Hall of Fame

The Anglo-Saxon Charters ‘Hall of Fame’ provides information on a wide range of antiquaries, collectors, and other scholars, who have contributed in their very different ways to the development of this field of study.

AAntiquariesThis page is to be developed as a biographical register of antiquaries (16th–19th centuries) known to have taken an interest in the evidence of Anglo-Saxon charters,…119 words · updated Sep 2026
Sir Robert Cotton(1571-1631). A statesman, and an antiquary, whose spectacular collection of manuscripts forms the basis of the national collection in the British Library.645 words · updated Nov 2016
Sir William Dugdale(1605–86). A protégé of Sir Henry Spelman, and the archetypal antiquary of the seventeenth century.117 words · updated Nov 2016
GGeorge Hickes(1642-1715).69 words · updated Nov 2016
Humfrey Wanley(1672-1726). A pioneer in the study of Anglo-Saxon manuscripts; and among the first to appreciate the special value of charters for palaeographical purposes.2,098 words · updated Nov 2016
John Mitchell Kemble(1807-57). Pioneer in the study of Old English language and literature; pioneer in the study of Anglo-Saxon charters, and Anglo-Saxon history; pioneer in the study of Anglo-Saxon archaeology; and much else besides. See sidebar…502 words · updated Sep 2026
WWalter de Gray Birch(1842–1924). A highly productive scholar, based in the British Museum. Editor of the Cartularium Saxonicum: a Collection of Charters relating to Anglo-Saxon History, published in three volumes between 1885 and 1893.424 words · updated Dec 2016
WW. H. StevensonW. H. Stevenson (1858-1924) was born in Nottingham, and was educated in Hull.  For a while, in the 1880s, he conducted research for the Nottingham borough council, and…722 words · updated Dec 2016
GG. B. GrundyGeorge Beardoe Grundy (1861-1948) was a classicist, and for many years a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. At the end of the Great War, when he was approaching…380 words · updated Dec 2016
HHector Munro Chadwick(1870–1947). Author of Studies on Anglo-Saxon Institutions (Cambridge, 1905), among many other works; encouraged his pupils Florence Harmer, Jane Robertson and Dorothy Whitelock to produce editions, with translations and…103 words · updated Dec 2016
Sir Frank Stenton(1880–1967). Author of Anglo-Saxon England (Oxford, 1943), and of The Latin Charters of the Anglo-Saxon Period (Oxford, 1955).24 words · updated Dec 2016
MMary Prescott Parsons(1885-1971). Her work on Anglo-Saxon charters, in the late 1930s, focussed on the physical features of single-sheet charters of the eighth and ninth centuries.515 words · updated Dec 2016
RRichard DrögereitRichard Drögereit (1908-1977) published several articles of interest to Anglo-Saxonists. His article 'Gab es eine angelsächsische Königskanzlei?' ('Was there an…538 words · updated Dec 2016
PPierre ChaplaisPierre Chaplais (1920-2006) was the son of the postmaster at Chateaubriant, in Brittany. He studied Classics and Law at Rennes University. Soon after the beginning of…536 words · updated Dec 2016
NNicholas BrooksNicholas Brooks, who died aged 73 on 2 February 2014, was born in Surrey on 14 January 1941. He was educated at Winchester College, and from 1958 to 1961 read History…73 words · updated Dec 2016
PPatrick Wormald(1947-2004). Authority on the development of law and legislation in the Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman periods.148 words · updated Dec 2016

In preparation

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

  • Thomas Tanner (1674-1735).
  • Benjamin Thorpe (1781–1870). A significant Anglo-Saxon scholar in his own right, who became a friend and mentor of John Mitchell Kemble.
  • Joseph Bosworth (1787-1876).
  • John Earle (1824-1903).
  • W. G. Searle (1830-1913).
  • Florence Harmer (189x–1967). Editor of Select English Historical Documents of the Ninth and Tenth Centuries (1914), and of Anglo-Saxon Writs (1952).
  • Agnes Jane Robertson (1893–1959). Editor of Anglo-Saxon Charters (1939).
  • Dorothy Whitelock (1901–82). Editor of Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930); editor of English Historical Documents c. 500-1042 (1955), 2nd ed. (1979).