Oxford LibGuides: Legal history: England & common law tradition: Anglo-Saxon

Legal texts

The Beginnings of English Law by Lisi Oliver
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this via title link
ISBN: 9781442680531
Publication Date: 2016-01-29
Updates previous works with current scholarship in the fields of linguistics and social and legal history to present new editions and translations of these three Kentish pre-Alfredian laws, each situated within its historical, literary, and legal context.
The Laws of the Earliest English Kings by F. L. Attenborough
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9781108084840
Publication Date: 2015-04-30
In 1922 Cambridge University Press published this edition of the early Anglo-Saxon laws, with a facing-page modern English translation. Attenborough's book covers the laws from Æthelbert to Æthelstan; in 1925 Cambridge published a continuation by Agnes Robertson, 'The Laws of the Kings of England from Edmund to Henry I.'
The Laws of the Kings of England from Edmund to Henry I by A. J. Robertson
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this via title link
ISBN: 9780521153195
Publication Date: 2009-11-12
First published in 1925, A. J. Robertson compiled this collection of English laws from the tenth to the eleventh century following on the work of F. L. Attenborough in 'The Laws of the Earliest English Kings.'
English Historical Documents, 500-1042 by Dorothy Whitelock (Editor)
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
ISBN: 0415143667
Publication Date: 2nd edn, 1996
Print copy at Legal Hist E58.4 if preferred
English Historical Documents is the most ambitious, impressive and comprehensive collection of documents on English history ever published. An authoritative work of primary evidence, each volume presents material with exemplary scholarly accuracy. Editorial comment is directed towards making sources intelligible rather than drawing conclusions from them.
Anglo-Saxon Charters by A. J. Robertson
Call Number: Law Library: Legal Hist R649a2
Publication Date: 1956 (2nd ed.)
Collected translations and notes.
Anglo-Saxon wills by edited with translation and notes by Dorothy Whitelock.
Call Number: Legal Hist W594
Publication Date: 1930
Collected translations and notes.
Click on the title link to see which other Bodleian & College Libraries have copies too!
Anglo-Saxon Writs by Florence Harmer
Call Number: Law Library: Legal Hist H287
Publication Date: 1952
Collected translations and notes.
Ancient Laws and Institutes of England by Benjamin Thorpe and Richard Price
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this via title link
Publication Date: 1840
Bodleian Library, Upper Reading Room: K.5.468 v.1 & v.2 Digitised copies of the Bodleian volumes at the above shelfmark are available Open Access via google books

Old English language

Old English | David Crystal, British Library
A short article on the evolution of Old English language, the influence of Latin and Old Norse, and the transition into Middle English.

Introduction to Old English by Peter S. Baker
Call Number: English Faculty Library: PE135 BAR 2012
ISBN: 9780470659847
Publication Date: 2012-02-20
Beginning Old English by Carole Hough; John Corbett
Call Number: English Faculty Library: PE135 HOU 2013
ISBN: 9780230301405
Publication Date: 2013-05-13

Dictionary of Old English
Based on records written in English between 600 and 1150 A.D. Open access.
Glossary to Old English legal terms
Part of Fordham University's Medieval Sourcebook, which also contains a range of translated law texts. Open access.
Thesaurus of Old English
A searchable online thesaurus, with units of exercises arranged by topic. Open access.
Bosworth Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary online
Open Access. This project is based on a digital edition of An Anglo-Saxon dictionary, based on the manuscript collections of the late Joseph Bosworth (the so called Main Volume, first edition 1898) and its Supplement (first edition 1921), edited by Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller

Secondary sources

xIntroduction to English Legal History by John Baker
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this online via title link
ISBN: 9780198812616
Publication Date: 5th edn 2019
Print copy is at Legal Hist B167a5 if preferred
Traces the development of the principal features of English legal institutions and doctrines from Anglo-Saxon times to the present and offers invaluable insights into the development of the common law of persons, obligations, and property, and also of criminal and public law. Chapter 1, 'Law and Custom Before 1066', situates Anglo-Saxon law within this wider context.
"An Ald Reht": Essays on Anglo-Saxon Law by Carole Hough
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this via title link
ISBN: 9781443859172
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Print copy at Legal Hist H838.5a if preferred
This volume brings together thirteen essays on aspects of the legal system of Anglo-Saxon England, offering important insights into the operation of English law from its beginnings in the sixth century through to its preservation in manuscripts dating from the tenth to early twelfth centuries.
Law and Order in Anglo-Saxon England by Tom Lambert
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this via title link
ISBN: 9780198786313
Publication Date: 2017-04-23
Print copy at Legal Hist L226.2a if preferred
Explores English legal culture and practice across the Anglo-Saxon period, beginning with the essentially pre-Christian laws enshrined in writing by King Æthelberht of Kent in c. 600 and working forward to the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Kingship, Legislation and Power in Anglo-Saxon England by Gale R. Owen-Crocker; Brian W. Schneider (eds)
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
ISBN: 9781843838777
Publication Date: 2013-11-21
Print copy is in Radcliffe Camera, Upper Gallery: S.HIST.8.45.16 if preferred
The essays collected here focus on how Anglo-Saxon royal authority was expressed and disseminated, through laws, delegation, relationships between monarch and Church, and between monarchs at times of multiple kingships and changing power ratios.
English penitential discipline and Anglo-Saxon law in their joint influence by Thomas Pollock Oakley
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
Publication Date: 1923
Print copy at Legal Hist O11 if preferred
Anglo-Saxon England
Call Number: Available online with an Oxford SSO.
Publication Date: 1972-
Journal from Cambridge University Press - not specifically about law, but relevant sources are examined and commented upon in some contributions.
The Anglo-Saxon Chancery by Ben Snook
Call Number: Available online with an Oxford SSO.
Bodleian Library, Lower Gladstone Link: M15.E02170
ISBN: 9781783270064
Publication Date: 2015-03-19
Aims to examine Anglo-Saxon charters from a 'literary' perspective.
The Formation of the English Kingdom in the Tenth Century by George Molyneaux
Call Number: Holders of an Oxford SSO can read this book online via title link
ISBN: 0198717911
Publication Date: 2015-07-07
Print copy at Radcliffe Camera, Upper Gallery: S.HIST.8.45.18 if preferred.
The central argument of this book is that the English kingdom which existed at the time of the Norman Conquest was defined by the geographical parameters of a set of administrative reforms implemented in the mid-to-late tenth century, and not by a vision of English unity going back to Alfred the Great (871-899).

Original page editor

This page is the work of Josie Fairley Keast, Graduate Library Trainee at the Bodleian Law Library 2021-2022.

Basic background

Map of the Heptarchy kingdoms
Until the 9th century, the country was divided into many smaller kingdoms, fluctuating in number, size, and power. The most prominent of these - East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, and Wessex - are often referred to as the Heptarchy.
BBC Timeline of British History - Vikings and Anglo-Saxons
Timeline of key events, 499-1066.
Early Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms | Alison Hudson, British Library
A short article on the changing powers of Anglo-Saxon England, from the development of small kingdoms through to the impact of the Viking invasions and the eventual dominance of a single kingdom.
Who were the Anglo-Saxons? | Julian Harrison, British Library
A brief summary of Anglo-Saxon origins, language, religion, and social organisation.

Online resources

ASChart (Anglo-Saxon Charters)
A project funded for six months by the British Academy in 2005. The online publication is based around XML mark-up of charters written in Anglo-Saxon England before A.D. 900, though it is hoped that eventually the scope of the project can be extended to the full corpus. ASChart will ultimately allow users quick and easy access to a wealth of web-based infomation about Anglo-Saxon charters and history. Open access.
Early English Laws
Translation and publication project, 2006-2014. Search function can be filtered by language, king, and topic; some also link to digitised manuscripts. Open access.
The Electronic Sawyer
An updated and searchable version of Peter Sawyer's Anglo-Saxon Charters: an Annotated List and Bibliography, published by the Royal Historical Society in 1968. Open access.
English Medieval Legal Documents: A Compilation of Published Sources AD 600 -1535
The goal of this project is to create a collaborative database on the published sources of English medieval legal documents, and to provide links to the growing number of online sources currently being developed. Open access.
International Medieval Bibliography
Based at the Institute for Medieval Studies at the University of Leeds and supported by teams worldwide, this project aims to provide a current, comprehensive bibliography of articles in journals and collective volumes worldwide. Information on using the IMB is linked below.
Using the IMB
The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE)
A database which aims to provide structured information relating to all the recorded inhabitants of England from the late sixth to the late eleventh century. It is based on a systematic examination of the available written sources for the period, including chronicles, saints’ lives, charters, libri vitae, inscriptions, Domesday Book, and coins; and is intended to serve as a research tool suitable for a wide range of users with an interest in this period. Open access.
Woruldhord
Open access educational resources for the teaching and study of the Anglo-Saxons and Old English. The archive contains photographs, documents, presentations, databases, and more, covering objects, archaeological sites, poems, prose writings, and course material. It holds around 4,500 digital objects contributed by about 400 people or institutions. Open access.