3 - THE DIPLOMAS OF KING ÆTHELRED

Summary

THE DIPLOMAS ISSUED BETWEEN 978 AND 990

There are clear signs of a continuous diplomatic tradition extending from the closing years of Edgar's reign to the opening years of Æthelred's reign, though seeming not to involve the slightly anomalous group of diplomas in the name of Edward the Martyr. Many of the diplomas issued between 970 and 975, including those identified above as belonging to the series of Edgar's diplomas which conform in various respects to the pattern established by ‘Edgar A’ in the early 960s, can be distinguished from those issued earlier in the reign by the employment of the style ‘Ego Edgar rex prefatam donationem concessi’ for the king's subscription, followed by the style ‘Ego Dunstan Dorovernensis ecclesiae archiepiscopus consignavi’ for the archbishop of Canterbury. Several of the diplomas issued at the beginning of Æthelred's reign, between 979 and 983, reflect the continued employment of this formulation in the witness lists, and it is significant that the diagnostic features do not occur in combination in any diploma issued thereafter. It is also noticeable that the same early diplomas of Æthelred generally contain various elements of the formulation associated directly and indirectly with ‘Edgar A’, notably the formula for expressing the freedom of the estate from worldly burdens and a distinctive type of dating clause; some of them have further links with later diplomas of King Edgar, reinforcing the overall impression of diplomatic continuity from one reign to the next.