The ''Instituta Cnuti'', in full ''Instituta Cnuti aliorumque regum Anglorum'' (''Institutes of Cnut and other kings of the English''), is a legal compilation that cites, in Latin translation, selected material of Old English law. It was put together by an Anglo-Norman cleric, possibly at Worcester, sometime after the

Conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

, between 1066 and 1124.

The work consists of three sections. The first two contain passages from

Cnut Cnut ( ; ; – 12 November 1035), also known as Canute and with the epithet the Great, was King of England from 1016, King of Denmark from 1018, and King of Norway from 1028 until his death in 1035. The three kingdoms united under Cnut's rul ...

's two law codes (''I Cnut'' and ''II Cnut''), occasionally with amendments by the compiler to suit contemporary circumstances. The last section has material excerpted from the laws of Ine, Alfred, and

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...

(''II Edgar''), as well as unofficial legal tracts associated with Wulfstan, Archbishop of York, like '' Geþyncðu''. The selection shows that the translator took particular interest in (secular)

Danelaw The Danelaw (, ; ; ) was the part of History of Anglo-Saxon England, England between the late ninth century and the Norman Conquest under Anglo-Saxon rule in which Danes (tribe), Danish laws applied. The Danelaw originated in the conquest and oc ...

. The ''Instituta'' may be compared to the '' Consiliatio Cnuti'', which offers a near-complete Latin translation of Cnut's legislation.

Manuscripts

The text is preserved in Rochester Cathedral Library A. 3. 5 (the ''

Textus Roffensis The (Latin for "The Tome of Rochester Cathedral, Rochester"), fully titled the ''Textus de Ecclesia Roffensi per Ernulphum episcopum'' ("The Tome of the Rochester Cathedral, Church of Rochester up to Ernulf, Bishop Ernulf") and sometimes also ...

'') and six later manuscripts dating from the 12th and early 13th centuries, including: * London, British Library Cotton Titus A.27 * Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Colbert 3,860 * Oxford, Bodeian Library, Rawlinson C. 641

Editions and translations

The standard edition is still that of

Felix Liebermann Felix Liebermann (20 July 1851 – 7 October 1925) was a German historian, who is celebrated for his scholarly contributions to the study of medieval English history, particularly that of Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman law. Life Felix Liebermann ...

in his monumental ''Gesetze der Angelsachsen''. More recently, Bruce O'Brien has criticised Liebermann's work and suggested the need for a new critical edition.O'Brien, "On the ''Instituta Cnuti aliorumque regum Anglorum''", pp. 178-181.

References

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Contents

Manuscripts

Editions and translations

References

Further reading