London's first charter of liberties: is it genuine?

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Abstract
As the earliest major document bearing on the history of English urban liberties, Henry I's charter for London has been the subject of much scholarly study over past generations. Its genuineness remained unquestioned until 1973, when Christopher Brooke, Gillian Keir, and Susan Reynolds, in a closely reasoned article, concluded that it was probably a forgery from Stephen's reign or a genuine charter of Stephen's misattributed to Henry I. As a result of their investigation, the subsequent literature on medieval English urban history expresses serious doubt that the charter was issued by Henry I. In the present article it is argued that the charter is almost certainly genuine. An examination of the manuscript tradition, protocol, witness list, and historical context leads to the conclusion that the charter was a product of Henry I's chancery and was probably issued in the summer of 1133.

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