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The Law of Æthelberht is a set of legal provisions written in Old English, probably dating to the early 7th century. It originates in the kingdom of Kent, and is the first Germanic-language law code. It is also thought to be the earliest example of a document written in English, though extant only in an early 12th-century manuscript, ''Textus Roffensis''. The code is concerned primarily with preserving social harmony, through compensation and punishment for personal injury. Compensations are arranged according to social rank, descending from king to slave. The initial provisions of the code offer protection to the church. Though the latter were probably innovations, much of the remainder of the code may be derived from earlier legal custom transmitted orally. ==Manuscript, editions and translations== There is only one surviving manuscript of Æthelberht's law, ''Textus Roffensis'' or the "Rochester Book".〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English Law'', p. 20; Wormald, ''First Code'', p. 1〕 The Kentish laws occupy folios 1v to 6v, of which Æthelberht's has 1v to 3v.〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English Law'', p. 21; Wormald, ''Making of English Law'', p. 246〕 This is a compilation of Anglo-Saxon laws, lists and genealogies drawn together in the early 1120s, half a millennium after Æthelberht's law is thought to have been first written down.〔Wormald, ''First Code'', p. 1〕 Æthelberht's law precedes the other Kentish law codes, which themselves precede various West Saxon and English royal legislation, as well as charters relating to Rochester Cathedral.〔Wormald, ''Making of English Law'', pp. 246–47, table 4.8, for summary of the manuscript's contents〕 Æthelberht's law is written in the same hand as the laws of other Kentish monarchs.〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English law'', p. 20〕 The compilation was produced at the instigation of Ernulf, bishop of Rochester, friend of the lawyer-bishop Ivo of Chartres.〔Wormald, ''First Code'', pp. 1–2〕 Ernulf was a legally minded bishop like Ivo, a canon lawyer and judge.〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English Law'', p. 22〕 He was responsible for commissioning copies of the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' at Canterbury Cathedral Priory and Peterborough Abbey, as prior and abbot respectively.〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English Law'', pp. 22–23〕 Francis Tate made a transcription of ''Textus Roffensis'' .c 1589, which survives as British Museum MS Cotton Julius CII.〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English Law'', p. 251〕 Henry Spelman, ''Ecclesiarum Orbis Brittanici'' (London, 1639), provided a Latin translation of provisions relating to the church.〔 In 1640 Johannes de Laet translated the whole code into Latin.〔 Though no original survives, several 18th century authors copied it.〔 The first full edition (with Latin translation) was: * George Hickes and Humfrey Wanley, ''Linguarum Vett. Septentrionalium Thesaurus Grammatico-Criticus et Archaeologicus'' (Oxford, 1703–05)〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English Law'', p. 252〕 Many other Latin translations editions of the Kentish laws or ''Textus Roffensis'' followed in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, mostly from English and German editors.〔Oliver, ''Beginnings of English Law'', pp. 251–56 for full list〕 Notable examples include: * Felix Liebermann, ''Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen'' (Halle, 1897–1916), with German translation * Frederick Levi Attenborough, ''The Laws of the Earliest English Kings'' (Cambridge, 1922), with English translation * Lisi Oliver, ''The Beginnings of English Law'' (Toronto, 2002), with English translation In 2014 Rochester Cathedral and the John Rylands Library of the University of Manchester cooperated to make the complete text available online in facsimile.〔''Textus Roffensis''〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Law of Æthelberht」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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