Ancient Laws and Institutes of England

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.