Published online by Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Homepage: www.rochestercathedralresearchguild.org Æthelred s Woodstock Code, also known as I Æthelred: Textus Roffensis, ff. 46r-47r Translated from Old English and edited Abstract: This is the decree which King Æthelred and his council decreed at Woodstock for all the people as a remedy of peace in Mercia according to English law... To cite this report: Monk, C. (2017) Æthelred s Woodstock Code, also known as I Æthelred: Textus Roffensis, ff. 46r-47r; Translated from Old English and edited. Rochester: Rochester Cathedral Research Guild. To link to this article: https://rochestercathedralresearchguild.org/bibliography/2017-03 Published online: 1 st August 2017 General Queries: jacob.scott@rochestercathedralresearchguild.org Produced by permission of. All rights reserved to the author. Any views and opinions expressed in this work are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of either the Research Guild or the Dean and Chapter.
Textus Roffensis, Rochester, Cathedral Library, MS A. 3. 5, f. 46r Published online by the Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Page 2 of 8
Textus Roffensis, Rochester, Cathedral Library, MS A. 3. 5, f. 46v Published online by the Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Page 3 of 8
Textus Roffensis, Rochester, Cathedral Library, MS A. 3. 5, f. 47r Published online by the Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Page 4 of 8
Æthelred s Woodstock Code, also known as I Æthelred: Textus Roffensis, ff. 46r-47r Translated from Old English and edited by Dr Christopher Monk 2017 DECREE OF KING ÆTHELRED This is the decree which King Æthelred and his council decreed at Woodstock for all the people as a remedy of peace in Mercia according to English law: That is, that every freeman have a trustworthy surety, that the surety hold him to all justice, if he be charged. If he then be accused, he should go to the three-fold ordeal. If the lord should declare that neither oath nor ordeal failed for him since the assembly at Bromdune: 1 let the lord take for him two trustworthy thegns, from within the hundred, and swear that neither oath failed for him nor did he pay a thief s fine unless he has the reeve, who is worthy to do this, and he may do this. If the oath then is forthcoming, then let the person who be accused choose whichever he will, whether the single ordeal, or the oath worth a pound within the three hundred, [if the suit is] over thirty pennies. If then they dare not give an oath, let him go to the three-fold ordeal. If then he be judged guilty, at the first occurrence he shall compensate the plaintiff two-fold and the lord with his wergeld; and let trustworthy sureties be appointed so that he henceforth desist from every evil. And at the second occurrence, let there not be any other compensation there except his head. 2 If he should then escape and avoid the ordeal, let the surety compensate the plaintiff with the market price of his goods, and to the lord his wergeld, who is entitled to his fine. And if someone should accuse the lord, that it was by his counsel that he escaped and committed the wrong, let him [the lord] take five thegns, and be himself a sixth, and defend himself from this. And if the defence is forthcoming, let him be entitled to the wergeld. And if it be not forthcoming, let the king take the wergeld, and let the thief become an outlaw against all 1 Bromdune, unidentified; possibly the same as Brumdon in Dorset (Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary: http://bosworth.ff.cuni.cz/005208; accessed 07/07/2017) 2 Actually reads the lord ( þæt hlaford ); but compare the later clause regarding the slave, where the head ( þæt heafod ) is given. It is likely either hlaford was used in error, or it was being used metaphorically, since the lord is indeed the head of his people. Published online by the Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Page 5 of 8
the people.and let every lord have his retainers 3 in his own surety. If he [a retainer] then should stand accused and he should escape, let the lord pay the man s wergeld to the king. And if someone should accuse the lord, that it was by his counsel that he escaped, let him defend himself with five thegns, and be himself a sixth. If for him the defence should fail, let him pay the king his wergild and let the man be an outlaw. And let the king be entitled to every fine which the men who have bookland pay out, and let no one compound 4 for any accusation unless it be by witness of the king s reeve. And if a slave is judged guilty at the ordeal, one should brand him at the first occurrence, and at the second occurrence, there should be no other pay-back there except his head. And that no one neither sell nor barter unless he have surety and a witness. If then someone should do this, let the land-lord take and hold the property 5 until he understands who owns it rightfully. And if someone should be untrustworthy to all the people, one should go to the king s reeve and bring him [the untrustworthy one] under surety, so that one may bring him to justice, to those who accused him. If he then does not have surety, let him be slain, and lie in guilt; and if someone should defend him beforehand, may they both prove at once to be straight. And he who obstructs this, and does not wish to carry it out, just as we all say: let him give the king 120 shillings. 3 literally, household-men. 4 compound: forbear from prosecuting (a felony) in exchange for money or other consideration (Oxford Dictionary of English). 5 or livestock. Published online by the Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Page 6 of 8
Old English text, directly from Textus Roffensis N.B. The digital facsimile of this text can be found by going to: http://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/man4medievalvc~4~4~990378~142729?page=0. Then type n99 into the page search box; the text begins on the right-hand folio and continues overleaf for two further pages. Editorial notes: Italics indicate my expansion of a scribal abbreviation; > < indicates a scribal insertion; modern punctuation is used; 7 represents the Tironian nota (equivalent to & ); coloured font represents coloured letters in the manuscript; and emboldened letters represents large display letters. Æþelredes cyninges gerædnisse. ÐIS is seo gerædnys ðe æþelred cyning 7 his witan geræddon eallon folce to friþes bote æt wudestoce, on myrcenalande æfter engla lage, þæt is þæt ælc freo-man getreowne borh hæbbe, þæt se borh hine to ælcon rihte gehealde gif >he< betyhtlad wurðe. Gif he ðonne tyht-bysig sy, gange to þam þryfealdan ordale. Gif se hlaford sæcge þæt him naðer ne burste, ne að, ne ordal syððan þæt gemot wæs æt bromdune. Nime se hlaford him twegen getreowe þegenas, innan þam hundrede, 7 swerian þæt him næfre að ne burste, ne he þeof-gyld ne gulde, butan he þone gerefan hæbbe, þe þæs wyrðe sy, þe þæt don mæge. Gif se að þonne forð-cume, ceose se man þonne þe þær be-tyht let sy, swa hweðer he wylle, swa anfeald ordal, swa pundes wurþne að, innan þam þrim hundredan ofer þrittig peninga. Gif hy þonne aþ syllan ne durron, gange to þam þryfealdan ordale. Gif he þonne ful wurðe, æt þam forman cyrre bete þam teonde twygylde, 7 þam hlaforde his were, 7 sette getreowe borgas þæt he ælces yfeles geswice eft. 7 æt þam oþran cyrre, ne sy þær nan oðer bot butan þæt hlaford[;] gif he þonne ut-hleape 7 þæt ordal forbuge, gylde se borh þam teonde his ceap-gyld, 7 þam hlaforde his were, þe his wites wyrðe sy. 7 gyf mon þone hlaford teo þæt he be his ræde utt-hleope, 7 ær unriht worhte, nime him fif þegnas to, 7 beo him sylf sixta, 7 ladie hine þæs. 7 gif seo lad forð cume, beo he þæs weres wurðe. 7 gif heo forð ne cume, fo se cyning to þam were, 7 beo se þeof ut-lah wið eall folc; 7 hæbbe ælc hlaford his hired-men, on his agenon borge. Gif he ðonne betyhtled wurðe, 7 he utt oþhleape, gylde se hlaford þæs mannes were þam cyninge. 7 gif man þone hlaford teo þæt he be his ræde ut-hleope, ladie hine mid fif þegnum, 7 beo him sylf sixta. Gif him seo lad byrste, gylde þam cynge his were, 7 sy se man ut-lah. 7 beo se cyng ælc þæra wita wyrðe þe þa men gewyrcen þe bocland habban, 7 ne bete nan man for nanre tyhtlan butan hit sy >þæs< cynges gerefan gewitnesse. 7 gif þeow-man ful wurðe æt þam ordale, mearcie man hine æt ðam forman cyrre, 7 æt ðam oðrum cyrre ne sy þær nan oþer bot buton þæt heafod. 7 þæt nan man ne do naþor ne ne bycge, ne ne hwirfe buton he borh hæbbe, 7 gewitnesse. Gif hit þonne hwa do fo se land-hlaford to, 7 healde þæt orf oð þæt man wite hwa hit age mid rihte. 7 gif hwylc man sy þe eallon folce ungetrywe sy, fare þæs cynges gerefa to, 7 gebringe hine under borge, þæt hine man to rihte gelæde, þam þe him onspræcon. Gif he ðonne borh næbbe, slea mon hine, 7 on ful lecge, 7 gif hwa hine forenne forstande, beon hy Published online by the Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Page 7 of 8
begen anes rihtes wyrðe. 7 se þe þys forsytte, 7 hit geforðian nylle, swa ure ealra cwide is, sylle þam cynge cxx scllingas. Published online by the Rochester Cathedral Research Guild Page 8 of 8