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Anglo-Saxon Chancery > Æthelstan and 'Æthelstan A' > Flashcards

Æthelstan and 'Æthelstan A' Flashcards

1
Q

How many groups of charters are there for Æthelstan?

A

Six distinct groups

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2
Q

When is Æthelstan Group C

A

The charters of 955-9

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3
Q

When is Æthelstan Group A

A

The charters of 925-6

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4
Q

Years in which Æthelstan A operated

A

928-935

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5
Q

How many charters in group A? (925-6)

A

4

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6
Q

Why/ how can we break the Æthelstan A charters down into such distinct groups?

A

They are quite distinctly perfect groups; they show a clear and striking progression of one scribe and composer

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7
Q

How many Æthelstan A charters are there?

A

19, but only 2 survive in their original

- But many of them are from different archives, meaning their similarity must go back to the point of origin

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8
Q

Discuss Æthelstan A group I

A
  • There are only 2 in this group, both dated to Exeter in April of 928
  • Æthelstan A appears not to have yet quite got the hang of it or how to structure a charter, so he then tweaks things
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9
Q

Discuss Æthelstan A group II and example

A
  • There are 2, both dated to 3 April 930

- Grant of land in Selsey to Bishop Beornheah

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10
Q

Discuss 930 charter : Grant of land in Selsey to Bishop Beornheah

A

Æthelstan A group II

  • April 930
  • A grant of land in Selsey to bishop Beornheah at Selsey.
  • Has a vernacular endorsement which says the king has to recite the psalms on the king’s behalf.
  • Preserved at Chichester Cathedral
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11
Q

Discuss Æthelstan A group III and example

A
  • 931-3
  • There are 11 documents from this period, all from various archives.
  • Lots of charters from this group require the subject of the charter to sing the psalms for the king, or give food o the destitute.

Example= Grant to Wulfgar for land in Devon, 931

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12
Q

Discuss facts of Grant to Wulfgar for land in Devon, 931 (example for group III)

A
  • Dated 12 November 931 at Lifton, Devon and preserved in the Old Minster at Winchester in the original.
  • Æthelstan grants 9 cassatae to his thegn Wulfgar
  • This has a huge witness list
  • Written in square miniscule in a single state, but with space left for two more witnesses to be added (as if his memorandum supplied no more) and two names are added later by a different scribe.
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13
Q

Discuss importance of the witness list of Grant to Wulfgar for land in Devon, 931

A
  • 101 witnesses
  • The witness list has the names of many Scandinavian earls (such as Haward, Gudrun and Gunner)– Testifies to Æthelstan’s rule of the Danelaw
  • Also bishops and ecclesiastics who do not appear anywhere else
  • Welsh rulers Howæl and Idwal are on the list.
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14
Q

Typical features of Æthelstan A

A
  • Huge and spectacular witness lists

- His inclusion of the date and the place and which the charter was commissioned/ written

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15
Q

Who was Æthelstan A?

A
  • Throughout witnesses lists, Bishop Ælfwine of Lichfield is placed in a higher position than his rank warranted– Keynes has argued this is because A was a king’s priest from Merica, who respected Ælfwine as a fellow Mercian.
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16
Q

Scholars to cite when thinking of the identity of A?

A

Keynes and Woodman

17
Q

Historical significance/ implication of A commencing in 928?

A
  • Commence shortly after Æthelstan’s conquest of Northumbria in 927
  • Keynes does not think this is a coincidence; argues that the main aim of A was to display the grandeur of Æthelstan’s kingship.
18
Q

Why are charters useful as historical evidence for Æthelstan?

A
  • Allow us to reconstruct his itinerary.
  • Particularly useful as the ASC for .stan is so useless.
  • Fact that A is the sole author; shows .stan taking unprecedented control over his royal governance and royal functions.
19
Q

Contrasting scholars views on A.

A

Lapidge describes him as pretentious, whilst Gretsch denounces the complexity of his latin. Drögereit and Woodman are kinder.

20
Q

Why is A. so shocking?

A

His documents are completely different from any previous example of an A.S. diploma
– He completely reinvented the diploma

21
Q

Woodman on the identity of A.

A

Like Keynes, Woodman considers a Mercian origin likely but also puts forward the alternative idea that A had a connection with Glastonbury Abbey as it housed many texts which informed A’s idiosyncratic Latin style.

22
Q

When is Æthelstan A Group I?

A

928

23
Q

When is Æthelstan A Group II?

A

930

24
Q

When is Æthelstan A Group III?

A

931- 933

25
Q

When is Æthelstan A Group IV?

A

934- 935

26
Q

An example of charters from A group IV?

A

1) 934 Diploma for Æthelwald, thegn, granting him land in kent
2) 934 diploma of land at Amounderness to the church of St Peter’s, York

27
Q

Discuss the 934 Diploma for Æthelwald, thegn, granting him land in kent

A

Example of A IV

  • Written in square minuscule, and has some unusual things with the thegns in the witness lists which illustrates the scribes’ use of a memorandum.
  • Single state
28
Q

Discuss the 934 diploma of land at Amounderness to the church of St Peter’s, York

A
  • An example of A IV
  • Preserved in york minster
  • It is unusual as it is northern, and is very far north for an Anglo-Saxon king; this is why Amounderness is so odd, and it is a remarkable document as most of Æthelstan’s diplomas are for the home counties
29
Q

What changes are there between A and C?

A
  • No more precise dating, just years

- The charters of Æthelstan C are much smaller and more restrained

30
Q

What is the diploma granting land to Eadwulf from 939 an example of?

A
  • C
  • An example of the ‘new’ type of diploma that developed after the departure of A, likely introduced in 935.
  • Written in square minuscule in a single stage, but with an unused cross at the end of the witness list and space for another column
31
Q

What do the witness lists from Æthelstan A’s diplomas tell us?

A
  • That royal assemblies were a big deal, with many important people gathered in one place
  • See Welsh kings, such as Hywel Da, kings of Strathclyde’s and Scandinavian names testifying to AÆthelstan’s rule of the Danelaw.
32
Q

Discuss the diploma for Wulfswyth for land in Wiltshire in 939

A
  • Original, seems single stage

- Space left for more witnesses

33
Q

Name the original diplomas surviving for Aethelstan

A
  • Grant to Wulfgar for land in Devon, 931
  • Grant for land in kent to Eadwulf, 939
  • The diploma for Wulfswyth for land in Wiltshire in 939

Anglo-Saxon Chancery (5 decks)

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