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Anglo-Saxon canon law covers the law of the English church from ca. 600 to 1066. The texts involved are predominantly in Latin, though some are in Old English.
The purpose of this site is to facilitate the study of canon law texts as they relate to the legal and intellectual culture of Anglo-Saxon England. On this site you will find biographies of Anglo-Saxons who engaged with the canon law, descriptions and transcriptions of canon law manuscripts, studies of canon law texts, and links to other resources on medieval canon law. Please feel free to make use (with due acknowledgment) of any of the resources published on this site.
Resources currently available include:
Editions/Transcriptions:
Collated transcriptions of all five recensions of the Collectio Wigorniensis (or the Excerptiones Pseudo-Ecgberhti), including much hitherto unpublished material:
- Collectio Wigorniensis C from Corpus 265
- Collectio Wigorniensis D from Barlow 37
- Collectio Wigorniensis I from Cotton Nero A. i
- Collectio Wigorniensis O from Corpus 190
- Collectio Wigorniensis R from Rouen 1382 (transcription in preparation)
Editions of all five versions of the Iudicia Theodori:
- Canones Basilienses
- Canones Cottoniani
- Capitula Dacheriana
- Canones Gregorii
- Paenitentiale Umbrense
- A synoptic edition of all five versions of the Iudicia Theodori
as well as diplomatic transcriptions of several copies of the Iudicia Theodori, including:
- The Canones Basilienses from Basel, Universitätsbibliothek, N. I 1 no. 3c
- The Capitula Dacheriana from Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Lat. 12021, fols 33–356
- The Textkombination of the Canones Gregorii and Pope Gregory the Great's Libellus responsionum in Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 14780, fols 1–53
- The 49-chapter Textkombination of the Paenitentiale Umbrense and Pope Gregory the Great's Libellus responsionum in Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Lat. 2195, fols 2v–46
An edition of the Paenitentiale Ecgberhti, as well as diplomatic transcriptions of several copies of the Paenitentiale Ecgberhti, including:
- The Textkombination of the Paenitentiale Ecgberhti and Ghaerbald's First Capitula in Bodley 718
- The Paenitentiale Ecgberhti from Pal. Lat. 554
Editions and transcriptions of parts of the Collectio quadripartita:
- Collectio quadripartita, Book 1 from Stuttgart HB VII 62
- Collectio quadripartita, Books 2–4 from Bodley 718 (Book 2, Book 3, Book 4)
- A draft critical edition of the Exordium
- A draft critical edition of Book 1
A diplomatic transcription of all content from Copenhagen 58 not hitherto published, including:
- Pope Gregory the Great's Libellus responsionum
- The Excarpsus Cummeani
The Collectio vetus Gallica (including Libellus responsionum) from Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek, HB.VI.113
The Libellus responsionum from Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Lat. 3846 (Collectio canonum Sancti Amandi)
The Collectio Dionysio-Hadriana from Hatton 42
The Collectio Sanblasiana from Cologne 213
The fragmentary copy of the Collectio Quesnelliana from the fragment Düsseldorf E 32
The Sententiae Palatinae (from Vatican, Pal.lat. 577; proofreading in progress)
Caesarius of Arles's Encyclical letter of ca 534 from Bodley 572
Please note that some transcribed texts published on this site constitute works in progress. Incomplete transcriptions will contain errors. These errors will be eliminated as the transcription process progresses.
Discussions/Descriptions
Iudicia Theodori (via Wikipedia)
Collectio quadripartita (via Wikipedia)
Caesarius of Alres's Encyclical letter of ca 534
Latin Works Attributable to Wulfstan of York
A Commonplace Book tract titled De paenitentia communi pro quacumque tribulatione
A Commonplace Book tract titled De diversitate ordinum
A Commonplace Book tract on the ecclesiastical orders (available on the Ælfric: The Letters project Web site)
Letters Written by Ælfric of Eynsham
For editions and transcriptions of several letters written by Ælfric to and for Wulfstan, see the Ælfric: The Letters project Web site
I also maintain a list of links to a good helping of online resources, including many editions of canon law collections which are freely available on the Web. I have also begun to compile a bibliography/list of abbreviations which may be of use to anyone attempting to navigate the subject of pre-Gratian canon law for the first time. (Please note that at present many of the abbreviations used in the transcriptions are 'out of date'. I intend in the future to bring all abbreviations/sigla used in the transcriptions into accordance with the lists given on the abbreviations/sigla page.)
Last updated: 01 | 23 | 2015
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