Latin Versions of Old English Wills

Abstract

Abstract The basis for the study of testamentary procedure in Anglo-Saxon England is the detailed analysis of the surviving vernacular wills from the pre-Conquest period.1 Many other wills, however, are recorded only as Latin notes in medieval cartularies, although a few exist in fuller versions, sometimes alongside their vernacular counterparts. These texts provide an insight into the methods and priorities of scribes who had to translate and summarise vernacular documents in the early Middle Ages. This article discusses these notes, summaries and translations, and considers their implications for the study of the Anglo-Saxon vernacular wills from which such texts are derived.