Page:William of Malmesbury's Chronicle.djvu/170

 in all things pertaining either to the beauty or convenience of the church, whether internally or externally. It may be proper here to subjoin to our narrative the charter he granted to the said church, as I have read it in their ancient chartulary. Some MSS. omit from "Edgar of glorious memory, &c." to "spoken of another. The monastic order," &c. in page 155, and insert the charter at length, together with what follows it, thus:

"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: although the decrees of pontiffs and the decisions of priests are fixed by irrevocable bonds, like the foundations of the mountains, yet, nevertheless, through the storms and tempests of secular matters, and the corruptions of reprobate men, the institutions of the holy church of God are often convulsed and broken. Wherefore I perceive that it will be advantageous to posterity that I should confirm by writing what has been determined by wholesome counsel and common consent. In consequence, it seems proper that the church of the most blessed mother of God, the eternal virgin Mary, of Glastonbury, inasmuch as it has always possessed the chief dignity in my kingdom, should be honoured by us with some especial and unusual privilege. Dunstan, therefore, and Oswald, archbishops of Canterbury and York, exhorting thereto, and Brithelm, bishop of Wells, and other bishops, abbats, and chiefs assenting and approving, I, Edgar, by the grace of God, king of the English, and ruler and governor of the adjacent nations, in the name of the blessed Trinity, for the soul of my father who reposes there, and of my predecessors, do by this present privilege decree, appoint, and establish, that the aforesaid monastery and all its possessions shall remain free and exonerated from all payments to the Exchequer now and for ever: they shall have soc and sac, on stronde and on wude, on felde, on grithbrice, on burgbrice, hundredsetena, and mortheras, athas, and ordelas, ealle hordas bufan eorthan, and beneothan: infangenetheof, utfangenetheof, flemenefertha, hamsocne, friderbrice, foresteal, toll and team, just as free and peaceably as I have in my kingdom: let the same liberty and power also as I have in my own court, as well in forgiving as in punishing, and in every other matter, be possessed by the abbat and monks of the aforesaid monastery within their court. And should the abbat, or any monk of that place, upon his journey, meet a thief going to the gallows, or to any other punishment of death, they shall have power of rescuing him from the impending danger throughout my kingdom. Moreover, I confirm and establish what has hitherto been scrupulously observed by all my predecessors, that the bishop of Wells and his ministers shall have no power whatever over this monastery, or its parish-churches; that is to say, Street, Miricling [Merlinge], Budecal, Shapwick, Sowy, or their chapels, or even over those contained in the islands, that is to say, Beokery, and otherwise called Little Ireland, Godney, Martensia, Patheneberga, Adredseia, and Ferramere, except only when summoned by the abbat for dedications or ordinations, nor shall they cite their priests to their synods or chapters, or to any of their courts, nor shall they suspend them from their holy office, or presume to exercise any right over them whatever. The abbat shall cause any bishop of the same province he pleases to ordain his monks, and the clerks of the aforesaid