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ANGLO-SAXON DIPLOMATIC

<under construction>

An interesting aspect of Anglo-Saxon diplomatic is the detailed study of the formulas which in combination make up a 'standard' royal diploma. Some of the more elaborate formulas, particularly those used as proems or sanctions, deserve serious consideration as literary compositions in their own right. They contain themes, usages, allusions, or forms of expression which would repay attention from the student of cultural or literary history. They may seem to be 'formulaic', and thus of little intrinsic interest; but in many cases it is possible to judge when a given formula was first composed, to draw certain conclusions from the pattern of its use and subsequent re-use, and to trace its 'literary' development from one appearance to another. It is intended in these pages to build up a list of the recurrent proems and sanctions found in the surviving corpus of tenth- and eleventh-century royal diplomas. Each entry begins with a basic version of the formula (other occurrences may be found to contain verbal variations), followed by a list of occurrences, and any references. Eventually, each formula might be assigned a distinguishing name or letter, for ease of reference (e.g. Sanction A, B, C); hybrid and variant forms might be identified by an appropriate combinations of letters, or by the addition of the suffix 'var[iation]'.

The detailed analysis of the form and incidence of these formulas is central to understanding of the production of charters in the tenth and eleventh centuries. If a formula appears from its registered occurrences to be associated with charters relating to estates in a particular part of the country, or preserved in the archives of a particular religious house, it might follow that it reflects a 'local' diplomatic tradition, representing the usage favoured by the diocesan bishop, or the head of a religious house, or some other ecclesiastical agency. If, on the other hand, a formula appears from its registered occurrences to have a more general distribution at the time of its introduction, and to have a more sporadic or local distribution thereafter, it may be that it was devised and used initially by a person working in a central agency, and was recycled from time to time once it had become part of the stock of formulas available for use by other draftsmen.

Bibliographical abbreviations

Abbreviation

Reference

Ab

Charters of Abingdon Abbey, ed. S. E. Kelly, AS Charters 7 (Oxford, forthcoming)

BCS

Cartularium Saxonicum, ed. Walter de Gray Birch, 3 vols. (London, 1885-93)

Bur

Charters of Burton Abbey, ed. P. H. Sawyer, AS Charters 2 (Oxford, 1979)

CrawCh

The Crawford Collection of Early Charters, ed. A. S. Napier and W. H. Stevenson (Oxford, 1895)

DipÆthelred

S. Keynes, The Diplomas of King Æthelred the Unready (978-1016) (Cambridge, 1980)

KCD

Codex Diplomaticus Ævi Saxonici, ed. J. M. Kemble, 6 vols. (London, 1839-48)

Roch

Charters of Rochester, ed. A. Campbell, AS Charters 1 (London, 1973)

Sher

Charters of Sherborne, ed. M. A. O'Donovan, AS Charters 3 (Oxford, 1988)

StAug

Charters of St Augustine's Abbey, ed. S. E. Kelly, AS Charters 4 (Oxford, 1995)

Sel

Charters of Selsey, ed. S. E. Kelly, Anglo-Saxon Charters 6 (Oxford, 1997)

Shaft

Charters of Shaftesbury Abbey, ed. S. E. Kelly, AS Charters 5 (Oxford, 1996)

etc. etc.

PROEMS

<Examples of recurrent proems, from 'Æthelstan A' onwards, to be inserted.>

 

SANCTIONS

<The lettering of the sanctions is provisional, and will be reviewed when the analysis is complete.>

SANCTION <A>
<>

The development of the sanction employed in charters drafted and written by 'Æthelstan A', between 928 and 935, is discussed in S. Keynes, The Charters of King Æthelstan (forthcoming).>

SANCTION <AB>
<Hoc ius donacionis augendo conseruantibus feliciter perueniant inter celibes celestium turmarum et sine fine in eterna doxa letentur.>
Si quis autem quod non optamus infringere temptauerit hoc nostrum donum, sciat se in examine tremendi iudicii redditurum temeritatis audacium perpessum esse, nisi pura emendacione et singulta lamentacione emendauerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

S 429

King Æthelstan

935

Shaftesbury

BCS 708; Shaft 9

S 431

King Æthelstan

936

Glastonbury

BCS 709

S 437

King Æthelstan

937

Thorney

BCS 712

S 411

King Æthelstan

937 ?

Abingdon

BCS 682

References. DipÆthelred, p. 44, n. 80.

SANCTION <B>
(a) <Prototype 1> Si quis autem quod non optamus hanc nostram donationem infringere temptaverit, perpessus sit gelidis glaciarum flatibus et malignorum spirituum, terribiles tormentorum crutiatus euasisse non quiescat, nisi prius inriguis penitentie gemitibus et pura emendatione emendauerit.

(b) <Prototype 2 (cf. Sanction <C>)> Denique uero si quis nobis non optantibus nostrum hoc donum uiolari fraudulenter perpetrando consenserit aut infringere temptauerit, perpessus sit gelidis glaciarum flatibus, ex pennino exercitu malignorum spirituum, nisi prius irriguis penitencie gemitibus et pura emendacione emendauerit.

(c) <Standard form> Si quis autem quod non optamus hanc nostram difinitionem elationis habitu incedens infringere temptauerit, perpessus sit gelidis glaciarum flatibus, et pennino exercitu malignorum spirituum, nisi prius inriguis pænitentiæ gemitibus et pura emendatione emendauerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

S 438

King Æthelstan

937

Wilton

BCS 714, var. a

S 442

King Æthelstan

938

Glastonbury

BCS 728, var. b

S 447 (orig.)

King Æthelstan

939

Canterbury, CC

BCS 741, var. c

S 449 (orig.)

King Æthelstan

939

Winchester, OM

BCS 734

S 464 (orig.)

King Edmund

940

Canterbury, CC

BCS 753

S 469

King Edmund

940

Wilton

BCS 757

S 460

King Edmund

940

Abingdon

BCS 759

S 468

King Edmund

940

Wilton

BCS 756

S 476

King Edmund

941

Bath

BCS 767

S 490

King Edmund

943

Shaftesbury

BCS 781; Shaft 14

S 1811

King Edmund

943

Wilton

BCS 783

S 510 (orig.)

King Edmund

946

Canterbury, CC

BCS 813

S 518

King Eadred

946

Canterbury, St Aug

BCS 1345; St Aug 28

S 527

King Eadred

947

Wells

BCS 821

S 580

King Eadred

946 x 955

Glastonbury

BCS 901

S 831

King Edward

977

Winchester, OM

KCD 611

References. Hall, Studies, pp. 198-9, reporting Pollock's suggestion 'that the charters containing this formula were the compositions of a scribe who had crossed the Alps and whose impressions of the journey have given an unusually realistic touch to this conventional clause'; DipÆthelred, p. 45, n. 83. The formula in S 438, dated 937, represents the earliest manifestation of 'the glacial curse', in a charter of King Æthelstan; the formula in S 442, dated 938, is a further development, using different opening words (in fact the opening words of another stock formula in process of development at the same time). The 'standard' form took elements from both of the early versions, and was used regularly between 939 and 947 (and occasionally thereafter). <End of formula in S 663 (BCS 1002).>

SANCTION <C>
Denique uero si quis nobis non optantibus nostrum hoc donum violari fraudulenter perpetrando consenserit, consideret hinc se die ultima iudicii coram Deo rationem redditurum atque cum reprobis quibus dicitur 'Discedite a me maledicti in ignem æternum' penis atrocibus se esse passurum si non antea corporea lamentatione emendauerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, p. 107, n. 68.

SANCTION <D>
Minuentibus uero atque frangentibus hanc donacionem, quod opto absit a fidelium mentibus, terrat pars eorum cum illis de quibus e contra fatur, 'Discedite a me maledicti in ignem eternum qui paratus est Sathane et satellitibus eius', nisi prius digna Deo penitencia ueniam legali satisfaccione emendent.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, p. 86, n. 10.

SANCTION <E>
Si qui denique michi non optanti hanc libertatis cartam livore depressi violari satagerint, agminibus tetre caliginis lapsi vocem audiant examinationis die arbitris sibi dicentis 'Discedite a me maledicti in ignem eternum', ubi cum demonibus ferreis sartaginibus crudeli torqueantur in pæna, si non ante mortem digna hoc emandauerint pĪnitentia.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, p. 86, n. 13.

SANCTION <F>
Hanc uero meam donationem quod opto absit a fidelium mentibus minuentibus atque frangentibus, fiat pars eorum cum illis de quibus e contra fatur 'Discedite a me maledicti in ignem æternum qui paratus est Sathanæ et satellitibus eius, nisi prius digna Deo penitentia veniam legali satisfactione emendent.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, p. 86, n. 11.

SANCTION <GG>
Etiam si quis alium antiquum librum in propatulo protulerit, nec sibi nec aliis proficiat. sed in sempiterno graphio deleatur et cum iustis non scribatur nec audiatur.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References.

SANCTION <G>
Sin autem quod non optamus hanc meam donationem infringere uel mutare satagerint, horribiles inferni fusci ualuas sentiant atque terribiles demonum cohortes obtutibus indesinenter aspiciant, nisi prius digna Deo poenitentia ueniam legali satisfactione emendent.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

S 470

King Edmund

940

Winchester, NM

BCS 748

S 526

King Eadred

947

Winchester, NM

BCS 824

S 647

King Eadwig

957, post division of the kingdom

Wilton

BCS 998

S 657

King Eadwig

958

Abingdon

BCS 1034

S 715

King Edgar

963

Winchester, OM

BCS 1118

References. <S 470 and 526 also use GG, on any old charters (DipÆthelred, p. 107, n. 68).>

SANCTION <H>
Si <quis uero prout non optamus maledicti serpenti suggestioni et auaritie estibus inflatus, sic> demonice fermentationis stimulo incedens nostrum integrum et inuiolatum donum fraudulenter infringere probauerit, nouerit se proculdubio cum Anna et Zaphira satellitibusque eorum herebica eterne anatematis macera perforandum, nisi prius digna satisfactione emendare uoluerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

cf. S 346

King Alfred

889

Worcester

BCS 561

S 496

King Edmund

942 ?

Abingdon

BCS 801

S 492

King Edmund

943

Wilton

BCS 782

S 471 (sp.)

King Edmund

? 943 ('940')

Abingdon

BCS 761

S 487

King Edmund

943

Winchester, OM

BCS 787

S 489

King Edmund

943

Canterbury, CC

BCS 784

S 486

King Edmund

943

Winchester, OM

BCS 788

cf. S 547

King Eadred

948

Winchester, OM

BCS 875

cf. S 571

King Eadred

[953 x 955]

Winchester, OM

BCS 931

S 931a

King Æthelred

1013

Barking

-

References. DipÆthelred, p. 110, n. 80.

SANCTION <I>
Si quis uero quod non optamus contra nostrum hoc decretum machinari uel infringere aliquid uoluerit, sciat se rationem grauiter redditurum in die iudicii ante tribunal Domini, nisi prius hic digna emendauerit penitentia ante mortem.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References.

SANCTION <J>
Si quis autem propria temeritate uiolenter inuadere præsumpserit, sciat se proculdubio ante tribunal districti iudicis titubantem tremebundumque rationem redditurum, nisi prius digna satisfactione emendare maluerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, pp. 86, n. 16, and 91, n. 28.

SANCTION <K>
Si quis uero hominum hanc meam donationem cum stulticie temeritate iactitando infringere certauerit, sit ipse grauibus per colla depressus catenis inter flammiuomas tetrorum demonum cateruas, nisi prius hic ad satisfactionem uenire maluerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

S 552 (original)

King Edmund

949

Abingdon

BCS 877

S 578

etc.

References. DipÆthelred, p. 65 and n. 120.

SANCTION <L>
Si quis uero minuerit hanc donationem, sciat se reum omni hora uitæ suæ et tenebrosum Tartarum non euadere.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, p. 64 and n. 117.

SANCTION <M>
Si quis uere tirannica inflatus potestate infringere temptauerit huius nostri decreti cirographum, sciat se coram Christo et angelis eius in tremendo examine rationem redditurum, nisi hic prius emendare satagerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, pp. 64-5.

SANCTION <N>
Si quis autem infringere temptauerit quod absit, sciat in tremendo die iudicii rationem redditurum coram Deo et angelis ejus, nisi prius hic digna satisfactione emendare maluerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References. DipÆthelred, p. 65 and n. 121.

SANCTION <O>
Si quis autem laruarico instinctus spiritu hoc donum uiolare uel inmutare presumptuosus temptauerit, nisi digna satisfactione ante obitum suum reus penituerit, eternis baratri prostratus incendiis cum Iuda Christi proditore eternaliter lugubris puniatur.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

S 408 (sp.)

King Æthelstan

931

Abingdon

BCS 681

S 410 (sp.)

King Æthelstan

931

Abingdon

BCS 680

S 607 (sp.)

King Eadwig

956 (Gp 2)

Abingdon

BCS 919

S 681

King Edgar

959, pre death of Eadwig

Peterborough

BCS 1052

S 680

King Edgar

959, post death of Eadwig

Winchester, OM

BCS 1051

S 682 (sp.)

King Edgar

960

Abingdon

BCS 1058

cf. S 695

961

Winchester, OM

S 734 (sp.)

King Edgar

965

Abingdon

BCS 1169

S 732 (sp.)

King Edgar

965

Abingdon

BCS 1171

S 733 (sp.)

King Edgar

965

Abingdon

BCS 1172

S 829 (sp.)

King Edward

'965'

Abingdon

KCD 1277

S 837

King Æthelred

980

Winchester, OM

KCD 624

S 1020 (sp.)

King Edward

1050

Abingdon

KCD 792

S 1023 (sp.)

King Edward

1050

Abingdon

KCD 796

References. DipÆthelred, pp. 75-6, with n. 152: the formula in S 681 and 680 represents the prototype of the sanction which became characteristic of 'Edgar A' in the early 960s (Sanction Q); ibid., p. 11, n. 16, for the inter-related group of spurious charters from Abingdon.

SANCTION <P>
Si quis uero hoc nostrum karisma aliqua machinacione infringere conatus fuerit, ueniam non hic mereatur nec in futuro regni celestis clauigerum propicium habeat, nisi prius hic ad satisfactionem emendare/uenire uoluerit/maluerit.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

S 641

King Eadwig

957, pre-division of the kingdom (1st reg. yr)

Winchester, NM

BCS 988

S 643

King Eadwig

957, pre-division of the kingdom

Bath

BCS 1001

S 1291

Bishop Brihthelm

957, pre-division of the kingdom (2nd reg. yr)

Selsey

BCS 997

S 655

King Eadwig

958

Shaftesbury

BCS 1026; Shaft 22

S 656

King Eadwig

958

Shaftesbury

BCS 1033; Shaft 23

S 730

King Edgar

964

Shaftesbury

BCS 1138; Shaft 25

References. DipÆthelred, p. 69, n. 134.

SANCTION <Q>
Si quis igitur hanc nostram donationem in aliud quam constituimus transferre uoluerit, priuatus consortio sancte Dei ecclesiae æternis barathri incendiis lugubris iugiter cum Iuda Christi proditore eiusque complicibus puniatur, si non satisfactione emendauerit congrua quod contra nostrum deliquit decretum.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

For 'early' occurrences in spurious charters, see notes.

S 683

King Edgar

960

Winchester, OM

BCS 1054

S 690 (original)

King Edgar

961

Abingdon

BCS 1066

S 688

King Edgar

961

Abingdon

BCS 1067

S 698

King Edgar

961

Abingdon

BCS 1075

S 696

King Edgar

961

Winchester, OM

BCS 1071

cf. S 703 (original)

King Edgar

962

Bury St Edmunds

BCS 1082

S 706 (original)

King Edgar

962

uncertain

BCS 1083

S 1298

Bishop Oswald

962

Worcester

BCS 1091

etc. etc.

References. DipÆthelred, pp. 72-3, etc.: the commonest formula in Anglo-Saxon diplomatic, devised by 'Edgar A' in 960 (cf. Sanction <O> for prototype), used by 'Edgar A' in 960-3, and re-used by other draftsmen frequently thereafter.

 

SANCTION <R>
Si quis autem reprobus falsis machinationibus per aliquam scripturam nostrum donum/decretum subuertere conatus fuerit, sit ipse in profundum chaos igneis nexibus mancipatus, et eius memoria caligine mortis obtecta, nisi hic assiduis precibus prius obtabilem consequi mereatur indulgentiam.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

References.

SANCTION <S>
Si quis uero tam epilempticus philargirie seductus amentia quod non optamus hanc nostre munificentie dapsilitatem ausu temerario infringere temptauerit, sit ipse alienatus a consortio sancte Dei ecclesie et a participatione sacrosancti corporis et sanguinis Iesu Christi filii Dei, per quem totus terrarum orbis ab antiquo humani generis inimico liberatus est, et cum Iuda Christi proditore sinistra in parte deputatus, nisi prius hic digna satisfactione humilis penituerit quod contra sanctam Dei ecclesiam rebellis agere presumpserit, nec in uita hac practica ueniam nec in theorica requiem apostata obtineat ullam sed eternis baratri incendiis trusus cum Anania et Saphira iugiter miserrimus crucietur.

Sawyer

Grantor

Date

Archive

Text

S 553 (sp.)

King Eadred

950

Glastonbury

BCS 887, var.

S 658 (Ordx)

King Eadwig

959

Abingdon

BCS 1046

S 673 (Ordx)

King Edgar

958, for 959

Abingdon

BCS 1047

S 812 (Ordx)

King Edgar

undated

Romsey

BCS 1187

S 756

King Edgar

968

Abingdon

BCS 1213

S 786 (Ordx)

King Edgar

972

Pershore

BCS 1282

S 788 (Ordx)

King Edgar

972

Worcester

BCS 1284

S 811

King Edgar

undated

Winchester, OM

BCS 1319

S 836

King Æthelred

980

Winchester, OM

KCD 626, var.

S 838

King Æthelred

981

Tavistock

Finberg

S 876 (Ordx) (orig.)

King Æthelred

993

Abingdon

KCD 684

S 880 (orig.)

King Æthelred

994

St Germans

KCD 686

S 888

King Æthelred

996

St Albans

KCD 696, extr.

S 892

King Æthelred

998

Coventry

CrawCh 8, var.

S 911

King Æthelred

1005

Eynsham

KCD 714, extr.

S 953 (sp.)

King Cnut

1018

Exeter

OSF ii. Ex 10

S 954 (sp.)

King Cnut

1019

Exeter

KCD 729

S 971

King Cnut

1031

Exeter

OSF ii. Ex 11

References. DipÆthelred, pp. 100-1, with n. 52. For occurrences in the 'Orthodoxorum' charters, see DipÆthelred, pp. 98-102. Epylempticus, 'mad': CrawCh, p. 113. For Ananias and Sapphira, see Acts V.1-10. <Cf. section in S 775 (970, Glastonbury).>

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