__NOTOC__ The ''Textus Roffensis'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

for "The Tome of Rochester"), fully titled the ''Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum'' ("The Tome of the Church of Rochester up to Bishop Ernulf") and sometimes also known as the Annals of Rochester, is a mediaeval

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced i ...

that consists of two separate works written between 1122 and 1124. It is catalogued as "Rochester Cathedral Library, MS A.3.5" and is currently on display in a new exhibition at Rochester Cathedral,

Rochester, Kent Rochester ( ) is a town in the unitary authority of Medway, in Kent, England. It is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway, about from London. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rainham, Strood and Gil ...

. It is thought that the main text of both manuscripts was written by a single

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...

, although the English glosses to the two

entries (items 23 and 24 in table below) were made by a second hand. The annotations might indicate that the manuscript was consulted in some post-Conquest trials. However, the glosses are very sparse and just clarify a few uncertain terms. For example, the entry on f. 67r merely explains that the is called in English, ''ofraceth ordel'' (insult ordeal = triple ordeal). There is a clear, digitised version in the Rylands Medieval Collection.

The first part is a collection of laws and other, primarily secular documents, whilst the second is the cartulary of the Cathedral priory. The first part is of fundamental importance to the study of Anglo-Saxon law. It begins with the earliest surviving royal law-code, from King

Æthelberht of Kent Æthelberht (; also Æthelbert, Aethelberht, Aethelbert or Ethelbert; ang, Æðelberht ; 550 – 24 February 616) was King of Kent from about 589 until his death. The eighth-century monk Bede, in his ''Ecclesiastical History of the Engli ...

, dating to c 600, followed by those of two Kentish successors, the joint kings Hlothere and Eadric, c 679–85, and

Wihtred Wihtred ( la, Wihtredus) ( – 23 April 725) was king of Kent from about 690 or 691 until his death. He was a son of Ecgberht I and a brother of Eadric. Wihtred ascended to the throne after a confused period in the 680s, which included a ...

, 695. This is the only manuscript source for these three laws, though Wihtred's are heavily reliant on the laws of the contemporary West-Saxon King, Ine (see item 6 below). The full contents of the first part are: {, class="wikitable" , - ! Item !! Dates !! Description !! Manuscript Pages!! Language , - , 1 , , c 600 , , Æthelberht's Laws , , 1r–3v , , English , - , 2 , , c 679-695 , , Hlothere and Eadric's Laws , , 3v–5r , , English , - , 3 , , 695 , , Wihtred's Laws , , 5r–6v , , English , - , 4 , , Early 11th Century , , ''Hadbot'' (compensation for the ordained) , , 7r–v , , English , - , 5 , , ? , , Lists of Kings (West-Saxon genealogy), Saints and Bishops , , 7v–8v , , English , - , 6 , , Probably after 893; Laws of Ine, c. 694 , , Laws of

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...

, (Alfred's ''Domboc''), containing the Laws of his West-Saxon predecessor, Ine , , 9r–32r , , English , - , 7 , , ? , , ''Ordal'' , , 32r–v , , English , - , 8 , , 990s , , ''Walreaf'' (penalties for grave-robbery) , , 32v , , English , - , 9 , , 924–939 , ,

Æthelstan Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ang, Æðelstān ; on, Aðalsteinn; ; – 27 October 939) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his fir ...

's Grately Law Code (II Aethelstan) , , 32v–37r , , English , - , 10 , , 924–939 , ,

's Exeter Law Code (V Aethelstan) and a fragment from the London Code (VI Æthelstan, 6) , , 37r–38r , , English , - , 11 , , 990s , , ''Pax'' ('Peace'), for use in

Æthelred Æthelred (; ang, Æþelræd ) or Ethelred () is an Old English personal name (a compound of '' æþele'' and '' ræd'', meaning "noble counsel" or "well-advised") and may refer to: Anglo-Saxon England * Æthelred and Æthelberht, legendary pri ...

's Danelaw territories , , 38r , , English , - , 12 , , Early 11th Century , , ''Mircna laga'' , , 38v–39v , , English , - , 13 , , c. early 11th Century , , Fraudulent peace Treaty between

Edward the Elder Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin ...

and

Guthrum Guthrum ( ang, Guðrum, c. 835 – c. 890) was King of East Anglia in the late 9th century. Originally a native of what is now Denmark, he was one of the leaders of the "Great Summer Army" that arrived in Reading during April 871 to join forces ...

, , 40r–41v , , English , - , 14 , , 10th Century? , , ''Wer'' (on bloodfeud) , , 41v–42r , , English , - , 15 , , 899–924 , ,

's First Law Code , , 42r–43r , , English , - , 16 , , 899–924 , ,

's Second Law Code , , 43r–44r , , English , - , 17 , , 942–946 , ,

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings an ...

's First Law Code (ecclesiastical laws) , , 44r–45r , , English , - , 18 , , 942–946 , ,

's Second Law Code , , 45r–46r , , English , - , 19 , , c 997 , ,

's First Law Code (Woodstock Code) , , 46r–47r , , English , - , 20 , , 1066–1087 , , ''Willelmes cyninges asetnysse'' (laws of

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

dealing with lawsuits by Englishmen against Frenchmen) , , 47r–v , , English , - , 21 , , 997 , , Æthelred's Third Law Code (Wantage Code) , , 48r–49v , , English , - , 22 , , Post-1066 , , Judgement of God X (''Iud Dei XV'') , , 49v–57r , , Latin , - , 23 , , 1016–1035 , , a text of

Cnut Cnut (; ang, Cnut cyning; non, Knútr inn ríki ; or , no, Knut den mektige, sv, Knut den Store. died 12 November 1035), also known as Cnut the Great and Canute, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway ...

's reign , , 57v , , Latin , - , 24 , , 1016–1035 , , Institutes of Cnut (collection of laws) , , 58r–80r , , Latin , - , 25 , , 1066–1087 , , Articles of William I{{Efn , Not entirely William's actual laws: see http://www.earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/laws/texts/wl-art/ , , 80r–81v , , Latin , - , 26 , , ? , , ''Accusatores'' (Papal decrees on accusers/ prosectors) , , 81v–87r , , Latin , - , 27 , , c 1008 , , Æthelstan's Sixth Law Code (London Code) , , 88r–93r , , English , - , 28 , , ? , , ''Geðyncðo'' (On status) , , 93r–v , , English , - , 29 , , No later than mid-10th Century , , '' Norðleoda laga'' (concerns ''wergeld'' in Northumbrian society) , , 93v–94r , , English , - , 30 , , ? , , ''Wifmannes beweddung'' (Of a woman's betrothal) , , 94v–95r , , English , - , 31 , , ? , , Cattle-Theft Charm , , 95r , , English , - , 32 , , ? , , ''Hit becwæð'' (On bequests: 'he that owned it bequeathed it and died'), , 95r–v , , English , - , 33 , , 1100 , ,

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...

Coronation Charter The Charter of Liberties, also called the Coronation Charter, or Statutes of the Realm, was a written proclamation by Henry I of England, issued upon his accession to the throne in 1100. It sought to bind the King to certain laws regarding the t ...

, , 96r–97v , , Latin , - , 34 , , 10th–11th Century , , ''Excommunicatio VIII'' (laws on excommunication , , 98r–99v , , Latin , - , 35 , , ? , , ''Excommunicatio IX'' (formula for excommunicating criminals) , , 99v–100r , , Latin , - , 36 , , ? , , List of Kings , , 100r–v , , English , - , 37 , , ? , , Lists of Kings, Saints, and Bishops: West-Saxon Genealogy , , 102r–104r , , English , - , 38 , , ? , , Lists of Kings, Saints, and Bishops: Lists of Popes, Emperors, Patriarchs and English Archbishops and Bishops , , 105r–116r , , English , - , 39 , , ? , , Lists: of 24 elders, of popes responsible for various liturgical reforms, and of 7 archangels , , 116v , , Latin The second part of ''Textus Roffensis'' is just over 100 pages long. It consists of the

cartulary A cartulary or chartulary (; Latin: ''cartularium'' or ''chartularium''), also called ''pancarta'' or ''codex diplomaticus'', is a medieval manuscript volume or roll ('' rotulus'') containing transcriptions of original documents relating to the f ...

for Rochester Cathedral, in Latin. However, its final entry (222r–v) is in English, listing the number of masses to be recited for those institutions in England and Normandy which were in confraternity with Rochester.

Name

A ''textus'' was a book with a decorated cover suitable to be kept in the church by the high

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in pagan ...

. The term does not mean a text concerning

Rochester Cathedral Rochester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an English church of Norman architecture in Rochester, Medway, Rochester, Kent. The church is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rochester in the Church o ...

. A ''liber'' was a less decorated book, suitable only for the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

. It is rare that a secular book is a ''textus'', and the name given to the ''Textus Roffensis'' by the cathedral is considered indicative of the book's importance during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

.{{Cite web, title=The Textus Roffensis, url=http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/query/results/?Mode=Search&SearchMode=explorer&SearchWords=DRc_R1&DateList=&.submit=Submit+Query&Boolean=AND&Results=25&PathList=&.cgifields=Verbose&.cgifields=Exact, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717130712/http://cityark.medway.gov.uk/query/results/?Mode=Search&SearchMode=explorer&SearchWords=DRc_R1&DateList=&.submit=Submit+Query&Boolean=AND&Results=25&PathList=&.cgifields=Verbose&.cgifields=Exact, archive-date=July 17, 2011, website=

Medway Council Medway Council is the local authority of Medway in Kent, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The council was created on 1 April 1998 and replaced Rochester-upon-Medw ...

The ''Textus Roffensis'' Scribe

The unknown scribe was remarkable for his knowledge of old forms of English, and was able to transcribe accurately from a range of original manuscripts written in Anglo-Saxon dialects, including the local Kentish used for the laws of the kings of Kent. Two or more generations after the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...

, this was distinctly unusual. Few of his records were contemporary and, to read the Laws of Aethelberht, he was looking back at an obsolete dialect of early Anglo-Saxon English, some 500 years old. He followed standard practice of distinguishing between written English and written Latin. The overall aspect is Protogothic with, for example, narrow letter-forms and forked tops to ascenders. However, he used a modified Insular Minuscule for the English and a modified Caroline Minuscule for the Latin. This was standard practice in the years around 1000, but proficiency in writing Insular Minuscule was in terminal decline by the time of the ''Textus Roffensis''. The double-page opening of f95v and f96r is a good place to examine differences in the two scripts. The left-hand page contains the end of ''Hit becƿæð. ond becƿæl '' in English and the right-hand page the start of Henry I's Coronation Charter, in Latin. It is not only the general letter-shapes which show some differences. In the English, the only abbreviations are the tironian ''et'' for ''ond'' and the suspensions on dative endings e.g. ''beÞinū/ beminū'' for ''–um'' (concerning yours/ - mine). The number of abbreviations, suspensions and ligatures in the Latin give a different look, accentuated by different letter-forms, such as ''g'', ''h'' and ''r'' in ''gehyrde'' (f.95v, line 11) and ''erga uos habeo'' (f.96r, line 9); the ''f'' in ''forðam'' (English, line 10) and in ''facio'' (Latin, line 10) The ''Roffensis'' scribe made remarkably few errors and only some minor edits which lightly modernise the text. This can be seen in the Laws of Ine. The original laws were written in the late seventh century. They were already updated when recorded in Alfred's ''Domboc'' two centuries later. The earliest preserved version is from c. 925. In clause 2, this has ''Cild binnan ðritegum nihta sie gefulwad'' ('a child shall be baptised within thirty days'). The scribe substitutes for the tenth-century term for baptism ({{lang, ang, gefulwad) the twelfth-century term {{lang, ang, gefullod. Similarly, the scribe substitutes {{lang, ang, þeow (slave) for Alfred's {{lang, ang, fioh (wealth). There is some dispute whether this reflects the changing position of slaves after the Conquest or whether it is just correcting the term, since slaves were chattels. Overall, the ''Roffensis'' scribe treated his sources with respect. He did not, for example, make erroneous 'corrections' to the Old English law texts, unlike the "incompetent translations of ''Quadripartitus's'' author".

History

The two manuscripts were bound together in around 1300.The first part is a collection of documents which includes the

Law of Æthelberht The Law of Æthelberht is a set of legal provisions written in Old English, probably dating to the early 7th century. It originates in the kingdom of Kent, and is the first Germanic-language law code. It is also thought to be the earliest exampl ...

, attributed to

(c. 560–616), and the 1100

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

charter of

Henry I of England Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...

. The Law of Æthelberht is the oldest surviving

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, b ...

code and the oldest

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

text in existence. The second part of the ''Textus Roffensis'' is the oldest of the Rochester Cathedral registers. The entire volume consists of 235

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. Parchment is another term for this material, from which vellum is sometimes distinguished, when it is made from calfskin, as opposed to that made from other anim ...

leaves.University of Kent, "England’s 'Hidden Treasure'." Over the centuries, the ''Textus Roffensis'' has been loaned, lost and recovered on several occasions and has been in the custody of a variety of different people and places: was once held at the

Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to ...

Archives Office in Strood under reference number DRc/R1 and has since been withdrawn. It is currently held in the in an airtight case in the Cathedral’s Crypt.{{cite web, url=https://www.rochestercathedral.org/articles/2020/7/17/leaf-through-textus-roffensis?rq=textus%20roffensis, title=Leaf Through the Textus Roffensis, date=July 17, 2020, access-date=1 Dec 2020 Sometime between 1708 and 1718 the book was immersed for several hours in either the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

or the

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...

when the ship transporting it overturned; water damage is apparent on a number of pages. The book was named 'Britain's Hidden Treasure' by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

, and was the subject of a conference at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

in 2010. It has been digitised and published on line by

The University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

's Centre for Heritage Imaging and Collection Care. The full digital facsimile is available through

's website. A short film was also produced about the book by Rochester Cathedral about its history and digitization process. {{cite web, url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcMdmjkdYOM , archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/GcMdmjkdYOM , archive-date=2021-12-21 , url-status=live, title=The Textus Roffensis A Hidden Treasure, author=Phil Smethurst, date=Nov 5, 2014, website=www.youtube.com, access-date=1 Dec 2020{{cbignore

Notes

{{notelist

Citations

{{reflist, 2

Sources

*{{cite web, last=Treharne, first=Elaine, title=Textus Roffensis, url=http://www.le.ac.uk/english/em1060to1220/mss/EM.RCL.htm#EM.RCL-objectDesc, work=The Production and Use of English Manuscripts 1060 to 1220, publisher=University of Leicester, access-date=17 November 2012 *{{cite web, url=http://www.kent.ac.uk/news/stories/textus-roffensis-conference/2010, publisher=University of Kent, title=England's 'Hidden Treasure' is the focus of Kent conference and exhibition, year=2010, access-date=7 August 2012 *{{cite web, url=http://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet/detail/Man4MedievalVC~4~4~990378~142729, publisher=John Rylands Library, access-date=12 May 2019, title=Textus Roffensis (online facsimile)

External links

John Rylands Library ''"The Textus Roffensis"''
- scanned images of each of the pages of the ''Textus Roffensis''. Medieval documents of England 1120s books English manuscripts 12th-century manuscripts Legal manuscripts Medieval English law Anglo-Saxon law 12th-century Latin books

Contents