The Westminster privilege: the charters of Edgar and Edward

These things premised, we must come down specifically to the privilegeprivilegium / privilegiare / privilegiacio: privilege / to privilege / privileging of Westminster, over which the contention turns.¹ Let it be supposed, then, in the first place (as is clear from a true copy supplied [to me]) that the said Westminster has a 205privilege granted by Edgar and by Saint Edward the Confessor, granted (I say) to it and to the churchecclesia: church in this form:² "Let your greatness or usefulness know," says Edgar, "what we decide, and command and establish to abide for ever: that, for reverence of the relics of the most glorious apostle Peter and for the quiet of the monks serving God there, honour and praise be paid to that church; so that whoever of the fugitives, for any crime whatever, fleeing to the aforesaid basilica of Saint Peter, has entered its precinct, whether a foot-soldier or on foot, whether a horseman or on horseback, whether from the royal court or from a city or township, or of whatever condition he be, by whatever offence of crime he has committed forfeitureforisfacere: commit forfeiture against us or the kings of England our successors, or against any other faithful man of holy church, let him be released and set free and keep life and limbs without any gainsaying.³ Moreover we forbid under threat, by divine authority and our own, that neither we nor our successors nor any bishop nor anyone else of judicial power should ever have any power over that holy basilica, or over those dwelling in it, or over the men who wish to deliver or devote themselves to it with their substance or goods, except by the will of the abbot and his monks; but let this mother church be free and quit of all invasion or disturbance by all men of whatever order or power. We also beseech all our successors, kings and 206princes, by the holy and undivided Trinity and by the coming of the just judge, that, since that place is seen to have been dedicated by the munificence of our predecessors, none of the bishops or abbots or their ordainers, or any person whatever, may in any manner take anything away from that place, or usurp any power for himself in that monastery, or presume to diminish anything as if by titletitulus: title of exchangecommutacio; commutare: exchange; to exchange, without the will of the congregation itself or our permission."⁴

And in the charter of Saint Edward it is written thus:

"Let this holy mother church of our special patron and lord, the great apostle blessed Peter, be free and quit of all invasion and disturbance by all men, of whatever order or power they may appear to be." And in another charter of the same saint it is written thus: "Moreover I confirm in perpetuity that whoever of the fugitives, from whatever place, for whatever cause, of whatever condition he be, fleeing, has entered that holy place or its precinct, shall obtain impunity of his limbs and life with every kind of liberty; and let no one exact anything else whatever from that church or from the lands belonging to it by force or by customconsuetudo: custom."⁵ These are the most telling words for the liberty of the said monastery, all of which were afterwards confirmed by bulls of Nicholas III.⁶