Ancient Laws and Institutes of England: Comprising Laws Enacted under the Anglo-Saxon Kings from Aethelbirht to Cnut

Originally published for the Record Commissioners in 1840, this two-volume work remains a standard source for scholars of Anglo-Saxon and early Norman legal history. Benjamin Thorpe (1781?–1870) was a respected and prolific scholar and translator of Old English, whose publications in the field earned him a civil list pension in 1835. Trained in Copenhagen under Rasmus Rask, Thorpe advocated a scientific approach to philology, and this is reflected in the thoroughness of the notes, commentary, and concordance appended to the sources reprinted here. In Volume 2, the ecclesiastical laws from the seventh to the tenth centuries are reproduced in the original languages. There is a parallel translation of the Anglo-Saxon text, although the original sources in Latin remain untranslated. This volume also contains a comprehensive glossary to both parts of the book.