For W ales, then, the period covered in this section is a period that lies between conquests. It was begun by the Roman conquest and was ended by the beginnings of a second and possibly even more thorough conquest. In the English regions, however, a third transition, the rise of Anglo-Saxon dominance, complicates matters further. The Rom an and Norman military eras have left numerous physical remains. These remains point to a landscape at two distinct times that, although in many respects widely at variance with each other, share a them e of conquest and of penetration from the east to the west. Thus, the waterside location of fortifications and the reliance on the river valleys of W ales that traverse the nation between the inhospitable mountainous highlands is apparent in both periods. Likewise in England we see a density of villa building in the Cotswolds matched by a concentration of stone church building in the later Anglo-Saxon period.
Such similarities, however, cannot be allowed to give the impression of any great continuity between the two periods. W e have seen that the evidence for the intervening 600 years is sparse and the settlements discovered so far quite different from those that preceded and succeeded them.
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter I shall briefly introduce the written sources on which this study is based. It is not intended to be a comprehensive synopsis of charter writing in early medieval Europe or even of the individual texts involved. Rather, I shall focus on the attributes of charters that inform a study of this kind.
At its simplest a charter is a written record of a transfer of property rights between two persons. A further and essential aspect of charters is that their origins are firmly rooted in the Roman legal framework (James, 1982, 85).
Whilst examples can be found of the transfer of different types of property (e.g. buildings, land and rights) between different groups of people (e.g. royalty, freem en and various religious), by far the most common transaction encountered in early medieval charters is the transfer of land (often with buildings [normally a church of some kind]) from a lay individual to the church- often by gift, sometimes by sale. It is this type of charter which forms the majority of evidence for this study. However, by the tenth century, leases of land from church to laity were becoming more common in England and a number of such charters have been drawn upon when considering the area around Worcestershire.
Although charters tended to be written using standard formulae, they can still demonstrate considerable variation in the details they record and the language they are written in. Som e accounts contain detailed narratives, giving the background to the transactions they describe: for exam ple LL237b describes how Tewdwr ap Elisedd had stolen bishop Libiau’s food-rent and, unable to pay the consequent reparation in gold, was pardoned when he gave Libiau land at Llanfihangel Cwm Du. Most, however, give no background at all, such as LL237a which immediately precedes LL237b above.
Whilst Latin is the dominant language throughout, being as it was the language of the church that possessed a near monopoly on writing, later charters do present a more widespread use of vernacular, particularly of old English. This trend is particularly evident in boundary clauses which use W elsh or old English, often intermingled with Latin words, even where the main text maintains the use of Latin. The use of vernacular in the description of boundaries has clear advantages when the features described are probably best known to those who have local knowledge who may well have little or no grasp of Latin. An understanding of the use of various Latin terms can be of much use when assessing the reliability of charters. An example of this is the use of demonstrably early terms (e.g. uncia and modiius) in charters which in other respects
appear to be later, which could reasonably be taken as evidence of an early core to the charter that has subsequently undergone editing (c.f. Davies, 1979, 3).
T h e structure of charters can be seen to be standard to the extent that they almost always include certain key features, but they differ in the way in which these features are applied. Even the most basic charter must contain the identity of the giver and receiver, what it is that is given and for how long it is given. A number of charters, however, include standard additional data: • N am e of the giver(s)
• N am e of the person who must approve the giver’s right to give (rarer) • N am e of the recipient
• Nam e of the witnesses (often not copied in later versions) • T h e property transferred
• The bounds of the property (if land)
• The duration of the transfer (usually in perpetuity) • A narration of the background to the transfer (rarer) • Som e form of date
For a more detailed analysis of the charter formulae witnessed in the W orcester and Llandaff corpora see Davies, W . (1973b).
Having described the common features found within charters, I shall briefly expand on how, by studying the above features, historians can begin to m ake sense of groups of charters.
Occasionally extant charters appear in their original hand: a noteworthy exam ple of such a charter is B.L. MS. Cotton Augustus 11.3, which is referred to in the Pilot Study as corroborating other signatures found in K69 referring to the estate at Daylesford. More typically charters are encountered in collections, cartularies, that have been assem bled by religious houses. This is the case with the majority of charters referring to the W orcestershire/Gloucestershire region and all of the charters relating to the Llandaff possessions used in this study.
As will be discussed below these collections can be dated to the eleventh/twelfth centuries- considerably later than the supposed original date of the earliest charters contained within them. The historical context of the collections will be discussed below, but it should be stated here that a strong element of political self-interest can be deduced from their context. This element of self-interest may in itself lead one to think carefully about the authenticity of the charters, but the careful study of the charters themselves also provides much evidence that the final form of a charter may be considerably different from its original form.
Tyrchan and Cynfwr have long and active witnessing lives, neither appears until late in the reign of Morgan, except in this charter [LL148]; the presence of the abbots [Concen and Coilbrit], however, fixes this charter early in the reign of Morgan. It is therefore highly unlikely that both the abbots and these two witnesses were present at this transaction. It is impossible to be sure which have been added but there may be slightly more reason to suspect the two clerical witnesses; the clerical list Confur, Trychan, Berthguin, Catguare includes the names of three bishops and may have been appropriated from some episcopal list.” (Davies, 1979, 99)
Given this, it can be appreciated that there is considerable scepticism about using early medieval charters as evidence for transactions dating much before the twelfth century. However, formulae can also reveal sub-groups which can be seen to relate to earlier editing phases. Likewise witness lists can corroborate each other even though other features such as the formulae may be demonstrably later. Consequently it is possible to recognise certain ‘early’ elements within a much later edition. It is always important to recognise that because some parts of a charter are clearly later in origin, this does not in itself mean that there is not a reliable origin portion within the sam e document.
The detailed analysis of charter texts is a complex exercise and beyond the scope of many studies which of necessity must rely upon the evidence they provide. Thankfully, there are a number of standard works, by eminent historians, which can be referred to when considering the authenticity of a charter text. W hen considering the Llandaff collection W endy Davies’ “The Llandaff Charters” (1979) is a key text. The work sets out the case for the dating of various phases of editing with comments regarding the authenticity of each charter in turn. As regards the English charters there are often a number of historians who have m ade comments regarding the authenticity of individual charters, these comments are conveniently summarised in P.M. Sawyer’s “Anglo-Saxon Charters” (1968). Key amongst the historians whose views ought to be consulted are H.P.R. Finberg (1953, 1955, 1957, 1961 & 1964), W .H . Stevenson (1911 & 1912) and D. Whitelock (1955). T h e way in which this study incorporates concepts of authenticity at its various stages is discussed in the Methodology chapter.