Lincoln was one of the wealthiest English cities from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, although it subsequently declined. This 1911 volume edited by Walter de Gray Birch contains transcripts and translations of the royal charters issued to the city of Lincoln between the twelfth and seventeenth centuries. The introduction discusses the physical condition, content, and importance of the charters, and the necessity for their preservation and publication as the foundations of modern civic democracy. The charters cover a wide range of topics, including protecting the guilds from outside competition, permitting the election of civic officers, allowing building work, and the holding of regular markets. The city authorities were diligent in getting charters and privileges confirmed by successive monarchs, which preserved the content of early, now lost, documents. Although the translations do contain some errors and misunderstandings of the original, this is a valuable collection of
Walter de Gray Birch (1842–1924) worked in the Department of Manuscripts at the British Museum from 1864 to 1902 and published extensively in Anglo-Saxon studies. He is best known for this collection of over 1300 charters, in Latin and Old English, originally published in thirty-two parts between 1883 and 1893 and now reissued in three volumes. The funding for Birch's project eventually ran out, and the work ends at 975 CE. However, for the period covered, Birch's edition, which drew extensively on recent Victorian scholarship, superseded John Mitchell Kemble's 1839–48 Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici (also reissued in this series), which had been the first attempt to publish all the surviving Anglo-Saxon charter texts. Like Kemble, Birch organised his collection chronologically: Volume 1 covers the fifth to the ninth centuries, Volume 2 contains material from the ninth and tenth centuries, and Volume 3 focuses mainly on the tenth century.
Walter de Gray Birch (1842–1924) worked in the Department of Manuscripts at the British Museum from 1864 to 1902 and published extensively in Anglo-Saxon studies. He is best known for this collection of over 1300 charters, in Latin and Old English, originally published in thirty-two parts between 1883 and 1893 and now reissued in three volumes. The funding for Birch's project eventually ran out, and the work ends at 975 CE. However, for the period covered, Birch's edition, which drew extensively on recent Victorian scholarship, superseded John Mitchell Kemble's 1839–48 Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici (also reissued in this series), which had been the first attempt to publish all the surviving Anglo-Saxon charter texts. Like Kemble, Birch organised his collection chronologically. Volume 1 covers the fifth to the mid-ninth century, and includes an introduction describing developments in Anglo-Saxon studies since Kemble's day and the resources available to Birch.
Walter de Gray Birch (1842–1924) worked in the Department of Manuscripts at the British Museum from 1864 to 1902 and published extensively in Anglo-Saxon studies. He is best known for this collection of over 1300 charters, in Latin and Old English, originally published in thirty-two parts between 1883 and 1893 and now reissued in three volumes. The funding for Birch's project eventually ran out, and the work ends at 975 CE. However, for the period covered, Birch's edition, which drew extensively on recent Victorian scholarship, superseded John Mitchell Kemble's 1839–48 Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici (also reissued in this series), which had been the first attempt to publish all the surviving Anglo-Saxon charter texts. Like Kemble, Birch organised his collection chronologically. Volume 3 focuses mainly on the tenth century. Together with grants of lands and privileges, it records several manumissions, and the regulations for the repair of a bridge.
Walter de Gray Birch (1842–1924) worked in the Department of Manuscripts at the British Museum from 1864 to 1902 and published extensively in Anglo-Saxon studies. He is best known for this collection of over 1300 charters, in Latin and Old English, originally published in thirty-two parts between 1883 and 1893 and now reissued in three volumes. The funding for Birch's project eventually ran out, and the work ends at 975 CE. However, for the period covered, Birch's edition, which drew extensively on recent Victorian scholarship, superseded John Mitchell Kemble's 1839–48 Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici (also reissued in this series), which had been the first attempt to publish all the surviving Anglo-Saxon charter texts. Like Kemble, Birch organised his collection chronologically. Volume 2 covers the century from 839 to 947, and, alongside grants of lands and privileges, includes documents about corrupt bishops, pagan rites, decorated manuscripts and church treasures.
