The historie of tithes that is, the practice of payment of them, the positiue laws made for them, the opinions touching the right of them : a review of it is also annext, which both confirmes it and directs in the vse of it / by I. Selden.

VI.

King Athelstan o about the yeer DCCCCXXX. by aduise and consent of the Bishops of the Land, made a generall Law for prediall and mixt Tithes, in these words.

Ic AEþelstane cyning mid geþeahte ƿulfhelmes mines hihbisceipes. & oþra minra bisceopa bebeode eallum minum gereafum ðuph ealle mine rice (on þaes drihtaenes nama. & eal∣ra halgena, & for mine lufu) {that} hi aerost mines age∣nes ðam teoþe gesyllaþ. ge ðaes libbendes ry∣fes. ge ðaes gearlice ƿestmes; p & {that} ilce gedo eac ða bisceopas heora geƿhilcra. & eac mine ealdormanna. & gereafa; & ic ƿille {that} mine bisceopes & gereafa ðaes demaþ eallum ðe hio gehyrsumian gebyraþ. & {that} ilce to þam tide fulfremaþ ðe ƿe hio settaþ. & þaes sie to ðaem daeg ðaer beheafdunges Seint Iohannes þaes fulh∣teres;

which is anciently thus turnd q into La∣tine.

Ego Athelstanus Rex Consilio Wulfhelmes Archiepiscopi mei & aliorum Episcoporum meo∣rum mando praepositis meis omnibus in toto regno meo, & praecipio (in nomine Domini & Sancto∣rum omnium & super amicitiam meam) vt inpri∣mis de meo proprio reddant Deo Decimas tam in viuente captali quam mortuis frugibus terrae. & Episcopi mei similitèr faciant de suo proprio & Al∣dermanni mei, & Praepositi mei. Et volo vt Epis∣copi & Praepositi mei, hoc iudicent omnibus qui eis parere debent, & hoc ad terminum expleant quem eis ponimus, i. decollatio S. Iohannis Baptistae.

and

the example of Iacob, with a Text or two out of holy Writ and S. Augustin, is added to moue deuotion. That translation agrees wholly e∣nough with the Saxon, sauing in those words mortuis frugibus; the Saxon being yeerly fruits, which also another r Copie of this translation expresses by ornotinis frugibus, corrupted plainly from hornotinis frugibus, i. the fruits of one and the last yeer, or the yeerly increase. and perhaps some ignorant Monk finding ornotinis, and not vnderstanding it, because he would be sure to square it to his own abilitie of learning, made it mortuis. which kind of changing hath examples enough in bold but ignorant Criticisme. that which the old Translator calls viuens captale, is, libbendes yrfes i. liuing cattell, in the Saxon; which hath often s ceap also for chattels, and somtimes specially for liuing cattell, but the old t Latine of the Saxon Laws turns ceap also into captale, whence cattalla is like enough to haue discended. and the first stock of Cattell which by King Ina's Laws was to be giuen to Or∣phans, was called frumstole in Saxon, but pri∣mum captale in the old translations. In Bramp∣ton's u Historie (which is full of the Laws of the Saxon times) after those constitutions of Grate∣ley, part of which are in Lambard's 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, follows a thankfull acknowledgment to K. A∣thelstan for this Law of Tithes, in these words.

Karissime; Episcopi tui de Kent & omnis

Kentsirae, Thayni, Comites & villani tibi Do∣mino dulcissimo suo gratias agunt, quod no∣bis de pace nostra praecipere volusti, & de commodo Nostro perquirere & consulere; quia magnum opus est inde nobis diuitibus & egenis. Et hoc incepimus, quantâ diligentiâ potuimus, consilio horum sapientum quos ad nos misisti. Vnde, Karissime Domine, primum est de nostra Decima, ad quam valdè cupidi sumus & voluntarij & tibi supplices gratias agimus admonitionis tuae.

Notes

• o

  Leg. Aethelst. edit. à Lambardo.
• p

  In Ms Cotto∣niano inseruntur illic haec verba: sƿa man rightast maege. oððe gemetan, oððe ge∣stellan, oð∣ðe ƿaegan. i. in the iustest way that may be; either by measure, num∣ber or weight.
• q

  In Historia Iornallensi Ms. in Bibl. Cotton.
• r

  Vet. Leg. ibid. Ms.
• s

  Ina Leg. cap. 37.40. & 42.
• t

  In dicta historia Iornallens. Ms.
• Cap. 38.
• u

  Dict. Hist. Ior∣nall••nsi.