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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


A probably authentic Anglo-Saxon charter records a grant by Eadric, king of the people of Kent (south-east Britain), of land at Stodmarsh, Kent, to the monastery outside Canterbury dedicated to *Peter (the Apostle, S00036). Written in Latin, probably in Kent, June 686.

Evidence ID

E05865

Type of Evidence

Documentary texts - Charter or diploma

Documentary texts - Donation document

Charter of King Eadric (Sawyer 9, excerpted)

In nomine saluatoris [...] ego Eadricus rex Cantuariorum a presenti die et tempore terram iuris mei, quamuis pretium competens acciperim hoc est argenti libras decem, in monasterio beati Petri apostolorum principis quod situm est iuxta ciuitatem Dorouernis [...] inperpetuum donaui et dono. Que supradicta terra coniuncta est terre quam sancte memorie Clotharius quondam rex beato Petro pro remedio anime sue donasse cognoscitur [...] Omnes terras [...] beato Petro eiusque familie in qua nunc presse Adrianus abbas dinoscitur tradidi possidendam [...] Actum in mense Iunio, indictione .xiiii. [...]

'In the name of the Saviour ... I, Eadric, king of the people of Kent, grant and have granted forever from this present time and day land belonging to me to the monastery of blessed Peter, prince of the apostles, which is situated next to the city of Canterbury ... since I have received a suitable payment, that is, ten pounds of gold. These aforesaid lands are joined to the land which Hlothere, the former king of holy memory, is known to have granted to the blessed Peter for the remedy of his soul ... I have handed over all these lands to be possessed ... by blessed Peter and his household, where Abbot Hadrian is known now to preside ... Enacted in the month of June, in the thirteenth indiction ...'


Text: Kelly 1995, no. 7, 30-31.
Translation: B. Savill.

Cult Places

Cult building - monastic

Places Named after Saint

Monastery

Non Liturgical Activity

Bequests, donations, gifts and offerings

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Ecclesiastics - abbots
Monarchs and their family

Source

This charter survives only in much later copies, in manuscripts of the 13th and 15th centuries. Its most recent editor argues for its essential authenticity, but concedes that 'it is difficult to be certain that [it] has not suffered some interference in later years' (Kelly 1995, 31-33).

For further details, see this charter's entry on the
Electronic Sawyer: http://www.esawyer.org.uk/charter/9.html


Discussion

This monastery at Canterbury would later become known as St Augustine's, after its founder Augustine, first bishop of Canterbury (597-?609). Although the house was apparently established as a monastery dedicated to both Peter and Paul (cf. Bede, Ecclesiastical History 1. 33), this early charter only records a dedication to Peter.


Bibliography

Edition:
Kelly, S.E., Charters of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, and Minster-in-Thanet (Oxford, 1995).

Further reading:
Sawyer, P.H., Anglo-Saxon Charters: an Annotated List and Bibliography (London, 1968); revd. S.E. Kelly and R. Rushforth et al. online at http://www.esawyer.org.uk


Record Created By

Benjamin Savill

Date of Entry

22/06/2018

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00036Peter, the ApostlePetrusCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Benjamin Savill, Cult of Saints, E05865 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E05865