Creating and curating an archive: Bury St Edmunds and its Anglo-Saxon past

Lowe, K. A. (2019) Creating and curating an archive: Bury St Edmunds and its Anglo-Saxon past. In: Jahner, J., Steiner, E. and Tyler, E. M. (eds.) Medieval Historical Writing: Britain and Ireland, 500-1500. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, pp. 192-207. ISBN 9781316681299 (doi: 10.1017/9781316681299.012)

Abstract

This contribution explores the mechanisms by which the Benedictine foundation of Bury St Edmunds sought to legitimise and preserve their spurious pre-Conquest privileges and holdings throughout the Middle Ages. The archive is extraordinary in terms of the large number of surviving registers and cartularies which contain copies of Anglo-Saxon charters, many of which are wholly or partly in Old English. The essay charts the changing use to which these ancient documents were put in response to threats to the foundation's continued enjoyment of its liberties. The focus throughout the essay is to demonstrate how pragmatic considerations at every stage affects the development of the archive and the ways in which these linguistically challenging texts were presented, re-presented, and represented during the Abbey’s history.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lowe, Dr Kathryn
• Authors: Lowe, K. A.
• Subjects: C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CD Diplomatics. Archives. Seals; D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History; D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
• College/School: College of Arts > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• ISBN: 9781316681299
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2019 Cambridge University Press
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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