on topography; Brooks 1971, p. 80 n. 4, of uncertain authority; Stenton 1971, p. 208 n. 5, text partly rewritten but portion of witness-list seems authentic; Brandon 1974, pp. 78-80, on topography; Scharer 1982, p. 261, a fabrication perhaps based on some genuine material; Edwards 1988, pp. 267-72, interpolated but authentic basis; Gardiner 1989, on estate history; Faith 1997, p. 30 and map p. 31, pp. 40, 44, 105-6; Kelly, Selsey, p. xxx, on provenance, pp. lxxxi-iii, on witness-list, pp. 109-10, authentic basis, but bounds and list of gavel-land are certainly additions and perhaps also the reference to reversion.
A.D. 772 ? for 775 or 777 (Gumley, Leics.). Offa, king of the English, to Ridda, minister; lease, for the lives of himself, his wife, Bucga, and their daughter, Heaburg, of 8 hides (manentes) at Evenlode, Gloucs., with reversion to the minster at Bredon, Worcs. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. Lost original
2. BL Cotton Nero E. i, pt 2, 183v (s. xi)
3. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 15v-16r (s. xi1)
4. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 129r (s. xviii; without bounds; ex 1)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 35-6 ex MSS 2, 3, pp. 552-3 ex MS 4; K 120 and vol. iii. 380; B 209 ex MS 4; B 210 ex K and MSS 2, 3; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 57; Morris 1995, pp. 140-1, ex B 209.
Comments: Stenton 1905 (= Stenton 1970, pp. 1-2), on Gumley; Stenton 1918, p. 448 n. 67, may descend from ancient text but includes some suspicious wording, cf. S 145 (= Stenton 1970, p. 62 n. 2); Robinson 1919, p. 26, apparently authentic; Grundy, Worcs. 1927, pp. 85-6, on bounds; PN Gloucs., i. 220, on bounds; Finberg, ECWM, no. 33, authentic, discusses differences between MSS and date, 775 would fit indiction and subscription of Bishop Wærmund of Worcester (775-7); Scharer 1982, pp. 236-9, genuine, with reservations, subscription of Bishop Ealdberht of Hereford points to a date of 777; Wormald 1983, pp. 110-11, on royal style; Sims-Williams 1990, p. 163, cited.
A.D. 774. Offa, king of the English, to Jænberht, archbishop; grant of 5 sulungs (aratra) at Higham Upshire, Kent. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Aug. ii. 99 (s. x; BM Facs., iv. 4)
2. BL Stowe 853, 6v-7r (s. xvii)
3. London, Lambeth Palace, 1212, pp. 400-1 (s. xiii)
4. Bodleian, Tanner 223, 11rv (s. xvi)
Printed: K 121; B 213; Earle, pp. 51-2; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 58.
Comments: Bond 1878, p. 7, MS 1 10th-century; Stevenson 1914, p. 692 n. 18, scribe also wrote S 230 MS 1; Stenton 1918, p. 446, original (= Stenton 1970, p. 60); Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 53-5, on place-names; Jessup 1942; Wright 1950, p. 389; Stengel 1960, p. 60; Stenton 1971, p. 207, cited; Vollrath-Reichelt 1971, p. 172; Sawyer 1978, p. 101, MS 1 10th-century; Scharer 1982, pp. 228-31, spurious; Wormald 1983, p. 110, suspect but probably not complete fabrication, discusses royal style; Brooks 1984, pp. 112, 114, 10th-century forgery but bounds and witness-list at least from 8th century source, p. 319, written by same (presumably Christ Church) scribe as S 230 MS 1, discusses formulation, p. 378 n. 153, on script.
A.D. 774. Offa, king of the English, to Jænberht, archbishop; grant of 3 sulungs (aratra) at Lydd, Kent. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MSS: 1. BL Stowe Ch. 4 (s. x2; OS Facs., iii. 4)
2. Canterbury, D. & C., Reg. A, 138r (s. xiii)
3. Canterbury, D. & C., Reg. E, 40r (s. xiii)
4. BL Add. 4548, 41r-43r (s. xviii)
5. BL Stowe 853, 6rv (s. xvii)
6. London, Lambeth Palace, 1212, p. 401 (s. xiii)
7. Bodleian, Tanner 223, 11v (s. xvi)
Short version
8. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 189, 197r (s. xii)
9. Canterbury, D. & C., Reg. C, 41r (s. xv)
10. Canterbury, D. & C., Reg. P, 16r (s. xii)
11. London, Lambeth Palace, 1212, p. 310 (s. xiii)
12. Bodleian, Tanner 223, 9v (s. xvi)
Printed: Twysden, X Scriptores, col. 2213 ex MS 8; K 122 ex MSS 2, 3, 6; B 214 ex K and MSS 1, 6; B 215 ex MS 11; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 59; Fleming 1997, p. 119 (no. 8) ex MS 10.
Comments: Stenton 1918, p. 446 and n. 64, original, discusses royal style (= Stenton 1970, p. 60 and n. 6); Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 55-6, on place-names; Ward 1943, p. 24; Wright 1950, p. 389, MS 1 in a hand of c. 1000; Stenton 1971, p. 207, cited; Vollrath-Reichelt 1971, p. 172; Sawyer 1978, p. 101, MS 1 10th-century; Scharer 1982, pp. 228-31, spurious; Wormald 1983, p. 110, suspect but probably not complete fabrication, discusses royal style; Brooks 1984, pp. 112, 114, 320, later forgery but bounds and witness-list probably from an early document, MS 1 s. x2 or x/xi; Brooks 1988, pp. 95, 98-100, on topography, forger used 8th-century charter; Fleming 1997, p. 94, comment on short version.
A.D. 777. Offa, king of Mercia, to the church of St Mary, Evesham, and the monks there; grant of land at Daylesford, Evenlode, Gloucs., and at Chastleton, Cornwell, Salford, Dornford in Wootton and Shipton on Cherwell, Oxon. Latin.
Archive: Evesham
MS: BL Harley 3763, 63r (s. xii)
Printed: K 130; B 222.
Comments: Finberg, ECWM, no. 35, spurious; PN Oxon., ii. 293, 341, 373; Gelling, ECTV, no. 262, spurious; Keynes 1980, p. 110 n. 80, spurious, perhaps based in part on Ev 2 (S 1664); Scharer 1982, p. 240, spurious; Dumville 1992, pp. 41-2 n. 58, spurious.
A.D. 778. Offa, king of Mercia, to his subregulus, Ealdred, dux of the Hwicce; grant of 4 hides (mansiones) at Sedgeberrow, Worcs., with grant by Ealdred to the church of St Mary's, Worcester. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. Lost original
2. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 180rv (s. xi2)
3. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 130v (s. xvii; incomplete; ex 1)
4. BL Harley 4660, 7rv (s. xvii; ex 1)
Printed: Hickes, Inst. Gramm., pp. 170-1, ex MS 1, cf. pp. 168-9; Hearne, Heming, pp. 401-3 ex MS 2, p. 563 ex MS 3; K 131; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 587 (no. 13); B 223; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 64.
Comments: Maitland 1897, p. 243, cited; Robinson 1919, pp. 24-5, Offa's grant accepted, Ealdred's grant spurious; Grundy, Worcs. 1928, p. 59, bounds translated but not located; John 1966, p. 24, cited; Finberg, ECWM, no. 223, identifies some boundary marks, anachronistic reference to St Mary's suggests Ealdred's postscript may be a fabrication; Finberg 1972, p. 414 n. 4, on assessment; Scharer 1982, pp. 240-3, agrees with Robinson's conclusion; Hooke 1990, pp. 78-9, on bounds, with map.
A.D. 779 (Hartleford, Gloucs.; Gumley, Leics.). Offa, king of Mercia, to Duddonus (Dudda), minister; grant of 4 hides (cassatae) near Salmonsbury in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucs. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Evesham
MS: BL Cotton Aug. ii. 4 (s. viii2; BM Facs., i. 10; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 184)
Printed: K 137; B 230; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 69.
Comments: Sweet, OET, p. 431 (no. 14); Stenton 1905, p. 698, contemporary (= Stenton 1970, p. 1); Stenton 1918, p. 440 n. 35, p. 445 n. 59, authentic (= Stenton 1970, p. 54 n. 4, p. 60 n. 1); Grundy, Worcs. 1927, pp. 31-3, on bounds; Grundy, Gloucs., pp. 52-3, on bounds; Lowe 1935, pp. xiii-xiv, trustworthy; Parsons 1939, p. 14, genuine and contemporary; Stenton 1955, p. 60; PN Gloucs., i. 183, 197-8, 207, on bounds; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 184, contemporaneous, very probably original; Bruckner 1965, pp. 24, 29, 40, 43 n. 162; Ch.L.A., iv, p. xviii, on script; Stenton 1971, p. 309, cited; Finberg, ECWM, no. 38, original; Finberg 1972, p. 445, cited; Sawyer 1978, p. 101, cited; Whitelock, EHD, p. 377, inflated style; Whitelock 1979, p. 80, on beneficiary; Scharer 1982, pp. 245-6, original; Hooke 1985, pp. 56, 210; Brown 1986, p. 132 n. 54, on script; Sims-Williams 1990, p. 150 n., pp. 154-5, probably authentic although there is a lack of dated MSS for comparison; Dumville 1992, p. 41 n. 58, apparent original; Reynolds 1992, pp. 216-17 (= 1994, p. 328), on tenurial background; Brown 1996, p. 165, on script, associates with S 59 MS 1.
Note. The main scribe wrote the text and seven subscriptions on the face and dorse; another scribe added nine secular witnesses on the dorse. Two-stage production: issued at Hartleford, Gloucs; confirmed at Gumley, Leics. Cf. also BL Cotton Vesp. B. xxiv, 72v, where the final sentence of S 114 (referring to the Gumley confirmation and defective in MS 1) is combined with the bounds from S 550 (printed K 1370).
A.D. 779. Offa, king of Mercia, to St Mary's, Evesham; grant of 4 hides (manentes) at Donnington, Gloucs. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Evesham
MS: BL Cotton Vesp. B. xxiv, 74v (s. xii)
Printed: K 136 and vol. iii. 384-5; B 229.
Comments: Grundy, Worcs. 1927, pp. 75-9, on bounds; Grundy, Gloucs., pp. 107-13, on bounds; PN Gloucs., i. 215-16, 218-19, 247; Brooks 1971, p. 78 n. 3, doubtful authenticity; Finberg, ECWM, no. 39, authentic; Sims-Williams 1976, p. 18 n. 3, untrustworthy, discusses place-name; Scharer 1982, pp. 246-7, spurious; Hooke 1985, pp. 71, 145, 165, 211, 215.
A.D. 780 (Brentford, Middx, 22 Sept.). Offa, king of Mercia, to St Peter's Minster, Bredon; grant of 5 hides (manentes) at Teddington, 10 hides (cassati) at Little Washbourne, 10 hides (mansiones) at Cutsdean, all in Gloucs., and 10 hides (manentes) at Bredons Norton, Worcs. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. Lost original
2. BL Add. 46204v (s. xi)
3. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 11r-12r (s. xi1)
4. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 130v (s. xvii; incomplete, ex 1)
5. Bodleian, Dodsworth 78, 33rv (s. xvii)
Printed: Mon. Angl., i. 122; Hearne, Heming, pp. 26, 456-7 ex Mon. Angl., p. 563 ex MS 4; K 140 ex MS 3; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 587 (no. 12) ex MS 3; B 236 ex K and MS 3; Stevenson 1911, pp. 202-3 ex Hearne and MS 2.
Comments: Stenton 1918, pp. 444-6, suspicious but some early features, may be authentic (= Stenton 1970, pp. 58-60); Robinson 1919, p. 27, of ill-repute; Grundy, Gloucs., pp. 232-4; PN Gloucs., i. 4, 13, ii. pp. xi, 8-9, 12, 46; John 1966, p. 52, probably genuine; Chaplais 1968, p. 325, on use of Bedan indiction (= 1973, p. 75); Finberg, ECWM, no. 42 (pp. 40-1, 95), authentic; Harrison 1973, p. 116, on indiction; Harrison 1976, p. 116, on dating clause; Scharer 1982, pp. 247-9, probably spurious; Hooke 1985, p. 84, queries Bredons Norton identification, estate may be in Gloucs., pp. 87, 230, cited; Hooke 1990, p. 31; Sims-Williams 1990, pp. 153-4, 163, treats as authentic; Bassett 1996, p. 173, on assessment; cf. S 117, 118.
A.D. 780. Offa, king of Mercia, to the church of St Peter, Bredon, for the use of the bishop of Worcester; grant of 10 hides (manentes) at Wærsetfelda (cf. Wast Hills in Alvechurch), 5 hides (cassati) at Cofton Hackett and 5 hides (mansae) at Rednal in Kings Norton, Worcs. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Aug. ii. 30 (dated 730; s. xi; BM Facs., i. 11)
2. Somers Ch. 5 (lost)
3. BL Cotton Nero E. i, pt 2, 182r (s. xi)
4. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 6rv (s. xi1)
5. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 130v (s. xvii; incomplete; ex MS 2)
Printed: Mon. Angl., i. 122, ex MS 4; Smith, Bede, pp. 767-8 ex MS 2; Hearne, Heming, pp. 12-13, 453-5 ex Mon. Angl., p. 564 ex MS 5; K 138 ex Smith and MS 1; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 586 (no. 11); B 234 ex MS 1; B 847 ex MS 3; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 70.
Comments: Wanley, Catalogus, p. 301, no. 5, MS 2 not contemporary with given date; Bond 1878, p. 7, MS 1 of the 11th century; Taylor 1894, p. 292, MS 1 original; Plummer 1899, p. 48, authentic; Stevenson 1914, p. 697 n., MS 1 in 11th century hand but cartulary text probably older and cannot have been forged later than c. 1000; Stenton 1918, pp. 444-6, suspicious reservation clause need not be fatal to authenticity of the text (= Stenton 1970, pp. 58-60); PN Worcs., p. xvii n.2, no material reason for doubt; Ker 1948, p. 70 n. 3; Brooks 1971, p. 78 n. 3, doubtful authenticity; Finberg, ECWM, no. 226, authentic; Scharer 1982, pp. 249-50, spurious; Hooke 1985, pp. 139, 174, on estate history; Hooke 1990, pp. 29-30, on estate; Sims-Williams 1990, pp. 153-4 n. 56; cf. S 116..
A.D. 780 (Brentford, Middx, 22 Sept.). Offa, king of Mercia, to the bishopric of Worcester; grant of 7 hides (manentes) at Cropthorne, 1 at Netherton, 2 at Elmley Castle, 1 at Kersoe in Elmley Castle, 14 at Charlton, 15 at Hampton and 10 at Bengeworth, Worcs. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 44v-45v (s. xi2)
2. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 144-5 (s. xi2)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 95-8, 319-21; K 139; B 235; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 71.
Comments: Round 1901, p. 255, spurious, probably forged in 11th century during dispute with Evesham over Bengeworth and Hampton; Stevenson 1911, p. 196, forged or interpolated; Stenton 1918, p. 444, forged in 11th century (= Stenton 1970, pp. 58-9); Robinson 1919, p. 27, spurious; Ker 1948, pp. 59, 67-8, untrustworthy; Finberg, ECWM, no. 227, spurious; Scharer 1982, pp. 250-1, spurious; Hooke 1985, pp. 88, 220, cited; Hooke 1990, pp. 30-1, on estates; Sims-Williams 1990, p. 163 n. 94, p. 182 nn. 28, 30, spurious; Wormald 1995, p. 123 n., forgery, discusses identification of Hampton.
A.D. 781. Offa, king of Mercia, to Ealdred (Aeldred), his minister; grant of 20 hides (mansae) at Harmondsworth, Middx, in return for 100 mancuses of gold in a bracelet. Latin with bounds.
Archive: probably Westminster
MS: PRO E. 132/3/57 (s. xiv/xv)
Printed: Gelling, ECTV, pp. 99-100 (no. 203).
Comments: Gelling, ECTV, no. 203, authentic basis, but bounds Middle English and place-name spellings do not suggest pre-Conquest source; Scharer 1982, pp. 252-3, spurious, some 10th-century formulation.
Note. Provenance unknown, but close connection with S 124 points to Westminster.
A.D. 781 = 780 (Tamworth, Staffs., 26 Dec.). Offa, king of Mercia, to the church of St Peter, Worcester; grant of privileges for 12 hides (manentes) at Hampton Lucy, Warwicks., and 5 at Fæhha leage, leased by Bishop Heathored and the community of Worcester to Eanburh, abbess, Offa's kinswoman, for life. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. Lost original
2. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 103v-104r (s. xi1)
3. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 174rv (s. xi2)
4. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 129r (s. xvii; incomplete; ex 1)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 219-21, 385-87 ex MSS 2, 3, p. 554 ex MS 4; K 141 ex MSS 2, 3; B 239 ex K and MSS 2, 3.
Comments: Stenton 1955, p. 74 n. 1, cited; Davies 1972, p. 469, spurious elements; Finberg 1972, p. 414, cited; Hart, ECNE, no. 48, authentic, Eanburh perhaps abbess of Bath, p. 81, Fæhha leage is the Fachanlea of S 1310 and the Faccanlea of S 1318, located in the vicinity of Teddington; Gelling 1978, p. 14, on Fæhha leage; Scharer 1982, pp. 251-2, not genuine in present form; Sims-Williams 1990, p. 139 n. 110, on date, pp. 163-4, on background, Eanburh's house may have been at Hampton Lucy.
A.D. 781 = 780 (Tamworth, Staffs., 26 Dec.). Offa, king of Mercia, to the church of St Mary, Worcester; grant of 8 hides (cassati) at Icomb, Gloucs., in exchange for land at Sapey, Worcs. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 184v-185r (s. xi2)
2. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 198rv (s. xi2)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 412-13, 445-6; K 142; B 240.
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 697 n. 37, spurious; Stenton 1918, p. 444 n. 54, either spurious or remodelled (= Stenton 1970, pp. 58-9 n. 6); Robinson 1919, p. 27, spurious; Grundy, Worcs. 1927, p. 155; Grundy, Gloucs., pp. 143-4, on bounds; John 1960, p. 75 n. 1, spurious; John 1966, p. 52, formulation based on 8th-century material; Whitelock 1966, p. 102, not above suspicion, discussed reference to royal palace at Tamworth; PN Gloucs., i. 221-2; Finberg, ECWM, no. 43 (pp. 41, 95), authentic basis; Scharer 1982, p. 252, spurious; Hooke 1990, p. 32, on Sapey.
A.D. 784. Offa. king of Mercia, to Esme (Esne), comes and præfectus; grant, to him and his male heirs, of 3 hides (tributarii) at Evenlode, with reversion to the church at Evesham. Latin.
Archive: Evesham
MS: 1. Lost MS belonging to John Smith, Esq., of Acton Burnell, Salop.
2. Bodleian, Dugdale 17, p. 60 (s. xvii)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, p. 638, from lost 'original' among the charters of Evesham; K 147; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), ii. 16 (no. 5); B 244 ex MS 2, Hearne, K, Mon. Angl.; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 74.
Comments: Finberg, ECWM, no. 44, spurious; Scharer 1982, p. 253, spurious; Campbell 1989, p. 24, spurious.
A.D. 785 (Chelsea, Middx). Offa, king of Mercia, to Ealdbeorht, minister, and Selethryth, his sister; grant of 14 sulungs (aratra) at Ickham and Palmstead, Kent, with woodland in the Weald and other appurtenances. Latin.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MSS: 1. BL Stowe Ch. 5 (s. viii2 or s. ix1; OS Facs., iii. 5; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 222)
2. BL Stowe 853, 18r-19r (s. xvii)
3. BL Stowe 1085, 109r (s. xviii)
Printed: B 247.
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 696 n. 36, cited, with reference to immunity; Stenton 1918, p. 444 n. 50, on royal style (= Stenton 1970, p. 58 n. 2); Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 61-9, 278-80, on place-names; Wright 1950, p. 392, early 9th-century copy; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 222, MS 1 contemporaneous, possibly original; Bruckner 1965, pp. 28, 40; Ch.L.A., iv, p. xviii, same scribe wrote S 155; Brooks 1971, p. 79, contemporary, cited with reference to immunity clause; Stenton 1971, p. 208, cited with reference to Offa and Kent; Witney 1976, p. 274, on swine-pastures; Scharer 1982, pp. 262-3, possibly original; Brooks 1984, pp. 184-5, on beneficiaries; Brooks 1988, p. 100, on topography; Fleming 1993, p. 117; Cubitt 1995, p. 269, on synodal aspects; Kelly, Selsey, p. 49, on script, possible copy.
A.D. 785. Offa, king of Mercia, to St Peter's, Westminster; grant of 10 hides (cassati) at Aldenham, Herts., in return for 100 mancuses of gold in a bracelet. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Westminster
MSS: 1. London, Westminster Abbey, W.A.M. II (s. xii; OS Facs., ii, Westminster 2, no. 1; Heslop 1992, pl. 54b, in part; Hunting 1981, p. 18)
2. London, Westminster Abbey, W.A.M. III (s. xii; OS Facs., ii, Westminster 2, no. 2)
3. BL Add. 4558, 140r-142r (s. xviii)
4. London, Westminster Abbey, Muniment Bk 11, 185v (s. xiv)
Printed: Widmore 1743, Appendix, no. iii; K 149 ex Widmore; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 291 (no. 1); B 245 ex K and MSS 1, 2.
Comments: Robinson 1918, p. 67, can hardly be genuine in its present form; Robinson 1919, p. 28, untrustworthy; PN Middx, p. 165; Harmer, Writs, pp. 500-1, authenticity doubtful; Brooke and Keir 1975, p. 295 n. 3, pp. 367, 369, spurious in received form, but probably based on a genuine tradition; Harvey 1977, p. 345; Gelling, ECTV, no. 161, spurious, bounds from a pre-Conquest source; Scharer 1982, pp. 269-70, spurious; Campbell 1989, p. 26 n. 28, almost certainly a fake, p. 27 n. 35, on counter-payment; Heslop 1992, probably forged in late 1150s, MS 1 possibly written by same scribe as S 1293, MS 2 may be slightly older but looks less 'authentic'; cf. S 119.
A.D. 786 (Chelsea, Middx). Offa, king of Mercia, to Ealdbeorht, minister, and his sister, Selethryth, abbess; grant of 15 sulungs (aratra) at Ickham, Palmstead and Ruckinge, Kent, with swine-pastures, woodland and other appurtenances, including an urban tenement (vicus) at Curringtun in Canterbury. Latin with English.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MSS: 1. BL Stowe Ch. 6 (s. xi?; OS Facs., iii. 6)
2. BL Stowe 853, 19rv (s. xvii)
3. BL Stowe 1085, 109v (s. xviii)
Printed: B 248.
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 696 n. 36, cited with reference to immunity; Stenton 1918, p. 444 n. 50, on royal style (= Stenton 1970, p. 58 n. 2); Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 61-9, on place-names; Wright 1950, p. 392, in 11th-century hand, but witnesses on dorse are in early 9th-century hand; John 1960, p. 51, on legal background; Stenton 1971, p. 527, cited with reference to Curringtun; Finberg 1972, pp. 403 n., 459, on tenurial background; Witney 1976, p. 274, on swine-pastures; Sawyer 1978, p. 211, cited with reference to Curringtun; Scharer 1982, pp. 263-4, fabricated from S 123 and 39; Brooks 1984, p. 27, on Curringtun; Abels 1988, p. 24; Cubitt 1995, pp. 269-70.
Note. Witnesses on dorse not written in 9th-century.
A.D. 786 or 589 for ? 779 or 789 x 790. Offa, king of Mercia, to the monks of St Mary's church, Worcester; grant of one hide (mansa) at Broadwas, Worcs. Latin and English versions with English bounds.
Archive: Worcester
MS: BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 147v-148r (s. xi2)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 328-9; K 154 and vol. iii. 386; B 233; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 78; Robertson, Charters, no. 2 (pp. 2-4), English only, with translation, pp. 3-5; Hooke 1990, p. 87, bounds only.
Comments: Robinson 1919, pp. 11, 27, record of grant, not a charter; Grundy, Worcs. 1927, pp. 37-40, on bounds; Robertson, Charters, pp. 260-1, dates to early 790; Ker 1948, pp. 59, 67-8, untrustworthy; Finberg, ECWM, no. 232, a memorandum of donation in English with four signatures taken from the original charter, Latin version is a later translation with anachronistic reference to St Mary's, dates 789 or 790, cf. p. 180; Hooke 1980, p. 47, on boundary mark; Scharer 1982, pp. 271-2, agrees with Finberg, dates 779; Hooke 1985, pp. 19-20, 163, cited; Hooke 1990, pp. 87-90, on bounds, with map p. 88.
A.D. 787 (Acleah). Offa, king of Mercia, to Ceolnoth, abbot, and his familia in the church of St Peter (Chertsey); confirmation of privileges. Latin.
Archive: Chertsey
MS: BL Cotton Vitell. A. xiii, 32rv (s. xiiii)
Printed: K 151; HS, pp. 462-3; B 251; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 75.
Comments: HS, pp. 462-3, questionable; Levison 1946, p. 251, on names of Offa's daughters; John 1966, p. 52, on royal style; Gelling, ECTV, no. 315, spurious, names of Offa's family copied from a pre-Conquest source; Scharer 1982, pp. 270-1, fabrication perhaps based on a genuine charter of Offa; Cubitt 1995, pp. 271-2, forgery.
A.D. 788 (Chelsea, Middx). Offa, king of Mercia, to Osberht, his minister, and Osberht's wife; grant of 1 sulung (aratrum) at Duningcland in the Eastry district, Kent. Latin.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MS: Canterbury, D. & C., Chart. Ant. M 340 (Red Book, no. 2; s. viii2; OS Facs., i. 2; Ch.L.A., iv, no. 235)
Printed: K 153; B 254; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 77.
Translated; Stenton 1955, pp. 38-9 (lacks witnesses).
Comments: Sweet, OET, p. 433 (no. 18); Stevenson 1914, p. 696 n. 36, cited with reference to immunuty; Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 73-4, on place-names; Parsons 1939, p. 14, genuine and contemporary; Stenton 1955, pp. 38-9, original; Bruckner 1965, pp. 28, 40-1; Ch.L.A., iv, p. xviii, on script, no. 235, contemporaneous, probably original; Brooks 1971, p. 79, contemporary; Stenton 1971, pp. 306, 309, cited; Sawyer 1978, p. 143, cited; Scharer 1982, pp. 265-6, authentic; Brooks 1984, pp. 119, 350 n. 36, original, Canterbury formulation; Cubitt 1995, p. 272, contemporary; Faith 1997, p. 104, cited.
A.D. 788. Offa, king of Mercia, to St Andrew's church, and the bishopric of Rochester; grant of 6 sulungs (aratra) at Trottiscliffe, Kent, with swine-pastures in the Weald. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Rochester
MSS: 1. Maidstone, Kent Archives Office, DRc/R1 (Textus Roffensis), 131r-132r (s. xii1; facsimile)
2. Maidstone, Kent Archives Office (Liber Temporalium), 4v-5r (s. xiv)
Printed: Hearne, Textus Roffensis, pp. 86-7; K 152; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 167 (no. 32); B 253; Earle, pp. 60-1; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 76; Campbell, Rochester, no. 12.
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 703, authentic; Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 69-73, on place-names; Campbell, Rochester, pp. xvi, xxiii, authentic; Witney 1976, p. 234, on swine-pastures; Scharer 1982, p. 266, probably authentic.
A.D. 789. Offa, king of Mercia, to Wærmund, bishop, and the church at Rochester; grant of 1 sulung (aratrum) at Bromhey in Frindsbury, Kent. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Rochester
MSS: 1. Maidstone, Kent Archives Office, DRc/R1 (Textus Roffensis), 132r-133r (s. xii1; facsimile)
2. Maidstone, Kent Archives Office (Liber Temporalium), 5v (s. xiv)
Printed: Hearne, Textus Roffensis, pp. 88-9; K 157; B 257; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 81; Campbell, Rochester, no. 14.
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 703, authentic; Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 56-9, 74, identifies as Broomy in Cooling; Ward 1943, p. 24; Campbell, Rochester, p. xxiii, authentic; Scharer 1982, p. 266; Cubitt 1995, pp. 272-3.
Note, May be confirmation of S 35, 36.
A.D. 789 (Chelsea, Middx). Offa, king of Mercia, to Wærmund, bishop; grant of land at Rochester. Latin with bounds.
Archive: Rochester
MS: Maidstone, Kent Archives Office, DRc/R1 (Textus Roffensis), 133r-134r (s. xii1; facsimile)
Printed: Hearne, Textus Roffensis, pp. 90-1; Thorpe, Reg. Roff., pp. 17-18; K 155; B 255; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 79; Campbell, Rochester, no 13.
Comments: Campbell, Rochester, p. xxiii, authentic; Scharer 1982, p. 233 n. 43, p. 266, authentic; Cubitt 1995, pp. 272-3.
Note. May be confirmation of S 32.
A.D. 790 for ? 795 (London). Offa, king of the English, to Æthelheard, archbishop of Canterbury; grant of 60 hides (tributaria) at Hayes and Yeading and 30 at Twickenham, Middx. Latin.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MSS: 1. Canterbury, D. & C., Chart. Ant. C. 69 (Red Book, no. 3; s. x; OS Facs., i. 3)
2. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 189, 199v (s. xii; shortened version)
3. Canterbury, D. & C., Reg. A, 138rv (s. xiii)
4. Canterbury, D. & C., Reg. E, 40rv (s. xiii)
5. Canterbury, D. & C., Reg. P, 20v-21r (s. xii; shortened version)
6. BL Stowe 853, 21r-22v (s. xvii)
7. London, Lambeth Palace, 1212, p. 311 (s. xiii)
8. Bodleian, Tanner 223, 10rv (s. xvi)
Printed: Twysden, X Scriptores, col. 2219 ex MS 2; Somner 1703, Appendix, pp. 41-2; K 159; HS, pp. 485-6; B 265 ex MSS 1, 7; Fleming 1997, pp. 129-31 (n. 41) ex MS 5.
Comments: HS, pp. 485-6, spurious; Stenton 1918, p. 449, MS 1 contemporary, but abnormal in structure and phraseology, correct date may be 795 (= Stenton 1970), p. 63); PN Middx, pp. 2, 29, 39, 40; Ekwall 1962, p. 27, on place-name; Bruckner 1965, p. 12 n. 10, MS 1 not contemporary; Stenton 1971, p. 225, treats as authentic; Gelling, ECTV, no. 205, spurious; Scharer 1982, p. 267, spurious; Wormald 1983, p. 110, forgery; Brooks 1984, pp. 120-1, 320-1, spurious, forger perhaps used the record of a 795 synod, MS 1 written in imitative script; Cubitt 1995, p. 81, on formulation, p. 275, cannot be authentic but may be based on a genuine synodal record; Bailey 1996, p. 69, on Hayes.
A.D. 790 (Tamworth, Staffs., 12 April). Offa, king of Mercia, to the abbey of Saint-Denis; grant of privileges for land at London, and confirmation of land at Rotherfield, Hastings and Pevensey, Sussex. Latin.
Archive: Paris, Saint-Denis
MSS: 1. Paris, Archives nationales, K. 7, no. 10 (? s. xi2; Atsma and Vezin 1988, plate I)
2. BL Harley 66, 91v (s. xvii; incomplete)
3. BL Harley 66, 104v (s. xvii; incomplete)
4. Paris, Archives nationales, LL 1156, 81v-82r (s. xiii)
5. Paris, Archives nationales, LL 1158, pp. 550-1 (s. xiii/xiv)
Printed: Doublet 1625, pp. 720-1; Alford 1663, ii. 656; Felibien 1706, pièces just., pp. xlii-iii (no. 62); Madden 1856, pp. 361-3, with reproduction of seal opp. p. 366; Tardif 1866, p. 68 (no. 88); B 259; Barker 1948, pp. 122-5 (no. 19), with translation.
Comments: Madden 1856; Douët D'Arcq, no. 9995; Stevenson 1891, spurious, a French forgery partly modelled on a genuine charter of Offa, script of MS 1 imitates early Insular minuscule; Stevenson 1912, pp. 6-7 n. 18, on seal; Bresslau 1918, p. 47, spurious; Stenton 1918, p. 448 n. 67, spurious (= Stenton 1970, p. 62 n. 2); Levison 1946, p. 8 n. 1, a forgery based on a genuine charter of Offa; Barker 1948, pp. 125-6, spurious; Brooke and Keir 1975, p. 367, spurious but probably with a genuine base; Gelling, ECTV, no. 204, spurious; Scharer 1982, p. 272, spurious; Fleming 1985, p. 252; Atsma and Vezin 1988, esp. pp. 215-16, 225-6, 230-1, transaction may have some genuine basis; Kelly 1992, pp. 22-3, forger probably used a genuine 8th-century charter mentioning London; cf. also S 1186.
A.D. 792 (Clofesho). Offa, king of Mercia, to the churches of Kent; confirmation and grant of privileges. Latin.
Archive: Canterbury, St Augustine's
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Jul. D. ii, 105v-106r (s. xiii)
2. PRO E 164/27, 25rv (s. xiii)
Printed: B 848 ex MS 1; Kelly, St Augustine's, no. 15 ex MSS 1, 2.
Comments: Liebermann, Gesetze, iii. 25, spurious; Brooks 1971, pp. 79-80, authentic; Vollrath-Reichelt 1971, p. 161; Sawyer 1978, p. 114, treats as authentic; Scharer 1982, p. 267, authentic; Wormald 1982, p. 132, possibly genuine; Cubitt 1995,p. 273; Kelly, St Augustine's, pp. 61-3, authentic.
Note. Document originally named the individual minsters which were to benefit from the privileges, but the details are missing in the extant copies
A.D. 793. Offa, king of Mercia, to Crowland Abbey; grant of privileges. Latin.
Archive: Crowland
MSS: 1. BL Arundel 178, 30v-31r (s. xvi)
2. BL Lansdowne 207c, 99v-100r (s. xvii)
Printed: Savile, Ingulph, p. 854; Mon. Angl., i. 165; Alford 1663, ii. 670; Fulman 1684, p. 6 ex MS 1; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), ii. 108 (no. 4); Birch, Ingulf, p. 10 ex MS 1; B 268.
Comments: Searle 1894, pp. 166-7; Scharer 1982, pp. 273-4, spurious; Roffe 1995, pp. 104-8, on background and date of forgery.
A.D. 793. Offa, king of Mercia, to the church of St Alban; grant of privileges and of 34 hides (mansiones) at Cassio, Herts., 6 at Heanhamstede (cf. Hamstead's House, St Stephens, Herts.) and 10 at Stanmore, Middx. Latin with English and English bounds.
Archive: St Albans
MSS: 1. Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, 7965-73 (3723), 153r-154v (s. xvii)
2. Chatsworth, St Albans Cartulary, 9r (s. xiv; lacks bounds)
3. BL Cotton Nero D. i, 149r (s. xiii; lacks bounds)
4. PRO Ch.R., 29 Edw. I, no. 21
5. PRO Ch.R. 6 Edw. II, no. 38
6. PRO Ch.R. 8 Edw. II, no. 34
7. PRO Ch.R. 6-7 Hen. IV, no. 7
8. PRO Ch.R. 2-4 Edw. IV, no. 9
9. PRO Conf. R. 2 Rich. III, pt 1, no. 1
10. PRO Conf. R. 2 Hen. VII, pt 3, no. 6
11. PRO Conf. R. 1 Hen. VIII, pt 8, no. 1
12. PRO Pat. R. 4 Hen. VI, pt 1, mm. 7-2
Printed: Watts, Additamenta, pp. 237-8; Spelman, Concilia, i. 313-14; Mon. Angl., i. 177-8; Alford 1663, ii. 669; K 162; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), ii. 223-4 (no. 5); HS, pp. 478-80; Luard, Additamenta, pp. 1-4; B 267 ex MS 3; Earle, pp. 396-9; Williams 1917, pp. 239-41.
Comments: HS, pp. 478-80, probably spurious; Stevenson 1914, p. 692 n. 16, p. 702, spurious; Williams 1917, pp. 11-12, spurious; PN Middx, p. 65; Gelling, ECTV, no. 162 (pp. 80-1, 101), spurious, although first third of text may be genuine; Scharer 1982, pp. 272-3, spurious; Keynes 1993, pp. 260, 263, on MS 1, p. 272 n. 54, on dating; Cubitt 1995, pp. 273-4, blatant forgery but witness-list may be sound.
Note. MS 1 (not yet printed) includes a vernacular statement of privileges and vernacular bounds for Cassio.
A.D. 793. Offa, king of Mercia, to St Albans Abbey; grant of privileges and of 34 hides at Cassio, Herts.; 12 at Winslow, Bucks.; 10 at Fenntune with the wood called Horowudu (Horwood, Bucks.), 5 at Ligtune (? Luton, Beds.), 3 at Scylfdune, 10 at Stanmore, Middx, and 6 at Heanhamstede (cf. Hamstead's House, St Stephens, Herts.). English.
Archive: St Albans
MS: Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, 7965-73 (3723), 155v-156r (s. xvi)
Comment: Keynes 1993, p. 264, appears to combine the grants and privileges made in S 136 and 138, pp. 272-3, may have been in existence in some form by late 11th or early 12th century.
A.D. 794 (Clofeshoas). Record of the restoration by Offa, king, to Heathored, bishop of Worcester, of 5 hides (manentes) at Aust (Cliff), Gloucs., seized by Bynna, the king's comes, the bishop having brought forward a charter of King Æthelbald to prove the bishopric's title. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MS: BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 54rv (s. xi1)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 113-14; K 164; HS, pp. 484-5; B 269; Earle, pp. 63-4; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 84; Pierquin, Conciles, p. 369.
Translated: Essays, p. 316.
Comments: Finberg, ECWM, no. 48, authentic; Finberg 1972, p. 414 n. 4, on assessment; Scharer 1982, p. 278, not a royal charter; Wormald 1988, no. 5; Sims-Williams 1990, p. 146, cited; Cubitt 1995, p. 84, note on formulation, p. 274; Abrams 1996, pp. 50-1, on estate history.
A.D. 795 for 792 (Æt Beranforda [? Barford, Warwicks.], 4 May). Offa, king of Mercia, to St Albans church; grant of 30 hides (manentes), consisting of 12 at Winslow, Bucks.; 3 at Scelfdune sive Baldiningcotum; 10 at Scuccan hlaw vel Fenntun (cf. Warren Farm in Horwood, Bucks.) with the wood called Horowudu (Horwood, Bucks.); and 5 at Lygetune (? Luton, Beds., or Leyton, Essex). Latin.
Archive: St Albans
MSS: 1. Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, 7965-73 (3723), 154v-155v (s. xvii)
2. Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, 7965-73 (3723), 167r-168r (s. xvii)
3. Brussels, Bibliothèque Royale, 7965-73 (3723), 168v-169r (s. xvii)
4. Chatsworth, St Albans Cartulary, 1r (s. xiv)
5. Chatsworth, St Albans Cartulary, 2r (s. xiv)
6. BL Cotton Nero D. i, 149rv (s. xiii)
7. BL Cotton Nero D. i, 152rv (s. xiii)
8. BL Cotton Nero D. i, 152v-153r (s. xiii)
9. PRO Ch.R. 6-7 Hen. IV, no. 7
10. PRO Ch.R. 2-4 Edw. IV, m. 26
11. PRO Conf. R. 2 Rich. III, pt 1, no.1
12. PRO Conf. R. 2 Hen. VII, pt 3, no. 6
13. PRO Conf. R. 1 Hen. VIII, pt 8, no. 1
14. PRO Pat. R. 4 Hen. VI, pt 1, mm. 7-2
15. Bodleian, Dodsworth 10, 35r-36r (s. xvii)
Printed: Watts, Additamenta, pp. 238-9; Mon. Angl., i. 178; Alford 1663, ii. 675-6; K 161; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), ii. 224 (no. 6); Luard, Additamenta, pp. 4-8; B 264 ex MS 6; B 849 ex MS 8; Earle, pp. 395-6, in part; Williams 1917, pp. 242-3.
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 692 n. 16, p. 702, spurious; Williams 1917, pp. 12-14, spurious but some small authentic basis; PN Beds., p. 156; PN Bucks., pp. 68, 69, 73, 75; Brooks 1971, p. 83 n. 4, spurious; Gelling, ECTV, no. 144, spurious, discusses place-names, Scelfdune is not Salden in Mursley; Baines 1980, on bounds; Scharer 1982, pp. 272-3, spurious; Dumville 1992, p. 50, forged not earlier than late 10th century; Keynes 1993, pp. 264, 268, 269, 272, spurious, MSS 1-3 display progressive stages of interpolation in the Latin text, discusses date.
A.D. 793 x 796 (Clobeshoas). King Offa to Æthelmund, his minister; grant of 55 hides (cassati) at Westbury-on-Trym, Gloucs. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. BL Add. Ch. 19790 (s. viii/ix; BM Facs., ii. 5; Pal. Soc., ser. i, pl. 12; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 180; Making of England, p. 204 [no. 158]; Morgan 1876, opp. p. 190; Brown 1996, p. 206, fig. 22)
2. BL Cotton Tib. xiii, 52rv (s. xi1)
3. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 130v (s. xvii; incomplete)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 109-10 ex MS 2, p. 565 ex MS 3; K 167; HS, pp. 483-4; Morgan 1876, pp. 190-1, with translation; B 274; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 87; Pierquin, Conciles, pp. 368-9.
Comments: Sweet, OET, pp. 431-2 (nos 15-16); Stevenson 1914, p. 689 n. 3, p. 692 n. 16, p. 696 nn. 36, 37, contemporary; Stenton 1918, p. 440 n. 35, original (= Stenton 1970, p. 54 n. 4); Lowe 1935, pp. xiii-iv, MS 1 trustworthy; Parsons 1939, p. 14, genuine and contemporary; Stenton 1955, p. 58 n. 1, cited; Ch.L.A., iii, no. 180, MS 1 is contemporaneous, very probably original; Bruckner 1965, pp. 24, 29-30, 41, on script; John 1966, p. 107 n., respectable; Ch.L.A., iv, p. xviii, on script; Brooks 1971, p. 78, on reservation of common burdens; Stenton 1971, p. 289, cited with reference to reservation clause; Finberg, ECWM, no. 49, authentic; Sawyer 1978, p. 143, cited, p. 145, on estate; Scharer 1982, pp. 274-7, contemporary; Wormald 1982, p. 123; Brown 1986, p. 134, on script; Wormald 1986, p. 155-6, original, discusses background; Abels 1988, p. 53; Sims-Williams 1990, pp. 38-9, on beneficiary, p. 175; Making of England, pp. 203-4 (no. 158); Wormald 1993, pp. 220-2, on background and estate history; Cubitt 1995, p. 274, contemporary; Abrams 1996, p. 243, on documentation for Westbury; Brown 1996, pp. 165-8, on script of MS 1.
A.D. 765 x 792. Offa, king of Mercia, to Æthelnoth, abbot of SS Peter and Paul (St Augustine's, Canterbury); grant of 2 hides (manentes) at Beauxfield, Kent, with grazing rights in the wood called Singledge. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Canterbury, St Augustine's
MSS: 1. Cambridge, Trinity Hall, 1, 70v-71r (s. xv)
2. BL Cotton Jul. D. ii, 133v (s. xiv)
3. PRO E 164/27, 81v (s. xiii)
Printed: K 119 and vol. iii. p. 380 ex MS 1; Hardwick, Elmham, pp. 331-2 ex MS 1; B 207 ex Hardwick, K and MSS 1, 1*; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 56; Kelly, St Augustine's, no. 14 ex MSS 1, 2, 3.
Comments: Stevenson 1887, p. 332, if not a forgery it has been tampered with, the bounds have certainly been modernized; Turner 1915, pp. xxvi-vii; Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 51-3, on place-names; John 1966, p. 25, cited; Scharer 1982, pp. 264-5, spurious; Brooks 1984, p. 319, bounds must have been added but remainder of text seems unobjectionable, date may be miscopied; Kelly, St Augustine's, pp. ciii, 57-60, spurious, fabrication based on a genuine charter of Offa, probably from the later part of his reign and not originally in favour of Abbot Æthelnoth.
A.D. 777 x 779. Offa, king of Mercia, with Ealdred, subregulus of the Hwicce, to the minster and church of St Michael at Bishops Cleeve, Gloucs.; grant of 15 hides (mansiones) at Timbingctun, under Wendlesclif and north of Tyrl brook. Latin with English bounds of Wendlesclif.
Archive: Worcester
MS: BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 23r-24r (s. xi1)
Printed: Mon. Angl., i. 124; Hearne, Heming, pp. 52, 460-3 ex Mon. Angl.; K 150 and vol. iii. 385-6; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 589-90 (no. 19); B 246.
Comments: Grundy, Gloucs., pp. 71-90, interprets the bounds as including the modern parishes of Gotherington, Bishops Cleeve and Southam, Gloucs.; PN Gloucs., i. 13, ii. 34, 87-94; Finberg,ECWM, no. 30, authentic, dates 768 x 779; Scharer 1982, pp. 243-4, not genuine in present form but based on authentic material, dates 777 x 779; Gelling 1984, pp. 131, 136, Wendlesclif may be Cleeve Cloud, on the edge of Cleve Hill; Sims-Williams 1990, p. 157; Bassett 1996, pp. 166, 167.
A.D. 757 x 774. Offa, king of Mercia to Milred, bishop; grant of land at Wick Episcopi, Worcs. Latin with bounds in Latin and English.
Archive: Worcester
MS: BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 34v-35v (s. xi/xii)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 73-5; K 126 and vol. iii. 381-2; B 219; Earle, pp. 308-10; Hooke 1990, p. 72, bounds only.
Comments: Grundy, Worcs. 1927, pp. 12-18, on bounds; Finberg, ECWM, no. 216, authentic; Hooke 1980, pp. 39, 41, 46, on topography; Scharer, pp. 235-6, forgery; Hooke 1985, pp. 108-10 with map p. 109, on topography and bounds; Hooke 1990, pp. 69-78, on bounds and topography.
A.D. 761 x 764. Offa, king of Mercia, to Sigeburga, abbess; confirmation of the exemption from ship-toll which King Æthelbald granted to Abbess Mildred (S 87). Latin.
Archive: Canterbury, St Augustine's
MS: Cambridge, Trinity Hall, 68rv (s. xv)
Printed: Lewis 1736, p. 67; K 112; Hardwick, Elmham, pp. 321-2; Thorpe, p. 37; B 188; Kelly, St Augustine's, no. 52.
Comments: Sawyer 1978, p. 101, treats as authentic; Scharer 1982, p. 201 n. 180, p. 211 n. 229, p. 212 n. 7, p. 216 n. 32, spurious; Kelly 1992, authentic; Kelly, St Augustine's, pp. 178-9, authentic.
A.D. 757 x 796 (Freoricburna, Surrey). Offa, king of Mercia, to the church at Woking, Surrey; grant of 20 hides (manentes) at Woking. Latin.
Archive: Peterborough
MSS: 1. London, Soc. Ant., 37v-38r (s. xii med.)
2. Peterborough, D. & C., 1, 130v (s. xiii)
Printed: K 168; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 380 (no. 4); B 275; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 88.
Comments: Stubbs 1861/1, p. 205, cited; Stenton 1933, p. 323, shows signs of antiquity, probably belongs in Offa's reign (= Stenton 1970, p. 189); Gelling, ECTV, no. 316, authentic; Scharer 1982, p. 274, dubious.
A.D. 777. Offa, king of the English, to St Mary's minster, Worcester; grant of 5 hides (manentes) at Doughton in Tetbury, Gloucs., and 5 at Eisey in Latton, Wilts. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 42rv (s. xi1)
2. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 170v-171r (s. xi2)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 90-2, 377-8; K 134 and vol. iii. 384; B 226; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 67.
Comments: Stenton 1918, p. 448 n. 67, suspicious, vernacular bounds cannot be contemporary (= Stenton 1970, p. 62 n. 2); Robinson 1919, p. 26, spurious, perhaps modelled on S 109; Finberg, ECW, no. 193, spurious; PN Gloucs., i. 111, 113; Finberg, ECWM, no. 34, spurious, anachronistic OE bounds and reference to St Mary's; Scharer 1982, pp. 239-40, spurious, dates 777 from subscription of Bishop Ealdberht of Hereford; Prince 1983, on bounds.
A.D. 793 x 796. King Offa to (the church at) Worcester; grant of reversion of 60 hides (manentes) at Westbury-on-Trym and 10 (or 20) at Henbury, Gloucs., after the death of himself and his son Ecgfrith. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. Lost original
2. BL Cotton Nero E. i, pt 2, 181v (s. xi)
3. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 48r-49r (s. xi1)
4. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 130v (s. xvii; incomplete; ex 1)
Printed: Mon. Angl., i. 125-6; Hearne, Heming, pp. 101-3 ex MSS 2, 3, p. 564 ex MS 4; K 166 ex MS 3; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 590-1 (no. 21); Thorpe, pp. 39-40; B 272 ex MS 2; B 273 ex MS 3; Earle, pp. 311-12; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 1, no. 86.
Translated: Whitelock, EHD, no. 78 (pp. 507-8).
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 692 n. 16, cited; Stenton 1918, p. 445 n. 57, seems to be authentic (= Stenton 1970, p. 59 n. 3); PN Worcs., p. xvii n. 2, authentic; Stenton 1971, pp. 288, 305, cited; Finberg, ECWM, no. 50, authentic; Finberg 1972, pp. 408-9, on renders listed in MS 3; Sawyer 1978, p. 144, cited, p. 145, on estate; Dumville 1979, p. 8 n. 6, on form of Ecgfrith's subscription in MS 2; Whitelock, EHD, p. 507; Dyer 1980, pp. 16, 29, on food-rents; Scharer 1982, pp. 277-8, dubious; Sawyer 1983, p. 243, cited; Wormald 1983, pp. 110-11 n. 49, suspect in the light of S 139; Hooke 1985, pp. 90-1, cited; Wormald 1986, pp. 155-6, suspicious; Sims-Williams 1990, pp. 137, 153, questionable, cf. S 139; Foot 1992, p. 191 n. 148, on formula; Wormald 1993, pp. 20-2, perhaps forged in early 9th century; Breeze 1995; Abrams 1996, p. 246, on documentation for Westbury; Faith 1997, p. 39, cited.
A.D. 777 x 779. Offa, king of Mercia, with Ealdred, subregulus of the Hwicce, to St Mary's Minster, Worcester; grant of 10 hides (mansiones) at Yate, Gloucs. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MSS: 1. Somers Ch. 3 (lost)
2. BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 54v-55r (s. xi1)
3. BL Cotton Vitell. C. ix, 130v (s. xvi; incomplete; ex 1)
Printed: Smith, Bede, p. 766 ex MS 1; Hearne, Heming, pp. 114-16 ex MS 2, p. 563 ex MS 3; K 145 ex Smith and MS 2; B 231 ex K, Smith and MS 2.
Comments: Wanley, Catalogus, p. 301 (no. 3), MS 1 a copy in a hand later than Offa's time; Stevenson 1914, p. 692 n. 16, doubtful or spurious; Stenton 1918, p. 445 n. 57, probably spurious (= Stenton 1970, p. 59 n. 3); Robinson 1919, p. 26, probably a forgery based on S 141; Finberg, ECWM, no. 37, suspicious features including anachronistic reference to St Mary's; Scharer 1982, pp. 244-5, spurious; Sims-Williams 1990, p. 153, forgery based on S 141, may include some authentic information.
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