the Heavenly King, that the primacy of the monarchy do remain where the holy Gospel of Christ was first preached by the holy Father Augustine in the province of the English, and was from thence, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, widely diffused. But if any dare to rend Christ's garment and to divide the unity of the holy Church of God, contrary to the apostolic precept and all ours, let him know that he is eternally condemned unless he make due satisfaction for what he has wickedly done contrary to the canons.

[A varying list of signatories follows.]

803.

X.

THE DONATION OF ETHELWULF, A.D. 855.

THE Year 855 appears to be the true date of this grant. The date, circumstances, and historical bearing of the Charter are fully discussed by Lord Selborne, Ancient Facts and Fictions, &e. p. 200. The document survives in several different forms, of which there are various manuscript and printed copies. They are all collated by Birch in his Cartularium Saxonicum, vol. ii. nos. 483-485; see also Haddan and Stubbs, iii. 640. The translation here given is made from a MS. in the British Museum, which accords very nearly with the record in William of Malmesbury, Gest. Reg., Rolls Series, i. 170.

[Tr. Brit. Mus. MS. Reg. 13. D. ii. f. 28.]

855.

King

Ethelwulf

In the perpetual reign of our Lord, whilst in our times In pros[by reason of] the flames of wars, and spoiling of our goods, pect of coming and also the most cruel pillaging of devastating foes, and dangers, manifold troubles from pagan and barbarous peoples, we see that perilous times are at hand to afflict us even to destruction, I, therefore, Ethelwulf, king of the West Saxons, by the counsel of my bishops and chief men have confirmed this wholesome counsel, and uniform remedy: that to all ranks hitherto possessing any hereditary portion of lands, whether servants and handmaids of God serving

855.

God, or lay people, I have decided that the tenth homegrants the stead, or, where it is very small, at all events the tenth, of his land be always given up in perpetual franchise; that it be free to the re- and protected from all secular services, and also royal ligious in tributes, greater or less, or taxations which we call Witereden, possession in freehold, and that it be free from all things, for the forgiveness of our souls and sins, for the service of God alone, without military equipment, or bridge-building, or fortification of desiring castles, so that they may the more diligently pour forth prayers without ceasing to the Lord for us, because we thus in some degree relieve their service.

their prayers in

return.

The

Thereafter it pleased the Bishops Alstan of the church bishops of of Sherborne, and Swithun of the church of Winchester, Wessex to enter upon an agreement with their abbots and the prayers to servants of God, that all our brethren and sisters do in

ordain

Place,date,

and confirmation of the

Charter.

full congregation, at each church, every week on the day of Mercury, that is Wednesday, sing fifty psalms, and each priest two masses, one for King Ethelwulf, and another for his dukes who consent to this gift for the ransom and remedy of their faults; for the king in his lifetime, 'O God who dost justify'; for the dukes in their lifetime, 'Stretch forth, O Lord'; and after their death, separately for the king when dead, in common for the chief men when dead. And be this as steadfastly established all the days of Christianity as the above franchise is established, so long as the faith extends amongst the people of the English.

Now this charter of gift was written in the year of the Lord's Incarnation 814 (see introduction), in the fourth. indiction, on the 5th day of November, in the city of Winchester, in the Church of St. Peter, before the chief altar; and this they did for the honour of St. Michael the Archangel, and St. Mary the glorious Queen, the Mother of God, and at the same time of the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, and also of our holy Father Pope Gregory, and all the saints, and then for fuller assurance King

Ethelwulf placed the charter upon the altar of St. Peter, and the bishops for God's faith received it from him, and afterwards sent it through all churches in their dioceses, as is aforesaid.

855.

XI.

TITHE ORDINANCE OF ATHELSTAN, A. D. 927.

THIS was a royal injunction by King Athelstan concerning the pay. ment of tithes. It is discussed by Lord Selborne, Ancient Facts and Fictions, &c. pp. 183, &c., where the text is given as below. Cf. Thorpe's Ancient Laws, i. 195-199.

[Lord Selborne's translation.]

927.

tithes,

I, Athelstan, king, with the counsel of Wulfhelm, arch- The king, bishops bishop, and of my other bishops, make known to the and others reeves at each burgh, and beseech you, in God's name, should pay and by all His saints, and also by my friendship, that first of my own goods render the tithes, both of the live. stock and of the year's earthly fruits, so as they may most. rightly be either meted, or told, or weighed out; and let the bishops then do the like from their own goods; and my ealdormen and my reeves the same. And I will, that the bishops and reeves command it to all who ought to obey them, that it be done at the right term. Let us according to Scripbear in mind how Jacob the patriarch spoke: 'I will offer ture preto thee tithes and sacrifices of peace'; and how Moses cept. spoke in God's law: 'Thou shalt not delay to offer thy tithes and first-fruits to the Lord.' It is for us to think how awfully it is declared in the books: if we will not render the tithes to God, that He will take from us the Other church nine parts when we least expect; and moreover we have dues are to the sin in addition thereto. And I will also that my reeves be paid regularly. so do that there be given the church-scots and the souls

E

927.

The king

demands and promises just dealing.

scots, at the places to which they rightly belong; and plough-alms yearly, on this condition: that they shall enjoy it at the holy places who are willing to serve their churches, and of God and of me are willing to deserve it; but let him who will not, forfeit the bounty, or again turn to right. Now ye hear, saith the king, what I give to God, and what ye ought to fulfil under the penalty of contempt of my authority. And do ye also so, that you may give to me my own, what ye for me may justly acquire. I will not that ye unjustly anywhere acquire aught for me; but I will grant to you your own justly, on this condition that ye yield me mine; and shield both yourselves and those whom ye ought to exhort against God's anger, and against the penalty of contempt for my authority.

943.

That the
Church

be not

XII.

SELECTIONS FROM THE CONSTITUTIONS
OF ODO, A. D. 943.

THE following is a selection from the Canons of Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, which were published about the year 943, and illustrate some tendencies of the time. Odo's Pastoral charge is translated by Dean Hook in his Lives of the Archbishops, i. 369.

[Tr. Cotton MS., Vesp. A. 14, f. 173; cf. Wilkins, i. 212.]

1. We charge and command that the holy Church of God which was at the first founded by the blood of Christ, oppressed and by the multitude of the faithful has been arrayed as or taxed, a bride in white, be not attacked by any violence of wicked men; and that it be not lawful for any to impose a tax upon the Church of God, because the sons of the Church, that is the sons of God, are free from all earthly tribute in every country. Ambrose says, in the history of the Church',

cf. Ambrose?

1 See Baron's Johnson's Canons, i. 357

'The Catholic Church is free from all royal taxation.' If 943. any houses, lands, or any farms have been forcibly taken from Christian people, and have been given either into the royal exchequer or as gifts, all these [gifts] we charge to be revoked according to the ancient right of Christians. For and GreGregory says, 'If any one shall strip the Church of Christ, gory. let him be anathema, if he make not full satisfaction'; and again, 'Whosoever shall attempt to plunder or invade the parishes of the Church of God by rapine, he must be excommunicated by the Church's ministers and become an utter alien from the body of Christ.' For those are more daring than the soldiers who crucified Christ, that despise to obey the rules of the discipline of His Church, for the Church has the power of binding and loosing.

to obey the

2. We admonish the king and princes and all who are Kings and in power that they obey their archbishops and all other nobles are bishops with great devotion, because to them are given the bishops, keys of the kingdom of heaven, and they have the power

of binding and loosing. And that they do not rate them to be selves highly for secular power, for God resisteth the proud, humble, &c. And let the king have prudent counsellors, fearing God, over the affairs of the kingdom, so that the people, instructed by the good example of king and princes, may to have good counadvance to the praise and glory of God, and that the king sellors, may be the shield and defender of the Churches of God, to oppress none unjustly by power, to judge between a man and his neighbour without respect of persons, to be the protector of strangers, orphans, and widows, to prevent theft, and to do to punish adulteries, not to exalt the wicked, to aid the good. poor with alms; for although it is necessary for every man to keep the commandments of Christ, yet is it so especially for kings and for all placed in high estate, who shall give an account at the day of strict examination, both for themselves and for all who are subject to them.