Page:St. Oswald and the Church of Worcester.djvu/33

 and B. C. S. 1178, the charter of Edgar to Croyland as given by 'Ingulf'.

The attestation is made up of the names of the king and Bishop Alhun, followed by a list taken from B. C. S. 357, Coenuulf's charter of 816: the two other bishops thus introduced had been dead about thirty years.

The opening and closing portions of this charter are found with slight variation in B. C. S. 540. There we read: rogatus a ƿerfri&#240;o antestite Huicciorum et familia in Uueogernacestre, istam libertatem &hellip; donavi. Here, however, we have the clumsy combination: rogatus a Werfrido episcopo Wiciorum et familia in Wigornacestre, concessi monachis deo famulantibus in monasterio Wigornensi quod constructum est in honore sanctae et perpetuae matris et virginis Mariae.

The witnesses of B. C. S. 540 reappear in B. C. S. 541, with the exception of Deorlaf episcopus: but a number of other names are added in the latter charter. Three of these raise suspicion: Alhferht dux, Kyred, Wulsige; for they seem really to represent Ealfrith, bishop of Winchester, Ceorred or Ceolred, bishop of Leicester, and Wulfsige, another bishop, all of whom attest charters of this period.

This charter is one of those which come from the codicellus already spoken of: and it is plain that no weight can be attached to its evidence, either for monks or for St Mary's church at this period.

XII

B. C. S. 578 is a Canterbury memorandum to the effect that King Alfred gave certain lands at Rotherhithe to Archbishop Plegmund and Bishop Werfrith. The words which concern us are: unum archiepiscopo Doroberniae Plegemundo et successoribus eius ad opus ecclesie Christi et monachorum: alterum vero Werefrido ad ecclesiam sanctae Mariae Wigoracensem. But B. C. S. 577 gives a better form of the same memorandum, in which we read unum archiepiscopo Plegmundo ad ecclesiam Christi, alteram Uuerfrido ad ecclesiam Uuigornacensem.

We need not discuss the authenticity of the grant. We may note, however, how easily the mention of St Mary's may be inserted by a copyist.