Elf.Ed Query: There are two different versions of the English translation of the letter written by Charles the Great to Offa. Some are major, as in different dates of the letter itself. Why is that?
Chris Phillips, the author of the excellent website, www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk was kind enough to find out and his explanation follows after both of versions transcribed below.
This treaty
between
Charles the
Great or
Charlemagne
(†814) and
Offa, the
greatest of
the Mercian
kings (†796),
is of interest
as showing
the character
of the inter-
course
between Eng-
land and the
Continent.
Compare
No. 12.
“Charles, by the grace of God king of the Franks and Lombards, and patrician of the Romans, to his esteemed and dearest brother Offa king of the Mercians, sendeth health:
First, we give thanks to God Almighty for the purity of the Catholic faith, which we find laudably expressed in your letters. Concerning pilgrims, who for the love of God or the salvation of their souls, wish to visit the residence of the holy apostles, let them go peaceably without any molestation; but if persons, not seeking the cause of religion, but that of gain, be found amongst them, let them pay the customary tolls in proper places. We will, too, that traders have due protection within our kingdom, according to our mandate, and if in any place they suffer wrongful oppression, 17 let them appeal to us or to our judges, and we will see full justice done. . . .”
William of Malmesbury, Chronicle (translated by J. A. Giles, London, 1847), 85.
Elf. Editor: The differences and additions IN THE DOCUMENT, and the author's 'facts' that differ from the above version are in red.
[The following letter from Charles the Great to Offa, king of Mercia, will indicate the increasing connection of England with the rest of the world, the practice of English pilgrims and traders going to Italy, and the short-lived prominence of Mercia in England in the eighth century. [From Haddan and Stubbs, Vol. III, pp. 496. sq.]
37. Charles
the Great to
Offa, king of
Mercia (796)
Charles, by the grace of God king of the Franks and Lombards, patrician of the Romans, to his esteemed and dearest brother Offa[no comma] king of the Mercians, sendeth health; First, we give thanks to God Almighty for the purity of the Catholic faith, which we find laudably expressed in your letters. Concerning pilgrims, who for the love of God or for the salvation of their souls[no comma] wish to visit the residence of the holy apostles, let them go peaceably without any molestation; but if persons[no comma] not seeking the cause of religion[no comma] but that of gain[no comma] be found among them, let them pay the customary tolls in proper places. We will, too, that traders have due protection within our kingdom, according to our mandate, and if in any place they suffer wrongful oppression, let them appeal to us or [to not used]our judges, and we will see full justice done. Let your grace also be apprised that we have sent some token of our regard, out of our dalmatics and palls, to each episcopal see of your kingdom and of Ethelredâs, as an almsgiving, for the sake of our apostolical lord Adrian,
The late
pope
earnestly begging that you would order him to be prayed for, not as doubting that his blessed soul is at rest, but to show our esteem and regard to our dearest friend. Moreover we have sent somewhat out of the treasures of those earthly riches which the Lord Jesus has granted to us of his unmerited bounty, for the metropolitan cities; and for yourself a belt, an Hungarian sword, and two silk cloaks.
It seems that Haddan and Stubbs give (pp. 496-8) the most complete known Latin text of the letter, citing three sources - MS Cotton Tiberius A.XV, fo. 143; Wilkins' Concilia, from a MS of Ussher, now MS Bodl. Rawlinson Misc. 1074; Spelman's Concilia. They note that it is given "in a mutilated form" by William of Malmesbury. They don't give an English translation.
Giles gives a much shorter English version as part of his translation of William of Malmesbury. It is definitely longer than what's on your web page (via Kendall), but is much shorter than the full Latin text given by Haddan and Stubbs. I think it is probably the same that you have on the other page (via Cheyney) - if only I had taken the printout I could say definitely. Giles definitely has the bit about dalmatics, as he added a note explaining what they were.
So I'd guess that both Cheyney's and Kendall's texts are taken from Giles's translation of the excerpt in William of Malmesbury, but that for some reason Cheyney refers instead to the full Latin text of Haddan and Stubbs. The complicating factor is that Giles in his preface makes it clear that his edition is based on the earlier one by Sharpe, with some revisions. So it's just possible that that's what Cheyney used - maybe that would account for the slight differences between the two versions.
(NB The edition of Giles I looked at was published in London in 1883, in "Bohn's Antiquarian Library", but the preface is dated 1847 and the online British Library catalogue confirms it was first published then.)