Blogum scribo
New translation of the seventh-century law code  The twelfth-century scribe has written a heading, in red ink: 'These are the judgments which Hlothere and Eadric, kings of the Kentish people, set down.' The large purple 'h' [Hlothere'] marks the beginning of the text proper. Textus Roffensis (Rochester Priory, c. 1123), folio 3v. Courtesy of the Dean and Chapter, Rochester Cathedral. Blessed ones, The other Monk of this website has been busy with the manuscript known as Textus Roffensis, that is, the Rochester Book. The law codes that make up the first part of this early twelfth-century manuscript have recently been added to the UNESCO Memory of the World UK Register, which you can read about here. Dr Monk has been working on and off with the custodians of the manuscript, Rochester Cathedral, during the last eight years or so. Presently, there's a new push to get the whole of the manuscript transcribed and translated, including the charters and records of the second part. This will all be accessible through the cathedral website. There's already quite a lot of stuff on the Textus Roffensis pages, so do check it out. The latest set of laws that has been published by the cathedral is that of Holthere and Eadric, uncle and nephew, who consecutively ruled the kingdom of Kent at the end of the seventh century. These laws only survive as a copy in Textus Roffensis. They are so important for helping modern historians understand this early period in English history. Of course, being an eleventh-century monk, I myself am closer to the action, to borrow one of your idioms, but does anyone ever ask me about all this stuff? They do not. Be that as it may, I must not yield to the temptation to grumble, so please enjoy the latest instalment of Dr Monk's Textus Roffensis translations:
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Blessed ones, The other Monk has been busy over at Monk's Modern Medieval Cuisine. He has produced two new things related to the Benedictine monks of St Andrew's Priory, Rochester. First, a video about a flan. Yes, every Easter the beloved brethren of Rochester gave a delicious dairy flan to one of their chief servants, the master miller (who doubled up as the master baker). So follow the video below to find out how you can make it yourself. Needless to say, I have already had a piece. There have to be some perks to this job. And, secondly, he has just written a post about the monastic consumption of quadrupeds! Oh, blessed ones, I must right now, if you would permit me, indulge in a shiver of embarrassment, nay shame, for my Rochester brothers have succumbed to eating meat on a regular basis. (Back of hand to head moment.) Here, in the eleventh century, we monks are faithfully adhering to St Benedict's Rule, forbidding the eating of such meat except when we are gravely ill. But as Dr Monk explains, there has been quite a shift in attitudes in Rochester by the early thirteenth century. Admittedly, quite a few of my contemporaries here do appear to fall dangerously ill with alarming consistency only to return from the infirmary a week later rejuvenated by flesh. But I must not judge. It is beneath me. So, blessed ones, if you care to read the gory details about the St Andrew's monks and their carnivorous habits, just follow the link below. May you all be blessed.
Dr Monk appears on today's BBC Radio 4 programme  Bayeux Tapestry Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Abigail Youngman explores the lives of the women who embroidered the Bayeux Tapestry, interviewing a number of Bayeux Tapestry scholars, including Dr Alexandra Makin, Dr Daisy Black, Professor Gale Owen-Crocker, Dr Michael Lewis and Dr Christopher Monk. The programme is live at 11.30 UK time. It will be made available via the BBC Sounds App shortly after it has been broadcasted.
 King Æthelberht (Ethelbert), Rochester Cathedral. © Christopher Monk 2016 Blessed ones, Dr Monk has been busy scribing away for Rochester Cathedral. He has re-written a piece, Origins and Beginnings, which in its original guise appeared on this website back in 2016, and to accompany this he has also produced a new edition, a line-by-line rendering, and a full translation of Æthelberht's Code, the oldest set of laws in England, dating to the year 600. If you would like to avail yourself of these, admittedly half decent, pieces of scholarship, just follow the links below. Oh, and there's a video of him reading some of the clauses from the law-code. It was produced in 2014. I remember it well, because they didn't ask me to read it! May you all be blessed, The Medieval Monk
Blessed ones! Dr Monk has been busy creating a short video for Rochester Cathedral on my YouTube channel. I know, I'm a generous soul. The video relates to eighteenth-century scholar Elizabeth Elstob (1683-1758) and her interaction with Textus Roffensis, arguably the most important collection of early medieval English laws in existence (in your twenty-first century, that is). Elstob was a pioneering scholar of Old English (Anglo-Saxon) during the reign of Queen Anne (r. 1702-14), whom I once met. It's a long story, for another time. Anyhow, as well as publishing editions and translations of major Old English texts, she is celebrated for writing the first Old English grammar to use modern English, rather than the expected Latin, thus making the study of Old English works far more accessible, particularly to other women of the time. In the short video below, Dr Monk takes a look at the 'Saxon Characters' she left behind on one of the pages of Textus Roffensis, produced by a very industrious monk-scribe at Rochester's Cathedral Priory, around 1123. If you wish, and I can recommend it, you can also watch the video as part of a more detailed piece about Elstob on Rochester Cathedral's website, written by Lindsay Llewellyn-MacDuff, Bishop's Chaplain at the cathedral. May you all be blessed! |