Over the past few years, I’ve been producing translations of early medieval texts for my students. Most of these I’ve uploaded onto this blog, along with short commentaries.

Here’s an index (not including very short partial translations and excerpts), in case these translations are useful for anyone. I’ll update this page as and when I put up fresh material. These aren’t polished pieces of work, so please do let me know if you have comments or suggestions, or spot any errors. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

437: Honoratus Antoninus’s letter to Arcadius (tr. Harry Mawdsley)

804: the Rizana placitum : a famous dispute from the reign of Charlemagne showing something of the mechanics of empire

835: Florus of Lyon’s On the Appointment of bishops: a text arguing that kings should not be involved in appointing bishops

840?: the Capitulare in pago cenomannico datum : a regulation about peasants and labour

847: the Courtisols judgement: a dispute over freedom from Reims

c. 850: the Apparition of St Vaast: a piece of hagiography

852: Hincmar’s first episcopal capitulary (on the Hincmar.blogspot)

856: Judith ordo (and 866 Ermentrude ordo): two coronation ordines, written by Archbishop Hincmar

858: the Quierzy letter to Louis the German: the West Frankish bishops write to the invading king of East Francia

c. 860?  Ordeal of cold water: the liturgy for the ordeal

860: the Capitulary of Koblenz , drawing a line under Louis the German’s 858 invasion of west Francia

862: The Aachen Council of 862: the minutes of the council that authorised Lothar II’s divorce

862: Embassy of Bishop Altfrid to King Charles the Bald : a rare example of an internal diplomatic note

862: the Capitulary of Savonnieres: a document produced for a meeting between King Charles, King Louis and King Lothar II to discuss the divorce case

863: A charter by King Lothar II mentioning Waldrada

c. 863: The will of Eberhard and Gisela: insight into the Frankish elite

864: Bishop Adventius of Metz writes to Pope Nicholas I (on the Hincmar blogspot)

867: Ratramnus of Corbie’s Contra Graecorum opposita (extract)

867: Bishop Adventius of Metz’s letter about the Vikings 

871: Letter of Emperor Louis II to Emperor Basil I

876: About the estate of Neuilly,  by Hincmar of Reims

877: the Capitulary of Quierzy

893: Bishop Hatto of Verdun’s Memoriale

c.900: a Carolingian sermon on the Vikings

1043: Abbot Siegfried of Gorze’s letter about incest and cultural change

c. 1050: A treatise on simony and Byzantium

1059: Pope Nicholas II’s decree on simony

c.1090: the visit of Joseph the Englishman to Constantinople