Quadripartitus facts for kids

The Quadripartitus is a huge collection of laws from the time of King Henry I (1100–1135). It includes old Anglo-Saxon laws translated into Latin. It also has other Latin legal texts written after the Norman Conquest. This collection is the largest surviving set of pre-Conquest laws from the Middle Ages.

It was first put together for King Henry I's legal experts and government workers. The Quadripartitus was very important for a long time. Legal scholars like Henry de Bracton in the 1200s and John Fortescue in the 1400s used it.

Copies of the Quadripartitus

We don't have the original copy of the Quadripartitus today. However, many copies exist in six main groups of manuscripts. A manuscript is a document written by hand.

• 1. British Library, Cotton MS Domitian viii: This copy is from the 1120s. It's the oldest known copy of the Quadripartitus. It's not complete, but it's the only one that has both original introductions.
• 2. Manchester, John Rylands Library MS Lat 420: This copy is from the mid-1100s. Some parts of it are missing.
• 3. British Library, Royal MS 11.B.ii
• 4. British Library, Add MS 49366
• 5. British Library, Cotton MS Titus A.xxvii
• 6. The London Collection: This group includes four copies. They have newer materials, like the Leges Henrici Primi.
  • 6a. Manchester, John Rylands Library, Lat MS 155 (+ British Library, Add MS 14252)
  • 6b. British Library, Cotton MS Claudius D.ii
  • 6c. Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MSS 70 and 258
  • 6d. Oxford, Oriel College, MS 46

Putting together the Quadripartitus was a big and difficult job. It took many years to finish. The first introduction, called the Dedicatio, might have been in the very first version of the work. It seems to have been written around 1100. This suggests the project started early in Henry I's reign.

The second introduction, called the Argumentum, talks about Henry's rule. It says his time as king brought back law and order to England. The second part of the collection has materials from Henry's reign. It mentions a royal meeting in London in 1108. Experts believe the first version was finished between 1108 and 1118.

Patrick Wormald, a historian, believed the unknown author kept working on and changing the collection. Copies were made and sent out while the author was still revising. This is why different copies have different changes and arrangements of the texts. The author's Latin writing can be hard to understand. Some scholars thought this was because the author wasn't skilled. However, Richard Sharpe argued that the author knew Latin well. He just liked to use fancy language, which made it difficult to read. Even with these difficulties, using Latin helped the work survive. It also made it very important in later times.

Who Wrote It and Why?

We don't know who wrote the Quadripartitus. But it was probably the same legal expert who wrote the Leges Henrici Primi. This author was not a native English speaker. They often found it hard to understand the original Anglo-Saxon texts they were translating. However, over time, they got better at it. Later versions of the manuscripts show that they corrected their translations. The way the texts were passed down also suggests that finding new manuscripts changed the author's mind. They might have changed the order of the legal texts.

The name Quadripartitus means "Divided into four." Historian Felix Liebermann started using this name in the early 1900s. The name comes from a note in a 1500s manuscript. It shows that the author originally planned to make four volumes. But only the first two volumes were ever completed. The plans for the other two, one about lawsuits and the other about theft, never happened. The two introductions, Dedicatio and Argumentum, show that the collection was not just for old, outdated laws. It was meant to be useful for current legal issues.

What's Inside?

The Quadripartitus starts with two introductions. The Dedicatio is a dedication to a friend of the author. It's only found in one early manuscript. It might have been left out of later versions. The second introduction is the Argumentum. This part explains the purpose of the work. It also talks about the state of England at the time. The author writes about the bad behavior during King William II Rufus's reign. They hoped that Henry I's rule would bring positive changes.

The first and largest part of the Quadripartitus (Volume I) contains many old Anglo-Saxon law-codes. These are translated into Latin. They include laws from kings like Ine of Wessex and Cnut. Some of these laws are only found in this collection. This part also has legal writings on different topics. Some of these are linked to Wulfstan, Archbishop of York.

The second, shorter part (Volume II) has legal documents written later. These are from the author's own time. Examples include Henry I's Coronation Charter and his writ on Courts.

Here is a simplified table of contents, showing what is in different copies: