4.1 ROYAL CHARTERS AND WRITS OF PROCLAMATION

For the Anglo-Saxon period, the three main documentary sources of statutory law are the extant laws issued by the kings, the Latin law books which discuss the late Anglo-Saxon Law, and the royal charters, writs and wills, which elucidate these laws. During the Norman period these charters, or grants of rights were used to consolidate the power of the kings.

From early medieval times, the royal proclamation served two main purposes: to call attention to and enforce an existing enactment, and to announce formally an executive act. Their use as a legislative instrument decreased as the power of the king diminished with the expanding powers of parliament. They were recorded on the close rolls, patent rolls, which are described in the section on state records below, as well as on the rolls of parliament.

Many of the charters, being issued for a definite and restricted purpose, may be found in the cartularies of religious organizations, counties or families to which the charters refer. The editions and calendars of these cartularies which are often published by local historical societies, and the deeds of religious houses, manors, and boroughs are too numerous to include here. The most complete list of these cartularies can be found in Davis(52) and extensive lists can also be found in Palmer(53), Whitelock(54) and Douglas.(55) For later charters, see Winfield(56)as well as Maxwell’s listing of borough charters.(57) The three volume work of British borough charters should also be consulted.(58) A list of the principal county record societies may be found in Douglas.(59) To identify details of a specific cartulary, search the major online bibliographical database, WorldCat(60), under the name of the cartulary. Some of the main collections of charters are listed below.

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52. Davis, Godfrey R.C. MedievalCartularies of Great Britain; a Short Catalogue. London: Longmans, Green, 1958.
53. Palmer, Robert C. The County Courts of Medieval England, 1150-1350 Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1982 at p.336
54. Douglas, David C., Dorothy Whitelock, George W. Greenaway, Harry Rothwell, A. R. Myers, and C. H. Williams, eds. English Historical Documents 10 Vols. in 11. New York: Oxford University Press, 1953-1977. vol. 1, c.500-1042, ed. by Dorothy Whitelock at pp.252-3
55. Douglas, David C., Dorothy Whitelock, George W. Greenaway, Harry Rothwell, A. R. Myers, and C. H. Williams, eds. English Historical Documents 10 Vols. in 11. New York: Oxford University Press, 1953-1977. vol.2 1042-1189, ed. by David Douglas at pp.866-8
56. Winfield, Percy H. The Chief Sources of English Legal History, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925 at pp.121-6
57. Maxwell, William Harold, and Leslie F. Maxwell , comps. A Legal Bibliography of the British Commonwealth of Nations. 8 Vols. 2nd ed. London: Sweet and Maxwell, 1955- at pp.419-33
58. Ballard, Adolphus, ed. British Borough Charters, 1042-1216. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1913.
Ballard, Adolphus and James Tait, eds. British Borough Charters, 1216-1307. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1923;
Weinbaum, Martin, ed. British Borough Charters, 1307-1660. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1943.
59. Douglas, David C., Dorothy Whitelock, George W. Greenaway, Harry Rothwell, A. R. Myers, and C. H. Williams, eds. English Historical Documents 10 Vols. in 11. New York: Oxford University Press, 1953-1977. vol.2 1042-1189, ed. by David Douglas at pp.85-6
60. WorldCat, the Online Computer Library Center’s bibliographic database at http://www.worldcat.org/

4.1.1 Full Text Charters and Proclamations
4.1.2 Calendars and Registers of Charters