The Conspectus of Anglo-Saxon Charters 600-1066 (in progress) is intended to serve as a systematic guide to the surviving corpus of Anglo-Saxon charters (royal and 'private', in Latin and in the vernacular), and in this way to provide an overview of the charters of a particular kingdom, period, or king, for general historical purposes.
Full details of each charter (manuscripts, editions, translations, discussions, etc.) are to be found in Anglo-Saxon Charters: an Annotated List and Bibliography, compiled by Peter Sawyer in the 1960s, and first published in 1968, as revised and updated (by Susan Kelly, Rebecca Rushforth, and others) in the form which has been available online since 1999 (known in its current manifestation as the 'Electronic Sawyer' - available on the red button seen above). The Conspectus is intended to complement this fundamental work, and at the same time to complement the volumes in the new edition of the corpus, organised archivally, in course of publication as part of the British Academy's 'Anglo-Saxon Charters' series (19 volumes so far, towards a projected total of at least 35 volumes). Pending completion of this series, reference will also be made to the edition produced by J. M. Kemble (6 volumes, 1839-48); to the edition (of the charters to 975) produced by W. de Gray Birch (3 volumes, 1885-93); and to the editions of the vernacular charters produced by Florence Harmer, Dorothy Whitelock and Agnes Jane Robertson, between 1914 and 1952.
A pilot 'Conspectus of the Charters of King Edgar (957-75)' was published in Edgar, King of the English 959-975: New Interpretations, ed. Donald Scragg (Woodbridge, 2008), pp. 60-80. The organisation of each part will follow the same basic (chronological) principle; but entries for each text, following a standard format, will be much fuller, summarising content and operative details, with discussion of archival context, transmission, formulation, dating, and authenticity, with cross-reference to other charters, and, where appropriate, discussion of any other matters of interest.
The Conspectus will be organised in three parts.
Part I will cover the period 600-900 (approximately 550 items).
Part II will cover the period 900-975 (approximtely 600 items)
- Edward the Elder (899-924)
- Æthelstan (924-39)
- Edmund (939-46)
- Eadred (946-55)
- Eadwig (956-9)
- Edgar (957-75) [draft conspectus published in 2008 (see above)]
Part III will cover the period 975-1066 (approximately 550 items)
- Edward the Martyr (975-8)
- Æthelred the Unready (978-1016) [available in 2017]
- Edmund Ironside (1015-16)
- Cnut, Harald Harefoot and Harthacnut (1016-42)
- Edward the Confessor (1042-66) [available in 2017]
- Harold (1066)
A draft 'Conspectus of the Charters of King Æthelred the Unready (978-1016)' (CASC, Part III, section 2) will be made available on this site, in PDF format, during the course of 2017. A 'Conspectus of the Charters of King Æthelstan (924-39)' (CASC, Part II, section 2), and a 'Conspectus of the Charters of King Edward the Confessor (1042-66)' (CASC, Part III, section 5), will follow. The working drafts will be revised and updated from time to time.
The Conspectus of Anglo-Saxon Charters was conceived as a companion to the Atlas of Attestations in Anglo-Saxon Charters, c. 670-1066, available on this website; both works aim to cover the corpus as a whole. The Conspectus is itself complemented by maps available on this website (General/Maps), covering: the reign of King Æthelstan, with reference to his charters; the reigns of Edmund and Eadred, with reference to the 'alliterative' charters (to be added); and the reign of Eadwig (to be added). <The second and third have not yet been scanned for this purpose.>
SDK
September 2016