Ideas for Documents
Not sure what you want?
Don’t worry. Here are a few things that might suit your need or desire for a copy of a mediæval document.
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A Charter
There are so many charters across the country that there will almost certainly be one local to you, and they can be of great local interest. The bounds, based on distinctive landscape features, can sometimes still be found, and if you don’t have the text most Anglo-Saxon Charters are available for free via the New Regesta Regum Anglorum.
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An Old English Poem
Many Old English poems are popular in translation, and the original texts can be found online at Labyrinth I can help to find particular styles of poem, from heroic last stand or moving elegy to religious ecstasy, and find or provide a translation too for your convenience. You might well prefer a brief quotation from a well known poem, such as the “Lay of the Last Survivor” from Beowulf. There are also poems in Latin, Old Norse, Old Welsh, Old Irish…
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Something from the Domesday Book
The Domesday Book is so comprehensive that it’s rarer for an old village not to be mentioned than for it to be mentioned! In a similar vein to Charters, entries from Domesday are of local interest, and though the authentic existence of a docket for each settlement is unlikely it’s a useful demonstration piece.
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Part of a Law Code
Many law codes from the early mediæval period survive, and though you probably don’t want one in its entirety, again they can good be demonstration pieces. As talking points they open up all sorts of areas – the evolution of royal power and authority, the influence of the church, and the birth of the feudal system.
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A Sermon
Sermons were composed and written down by some preachers, and read out by others. Whether exegetical works giving an insight into the religious understanding of mediæval churchmen, or stirring diatribes like Wulfstan’s Sermo Lupi Ad Anglos, besides its intrinsic interest a sermon is a useful prop for anyone portraing a member of the clergy. Lost in the Living History Encampment? Throw on a cope and start reading!
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A Prose Text
There are mediæval writings on all sorts of things! The prologue to the Alfredian translation of Boethius’ De Consolatio Philosophiae, about the state of learning in England and the importance of literacy, would be a good choice for something that could circulate independently.
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A Book
Whether your own compilation of period texts, or a copy of an actual manuscript, I’m still waiting for the telephone call asking me to make a complete MS, so if you’re feeling especially generous make my day!
Decisions...
Whatever you choose, remember, it doesn’t necessarily have to fulfil a specific practical function: you might want to frame a charter on your wall, or challenge dinner guests to disentangle some closely written minuscule. It doesn’t have to be in the original language – accessibility is important, and translations in the original script can be hard enough to read themselves.
A poem from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
This is an extract from a poem in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that records King Edmund’s reconquest of the Five Boroughs in the first half tenth century, in an appropriate variation of Insular Minuscule. It was made for an event in Lincoln Castle at Easter 2007, and I turned it into a little scroll that could be easily carried in a pouch. Rolled up vellum likes to stay rolled though, and it now takes the full weight of a pair of weapons to keep it open!
