Western Medieval Manuscripts : Cartulary of Peterborough Abbey (The Book of Robert of Swaffham)

Western Medieval Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'><b>Introduction</b></p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The monastery of Peterborough was first founded in the seventh century as 'Medeshamstede'; after its destruction by the Danes, it was refounded in the tenth century as 'Burgh' (Peterborough). In the mid-thirteenth century it had an establishment of 80 monks. One of them, Robert of Swaffham, gave his name to this substantial volume, indicating that it was compiled by him or under his auspices. The text in the main hand can be dated to the abbacy of John of Caux (reg. 1249-1263), and there are later additions up to the fourteenth century. The book remained in the cathedral library after the Dissolution, but it came close to being lost in the seventeenth century civil war, after being found by one of Cromwell's soldiers when they ransacked the cathedral in 1643. The master of the choristers, Humfrey Austin, purchased it from him for 10s, claiming that it was 'an old Latin bible', and his receipt for this sum is copied on the flyleaf of the manuscript. It then remained safely in the library of the Dean and Chapter until it was transferred to Cambridge in 1980. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The book was the monastery's first complete cartulary, and the first point of reference not just for the monks but thereafter for the learned clergy of the cathedral, including Simon Gunton (bap. 1609, d. 1676) and White Kennett (1660-1728). It bears signs of heavy use. There are frequent marginal annotations, including cross-references to later material, and numerous cloth and parchment page markers attached for ease of reference. One of these takes readers to Henry III's reissue of Magna Carta in 1225.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The cartulary starts with a list of contents, with references to the folio numbers. It then contains the house chronicle, compiled by the monk Hugh Candidus in the mid-twelfth century and here continued to the death of Abbot Walter of St Edmunds in 1245 by Robert of Swaffham. There follow royal and papal charters, each section starting with forgeries relating to the first foundation at Medeshamstede; after which come charters of the abbots, including endowments to the convent to commemorate their anniversaries.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Thereafter, around half way through the text, the structure becomes more amorphous. Surveys of the abbey's demesne manors, made in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, are clearly intended to preface the main section of grants of grants of land and privileges to the monastery and to individual departments. There is a small group of documents relating to the knightly tenancies of the abbey. Finally, in the original hand, is the earliest surviving copy of the <i>Gesta Herewardi</i>, which had been written at Ely a century earlier, and which deals with the exploits of Hereward 'the Wake' in the aftermath of the Conquest. It provides an element of romance at the end of this highly utilitarian compilation.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>An edition of the cartulary is being prepared by Dr Nicholas Karn, to be published by the Northamptonshire Record Society under the auspices of the Anthony Mellows Memorial Trust.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Edmund King<br />Emeritus Professor of Medieval History<br />University of Sheffield</p><p style='text-align: justify;'><b>Conservation and digitisation of the manuscript</b></p><p style='text-align: justify;'>In 2024, thanks to a generous gift from Edmund King, the Book of Robert of Swaffham was conserved, digitised and rebound. The conservation and rebinding work was undertaken by Shaun Thompson, of the Library's Conservation and Collection Care Department.</p>