Source.—Cott. Aug., ii. 62. Earle, Land-Charters, and other Saxonic Documents, Oxford, 1888, p. 175. Translated by W.

? Our Lord Jesus Christ reigning for ever! Since by the providence of our Creator every creature was made altogether good in the beginning and was beautifully created and splendidly fashioned, above the heavens and below, as well in the case of angels as men and the manifold and diverse kinds of beasts of burden and fishes and birds: And since from the beginning of the world until the end they rightly keep the laws ordained by their Creator except man alone, who was formed in his image and set above every creature, who for his transgression is rushing headlong to death: Therefore I Eadmund, king of the Angles, burning for the heavenly country, have granted and given to a certain lady of a religious order, named Æthelswith, x hides in the place commonly known in the ancient tongue as AT OSWALDING TOWN: That she may enjoy it well and ever possess it so long as the spirit of life unharmed pursue the course of this declining age and dwell in flesh corruptible: and that she may leave it to whatever heir she will for ever after herself, as we said above, as an everlasting inheritance.

And let the aforesaid land with all things thereto rightly pertaining, fields, pastures, meadows, woods, and woodland groves be free from every worldly hindrance except these three, the fyrd, and bridge-work, and fortress-work. But if anyone shall try (what we do not desire) to infringe this our grant, entering thereupon through self-exaltation, may he endure the cold blasts of ice and the Pennine^[2] troop of evil spirits unless he first make amends with the tearful sighs of repentance and by pure reform. These are the boundaries by which the aforesaid land is surrounded. These are the land boundaries at oswalding tun: first Ælfgyth’s boundary on the east up to teting ford; then from there west up to done; then from there up to eadgifu’s boundary; then from there to the bishop’s boundary at cirring; from cirring north thence to emecing mere; to oswalding tun pertain holly hurst, and byrhttring den, and eoreding den, and liccing den, and hereferth’s lea, and dynning den, and cyrthring hurst, and trip hurst and insnadis into oswalding tun; and the meadow at brunes ford and the meadow at bee brook pertain to oswalding tun.

This aforesaid donation was completed in the year from the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ DCCCCXL, Indiction XIII.

? I Eadmund king of the Angles have confirmed the aforesaid donation with the sign of the holy +cross.

? I Wulfhelm archbishop of the church of Canterbury have signed the donation of the king with the mark of the holy +cross.

? I Eadred the king’s brother have signed.

? I Theodred bishop of the church of London have signed.

? I Ælfheah bishop of the church of Winchester have made the triumphant mark of the holy +cross.

? I Cenwald bishop have assented to the aforesaid gift.

? I Oda bishop have confirmed.

? I Ælfric bishop have signed.

? I Wulfhun bishop have assented.

? I Wulfhelm bishop have signed.

? I Burgric bishop have assented.

? I Æthelgar bishop have corroborated.

? Ælfhere earl.

? Wulfgar earl.

? Æthelstan earl.

? Uhtred earl.

? Orda thegn.

? Ælfric thegn.

? Eadmund thegn.

? Wulfsige thegn.

? Wullaf thegn.

? Ordeah thegn.

? Eadric thegn.

? Ealhelm thegn.

? Ælfsige thegn.

? Æthered thegn.

? Athelmund thegn.

? Wulfhelm thegn.

? Wulfheah thegn.

? Wulfsige thegn.

? Wihtgar thegn.

? Æthelwold thegn.

? Ælfred thegn.

? Wulfgar thegn.

? Ælfsige thegn.

? Wulfnoth thegn.

? Æthelstan thegn.

? Æthelsige thegn.

? Eanulf thegn.

On the back: ? This is Oswalding tun’s boc which Eadmund the king booked to Æthelswith as a perpetual heritage.