Some Saxon Charters

Summary

Several of the charters and other documents, here printed in abstract, have already been noted in V.C.H., but search of the printed Latin and Saxon texts has disclosed a few more which relate to the County. In all we have now fourteen documents alleged to be of Saxon date, dealing with grants of land in twenty-one vills; three of the latter occur in more than one document. Probably a yet larger number of documents of this date relates to places in Bedfordshire with common Saxon names, such as Sutton and Carlton, but shows no internal evidence by which to link them with the county. Two only of those here abstracted have appeared in English before.

My thanks are due to my friend, Prof. W. P. Ker, for the translation of some charters from the Saxon.

In the case of most deeds it did not seem necessary to print more than—(1) the invocation and exordium, (2) such parts as relate to Bedfordshire, (3) the closing phrases. Omissions are indicated by dots……

Among the points of interest in these charters is their record of the earliest spelling of place names. The late Professor Skeat, whose “ Place-Names of Bedfordshire” is the standard authority, knew several of these charters; his explanation of the name is given in the fourth column. It is interesting and instructive to compare the names in D.B., forming the third column, with the Anglo-Saxon forms in the second column.