Aspects of Charters

This section of the Kemble website focusses on the documents themselves. Content will soon be added and developed under each of the headings in the section sub-menu.

The corpus comprises about 1500 texts, of which about 300 are preserved in single-sheet form (including originals, later copies, and forgeries), and of which the remainder are preserved as copies entered in medieval cartularies, or as transcripts made by early modern antiquaries.

Royal DiplomasThe term 'Anglo-Saxon charter' covers a multitude of documents ranging in kind from the royal diplomas issued in the names of Anglo-Saxon kings from the seventh century onwards to the Norman Conquest, which are almost invariably…2,076 words · updated Nov 2016
Interactive CharterThe document below is a single-sheet royal diploma of King Æthelstan, written in 931 by the royal scribe known as ‘Æthelstan A’: a grant of nine hides at Ham,…801 words · updated Jul 2026
Naming of PartsThe heading is taken from the poem by Henry Reed (1914-86), first published in The New Statesman in 1942. Here the application is not to a rifle (uel sim.), but to a…680 words · updated Nov 2016
'Private' CharterThe heading is taken from the poem by Henry Reed (1914-86), first published in The New Statesman in 1942. Here the application is not to a rifle (uel sim.), but to a…680 words · updated Nov 2016
Royal WritsThe surviving corpus of the category of Anglo-Saxon vernacular documents known as 'writs' were brought together and edited, with translations and detailed commentaries,…145 words · updated Nov 2016
Vernacular ChartersAbout 200 texts. Content to be developed.> H. M. Chadwick's scheme to produce new editions, with translation and commentary, of all surviving charters in the vernacular…372 words · updated Nov 2016
Boundary ClausesInformation on boundary-clauses in Anglo-Saxon royal diplomas. To be continued. For further information about boundary-clauses, visit the website of the LangScape…74 words · updated Nov 2016
ManuscriptsText to be developed.> Remarks about the various forms in which texts of charters have been preserved. Single sheets of various kinds. Medieval monastic cartularies…85 words · updated Nov 2016
Editions of ChartersThe first collected edition of Anglo-Saxon charters was compiled by John Mitchell Kemble, whose Codex Diplomaticus was published in six volumes between 1839 and 1848.…284 words · updated Jul 2026
Additions to the CorpusSeveral 'new' charters (or improved texts of charters known hitherto from inferior transcripts) have come to light since the publication of Sawyer's catalogue in 1968.…279 words · updated Nov 2016
Citing ChartersThere are various ways of citing charters for scholarly purposes, none of which is necessarily better than any other; but one has to decide what system to use, and to…556 words · updated Nov 2016
Translations of ChartersIf a translation of a given charter has been published, this should become clear from the entry for the charter in the 'Electronic Sawyer'. Only a relatively small…142 words · updated Nov 2016
Atlas of AttestationsAn Atlas of Attestations in Anglo-Saxon Charters c. 670--1066 presents in tabular form a systematic representation of all names recorded in the witness-lists of royal…723 words · updated Sep 2026
Conspectus of Anglo-Saxon ChartersThe Conspectus of Anglo-Saxon Charters 600–1066 (in progress) is intended to serve as a systematic guide to the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters (royal and…391 words · updated Sep 2026

In preparation

These pages are planned or being transferred from the old site. Suggestions for content are welcome.

  • Folkland and Bookland The four texts in which the word 'folkland' appears, and its meaning in relation to or in contrast with 'bookland'. Aspects of 'bookland', as they emerge from the corpus of royal diplomas.

For a listing of all charters, see the Electronic Sawyer.