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Wills and Inheritance in Late Anglo-Saxon England 871-1066. Hemming, Eric Whiteside

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Wills and Inheritance in Late Anglo-Saxon England 871-1066. Hemming, Eric Whiteside Wills and inheritance in late Anglo-Saxon England 871-1066. Hemming, Eric Whiteside The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author For additional information about this publication click this link. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/handle/123456789/1446 Information about this research object was correct at the time of download; we occasionally make corrections to records, please therefore check the published record when citing. For more information contact [email protected] Wills and Inheritance in Late Anglo-Saxon Englandq 871-1066. Submitted for the degree of Ph. D in History by Eric Whiteside Hemming Queen Mary and Westfield College 11 N ABSTRACT In this thesis, the sources considered suitable for the study of inheritance were reviewed, and a theoretical model for a system of customary inheritance was developed. The study divides into two partseach relating either to the sources or to the model. The first part of the thesis re-evaluates the traditional divisions of sources for the study of inheritance and devises new divisions for use in this study. The second part of the thesis uses these new divisions in developing a model for the operation of inheritance and discusses the role of these sources in relation to that model. In place of the traditional division of source material for the study of inheritance, a system was devised consisting of two broad areas: Wills and Additional Documents. The area of Wills was divided into the following headings: Written Wills, Oral Declarations, Category A, B, or C Lost Wills, and Grants made while Dying. Additional Documents included the following material: Reference to an Inheritance, Reference to Property Descent, and Documents relevant to the nature of wills. The merits and limitations of these sources were discussed with reference to their preservation whether as single sheet contemporary copies or in cartularies. The theoretical model for a system of customary inheritance is relatively simple. The relationship between that system and the sources alters the traditional perspective on those sources with the result that the evidence from written wills is seen as supplemental rather than central to the study of inheritance. From this new perspective, it becomes apparent that the property donated inside wills represents only a portion of a donor's total possessions and that in the operation of the customary inheritance system, male donees are preferred as the recipients of landed property. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chap ter One Lovic- 0- kP- S-. 5 '.' A Me- -ý -rces .............. Chapter Two. Or-lý'+j +Le Written Sc, 30 ' 4rces ........... Chapter Threet \A/;Il Pcoa,., Preserv,. 61 -fic- owcL k-i'-^-. ---a-. a.. Chapter Four: t-ke ke-c. 45 127 a.,cL ......... Chapter Fivel. R. If. W. 185 ,. & t4 -j -Its ..... Chapter Six: Tke Pfo ;. st'41'es A&ý,, e ferý' ) ' \Zlis- r-o,.,c ..... 240 Chapter Seven: Co., 281 ......................... APPENDICES I \Al, f VJ 115 Appendix *. - If en i 296 ........................ Appendix I10 I 19e, aro, 6omss--aawv6a0aa. s. a. 0.... 298 Appendix 0ý4%ý 299 Moo(e \, /kile ................ Appendix IV,. ........................ 300 Appendix V. 302 ' Rekereýn,es -t. P,,,rQ., rfl Descent ............... Appendix V I% Refar*Aces 303 fo- a-i lkeirt'f., -,ce .............. Appendix VIII- 304 Pele\/otv%ktv"týeN&-ttAeq Wý((-s ..... Appendix VIII: to-st ýo%-N-( Will 305 ýJi(ls -'.i K,'. 3 Alýred's ........ Bibliography 306 ................................... CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS S-'ýIe Sýeef Chart 3.1 '. ý ..... 63 Diagram 4.1 145 0 s-t,,.ctýwe o, .... Fct.., Sccw% 146 Diagram 4.2 'Ij Str-L,,f, 4,re tLe De 04sesw;-e .... Alýjoo, SCAJ (Zq. Se I-, 253 Diagram 6.1 F, ,, I) Tree., .... 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many individuals whom I would like to thank for their assistance, both personal and professional, but cannot owing to the constraints of space. To those who are unnamed here, I offer my sincerest thanks and assurance that your contributions have not gone unnoticed. I would like to express my special gratitiude to my supervisor, Professor Henry R. Loyn, for his encouragement, support and learned guidance. My thanks also to Michelle McFarling without whom life would have been infinitely poorer. My mother, Margot Whiteside, deserves special thanks both for her belief in the value of learning and for her financial support during my period of studies. In regard to financial support, I must also thank my grandparents. My thanks also to all the members of staff at the Institute of Historical Research, London, for their help and for financial assistance in the preparation of this thesis. The contributions made to the creation of this thesis by the following are diverse but are acknowledged with warmth: my fellow Anglo-Saxon history post-graduates; the members of the Early Medieval History Seminar held at the Institute of Historical Research; the committee and members of the London Society for Medieval Studies; the members of the 'Canadian Club'and finally, my fellow Carus-Wilsonites. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. David Crouch for employing me as his research assistant. It was an excellent learning opportunity and was also good fun. I should also thank Margaret Hickson without whose speedy and accurate typing my thesis would still be 'in progress'. It remains only for me to claim the mistakes in this thesis as my own, which I do. Eric Whiteside Hemming Sevenoaks, 1991. 4 "t So`e4e" CHAPTER ONE, A IV*--o Loot-- -c- The history of the study of wills reflects the changes and increasing professionalization of history as a discipline. As this thesis draws on both the techniques and conclusions of earlier works, it is first necessary to make apparent the body of scholarship on which it draws. Wills exercised a curious fascination for the antiquarians. Early source collections included wills and considerable awareness was shown with regard to their distinction from the bulk of evidence represented by charters and chronicle material. Wills were visibly different, and this difference was worthy of comment. With the increasingly legal historical interests of the nineteenth and twentieth century, comment focused on the legal nature of wills. Evidence provided by wills was grist for the mills of debate concerning the development of testament as a legal act and as a legal document. Scholars of the calibre of H. Brunner', F. Pollock and F. W. Maitlan&2 H. D. Hazelting to few, derived and , name a from the wills evidence for complex technical arguments which placed Anglo-Saxon wills into the history of bequest stretching from the Germanic past to the late middle ages. In tandem with the legal interests came the 'For a useful discussion of German work in this area see M. M. Sheehan, The Will in I'ledieval England, Pontifical Institute Medieval Studies Studies Texts, Vol. of , and 6 1-ora^to 1963) pp. 6-10. Hereafter this work will be cited as 'Sheehan-Will'. ý"F. Pol lock and F. W. Maitland, The History of English Law, VOI. IIO Second Edition (Cambridge, pp. 240-363. 'Anglo-Saxon Wills, edited by Dorothy Whitelock (Cambridge, 1930). Hereafter this work will be cited as 'Whitelock-Wills'. The general preface to this work, pp. vii-xl, is by H. D. Hazeltine. Hereafter references to that preface will be cited as 'Hazeltine-Preface'. 5 desire for a purity of text, and the study of wills benefitted from the production of superior editions. Individual collections of source material, such as those of Walter de Gray Birch', J. M. Kemble', J. Earle'6 and B. Thorpe-7 grew out of, and stimulated, interest in documents of the Anglo-Saxon period. From their efforts arose better editions possessing critical apparatus and a greater degree of sensitivity to textual variations. The A. S. Napier W. H. Stevensone, F. E. Harmer9 D. works of and , Whitelock": ' and A. J. Robertsor+j- represent the early fruition of this kind of scholarly pursuit--a pursuit 4Walter de Gray Birch, Cartularium Saxonicum: A Collection of Charters Relating to Anglo-Saxon History, Vol. I (London, 1BB5), Vol. II (London, 1BB7, reprinted New York, 1964), Vol. III (London, 1B93, reprinted New York, 1964). Hereafter references to this work will be cited as 'C. S. ' followed by the document number in that work.. 'J. Kemble, Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici, Vol M. - I (London, 1839), Vol. II (London, 1840), Vol. III (London, 1845), Vol. IV (London, 1846), Vol. V (London, 1847), Vol. VI (London, 1848). Hereafter references to this work will be cited as 'K' followed by the document number in this work. ,!2:, 1. Earle, A Hand-Book to the Land-Charters, and Other Saxonic Documents (Oxford, 188e). 7B. Thorpe, Diplomatarium Anglicum ýFvi Saxonici (London, 1865). 'The Crawford Collection of Early Charters and Documents, Now in the Bodleian Library, edited by A. S. Napier and W. H. Stevenson (Oxford, 1895). Hereafter this work will be cited as 'Crawford Collection'. 'Select English Historical Documents of the Ninth and Tenth Centuries, edited by F. E. Harmer (Cambridge, 1914). Hereafter this work will be cited as 'SEHD'. See also F. E. Harmer, Anglo-Saxon Writs (Manchester, 1952). Hereafter this work will be cited as 'Harmer-Writs'. "'Whitelock-Wills. "'Anglo-Saxon Charters, Second Editiono edited by Robertson 1956). Hereafter this A. J. 9 work will be cited as 'Robertson-Charters'. 6 ongoing today and which is perhaps best represented by the British Academy series of Anglo-Saxon charters. it is remarkable that the theoretical interest in Anglo- Saxon wills has not kept pace with the interest shown in presenting a better text. The major theoretical works on Anglo-Saxon wills today are the preface by H.
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