administration
(of deceased estate)The process by which the assets of a person who died intestate (without a will) are collected in and distributed (and debts paid) by a court-appointed administrator ...
Aldhelm
(c. 639–709)was one of the most learned men of his time. Thought to be related to West Saxon kings and educated at Malmesbury under the Irish scholar Maildubh, he also studied briefly at the ...
Anglo-Latin literature to 1847
From the 7th to the mid‐19th cents, thousands of English writers produced Latin writings in great quantity, both in prose and in verse, addressed to a Latin‐reading public in continental Europe and ...
Anglo-Saxon
A person or language of the English Saxons, distinct from the Old Saxons and the Angles, a group of Germanic peoples who invaded and settled in Britain between the 5th and 7th centuries.
annals and chronicles: England (1)—Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
A chronicle in variant versions extending from Julius Caesar’s arrival in Britain until 1154.The Chronicle survives in eight MSS, assigned by scholars the sigla A to H. Its core ...
Arthurian Literature
A large body of writings in various languages in the 12th and 13th centuries and thereafter, recounting legends of King Arthur, his sword Excalibur, his queen Guinevere, and his various knights at ...
Cedd
(d. 664),bishop of the East Saxons. Almost all we know of him comes from Bede. Cedd and his three brothers, Chad, Cynebill, and Caelin, were Anglian boys educated at Lindisfarne by Aidan and Finan: ...
codicil
A document amending an existing will. The codicil refers to and confirms the will as amended (a form of incorporation by reference). It must be executed in the same manner as a will. Pronounced ...
death duties
Taxes levied on a person's estate at the time of death. The principal death duty in the UK is inheritance tax. Gifts made within the seven years preceding death are also within the scope of this tax.
dialect
A distinct variety of a language, with its own variations of grammar and vocabulary, usually associated with a particular region within a country. Normally also associated with different accents, ...
Edward
(d. 978),king of England (975–8), known as ‘the Martyr’. On the sudden death of Edgar, 8 July 975, parties formed around his two sons, Edward, aged about 13, and Edward's half‐brother *Æthelred, ...
England
The largest division of the United Kingdom. There were settlements in England from at least palaeolithic times, and considerable remains exist of neolithic and Bronze Age cultures. These were ...
Eriugena, John Scottus
(c.810–c.877)Also known as John the Scot, Eriugena was born in Ireland, achieved a remarkable degree of learning, and taught at the court of Charles the Bald. He is important as a translator and ...
Glastonbury
In Somerset, the abbey of which was said to have been founded by Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Grail legends. William of Malmesbury suggests that it may have been one of the first ...
Glastonbury Abbey
Somerset. Originally a Celtic foundation, under St Dunstan Glastonbury became an important educational and religious centre. Between 1129 and 1139 William of Malmesbury wrote a history of the abbey; ...
Henry Wharton
(1664–95), medievalist. In 1688 he became domestic chaplain to Abp. W. Sancroft. He took the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy to William and Mary in 1689, but continued to enjoy Sancroft's ...
intestate
A person who dies without having made a will. The estate, in these circumstances, is divided according to the rules of intestacy. The division depends on the personal circumstances of the deceased. ...
Joseph of Arimathea
(1st century).All that is certainly known about him is in the Gospels: that he was a Jewish councillor, a disciple of Jesus in secret, who had taken no part in his condemnation and who, after the ...
Liudhard
(d. c.603),bishop, chaplain of Queen Bertha. Ethelbert king of Kent (560–616) married the Frankish Christian princess Bertha some time before 597, but on condition that she should be free to practise ...
