Law of Wihtred
| Law of Wihtred | |
|---|---|
| Ascribed to | Wihtred, King of Kent |
| Language | Old English |
| Date | c. 695 |
| Principal manuscript(s) | Textus Roffensis |
| First printed edition | George Hickes and Humfrey Wanley, Linguarum Vett. Septentrionalium Thesaurus Grammatico-Criticus et Archaeologicus (Oxford, 1703–5); see Law of Æthelberht#Manuscript, editions and translations |
| Genre | law code |
The Law of Wihtred is an early English legal text attributed to the Kentish king Wihtred (died 725). It is believed to date to the final decade of the 7th century and is the last of three Kentish legal texts, following the Law of Æthelberht and the Law of Hlothhere and Eadric. It is devoted primarily to offences within and against the church, as well as church rights and theft.
The prologue of the text and the red manuscript rubric attribute the law to Wihtred (died 725), king of Kent. Wihtred reigned from around or just after 690 to 725, and the text suggests he issued the law's provisions in 695.
Like the other Kentish codes, the Law of Wihtred survives in only one manuscript, known as the "Rochester Codex" or Textus Roffensis. This is a compilation of Anglo-Saxon historic and legal material drawn together in the early 1120s under the supervision of Ernulf, bishop of Rochester. Wihtred's law occupies folios 5v to 6v.
The prologue itself states that the "great men" of Kent issued the provisions before a large assembly of Kentish people, while Wihtred was "ruling in the fifth winter of his reign, in the ninth indiction, sixth day of Rugern [rye-harvest]" at "that place which is called Berghamstead" It is the only Kentish code to provide a regnal date, one working out to 6 September 695.
The prologue relates that Brihtwald, "archbishop of Britain" (Bretone heahbiscop, i.e., archbishop of Canterbury) was present, along with Gebmund, bishop of Rochester. This is appropriate as, unlike the two earlier Kentish codes, Wihtred's law is concerned with the church and religious matters. Similar to Ine's Law on several points, both laws may have drawn on Latin ecclesiastical canons.
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