The Transmission of Pre-Conquest Charters at Canterbury and the F-text Scribe of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

Abstract This article considers the role of the F-scribe of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in relation to charter production and within Christ Church cathedral more generally. I begin by examining a series of writs issued in the names of kings from Edward the Confessor to Henry II. I argue that these originate with the bilingual 1100 issue by Henry I for Archbishop Anselm, with chronologically earlier material confected or adapted to provide missing precedent. Through analysis of unusual features of the language perpetuating through the set, I argue that the F-scribe drafted the Henry I issue himself. I further argue that he was also the compiler of the Anglo-Norman cartulary, and demonstrate that the F-text of the Chronicle was likely completed prior to its making. The cartulary’s unusual focus reflects a concern which aligns with the office of cantor, and adds weight to Peter Baker’s suggestion that the F-scribe acted in that capacity.