General AS law- law codes

Question 1

the three kentish laws and dates

Answer 1

• Æthelbert I of Kent (589- 616)
• Hlothere (673-85) and Eadric (685-7)
• Wihtred (695)

Question 2

Discuss the kentish laws…

Answer 2

• The Kentish laws are preserved only in the Textus Roffensis, which was written more than four centuries after the promulgation of Wihtred’s laws, and at least five after Æthelbert’s. They only exist in the vernacular, and the laws of Æthelbert are the oldest document written in the English language

Question 3

Hlothere (673-85) and Eadric (685-7)…

Answer 3

• Whitelock suggests could have been issued under a joint rule, although this is not mentioned.

Question 4

Discuss laws of Wihtred

Answer 4

• Wihtred ruled 690- 725 but Whitelock dates his law code to 695
• Interesting that in the early period of his reign, he appears to still regard heathenism as a menace.
• Whitelock notes that the last clause of his code occurs also in the laws of his contemporary Ine, and so we must assume collaboration between the two rulers.

Question 5

Introduce Ine’s laws

Answer 5

• Ine’s laws survive only as transmitted as an appendix to Alfred’s and are the earliest non-Kentish laws and laws of Wessex

Question 6

Discuss Alfred’s laws

Answer 6

• These are preceded by a long introduction which contains translations of the ten commandments and other passages from the book of Exodus, and then an account of the growth of church law and ecclesiastical councils. Alfred acknowledges his indebtedness to the laws of Ine, as well as to those of the Mercian Offa and Æthelbert of Kent.
• Keynes describes Alfred’s law code as very self conscious.

Question 7

Some information on the laws of Edward the elder

Answer 7

• Two series of laws that were issued by Edward the Elder are extant, known as I Edward and II Edward

Question 8

Introduce basics of Æthelstan’s laws

Answer 8

• Six series of laws were issued by Æthelstan, in addition to a short ordinance respecting charities. The dates of them all cannot be precisely determined, and many of the originals have been lost.
• More law is preserved for Æthelstan than any other 10th century king.
• Wormald argues the style of his laws his an extension and intensification of his father’s.
• The Grately code (II) is the major enactment of his reign, with V being second in importance.

Question 9

discuss II Æthelstan

Answer 9

• II Æthelstan covers many of the main problems faced by English kings in their attempts to preserve good order

Question 10

discuss III Æthelstan

Answer 10

III Æthelstan mentions that if ‘any man is so rich, or belongs to so powerful a kindred that he cannot be punished…you shall cause him to be removed to another part of your kingdom…whether he be a noble or a commoner’

Question 11

discuss IV Æthelstan

Answer 11

Æthelstan has an ordinance consisting of a set of rules for an organisation concerned with police duties for the district and with arrangements for mutual help among its members, called a “peace-gild”, together with an undertaking to observe and put into force the king’s enactments

Question 12

discuss V Æthelstan

Answer 12

• V Æthelstan illustrates Athelstan’s readiness to take strong measures to prevent defiance of the law and corruption among judges. The prologue states that “I, King Athelstan, make known that I have learnt that our peace is worse kept than I should like and than it was pronounced at Grately; and my councillors say that I have borne it too long.

Question 13

Introduce Cnut’s law codes

Answer 13

• Cnut issued two law codes, I Cnut and II Cnut, issued in 1020 and 10127 respectively.

Question 14

Why does Wormald think Æthelbert wrote down his law codes?

Answer 14

Wormald argues that the reason he wrote them down was because he introduced new aspects of the law, such as compensation for slaying or injury, as an alternative to violent revenge.

• • Æthelbert says he was moved by the ‘examples of the Romans’ (whoever he means by this) but he took the revolutionary step of putting it all in writing.
• They might have been written in English as nobody at Æthelbert’s court could write Latin well enough

Question 15

Frankish influence in Æthelberts laws?

Answer 15

• Wormald argues that Frankish influence is detectable in Æthelbert’s laws, as the compensations set for various members of the clergy matches Alaman and Bavarian ratios. He argues that they were all influenced by the early 7th century Merovingians

Question 16

Who didn’t issue laws?

Answer 16

Ed the fess

Question 17

A potential issue with legal codes as evidence for law

Answer 17

• No code is extant from the Anglo-Saxon period whose primary concern was legal, and the practical application of law was probably not the main concern of those producing legal manuscripts

Question 18

Talk about St Swithun

Answer 18

Lantfred’s contemporary account of the ‘Translation and Miracles’ of St Swithun tells how a ‘lex’ was promulgated under Edgar throughout England, and concerns the torturing of thieves as a deterrent. What was the point of this though? Just pure suffering? Were they intended to survive? The lex itself does not survive

Question 19

ASC on AS law…

Answer 19

• There are two entries in the ASC which refer to legislation; the 1018 accord between Cnut and his new subjects and the 1065 account of the revolt of the Northumbrians when Edward instilled a replacement for Tostig who ‘renewed the law of Cnut’

Question 20

How does Asser’s depiction of Alfred tie in with what else is ‘known’ about English law?

Answer 20

The result was that his judges had to become literate, or face loosing their office. Asser suggests that Alfred was ‘deeply embroiled in the details of judicial administration, because justice was central to his view of his kingdom as a new People of God’. It’s the most arresting account of a king’s sense of responsibility for justice in the early Medieval West.

Question 21

What does Asser tell us about Alfred’s role in law making?

Answer 21

According to Asser, King Alfred regularly heard appeals from both noblemen and commoners if a settlement could not be reached or the judgement of ealdormen or reeves accepted. He says how Alfred was an ‘extremely astute investigator in judicial matters as in everything else’. So, basically Asser tells us that Alfred exercised jurisdiction over his officials and investigated their decisions.

Question 22

Discuss the ‘lost’ code of Offa

Answer 22

It is possible that Offa issued a lawcode too, but that it just hasn’t survived. Otherwise it would seem that eighth and ninth century English kings lost law making momentum.
- - The main evidence for Offa’s lost code is Alfred’s acknowledgement of it.

Question 23

introduce using sources other than law codes to learn about AS law

Answer 23

• It is important to assess the evidence for legislation in other than legislative sources. We can learn how legislation affected those on its receiving end.
• English narrative sources say very little about law making.

Question 24

What are Wormald’s 2 main arguments concerning Ine’s laws?

Answer 24

1) Argues that Ine’s law is still ‘feud centred’ but that the ‘vocabulary of atonement’ now encompasses the king too.
2) That a large number of Ine’s laws give the impression that he was reacting to a particular case.

Question 25

4 Issues with the surviving evidence for Anglo-Saxon law

Answer 25

• So much we don’t know -Did Anglo-Saxon government depend on a plethora of lost documents or work largely by word of mouth?
• reappraising the material is made more difficult due to the source limitations and variant forms, and the small number of sources when compared to the continent.
• the most important defect of the evidence is that it is always balanced in favour of the church, and that cases were always resolved in favour of them, hence why we know of them. They were also often the ones drawing them up.
• • The evidence is also higher from specific centres and peaks at certain points; thus it is problematic to compile a general picture fro such patchy evidence.

Question 26

discuss IV Edgar

Answer 26

IV Edgar is the only code that can be dated, to 962/3. Issued at Wihtbordesstan (which has not been satisfactorily identified). The first part deals with ecclesiastical affairs and reads like a homily, whereas the secular second section assures autonomy to the Danes, but at the same time enforces the observance of certain regulations in the whole part of the realm.

Question 27

Discuss the use of oaths as proof

Answer 27

• Oath was the primary mode of proof, not of a specific fact, but to the justice of the claim or defence as a whole. A trial of questions as we would understand in the modern sense was unknown.
• • Oaths are actually surprisingly rare in judicial cases. Perhaps they were important when conflicts were irresolvable by other means, and may have been the formal way of ending litigation. Many cases seem to place a premium on the written word.

Question 28

How were Anglo-Saxon cases heard?

Answer 28

• Most Anglo-Saxon cases were heard by courts of the shire. Maitland argued these were essentially popular institutions convened on local justice by local people to purvey local justice, yet by the 10th century there is clear royal involvement, with the laws of Edgar establishing judicial hierarchies and establishing that they should meet twice a year. Wormald argues that the king had an interest in legal proceedings and was represented there.