[872]. Flor. Wig. an. 731.
[873]. Chron. Sax. an. 1020.
[874]. Cod. Dipl. No. 1314. “✠ Wulfstán arcebisceop grét Cnut cyning his hlaford, and Ælfgyfe ða hlǽfdian eádmódlíce; and ic cýðe inc leóf ðæt we habbað gedón swá swá ús swutelung fram eów com æt ðám biscop Æðelnóðe, ðæt we habbað hine nú gebletsod. Nú bidde ic for Godes lufon and for eallan Godes hálgan ðæt gewitan on Gode ðam æðe and on ðám hálgan háde, ðæt he mote beón ðǽre þinga wyrðe ðe óðre beforan wǽron, Dúnstán ðe gód wæs, and mænig óðer; ðæt ðes mote beón eall swá rihta and gerysna wyrðe ðæt inc byð bám þearflíc for Gode, and eác gerysenlíc for worolde.”
[875]. Hist. and Antiq. i. 94. His whole account is well worth attention.
[876]. We have but one instrument:—granted. But what proportion have we of instruments respecting matters which are entirely beyond doubt? Supposing a royal mandate of consecration had issued on the election of every bishop, between 802, when Ecgberht came to the throne, and 1066, there would have been once in existence 36 archiepiscopal and 224 episcopal writs, or a total of 260. But during the same period, in the 32 counties south of the Humber there would have been held 25,344 shiremoots or county-courts. I will deduct one half of this number to meet all conceivable accidents. Of the 12,672, of which beyond a doubt records once existed, we still possess three or at the utmost four instruments: but do we on that account doubt that shiremoots were held? When we look at these ratios of 1 : 260 and 4 : 12,672, we find the authority for the writ of consecration more than ten times as great as that for the existence of shiremoots.
[877]. “Omnis itaque concionis illius multitudo ex diversis partibus coacta, primo suorum proavorum servare contendit instituta, numinibus videlicet suis vota solvens ac sacrificia.” Hucbald. Vit. Lebwini, cap. xii.
[878]. Volume i. page 146.
[879]. 1 Corinthians vi. 1-7.
[880]. Novel. § 83.
[881]. Dönniges, Deut. Staatsr. p. 48 seq.