Index...
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as originally published in Austin's Monthly Magazine from November 1832 to June 1939
Compiled and transcribed by R. W. Orland, 2005
I'm sincerely grateful to the Shelton family for their kind permission and encouragement to publish these works.
J. B. Shelton's post-war book A Night in Little Park Street can be viewed here (in PDF format).
Benedictine Site ExcavationsApril 1934MAIN TEXT OF THE CHARTER OF KING EDWARD THE CONFESSOR TO THE ABBEY OF ST. MARY, COVENTRY. (In the British Museum.)
" Eadward, King, greets Edsie, the Archbishop, and all my bishops, abbots and earls, thagnes and sheriffs, and all my faithful men kindly. Every man it behoves very rightly to love and to highly honour our Lord God, and earnestly and unanimously to follow God's laws, and diligently to incline to alms deeds, whereby he may release himself from the bonds of sin. . . . For which necessary things I make known unto you all that I grant with full permission that the same gift which Leofric the Earl and Godgyuae have given to Christ and His dear Mother and to Leofwin, the abbot, and to the brethren within the minster at Coventry, for their souls to help, in land and in water, in gold and in silver, in ornaments and in all other things, as full and as forth as it stood themselves in hand, and as they therewith that same minster worthily have enriched, so I it firmly grant. And, furthermore, I grant to them also, for my soul, that they have besides full freedom, sac (jurisdiction in religious suits) toll (exemption from toll), and theam (vouching to warranty), hamsocne (power to enforce fines for personal entry, etc.) forestoall, (power to punish for stealing), blodwite (power to fine for assault and bloodshed), weardwite (power to maintain watch), and numbrice (power to punish breach of the peace). Now will I henceforward that it ever be a dwelling of monks, and let them stand in God's peace, and St. Mary's, and mine, and according to St. Benedict's rule, under the Abbot's authority. And I will not in any way consent that any man take away or eject their gifts and their alms, or that any man have there any charge upon any things or at any season except the Abbot and the brethren to the need of this minster. And whosoever shall increase this alms with any good, the Lord shall increase for him Heaven's bliss; and whosoever shall take them away or deprive the minster of any thing at any time, let him stand in God's anger and His dear Mother's and mine. God keep you all "
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