Textus Roffensis

Elizabeth Elstob made a facsimile of Textus Roffensis (c.1123), in two parts. Here, Dr Christopher Monk explores her handwritten copies of the three Old English Kentish law codes, unique to Textus, and her copy of the foundation charter of Rochester Cathedral with its marvellous decorated initial.

Perhaps second only to Gundulf in shaping the medieval Cathedral and St Andrew’s Priory, there is some evidence to suggest it may be down to Hamo and the turbulent times in which he lived that resulted in the two halves of Textus being bound together in the mid-fourteenth century.

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The twelfth-century collection of laws preserved in Textus Roffensis, the ‘Rochester Book’, illuminates the position of those who were slaves during the Anglo-Saxon period.

Dr Christopher Monk explores the origins of Ethelbert’s law-code, foundational document of the Early English Laws portion of the ‘Rochester Book’.

Bishop’s Chaplain Lindsay Llewellyn-MacDuff discusses the centrality of Elizabeth Elstob to our understanding of and access to Anglo-Saxon history.

Index of contents in the Textus Roffensis by Dr Christopher Monk.

Dr Christopher Monk explores Anglo-Saxon characters and reads from a selection of Old English from the Textus Roffensis: King Æthelberht’s Code from the turn of the seventh century, Alfred’s Domboc (‘Book of Laws’) from the late ninth century, and a charm for stolen livestock possibly from the late tenth to the early eleventh century.

Dr Christopher Monk explores the scribal practices in Textus Roffensis.

In 1573, the scholar William Lambarde came to Rochester Cathedral to examine Textus Roffensis. He was amazed to find that its opening document, Æthelberht’s law-code, was one he thought no longer survived. Moved by the importance of his discovery, he added a comment in the right margin, urging others to take note.