When Aldhelm Met the Vikings: Advanced Latinity in Ninth- Century Mercian Charters 111

Aus dem Inhalt der folgenden Bände: Band 26 2013

Reinhard Bleck, Reinmar der Alte, Lieder mit historischem Hintergrund 2013 (MF 156,10; 167,31; 180,28; 181,13) ·

Dina Aboul Fotouh Salama, Die Kolonialisierung des weiblichen Körpers in der spätmittelalterlichen Versnovelle „Die heideninne“ Internationale Zeitschrift für interdisziplinäre Mittelalterforschung Band 26 Werner Heinz, Heilige Längen: Zu den Maßen des Christus- und des Mariengrabes in Bebenhausen

George Arabatzis, Nicephoros Blemmydes’ Imperial Statue: Aristotelian Politics as Kingship Morality in Byzantium

Francesca Romoli, La funzione delle citazioni bibliche nell'omiletica e nella letteratura di direzione spirituale del medioevo slavo orientale (XII-XIII sec.)

Connie L. Scarborough, Educating Women for the Benefit of Man and Society: Castigos y dotrinas que un sabio daba a sus hijas and La perfecta casada

Beihefte zur Mediaevistik:

Elisabeth Mégier, Christliche Weltgeschichte im 12. Jahrhundert: Themen, Variationen und Kontraste. Untersuchungen zu Hugo von Fleury, Orderi- cus Vitalis und Otto von Freising (2010)

Andrea Grafetstätter / Sieglinde Hartmann / James Ogier (eds.), Islands and Cities in Medieval Myth, Literature, and History. Papers Delivered at the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, in 2005, 2006, and 2007 (2011)

Olaf Wagener (Hrsg.), „vmbringt mit starcken turnen, murn“. Ortsbefesti- gungen im Mittelalter (2010)

Hiram Kümper (Hrsg.), eLearning & Mediävistik. Mittelalter lehren und lernen im neumedialen Zeitalter (2011) Begründet von Peter Dinzelbacher Herausgegeben von Albrecht Classen Olaf Wagener (Hrsg.), Symbole der Macht? Aspekte mittelalterlicher und frühneuzeitlicher Architektur (2012)

Peter Joosse, The Physician as a Rebellious Intellectual. The Book of c the Two Pieces of Advice or Kitˉab al-Nas. ˉı hatayn. by Abd al-Latˉıf. ibn Yˉusuf al-Baghdˉadˉı (1162–1231) (2013) LANG MEDIAEVISTIK

MEDI 26-2013 83020-160x230 Br-AM PLE.indd 1 12.03.14 KW 11 15:13 Aus dem Inhalt der folgenden Bände: Band 26 2013

Reinhard Bleck, Reinmar der Alte, Lieder mit historischem Hintergrund 2013 (MF 156,10; 167,31; 180,28; 181,13) ·

George Arabatzis, Nicephoros Blemmydes’ Imperial Statue: Aristotelian Politics as Kingship Morality in Byzantium

Francesca Romoli, La funzione delle citazioni bibliche nell'omiletica e nella letteratura di direzione spirituale del medioevo slavo orientale (XII-XIII sec.)

Connie L. Scarborough, Educating Women for the Benefit of Man and Society: Castigos y dotrinas que un sabio daba a sus hijas and La perfecta casada

Beihefte zur Mediaevistik:

Elisabeth Mégier, Christliche Weltgeschichte im 12. Jahrhundert: Themen, Variationen und Kontraste. Untersuchungen zu Hugo von Fleury, Orderi- cus Vitalis und Otto von Freising (2010)

Olaf Wagener (Hrsg.), „vmbringt mit starcken turnen, murn“. Ortsbefesti- gungen im Mittelalter (2010)

MEDI 26-2013 83020-160x230 Br-AM PLE.indd 1 12.03.14 KW 11 15:13 Internationale Zeitschrift für interdisziplinäre Mittelalterforschung

Begründet von Peter Dinzelbacher Herausgegeben von Albrecht Classen

Band 26 · 2013 Chor des ‚Altenberger Domes‘

Beim hochgotischen Altenberger oder Bergischen ‚Dom‘ (etwa 20 km nordnordöstlich von Köln) handelt es sich nicht um eine Bischofs- kirche, sondern um das Gotteshaus der ehemaligen Zisterzienser- Abtei Altenberg, erbaut 1259-1379. Die Ostansicht zeigt Chorum- gang und Kapellenkranz der Basilika, weitgehend fertiggestellt bei der Altarweihe 1287. Die aufwendige Gestaltung, die französische Kloster- und Kathedralbaukunst nachahmt, erklärt sich auch da- durch, dass die Kirche ein Repräsentationsbau nach dem Willen Graf Adolfs IV. von Berg sein sollte; sie diente als Grablege für sein Geschlecht. Die Formgebung zeigt aber zugleich – wie auch bei anderen spätmittelalterlichen Zisterzen –, dass der Orden von der Schlichtheit der ersten Bauten des frühen 12. Jahrhunderts einiger- maßen abgewichen war (was analog dazu auch für andere Aspekte des Ordenslebens gilt). Da das Kloster 1803 säkularisiert worden war, als Chemiefabrik diente und nach einem Brand verfiel, verdankt sich der heutige Baubestand teilweise Restaurierungsarbeiten, die aber, vom Dach abgesehen, formal das Original richtig ergänzen. (Bild und Text: Peter Dinzelbacher)

ISSN 2199-806X E-ISBN: 978-3-653-04825-4 (E-Book) DOI 10.3726/978-3-653-04825-4 © Peter Lang GmbH Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften Frankfurt am Main 2014 Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Peter Lang Edition ist ein Imprint der Peter Lang GmbH. Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. www.peterlang.com Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 1

Inhalt

In Memory of Jens Wollesen 9

Aufsätze Bernhard Dietrich Haage: Naturphilosophische Grundlagen der Pflanzenheil- kunde im Mittelalter 13

Pierre Herrmann: Les lieues et les milles utilisés depuis le Moyen Age 31

Cédric Lotz: Portée symbolique de l'au-delà dans la Visio Thurkilli 57

Maria Grazia Cammarota: War and the 'Agony of Conscience' in Ælfric's Writings 87

Ben Snook: When Aldhelm Met the Vikings: Advanced Latinity in Ninth- Century Mercian Charters 111

Raymond J. Cormier: A Twelfth-Century Humanist Reinvents Virgil 149

Karen Bollermann and Cary J. Nederman: A Special Collection: John of Salisbury's Relics of Saint Thomas Becket and Other Holy Martyrs 163

Albrecht Classen: Fremdbegegnung, Dialog, Austausch, und Staunen: Xenologische Phänomene in der deutschen Literatur des Mittelalters. Vom Hildebrandslied bis zum Fortunatus 183

Fabian Alfie: Like She-Cats in January: An Anonymous Fifteenth-Century Misogynistic Sonnet 207

Rezensionen

Gesamtes Mittelalter

Agôn. La compétition, Ve-XIIe siècle, ed. François Bougard, Régine Le Jan, and Thomas Lienhard (R. J. CORMIER) 217 Die Aktualität der Vormoderne: Epochenentwürfe zwischen Alterität und Kontinuität. Hg. von Klaus Ridder und Steffen Patzold (A. CLASSEN) 220 Jean-Marie Yante et Anne-Marie Bultot-Verleysen, eds., Autour du "village": Etablissements humains, finages et communautés rurales entre Seine et Rhin (S. OLSON) 223 2 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

Ulrike Bauer-Eberhardt, Die illuminierten Handschriften italienischer Her- kunft in der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek. Teil 1: Vom 10. bis zur Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts (R.SCHMITZ-ESSER) 227 Walther L. Bernecker und Klaus Herbers, Geschichte Portugals (A. CLAS- SEN) 229 Die Bibliothek des Mittelalters als dynamischer Prozess. Hg. Michael Em- bach, Claudine Moulin, Andrea Rapp (J. M. JEEP) 230 Approches du bilinguisme Latin-Français au Moyen Âge: Linguistique, codi- cologie, esthétique (D. FÜHRER) 234 Das Buch in Antike, Mittelalter und Neuzeit. Sonderbestände der Universi- tätsbibliothek Leipzig. Hg. von Thomas Fuchs, Christoph Mackert und Rein- hold Scholl (A. CLASSEN) 236 Albrecht CLASSEN, Sex im Mittelalter. Die andere Seite einer idealisierten Vergangenheit. Literatur und Sexualität (S. SCHMIDT) 237 Cosmopolitanism and the Middle Ages, ed. John M. Ganim and Shayne Aaron Legassie. The New Middle Ages (A. CLASSEN) 239 Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon: Das Mittelalter. Hg. von Wolfgang Achnitz. Bd. 3: Reiseberichte und Geschichtsdichtung. Mit einführenden Essays von Gerhard Wolf und Christoph Fasbende (A. CLASSEN) 241

Dunbarton Oaks Medieval Library, ed. Jan M. Ziolkowski (A. CLASSEN) 243 John Tolan, Gilles Veinstein, and Henry Laurens, Europe and the Islamic World: A History, trans. by Jane Marie Todd. With a Foreword by John L. Esposito (A. CLASSEN) 244 Kurt Flasch, Das philosophische Denken im Mittelalter. Von Augustin zu Macchiavelli. Unter Mitarbeit von Fiorella Retucci und Olaf Pluta. Dritte, vollständig durchgesehene und erweiterte Aufl. (A. CLASSEN) 246 Formelhaftigkeit in Text und Bild. Hg. Natalia Filatkina, Birgit Ulrike Münch und Ane Kleine (J.M. JEEP) 248 Robert Fossier, Das Leben im Mittelalter, aus dem Französischen von Michael Bayer, Enrico Heinemann und Reiner Pfleiderer (M. BREITEN- STEIN) 251 Zwischen Schriftquelle und Mauerwerk. Festschrift für Martin Bitschnau (R. SCHMITZ-ESSER) 254 Justin E. Griffin, Glastonbury and the Grail. Did Joseph of Arimathea Bring the Sacred Relic to Britain (A. CLASSEN) 257

The Calligraphy of Medieval Music, ed. John Haines (P. MANNAERTS) 258 Reinhard Härtel, Notarielle und kirchliche Urkunden im frühen und hohen Mittelalter (M. VERONESI) 260 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 3

Sieglinde Hartmann unter redaktioneller Mitarbeit von Michael Schurk, Deutsche Liebeslyrik vom Minnesang bis zu Oswald von Wolkenstein oder die Erfindung der Liebe im Mittelalter (M. PIERCE) 262 Inhumations de prestige ou prestige de l'inhumation? Expressions du pouvoir dans l'au-delà, ed. Armelle Alduc-Le Bagousse (J. FÜHRER) 264 Festschrift für Jürgen Keddigkeit zum 65. Geburtstag, hg. von Barbara Schuttpelz und Roland Paul (M. VERONESI) 266 William Jervis Jones, Historisches Lexikon deutscher Farbbezeichnungen (A. CLASSEN) 268 Christa Agnes Tuczay, Kulturgeschichte der mittelalterlichen Wahrsagerei (B. DIETRICH HAAGE) 270 Medieval Narratives Between History and Fiction: From the Centre to the Periphery of Europe, c. 1100-1400. Ed. Panagiotis A. Agapitos and Lars Boje Mortensen (A. CLASSEN) 274 Michael Borgolte und Matthias M. Tischler, Hgg., Transkulturelle Verflech- tungen im mittelalterlichen Jahrtausend. Europa, Ostasien, Afrika (A. CLAS- SEN) 276 Wolfgang P. Müller, The Criminalization of Abortion. Its Origins in Medie- val Law (A. CLASSEN) 278 Westfälischer Flurnamenatlas im Auftrag der Kommission für Mundart- und Namenforschung Westfalens bearbeitet von Gunter Müller (J. M. JEEP) 280 Balázs J. Nemes / Achim Rabus (Hg.), Vermitteln – Übersetzen – Begegnen (C. GALLE) 283 John Scattergood, Occasions for Writing: Essays on Medieval and Renais- sance Literature, Politics and Society (A. OBERMEIER) 288 Perspectives on Medieval Art: Learning Through Looking (A. CLASSEN) 290 Pilgrims and Politics: Rediscovering the Power of the Pilgrimage, ed. Antón M. Pazos (A. CLASSEN) 291 David S. Powers, The Development of Islamic Law and Society in the Mag- hreb: Qādis, Muftīs and Family Law (C. JONES) 293 William M. Reddy, The Making of Romantic Love: Longing and Sexuality in Europe, South Asia, and Japan, 900-1200 CE (A. CLASSEN) 294 Reinhard Härtel, Notarielle und kirchliche Urkunden im frühen und hohen Mittelalter (M. VERONESI) 297 Robin Waugh, The Genre of Medieval Patience Literature: Development, Duplication, and Gender (A. CLASSEN) 299 Nancy P. Ševčenko, The Celebration of the Saints in Byzantine Art and Li- turgy (F. ROMOLI) 301 Reinhard Schneider, Vom Dolmetschen im Mittelalter. Sprachliche Vermitt- lung in weltlichen und kirchlichen Zusammenhängen (A. CLASSEN) 306 4 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

Elisabeth Schulze-Busacker, La Didactique profane au Moyen Âge (W. PFEFFER) 308 Joseph Shatzmiller, Cultural Exchange: Jews, Christians, and Art in the Medieval Marketplace (A. CLASSEN) 312 Dieter Strauch, Mittelalterliches nordisches Recht bis 1500. Eine Quellen- kunde (P. DINZELBACHER) 314 Text und Normativität im deutschen Mittelalter. XX. Anglo-German Collo- quium. Hg. von Elke Brüggen, Franz-Joself Holznagel, Sebastian Coxon und Almut Suerbaum, unter Mitarbeit von Reinhold Katers (A. CLASSEN) 316 The Vulgate Bible. Vol. VI. The New Testament. Douay-Rheims Transla- tions, ed. Angela M. Kinney, intro. by Swift Edgar (A. CLASSEN) 318 Thomas Fuchs, Christoph Mackert, 3 x Thomas. Die Bibliotheken des Tho- masklosters, der Thomaskirche und der Thomasschule im Laufe der Jahrhun- derte, Katalog zur gleichnamigen Ausstellung in der Bibliotheca Albertina vom 18 (C. M. GRAFINGER) 319 Massimo Vallerani, Medieval Public Justice. Trans. Sarah Rubin Blanshei (L. TRACY) 321 Eduard Freiherr von Sacken, Heraldik: Grundzüge der Wappenkunde. Nach- druck der 6. Auflage, bearb. v. Moritz von Weittenhiller (H. BERWINKEL) 323 Olaf Wagener, Hg., Symbole der Macht? Aspekte mittelalterlicher und früh- neuzeitlicher Architektur (A. CLASSEN) 323 Katie L. Walter, ed. Reading Skin in Medieval Literature and Culture (L. TRACY) 325 Katalog der mittelalterlichen Handschriften der Bibliothek des Prämonstra- tenser Chorherrenstiftes Wilten (T. M. IZBICKI) 327 Robert Wisnovsky, Faith Wallis, Jamie C. Fumo, and Carlos Fraenkel, eds. Vehicles of Transmission, Translation, and Transformation in Medieval Textual Culture (L. TRACY) 329 R. F. Yeager and Toshiyuki Takamiya, eds., The Medieval Python: The Purposive and Provocative Work of Terry Jones (L. TRACY) 331

Frühmittelalter

Yvonne S. Bonnetain, Loki: Beweger der Geschichte. (W. SAYERS) 335 A Companion to Hrotsvit of Gandersheim (fl. 960): Contextual and Interpre- tive Approaches, ed. (A. CLASSEN) 337 The Gaelic Finn Tradition, ed. Sharon J. Arbuthnot and Geraldine Parsons (W. SAYERS) 339

Achim Thomas Hack, Gregor der Große und die Krankheit (J. FÜHRER) 341 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 5

Anne A. Latowsky, Emperor of the World: Charlemagne and the Construc- tion of Imperial Authority, 800-1229 (A. CLASSEN) 343 Stuart McWilliams (ed.), Saints and Scholars: New Perspectives on Anglo- Saxon Literature and Culture in Honour of Hugh Magennis (R. NAISMITH) 345 Otto der Große und das Römische Reich: Kaisertum von der Antike zum Mittelalter (C.M. GRAFINGER) 347

Michael P. Barnes, Runes: A Handbook (A. CLASSEN) 349 Settlement and Lordship in Viking and Early Medieval Scandinavia, hg. Bjørn Poulsen and Søren Michael Sindbæk (H. HILTMANN) 350 Kristel Zilmer and Judith Jesch, eds., Epigraphic Literacy and Christian Identity: Modes of Written Discourse in the Newly Christian European North (P. ORTON) 354

Hochmittelalter

Christopher L. Beckwith, Warriors of the Cloisters: The Central Asian Origins of Science in the Medieval World (W. SAYERS) 357 Vita prima Sancti Bernardi Claraevallis Abbatis. Liber primus cura et studio Pauli Verdeyen SJ. Accedunt Libri II-V cura et studio Pauli Verdeyen SJ (G. K. GUFLER) 359 Pope Alexander III (1159-81): The Art of Survival. Church, Faith and Cul- ture in the Medieval West (H. KÜMPER) 361 Handbuch der Sentenzen und Sprichwörter im höfischen Roman des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts (J.M. JEEP) 362 Alain Erlande-Brandenburg, La révolution gothique (1130-1190) (P. DIN- ZELBACHER) 367 European Transformations: The Long Twelfth Century, ed. Thomas F. X. Noble and John Van Engen (P. DINZELBACHER) 368

Johannes Fried, Canossa: Entlarvung einer Legende (C. GALLE) 371 Helmut Hanko, Herzog Heinrich II. Jasomirgott. Pfalzgraf bei Rhein – Her- zog von Bayern – Herzog von Österreich (C.M.GRAFINGER) 374 Christoph Huber, Gottfried von Straßburg: Tristan. 3., neu bearbeitete und erweiterte Auflage (A. CLASSEN) 375 Sandra Lindemann Summers, Ogling Ladies: Scopophilia in Medieval Ger- man Literature (A. CLASSEN) 376

Elke Goez, Mathilde von Canossa (C. M. GRAFINGER) 379 Das Nibelungenlied. Mittelhochdeutsch / Neuhochdeutsch. Nach der Hand- schrift B, hg. Ursula Schulze (J.M. JEEP) 381 6 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

Denys Pringle, Churches, Castles and Landscape in the Frankish East (W. SAYERS) 382 Tim Rayborn, The Violent Pilgrimage: Christians, Muslims and Holy Con- flicts, 850-1150 (A. CLASSEN) 385

The Song of Roland, trans. John DuVal (A. CLASSEN) 386 Gonzalo de Berceo and the Latin Miracles of the Virgin: A Translation and Study (C. L. SCARBOROUGH) 387 Fiona Tolhurst, Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Feminist Origins of the Arthuri- an Legend (A. BREEZE) 388 Walther von der Vogelweide, Gedichte. Auswahl. Mittelhochdeutsche / Neu- hochdeutsch. Hg. Horst Brunner (A. CLASSEN) 390

Spätmittelalter

Mark Amsler, Affective Literacies: Writing and Multilingualism in the Late Middle Ages (A. Classen) 393 Merridee L. Bailey, Socialising the Child in Late Medieval England c. 1400- 1600 (A. CLASSEN) 397 Allie Terry-Fritsch and Erin Felicia Labbie, ed., Beholding Violence in Me- dieval and Early Modern Europe (L. TRACY) 399 Das bairisch-österreichische Buch von Troja ("Buch von Troja II"). Kritische Ausgabe von Heribert A. Hilgers und Heinz Thoelen (A. CLASSEN) 401

Rethinking Chaucerian Beasts, ed. Carolynn Van Dyke (G.K. GUFLER) 403

La Papauté et les croisades, ed. Michel Balard (S. LUCHITSKAYA) 405

John T. Sebastian, ed., Croxton Play of the Sacrament (A. BREEZE) 409

Dante Alighieri, La Commedia. Die göttliche Komödie (A. CLASSEN) 411 Der Mönch von Salzburg, Die Texte aller geistlichen und weltlichen Lieder (A. CLASSEN) 412 Die schöne Melusina. Ein Feenroman des 15. Jahrhunderts in der deutschen Übertragung des Thüring von Ringoltingen. Die Bilder im Erstdruck Basel 1473/74 nach dem Exemplar der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darm- stadt (A. CLASSEN) 413 Romesh Gyaram Molle, Dschingis Khan und das Bild der Mongolenherr- scher in der deutschen Literatur des Mittelalters (A. CLASSEN) 414 Britta Dümpelmann, Veit Stoß und das Krakauer Marienretabel. Mediale Zu- gänge, mediale Perspektiven (S. KRETSCHMAR) 415 Emilia Jamroziak, Survival and Success on Medieval Borders (C. H. BER- MAN) 418 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 7

Kirsi Salonen and Jussi Hanska, Entering a Clerical Career at the Roman Curia, 1458-1471 (T. M. IZBICKI) 420 Mary C. Flannery and Katie Walter, eds., The Culture of Inquisition in Me- dieval England (L. TRACY) 422 Mary Franklin-Brown, Reading the World: Encyclopedic Writing in the Scholastic Age (A. CLASSEN) 424 Marisa Galvez, Songbook: How Lyrics Became Poetry in Medieval Europe (A. CLASSEN) 426 Nigel J. Morgan, Illuminating the End of Time: The Getty Apocalypse Ma- nuscript (P. DINZELBACHER) 428 Fontes Sodomitarum. Ausgewählte Quellen zur Homosexuellenverfolgung im christlichen Mittelalter, hg. Bernd-Ulrich Hergemöller (A. CLASSEN) 431 Bernd-Ulrich Hergemöller, Uplop – Seditio: Innerstädtische Unruhen des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts im engeren Reichsgebiet. Schematisierte vergleichende Konfliktanalyse (H. KÜMPER) 432 Jens Hirt, Literarisch-politische Funktionalisierungen: Eine Untersuchung mittelhochdeutscher Kreuzzugsdarstellungen. "Wilhelm von Wenden", "Die Kreuzfahrt des Landgrafen Ludwigs des Frommen von Thüringen", "Wil- helm von Österreich" und "Das Buch von Akkon" (A. CLASSEN) 434 Beate Braun-Niehr, "myt den figuren gemolet": Die Federzeichnungen der elsässischen Historienbibel aus der Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt (A. CLASSEN) 436 Anja Rathmann-Lutz, "Images" Ludwigs des Heiligen im Kontext dynasti- scher Konflikte des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts (I. HOLZWART-SCHÄFER) 438 Anne-Hélène Allirot, Filles de roy de France. Princesses royales, mémoire de saint Louis et conscience dynastique (I. HOLZWART-SCHÄFER) 438 Jonathan Hughes, The Rise of Alchemy in Fourteenth-Century England (T. WILLARD) 443

Die Inschriften der Stadt Essen (R. SCHMITZ-ESSER) 445 Jan Keupp und Jörg Schwarz, Konstanz 1414-1418: Eine Stadt und ihr Kon- zil (A. CLASSEN) 447 Michael Schilling, ed., Literatur in der Stadt: Magdeburg in Mittelalter und Früher Neuzeit (H KÜMPER) 449

John Matusiak, Henry V. (R. LÜTZELSCHWAB) 451 Paul Milliman, 'The Slippery Memory of Men': The Place of Pomerania in the Medieval Kingdom of Poland (M. MUNZINGER) 454 Linne R. Mooney and Estelle Stubbs, Scribes and the City: London Guildhall Clerks and the Dissemination of Middle English Literature (A. CLASSEN) 456 8 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

La Papauté et les croisades / The Papacy and the Crusades (P. ALPHAN- DÉRY) 457 Reuter, Marianne, Die Codices iconographici der Bayerischen Staatsbiblio- thek. Teil 1. Die Handschriften des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit bis zur Mitte des 17. Jahrhunderts. Text- und Tafelband (J. M. JEEP) 462 Christine Sauer und Elisabeth Sträter, Hg., Die Nürnberger Hausbücher: Die schönsten Handwerkerbilder aus dem Mittelalter (A. CLASSEN) 464 Len Scales. The Shaping of German Identity. Authority and Crisis (D. NICHOLAS) 466 I beni di questo mondo. Teorie etico-economiche nel laboratorio dell'Europa medievale. Hg. von Roberto Lambertini und Leonardo Sileo (M. VERO- NESI) 468 Supplications from England and Wales in the Registers of the Apostolic Pe- nitentiary (C.M. GRAFINGER) 470

The Fabliaux, trans. Nathaniel E. Dubin (A. CLASSEN) 472 Tison Pugh, An Introduction to Geoffrey Chaucer (B. KOWALIK and J. WELNA) 473 Helmut Brall-Tuchel, Hg., Wallfahrt und Kulturbegegnung: Das Rheinland als Ausgangspunkt und Ziel spätmittelalterlicher Pilgerreisen. (A. CLAS- SEN) 475 Hans Georg Wehrens, Der Totentanz im alemannischen Sprachraum "Muos ich doch dran – und weis nit wan" (C. CLEVER) 478 Wilhelm von Ockham, Texte zur politischen Theorie. Ezxerpte aus dem Dialogus (A. CLASSEN) 480 Siegfried Wenzel, The Art of Preaching: Five Medieval Texts and Transla- tions (A. CLASSEN) 481 Die Bibliothek des Klosters St. Katharina zu Nürnberg. Synoptische Dar- stellung der Bücherverzeichnisse. 2 Bde. Hg. Antje Willing (J. M. JEEP) 483

Jean Wirth, L'image à la fin du Moyen Âge (P. DINZELBACHER) 485 10.3726/83020_111 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 111

Ben Snook

When Aldhelm Met the Vikings: Advanced Latinity in Ninth-Century Mercian Charters

Abstract

A series of charters from ninth-century Mercia were written in a Latin style that was far more sophisticated than that usually practiced by contemporary charter draftsmen. Drawing heavily on the work of Aldhelm, Abbot of Malmesbury, and Bishop of Sherborne (d. 709/10), this way of writing was highly incongruous in the context of a pre-tenth-century charter; moreover, it goes against the general trend of cultural stagnation and the decline in standards of learning and literacy which have so often been associated with ninth-century England before the Alfredian "renaissance." This article will discuss the authenticity of these charters, analyze the style of their Latin, and address the questions of how and why such sophisticated language came to be used at this time.

One of the very few truths universally acknowledged in Anglo-Saxon studies is that, as the Viking raids intensified in the ninth century, educational standards declined throughout England. Yet, the exact nature, extent and causes of this decline remain a subject of debate; while it seems reasonable to presume that it was not as total as Alfred's famously pessimistic and much quoted prose preface to the translation of the Cura pastoralis leads us at first to believe,1 the halt in manuscript production in the middle decades of the ninth century, a simultaneous pause in the composition of original "literary" texts, and the evidence of some truly appalling Latin being written at Canterbury2 is nevertheless indicative of a significant deterioration in standards, at least in certain areas. Against this background, however, in the kingdoms of the Mercians and West Saxons, charters recording grants and sales of estates and privileges continued to be issued at a regular, if not exactly breakneck, pace. Thus, there is ample evidence to support the idea that, in Wessex, a "tradition of 'pragmatic' literacy,"3 as Simon Keynes put it, survived the Viking onslaught, enabling the West Saxons to continue producing grammatically competent charters throughout the ninth century. Generally speaking, the same was true in Mercia. Here, a more erratic but nevertheless consis- tent stream of diplomas emerged from the courts of kings Berhtwulf (840-ca.852), Burgred (ca.852-873/4) and Ceolwulf II (874-ca.879). In both Wessex and Mercia, charters tended, on the whole, to be grammatically and orthographically competent. Stylistically, however, they were mostly formulaic and unoriginal; as official documents, they accomplished their legal function with the minimum of fuss, deriving the 112 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 majority of their language from an established canon of accepted diplomatic formulae. Their composition required little original input from their draftsmen which, under the circumstances, seems quite understandable. However, a series of Mercian charters from the ninth century suggests that the highly accomplished Latin style of the Anglo-Saxon past had not quite been forgotten. The most spectacular of these documents fall into two geographically and chronologi- cally distinct groups, each consisting of two documents: from the 840s, S 193 and S 197, which were preserved, presumably, at Breedon-on-the-Hill before being taken elsewhere; and, from the 880s, S 217 and S 346, which were preserved at Worcester. A number of other Mercian charters from the ninth century also contain comparable stylistic features which bring them in to the general orbit of S 193, S 197, S 217 and S 346. Altogether, these charters point to something beyond just "pragmatic" literacy. In the most difficult of circumstances, a handful of Mercian charter draftsmen, it seems, were setting their minds to achieving something altogether more ambitious.

Breedon-on-the-Hill: S 193 and S 197

Today, Breedon-on-the-Hill is a pretty village in northwest Leicestershire, a few kilometres west of the M1 motorway. In the earlier Anglo-Saxon period, it boasted an abbey which, while never a major ecclesiastical hub to rival the likes of Lichfield or Worcester, was nevertheless an important Merican cultural centre.4 Breedon's archive is no longer extant, but two charters – S 193 and S 197 – which once presumably be- longed to it, found their way into the safe keeping of Worcester and Peterborough respectively.5 Both documents were drawn up in the 840s, during the reign of King Berhtwulf. The style of the Latin in which they are written is quite remarkable. S 193, the earlier of the two, was composed on Christmas day, 840, when the court was at Tamworth, which is about 25 kilometres to the southwest of Breedon. Ultimately preserved at Worcester in the Liber Wigorniensis (London, BL, Cotton Ti- berius A.xiii), it records a sale made by King Berhtwulf to Eanmund, Abbot of Breedon.

Aio et alto domino Deo Zabaoth regnante in euum. Siquidem humani generis prosapio de primo patre et matre oriundus in hanc sęculum uenit et sic per longa uaga temporum spatium e diuersis nationibus derimuntur, ut ianitor caelestis bibliothece et uas electionis predicator egregius apostolus Paulus dixit "Preteriit enim figura huius mundi" quoniam in uelocitate dies et anni deficiunt et iterum sagax sophista "qui quondam Solymis diues regnauit in aruis" katolectico uersu cecinit dicens "non semper licet gaudere fugit hora qua jacemur." Et ideo sunt omnes nostrę serię litterarum apicibus confirmandas ne posteris ex memoria labere posit quicquid facta præcedentium patrum ac regum firmiter statuerunt. Qua de re ego Berhtuulf Domino disponente rex Merciorum, mihi et omnibus Mercis in aeternam elemosinam, donans donabo Eanmundo uenerabili abbati et eius familie on Breodune, cum licentia et testimonia obtimatum gentis Merciorum, hanc libertatis gratiam: id est ut sit liberatum et obsolutum illud monasterium in ęternitatem ab illis incommodiis quam nos Saxonica Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 113 lingua fæstingmen dicimus, Christo Domino teste et omnibus sanctis in celis, tamdiu fides catholica et baptismum Christi in Brittannia seruetur. Ob huius rei gratiam ipse uero supradictus Eanmund abbas et illius sancta congregatio Breodunensis monasterii dederunt mihi et omnibus Mercis regaliter perfruendum et possedendum, in famoso uico in Tomeworðie: magnum discum argenteum valde bene operatum ac faleratum in magno pretio et .cxx. mancusas in auro puro. Similiter etiam decantauerunt duodecim vicibus .c. psalterios et .cxx. missas pro Berht- wulfum regem et pro illius caros amicos et pro omnem gentem Merciorum, ut eorum libertas firmior ac stabilior permaneat in eorum et ut illius regis memoria et amicorum eius, qui hanc pietatem in elemosinam sempiternam omnibus Mercis ille congregatione on Breodune donau- erat in eorum sacris orationibus jugiter permaneat usque in euum. Insuper in Dei omnipotentis nomine et novem ordinibus angelorum et omnium electorum Christi preceptum ponimus, ut nullus umquam regum uel principum aut alicuius personis homo, magnis siue modicis, in aliquo tempore hanc prescriptam libertatis gratiam infringere ausus sit, sed semper stabilis et indiscussa firmiterque firmata ille congregatione on Breodune coram Deo et hominibus jugiter permaneat in euum. Haec autem cartula caraxata est anno dominice incarnationis .dcccxli., indictione .iiii. in die natalis domini in celebre uico on Tomeworðie, his testibus consentientibus et signum crucis Christi scribentibus quorum subter nomina notata sunt.

+ Ego Berhtuulf largiflua Dei munificentia rex Merciorum hanc meam libertatis gratiam ac omnium Merciorum cum signo sanctæ crucis firmiter consignabo. + Ego Sæðryð regina consensi et subscripsi. + Ego Cyneferð episcopus consensi. + Ego Aldred episcopus consensi. + Ego Berehtred episcopus consensi. + Ego Heaberht episcopus consensi. + Ego Cuðuulf episcopus consensi. + Ego Eanmund abbas consensi. + Ego Wihtred abbas consensi. + Ego Ceolred abbas consensi.6

As the holy and high God, Lord of hosts, rules through the ages, so the genus of the human race, originating from the first father and mother came into this world and thus though a long journey of time was divided into various nations. As the Apostle Paul, the doorkeeper of the heavenly library and the vessel of election, that outstanding speaker, said: "the image of this world passes by." So the days and the years pass away with some haste and again the wise philosopher who formerly ruled as a rich man in the fields of Jerusalem composed this in catalectic verse, saying:

"It is not permitted to rejoice always: the hour which we have wasted flits away"

And therefore all our deeds must be confirmed by the forms of letters for posterity lest they should slip away from memory. Whatever the deeds of our fathers and of the kings who came before, they were firmly established. For this reason, I Berhtwulf, King of the Mercians by the dispensation of the Lord, on my own account and on account of all the Mercians, for eternal salvation, give to Eanmund, granting to that venerable abbot and to his community at Breedon with the license and testament of the great men of the Mercian people, this gift of liberty: that is that the monastery might be free and excepted in eternity from all those inconveniences which we call, in the Saxon tongue, fæstingmen, by the witness of the Lord Jesus Christ and all the 114 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 saints in heaven, so long as the Christian faith and the baptism of Christ is preserved in Britain. On account of the gift of this thing, the aforementioned abbot Eanmund and his sacred congregation at the monastery of Breedon have given to me and to all the Mercians to enjoy royally and to possess in the renowned town at Tamworth a great plate of silver, beautifully made and ornamented at great expense, and 120 mancusses in pure gold. Similarly, they have sung twelve times 100 psalters and 120 masses for King Berhtwulf and for his cherished friends and for all the Mercian people that their liberty might remain more firmly and stably for them, so that the memory of that king and of his friends who gave this pious gift in eternal charity from all the Mercians to that congregation at Breedon, might remain constantly in their sacred prayers throughout the ages. Therefore, in the name of all-powerful God and the nine orders of angels and all the elect of Christ, we have written down this decree so that nobody, king or prince or any other person, whether a great or modest man, at any time may ever dare to infringe this above-written grant of liberty, but that it may always remain stably through the ages, firm and undisputed for the congregation at Breedon in the presence of God and men. However, this charter was attested in the year of the Lord's incarnation 841, on the fourth indiction on the day of the Lord's birth in the celebrated town at Tamworth. With these witnesses consenting and subscribing with the sign of the cross of Christ whose names are written underneath.

+ I Berhtwulf, by the generous munificence of God, King of the Mercians, steadfastly confirm this gift of liberty of mine and of all the Mercians with the sign of the sacred cross. + I Queen Sæthryth consent and subscribe + I Bishop Cyneferth consent + I Bishop Aldred consent + I Bishop Berehtred consent + I Bishop Heabert consent + I Bishop Cuthwulf consent + I Abbot Eanmund consent + I Abbot Wihtred consent + I Abbot Ceolred consent

Even the most cursory glance over the language of this charter confirms Benjamin Thorpe's description of it as "a choice specimen of monastic Latin."7 For a start, it in- cludes some extremely rare vocabulary: Greek- and Hebrew-derived words (agios and Zabaoth) lend it a sense of the exotic. Other vocabulary (such as prosapio, oriundus and bibliotheca, which all occur in the charter's proem), whilst unprecedented in the context of Anglo-Saxon diplomatic, had a long history in "mainstream" Anglo-Latin literature. It is not the language that is innovative here so much as the way in which the draftsman explored the idea of mutability. Although a common theme of Anglo- Saxon proems, notions of change and decay are, in this charter, presented in a completely new way, which necessitated the use of such original vocabulary. However, while the author of S 193 might have been highly innovative by the standards of contemporary charter draftsmen, he was rather less so in the field of An- glo-Latin literature more generally, for he made frequent and deliberate use of the work of Aldhelm, the seventh- and eighth-century abbot of Malmesbury and bishop of Sherborne.8 For quotations from texts other than the Bible to be used in charters at Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 115 this period was very unusual indeed; nevertheless, quotations from Aldhelm's Carmen ecclesiastica, verse De uirginitate and Epistola to Gerontius have been identified in S 193, alongside three likely borrowings from his prose De uirginitate.9 The extent to which the charter's author was influenced by Aldhelm ran much deeper, though. Rather than simply borrowing a few phrases here and there, the draftsman of S 193 wrote in a way which was so Aldhelmian as to seem, at times, almost like a parody. A favorite technique of Aldhelm's was alliteration, particularly plosive alliteration, which he used to great effect in almost every work he wrote.10 Michael Lapidge demonstrated that Aldhelm used at least four different types of complex, interlinear alliterating patterns,11 which Andy Orchard, expanding on his work, believed could be "characterised by … the form of 'Germanic' double alliteration."12 Indeed, Aldhelm's enthusiasm for alliteration can be amply demonstrated by a short passage from the prose De uirginitate:

caterva credentium in utroque sexu fetidas facinorum cloacas calcitrans et putida vitiorum volutabra abominans illorum magisterio ad fidem catholicam conversa cum martirii tropeo tri- umphans agonizavit.13

Here, of 25 words, 13 – more than half – form alliterating patterns. Remembering that this is not even verse, this proportion is very high indeed. Furthermore, Aldhelm had a certain taste for constructing sophisticated alliterating patterns: in the phrase paternam petitionem salubremque suggestionem14 from his letter to Gerontius, Ald- helm not only alliterated sets of p and s, but also used the assonance in the ends of the words (which, notwithstanding the –que suffix, all end with a vowel before a terminal m) to link the whole phrase together. Cleverer still is an alliterating pattern used by Aldhelm in his letter to Heahfrith: terris tantundem destinare dignatus.15 Here, alliteration on the initial letters (t and d) runs throughout the phrase. The alliteration on d present in the second half of the phrase is introduced by the d in tantundem; then the alliteration on t which began the phrase is referenced by t in destinare dignatus. Similarly, the prose of S 193 is full of alliterating phrases, some of which demonstrate interlacing patterns of different alliterating letters similar to those used by Ald- helm:

prosapia de primo patre (the plosive alliteration here is particularly reminiscent of Aldhelm's writing)

aio et alto domino Deo

sagax sophista

præcedentium patrum 116 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

domino disponente

donans donabo

catholica et baptismum Christi in Brittannia

decantaverunt duodecim

omnipotentis nomine et novem ordinibus

præceptum ponimus

principum aut alicujus personis

sed semper stabilis

firmiterque firmata

cartula caraxata

consentientibus et signum crucis Christi scribentibus quorum subter nomina notata sunt

There is no question that the alliterative phrases in S 193 were constructed deliberately. The technique is used too frequently and with far too much skill to be coincidental. While alliteration was a common feature of Anglo-Latin literature, its use on this scale in charters before the ninth century was unprecedented. Another technique used both by Aldhelm and by the author of S 193 was hyperbole. Typical of Aldhelm's enthusiasm for this technique, examples of which may be found in virtually all his works, is the passage spissis virgultorem ramusculis pulu- lantem et fructiferis stipitum viminibus florentem from the prose De uirginitate.16 Here, either side of et are placed two phrases with extremely similar meanings, many of the words in which are virtually synonymous with each other. Aldhelm's purpose, in all likelihood, was to sound excessively verbose in order to showcase the considerable breadth of his vocabulary. In S 193, the phrases ianitor caelestis bibliothece17 et vas electionis predicator egregius apostolus Paulus; fides catholica et baptismum Christi; and valde bene operatum ac faleratum in magno pretio are comparable. None is constructed of juxtaposed synonyms in quite the same way as the example from Aldhelm's De uirginitate, yet each constitutes an unnecessary overstatement in which the second part of the phrase emphasizes and qualifies the first. The technique is not identical to that used by Aldhelm, but the verbose effect is similar. Again, while Ald- helm was not the only Anglo-Latin author to have used these techniques, the fre- Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 117 quency with which the draftsman of S 193 quoted Aldhelm's work recommends it as the most likely source of inspiration. Our understanding of S 193, the best copy of which survives in the first part of Hemming's Cartulary, the Liber Wigorniensis (London, BL, Cotton Tiberius A. XIII), is complicated somewhat by the existence of two other, medieval versions of the text.18 Firstly, an abbreviated, eleventh-century version of the charter is preserved in London, BL, Cotton Nero E.i (pt. 2).19 Close comparison of the Tiberius and the Nero texts suggests that the longer, Tiberius version preserves the preferable readings. For instance, Tiberius contains the line: magnum discum argenteum valde bene operatum ac faleratum in magno pretio; Nero renders the same line: magnum discum optime ex argento fabricatum. The Nero version is much simpler; the common word, fabricatum, seems intended to replace the much rarer faleratum (a favorite word of Ald- helm's); the word optime in Nero may also have been inspired by operatum in Ti- berius. It is tempting to wonder if, in both these cases, the copyist had misread his exemplar or, more likely, had failed to understand it and so has substituted more straightforward vocabulary and syntax. Indeed, the shorter version of the charter seems likely to be as much a simplification as an abbreviation: Berhtwulf's grand style in Tiberius (Ego Berhtuulf largiflua Dei munificentia rex Merciorum hanc meam libertatis gratiam ac omnium Merciorum cum signo sanctæ crucis firmiter consignabo) has, in Nero, been drastically truncated and simplified (Berhtulf rex hanc donationem signo crucis munio); the most challenging parts of the charter's complex proem were also removed in Nero, as were references to the nine orders of angels. Furthermore, the existence of S 197, which is clearly related to Tiberius (see below),20 further suggests that it is a better reflection of the original text. The Nero version of S 193 seems likely, then, to be a simplified abbreviation. Secondly, S 1185, which was preserved at Worcester, is a charter purporting to date from 781×796. It incorporates the proem of S 193 wholesale. While it is possible that a record of a genuine transaction lay behind S 1185, it seems very unlikely indeed that the charter is genuine in its present form.21 Rich in anachronistic features (not least a vernacular boundary clause, which is entirely out of place in a document of the eighth century), it should probably be considered an eleventh-century forgery which used the proem of S 193 as its stylistic model. Returning to the text of S 193 itself, it is interesting that the charter's sanction makes mention of the nine orders of angels (novem ordinibus angelorum). Angels were no strangers to Anglo-Saxon charters, particularly not to their sanctions. The following charters, which all predate S 193, contain references to angels (an asterisk indicates where doubts have been expressed about authenticity):22

S 7* (675: St Augustine's, Canterbury) S 10 (689: St Augustine's, Canterbury) S 13* (690: St Augustine's, Canterbury) S 29* (763/4: St Augustine's, Canterbury) 118 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

S 30 (748×760: Rochester) S 33 (762 × 764: Rochester) S 41 (805×807: Christ Church, Canterbury) S 71* (681: Malmesbury) S 86 (?ca.733: St Augustine's, Canterbury) S 88 (733: Rochester) S 106 (767: Christ Church, Canterbury) S 140* (765×792: St Augustine's, Canterbury) S 144* (757×796: Peterborough) S 245 (704: Malmesbury/Glastonbury) S 1170* (688: Malmesbury) S 1183 (before 786: Selsey) S 1248* (693: Westminster, ?ex Barking)

Specific reference to the nine orders of angles, behind which probably lay Pope Gregory's homilies on the Gospels,23 was not unprecedented either: from this list, S 245 (a grant from King Ine of Wessex exempting the religious foundations of Wessex from secular burdens), S 1284 (a grant of land to ?Barking and ?Bishop Eorcenwald from King Cædwalla of Wessex, confirmed by Æthelred of Mercia) and S 71 (a grant from the Mercian king Æthelred to Aldhelm) all refer to the nine orders of angels in similar, though not identical, terms to S 193. However, S 193's reference may have special relevance. We are fortunate in that a quantity of exceptionally fine Anglo-Saxon sculpture has been preserved at Breedon- on-the-Hill. Incorporating Eastern Christian and Carolingian influences,24 much of the sculpture takes the form of friezes depicting range of cavorting animals and other fig- ures; they reminded Gerard Baldwin Brown of "nothing so much as Dicky Doyle's world-famous title page to Punch."25 One particularly magnificent sculpture at Breedon clearly depicts an angel.26 The relative frequency with which angels turned up in Anglo-Saxon charters makes it unlikely that the reference to the nine orders in S 193 was directly inspired by this sculpture; it is pleasing to wonder, nevertheless, if the draftsman may have had it in his mind when he wrote. Another aspect of S 193 which deserves comment is the use it made of lines of verse. Finding verse in an Anglo-Saxon charter from any period is extremely unusual. Nevertheless, the author of S 193 not only lifted lines from Aldhelm's Carmen ecclesiastica II and verse De uirginitate,27 but he also quoted an obscure epigram: non semper licet gaudere fugit hora qua jacemur. Along with the unprecedented style of the document this has, inevitably, led to the authenticity of S 193 being questioned.28 Most recently, Julia Barrow has set S 193 in the context of a series of Worcester for- geries made, in her opinion, by the early eleventh century. She wrote:

Hermeneutic Latin is the term used – incorrectly but expressively – to describe the highly Graecized Latin favoured by Aldhelm and many other medieval authors … it occurs in both Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 119 genuine and forged charters produced in Anglo-Saxon England from the early tenth century onwards and so cannot be used as a criterion for determining forgery in documents purporting to have been issued after c.900, yet it is noticeable that charters which on other grounds can be proved to be forged are often especially rich in Hermeneutic vocabulary … S 193 has elaborate interpolations, most of which borrow from the work of Aldhelm … However, a clearer link with the late tenth century emerges in another line of poetry, Non semper licet gaudere: fugit hora, qua iocemur, part of an epigram which otherwise only survives in a tenth-century manuscript originally owned by the monastery of St-Basle … Knowledge of this text might perhaps have been brought to England by Abbo of Fleury, or, as argued by Stevenson, by Oswald himself. It is worth pointing out that catalectico uersa and faleratus show parallels not only with Aldhelm, but also with Vita Sancti Oswaldi [by Byrhtferth of Ramsey] … Use in one charter of more than one unusual word used by Byrhtferth suggests that the forgers were reading the Vita Sancti Oswaldi.29

Barrow's argument against the authenticity of S 193 is engaging. However, not discussing S 193 in tandem with S 197, the other Breedon charter, seems like an over- sight. Overall, fifteen charters survive in Berhtwulf's name, of which four are clearly spurious; two more have suspicious features.30 The vast majority survived in the Worcester archive, the only exceptions besides S 193 and S 197 being S 191 and S 203 (which both survived at Evesham), S 200 (a blatant forgery preserved at Crow- land), S 202 (a forgery preserved at Abingdon) and S 204 (preserved at Christ Church, Canterbury). Besides S 205 (which is discussed below), none was written in a Latin style that resembles that of S 193 and S 197,31 nor does any contain noteworthy formulaic links to the Breedon charters. The similarities between S 193 and S 197 are significant and the two charters must be considered alongside each other, therefore. The textual history of the peculiar line of verse, non simper licet gaudere fugit hora qua iocemur, is troublesome, however. Notwithstanding S 193, the epigram's earliest appearance was in a tenth-century manuscript currently in Bern (but held previously at St-Basle).32 While the Bern manuscript certainly postdates S 193, the origins of the epigram itself are mysterious. In the manuscript, it carries the title Octā. Auģ, which, along with its inclusion amongst other short epigrams by a variety of classical and early Christian authors, led to the assumption that it was written by the Emperor Augustus. While this may be a little far-fetched, the poem's earliest critic, Hermann Hagen, argued that it was at least written in a style typical of the Augustan "golden age," dating it, albeit with reservations, to the first century.33 Paul Legendre, an authority on Tironian notes (in which form the epigram survives in the Bern manuscript), generally agreed, highlighting a favorable comparison between the epigram and Ovid's elegies.34 It has also been dated to ca. 400.35 If we accept this early date, we must presume that the epigram made its way into England, presumably to Breedon-on-the-Hill, at some point before the mid ninth century. Indeed, it is entirely possible that Breedon's well-stocked library (see below) would have included such a text. However, a much more recent commentator on the epigram, John Contreni, has favored a late-ninth-century date and origin at Auxerre, suggesting that the title ought 120 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 to be expanded as "the octave of august," a reference to the eighth day after the feast of St Germanus who, as a renowned former bishop of Auxerre, had special significance there.36 This is a peculiar explanation: not only does the dating lack reference to the calends, ides or nones (as might be expected), but it is also irregular for the octave to be referred to in terms of the month rather than in terms of the saint being celebrated. Even the example Contreni himself provided to support his argument takes a more conventional form, the reference being to the saint rather than the month.37 Moreover, Contreni, like Barrow, believed that the epigram made its way into S 193 by way of Byrhtferth of Ramsey. Along the same lines as Barrow, Contreni argued that the Aldhelmian tag sagax sophista, as it occurs in S 193, was "paralleled in [Byrhtferth's] uita Oswaldi," which was probably written between 997 and 1002.38 Oddly, Contreni did not consider that Aldhelm himself might have been the common source. Characterized by Contreni as the "most telling link," however, was the evidence that Abbo of Fleury's poem on Dunstan's death (which Byrhtferth incorporated into the Vita) included the passage haec de dictis philosophiae satis sint de laude ip- sius dicta: quid alius hexametris versibus et catalecticis post obitum ejus proclamat, audiamus. Ait enim; this, Contreni proposed, "resonates strongly with the description in [S 193] of the Carolingian verse, (katolectico versu cecinit dicens)."39 This is an overstatement. Besides versus, which is so common a word that we can safely ignore it, the only shared word is catalecticis/katolectico. A Greek term for a metrically incomplete verse, this was a rare but by no means unique word which either author could have picked up from a number of sources, not least from Aldhelm's letter to Leutherius.40 The same argument may be applied to similar elements of Bar- row's thesis. Rather than proposing Byrhtferth himself as the forger, she thought that somebody drawing on Byrhtferth's work might have been responsible for composing S 193, highlighting verbal parallels, specifically catalectico uersa and faleratus, between the charter and Byrhtferth's Vita S. Oswaldi. It seems odd, firstly, that an eleventh-century forger of a charter purporting to date from the mid ninth century would go to all the effort of constructing an authentic witness list and using original diplomatic formulae before resorting, for no obvious reason, to a hagiographical text which openly hailed from the turn of the eleventh century as his stylistic model. Secondly, Barrow, like Contreni, did not give sufficient consideration to the likelihood that Ald- helm was the common source. As well as using the word katolectico, Aldhelm used faleratus at least seven times.41 Given the number of direct quotations from Aldhelm's work present in S 193, not to mention the extent to which the prose of the charter reflected Aldhelm's own style, this seems by far the more likely option. S 193's stablemate, S 197, was ultimately preserved at Peterborough. This is significant. Had S 197 survived at Worcester alongside S 193, then the argument against its authenticity might have been more emphatic. However, that these two charters, both with connexions to Breedon, both formulaically and linguistically linked and both written in such an idiosyncratic style survived in two different archives makes the possibility of later forgery less likely. Although the authenticity of S 197 has also Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 121 been questioned,42 given how dramatically different it is from anything else produced around the same time and on account of its similarities with S 193, we might give it the benefit of the doubt. Minus the lower part of the witness list, the charter reads as follows:

In nomine almi et agye sophię qui monarchiam mundi tocius ac celsitudinem cęlorum ab- ditamque profunditatem turgentis oceani, in altis et in imis, omnia cum suo maiestatis imperio, qui in primordio mundi creauit et nunc in ęuum gubernat et regit, summus pater omnipotens Deus. Status huius mundi in uelocitate deficiet et rotunda seculorum uolubilitas facesset, sic alternando creaturarum qualitas decrescit, sic mutando mortalis uitę fragilitas fatescit. De qua miserrima humani status uicissitudine Ęcclesiastes cęlesti afflatus spiritu competentem protulit sententiam. "Generatio" inquid "uenit et generatio uadit," alii nascuntur et alii moriuntur. Ita uniuersa diuitiarum facultas et temporalis gazę possessio, que precessorum anxia sollicitudo per indefesso laborum emolumenta lucratur, proh dolor incertis heredibus, interdum optatis, interdum exosis, relinquitur. Quem admodum psalmista, inprouidam humani generis socordiam conquerens increpitet "Thesaurizat et ignorat cui congregat ea." Ideo sunt omnes nostras serie et sermocinationis litterarum apicibus confirmandos, ne unquam ullo obliuione tradantur, sed per- petua memoria seruantur quicquid reges ac precedentes patres firmiter constituerunt. Qua de re ego Berhtwulfus, diuino fultus suffragio rex Merciorum, cum consensu et con- silio principum ac magistratuum Męrcianorum gentis, donans donabo uenerabili abbati Ean- mundo et eius familię sanctę congregationis Breodunensis monasterii istam libertatis gratiam illius monasterii æt Breodune, mihi et omnibus Mærcis tam pro Deo quam pro seculo in elemosinam sempiternam. Id est ut sit liberatum et absolutum illud monasterium ab illis causis quas cum feorme 7 eafor uocitemus, tam a pastu ancipitrorum meorum omnium quam etiam uenato- rum omnium, uel a pastu equorum meorum omnium siue ministrorum eorum. Quid plura? Ab omni illa incommoditate æfres et cum feorme, nisi istis causis quas hic nominamus. Precones si trans mare uenirent, ad regem uenturi uel nuntii de gente Occidentalium Saxonum uel de gente Norþanhymbrorum: si uenirent ad horam tertiam diei uel ad medium diem, dabatur illis prandium; si uenirent supra nonam horam, tunc dabatur eius noctis pastum et iterum de mane pergent in uiam suam. Ob huius ergo rei gratia, ipse uero supradictus Eanmund abbas ac illius supranominata fa- milia æt Breodune ad commercium huius libertatis, cum testimonio obtimatum gentis Mer- ciorum, dederunt Berhtuulfo regi Merciorum .clxxx. mancusas in auro puro et terram .xv. ma- nentium in duabus locis æt Stanlege et æt Bellanforde, ut ista libertatis gratia, cum Dei testimonia et omnium sanctorum in cęlo et eorum hominum in terra qui Dei precepta custodiunt et tremendum diem iudicii metuunt et honorem sancte crucis Christi colunt ac illorum baptismatis donam firmiter perenniterque fermata, nullo homine interdicente sed Deo fauente ac angelis eius, stabilis permaneat tamdiu fides Christiana ac baptismum Christi apud Anglorum gentem in Brittannia maneat. Insuper etiam ego Humberht princeps optinebam a domino meo Berhtuulfo regi Merciorum cum consensu optimatum illo abbati Eanmundo et familię illius supradicto on Breodune hanc libertatis gratiam, pro eorum uenerali pecunio quod mihi impendebant in uno uaso pretiosa po- tatoria, quod fuit de nobile genere pulchraliter factum et ex parte cum auro ornatum. Hoc est ut sit illud monasterium on Breodune liberatum et absolutum ab omnibus causis, magnis uel modicis, notis ac ignotis, quę mihi aut principibus Tomsetorum unquam ante ea pertinebant ex illo monasterio, tamdiu uoluerit Deus ut baptismi gratia et recta fides cum regibus ac principibus Christianis in populo fideli firmiter fideliterque permaneat in ęuum. 122 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

Et ut memoria regis Beorhtuulfi ac Humberhti principis et omnium optimatum gentis Mer- ciorum in eorum sacris orationibus diebus ac noctibus memoretur, et nullus homo alicuius personis, rex aut princeps, magnis siue modicis, in aliquo tempore, diabolica potestate fretus, per tirannicam phylargiriam uel gastrimargiam hanc nostram statutionem fringere pręsumat, sed semper stabilis et indiscussa hęc donatio conseruetur inperpetuum, et ut merita ac elemosinas nostras ante Deum florescant ac nomina nostra coram throno Domini scribentur in libro uiuen- tium amen. Hęc scedula scripta est anno dominice incarnationis .dccc.xliiii. indictione uero .xi., in uenerabili monasterio primum æt Hrypadune, et iterum karaxata atque confirmata fuit cum ista testimonia quorum subter nomina notata sunt. Ego Berhtuulf Domino disponenti rex Merciorum, hanc nostram diui[…] et meam donationem mihi et omnibus Mercis in elemosinam sempiternam firmiter donabo atque cum signo sanctę crucis consignabo.

Ego Seþryþ regina consensi et subscripsi. Ego Tunberht episcopus consensi et subscripsi. Ego Ciolred episcopus consensi et subscripsi. Ego Berhtred episcopus consensi et subscripsi. Ego Alchun episcopus consensi et subscripsi. Ego Cuþuulf episcopus consensi et subscripsi. Ego Eanmund abbas consensi et subscripsi. Ego Withred abbas consensi et subscripsi […]43

In the name of the holy and nourishing wisdom. In the very beginnings of the world, the Highest Father, all-powerful God, created the kingdom of the whole world; and now through the ages, he governs the heights of heaven, the hidden depths of the surging ocean and rules all things in the heavens and in the deep with the power of His majesty. The condition of this world is in rapid decline and the circular revolution of the world will fail, so the nature of crea- tion declines with the passing of time, so the fragility of mortal life falls away with change. Ec- clesiastes, inspired by the heavenly spirit, put forth this sentiment, corresponding to the wretched mutability of the human condition: "A generation," it said, "comes and a generation goes," some are born, others die. Thus all control of riches and the possession of temporal treasure which the nervous anxiety of our predecessors acquired through tireless labours of work might, depressingly, be left to uncertain successors, sometimes to be approved of, sometimes to be detested. Nevertheless, the psalmist, lamenting the improvident weakness of human kind, said "he stores up and yet he does not know for whom he collects those things." There- fore, everything we own must be confirmed by a series of discussions and forms of letters; rather than it being lost forever in oblivion, may it be preserved in perpetual memory. Howso- ever did earlier kings and fathers firmly set it down. On this matter, I, Berhtwulf, supported by divine help, King of the Mercians, with the consent and counsel of the chief and leading men of the Mercian people, make a grant to the venerable Abbot Eanmund and to his community of the sacred congregation of the monastery of Breedon, giving this grant of liberty to that monastery at Breedon, from myself and from all the Mercians just as for God so also for the secular world for an eternal gift of alms. This is done in order that the monastery might be free and absolved from all those obligations which we call feorme and eafor; free from feeding my hawks and also all my hunters; free both from pastur- ing all my horses and all my ministers. Free, moreover, from all the inconveniences of Æfres and feorme, except for those obligations which we name here. If ambassadors should come across the sea about to come to the king, or messengers from the people of the West Saxons, or Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 123 from the people of the Northumbrians, if they come at the third hour of the day or towards the middle of the day, a meal is to be given; if they come before the ninth hour, then repast is to be given to them for the night and again in the morning as they go on their way. On account of this, then, the abovementioned Abbot Eanmund and his abovementioned community at Breedon, in exchange for this liberty, with the testimony of the leading men of the Mercians, give to Berhtwulf, king of the Mercians, 180 mancuses in pure gold and 15 hides of land in two places at Stanley and Belford. This gift of liberty occurs in the sight of God and all the saints in heaven, and of all of those men on earth who keep the commands of God and fear the dreadful day of judgement and worship the honor of Christ's sacred cross and of those who have been baptized; may this gift, having been confirmed securely and eternally remain solid with no interference from men but with the favor of God and his angels so long as Chris- tianity and the baptism of Christ remains amongst the English people in Britain. Furthermore, I, Humbert, chief man, have obtained from my lord King Berhtwulf of the Mercians, with the consent of the leading men and also of the venerable Abbot Eanmund and his aforementioned community at Breedon, riches in return for this gift of their liberty, which is one precious vessel which has been made beautifully from precious material and decorated in part with gold. This is done so that the monastery at Breedon might be free and absolved from all obligations, great and small, significant and insignificant which might ever have been owed to me or to the chief men of the Tomsæatan by the monastery before so long as God wishes that by the gift of baptism, and the proper faith should remain amongst Christian kings and princes and amongst faithful people firmly and faithfully through the ages. And may the memory of Berhtwulf and Humbert his chief man and of all the chief men of the people of the Mercians be remembered day and night in their sacred prayers, and may no man or any other person, king or prince, great or minor, at any time, relying on devilish power, through tyrannical greed or glut- tony attempt to infringe this, our statement, but may this donation always be preserved, stable and unshakable, for eternity, and may our merits and our compassion flourish before God and may our names openly be written before the throne of the Lord in the book of life, amen. These words were written in the year of the Lord's incarnation 844 in the ninth indiction at the venerable monastery at Repton and were attested and confirmed by these witnesses whose names are recorded below: I, Berhtwulf, by the allowance of the Lord, King of the Mercians, have given this, my donation, from me and from all the Mercians, firmly in eternal compassion, and I attest with the sign of the sacred cross.

I Queen Sethryth consent and subscribe. I Bishop Tumberht consent and subscribe. I Bishop Ciolred consent and subscribe. I Bishop Berhtred consent and subscribe. I Bishop Alchun consent and subscribe. I Bishop Cuþuulf consent and subscribe. I Abbot Eanmund consent and subscribe. I Abbot Wihtred consent and subscribe. […]

This document certainly represents a development of the style of S 193. In some cases, moreover, it is possible to see how formulae from S 193 has been adapted and augmented in S 197. The most striking examples are these; identical words and passages are printed in bold while similarities in the sense are underlined. 124 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

S 193 S 197

Aio et alto domino Deo Zabaoth regnante in In nomine almi agye sophię ævum inprouidam humani generis socordiam Siquidem humani generis prosapio nullus homo alicuius personis rex aut nullus umquam regum vel principum aut princeps magnis siue modicis in aliquo alicujus personis homo magnis sive tempore diabolica potestate fretus per modicis in aliquo tempore hanc tirannicam phylargiriam uel gastrimargiam præscriptam libertatis gratiam infringere hanc nostram statutionem fringere ausus sit sed semper stabilis et indiscussa praesumat sed semper stabilis et indiscussa firmiterque firmata ille congregatione on haec donatio conseruetur inperpetuum et ut Breodune coram Deo et hominibus jugiter merita ac elemosinas nostras permaneat in evum iterum karaxata atque confirmata

cartula caraxata est anno dominice quorum subter nomina notata sunt incarnationis tamdiu fides Christiana ac baptismum quorum subter nomina notata sunt Christi apud Anglorum gentem in Brittannia maneat tamdiu fides catholica et baptismum Christi in Brittannia servetur

In terms of vocabulary, just like its predecessor, S 197 contains numerous words which had little or no previous history in Anglo-Saxon diplomatic. The invocation (in nomine almi et agye sophię) is reminiscent of that of S 193: both share the word agye/aio, which is transliterated from the Greek αγία. In addition, S 197 also uses the word sophię, a transliteration of ςοφία. The phrase agye sophię was a common theo- logical idea reflecting the notion that God alone is perfect in wisdom and was probably not transliterated in the first instance here. Still, it had not been used before in an Anglo-Saxon charter in this form and sets the tone for the rest of the document. How- ever, while there are some rare words in the proem, such as gazę, exosis and socordiam, none was so outlandish as to be untranslatable. Indeed, the majority of the vocabulary in the proem, while certainly impressive, is not deliberately obscure. Words such as turgentis, oceani, volubilitas and qualitas had little previous history in Anglo- Saxon diplomatic, for instance, yet they were common enough that a reasonable Latinist would have been able to translate them with ease. Just as with S 193, the unusual vocabulary in S 197 falls into two groups. On the one hand, the Graecisms showcase the breadth of the draftsman's learning; on the other, the originality of many of the words in S 197 lay simply in the fact that a wider than usual vocabulary was necessary to express images which had not been used in Anglo-Saxon diplomatic before. Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 125

The vocabulary of the sanction is typical of this. Here, the phrase tyrannicam phylargiriam vel gastrimargiam represents the standard idea, common to a majority of Anglo-Saxon diplomas, that the hypothetical breaker of the terms of the charter may have acted under the influence of some sinful, even demonic, arrogance. How- ever, it uses unusual vocabulary in order to achieve this impression. Tyrannicam had a limited history in Anglo-Saxon diplomatic, but was common enough in Anglo-Latin more generally. Phylargiriam is more interesting: transliterated from φιλαργυρία, this word (which means "avarice" or, more specifically, "love of money") was extremely unusual in Anglo-Latin and Anglo-Saxon diplomatic alike. It was used twice by Ald- helm in his prose De uirginitate44 and by Isidore in his Etymologiae, which was probably Aldhelm's source for it. Unlike in the proem, where unprecedented words were used out of the necessity of expressing images that were new to the genre, the sanction contains a common theme which can be found in countless diplomas. It is the way in which the author presents it, using deliberately obscure and challenging language in place of more conventional vocabulary, that makes it so remarkable. Again, just as with S 193, the ambitious style of this document was inspired by the work of Aldhelm. Although only one possible quotation from his work has been identified in S 197,45 the diploma is written in a manner that is even more overtly Aldhelmian than that of S 193. The techniques of alliteration (including the phrases mutando mortalis vitæ fragilitas fatescit; serie et sermocinationis and fideli firmiter fideliterque) and hyperbole (gubernat et regit and phylargiriam vel gastrimargiam are good examples) are employed in this document just as they were in S 193. Further- more, an element of linguistic complexity in S 197 that is absent from S 193 is hyperbaton. This relatively simple device, in which pairs of words (usually nouns and ad- jectives) are split apart or interlaced around each other, was used frequently by Ald- helm. From the prose De uirginitate, the phrases arto spontanaeae uirginitatis propo- sito46 and reciproca spumantis pelagi flustra47 are typical of this technique. From S 197, the phrase rotunda seculorum volubilitas is a simple example; a more elongated arrangement can be seen in the passages miserrima humani status vicissitudine and inprovidam humani generis socordiam. The overall impression is of deliberate stylistic sophistication far in advance of anything achieved in other, contemporary Anglo- Saxon diplomas. Plenty of questions remain about the purpose and context of these documents; before addressing them, however, it would be as well to consider the comparable styles of the charters of the second group, S 217 and S 346.

Worcester: S 217 and S 346

Preserved in the Liber Wigorniensis, S 217 and S 346, like S 193 and S 197, show a move away from the mundane, formulaic language typical of contemporary charters, towards a far more flamboyant style which anticipates the developments that would 126 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 overtake Anglo-Saxon diplomatic in the tenth century.48 S 217, which is the earlier of the two, is a grant of land in Oxfordshire from Ealdorman Æthelred (King Alfred's son-in-law) to the bishopric of Worcester, dating from 887. Minus the details of the bounds and the lower part of the witness list, which are of little relevance here, it reads as follows:

Px Regnante inperpetuum domino nostro Jhesu Christo cujus imperio huius sæculi labentis prosperitas in adversis successibus sedula permixta et conturbata cernitur et omnia visibilia atque desiderabilia pomparum mundi ornamenta ab ipsis amatoribus suis cotidie fugiendo tran- seunt. Quapropter quique sapientes ac beati cum his fugitivis seculi aeterna gaudia jugiter mansura cælestis patriæ magnopere mercanda sunt.49 Quapropter ego Æðelred gratia domini largiflua concedente dux et patricius gentis Mer- ciorum cum licentia et inpositione manus Ælfredi regis una cum testimonio et consensu seniorum ejusdem gentis episcoporum vel principum pro redemptione animarum nostrarum et pro sospitate necnon et stabilitate regni Merciorum nobis in eternam elemosinam quandam ruris portionem domino Deo et Sancto Petro liberatam ab omni tributo regali magno vel modico noto vel ignoto […] Si quis autem quod absit ansu50 philargiriæ hoc nostrum traditionis donum in aliqua corrumpenda fedare pertemptent sciant se rationem reddituros in die judicii cum Anna et Zaphira nisi prius digna satisfactione emendare malurint [...] Hec nomina sunt qui hanc libertatis donationem consentientes signo crucis subscripsi .

+ Ego Ælfred rex consensi et subscripsi . + Ego Æþered dux hoc nostrum donum signo crucis confirmavi . + Ego Æþelflæd conjux subscribens confirmavi [...]51

Our Lord Jesus Christ rules in eternity. Now, by his command, the industrious prosperity of this declining world seems mixed and disordered by successive adverse circumstances; and all the visible and desirable adornments of the pomps of the world pass every day fleetingly away from those who love them. Quapropter quique sapientes ac beati cum his fugitivis seculi aeterna gaudia jugiter mansura cælestis patriæ magnopere mercanda sunt. Therefore, I, Æthelred, by the generous and conceding grace of God, leader and chief man of the people of the Mercians, with the license and permission of King Alfred's hand and with the testament and consent of the senior men of this people, both bishops and chief men, for the redemption of our souls and for not only the health but also the stability of our kingdom of the Mercians in eternal almsgiving, I have freed a portion of land to the Lord God and to St Peter from all royal tribute, great or small, significant or insignificant [...] If, however, anybody, which we do not wish, with the encouragement of greed, should attempt to sully by any means of corruption this, the donation of our legacy let them know that judgement will be returned upon them on judgement day with Anna and Sapphira unless first they have attempted to make proper amends satisfactorily […] These things were done in the year of the Lord's incarnation 880 in the fifth indiction [...] These names are those who consent to this donation of liberties, subscribing with the sign of the cross:

+ I King Alfred consent and subscribe + I Ealdorman Æthelred confirm our donation with this sign of the cross + I Æthelflæd, his wife, confirm it, subscribing […] Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 127

This charter (the authenticity of which has been questioned, though not convinc- ingly)52 is shorter than the examples from Breedon-on-the-Hill, and not nearly so ambitious. However, it does contain some rare vocabulary, such as sospitate and phi- largiriæ. Sospitate is not especially unusual and has an established history within An- glo-Latin, but it had never been used before in any extant Anglo-Saxon charter. More remarkable is philargiriæ, which occurred only once previously in Anglo-Saxon diplomatic, in S 197. However, despite these glimmers of stylistic interest, much of S 217 is formulaic and predictable. In contrast to its use of unusual vocabulary, it is stylistically mundane and contains none of the sophisticated syntactical acrobatics seen in S 193 and S 197. Phrases such as gratia domini largiflua and si quis autem quod absit are standard diplomatic clichés; although the sanction appears to be partially original, much of the body of the charter conforms to diplomatic convention. The proem, in particular, had an established history in a number of earlier documents (see below). S 217, then, looks like a "normal" ninth century charter over which had been sprinkled a few exotic words. Its significance lies mostly in the way in which it pre- dicts an altogether more impressive document, S 346. Minus the details of the donation and the end of the witness list, S 346 reads as follows:

Sedulo namque nonnullis et maxime per instantis vitæ turbidam discordiæ rabiem in hac decrepita finis mundialis canitiæ contingere solet quod simplicem memorialis præcordii oculum turbines obliviose obscenitatis quatientes reverberant; seu nebulæ neglegentiarum nubiferis deprivationum fuscationibus a recte possessionis jure radiantem justitiæ Phoebum obnubilant; quapropter necesse cuilibet homini est ut litteratoriis apicibus omnia atquisita seu possessa ob præsentium sive succedentium cantelam quæ a catholicis vel heroicis viris cujuslibet persone majoris minorisve potestatis Deo ejusque sanctis per celorum celsitudinem tradita sunt etiam testimonio et roboratione ipsorum firme rationis serie firmentur rectoque caraxantis stilo in scedulis notentur. Anno igitur postquam almifica cælestini luminis gemma per agrum virginalis pudicitiæ humano generi desiderabilis mistici spiraminis specimine enituit octingentesimo octuagesimo nono indictione . vii . cujus denique splendoris et gratiæ nobis jubare radiante ego Ælfred rex Anglorum et Saxonum et +Æðelred subregulus et patricius Merciorum cum testimonio et licentia seu consensu senatorum episcoporum seu ducum utriusque gentis pro revelatione facinorum nostrorum et pro adquirenda deifice remunerationis requiæ Uuærfriðo eximio Huicciorum antistiti ad æcclesiam Uueogernensem […] Si qui vero ut non optamus serpentino suggestionis demonice toxico inflati huius tramitis seriem in aliquo temptaverint foedare noverint se cum Anna et Zaphira herebica aeterne anathematis machera perforandos nisi prius digna satisfactione emendare maluerint Haec autem sunt nomina illorum qui huic nostre donationi testes et consentientes fuerunt et trophico sancte crucis vexillo roborantes propriis manibus subscripserunt. + Ego Ælfred rex Anglorum et Saxonum hanc donationem confirmans signo crucis subscribo. + Ego Æþelred subregulus et patricius Merciorum hanc donationem signo crucis subscripsi.53 128 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

Unremittingly, through certain things and particularly through the troubled madness of the discord of the present life, in this declining old age of the world's end, it is wont to happen that the tempests of obscene oblivion shake and batter the simple eye of the soul's memory. If the mists of neglect, with the cloud-bringing obfuscations of forgetfulness, obscure the radiant sun of justice from the rightful law of possession, then it shall be unavoidable for all men that all their acquisitions or possessions must be confirmed with the forms of letters for the security of present or successive generations. Those things which are handed over by either catholic or he- roic men, or by anybody, of greater or lesser influence, to God in the heights of heaven and to his saints, should be certified by the firm testimony and subsequent confirmation of parties subscribing the transaction themselves, with the proper pen they should be noted down in order. Therefore, in the seventh indiction, in the 889th year after the nourishing gem of celestial light shone out through a field of virginal chastity for the human race by the sign of the desired mys- tical breath, now, with the radiance of this splendour and grace shining on, I, Alfred, King of the Anglo-Saxons and Æthelred, subking and chief of the Mercians, with the agreement, license and consent of all the leading men, bishops and chiefs of both peoples, for the laying bare of our deeds and for acquiring the rest of the divine reward, give to Wærferth, distinguished bishop of the Hwicce, and to the Church of Worcester [...] If, indeed, which we do not wish, any person, puffed up by the serpentine poison of demonic suggestion, should attempt to sully this list of our transaction in any way, let them know that, with Anna and Sapphira, they shall be run through with the hellish blade of eternal anath- ema unless first they have seen fit to make proper amends satisfactorily. These are the names of those who, as witnesses and consenters to this, our donation, have subscribed with their own hands, confirming it with the victorious sign of the holy cross:

+ I Alfred, King of the Angles and Saxons, confirming this donation, subscribe with the sign of the cross + I Aethelred, subking and chief of the Mercians [confirming] this donation, have subscribed with the sign of the cross […]

The florid language used in S 346 has, to some extent, evolved from the style of S 217. The sanction of S 346, while considerably more sophisticated than that of S 217, has certain important points of similarity with it: the final phrase, nisi prius digna satisfactione emendare maluerint, is common to each. There are also links between the formulae which, in S 217, reads cum testimonio et consensu seniorum ejusdem gentis episcoporum vel principum and, in S 346, has become the more showy cum testimonio et licentia seu consensu senatorum episcoporum seu ducum. The bare bones of the formula remain the same and the sense is identical, yet the vocabulary used to express it has become notably more elaborate. More significantly, though, "Anna" and "Sapphira," are mentioned in both documents. These two characters are drawn from the Acts of the Apostles 5:2 where they sell land in order to make a donation to the Church. Rather than donating all the money, though, they kept some back for themselves, attempting to cover their dishonesty by lying that they had do- nated the whole amount. On doing so, they both dropped dead. The relevance for any would-be breaker of the charter's terms is unambiguous. Significantly, however, in Acts "Anna" is called Ananias. The mistake is an important one which is unlikely to have occurred separately in two different documents at a later stage of the charters' Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 129 transmission. Anna, of course, was a male Anglo-Saxon name, albeit a rare one (King Anna of East Anglia was mentioned by Bede),54 so it is easy to see how the mistake might have been made. It could even be the case that there was an error in the source text. The appearance of the same error in each of these documents combined with the close chronological, contextual, stylistic and geographical congruity would seem to point to there being a significant connexion between them. However, for all their similarities, it is immediately obvious that S 346 is considerably more advanced than S 217. Michael Lapidge called it "extremely ambitious" and went on to state that "by its style (especially its use of grecisms)" it anticipated "the charters of Æthelstan's reign."55 Mechthild Gretsch echoed Lapidge's sentiments: "by its ambitious vocabulary," she wrote, S 346 "adumbrates the diction of the Æthel- stan charters."56 Indeed, the complexity of S 346 can be understood on a number of levels. In terms of vocabulary, just as with S 193 and S 197, many of the words used by the author of S 346 are unprecedented in the history of Anglo-Saxon diplomatic. Words such as nubifer (a poetic word meaning "cloud-bearing"), fuscationibus (a rare word related to the idea of darkness) and obnubilant (a late Latin word meaning "to cloud over") and deprivationum (another comparatively rare word meaning "forgetfulness") were all unprecedented in Anglo-Saxon diplomatic and were unusual in An- glo-Latin generally. The word herebica (a Graecism meaning "hellish") is especially striking. A related word (erebia) was used in Boniface's fourth letter to Nidhard, written ca.720, but herebica does not, to my knowledge, appear in any other Anglo- Latin text prior to its use here. The words almificus and caelestinus are also rare and the use of Phoebus as an epithet for the sun is highly poetic. Furthermore, David Howlett has suggested that the way in which S 346 was constructed shows further evidence of the considerable intellectual dexterity of its author. As well as demon- strating the presence of a sophisticated chiasmus pattern running through the whole document, he highlighted the possibility that the draftsman inserted complicated, in- terrelated numerical patterns into the text.57 As with the Breedon charters, the work of Aldhelm cast a long shadow over S 346. The phrase litteratoriis apicibus – a phrase also used in both the Breedon charters – resembles Aldhelm's litterarum apicibus, which he used frequently, particularly in the prose De uirginitate.58 Elsewhere, caraxantis stilo in S 346 is not unlike Aldhelm's stilo historiae caraxare, again from the prose De uirginitate;59 and crucis vexillo in S 346 looks rather like vexillo crucis,60 once more from Aldhelm's prose De uirginitate. These are, admittedly, all quite short phrases, and it is not impossible that the likeness which they bear to Aldhelm's work is coincidental. How- ever, while the draftsman of S 346 may have unconsciously mimicked Aldhelm once, it seems unlikely that he would have done so by accident on three separate occasions. The natural conclusion, then, is that whoever wrote S 346 knew the work of Aldhelm, particularly the prose De uirginitate. Once more, not just the vocabulary but the whole style in which the charter is written strongly suggests the influence of Aldhelm's work. There are abundant exam- 130 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 ples of alliteration, for instance: phrases such as namque nonnullis, canitiæ contingere and obliviose obscenitatis all demonstrate the use of simple, alliterating couplets, whilst the phrase persone majoris minorisve potestatis is a more complex example. The draftsman also made extensive use of hyperbaton (vitæ turbidam discordiæ rabiem, turbines obliviose obscenitatis quatientes and almifica cælestini luminis gemma are all good examples). Inevitably, such an affected style has led to quibbles over the document's authenticity.61 However, without any obvious anachronisms, without any of the usual signs of forgery (such as a misconstructed witness list or anachronistic dating formulae) and given the existence of S 217, which seems to be a prototype of S 346, we may be relatively happy that S 346 is genuine.

Relationships Between the Charters

Clearly, there is something very unusual about the Breedon and the Worcester charters. They were not, however, the first Mercian charters to have been influenced by the work of Aldhelm. S 180 is an apparently authentic charter from the Worcester archive recording a grant of privileges from King Coenwulf of the Mercians (796–821) to Bishop Deneberht of Worcester.62 It dates from 816 – almost a quarter of a century before S 193 was written. In addition to a quotation from the Book of Revelations (qui est et qui erat et qui venturus est) the text contains at least one unambiguous quotation from Aldhelm's notoriously complicated letter to Heahfrith – pantorum procerum prætorumque63 – as well as other phrases probably drawn from Aldhelm (monarchia mundi)64 and Bede (altithrono tonanti).65 Furthermore, the technique of alliteration was used frequently throughout: in the proem alone, 12 words form alliterating patterns. Although the Latin of S 180 is neither as artful nor as elegant as that of S 193 and S 197 – the author seems generally to have copied rather than to have been inspired by Aldhelm – it remains an intriguing and conspicuous piece of drafts- manship. More or less contemporary with S 193 and S 197 is S 205. This document, which survived at Worcester, records a grant from Berhtwulf to Bishop Heahberht of Worcester. It dates from between 840 and 845.66 Alliteration is a predominant feature of its text and it contains some unusual vocabulary (such as gyrando, nutu, Theo and pantocratori). There is also a possible allusion to the work of Aldhelm in the phrase: qui cunctam mundi monarchiam celsaque cæli climata.67 Again, the Latin of S 205 is nothing like as imposing as that of S 193 and S 197 and the text is far more formulaic; nevertheless, this charter's draftsman clearly wrote with some ambition. Although the authenticity of S 205 is not certain (it contains some suspicious features which appear to render it at least partly spurious),68 its proem appears in another Worcester charter, S 210, which recorded a grant from Berhtwulf's successor, Burgred, made in 864. S 210 seems more likely to be authentic.69 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 131

Clearly, then, the work of Aldhelm was available at Worcester and Breedon in the ninth century. At the same time, there were individuals with access to it whose standard of Latinity was sufficient to enable them not only to understand, but also to quote and, in some cases, to imitate Aldhelm's highly sophisticated Latin effectively. This is not necessarily surprising: even in the ninth century, when learning and Latinity in England was, supposedly, in so dire a state, there is good reason to believe that the libraries at both Breedon and Worcester might have been well-stocked and that scribal and educational standards at these centres were maintained. The most famous member of the community at Breedon-on-the-Hill was one Tatwine, who went on to become Archbishop of Canterbury.70 Before 734, Tatwine composed a set of Enigmata in imitation of Aldhelm in which he quoted his model frequently;71 if he composed his Enigmata while still at Breedon (which, since he was only Archbishop of Canterbury for three years, seems likely), then there is good reason to believe that Breedon's "decent working library," to use Michael Lapidge's words, was well stocked with Aldhelm's work in the first half of the eighth century.72 The evidence of S 193 and S 197 suggests that the house's collection may have still been intact a hun- dred years later. However, Breedon did not emerge entirely unharmed from the First Viking Age. While the survival of the Anglo-Saxon sculpture and architecture at Breedon prove that the foundation's physical infrastructure endured to some extent, the presence of S 193 and S 197 at Worcester and Peterborough may suggest that the community fled, taking its archive with it. Perhaps the arrival of the Vikings in Not- tingham, 25 kilometres to the northeast of Breedon, in 868 was the catalyst for this relocation. The situation in Worcester was a little different. Remaining largely "un- scathed by the Viking incursions,"73 there is every reason to believe that a respectable book collection survived more or less intact at Worcester throughout the ninth century. Significantly, this collection is known to have contained a copy of Aldhelm's prose De uirginitate.74 It is clear, then, that Mercian draftsman at Worcester and Breedon read, quoted and imitated Aldhelm in their own work. Next, it is necessary to determine why they should have done so. Before the ninth century, no certainly-genuine, Anglo-Saxon charter contained such sustained and explicit literary allusions as S 193, S 197, S 217, S 346 and the other, related diplomatic material. Using Aldhelm's style in a charter was certainly a ninth-century, and most probably a Mercian innovation. Yet, it seems strange that, in an age of relative literary hibernation, so ostentatious a Latin style should have been used in so inappropriate a context as a legal document recording a land transaction, quite contrary to traditional practices. An initial clue as to the origins of this change may come from the interrelation- ships between these documents. Of course, it is impossible to know for certain whether each instance of Aldhelm's work being quoted or imitated was an isolated phenomenon, an outcome of pure coincidence, or whether some shared experience or aim connected them. Aldhelm was a well-known author whose works had been a sta- ple of the Anglo-Saxon curriculum for more than a century.75 There is every reason to 132 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 think that, for a ninth-century, Anglo-Saxon draftsman in search of a more elevated, literary register, his work would be an obvious point of reference. Yet, close inspec- tion of the manner and context in which Aldhelm's work was used in these charters century suggests further, significant connexions. It has already been observed that S 193 and S 197 are unambiguously related to each other, as are S 217 and S 346. However, the repetition of a particular set of words in S 197 and S 205 / S 210, which were issued at about the same time, may also indicate some kind of relationship between these charters. In S 197, the phrase qui monarchiam mundi tocius ac celsitudinem cælorum appears, which is very similar indeed to qui cunctam mundi monarchiam celsaque cæli climata / qui cunctam mundi monarchiam celsam celi climacterram from S 205 / S 210. A related phrase, without the addition of celsitudinem caelorum, appears in S 180: cunctaque mundi monarchia moderanti. In the tenth century, this phrase would become commonplace, particularly in the charters of Edward "the Elder" and Eadred, but in the first half of the ninth century, S 180, S 197 and S 205 / S 210 were the only extant charters to use it.76 Certain similarities are also visible between the Breedon (S 193 and S 197) and Worcester (S 217 and S 346) charters. If – and this is a big "if" – S 193 had made its way to Worcester, where it was ultimately preserved, by the 880s, then it may well have served as a stylistic model for S 217 and S 346. S 197 may also have been at Worcester prior to its removal to Peterborough.77

Breedon Charters Worcester Charters

diabolica potestate fretus per tirannicam ansu philargiriæ hoc nostrum traditionis phylargiriam vel gastrimargiam hanc donum in aliqua corrumpenda fedare nostram statutionem fringere præsumat (S pertemptent (S 217) 197)

quamdiu fides catholica et baptismum et semper quamdiu unde sacri baptismatis Christi in Bryttannia servetur (S 193) populi Anglorum sive Saxanum per fidem Christianæ religionis asspargentur (S 346) tamdiu voluerit Deus ut baptismi gratia et recta fides cum regibus ac principibus Christianis in populo fideli firmiter fideliterque permaneat in ævum (S 197) mihi et omnibus Mercis in aeternam stabilitate regni Merciorum nobis in elemosinam (S 193) eternam elemosinam (S 217)

in elemosinam sempiternam (S 197) series litterarum apicibus confirmandas ut litteratoriis apicibus omnia atquisita (S 193) (S 346)

sermocinationis litterarum apicibus confirmandos (S 197) Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 133

Some of these similarities can be paralleled in other charters and probably represent nothing more than the conventional recycling of formulae. The formula in eternam elemosinam, for instance, can be found elsewhere in Mercian diplomatic, not least in other charters issued under Berhtwulf's auspices. Other similarities between the two groups, however, may be more significant. The mention of baptism in conjunction with idea that the charter should be hon- ored so long as the Christian faith was preserved, which occurs in both Breedon charters and in S 346, is interesting in this regard. The second part of this formula is common enough – the phrase tamdiu fides Christiana in Brittannia perdurat, or words to that effect, can be traced back to the charters of Offa's reign, at least. How- ever, the idea of baptism had not been linked with it in a straightforward Anglo-Saxon charter before.78 While it is debatable how much significance should be attached to this (the two ideas are hardly alien to each other, nor is the vocabulary used to express them in any way uncommon), the parallel is, in the circumstances, striking. The use of the phrase litterarum apicibus, a likely quotation from the work of Aldhelm, is also noteworthy. Beginning with the charters of Edward "the Elder," this phrase would become common stock in tenth-century diplomatic; in the ninth century, however, it was comparatively rare.79 Another point of comparison worthy of comment is the word philargiria. Again, this word, which had been used twice by Aldhelm,80 would become common in the tenth century, but its appearance in S 197 and S 217 (where, importantly, it is used in the same context), was unique in ninth-century Anglo-Saxon diplomatic. The common denominator for all these documents, of course, is Aldhelm. Estab- lishing that the prose of a series of draftsmen who were clearly drawing upon the same source looks broadly similar is hardly revelatory. Nevertheless, the phraseologi- cal and contextual consistency with which certain "Aldhelmisms" were used across these charters seems unlikely to be entirely coincidental. Whilst it would certainly be going too far to presume that every draftsman had a detailed knowledge of every other charter in which Aldhelm's work had been quoted or his style imitated, it may be reasonable, at least, to suggest that they were aware that what they were doing was not unprecedented, for the draftsmen of S 180, S 205 / S 210, S 193, S 197, S 217 and S 346 did not quote and imitate Aldhelm at random. Instead, they chose their phrases carefully, incorporating them always into the same sections (the proems and sanctions) of their charters. They borrowed the same stylistic devices from their source (particularly alliteration, but also hyperbole and hyperbaton) and made use of them in much the same way. The overall impression is one of conscious and carefully con- trolled imitation of the work of Aldhelm, which was designed to embellish the proem and sanction, but not to obscure the functional, legal parts of the charter. Clearly, the imitation of Aldhelm was designed to have a specific impact upon the charters' audi- ence. It may be the case, then, that what we see in these charters are the visible peaks of a much broader tradition, a widely-shared enthusiasm for imitating Aldhelm in ninth-century Mercia. Aldhelm's work was accessible, well-used and, most impor- 134 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 tantly, seems to have been highly valued at this time. Quoting it in charters was certainly intended to lend those documents an unambiguous sense of intellectual gravitas.

Historical Context

Finally, it is necessary to address the question of why, all of a sudden, such intellectual gravitas was required in the context of a charter, a genre of document which had traditionally been quite stylistically mundane. At the heart of it, in all likelihood, is the role of the charter as propaganda. The PR-value of charters had long been understood. The Mercian overlord Æthelbald had exploited it fully in the eighth century, making grand claims about himself and his authority. Charters would be used like this again, albeit in an altogether more spectacular way, by King Æthelstan in the tenth century. There can be little doubt that, in the ninth century, these Mercian draftsmen were trying to impress somebody with their Latinity; but who, and why? In the 840s, King Berhtwulf had entered into a relationship of mutual benefit, perhaps even a formal alliance, with King Æthelwulf of Wessex.81 The kingdom of Wes- sex had grown significantly in power and influence by this time and had taken control of Kent.82 In S 291 (which dates from 842), Æthelwulf was styled Adeluulf Rex aus- tralium populorum,83 "Æthelwulf, King of the southern peoples." Mercia's fortunes, on the other hand, were in decline, and an army led by King Berhtwulf had been roundly defeated by the Vikings at London in 851.84 Perhaps Berhtwulf, wary of his weak position in the Mercian-West Saxon relationship,85 felt the need to emphasize the importance of his office and the independence of his kingdom. Thus, the Aldhel- mian Latin of S 193 and S 197 (and, to a lesser extent, S 205 / S 210) may have been intended to reassert Mercia's cultural superiority. Such a strategy may have been for- mulated as a response to the poor standard of Latin exhibited by some of Æthelwulf's own charters86 and to declining standards of literacy in certain parts of the south more generally. Interpreting these documents as propaganda is not a comprehensive solution, however: it does not account for the majority of charters from the 840s, '50s and '60s, many originating from Worcester, which were written in conventional diplomatic Latin. It also does not explain S 180, which was written at a time when the kingdom of the Mercians was in a much stronger position. An alternative interpretation, then, might be that the Breedon community was not trying to outdo its contemporaries in Wessex so much as it was aiming to prove that it was intellectually superior to other religious foundations within Mercia, specifically Worcester. The largesse that typified the Mercian kings' attitudes towards their favorite religious foundations in the eighth century seems, in the mid ninth century, to have given way to an altogether thriftier attitude. Indeed, there is good evidence that royal resources in the kingdom of the Mercians were stretched by the 840s: a steady stream of Mercian charters dating from Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 135 the 830s onwards no longer records the free granting land and privileges, but documents a series of sales and exchanges from which the Mercian royal treasury bene- fited significantly at the expense of the church.87 The details of the transaction recorded in S 192, moreover, suggest that Berhtwulf had gone so far as to steal land from Worcester in order to bestow it on secular recipients. The community at Breedon would likely have been aware that educational standards at Worcester remained high. Thus, the imposing style of S 193 and S 197 could have been intended to demonstrate to the king that Breedon, too, was capable not only of producing sophisticated, Ald- helmian Latin, but that it could do so in a far more sustained and impressive manner than Worcester could and, as such, was particularly deserving of the king's attention. A related, and in some ways a more satisfactory, explanation of the style of these charters might be that, with a hiatus in the production of both manuscripts and original literary works in England in the fifty years between ca.830 and ca.880, charters provided Mercia's learned scribes with their only opportunity to show off. Whereas producing manuscripts of lengthier literary works was an expensive, time-consuming and non-essential business,88 producing charters was an administrative necessity which required relatively little time, ink and vellum.89 As such, the charter became the only genre of text that was still being consistently produced and that had a good chance of being preserved for posterity. Moreover, as anyone who has ever studied Aldhelm in any depth will know, mastering the highly idiosyncratic style of the erst- while Abbot of Malmesbury requires a considerable investment of patience, skill and hard work. For the Anglo-Saxon scribe, whose many years of learning had doubtless been encouraged by liberal beatings from his Latin master,90 to conquer the work of Anglo-Saxon England's most inscrutable author only to let all that learning go to waste amongst an endless stream of insipid legalese, as was the standard for Anglo- Saxon charters, must have been heartbreaking. With little prospect of being able to copy old works, let alone write new ones, charters were these scribes' only reliable outlet for their talent. These documents may well have been designed to glorify the name of the king who issued them, or the foundation where they were preserved; but, perhaps more than anything, they stand as a powerful testimony to the impressive learning of their (sadly anonymous) authors. Of course, none of these hypotheses is mutually exclusive of any of the others. Perhaps the most likely solution, is that all factors, in different proportions at different times, combined to produce the Latin style of these documents. What matters is that they prove a sustained interest in the work of Aldhelm in ninth-century Mercia and, moreover, they demonstrate unambiguously that an Aldhelmian Latin style was a highly valued intellectual commodity at this time. The later two documents in the series, S 217 and S 346, may be a little different, however. Unlike S 180, S 193, S 197, S 205 and S 210, these charters were composed at a time when the Viking threat was being overcome and, thanks to Alfred's educational reforms, standards of literacy were on the rise. The outlook was certainly more promising in Worcester in the late 880s than it had been in Breedon-on-the-Hill in the 136 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

840s. Moreover, lengthy "literary" works were starting to appear again: Asser's "Life of King Alfred" and the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," not to mention the set of transla- tions traditionally associated with Alfred,91 were all produced in the final quarter of the ninth century and would have required a significant investment of time and resources to produce and promulgate. Thus, it was not the case in the 880s that a charter was the only medium available to an erudite scribe in which to demonstrate his Latinity. It is possible to state with some certainty that S 217 and S 346 did not represent a universal, "house style" at Worcester. They were certainly something special. Other, roughly contemporary charters from the Worcester archive which are far more conventional (S 215 dating from 875, S 218 from 883 and S 219 from 884) prove that, while it is impossible to tell how many other Worcester documents might have been composed after the manner of S 346, standard diplomatic conventions were certainly being followed at the same time. Clearly, then, the Worcester scriptorium possessed the ability to change its diplomatic register, switching from the conventional, formulaic Latin typical of so many ninth-century charters to a style clearly influenced by Aldhelm; but, importantly, it did not feel the need to do so as a matter of course. An important factor in the decision to compose S 217 and S 346 in this way may have been their context. S 217 is the only extant charter recording a gift of land to Worcester to have been witnessed by King Alfred. S 346 is the only extant charter from the Worcester archive which records a gift of land to Worcester directly from King Alfred himself.92 It is possible, therefore, that Alfred was present when these grants were made; perhaps the corresponding charters were also composed in his presence.93 As such, the proximity of the king may have affected the way in which S 217 and S 346 were written for a number of reasons. First, it is possible that his interest in learning and educational standards inspired their grand style. Bishop Wærferth of Worcester, who had been summoned to Alfred's court and was close enough to Al- fred to have been included in his will in the 880s,94 had first-hand experience of Al- fred's desire to revive literacy. He even contributed a translation of Gregory's Dia- logues to the project.95 Perhaps, then, the draftsman96 of the two charters simply wished to compose diplomas which would impress the king, who was more literate than most and in a good position to have appreciated the tone of the Latin of S 217 and S 346 even if he did not understand every word of it.97 However the idea that these documents may also have been intended as pro- Mercian propaganda is an appealing one. By the 880s, Mercia, ruled now by an ealdorman rather than its own king, had become a junior partner in the emerging "kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons." S 217, which used formulae drawn from the charters of Æthelwulf and his sons (see below), proves that Mercian draftsmen were copying (or being compelled to copy) West Saxon diplomatic models. Perhaps the ostentatious language used in S 346 was born out of a desire to compose a charter in a distinct, "Mercian" style in order to protect and promote Mercian intellectual identity. Worcester had long been an important, Mercian, ecclesiastical centre; it had been Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 137 lucky enough that its library had survived the Viking wars more or less intact; and, as we have seen, it had a history of producing, from time to time, charters written in un- characteristically ambitious, Aldhelmian Latin. It is very possible that the ostentatious style of S 346 – the only extant charter to record a gift of land directly from Alfred to a Mercian foundation – was intended to remind the West Saxon administration directly of the achievements and literary heritage of Worcester and, perhaps, of Mercia more generally.

Conclusion

S 193, S 197, S 217 and S 346, then, are remarkable documents, the more so for the fact that they were produced at a time when educational standards in England were coming under severe pressure. Importantly, neither the Breedon nor the Worcester documents existed in isolation. In addition to the links between them, and to the other Mercian documents (S 180, S 205 and S 210) which demonstrate the use of Aldhel- mian Latin, an intriguing network of common formulae and shared features tie the Breedon and Worcester charters in to the broader history of Anglo-Saxon diplomatic. The proem and royal style of S 197 were repeated in various charters from the tenth century, notably in S 364, a charter of Edward "the Elder" dating from 901; S 217, meanwhile, incorporated a proem that had previously been used in a series of charters issued by Æthelwulf and Æthelbald of Wessex in 850 and 860. Therefore, S 217 and S 346, in particular, seem to constitute a "missing link" between pre- and post- Alfredian diplomatic. They show the moment when Mercian élan coalesced with West Saxon diplomatic orderliness to create a new diplomatic style (which would come into regular use in the following century). It is fairly certain that Mercian per- sonnel were present at Alfred's court; Simon Keynes has detected evidence of Mer- cian formulation in West Saxon charters which, in his opinion, reflected their impact upon Alfred's secretariat.98 It is perhaps not surprising, then, that ideas seem to have flowed in both directions. That S 217, a nominally Mercian document, should use a proem with such a strong West Saxon pedigree but, at the same time, employ ostentatious vocabulary quite untypical of the West Saxon charters on which it drew clearly shows Mercian literary flamboyance combining with West Saxon administrative effi- ciency; that S 364, a charter of Edward the Elder, should copy the proem of a document issued by a little-known and fairly undistinguished king of the Mercians sixty years previously suggests that the ambitious style of S 197 was recognized and, moreover, highly valued at the beginning of the tenth century. Above all, though, the Breedon and Worcester charters tell us something significant about standards of literacy in ninth-century Mercia. S 180 proves that the work of Aldhelm was available to be copied into the proem of an otherwise unremarkable charter at the beginning of the ninth century. The Breedon documents prove that an interest in writing sophisticated, Aldhelmian Latin prevailed in Mercia into the middle 138 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 of that century and that the work of Aldhelm was being read, quoted, paraphrased, imitated and, most significantly, understood a full half-century before Alfred's reforms, at a time when learning and literature in Anglo-Saxon England were supposedly approaching their lowest ebb. S 205 and S 210 suggest that similar interests existed at about the same time at Worcester. S 217 and S 346 then show that these interests were certainly continued there in the final quarter of the ninth century, proving that the value of Aldhelm's work was still recognized and that copies of it were still available even after the Viking wars had done so much damage to England's educational infrastructure.99 Moreover, these diplomas prove that the charter, hitherto a straightforward legal document, came to be considered an appropriate medium for elevated, literary Latin in ninth-century Mercia. While they never lost their legal function, Anglo-Saxon charters would, in the tenth century, become formidable documents, laced with sophisticated literary devices, overflowing with references to, paraphrases of and quotations from the works of Aldhelm. To an extent, charters drove the evolution of Anglo- Latin at this time, recording for posterity the recovery and evolution of Anglo-Saxon intellectualism over the first half of the tenth century. The charters of ninth century Mercia, dating at least as far back as 816, seem to preserve the earliest shoots of this movement. Certainly, they foreshadow the dramatic transformation in charter drafts- manship that came about in Æthelstan's reign. Moreover, the language of these charters makes a reassessment of the history and origins of the "hermeneutic" style that would characterize the Anglo-Latin style of the tenth century – a style used, not least, by the charter draftsman known as "Æthelstan A" in the 920s and '30s – all the more urgent.100 Clearly, its roots, and perhaps the roots of the whole cultural resurgence of the tenth century, lie, to a greater extent than has sometimes been appreciated, in the achievements of the ninth. Overall, the florid language, abundant use of quotation and rich metaphors of these charters render them every bit as much works of original literature as they are statements of straightforward legal fact. In the 1980s, Michael Lapidge observed that "no Latin literature was written between Ædiluulf's poem [De abbatibus] and the re- vival of learning initiated by King Alfred;"101 in the 840s, Abbot Eanmund of Breedon-on-the-Hill, perhaps, would have begged to differ.

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Notes

1 Nicholas Brooks and Michael Lapidge argued that Alfred's assessment of the state of learning in England was born out, more or less, by other evidence: see Brooks (1979) and Lapidge (1996). Jennifer Morrish and Helmut Gneuss have put forward a more nuanced interpretation: see Morrish (1985) and Gneuss (1986). 2 A series of charters – S 316, S 328, S 332, S 344 and S 1195–7 – originated from Canter- bury between 853 and 873. Their poorly spelled, grammatically incompetent Latin has caught the attention of a number of commentators. See in particular Brooks (1984: 360–1 notes 67, 70, 76), Chaplais, (1978: 16 note 23), Dumville (1987: 156 note 41) and Lapidge (1996: 451). 3 Keynes (2003: 197). 4 On the history of this house in the Anglo-Saxon period see Dornier (1977). Breedon was well-placed strategically, too: see Kelly (2009: 211). I am grateful to Dr. Kelly for gener- ously sharing elements of her work on the Peterborough archive with me prior to its publi- cation. Richard North's suggestion that "Beowulf" was written at Breedon at about the same time as S 193 and S 197 were composed there – see North (2006) – is provocative. 5 Mostly on account of S 193 having survived at Worcester, it has been suggested that the Breodune mentioned in that document may be Bredon in Worcestershire, rather than Breedon-on-the-Hill in Leicestershire. Although a case may be argued in favor of Bredon, Breedon-on-the-Hill seems, on balance, to be a distinctly more likely candidate. Susan Kelly has summarized the relevant arguments: Kelly (2009: 211). On Bredon, which was a significant religious and, subsequently, secular site, see King (2012) and note 60 below. 6 The preparation of the British Academy Charters Series edition of the Worcester archive is, at the time of writing, in progress. Therefore, I have taken my text of this charter from Su- san Kelly's edition of S 193 which appears as Appendix 3 in Kelly (2009: 365–8). 144 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

7 Thorpe (1865: 92 note 1). 8 On the chronology of Aldhelm's career, see Lapidge (2007). 9 Rosalind C. Love, "The Sources of S 193," Fontes Anglo-Saxonici: World Wide Web Reg- ister, http://fontes.english.ox.ac.uk/, accessed February 2013. 10 See, for instance, the opening of Aldhelm's letter to Heahfrith which begins: Primitus pantorum procerum praetorumque pio potissimum, Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 488). On Ald- helm's use of alliteration in his verse, see Orchard (1994: 42–54); on his prose style, see Winterbottom (1977). 11 See Michael Lapidge (1996 [1]). 12 Orchard (1995: 454). 13 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 281). 14 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 481). 15 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 489). 16 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 251). 17 The phrase caelestis bibliotheca may, itself, be a quotation from the work of Aldhelm; cf. Ehwald (1919: 266, 492). 18 A seventeenth-century transcript by Patrick Young also exists: London, BL, Cotton Vitel- lius C. IX. 19 See Ker (1985: 65–7) and Tinti (2002: 243 note 33). 20 Various phrases in S 197, such as hanc libertatis gratiam and in eorum sacris orationibus appear in the Tiberius but not the Nero version of S 193. Perhaps the most telling evidence is the phrase quorum subter nomina notata sunt, appears in the Tiberius version of both S 193 and S 197. In the Nero version of S 193 the phrase is simplified to: nomina hic no- tantur. The general complexity of the prose style of S 197 and its frequent use of challenging vocabulary (which is almost completely absent from the Nero version of S 193) seems to have much more in common with the Tiberius version of S 193. 21 Ker (1985: 59, 67–8). 22 Anglo-Saxon charters continued to mention angels with some regularity in the late ninth and tenth centuries. Interesting discussions may be found in: Rumble (2002: 65–97) and Johnson (1998). 23 This text was available from an early stage in Anglo-Saxon England: Lapidge (2006: 304– 5). 24 On which see Cramp (1977). 25 Baldwin Brown (1937: 191). See also Jewell (1986). 26 The scholarship on Christian themes in Anglo-Saxon sculpture is considerable. Modern discussions of the topic can be found in (for example) Hawkes (2005) and Brown (2007). 27 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 13, 423). 28 O'Donovan (1972: 43–4; and 1988: 23). 29 Barrow (2005: 109–10). 30 They are S 191(which has suspicious features), S 192, S 193, S 194, S 195 (which is a clear forgery), S 196, S 197, S 198, S 199, S 200 (which is a clear forgery), S 201(which is a clear forgery), S 202 (which is a clear forgery), S 203 (which has suspicious features), S 204 and S 205. 31 Of some interest, however, is S 191. Written in distinctive, though not exactly Aldhelmian Latin, this charter is out of step with contemporary diplomatic practice. It opens with an impressive account of Nimrod's construction of the Tower of Babel and contains some unusual vocabulary. However, the unusual appearance of S 191 has led to doubts over its authenticity. See O'Donovan (1973: 91). 32 Stevenson (1911). Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 145

33 Hagen (1880). 34 Legendre (1910). 35 Garrod (1912: 408). Richard North followed Garrod's dating of the epigram in North (2006). However, he did not engage with the rest of the scholarship (including the work of Barrow and Contreni) surrounding it. 36 Contreni, (2003: 381–3). I am grateful to Professor Nicholas Brooks for suggesting an alternative and credible interpretation of this abbreviation as octametri Augusti, or perhaps even octametri Aldhelmi, if Auģ is understood as an error for Ald'i. 37 Contreni (2003: 382): "Octavę sancti Germani." 38 Contreni (2003: 393). 39 Contreni (2003: 393–4). 40 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 477). 41 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 608). 42 See Stenton (1970) and O'Donovan (1988: 23). However, Stenton later changed his opinion: see Stenton (1955: 54). Susan Kelly's arguments in its favor are compelling: see Kelly (2009: 208–9). 43 Kelly (2009: no. 8). 44 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 265, 276). 45 The phrase monarchiam mundi tocius was possibly been drawn from the prose De uirginitate. Rosalind C. Love, "The Sources of S 197," Fontes Anglo-Saxonici: World Wide Web Register, http://fontes.english.ox.ac.uk/, accessed February 2013. 46 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 252). 47 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 232). 48 Another charter from Worcester, S 218 which dates from 883, also contains an unusual proem. In due course, it may come to stand as further evidence of the ambitious Latin style practiced at Worcester at the end of the ninth century. However, S 218 is an odd document, most of which is in Old English. Moreover, its authenticity has yet to be satisfactorily established. For these reasons I have not included it in this discussion. 49 The text of this charter is poor and this line is clearly corrupt. Perhaps under the influence of the phrase aeterna et cælestis patriæ praemia mercanda sunt (found in another Mercian charter, S 56, amongst other documents), the scribe has miscopied the line. In all likelihood, it should read beati quique ac sapientes cum hiis fugitiuis seculi diuitiis eterna et iu- giter permansura gaudia celestis patrie adipisci properant, as it does in the same formula in S 300, for example. I have followed Birch's edition here, but have left the line untrans- lated as it is nonsensical. 50 I have presumed this word to be a misreading of ausu. 51 Birch (1885–1895: no. 547). 52 The loudest voice of opposition was Wendy Davies: see Davies (1972). 53 Birch (1885–95: no. 561). 54 Bede: Colgrave and Mynors (1969: 234–5, 238–9, 268–9, 270–1, 390–1). 55 Lapidge (1993: 10 note 25). 56 Gretsch (1999: 342). 57 Howlett (1999: 50–5) 58 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 562). 59 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 479). 60 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 240). 61 Dorothy Whitelock initially accepted certain elements of S 346 in Whitelock (1975: 16). Later, she came to see it as substantially authentic: Whitelock (1979: 77). 146 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

62 On the authenticity of this document, see Cubitt (1995: 285). Two other charters, S 179 and S 181, have strong formulaic links to S 180 and its Aldhelmian proem and may be at least partially genuine. 63 Exactly the same words are used in the same order in the opening line of Aldhelm's Epis- tola ad Heahfridum. Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 488). 64 The phrase was used frequently by Aldhelm. Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 649). 65 Rosalind C. Love, "The Sources of S 180," Fontes Anglo-Saxonici: World Wide Web Reg- ister, http://fontes.english.ox.ac.uk/, accessed February 2013. The same words were also used by Aldhelm. 66 For the dating of this charter, see O'Donovan (1972: 18 note 1). 67 The combination of these words, given their obvious associations, was not uncommon in the Middle Ages. However, Aldhelm used comparable phrases with some frequency. See Aldhelmi opera, p. 570 and note 53 above. In particular, Aldhelm used the words caelum and climata together twice, once in his verse De uirginitate – Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 464 – and once in the prose version of the same work – Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 260). 68 See Stenton (1970: 59, note 3), Ker (1985: 59, 67–8) and Davies (1972: 471, 476). While the proem, in which the Aldhelmian features and unusual vocabulary is to be found, does look incongruous, it is not obviously spurious. 69 See Stenton (1955: p. 49) and Gelling (1979: no. 256). Gelling believed that S 210 was the "lost" charter referred to in a later document, S 361, issued at the beginning of the tenth century by Edward "the Elder." 70 On whom see Law (1983: 61–2, 66–9). 71 Andy Orchard, "The Sources of Tatwine's Enigmata," Fontes Anglo-Saxonici: World Wide Web Register, http://fontes.english.ox.ac.uk/, accessed February 2013. 72 Lapidge (2006: 44). 73 Lapidge (1993: 6). See also Dumville (2005: 317–8). 74 A manuscript containing the text was probably written there at the end of the ninth century: Oxford, Bodleian Library, Harley 5.f.iii. See Gneuss (2001: 81, no. 462). 75 On which see Gneuss (1990) and Porter (1994). 76 The whole phrase appears in S 181; this charter, however, is generally agreed to have been forged on the basis of S 180. However, the phrase monarchia mundi appears by itself relatively frequently, in S 1412 (Peterborough, 786×796), S 1433 (Worcester, 824) and S 268 (Abingdon, 801) amongst others. 77 Exactly how S 197 and S 193 ended up at Peterborough and Worcester respectively is an interesting question. The most obvious scenario is that both charters were carried to Worcester in the ninth century, from where S 197 was transported to Peterborough when the house was refounded by Æthelwold in 966. At any rate, its absence from the Liber Wigornensis (in which S 193 was preserved) suggests that S 197 was not at Worcester in the early eleventh century, when that manuscript was being compiled. 78 See Susan Kelly's comments in Kelly (2009: 213). The ideas do appear together in a number of clearly forged charters which supposedly predate the Breedon charters. However, comparable formulae can be found in this context in S 1431a and S 1436, which are (authentic) decrees of the councils of Clofesho, dating from 803 and 827 respectively. 79 The phrase was used in two other charters supposedly from the ninth century: S 281 pur- ports to be a grant of King Ecgberht of Wessex dating from 838, but it is not considered genuine in its current form and is thought to be based largely on S 1438, which does not in- clude the phrase; S 354, a charter of Alfred dated 878×899, is not thought to be wholly authentic either. 80 Aldhelm: Ehwald (1919: 670). Mediaevistik 26 · 2013 147

81 Booth (1998). See also Simon Keynes, "King Alfred and the Mercians" in the same vol- ume, pp. 1–46. Compare with Keynes's earlier remarks in Keynes and Lapidge (198: 12). 82 For a discussion of the importance of Kent to ninth-century English politics, see Keynes (1993). 83 On which see Campbell (1973: xxiii–iv, 24, note 1). 84 Asser: Keynes and Lapidge (1983: 68). Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 850 (= 851): Wihtelock (1979: 188). 85 Booth (1998: 63–6). 86 See S 296, for instance. 87 S 190 (836) records a grant of privileges to the minster at Hanbury, Worcs., in return for a significant amount of land and the payment of 600 shillings in gold to Sigered, the kingdom's leading ealdorman. S 192 (840) restores estates to Worcester, but only in return for gifts of treasure and horses. S 193 itself records a grant of privileges paid for with 120 gold mancuses. S 194 (841) grants privileges in return for three pounds of silver. S 196 (840) records a counter-payment of 31 mancuses for a gift of 10 hides. S 198 (844) grants privileges to Worcester in return for ten pounds of silver. These and further examples are discussed in Campbell (1989). See also Fleming (1985). 88 A fine account of the complexities and expense involved in preparing writing materials in the early Middle Ages may be found in Bischoff (1986). 89 A survey of the extent to which literacy declined in mid-ninth-century England, with some useful observations about the contemporary charter record, can be found in Lapidge (1996: 434–6). See also note 1 above. 90 On the Anglo-Saxon curriculum (and the use of beating in monastic schools), see Porter (1994) and Gwara and Porter (1997). 91 The view that Alfred himself was closely connected with the production of these works has been questioned. See Godden (2007) and Godden (2009). Janet Bately's response to God- den is informative: Bately (2009). 92 S 223 is an Old English grant recording that Worcester had been fortified at Wærferth's re- quest and that a subsequent grant of rights had been made directly to Worcester by Ealdor- man Æthelred and Æthelflæd 884×901. The grant records that Æthelred and Æthelflæd had made the grant on Ælfredes cyninges gewitnesse. However, the charter has no witness list. The extent to which Alfred was actually involved in the grant is open to debate. Certainly, the charter does not record a grant directly from Alfred himself. 93 The precise rituals involved in the granting of land in early medieval Europe remain obscure. However, there is some reason to believe that, on at least some occasions, the text of the charter which recorded the grant, or at least the bounds of the estate, may have been re- cited in the presence of the king and witnesses when the grant was made. The scholarship surrounding the issue is considerable: see, for instance, Bautier (1990). For the Anglo- Saxon context, see Kelly (1992) and Insley (2003). These days, one must approach "ritual" in the Middle Ages with some reservations: see the various contributions of Gerd Althoff, Gert Melville, Claude Gauvard and especially Philippe Buc to Schmitt and Oexle (2002), and also Buc (2001). 94 Asser: Keynes and Lapidge (1983: 92–3). Alfred's will is classified as S 1507 and is trans- lated in Keynes and Lapidge (1983: 173–8) and Whitelock (1979: no. 96). 95 Asser: Keynes and Lapidge (1983: 92). 96 The similarities between S 217 and S 346 may suggest that they are the work of a single draftsman. On the face of it, given the charters' provenance at Worcester and the prominent role played by him in the Alfredian "renaissance," Bishop Wærferth himself might seem an obvious candidate. However, his rather plodding rendering of Gregory's Dialogues into Old 148 Mediaevistik 26 · 2013

English – on which see Yerkes (1982) and Godden (1997) – does not inspire faith in his having been a particularly good Latinist. 97 Asser records that Alfred did not begin to learn Latin until the end of 887, Asser: Keynes and Lapidge (1983: 99–100), although he had learned to read aged about twelve; Asser: Keynes and Lapidge (1983: pp. 74–5). 98 Keynes (1994: 1137). 99 For a survey of the extent to which indigenous manuscripts of Aldhelm's work survived the first Viking Age, see Lapidge (1996: 419–22). 100 On which see Lapidge (1993 [1]). 101 Lapidge (1996 [2]: 25).