Oaths, Kings, and Subjects : a Study of the Oaths Sworn to Kings by Subjects in England, C
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OATHS, KINGS, AND SUBJECTS : A STUDY OF THE OATHS SWORN TO KINGS BY SUBJECTS IN ENGLAND, C. 870-C. 1200 Joshua Hey A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2018 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/15605 This item is protected by original copyright Oaths, Kings, and Subjects A Study of the Oaths Sworn to Kings by Subjects in England, c. 870–c. 1200 Joshua Hey This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 4 August 2017 i OATHS, KINGS, AND SUBJECTS This thesis is a study of the oaths sworn by subjects to kings of England between c. 870 and c. 1200. Who swore oaths to the king? When did they swear? What sorts of oaths were sworn? What commitments did swearing lead to? Where were oaths sworn, and what rituals were involved in swearing? These are some of the questions asked of the evidence, a combination of narrative and legal sources. This material is examined over four thematic chapters. The first three look at oaths sworn ordinarily at the time of accessions, as part of succession planning, and within the confines of reigns themselves, respectively. The final chapter examines oaths sworn outside of this process—oaths sworn in non-normal, extraordinary circumstances. ii v For Deborah and David Hey vi vii Acknowledgements More individuals and institutions have helped create this thesis than is customary to thank in these preliminary pages, and many go unmentioned. The University of St Andrews takes pride of place. The office with which I was provided and the libraries whose books I have used are where much of the work has been done. Without the funding that the University has provided, the thesis simply would not have materialized. I was fortunate to be awarded three-year scholarships from the History Department and from the University-wide Sheana and Pierre Rollin Scholarship. The Discretionary Fund also helped me through my final year. I am eternally grateful for this financial support. I would also like to thank those at King’s College London who taught me during my BA and MA. They helped lay the foundations on which this thesis is built. That those foundations did not simply sink into sand is thanks to some fantastic teachers at Turton High School and Belmont Primary School, without whom I would never have reached university. There are other libraries and universities that have provided books, beautiful workspaces, and enlightening conversations that I must thank. Whenever I have travelled to London, the Institute of Historical Research has provided a studious atmosphere in which to work, as has the British Library. I have been lucky to be able to travel to Paris and Tel Aviv with my partner’s studies. Michel Caplan, in the former, and Gadi Algazi, in the latter, made me feel most welcome. As regards the libraries in Paris in which I have worked, thanks must go to the staff at the Bibliotèque nationale de France (especially the Site Richelieu-Louvois), the Bibliothèque Mazarine, and the Bibliotèque Sainte- Geneviève. Funding from St Andrews allowed me to improve my German at the Goethe-Institut in Munich, in an enjoyable class taught by Ulrike Schubert-Voigt. Frederique Stintzy and Joanna Stephens improved my French at St Andrews, whilst Peter Maxwell-Stuart has been a fantastic Latin tutor. Paul Bibire has generously taught me Old English in wonderful classes overlooking the sea in Crail. He has also answered many questions of relevance to the thesis; his name is scattered through the footnotes. Special thanks, which superlatives cannot sufficiently express, have to go to my supervisor John Hudson. His careful attention, patience, and support have been invaluable, as have the chats about cricket and rugby that have concluded, and sometimes dominated, our supervisory meetings. David Carpenter sparked my interest in medieval history as an undergraduate and MA student at KCL. Without his inspirational teaching I would not have undertaken a PhD. I would also like to thank, in no particular order: Rob Bartlett, Alex Woolf, Christine McGladdery, Alice Taylor, Stephen Baxter, George Garnett, John Watts, Frédérique Lachaud, Paul Dryburgh, and Beth Hartland. To each I am indebted, whether it be for a word of advice or encouragement or some other academic help. I have been fortunate to share an office with a number of intelligent and kind people: Enrico Veneziani, Eilidh Harris, Jo Thornborough, Will Eves, Sarah Greer, and Anna Peterson. The wider postgraduate community and other members of staff in the Medieval History Department have provided a welcoming and stimulating environment viii in which to work. Without the hard work of Audrey Wishart and Dorothy Christie, St John’s House would fall to the ground. That the last four years have been the happiest of my life is, surprising as it may sound, not down to the PhD. Nor is it thanks to the St Andrews Staff and Postgraduate Cricket Club or Crail’s Golf Hotel dominoes team, though they have both helped to keep me sane. At the start of my studies I met Cory Hitt. We shared the same supervisor and the same office. From an academic viewpoint, her advice, thoughts, and patience in listening to my ramblings about oaths have greatly improved this thesis. She was also one of only three people to have read all the words that follow prior to the examination. However, this just scratches the surface of the support she has given. By the time this thesis was examined, I am delighted to say that she had become my wife. The third set of eyes that has passed over this thesis, in the process of a most useful proofread, belong to one half of the partnership that brought me up. Words cannot express how grateful I am to my mum and dad for everything that they have done for me. It is to them that this thesis is dedicated. Finally, I wish to express gratitude to my examiners, Professors Stephen Church and Simon MacLean, for the time they took to examine the thesis and for what was a very useful, stimulating, and, that most rare of things, enjoyable viva. ix Contents Acknowledgements vii Abbreviations xi Note on citations xvi Some post-examination notes xvii Introduction 1 1. Accession 25 2. Succession 49 3. Ordinary (re)affirmation 91 4. Extraordinary oaths 119 Conclusion 149 Appendices I: John of Worcester’s revised account 165 II: An analysis of the manuscripts 171 containing Cnut’s Winchester code with some possible implications for the association of tithing and an oath related to theft III: Latin translations of the Old 179 English account of the oath of Salisbury IV: ‘a certain noble lady, daughter of 181 Baldwin de Redvers’ Bibliography 183 x xi Abbreviations Af ‘Alfred’s domboc’, in Gesetze, I, 16–20, 26–89, printed with translation, minus prologue, in Attenborough, pp. 62–93. As per Gesetze, Af El refers to the prologue AGu Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum, in Gesetze, I, 126–28, printed with translation in Attenborough, pp. 98–101 II As Æthelstan’s Grately code, in Gesetze, I, 150–66, printed with translation in Attenborough, pp. 126– 43 IV As Æthelstan’s Thunderfield code (fragment), in Gesetze, I, 171, printed with translation in Attenborough, p. 151 IV As Latin Æthelstan’s Thunderfield code, in Gesetze, I, 171–72, printed with translation in Attenborough, pp. 147–51 V As Æthelstan’s Exeter code, in Gesetze, I, 166–68, printed with translation in Attenborough, pp. 152– 55 VI As Æthelstan’s London code, in Gesetze, I, 173–82, printed with translation in Attenborough, pp. 156– 69 ASC The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Ass Arms Assize of Arms, ed. by Nicholas Vincent, published as part of the Early English Laws project [http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/te xts/ass-arms/view/#edition/l-image, accessed 15 July 2016] Ass For First Forest Assize, ed. by Nicholas Vincent, published as part of the Early English Laws project [http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/te xts/ass-for/view/#edition,1/vu-image, accessed 22 June 2017] Ass Nor Assize of Northampton, ed. by Nicholas Vincent, published as part of the Early English Laws project [http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/te xts/ass-nor/view/#edition,1/hv-image, accessed 15 July 2016] Ass Wood Assize of Woodstock, ed. by Nicholas Vincent, published as part of the Early English Laws project [http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/te xts/ass-wood/view/#edition,1/hv-image, accessed 22 June 2017] V Atr Law-making council at Enham, 1008, in Gesetze, I, 236– 47, printed with translation in Robertson, pp. 78–91 VI Atr VI Æthelred, in Gesetze, I, 246–56, printed with xii translation in Robertson, pp. 90–107 VI Atr Lat VI Æthelred Latin paraphrase, in Gesetze, I, 247–57 Attenborough The Laws of the Earliest English Kings, ed. and trans. by Frederick Levi Attenborough (Cambridge, 1922) Battle The Chronicle of Battle Abbey, ed. and trans. by Eleanor Searle (Oxford, 1980) Bosworth-Toller An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary Based on the Manuscript Collections of the Late Joseph Bosworth, ed. by Thomas Northcote Toller (Oxford, 1898) Bracton Bracton de Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae: Bracton on the Laws and Customs of England, ed. by George E. Woodbine, trans. by Samuel E. Thorne, 4 vols (Cambridge, MA, 1968–77) CHn cor Coronation Charter of Henry I, in Robertson, pp.