A.D. '835' for 871 x 899. King Alfred to St Peter's church, Athelney, Somerset; grant of land at Reodbeorh, with adjacent fishery at Reodwer. Latin.
Archive: Athelney
MSS: 1. Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/TB Box 20/4, Harbin's transcript, p. 32 + Oxford, Dr D. Rogers, p. 33 (s. xviii)
2. Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/TB Box 20/4, Carew's transcript (s. xviii1)
Comments: Keynes 1992/1, p. 155, modelled on a 'Dunstan B' charter, discusses MSS, p. 159 n. 57, on possible identifications of Reodwer, p. 159 n. 61, on date; Keynes 1994/2, p. 1134 n. 3, not genuine; Smyth 1995, p. 649 n. 150.
Note. The witness-list of this charter was previously entered as S 1605.
A.D. 852 for ? 878. Alfred, king of Wessex, to Athelney Abbey; grant of 10 hides (cassatae) at Long Sutton, Somerset. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Athelney
MSS: 1. BL Lansdowne 447, 59rv (s. xvii; no bounds)
2. London, Soc. Ant., 128, 154v (s. xvii; part only)
3. Oxford, Dr D. Rogers, pp. 34-8 (s. xviii)
4. Oxford, Bodleian, Eng. Hist. c. 241, 53v-54r (s. xvii)
5. Northants. R.O., Finch-Hatton 113, pp. 367-9 (s. xvii)
Printed: Reyner 1626, p. 132; Mon. Angl., i. 202-3; Collinson, Somerset, iii. 197, bounds only; K 309 ex Mon. Angl.; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), ii. 406 (no. 4); B 545 ex Reyner; B 546, bounds only, ex Collinson; Finberg, ECW, no. 415 (pp. 123-5) ex MS 3.
Translated: Bates, Athelney Register, pp. 127-8 ex MS 2; Hugo 1897, pp. 102-3 ex MS 1.
Comments: Plummer 1899, p. 94, spurious; Stevenson 1904, p. 259 n. 4, spurious; Stevenson 1914, p. 692 n. 16, doubtful or spurious; Bates, Athelney Register, p. 128, date impossible, p. 191; Grundy, Somerset, pp. 126-9, on bounds; Forsberg 1950, p. 8; Finberg, ECW, no. 415, authentic, dates 871 x 886; O'Donovan 1973, pp. 104, 108, not acceptable, impossible date; Whitelock 1979, p. 92 n. 5, forgery; Keynes 1980, p. 125 n. 135, spurious, elements of dispositive section recur in S 921; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, p. 271 n. 228, not authentic in received form; Keynes 1992/1, p. 159 n. 62, on date; Keynes 1994/2, p. 1134, not acceptable in received form, but probably based on an authentic charter of 870s; Smyth 1995, pp. 266, 373.
A.D. '872'. Alfred, king of the English, to Athelney Abbey; grant of privileges in Stathmoor, Saltmoor, Haymoor and Currymoor, with other moors in North Curry, with grant to Abbot John of privileges and revenues in East Lyng, Somerset. Latin.
Archive: Athelney
MS: Taunton, Somerset Record Office, DD/TB 20/4, Harbin's transcript, pp. 9-11 (s. xviii1)
Comments: Keynes 1992/1, p. 155, cannot be authentic in received form alhtough parts of formulation derive from pre-Conquest texts, p. 159 n. 61, on date; Keynes 1994/2, p. 1134 n. 3, not genuine; Smyth 1995, p. 649 n. 150; cf. S 499, which may be the model.
A.D. 873. Alfred, king, and Æthelred, archbishop, to Liaba, son of Birgwine; grant of land at Ileden, Kent, in return for 25 mancuses of gold. Latin with English.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MS: BL Stowe Ch. 19 (s. ix2; OS Facs., iii. 19; Making of England, p. 261, no. 236; Smyth 1995, pl. 20)
Printed: B 536.
Comments: Sweet, OET, p. 440 (no. 32); Stevenson 1904, p. 199 n. 4, a 9th-century hand, the work of a scribe ignorant of Latin, hee seems to have copied twice over the witnesses of a charter of King Æthelwulf; Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 221-2, the northern boundary is Bossington, the eastern, Curlswood, p. 160 for identification of Ileden; Hart 1970/1, p. 23, on endorsement; Brooks 1979, pp. 15-16, authentic but full of errors; O'Donovan 1972, p. 30, indiction fits 874; Whitelock 1979, p. 77 and n. 6, authentic apart from the witness-lists; Brooks 1984, pp. 172, 360-1 n. 70, contemporary but incompetently drafted and copied, scribe also wrote S 316, 328, 332, 1195-7; Dumville 1987, p. 156 n. 41, on script, treats as contemporary; Making of England, pp. 261-2 (no. 236); Kelly, St Augustine's, pp. xciv-v, on circumstances of production; Pelteret 1995, p. 227; Smyth 1995, p. 372; Lapidge 1996, pp. 452-3, on latinity.
A.D. 882 (Epsom, Surrey). Alfred, king of the Saxons, to Athelstan, his minister; grant of 15 hides (cassati) at Cyricestun (? Somerset), in return for 30 mancuses and 2 hides at Stoce (? Stoke St Mary, Somerset). Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Winchester, Old Minster
MS: BL Add. 15350, 64v-65r (s. xii)
Printed: K 1065; B 550; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 3, no. 58.
Comments: Plummer 1899, pp. 96, 111, authentic; Stevenson 1904, p. 330 n. 6, dubious; PN Worcs., p. 107; Drögereit 1935, p. 373 n. 1, suspicious; Grundy, Somerset, pp. 142-9, associates bounds with Norton Fitzwarren and Hill Farrance, Somerset; Finberg, ECW, no. 420, authentic, Cyrices tun is Creech; Whitelock 1966, p. 101, on internal reference to otherwise unknown campaign; Hart 1970, p. 31 (no. 112), authentic; Whitelock 1979, pp. 78, 92 n. 7, authenticity uncertain; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, p. 227 n. 1, cited; Fleming 1985, p. 252, cited; Dumville 1992, p. 41 n. 56, cited; Keynes 1994/2, p. 1135, authentic basis, probably rewritten by a forger; Abrams 1996, pp. 100-1 n. 144, on Cyricestun.
A.D. 889. Alfred, king of the English and the Saxons, and Æthelred, subregulus et patricius Merciorum, to Wærferth, bishop of Worcester; grant of land æt Hwætmundes stane in London, with commercial privileges. Latin.
Archive: Worcester
MS: BL Cotton Tib. A. xiii, 18r-19r (s. xi1)
Printed: Hearne, Heming, pp. 41-3; K 316; Thorpe, pp. 135-6; B 561; Earle, pp. 316-18.
Translated: Jones 1958, pp. 91-2.
Comments: Stevenson 1904, p. lxvi and n. 3, genuine; Harmer 1950, p. 341 n. 3, may well be authentic in substance, although spurious in its existing form; Ekwall 1954, pp. 37-8, on place-name; Chaplais 1966, p. 15, on royal style (= 1981, XV, p. 15); John 1966, p. 45, on royal style; Dyer and Clarke 1968-9, p. 28; Stenton 1971, p. 260 n. 2, some ancient formulas; Brooke and Keir 1975, pp. 346-7, of doubtful authenticity, possibly genuine in substance; Whitelock 1975, p. 16, not free from suspicion but some genuine basis; Dyson 1978, on topography, refers to land at Queenhithe, identical to property in CCC23 (S 1628); Gelling, ECTV, no. 212 (pp. 106, 188-9), authentic, Addendum pp. 188-9, discusses Dyson's suggestions; Whitelock 1979, p. 77 and n. 6, authentic; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, p. 227 n. 1, cited; Dyson and Schofield 1984, pp. 289, 296-301, 304; Dyson 1990, on topography; Vince 1990, pp. 20-2, on topography; Kelly 1992, p. 13, genuine basis; Lapidge 1993, p. 10 n. 25, ambitious Latin style which anticipates the charters of Æthelstan's reign; Smyth 1995, pp. 373, 376; Baker and Holt 1996, pp. 134-5.
A.D. 891 (2 Aug.). Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, to Berhtwulf, his faithful comes; grant of 12 hides (manentes) at Plush in Buckland Newton, Dorset, and 2 (? for 5) at Raddington, Somerset, in exchange for land at Sutton Poyntz, Dorset. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Glastonbury
MSS: 1. Marquess of Bath, Longleat, 39, 199r (s. xiv)
2. Bodleian, Wood empt. 1, 228rv (s. xiv)
Printed: K 319 and vol. vi. 227-8 ex MS 2; Mon. Angl. (rev. edn), i. 57-8 (no. 123) ex MS 2; B 564 ex MS 2; Watkin, Glastonbury Cart., iii. 624-5 (no. 1165) ex MS 1.
Comments: Stevenson 1904, p. 155 n. 3, spurious; Grundy, Dorset 1933, pp. 263-8, on bounds; Finberg, ECW, no. 421, authentic; John 1966, p. 45, on royal style; Whitelock 1979, pp. 85-6, abbreviated, may be authentic although either the incarnation year or the indiction is wrong, discusses beneficiary; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, p. 227 n. 1, on royal style; PN Dorset, i. 233, 237, 238, iii. 247-8, 254-5; Dumville 1992, pp. 45-6, cited; Keynes 1994/2, p. 1136, contemporary formulation, cf. S 348; Abrams 1996, pp. 29, 36, 39, on MS sources, pp. 64-5, 219, on estates.
A.D. 892. Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, to Æthelhelm, comes; grant of 10 hides (manentes) at North Newnton, Wilts. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Wilton
MS: BL Harley 436, 29v-31r (s. xiv)
Printed: Hoare, Reg. Wilton, pp. 17-18; K 320 and vol. iii. 402; B 567; Whitelock 1979, pp. 78-9.
Translated: Keynes and Lapidge 1983, pp. 179, 181.
Comments: Hoare, Modern Wilts., ii. 80; Jones 1881, on bounds; Stevenson 1904, pp. lxvii, 151, spurious; Grundy, Wilts. 1919, pp. 187-91, on bounds; Darlington 1955, p. 91, spurious; Finberg, ECW, no. 217, authentic, bounds nearly the same as in S 424; John 1966, p. 45, on royal style; O'Donovan 1973, p. 104, very suspect; Whitelock 1979, pp. 78-83, probably authentic; Keynes 1980, p. 158 n. 15, on witness-list; Lapidge 1981, p. 78 n., possibly genuine base (= 1993, p. 66n.); Keynes and Lapidge 1983, pp. 179, 326-30, accepted as genuine (with map of bounds, p. 180); Keynes 1994/2, pp. 1136-7, contemporary formulation, cf. S 347; Smyth 1995, pp. 252-3, 375, 421, dubious.
A.D. 895. Alfred, king of the Saxons, to Burhric, bishop of Rochester; grant of land at Freckenham, Suffolk, and at Isleham, Cambs. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Rochester
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Ch. viii. 19 (s. xiii; BA Facs. 41)
2. Maidstone, Kent Archives Office, DRb/Ar2 (Liber Temporalium), 10r (s. xiv)
Printed: Thorpe, Reg. Roff., pp. 357-8, 436-7; K 322; B 571.
Comments: Plummer 1899, p. 117, spurious; Stevenson 1904, p. 201 n. 4, a clumsy 12th-century forgery, partly based on Asser; Hart, ECEE, no. 48, spurious; O'Donovan 1972, p. 31, spurious; Campbell, Rochester, p. xiii n. 3, obviously forged; Hart, ECNE, p. 385; Whitelock 1979, p. 92 n. 5, Rochester forgery; Lapidge 1981, p. 78 n., certainly spurious (= 1993, p. 66n.); Keynes and Lapidge 1983, p. 235 n. 28, 'a magnificently blatant forgery'; Brett 1988, pp. 405-8, probably forged in the early 13th century; BA Facs., pp. 11-12, spurious; Smyth 1995, pp. 250, 251.
A.D. 898 (Woolmer, Hants.). Alfred, king of the Saxons, to Sighelm, dux; grant of 1 hide (manens) at Farleigh, Kent, with appurtenant meadow. Latin with English and English bounds.
Archive: Canterbury, Christ Church
MS: Canterbury, D. & C., Chart Ant. F 150 (Red Book, no. 11; s. ix/x; OS Facs., i. 12; Smyth 1995, pl. 21)
Printed: K 324; B 576; Earle, pp. 157-8; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 2, no. 47.
Comments: Stevenson 1904, p. 151 n. 2, language must be considerably later than Alfred's time, p. 290 n. 1, probably a non-English hand, seems to be somewhat later in date; Wallenberg, KPN, pp. 232-3, on place-names; Whitelock 1979, p. 78 and n. 6, authentic; Keynes and Lapidge, 1983, p. 227 n. 1, p. 257 n. 149, on royal style; Sawyer 1983, p. 298, on meeting-place; Brooks 1984, p. 169 and 361 n. 72, has Rochester formulation, p. 359 n. 67, contemporary or nearly contemporary; Dumville 1987, p. 156 n. 41, contemporary; Lapidge 1993, p. 10 n. 25, on latinity; Keynes 1994/2, pp. 1140-1, original; Smyth 1995, pp. 254, 372.
A.D. 898 or 899. See CCC16 (S 1628). Alfred, king, and others to Plegmund, archbishop of Canterbury, and to Christ Church (Canterbury), and to Wærferth, bishop, and the church of Worcester; grant of 2 iugera at Ætheredes hyd (Queenhithe) on the Thames, one to each.
A.D. 939. Alfred, king of the English, to Heahferth, minister; grant of 8 hides (mansae) at Worthy, Hants. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Winchester, Old Minster
MS: BL Add. 15350, 89v-90r (s. xii)
Printed: K 1121; B 740.
Comments: Grundy, Hants. 1926, pp. 187-9, bounds are probably those of Chilland in Martyr Worthy, possibly also incorporating part of Itchen Abbas; Finberg, ECW, no. 56, authentic basis, formulas are of Athelstan's time but witness-list is composite, part 9th- and part 10th-century; Hart 1970/1, p. 34 (no. 157), authentic basis; O'Donovan 1972, p. 38, very suspect; Sawyer, Burton, p. 8, very suspicious; Whitelock 1979, p. 77, spurious; Keynes 1980, p. 44 n. 81, forgery based on a genuine charter of King Athelstan; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, p. 281 n. 1, spurious, appears to combine elements from charters of Alfred and Athelstan.
A.D. 979 probably for 878 (19 Oct.). Alfred, king, to Denewulf, bishop; grant of 8 hides (manentes) at Ruishton, Somerset. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Winchester, Old Minster
MSS: 1. BL Add. 15350, 27v (s. xii; bounds only)
2. BL Add. 15350, 52v-53r (s. xii)
Printed: K 1064 ex MS 2; B 549 ex MS 2; Turner 1953, p. 119 ex MS 1.
Comments: Stevenson 1914, p. 699 n. 44, suspicious; Grundy, Somerset, pp. 28-9, on bounds; Turner 1953, pp. 122-3, on bounds; Finberg, ECW, no. 416, authentic, emends dating clause; Hart 1970/1, p. 27 (no. 47), p. 29 (no. 89), authentic; O'Donovan 1973, pp. 103-4, suspicious; Whitelock 1979, pp. 78, 79, 92 n. 7, p. 93 n. 14, authenticity uncertain, witness-list may be authentic, discusses dating clause; Keynes 1994/2, pp. 1134-5, idiosyncratic but may be authentic; Smyth 1995, p. 254.
A.D. 871 x 899. Alfred, king of the English, to Chertsey Abbey; grant of 5 hides (mansae) at Thorpe, with Getinges (cf. Eaton Farm, Chobham), Hunewaldesham (cf. Hundulsham, lost, in Weybridge) and Woodham, Surrey. Latin with English bounds.
Archive: Chertsey
MS: BL Cotton Vitell. A. xiii, 35v-37r (s. xiii)
Printed: K 318 and vol. iii. 401-2; Corner 1858, pp. 95-6; B 563.
Comments: Corner 1858; Stevenson 1904, p. 151 n. 2, spurious; Gelling, ECTV, no. 322, spurious, bounds are probably a Middle English version of an Old English text; Whitelock 1979, p. 92 n. 5, forgery; Dumville 1992, p. 52, formulas more appropriate to 940s and 950s; Smyth 1995, p. 373.
A.D. 878 x 899. Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, to Denewulf, bishop of Winchester, and the church of SS Peter and Paul, Winchester; regrant of the reversion of 50 hides (manentes) at Chisledon, Wilts., and 60 at Hurstbourne Priors, Hants., in exchange for 100 hides at Cholsey, Hagbourne and Bæstlæsford (Basildon), Berks. Latin with English bounds of Cholsey, Hagbourne and Bæstlæsford.
Archive: Winchester, Old Minster
MS: BL Add. 15350, 113r (s. xii)
Printed: K 1069; B 565; PN Berks., iii. 756, bounds only.
Comments: Plummer 1899, p. 175, spurious; Stevenson 1904, p. 151 n. 2, spurious or interpolated, p. 299 and n. 3, spurious, mentions Danegeld; Stenton 1913, pp. 13, 46, spurious; Harmer, SEHD, p. 97, very doubtful authenticity; Grundy, Berks. 1924, pp. 68-70, on bounds of Cholsey; Grundy, Berks. 1925, pp. 120-2, on bounds of Hagbourne, pp. 204-5, on bounds of Bæstelæsford; Finberg, ECW, no. 28, authentic; Finberg 1964, p. 135, authentic; John 1966, p. 45, on royal style; Hart 1970/1, p. 37 (no. 196), authentic; PN Berks., i. 6, 10, 153, 162, ii. 428, 497, 512-13, 516, 519, 524, 528, 531, 535-6, iii. 750-1, 756-7, three sets of bounds cover (a) Cholsey with Moulsford, (b) modern part of Basildon, perhaps with part of Ashampstead, (c) both Hagbournes with Didcot, Upton and (probably) Chilton; Gem 1978, p. 105, on Cholsey; Gelling, ECTV, no. 29, authentic; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, pp. 227-8 n. 1, on royal style; Dumville 1992, pp. 45, 46 n. 90, spurious in present form, but information deserves consideration; Dumville 1993, p. 81 n. 372, on Cholsey; Keynes 1994/2, pp. 1137-8, may be authentic, possibly a survival from royal archives; Abrams 1996, pp. 52-3, on Chisledon.
A.D. 892 x 899. Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, to Deormod; grant of 5 hides (mansi) at Appleford, Berks., in exchange for land at Harandun (Horn Down near East Hendred, Berks.) and 50 mancuses of gold. Latin with English and English bounds.
Archive: Abingdon
MSS: 1. BL Cotton Claud. B. vi, 16rv (s. xiii)
2. BL Cotton Claud. C. ix, 108v-109r (s. xii; no bounds)
3. BL Cotton Claud. C. ix, 200v (s. xii; bounds only)
Printed: K 326 and vol. vi. 228; Stevenson, Chron. Abingdon, i. 51-2; B 581; PN Berks., iii. 754, bounds only; Kelly, Abingdon, no. 18.
Comments: Stenton 1913, p. 32, authentic; Grundy, Berks. 1922, pp. 144-5, on bounds; Forsberg 1950, p. 24, on bounds; John 1966, p. 45, on royal style; Stenton 1971, p. 550 and n. 2, MSS seem to be independent; PN Berks., ii. 400-1, 424, 427, 429, 480-1, iii. 750, 754-5, bounds describe modern parish of Appleford; Gelling, ECTV, no. 30, authentic; Whitelock 1979, p. 78 and n. 6, authentic; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, pp. 227-8 n. 1, royal style; Dumville 1992, pp. 45-6, cited; Keynes 1994/2, pp. 1139-40, probably acceptable; Smyth 1995, p. 374; Kelly, Abingdon, no. 18, authentic basis, but probably reworked at Abingdon in the late 10th or 11th century.
A.D. 871 x 899 (Malmesbury). Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, with the consent of the familia of the church of Malmesbury, to Dudig, his minister; lease, for four lives, of 4 hides (cassati) at Chelworth, near Crudwell, Wilts., with reversion to the church of Malmesbury. Latin.
Archive: Malmesbury
MSS: 1. BL Lansdowne 417, 16rv (s. xiv/xv)
2. PRO E. 164/24, 128v-129r (s. xiii)
3. Bodleian, Wood empt. 5, 33r-34r (s. xiii)
4. Oxford, Magdalen College, 172, 92v (s. xii)
Printed: Wharton, Anglia Sacra, ii. 28; K 321 ex MS 1; Hamilton, William of Malmesbury, G.P., pp. 394-5 ex MS 4; Brewer, Reg. Malm., pp. 302-3 ex MS 2; B 568 ex Brewer and MS 1; B 569 ex Hamilton.
Comments: Stevenson 1904, p. lxvii, spurious; Watkin 1956, p. 213 and n. 62; Finberg, ECW, no. 213, authentic; John 1966, p. 45, on royal style; O'Donovan 1973, pp. 97, 104, spurious; Whitelock 1979, pp. 84-5, abbrevaited but may be authentic, cf. S 1205; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, pp. 227-8 n. 1, cited; Fleming 1985, p. 252; Dumville 1992, pp. 43-4, on Chelworth; Keynes 1992, p. 57 n. 24; Keynes 1994/2, pp. 1138-9, authentic basis, but probably substantially rewritten at Malmesbury; Abrams 1996, p. 85, on Chelworth; cf. S 1205.
Alfred, king, to the church of Shaftesbury; grant of privileges and of land at Donhead (St Andrew and St Mary), Wilts.; Compton Abbas, Sixpenny Handley, Gussage (St Andrew), Tarrant Hinton, Iwerne Minster and Fontmell Magna, Dorset. English and Latin versions.
Archive: Shaftesbury
MS: 1. BL Harley 61, 21v-22r (s. xv; English)
2. BL Harley 61, 22r (s. xv; Latin)
Printed: Hutchins 1774, ii. 21; K 310; Mon Angl. (rev. edn), ii. 477 (no. 2); B 531 ex MS 1; B 532 ex MS 2; Robertson, Charters, no. 13 (p. 24) ex MS 1, with translation, p. 25; Pierquin, Recueil, pt 2, no. 42; Kelly, Shaftesbury, no. 7.
Comments: Robertson, Charters, pp. 284-5, dates it 871 x 877, it has highly suspicious features; Darlington 1955, p. 95; Finberg, ECW, no. 212, doubtful features; O'Donovan 1973, pp. 103, 109, suspicious; Whitelock 1979, p. 78 and n. 5, forgery; Meyer 1981, p. 272 n. 237; Keynes and Lapidge 1983, p. 272 n. 237, plainly spurious; PN Dorset, ii. 119-20, 278, iii. 103, 113, 114, 123, 139; Kelly, Shaftesbury, pp. 29-30, spurious, forger has used a contemporary witness-list; Pelteret 1995, p. 167, cited; Smyth 1995, pp. 266, 373.
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