18. MONASTIC GRANT OF KING CNUT (BEFORE 1035)
INTRODUCTION
CNUT (r. 1017–1035), the king of Denmark and Norway who conquered England after killing King Ethelred II in 1017 and marrying his widow, QUEEN EMMA OF NORMANDY, technically converted to Christianity upon his marriage (he was really a part-time Christian because he did not practice the religion outside England), and he and Queen Emma became enthusiastic patrons of the church. Cnut also was a very effective administrator, adopting many of the administrative systems of the kingdom of Wessex for use in other parts of his collection of kingdoms.
The “Old Monastery” of Winchester was reputed to have been founded during the Roman occupation of Britain, thus predating the Saxon conquests. In the early Middle Ages, it formed part of the complex of Winchester Cathedral. It received a significant level of patronage from the royal house of Wessex and several prominent kings and queens were buried there, including, in 1118, Queen Matilda, the wife of King Henry I.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
Charters, as documents that operated both as contracts and as letters, did not have a standard formalized style in the early decades of their development. As a result, one charter could be quite different from another written at the same time. Not all charters, for example, contained a “curse clause” such as the one included in this document. Indeed, such curse clauses disappeared from most charter formats by the thirteenth century.
Document 1: Charter of King Cnut to the Old Monastery of Winchester
I, Cnut, king through God’s grace of all England and of all the Danes, make known to my bishops and my earls and all of my thanes, both Danish and English, what I grant to the Old Monastery in Winchester, to the praise of God, and St Peter and St Paul, and of the saints that there within rest. That is, I command that that monastery be free of all secular services, except that which is common to all the folk; that is: military service—either on board ships or as foot soldiers—and building bridges, and building walls, and whatever may be the common need of all people. Thus with regard to the monastery, [the services] remain as they were in the days of the kings who were before us. Now I here declare, in this writing, what I am adding [to the grant] I previously gave, for the redemption of my soul and those of all my predecessors and successors. That is, [I grant the income from charges of] hâmsocn, and forestalls, and mundbræcs, and every penalty, small and great, over all the men who have to obey the abbot who has [received the] charge of that monastery from the hand of God. I now grant these liberties, for the honor of my Lord, who has given men all the good which has in this world awaited me, and of the blessed St Peter, who has the power in heaven and on earth to bind and to loosen the fast knots of nefarious sins. If therefore anyone, audaciously, or at the devil’s instigation, will [try to] break [or invade] this liberty, or dare to inhibit this settlement, may he be accursed with all the curses that are written in all the holy books, and may he be severed from the communion of our Lord and all his saints; and may he be bound, while he lives in this life, with the same bonds that God Almighty through himself has delivered to his holy apostles, Peter and Paul; and, after his accursed departure hence, may he lie forever in the groundless pit of hell, and burn in the eternal fire, with the devil and with the accursed spirits that dwell with him forever without end; unless, ere his departure hence [before he dies], he make amends.
Source: Diplomatarium Anglicum Aevi Saxonici: A Collection of English Charters, from the Reign of King of Aethelberht of Kent to That of William the Conqueror. Edited by Benjamin Thorpe. London: Macmillan & Co., 1865. Pp. 333–334. Modernized by editor.
AFTERMATH
King Cnut was able to secure the support of the clergy in part because of his generosity to the church in Anglo-Saxon England. Nevertheless, even though his reign coincided with an era of significant reform and renewal in the Roman church, the reforms do not appear to have been considered in England until the reign of Edward the Confessor and, more energetically, after the Norman Conquest. As a result, English kings retained far more power over the appointment of bishops and abbots than their continental peers; this is something Cnut and his wife Queen Emma exploited in rewarding their allies.
ASK YOURSELF
What benefits would a layperson—even a king—gain by donating land or liberties to the church?
In what ways does the charter express a religious perspective for King Cnut and Queen Emma?
Why would Anglo-Saxon people consider curse clauses important or necessary in creating charters?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
Think about the ways in which a nominally Christian king like Cnut could make use of his alliance with the church in England while retaining aspects of pagan belief in his other realms.
Consider the motivations of churchmen in soliciting grants from laypeople: what benefits could the church derive from such grants?
Further Information
Blair, John. The Church in Anglo-Saxon Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Smith, Mary Frances, Robin Fleming, and Patricia Halpin. “Court and Piety in Late Anglo-Saxon England.” The Catholic Historical Review 87, no. 4 (2001): 569–602.