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In the name of our Lord Christ the Saviour! I, Bishop Werfrith, make known (as Bishop Ealhhun told me, and also my charters showed) that Bishop Mired granted to Eanbald the land at Sodbury, with this injunction - and, afterwards, Eanbald gave it to Eastmund - and Bishop Mired enjoined him, in the name of Almighty God, and that of the Holy Trinity, that while there were any man among their kin who desired to be in holy orders, and should be worthy of it, that he should succeed to the land at Snodbury; if it happened otherwise, that it should never come into a layman's hand; but it should afterwards go to the bishop's see at Worcester for all their souls' sake. And then he, Eastmund, before his end, enjoined in the name of the living God the man who should take the land, that he should take it in the same wise as bishop Mired commanded. If he, however, should be presumptuous enough to break this [command] that he should know that he would be guilty before God's throne at the last judgement. Then, after Eastmund's death, his kinsfolk deprived both the souls of the departed men, and the bishop, and the church at Worcester, of this same land. And Bishop Heahberht often admonished them of this, or asked for the land; and afterwards Bishop Ealhhun very often while he was [living], and also I, Bishop Werfrith, often asked for it, and we could not obtain any justice till Æthelred became lord of the Mercians. Then he assembled the Witan of the Mercians at Droitwich about manifold needs both spiritual and temporal. Then I brought suit against the kinsfolk with the testament [of Eastmund] and claimed justice for me. Then Eadnoth and Alfred and Ælfstan pledged themselves to me that they would do one of these [two things]; either they would give up [the land] to me, or would find among their kinsmen the man who would accept the order [of priesthood] and the land, and would be obedient to me in spiritual and in worldly matter. Then Eadnoth, who had the land, offered it to all their kinsmen [to see] whether any one would so acquire it. Then every one said that he would rather forego the land than take orders. Then he went to Æthelred and Æthelflæd and also Æthelnoth, friend of us all, and they all desired me to let him acquire the land of me for his own property, to bestow on such heirs as he liked; and I then did so, most of all for their prayer, and he also gave me 40 mancuses. And I then with the leave of my chapter at Worcester gave him the land in inheritance for ever, and the charters, and Eastmund's testament, and also our own certificate that the land was relinquished to him, on the condition that 15 shillings of pure money be paid every year to the bishop at Tetbury, and he should also make his shrift to him.
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