Complex sentence: The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s; the oldest surviving charters granted land to the Church, but from the 8th century surviving charters were increasingly used to grant land to lay people.
Split into simpler sentences: The earliest surviving charters were drawn up in the 670s. The oldest surviving charters granted land to the Church, but from the 8th century surviving charters were increasingly used to grant land to lay people.