Page:St. Oswald and the Church of Worcester.djvu/27



This charter is rejected as spurious by Stevenson. It follows the original Worcester charter of Uhtred (B. C. S. 203) almost verbatim with the necessary changes. But it corrects the Latin: adding et after itaque; writing terreni for terrigenis; and putting an accusative after praeter, instead of an ablative; changing cessat into cesset, and ante ea into antea. Moreover in the attestation it gives to Bishop Mildred the phrase pia del dispensation, which is given in the genuine charter to Uhtred, and, on the contrary, gives to Uhtred Christi gratia concedente, which is there given to Bishop Mildred. Its boundaries are given at great length, in contrast to the seven words of those of the genuine charter.

In Domesday Book the church holds Stoke with two berewicks, Easton and Bedindon, ten hides in all (= X tributariorum of the charter). Now in the genuine grant (B. C. S. 203) Uhtred gives land V tributariorum at Easton to his minister Ethelmund, with reversion after two heirs to the church of Worcester. The forged grant was an attempt to make out of the wording of this a gift of Stoke (including Easton), in the very same year, fratribus deo servientibus in monasterio Uuigornensi quod constructum est in honore sanctissimae virginis et matris domini nostri Ihesu Christi Mariae.

It may further be noted that this forged Stoke charter is the second of a group of 13 charters (beginning with Cropthorne, on f. 142 of the MS. [Hearne, p. 319]), which have been misplaced in binding. If we go on to f. 173 [Hearne, p. 391], we find Incipit praefatio huius libelli, and after this preface Incipiunt capituli istius codicelli. 1. De Croppathorne. 2. De Stoke, &c. The Cropthorne charter of King Offa is recognized as a forgery by Stevenson and others. It would be interesting to know how many of these thirteen are in better case.

This charter also is marked by Stevenson as spurious. But it is of a very different character. The forger is a stylist, though weak in grammar, as is shown by his opening words: Appropinquantem mundi terminum &hellip; declaratur. He has apparently used the genuine charter (B. C. S. 203): but he makes many changes. Thus Uhtred is subregulus instead of regulus, and in the attestation Offa is made to say: mei ducis postulatione. He exaggerates in the phrase ex immensis donationibus, and speaks not only of God as