This edition of 151 royal diplomas and other documents associated
with Abingdon Abbey and its estates forms a major resource for the
study of Anglo-Saxon history. Part 1 contains the first 50 texts,
all pre-dating Aethelwolds crucial refoundation of the house around
955. A substantial Introduction discusses the abbeys history and
endowment, and considers controversial issues arising from the
texts themselves. Part 2, covering the period 955-1066, will
complete the edition of this important archive.
Review quote:
Kelly has left an enduring legacy and provided an invaluable
resource for the next generation of scholars ... from her
unparalleled understanding of this material, Kelly also has an
important contribution to make to current historiographical
debates. (Journal of Ecclesiastical History)
Few have shown such enthusiasm for this arcane area as Susan Kelly
... Kelly's addition provides ample justification for the
policy of editing pre-Conquest diplomas by archive; this collection
of documents sheds important light on the abbey's estate
strategies in the later tenth and eleventh centuries and reveals
much about local charter practices in a region of considerable
strategic significance. (Journal of Ecclesiastical History)
The British Academy's Anglo-Saxon Charters series is further
enhanced by the two volumes of S.E. Kelly (ed.), Charters of
Abingdon Abbey, a meticulous edition and very full introduction
well up to the editor's exacting standards. (Annual Bulletin of
Historical Literature)
Brilliantly done ... One of the treasures of this edition is the
inclusion of solutions of the many vernacular charter bounds
carefully preserved at the abbey into the thirteenth century ...
how lucky to have dedicated and insightful scholars such as Dr
Kelly, who has done so much for the British Academy's charter
editions. (English Historical Review)
Susan Kelly has put the Anglo-Saxonist in her debt by her
magisterial two-volume edition of the charters of Abingdon Abbey
... a superb investigation of the unique problems associated with
the charters ... all in all, a study which no student of
pre-Conquest history can afford to do without. (Medium Ævum)
This edition of 151 royal diplomas and other documents associated
with Abingdon Abbey and its estates forms a major resource for the
study of Anglo-Saxon history. Part 1 contains the first 50 texts,
all pre-dating Aethelwold's crucial refoundation of the house
around 955. A substantial Introduction discusses the abbey's
history and endowment, and considers controversial issues arising
from the texts themselves. Part 2, covering the period 955-1066,
will complete the edition of this important archive.
