READING, FINDING AND USING

DOCUMENTS

2013/14

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute; revised Paul Dryburgh, November 2013

 Contents
Reading, Describing and Editing Documents 1

1. Palaeography 1

2. Abbreviations 3

3. Punctuation 3

4. Manuscripts and Codicology 3

4.1 Illuminated Manuscripts 5

5. Language 5
5.1 Latin 5
5.2 Norman French/Legal French 6
5.3 Old English 6

6. Names 6
6.1 Place names, geographical and administrative units 6
6.2 Personal names 8

7. Materials 9
7.1 Papyrus 9
7.2 Parchment 9
7.3 Paper 9
7.4 Watermarks 10
7.5 Binding 10

8. Seals (Sigillography) 11

9. Medieval Chronology and Prosopography 13

10. Forgery 17

11. Numerals 18

12. Editing 18

13. Weights and Measures 20

14. Monetary 21

15. Historical Writing 21

16. Heraldry 22

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute; revised Paul Dryburgh, November 2013

Archives and Libraries: the Location of Documents and Manuscripts 23

1. Basic Information 23

2. Surveys of Manuscripts and Libraries 24

3. Sources Abroad 26

Charters and Administrative Documents 28

1. Pre-Conquest 28

2. Royal 30

3. Aristocratic 33

4. English Ecclesiastical 34

5. Conciliar 36

6. Canon Law 36

7. Papal 38

8. Urban 39

9. Private 40

10. Jewish Starra 41

11. Accounts 41

12. Manorial Records 41

13. Testamentary and Probate records 42

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute; revised Paul Dryburgh, November 2013

 READING, DESCRIBING AND EDITING DOCUMENTS

1. Palaeography

General studies of the history of Latin scripts include:

Bernard Bischoff, Latin palaeography: Antiquity and the Middle Ages

(Cambridge, 1990)

N. Denholm-Young, Handwriting in England and Wales (Cardiff,

1954)

E. Maunde Thompson, Introduction to Greek and Latin palaeography

(Oxford, 1912, reprinted 1975)

Albert Derolez, The Palaeography of Gothic Manuscript Books from the

Twelfth to the Early Sixteenth Century, Cambridge Studies in
Palaeography and Codicology, 9 (Cambridge, 2003)

and an invaluable bibliography is to be found in:

L.E. Boyle, Medieval Latin Palaeography: a bibliographical introduction

(Toronto, 1984).

The following selection covers the handwriting of historical documents and

manuscripts. Many will contain facsimiles with transcripts. For information
about hands in specific types of documents see the relevant part of Charters
and Administrative Documents below. The most useful are highlighted:

Archives

L.C. Hector, The Handwriting of English Documents (2nd ed, London, 1966,
reprinted 1980)

C. Johnson & H. Jenkinson, English Court Hand A.D. 1066 to 1500 illustrated
chiefly from the Public Records, 2 vols (Oxford, 1915)

D.N. Dumville, 'English Square minuscule script : the background and earliest
phases'. Anglo-Saxon England, 16 (1987), 147-79

D.M. Smith, Medieval Latin Documents series I: Diocesan Records (York

Borthwick Wallet 6, 1979) 2: Probate Records (York Borthwick Wallet 7, 1984)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 1

K.C. Newton, Medieval Local Records: a reading aid (Historical Association
London, 1971)

H.E.P. Grieve, Examples of English Handwriting 1150-1750 (Essex Record Office

1954)

J.F. Preston & L. Yeandle, English Handwriting 1400-1650 (New York, 1992)

P.M. Hoskin & S.L. Slinn, Reading the Past: Medieval Handwriting (York,
2003)

P.M. Hoskin, S.L. Slinn & C.C.  Webb, Reading the Past: Sixteenth and
Seventeenth Century English Handwriting (York, 2001)

P. Chaplais, English medieval diplomatic practice (2 vols. 1975)

Manuscripts

E.A. Lowe, English Uncial (Oxford, 1960)

T.A.M. Bishop, English Caroline Miniscule (Oxford, 1969)

M.B. Parkes, English Cursive Bookhands 1250-1500 (Oxford, 1959 reprinted

1979)

C.E. Wright, English Vernacular Hands from the Twelfth to the Fifteenth Century
(Oxford, 1960)

S.H. Thompson, Latin Bookhands of the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1969)

A.G. Petti, English Literary Hands from Chaucer to Dryden (London, 1977)

A. Fairbank & B. Wolpe, Renaissance Handwriting: an anthology of Italic Scripts

(London, 1960)

M.B. Parkes, Scribes, scripts and readers: studies in the communication,

presentation and dissemination of medieval texts (1991)

Ralph Hanna, Pursuing History: Middle English Manuscripts and their Texts
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996)

2. Abbreviations

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 2

A. Cappelli, Dizionario delle abbreviature latine ed italiane (Milan, 11967
and later reprints)

C.Trice Martin, The Record Interpreter (London, 1910 reprinted 1969)

L.A. Chassant, Dictionnaire des abbréviations latines et francaises (Paris, 1884,

reprinted 1973)

3. Punctuation

M.B. Parkes, Pause and Effect: an introduction to the History of Punctuation

in the West (London, 1992)

4. Manuscripts and codicology

G.S. Ivy, ‘The Bibliography of the Manuscript Book’ in F. Wormald & C.E.
Wright eds, The English Library before 1700: Studies in its History (London,
1958), pp. 32-65

P. Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography (Oxford 1972, reprinted 1985)

D. Greetham, Textual Scholarship: an introduction (London & New York, 1992)

L.W. Jones, ‘Pricking Manuscripts: the instruments and their significance’ in

Speculum 21 (1946), pp. 389-40

G. Pollard, ‘The pecia system in the Medieval Universities’ in M.B. Parkes &
A.G. Watson eds, Medieval Scribes, Manuscripts and Libraries: essays presented to
N.R. Ker (London, 1978), pp. 163-210

P.R. Robinson, ‘The “Booklet”: a self-contained unit in composite

manuscripts’ in Codicologia 3 (1980), pp. 46-6

R. Hanna, ‘Booklets in Medieval Manuscripts: Further Consideration’ in

Studies in Bibliography 39 (1986), pp. 100-1

D. Pearsall, Manuscripts and Readers in Fifteenth-Century England: the

literary implications of manuscript study (Cambridge, 1983

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 3

J. Griffiths & D. Pearsall eds, Book Production and Publishing in England
1375-1475 (Cambridge, 1989

J.B. Trapp ed., Manuscripts in the Fifty years after the Invention of Printing
(London, 1983

A.I. Doyle & M.B. Parkes, ‘The Production of Copies of the Canterbury Tales
and the Confessio Amantis in the Early Fifteenth Century’ in M.B. Parkes &
A.G. Watson eds, Medieval Scribes, Manuscripts and Libraries: essays presented to
N.R. Ker (London, 1978), pp. 163-210

P.R. Robinson and Rivkah Zim, eds, Of the Making of Books: Medieval
Manuscripts, their Scribes, and Readers: Essays presented to M. B. Parkes
(Aldershot, 1997)

Herrad Spilling, La Collaboration dans la production de l'écrit médiéval, Actes du

xiiie colloque du Comité international de paléographie latine (Geneva: Droz,
2003)

Richard W. Clement, 'Medieval and Renaissance Book Production-Manuscript

Books', ORB Online Encyclopaedia,
http://www.ku.edu/~bookhist/medbook1.html

Alison I. Beach, Women as Scribes: Book Production and Monastic Reform in

Twelfth-Century Bavaria, Cambridge Studies in Palaeography and Codicology,
10 (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003)

Among many useful studies of manuscripts produced for a particular

institution, the following are particularly informative:

R.M. Thomson, Manuscripts from St Alban’s Abbey, 2 vols

(Woodbridge, 1982)

T. Webber, Scribes and Scholars at Salisbury Cathedral c. 1075-c. 1125

(Oxford, 1992)

M. Brown, 'Anglo-Saxon manuscript production: issues of making

and using'. in Philip Pulsiano & Elaine M. Treharne, A Companion
to Anglo-Saxon Literature (Oxford, 2001), 102-17.

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 4

4.1 Illuminated Manuscripts

This is just a selection of the vast literature on this subject:

C. de Hamel, A History of Illuminated Manuscripts (London, 1986)

D. Diringer, The Illuminated Book, its History and Production (2nd ed London,
1967)

O. Pächt & J.J.G. Alexander, Illuminated Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library (3

vols, Oxford, 1966-73)

J.J.G. Alexander & E. Temple, Illuminated Manuscripts in Oxford College

Libraries, the University Archives and the Taylorian Institution (Oxford, 1985

R. Marks & N. Morgan, The Golden Age of Manuscript Painting 1200-1500

(London, 1981

J.J.G. Alexander, Medieval Illuminators and the Methods of Work (Yale, 1992)

L.N. Valentine, Ornament in Medieval Manuscripts: a Glossary (London, 1965)]

M.P. Brown, Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts: a Guide to Technical

Terms (London, 1994)

5. Language

5.1 Latin

R.E. Latham & D.R. Hewlett, Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British
Sources fasc. I- VIII (British Academy, 17 fascicules (A-Z) published, 1957-
2013). An online dictionary is due to be launched shortly:
http://www.dmlbs.ox.ac.uk/

R.E. Latham ed Revised Medieval Latin Word-List from British and Irish
Sources (British Academy, 1965)

J.F. Niermeyer, ed, Mediae Latinitatis lexicon minus (Leiden, 1976)

C.D. Du Cange, Glossarium mediae et infimae Latinitatis ed L. Favre (10 vols,

Niort 1883-7 or earlier editions)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 5

A. Souter, A Glossary of Later Latin to 600 AD (Oxford, 1949)

E.A. Gooder, Latin for Local History: an introduction (2nd ed London, 1978)

J.L. Fisher, A Medieval Farming Glossary of Latin and English Words, taken
mainly from Essex records (London, 1968)

5.2 Norman French/Legal French

W. Rothwell et al, Anglo-Norman Dictionary (London, 1992)

J.H. Baker, Manual of Law French (Avebury, 1979)

R. Kelham, A Dictionary of the Norman or Old French Language (London, 1779,

reprinted 1978)

There is also a useful section on ‘Law French’ in the introduction to:

F.W. Maitland ed, Year Books of Edward II vol. I 1 & 2 Edward II AD

1307-1309 (Selden Society 17, 1903), pp. xxxiii-lxxxi

A revision of the Anglo-Norman dictionary is now in progress, with AHRC

funding with on-line and printed versions; for the online dictionary see
http://www.anglo-norman.net.

5.3 Middle English

H. Kurath et al., Middle English Dictionary (Ann Arbor, 1956- in progress)

6. Names

6.1 Place-names, geographical and administrative units

The English Place-Name Society is in the process of publishing a county by

county survey of English place-names. So far over 75 volumes have been
published. There is also a useful general survey, A.H. Smith, English Place-
Name Elements (English Place Name Society 25-6, 1956). For the most recent
news see the Society’s web-page:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/research/EPNS

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 6

A less comprehensive but valuable reference book is

E. Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names (4th

ed Oxford, 1960)

and his companion volume

English Rivernames (Oxford, 1928 reprinted 1968)

There is also a more recent dictionary:

A.D. Mills, A Dictionary of English Place Names (Oxford, 1991).

Also useful in tracking down medieval versions of place-names is:

H.C. Darby & G.R. Vescy, Domesday Gazetteer (Cambridge, 1975)

Book of Fees (HMSO, 1921-31) (index volume)

A useful bibliographical guide to place-name studies is:

J. Spittal & J. Field, A Reader’s Guide to the Place-Names of the United

Kingdom: a bibliography of publications (1920-1989) on the place-names
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel
Islands (Stamford, 1990)

For the Latin version of place-names there is the original version of:

J.G. TH. Graesse’s Orbis Latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinishen

Benennungen der bakanntesten etc., Meere, Seen, Berge und Flűsse in
allen Theilen der Erde (Dresden, 1861)

and a digitised version of this is available at

http://www.columbia.edu/acis/ets/Graesse/contents.html.

A later printed revision is:

H. & S.C. Plechl, Orbis latinus: Lexikon lateinisher geographischer

Namen des Mittelaters und der Neuzeit (3 vols, Brunswick, 1972).

C.Trice Martin’s The Record Interpreter (London, 1910, reprinted 1969) contains
a list of the Latin versions of British and Irish place-names (pp. 345-428).

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 7

A French equivalent is useful:

Abbé Chevin, Dictionnaire Latin-Francais des Noms Propres de Lieux

ayant une certaine notoriété principalment au point de vue ecclésiastique
et monastique (Paris, 1897) reprinted 1964).

A list of medieval English boroughs with documentary references is provided

in:

M.W. Beresford & H.P.R. Finberg, English Medieval Boroughs: a

handlist (Newton Abbot, 1973)

For a more detailed survey of administrative units from medieval to modern

times consult:

F.A. Youngs, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England

I: Southern England (Royal Historical Society Guide and
Handbook 10, 1979)

F.A. Youngs, Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England

I: Northern England (Royal Historical Society Guide and
Handbook 17, 1991)

Youngs, however, is now slightly outdated. The best online resource for
English and Welsh place names is The National Archives E 179 Tax Records
database: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/e179/search.asp

6.2 Personal names

P.H. Reaney, A Dictionary of British Surnames (2nd ed London, 1976)

P. Hanks & F. Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames (Oxford, 1988 reprinted 1992)

G.F. Jensen, Scandinavian Personal Names in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire

(Copenhagen, 1968)

E.G. Withycombe, The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names

(Oxford, 1950 reprinted 1973)

A useful guide to English forms of Latin forenames and surnames is provided

by:

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 8

 C.R. Elrington ed., Victoria History of the Counties of England:
handbook for Editors and Authors (London, 1970), pp. 18-20, 22-25

There is a similar section in:

C.Trice Martin, The Record Interpreter (London, 1910 reprinted

1969), pp. 429-64

7. Materials

7.1 Papyrus

N. Lewis, Papyrus in Classical Antiquity (Oxford, 1974)

E.G. Turner, Greek Papyri: an introduction (Oxford, 1968)

7.2 Parchment

Anthony Cains, 'The surface examinations of skin : a binder's note on the

identification of animal species used in the making of parchment'. In
O'Mahony, Felicity (ed.), The Book of Kells : proceedings of a conference at Trinity
College Dublin, 6-9 September 1992 (Aldershot, 1994), pp. 172-4.

W.L. Ustick, ''Parchment' and 'vellum''. The Library, 4th ser., 16:4 (1936), 439-
43.

A.C. Piper, 'The parchment making industry in Winchester and Hampshire'.

The Library, 3rd ser., 10 (1919), pp. 65-8

M.L. Ryder, ‘Parchment: its history, manufacture and composition’ in Journal

of the Society of Archivists 2 (1964) pp. 391-9

R. Reed, Ancient Skins, Parchments and Leather (London, 1972)

7.3 Paper

R.L. Hills, Papermaking in Britain 1488-1988: a short history (London, 1988)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 9

R.J. Lyall, 'Materials: the paper revolution'. in Griffiths, Jeremy; Pearsall,
Derek (ed.), Book production and publishing in Britain, 1375-1475 (Cambridge,
1989), pp. 11-29

E. Heawood, ‘Sources of Early English Paper Supply’ in The Library 4th series
10 (1929), pp. 282-307

I.P. Leif, An International Sourcebook of Paper History (Folkestone & Hamden,

1978)
(A comprehensive bibliography of publications on papermaking, watermarks
etc.)

7.4 Watermarks

The absolute essential reference work is:

C.M. Briquet, Les Filigranes: dictionnaire historique des marques

du papier des leur apparition vers 1282 jusqu’en 1600 (4 vols, 2nd
ed, Paris, 1923)

7.5 Binding

B.C. Middleton, A history of English Craft Bookbinding Technique (2nd ed London,

1978)

G. Pollard, ‘Describing medieval bookbindings’ in Medieval Learning and

Literature: essays presented to Richard William Hunt, eds J.J.G. Alexander and
M.T. Gibson (Oxford, 1976), pp. 50-65

M.M. Foot, ‘English decorated bookbindings’ in J. Griffiths & D. Pearsall eds,

Book Production and Publishing in Britain 1375-1475 (Cambridge, 1989), pp. 65-
86

B. van Regemorter, Binding Structures in the Middle Ages: a selection of studies

(Brussels & London, 1992)

M.M. Foot, Studies in the History of Bookbinding (Aldershot, 1993)

N. Barker, ‘Quiring and the binder: quire marks in some manuscripts in 15 th-
century blind-stamping bindings in R.W. Hunt, I.G. Philip, R.J. Roberts eds,
Studies in the Book Trade in honour of Graham Pollard (Oxford, 1975)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 10

David Pearson, ed., 'For the love of the binding': studies in bookbinding history
presented to Miriam Foot (London, 2000)

Pingree 'A Catalogue of the Bindings of the Fifteenth-Century Bookbinder

Called the Rood and Hunt Binder'. The Library, 7th ser., 4:4 (2003), 371-40

G.D. Hobson, English Bookbinding before 1500 (Cambridge, 1929)

G. Pollard, 'The construction of English 12th century bindings'. The Library,

5th ser., 17 (1962), 1-22

8. Seals (Sigillography)

The most useful short introduction to the types of seals and their usage is still

H. Jenkinson, A Guide to the Seals in the Public Record Office (2nd

ed, Public Record Office handbook 1, London, 1968)

Another general publication of great value is;

P.D.A. Harvey and A. McGuiness, A Guide to British Medieval

Seals (London, 1996)

A cumulative catalogue of the seals in the British Library’s collection,

arranged by type and category, was published at the end of the last century,
and this is a good starting point for checking on the existence, design (device)
or wording (legend) of particular seals:

W. de G. Birch, Catalogue of Seals in the Department of Manuscripts in

the British Museum (6 vols, London, 1887-1900)

The National Archives has also published three volumes (a small proportion)
in its projected series for its own deposited seals (there is a large card index of
these):

R.H. Ellis, Catalogue of Seals in the Public Record Office

Personal Seals vol. I (London, 1978)

Personal Seals vol. II (London, 1981)
Monastic Seals vol. I (London, 1986)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 11

For seals from the National Library of Wales see works by D.H. Williams
particularly:

Catalogue of Seals in the National Library of Wales vol. I: seal dies, Welsh
seals and papal ‘bullae’ (Cardiff, 1993)

Catalogue of seals in the National Museum of Wales, II : ecclesiastical,

monastic and collegiate seals with a supplement concerning Wales
(Cardiff, 1998)

And his 'A catalogue of Welsh ecclesiastical seals as known down to A.D.
1600’ printed in volumes of Archaeologia Cambrensis:

Pt. 1 : Episcopal seals Archaeologia Cambrensis, 133 (1985 for 1984),

pp. 100-35.
Part 2 : Seals of ecclesiastical jurisdiction Archaeologia Cambrensis,
134 (1986 for 1985), pp. 162-89.
Part 3, Capitular Seals Archaeologia Cambrensis, 135 (1986), pp. 154-
62.
Part 4 : Seals of Cistercian monasteries Archaeologia Cambrensis, 136
(1988 for 1987), pp. 138-55.
Part 5: other monastic seals Archaeologia Cambrensis, 137 (1989 for
1988), pp. 119-34.
Part 6: personal seals with religious devices Archaeologia
Cambrensis, 138 (1990 for 1989), pp. 67-77

A recent AHRC-funded project ‘Exploring Medievals Seals’, which springs

out of another AHRC-funded project ‘Seals in Medieval Wales’, aims to share
research and create partnerships for future research into medieval seals:
http://www.exploringmedievalseals.org/home

In addition to catalogues that exist for a specific archive or library there are
also thematic catalogues covering a particular seal-type to be found in many
different archive repositories. For York see J.P. Dalton, The Archiepiscopal and
Deputed Seals of York 1114-1500 (Borthwick Text and Calendar 17, York, 1992).
The Durham Dean and Chapter muniments have a remarkable collection of
seals (particularly ecclesiastical and personal seals) and a small collection of
these are now available as images on-line, at
http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/seals/.

A useful description of surviving seal matrices is

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 12

 A.B. Tonnochy, Catalogue of British Seal-Dies in the British Museum
(London, 1952).

For the style of lettering of the inscriptions (legends) of medieval seals,

H.S. Kingsford, ‘The epigraphy of medieval English seals’ in

Archaeologia lxxix (1929) pp. 149-78

should still be consulted. For the early use of seals in England see:

T.A. Heslop, ‘English Seals from the Mid Ninth Century to 1100’
Journal of the British Archaeological Association cxxxiii (1980), pp. 1-16.

A valuable introduction to the iconography of medieval English seals is given

in a series of further studies by T.A. Heslop:

‘Seals’ in G. Zarnecki, J. Holt and T. Holland eds English

Romanesque Art 1066-1200 (London, 1984), pp. 298-319

‘English Seals of the mid thirteenth century’ in J. Alexander and P.

Binski, Age of Chivalry: art in Plantagenet England 1200-1400
(London, 1987), pp. 316-19

‘English Seals in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries’ ibid pp.

114-117

An important study of the English Royal Chancery specifically relating to the

system of issuing documents under the Great Seal (and also the privy and
small seals) from the 13th to the early 20th centuries is:

H.G. Maxwell-Lyte, Historical Notes on the use of the Great Seal of England
(London, HMSO, 1926)

9. Medieval Chronology and Prosopography

It is always important to be aware of the many pitfalls regarding medieval

dates. Calculations, calendars, the beginning of the year, vary from country to
country or even within a country, so it is essential to know what form your
text is using. The best guide to dates is:

C.R. Cheney, Handbook of Dates for Students of English History

(Royal Historical Society 1945, new edition ed. M. Jones 2000)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 13

This is an invaluable book and contains a discussion of the various calendars
in use in the Middle Ages and a study of the religious festivals of the year; a
details list of saint’s days and religious festivals; a table of regnal years of
English kings; the Roman calendar and a list of popes with the dates of their
election, coronation and death etc. from 590 to 1978. A select bibliography
provides additional information on aspects of chronology. The volume ends
with a useful set of tables ‘for all possible dates of Easter’ enabling precise
calculations of dates given in more complicated forms (e.g. the Tuesday
before the feast of St John Beverley in 1399)

For further information on saints and popes see:

D.H. Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (5th edition, 2004)

J.N.D. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (Oxford, 1986, new

edition in preparation)

A variety of ecclesiastical calendars have been published by the Henry

Bradshaw Society (for details see the Society’s entry in Texts and Calendars).

For the identification of various kings, ministers, higher ecclesiastics and

nobility etc. in Britain, consult:

E.B. Fryde, D.E. Greenway & I. Roy, Handbook of British

Chronology (Royal Historical Society 3rd ed., 1986)

This work provides information on:

 English and Scottish kings, princes of Wales

 English Officers of State and the chief officers of Scotland, Ireland & the
Channel Islands
 Archbishops and Bishops of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland
 Parliaments and Church Councils

For more detailed information about English nobles (including viscounts and
barons) consult:

G.E. Cockayne, Complete Peerage of England, Scotland and Ireland (13

vols, London, 1910-1998).

A very useful survey of feudal honours is:

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 14

 I.J. Sanders, English Baronies: a study of their origin and descent 1086-
1327 (Oxford, 1960)

Other works relating to medieval noble and gentry families are:

L.C. Lloyd, The origins of some Anglo-Norman families (Harleian

Society 103, 1951)

C. Moor, The Knights of Edward I (5 vols, Harleian Society 80-84,

1929-1932)

W.A. Shaw, The Knights of England, 2 vols (London, 1906)

While primarily intended for genealogical research, the following

bibliographical guides listing published articles on particular families may
prove useful:

G.W. Marshall, The Genealogist’s Guide to Printed Pedigrees (London,

1879)

J.B. Whitmore, A Genealogical Guide: an index to British Pedigrees in

continuation of Marshall’s Genealogist’s Guide (London, 1953)

G.B. Barrow, The Genealogist’s Guide: an index to printed British

pedigrees and family histories 1950-1975 (London, 1977)

The History of Parliament Trust has published biographies of members for

the period 1386-1421:

J.S. Roskell, L. Clark & C. Rawcliffe eds, The House of Commons

1386-1421 (4 vols, London, 1992)

and there is the earlier (and unsatisfactory):

History of Parliament: biographies of the members of the Commons House

1439-1509, ed. J.C. Wedgewood (London, 1936).

For royal officials there is:

List of Sheriffs for England and Wales from earliest times to A.D. 1381 (Public
Record Office List and Index IX, 1898, reprinted 1963)

J.A. Green, English Sheriffs to 1154 (Public Record Office Handbook 24, 1990)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 15

T.F. Tout, Chapters in the Administrative History of Medieval England: the
wardrobe, the chamber and the small seals, 6 vols (Manchester, 1920-33) contains
lists of departmental office-holders

For University Graduates A.B. Emden is the essential source:

A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford to A.D. 1500 (3 vols,

Oxford, 1957-59)

A Biographical Register of the University of Oxford A.D. 1501 to 1540

(Oxford, 1974)

A Biographical Register of the University of Cambridge to 1500

(Cambridge, 1963)

For English and Welsh higher ecclesiastics (archbishops, bishops,

archdeacons, cathedral dignitaries and canons) see the publication of the Le
Neve revision issued by the Institute of Historical Research, University of
London. In 1716 John le Neve published his Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae and this
was revised in 3 volumes by T.D. Hardy (Oxford, 1854). A new revision was
begun by the Institute of Historical Research:

Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066-1300, eds D.E. Greenway, J.S. Barrow,

M.J. Pearson. 9 vols published: London, Monastic Cathedrals,
Lincoln, Salisbury, Chichester, York, Bath and Wells, Hereford,
Welsh Cathedrals (1968-2003)

Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300-1541, eds H.P.F. King, J.M. Horn &
B.E. Jones. Complete for the whole country in 12 vols (1962-67)

These are also now available as searchable full texts on-line from the Institute
of Historical Research’s British History On-Line (http://www.british-
history.ac.uk).

For monastic heads see:

D. Knowles, C.N.L. Brooke & V.C.M. London, Heads of Religious

Houses I: England and Wales 940-1216 (2nd ed, Cambridge, 2001)

D.M. Smith & V.C.M. London, Heads of Religious Houses II: England
and Wales 1216-1377 (Cambridge, 2001)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 16

 D.M. Smith & V.C.M. London, Heads of Religious Houses II: England
and Wales 1377-1540 (Cambridge, 2008)

A continuation of this work in one further volume is in progress but until its
publication the lists of heads of houses in the Victoria County Histories and
related county histories should be consulted where possible. Many parts of
the VCH are also available as fully searchable texts on-line from British
History On-Line (see above for address).

For two mendicant orders the following will prove to be of considerable use:

A.B. Emden, A Survey of Dominicans in England based on the

ordination lists in Episcopal Registers (1268 to 1538) (Rome 1967)

F. Roth, The English Austin Friars 1249-1538, 2 vols, (New York,

1961-66)

Certain lists have also been published relating to parochial clergy e.g. the
Fasti Parochiales series of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society record series.

Other prosopographical works for the middle ages are:

C.H. Talbot & E.A. Hammond, The Medical Practitioners of Medieval

England: a biographical register (London, 1965), with a supplement
by F. Getz in Social History of Medicine 3 (1990) pp. 245-83

J. Harvey, English Mediaeval Architects: a biographical dictionary down

to 1550 (revised edition, Gloucester, 1984)

R. Sharpe, A Handlist of the Latin Writers of Great Britain and Ireland

before 1540 (Brepols, 1997)

10. Forgery

L.C. Hector, Palaeography and Forgery (York, 1959)

C.N.L. Brooke, ‘Approaches to Medieval Forgery’ in his Medieval Church and

Society: collected essays (London, 1971), pp. 100-120

J. Barrow, ‘Why forge episcopal acta? Preliminary observations on the forged

charters in the English Episcopal Acta series’ in The Foundations of Medieval

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 17

English Ecclesiastical History: studies in medieval history presented to David Smith,
ed Philippa Hoskin, Christopher. Brooke, Barrie. Dobson (Woodbridge, 2005)

M.B. Parkes, 'Archaising hands in English manuscripts' in James Carley, Colin

Tite, Gerald Calder eds, Books and collectors, 1200-1700: essays presented to
Andrew Watson (London: British Library, 1996), pp. 101-41.

David Bates, 'The forged charters of William the Conqueror and Bishop
William of St Calais' in David W. Rollason, Margaret Harvey, Michael
Prestwich eds, Anglo-Norman Durham, 1093-1193 (Woodbridge, 1994), pp. 111-
24

Martin Brett, 'Forgery at Rochester' in Internationaler Kongress Des Monumenta

Germaniae Historica, Fälschungen im Mittelalter, 6 vols (Monumenta Germaniae
Historica, Schriften, 33) (Hannover, 1988), pp. 397-412.

Marjorie Chibnall, 'Forgery in narrative (monastic) charters' in Internationaler

Kongress Des Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Fälschungen im Mittelalter, 6 vols
(Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Schriften, 33) (Hannover, 1988), pp. 331-46

N.P. Brooks, History and myth, forgery and truth (Birmingham, 1986)

11. Numerals

C.H. Jenkinson, ‘The use of Arabic and Roman Numerals in English Archives’
in Antiquaries Journal 6 (1926), pp. 263-75

H.T. Morley, 'Notes on Arabic numerals in medieval England', Berkshire

Archaeological Journal, 50 (1947), pp. 81-6

G.F. Hill, The Development of Arabic Numerals in Europe exhibited in sixty-four

tables (Oxford, 1915)

12. Editing

The following texts provide information about editing, generally and

specifically for Latin, Old English and French texts. Many of the general texts
will tend to have a leaning towards one language or the other as well
(Harvey’s book, for example, leans towards the editing of Latin and
documentary sources). A good way to find out about modern, editorial
practice is simply to read modern scholarly editions and their editorial

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 18

methods and practices (which should be given in their introductions).
Editions in series can be particularly useful – you may have to find an early
part of the series to find the editorial method in full or perhaps contact the
general editor. For documentary sources, a good starting place is with the
series produced under the auspices of the British Academy, which will each
have their own, individual method. A list of these (and links to details about
them) is available at http://www.britac.ac.uk/pubs/cat/index.html. For other
documents see Texts and Calendars and the sections on document types in this
bibliography.

General

Frank, Roberta, ed., The Politics of Editing Medieval Texts: Papers given at the
twenty-seventh annual Conference on Editorial Problems, University of Toronto,
1991 (New York, 1993)

D.C. Greetham, Scholarly Editing: A Guide to Research (New York, 1996)

Derek Pearsall, ‘Editing Medieval Texts: Some Developments and Some

Problems’, in Jerome J. McGann ed., Textual Criticism and Literary
Interpretation (Chicago, 1985), pp. 92-106

A.G. Rigg, Editing Medieval Texts, English, French, and Latin, Written in England:
Papers given at the twelfth annual conference on Editorial Problems, University of
Toronto, 5-6 November 1976 (New York, 1977)

P.D.A. Harvey, Editing Historical Records (London, 2001)

Paul Oskar Kristeller, ‘The Editing of Fifteenth-Century Texts: Tasks and

Problems.’ Italian Culture 4 (1983) pp. 115-122

Ian Small and Marcus Walsh, eds. The Theory and Practice of Text Editing.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992

G. Thomas Tanselle, ‘Recent Editorial Discussion and the Central Questions of

Editing.’ Studies in Bibliography 34 (1980), pp. 23-65

Latin

Anglo-American Historical Committee, 'Report on editing historical

documents'. Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research, 1 (1924), pp. 6-25

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 19

Julia Barrow, 'Editing the St Davids episcopal acta 1085-1280'. The
Carmarthenshire Antiquary, 34 (1998), pp. 5-10

L.J. Cappon, 'Antecedents of the Rolls Series: issues in historical editing'.

Journal of the Society of Archivists, 4:5 (1972), pp. 358-69

R.B.C. Huygens, Ars edendi: A practical introduction to editing medieval Latin

texts (Brepols, 2000)

Joan Lancaster Lewis, 'Editing Archives, I'. in The British Records Association,
1932-1992: jubilee essays (London, 1992), pp. 43-46

A.E.B. Owen, 'Editing Archives, II', ibid., pp. 47-54

French

Alfred Foulet, and Mary Blakely Speer, On Editing Old French Texts (Kansas,
1979)

Old English

Vincent McCarren and Douglas Moffat, ed., A Guide to Editing Middle English
(Ann Arbor, 1998)

D.G. Scragg and Paul E. Szarmach, eds The Editing of Old English: Papers from
the 1990 Manchester Conference (Cambridge, 1994)

Bruce Mitchell, ‘The Dangers of Disguise: Old English Texts in Modern

Punctuation.’ Review of English Studies ns 31 (1980) pp. 385-413

Sarah Larratt Keefer, Katherine O'Brien O'Keeffe, eds New approaches to editing
Old English verse (Cambridge, 1998)

13. Weights and Measures

R.D.C. Connor, The Weights and Measures of England (London, 1987)

(Contains details of linear units, commercial weights, currency, measures of
capacity, the assize of bread and ale, the Saxon hide and the knight’s fee
and other medieval measures)

P. Grierson, English Linear Measures (Reading, 1972)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 20

R.E. Zupko, A Dictionary of English Weights and Measures (Madison, 1968)

14. Monetary

P. Spufford, Handbook of Medieval Exchange (London, 1986)

(Contains a useful bibliography)

P. Spufford, Money and its Use in Medieval Europe (Cambridge, 1986)

For numismatics in general the British Academy research series Sylloge of

Coins in the British Isles is worth consulting (54 vols but with numbers 52 and
54 not yet published, so the last volume is 56 published 1958-2005, and an
index vol. 1992).

15. Historical Writing

A valuable survey of historical writing in medieval England (chronicles,

annals, secular biographies and local histories) together with full
bibliographies, is provided in

Antonia Gransden, Historical Writing in England c. 550-1307

(London, 1974)

Antonia Gransden, Historical Writing in England II c. 1307 to the

Early Sixteenth Century (London, 1982)

For the most recent clear introduction to chronicles see:

C. Given-Wilson, Chronicles: the writing of history in medieval

England (London, 2004)

For bibliographical details see:

J.C. Russell, Dictionary of Writers of Thirteenth Century England

(Institute of Historical Research 1936, reprinted 1967)

R. Sharpe, A Handlist of the Latin Writers of Great Britain and Ireland

before 1540 (Brepols, 1997)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 21

Texts and Calendars will provide details of the Rolls Series, Camden Society
and other places where editions can be found and on-line collections of
medieval sources are also worth checking.

16. Heraldry

H. Chesshyre & T. Woodcock, Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary

vols I & II (London, 1992, 1996). Two volumes so far published of a projected
series of four covering the period before 1530.

Until the completion of the above project it is still necessary to consult the
following ordinary (i.e. a collection of shields arranged according to design):

Papworth’s Ordinary of British Armorials (London 1874, reprinted

London, 1961)

The following works on medieval heraldic sources may also be useful:

A.R. Wagner, Aspilogia I: A Catalogue of English Medieval Rolls of

Arms (London, 1950)

A.R. Wagner, Aspilogia II: Rolls of Arms: Henry III (London, 1967)

C.R. Humphery-Smith, Anglo-Norman Armory I and II (2 vols,

Canterbury, 1973-84)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 22

 ARCHIVES AND LIBRARIES: THE LOCATION OF
DOCUMENTS AND MANUSCRIPTS

1. Basic Information

There are several ways now to find out where manuscripts are based.

If you can use them the on-line resources will be the most frequently updated.
The main, general sites are:

The National Register of Archives (NRA). Available through The National

Archives Website (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) all archive repositories are
meant to report their new collections to the NRA. These should then be added
to the on-line searchable database. This is most useful for finding out about
collections (who has records relating to Howden for example) rather than
individual manuscripts.
The Manorial Documents Register is available through the same site. This
includes details of the manorial records and their whereabouts for all manors
in Wales and Yorkshire. Details of information on other manorial records are
also held by the register but you will need to contact them in writing for this.
ARCHON provides up-to-date details of the addresses, e-mail addresses,
phone numbers and websites of archives throughout the country and is,
again, available through the same site.
Access to Archives / a2a (at www.a2a.org.uk) includes more detailed
information on a variety of archive collections. This site does have problems
though. Money to add information to the site is obtained by small, contained
bids to the Heritage Lottery Fund – and this means they have to be for self
contained projects. These projects are agreed regionally so coverage is not
uniform across the country – for example the North East Region’s current
project, called ‘Bell Book and Candle’ is about providing information on
school and church records whilst the Yorkshire region’s ‘Yorkshire Made’ is
on trade and industry in Yorkshire. Also, there is no attempt at control over
spelling variants or corrections of mis-spellings which can make places hard
to find. From April 2008 this has been a closed site i.e. nothing more will be
added to it.

The Archives Hub (at www.archiveshub.ac.uk) tries to give general

information about collections held in University archives, but again its
coverage is not complete.

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 23

For the British Library M.A.E. Nickson’s The British Library: Guide to the
Catalogues and Indexes of the Department of Manuscripts (London 3rd ed, 1998) is
an absolutely essential guide to the growing number of collections of archives
and manuscripts housed there and the catalogues and finding-aids available
for each. You can also try their on-line manuscript catalogue at
http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/manuscripts/ and their separate catalogue of the
Woolley Charters at http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/wolleycharters/Home.aspx.

For the Bodleian Library at Oxford see the Western Manuscripts Department
home page at http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/wmss.htm for
access to general descriptions of collections there. The Bodleian also has a
project for putting detailed catalogues of its collections on-line: again this is
work in progress but you can use it at
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/scwmss/wmss/online/online.htm.

Cambridge University Library provides general information about the

collections in its manuscripts department at http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/MSS/.

The National Archives at Kew (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk) provides

access through its new catalogue Discovery, but for a basic introduction to the
collections V.H. Galbraith, An Introduction to the Use of the Public Records
(Oxford, 1934) and Studies in the Public Records (London, 1948) are still useful.

2. Surveys of Manuscripts and Libraries

As well as guides and catalogues for individual record offices several surveys
have been published of particular types of manuscripts of archive. For early
manuscripts and documents (before 800) two complementary series provide
details:

Chartae Latinae Antiquores eds. A. Bruckner, R. Marichal & J.O. Tjäder

(publishes in facsimile with transcript surviving Latin charters etc up to A.D.
800)

III. Great Britain, British Museum, London (1963)

IV. Great Britain (without British Museum, London) (1967)

Codices Latini Antiquores: a palaeographical guide to Latin manuscripts prior to the

ninth century ed. E.A. Lowe

II. Great Britain and Ireland (Oxford, 2nd ed, 1972)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 24

For the Anglo-Saxon period there is N.R. Ker’s Catalogue of Manuscripts
containing Anglo-Saxon (Oxford, 1957).
For medieval manuscripts in libraries outside the British Library, the
National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, the Bodleian and Cambridge
University Library see the four volume survey begun by Ker and complete by
A.J. Piper of Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries

I: London (Oxford, 1969)

II: Abbotsford-Keels (Oxford, 1977)
III: Lampeter-Oxford (Oxford, 1983)
IV: Paisley-York (Oxford, 1992)

A useful companion to this is Ker’s survey of survivals from medieval British

libraries arranged by original location with cross-references to the present
whereabouts of manuscripts:

Medieval Libraries of Great Britain: a list of surviving books (Royal

Historical Society, 2nd ed 1964)

And the supplement published in 1987.

The British Library and the British Academy publication series entitled Corpus
of British Medieval Library Catalogues is in 14 parts:
1. The Friars' libraries edited by K. W. Humphreys (London, 1990)
2. The Libraries of the Cistercians, Gilbertines and Premonstratensians, edited
by David N. Bell (London, 1992)
3. List of identifications, compiled by R. Sharpe with the assistance of L.O.
Ayres and D.N. Bell (London, 1993)
4. Registrum Anglie de libris doctorum et auctorum veterum, edited with an
introduction and notes by Richard H. Rouse and Mary A. Rouse; the
Latin text established by R.A.B. Mynors (London, 1991)
5. List of identifications, compiled by R. Sharpe ; with the assistance of L.O.
Ayres and D.N. Bell (London, 1994)
6. List of identifications compiled by R. Sharpe (London 2nd ed, 1995)
7. English Benedictine librarie : the shorter catalogues edited by R. Sharpe, J.P.
Carley, R.M. Thomson, A.G. Watson (London, 1996)
8. The libraries of the Augustinian canons edited by T. Webber and A.G.
Watson (London, 1998)
9. Dover Priory, edited by William P. Stoneman (London, 1999)
10. The libraries of Henry VIII, edited by James P. Carley (London, 2000)
11. Peterborough Abbey edited by Karsten Friis-Jensen and James M.W.
Willoughby (London, 2001)
12. Syon Abbey edited by Vincent Gillespie; with The libraries of the
Carthusians edited by A.I. Doyle (London, 2001)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 25

 13. The university and college libraries of Cambridge edited by Peter D.
Clarke ; with an introduction by Roger Lovatt (London, 2002)
14. Henry of Kirkestede, catalogus de libris autenticis et apocrifis edited by
Richard H. Rouse and Mary A. Rouse (London, 2004)

A companion volume is:

D.N. Bell, An Index of Authors and Works in Cistercian Libraries in

Great Britain (Kalamazoo, 1992).

For dated or datable manuscripts see:

A.G. Watson, Catalogue of Dated and Dateable Manuscripts c. 700-

1600 in the Department of Manuscripts, the British Library (2 vols
London, 1979)
and
the same author’s Catalogue of Dated and Dateable Manuscripts in
Oxford Libraries c. 435-1600 (2 vols Oxford, 1984)

For illuminated manuscripts a partial survey has been completed in the series
A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles:

1. Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, 900-1066, by Elzbieta Temple (London, 1976)

2. Gothic manuscripts, 1285-1385, by Lucy Freeman Sandler (London, 1986)
3. Insular manuscripts, 6th to the 9th century, by J. J. G. Alexander (London,
1978)
4. Early Gothic manuscripts, by Nigel Morgan (Oxford, 1982)
5. Romanesque manuscripts, 1066-1190, by C. M. Kauffmann (London, 1975)
6. Early Gothic manuscripts, by Nigel Morgan (2 vols London, 1982, 1988)
7. Later Gothic manuscripts, 1390-1490, by Kathleen L. Scott (London, 1996)

3. Sources Abroad

The International Directory of Archives, published as vol. 33 (1988) of the

periodical Archivium by the International Council on Archives has brief
information on archive repositories abroad, including opening hours,
accessibility etc. This is now somewhat out of date but is still the only one-
stop place you can try. For individual archives you should, otherwise, view
their websites where possible. Between 1968 and 1975 the Historical
Association published in its annual periodical History (vols 53-60) a series of
brief studies entitled ‘Libraries and Archives’ in which English historians
gave guidance on using archive repositories and libraries abroad. The
countries covered included Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland,

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 26

Israel, Italy and the Vatican, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia and Spain. Some
of this will have changed dramatically by now but this is still worth looking
at. The Vatican Archives is well covered in L.E. Boyle, A Survey of the Vatican
Archives and of its Medieval Holdings (Toronto, 1972) which should be used in
conjunction with L. Macfarlane, ‘The Vatican Archives, with special reference
to sources for British medieval history’ in Archives 1959 pp. 29-44, 84-101. In
addition, the Vatican archive’s website is well worth visiting
(http://www.vatican.va/library_archives/vat_secret_archives/index.htm).

For Paris and Normandy, as well as repositories’ websites, see:

D.S. Spear, Research Facilities in Normandy and Paris: a guide for

students of medieval Norman history (Carolina revised ed, 1993)

this is useful for medievalists beyond the restrictions of its title.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the then Public Record Office (now The
National Archives) began a projected series of publications aimed at
producing calendars of British medieval historical material in continental
archives. The publications on the Papal Registers (see below) was one result of
this effort, but sadly only one volume was ever published for French archives:

J.H. Round ed, Documents preserved in France, illustrative of the

history of Great Britain and Ireland 918-1216 (London, 1899)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 27

 CHARTERS AND ADMINISTRATIVE DOCUMENTS

The best introduction for the ‘revolution’ in written communication which

occurred in the century or so after the Norman Conquest, and for the question
of medieval literacy is M.T. Clanchy’s From Memory to Written Record:
England 1066-1307 (3rd ed, Oxford, 2012)

For general lists of series see:

E.L.C. Mullins, Texts and Calendars: an analytical guide to serial

Publications, (Guides and Handbooks, vols. 7 and 12, 1958 and
1983)

Until recently updates on-line were available from the website of the
Historical Manuscript Commission. This has now been merged with the
National Archives and there are plans for the database to appear on the
website of the Royal Historical Society (www.rhs.ac.uk).

This reading list will only include very small amounts of the most general
information published in all these area. A constantly updated bibliography to
British and Irish History which is searchable by subject area (amongst other
things) is the Royal Historical Society bibliography available now on-line, for
free, as Bibliography of British and Irish History, published by Brepols, at
http://www.history.ac.uk/projects/bbih. This is frequently updated.

1. Pre-Conquest

Various attempts have been made to replace the pioneering but often
inaccurate J.M. Kemble, Codex Diplomaticus Aevi Saxonici,6 vols (London, 1839-
48) and W. de G. Birch, Cartularium Saxonicum, 3 vols (London, 1885-93 index
1899). Still the most useful general survey of material is:

P.H. Sawyer, Anglo-Saxon Charters: an annotated List and

Bibliography (Royal Historical Society, 1968)

Pierre Chaplais has made detailed studies on the records of the Anglo-Saxon
period in a series of articles in the Journal of the Society of Archivists (1965-9):
‘The origin and authenticity of the Royal Anglo-Saxon Diploma’; ‘The Anglo-
Saxon Chancery: from the diploma to the royal writ’; ‘Some Early Anglo-
Saxon Diplomas on single sheets: originals or copies?’; ‘Who introduced
Charters into England? The case for Augustine’.

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 28

There are also many other studies, general or specific, and editions of charters
and related materials are:

F.M. Stenton, The Latin Charters of the Anglo-Saxon Period (Oxford,

1955)
A.J. Robertson, Anglo-Saxon Charters (2nd ed, Cambridge, 1957)
D. Whitelock, Anglo-Saxon Wills (Cambridge, 1930)
F.E. Harmer, Anglo-Saxon Writs (Manchester, 1952)
H.P.R. Finberg, The Early Charters of Devon and Cornwall (Leicester,
1963)
H.P.R. Finberg, The Early Charters of Wessex (Leicester, 1964)
H.P.R. Finberg, The Early Charters of the West Midlands (Leicester,
1972)
M. Gelling, The Early Charters of the Thames Valley (Leicester, 1979)
C.R. Hart, The Early Charters of Eastern England (Leicester, 1966)
C.R. Hart, The Early Charters of Essex (Leicester, 1971)
C.R. Hart, The Early Charters of Northern England and the North
Midlands (Leicester, 1975)
S. Keynes, The Diplomas of King Aethelred ‘The Unready’ 978-1016: a
study in their use as historical evidence (Cambridge, 1980)

The British Academy also has a series entitled Anglo-Saxon Charters:

I. Charters of Rochester, ed by A. Campbell (1973)

II. Charters of Burton Abbey, ed by P.H. Sawyer (1979)
III. Charters of Sherborne, ed by M.A. O’Donovan (1988)
IV. Charters of St Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury, and Minster-in-
Thanet, ed S.E. Kelly (1995)
V. Charters of Shaftesbury Abbey, ed by S.E. Kelly (1996)
VI. Charters of Selsey, ed by S.E. Kelly (1998)
VII. Charters of Abingdon Abbey, Part 1, ed S.E. Kelly (2000)
VIII. Charters of Abingdon Abbey, Part 2, ed S.E. Kelly (2001)
IX. Charters of the New Minster, Winchester, ed Sean Miller (2001)
X. Charters of St Paul’s, London, ed S.E. Kelly (2004)

Supplementary Volumes

I. Facsimiles of Anglo-Saxon Charters. edited by Simon Keynes (1991)

II. Anglo-Saxon Charters: Archives and Single Sheets. by Simon Keynes
(http://www.kemble.asnc.cam.ac.uk/node/32)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 29

2. Royal

Systematic registration of outgoing royal charters and correspondence does

not begin until the late 12th or early 13th century (apart from financial material,
the pipe, originalia and fine rolls) so that earlier material has been collected
and edited from a variety of archival sources in England and France.

The charters of the Norman sovereigns 1066-1154 were edited under the title
Regesta Regum Anglo-Normannorum:

I. 1066-1100, ed. H.W.C. Davis (1913)

II. 1100-1135, ed. C. Johnson & H.A. Cronne (1956)
III. 1135-1154, ed. H.A. Cronne & R.H.C. Davis (1968)
IV. Facsimiles of original charters of King Stephen, the Empress Matilda
and Dukes Geoffrey and Henry (1969)

The first volume was replaced in 1998 by:

Regesta regum Anglo-Normannorum: the Acta of William I (1066-1087),

edited by David Bates (Oxford, 1998)

A project to collect and edit the Angevin acta of Henry II, Richard I and
John is at present in progress under the supervision of Professors Sir James
Holt and Nicholas Vincent. Interim publications were issued in 1986 and
1996, viz.

Acta of Henry II and Richard I: handlist of documents surviving in the

original in repositories in the United Kingdom, eds J.C. Holt & R.
Mortimer (List and Index Society special series 21, 1986); part 2: ed.
N. Vincent (List and Index Society special series 27, 1996)

The online portal for this project is http://www.britac.ac.uk/arp/acta/

Until further volumes are issued the earlier collection of Henry II’s French
acta will repay consultation:

Recueil des Actes de Henri II … concernant les provinces franciases et les

affaires de France, eds L. Delisle & E. Berger, 4 vols (Paris, 1909-27)

Certain types of royal record (e.g. writs) have been the subject of separate
study:

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 30

 R.C. Van Caeneghem, Royal Writs in England from the Conquest to
Glanvill (Selden Society 77, 1959)
T.A.M. Bishop & P. Chaplais, Facsimiles of English Royal Writs to
A.D. 1100 presented to Vivian Hunter Galbraith (Oxford, 1957)

With the introduction of registration in the Royal Chancery, there are a

substantial number of publications and calendars issued by The National
Archives (until 2004 as the Public Record Office) and a few by the earlier
Record Commission covering the medieval period.

Chancery Records

Charter rolls: Rotuli Chartarum 1199-1226 (1837); Calendar of

Charter Rolls 1226-1516 (6 vols, 1903-27)

Patent rolls: Rotuli Litterarum Patentium 1201-1216 (1835);

Calendar of Patent Rolls 1216-1509 (56 vols 1891-
1916)

Close rolls: Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum 1204-1227 (2 vols, 1833-

44); Calendar of Close Rolls 1227-1509 (62 vols, 1892-
1963)

Fine rolls: Calendar of Fine Rolls 1272-1509 (22 vols, 1911-63)

Henry III Fine Rolls project (1216-1272): this
pioneering project combines translations in
English of the rolls with sophisticated electronic
indexes and high-quality digital images
(http://www.frh3.org.uk/)

Gascon rolls: An online edition of these important rolls relating

to English rule in medieval Gascony is being
developed by the Universities of Southampton and
Keele. It features some translations and digital
images: http://www.gasconrolls.org/index.html

Liberate rolls: Rotuli de Liberate temp. John (1844); Calendar of

Liberate Rolls 1226-1272 (6 vols, 1917-64)

Chancery Rolls: Calendar of Chancery Rolls 1277-1326 (1912)

Foreign Relations: Treaty Rolls 1234-1339 (2 vols 1956-72);

Diplomatic Documents 1101-1272 (1964)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 31

 Chancery Warrants: Calendar of Chancery Warrants 1244-1326 (1927)

Inquisitions: Calendar of Inquisitions post mortem Henry III-Henry

IV; Henry VII (19 vols, 1898-1992); Calendar of
Inquisitions Miscellaneous Henry III-Henry V (7 vols,
1916-69)

Exchequer

The Pipe Rolls beginning in the 12th century are being published by the
Pipe Roll Society and have reached the early 13th century. Also see:

Books of Fees c. 1307, 3 vols (1921-31)

Feudal Aids, 6 vols (1899-1921)

Memoranda Rolls 1326-7, ed. R.E. Latham (1969)

Records of the Wardrobe and Household 1285-6, ed. B.F & C.R Byerley
(1977)

Judicial Records

The publications of the Selden Society include many editions of judicial

and court proceedings and legal year books

Curia Regis Rolls Richard I-1245, 17 vols (1923-79)

Ancient Deeds, 6 vols (1890-1915) and summary lists continued in

the publications of the List and Index Society

Calendar of Signet Letters Henry IV-V (1979)

Useful formulary books for royal documents are:

H.A. Hall, A Formulary of English Official Historical Documents I:

Diplomatic Documents (Cambridge, 1908); II: Ministerial and Judicial
Records (Cambridge, 1909)
P. Chaplais, English Royal Documents: King John – Henry VI 1199-
1461 (Oxford, 1971) (this is the most useful of the two)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 32

 The earlier collections by Thomas Rymer, Foedera, conventiones, litterae et
cujuscunque generis acta publica inter reges Angliae et alios quovis imperatores,
reges, pontifices, principes vel communitates (1101-1654), 20 vols (London,
1704-35; new ed. 7 vols, Record Commission, 1816-69, reprinted) are still
immensely valuable for texts.

In the 1950s and 1960s the journal The Amateur Historian (now The Local
Historian) ran a series of articles on particular medieval sources at The
National Archives. These are still valuable introductions: R.E. Latham’s
series Hints on interpreting the Public Records 1. Feet of Fines (The
Amateur Historian 1 (1952-4) pp. 5-9); 2: Letters Patent (ibid. pp. 47-51); 3.
Inquisitions post mortem (ibid. pp. 77-81); 4. Ministers’ accounts (ibid. pp.
112-117); 5. Plea Rolls (ibid. pp. 155-8); M.W. Beresford’s articles on the lay
subsidies (ibid. 3 (1956-8), pp. 325-8; 4 (1958-60), pp. 101-9) and the 1377-81
poll taxes (ibid. 3, pp. 271-8); B. Waites on the memoranda rolls (ibid. 5
(1961-3) pp. 242-6); J.B. Harley on the hundred rolls (ibid. 5, pp 9-16); J.
Fines on early chancery proceedings (ibid. 6 (1963-5) pp. 254-9).
A more recent survey of feet of fines or final concords is J. Kissock’s
‘Medieval Feet of Fines: a study of their uses with a catalogue of published
sources’ The Local Historian 24 (1994) pp. 62-82.

Statutes

Statutes of the Realm (1101-1713) ed. A. Luders et al (Record Commission 9

vols and 2 index vols, 1810-28) contains royal and parliamentary
legislation. For parliamentary petitions etc see:

The Parliament Rolls of Medieval England, 1275-1504 ed. Chris Given-

Wilson et al (2005) (also published in hard copy in 17 vols by
Boydell & Brewer)

This replaces the Rotuli Parliamentorum: ut et petitiones et placitos in

Parliamento 1278-1503, 6 vols. (Record Commission, 1783).

For a guide to the extant archives of parliament see:

M.F. Bond, Guide to the Records of Parliament (London, 1971).

3. Aristocratic

R.B. Patterson ed., Earldom of Gloucester Charters: the Charters and Scribes of the
Earls and Countesses of Gloucester to A.D. 1217 (Oxford, 1973)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 33

D. Walker ed., Charters of the Earldom of Hereford, 1095-1201 in Camden
Miscellany XXII (Royal Historical Society, 1964) pp. 1-75

D.E. Greenway ed Charters of the Honour of Mowbray 1107-1191 (British

Academy Records of Social and Economic History new series 1, 1972)

G. Barraclough ed., The Charters of the Anglo-Norman Earls of Chester c. 1071-

1237 (Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire cxxvi, 1988), with a volume
of commentary edited by A.T. Thacker, The Earldom of Chester and its Charters
being vol. 71 of the Journal of the Chester Archaeological Society (1991)

4. English Ecclesiastical

The best introduction to episcopal charters or acta is Professor C.R. Cheney’s

English Bishops’ Chanceries 1100-1250 (Manchester, 1950). Other basic
introductions are Cheney’s introduction to English Episcopal Acta 2: Canterbury
1162-1190 (see below) and Christopher Brooke, ‘English episcopal acta of the
12th and 13th centuries’ in Medieval Ecclesiastical Studies in Honour of Dorothy
M. Owen, ed M. J. Franklin and C. Harper-Bill (Woodbridge, 1995). The British
Academy is publishing a series devoted to English episcopal acta before the
beginnings of episcopal registration (so from 1066 to the 13 th or even
sometimes early 14th centuries) and so far 30 diocesan volumes have been
published:

I. Lincoln 1067–1185. edited by David M. Smith (1980)

II. Canterbury 1162–1190. edited by C.R. Cheney & Bridgett E A
Jones (1986)
III. Canterbury 1193–1205. edited by C.R. Cheney & E John (1986)
IV. Lincoln 1186–1206. edited by David M Smith (1986)
V. York 1070–1154. edited by Janet E. Burton (1988)
VI. Norwich 1070–1214. edited by Christopher Harper-Bill (1990)
VII. Hereford 1079–1234. edited by Julia Barrow (1993)
VIII. Winchester 1070–1204. edited by M.J. Franklin (1993)
IX. Winchester 1205–1238. edited by Nicholas Vincent (1994)
X. Bath and Wells 1061–1205. edited by Frances M.R. Ramsey
(1995)
XI. Exeter 1046–1184. edited by Frank Barlow (1996)
XII. Exeter 1186–1257. edited by Frank Barlow (1996)
13. Worcester 1218–1268. edited by Philippa M Hoskin (1997)
14. Coventry and Lichfield 1072–1159. edited by M J Franklin (1997)
15. London 1076–1187. edited by Falko Neininger (1999)
16. Coventry and Lichfield 1160–1182. edited by M J Franklin (1998)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 34

 17. Coventry and Lichfield 1183–1208. edited by M J Franklin (1998)
18. Salisbury 1078–1217. edited by B R Kemp (1999)
19. Salisbury 1217–1228. edited by B R Kemp (2000)
20. York 1154–1181. edited by Marie Lovatt (2000)
21. Norwich 1215–1243. edited by Christopher Harper-Bill (2000)
22. Chichester 1215–1253. edited by Philippa M Hoskin (2001)
23. Chichester 1254–1305. edited by Philippa M Hoskin (2001)
24. Durham 1153–1195. edited by M G Snape (2002)
25. Durham 1196–1237. edited by M G Snape (2002)
26. London 1189–1228. edited by D P Johnson (2003)
27. York 1189–1212. edited by Marie Lovatt (2004)
28. Canterbury 1070–1136. edited by Martin Brett & Joseph A
Gribbin (2004)
29. Durham 1241–1283. edited by Philippa M Hoskin (2005)
30. Carlisle 1133–1292. edited by David M Smith (2005)
31. Ely 1109–1197. edited by Nicholas Karn (2005)
32. Norwich 1244–1266. edited by Christopher Harper-Bill (2007)
33. Worcester 1062–1185. edited by Mary Cheney, David Smith,
Christopher Brooke and Philippa M. Hoskin (2007)
34. Worcester 1186-1218, edited by Mary Cheney, David Smith,
Christopher Brooke and Philippa M. Hoskin (2008)
35. Hereford, 1234-1275, edited by Julia Barrow (2009)
36. Salisbury 1229-1262, edited by B.R. Kemp (2010, repr. 2011)
37. Salisbury 1263-1297, edited by B.R. Kemp (2010)
38. London 1229-1280, edited by Philippa M. Hoskin (2011)
39. London 1281-1303, edited by Philippa M. Hoskin (2011)
40. Norwich 1266-1288, edited by Christopher Harper-Bill (2012)
41. Norwich 1289-1299, edited by Christopher Harper-Bill (2012)
42. Ely 1198-1256, edited by Nicholas Karn (2013)

With the introduction of episcopal registration from the thirteenth century

there is a comprehensive guide to the registers:

D.M. Smith, Guide to bishops’ Registers of England and Wales: a

survey from the Middle Ages to the Abolition of Episcopacy in
1646 (Royal Historical Society, 1981)

An update to this was published by the Canterbury and York Society:

D.M. Smith, Supplement to the Guide to Bishops’ Registers of England

and Wales (Canterbury and York Society, 2004)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 35

Many medieval episcopal registers have been published by the Canterbury
and York Society for details of these see the Society’s website (at
http://www.history.ac.uk/cantyork/welcome.html) and by other, local history
societies.

For digital images of eight of York’s medieval and early modern archbishops’
registers, see York Digital Library, where images appear by kind permission
of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation:
https://dlib.york.ac.uk/yodl/app/collection/detail?id=york
%3a810233&ref=browse

For records of lower level diocesan administration, see:

Twelfth-Century English Archidicaonal and Vice-Archidiaconal Acta ed.

Brian Kemp (Canterbury & York Society vol. 92)

Brian Kemp, ‘The acta of English rural deans in the later twelfth and early
thirteenth centuries’ in The Foundations of Medieval English Ecclesiastical
History: studies in medieval history presented to David Smith, ed Philippa Hoskin,
Christopher. Brooke, Barrie. Dobson (Woodbridge, 2005)

For monastic records the invaluable survey of cartularies and related registers
is:

G.R.C. Davis, Medieval Cartularies of Great Britain: a short

catalogue (London, 1958)

This has been supplemented by P. Hoskin, ‘Medieval Cartularies of Great

Britain: amendments and additions to the Davis Catalogue’ Monastic Research
Bulletin 2 (1996), pp. 1-12; and similar supplements by Nicholas Vincent
Monastic Research Bulletin 3 (1997) pp. 7-38; 4 (1998) pp. 6-13 and I.C.
Cunningham ‘Medieval Cartularies of Great Britain: amendments to the
Scottish section of Davis’ ibid. pp. 1-7. A new edition of Davis is in progress.
Many cartularies have been published by local and national record societies,
but still the starting point for documentary sources for English monasteries
remains (despite scholarly defects) William Dugdale’s Monasticon Anglicanum
(new edition ed. J. Caley, H. Ellis & B. Bandinel, 8 vols (London, 1817-30).

5. Conciliar

The most comprehensive collection of canons and enactments of Church

Councils is J.D. Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collection, 31

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 36

vols (Florence & Venice, 1759-98, reissued in 39 vols, 1901-27). For Britain the
standard (and often inaccurate) work is:
David Wilkins’ Concilia Magnae Britanniae et Hiberniae A.D. 446-
1718 4 vols (London, 1737).

A revision of this work has reached 1313:

A.W. Haddan & W. Stubbs, eds Councils and Ecclesiastical

Documents relating to Great Britain and Ireland, 3 vols (Oxford, 1869-
78, repd 1965), mostly concerned with the Anglo-Saxon Church to
870
D. Whitelock, M. Brett & C.N.L. Brooke eds, Councils and Synods
with other documents relating to the English Church I: 871-1204, 2 vols
(Oxford, 1981)
F.M. Powicke & C.R. Cheney eds, Councils and Synods with other
documents relating to the English Church II: A.D. 1205-1313, 2 vols
(Oxford, 1964)

For a companion volume to the Anglo-Saxon series consult:

C. Cubitt, Anglo-Saxon Church Councils 650-850 (Leicester, 1995).

6. Canon Law

E. Friedberg ed, Corpus Iuris Canonici, 2 vols (Leipzig, 1879-82) still remains
the standard text. Volume I contains Gratian’s Decretum and the second
volume the Decretals. The most valuable digest of medieval canon law in
England is William Lyndwood’s Provinciale, seu constitutiones Angliae,
continens constitutiones provinciales archiepiscoporum Cant’ a Stephano Langton ad
Henricum Chicheium, cum annotationibus J. de Athona (Oxford, 1679).

A practical guide to the documents produced by post-Reformation church

courts (although still applicable for the form of records) is:
Anne Tarver, Church Court Records (Chichester, 1994).

Another useful introduction is:

C.R. Chapman, Ecclesiastical Courts, their Officials and their

Records (Dursley, 1992)

For the citation system of the medieval canon law a valuable guide is in
appendix I to:

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 37

 J.A. Brundage, Medieval Canon Law (Longmans, 1995), pp. 190-205

The first volume of the Oxford History of the Laws of England covering the
medieval period has also been published as:

R.H. Helmholz, Oxford History of the Laws of England: Vol. 1.The

canon law and ecclesiastical jurisdiction from 597 to the 1640s (Oxford,
2004)

A survey of medieval church court records in England, indicating the survival

of records and their location, is provided by:

C. Donahue ed, The Records of the Medieval Ecclesiastical Courts part

II: England (Berlin, 1994)

The Universities of York and Sheffield have created an online database to the
papers of the over 15,000 cases (or ‘Causes’) pleaded before the diocesan
courts of York between 1300 and 1858. These provide an invaluable index to
people, places and case types and contain details of a myriad of subjects as
diverse as adultery and matrimonial disputes to tithe, disputed benefices,
contested wills and defamation of character. Witness testimonies often give an
intimate flavour of everyday life and human relationships:
http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/causepapers/.

7. Papal

The papal registers have been searched for British entries from 1198 onwards.
The project is not quite complete, but the years 1198-1498, 1503-8 have now
been covered in:

Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers relating to Great Britain and

Ireland, eds W.H. Bliss, C. Johnston, J.A. Twelmlow, M.J. Haren &
A.P. Fuller, 18 vols (London & Dublin, 1894-1994, in progress)

A companion volume is:

W.H. Bliss ed, Petitions to the Pope 1342-1419 (London, 1897)

For the history of the above project, including some important information
about how the calendaring was carried out and the extent of the introductions
to each volume, see:

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 38

 Jane Sayers, ‘The Vatican Archives, the Papal Registers and Great
Britain and Ireland: the foundations of historical research’ in The
Foundations of Medieval English Ecclesiastical History: studies in
medieval history presented to David Smith, ed Philippa Hoskin,
Christopher. Brooke, Barrie. Dobson (Woodbridge, 2005).

For the period before 1198 Jaffé-Loewenfeld should be consulted:

P. Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum ab condita ecclesia ad annum

post Christum natum MCXCVIII, revised S. Loewenfeld et al., 2 vols
(Leipzig, 1885-8).

Its continuation is:

A. Potthast ed, Regesta pontificum Romanorum inde ab anno post

Christum natum MCXCVIII ad annum MCCCIV, 2 vols (Berlin, 1875).

In England further revision has been undertaken for the period before 1198:

W. Holtzmann ed, Papsturkunden in England, 3 vols, (Göttingen,

1930-52).

The pontificate of Innocent III (1198-1216) has been the subject of an edition
and calendar by C.R. and M.G. Cheney, The Letters of Pope Innocent III (1198-
1216) concerning England and Wales (Oxford, 1967).

Collections of original papal material for the 14th century have more recently
been undertaken:

P.N.R. Zutshi, Original Papal Letters in England 1305-1415 (Vatican,

1990)
J.E. Sayers, Original Papal Documents in England and Wales from the
accession of Pope Innocent III to the death of Pope Benedict XI (1198-
1304) (Oxford, 1999)

8. Urban

A great deal of urban record-keeping has been published e.g. in York’s case,
the medieval memorandum books, chamberlain’s accounts and freeman’s
rolls (Surtees Society) and the city house books or council minute books
(Yorkshire Archaeological Society record series) as well as a re-edition of the

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 39

earliest house books, L.C. Attreed ed, York House Books 1461-1490, 2 vols,
(Stroud, 1991). Most details will be found in Text and Calendars. Other useful
bibliographical sources for published civic and related records are:

C. Gross, A Bibliography of British Municipal History (2nd ed,

Leicester, 1966)

and its continuation:

G.H. Martin & S. McIntyre, Bibliography of British and Irish

Municipal History vol. I (Leicester, 1972)

9. Private

Collections of charters containing a large number of social groupings and

arranged on a geographical basis. Among the more useful are:

F.M. Stenton’s Documents illustrative of the Social and Economic

History of the Danelaw (British Academy Records of Social and
Economic History 5, 1920)
F.M. Stenton, The Free Peasantry of the Northern Danelaw (Oxford,
1969) (devoted to the charters issued by the free peasants of the
region)

In Yorkshire, W. Farrer and C. Clay have edited the extensive collection,

based on feudal honours, of:

Early Yorkshire Charters (12 vols & 1 index vol, Yorkshire

Archaeological Society Record Series, extra series, 1914-65).

For a detailed analysis of various types of private deeds and conveyances

consult:

R.B. Pugh ed, The Antrobus Deeds before 1625 (Wiltshire

Archaeological and Natural History Society records branch 3,
1947).

For final concords or feet of fines see the introduction to:

C.W. Foster ed, Final Concords of the County of Lincoln A.D. 1242-
1272 with additions A.D. 1176-1250 (Lincoln Record Society 17, 1920)
pp. ix-lxxxi.

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 40

A useful volume about the problems of dealing with undated charters
(mostly 12th and 13th centuries) is:

M. Gervers, Dating Undated Medieval Charters (Woodbridge,

2000)

10. Jewish Starra

F. Ashe Lincoln, The Starra: their effect on early English Law and Administration
(Oxford, 1939)

M.D. Davis, Hebrew Deeds of English Jews before 1290 (London, 1880, reprinted
1968)

11. Accounts

Texts and Calendars will provide a number of examples of editions of accounts

and financial records, but particularly useful are,

C.M. Woolgar ed, Household Accounts for Medieval England, 2 vols (British
Academy records of economic and social 17-18, 1992-3)

P. Heath, Medieval Clerical Accounts (York, Borthwick Paper 26, 1964) deals
with accounts at a parochial level

I. Kershaw & D.M. Smith, The Bolton Priory Compotus 1286-1325 (Yorkshire
Archaeological Society record series 154, 2000)

R.E. Boyns, T. Boyns & J.R. Edwards, Historical Accounting Records: a guide for
archivists and researchers (Society of Archivists, 2000) (a useful discussion of
accounting methods)

12. Manorial Records

P.D.A. Harvey, Manorial Records (British Records Association: Archives

and the User 5, 1984

D. Stuart, Manorial Records: an introduction to their transcription and translation

(Chichester, 1992)

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 41

M. Ellis, Using Manorial Records (Public Record Office Readers’ Guide 6,
1994)

R. Bass, Manorial Records (Borthwick Wallet 8, 1998)

Texts and Calendars will provide details of editions of manorial court rolls and
related records, but two good examples to consult on format etc. are:

P.D.A. Harvey ed., Manorial Records of Cuxham, Oxfordshire c.1200-

1359 (Oxfordshire Record Society 50, 1976)

W.P. Baildon et al. eds, Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, 5 vols
(Yorkshire Archaeological Society record series 1901-45)

The full text for 1274 - 1297 is available in translation on the internet at:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1274wakefield-courtrolls.html

A separate Wakefield Court Rolls series now in progress.

For the location of manorial records see the Manorial Documents Register on-
line at http://www.mdr.nationalarchives.gov.uk/mdr/

13. Testamentary and Probate Records

Two books provide guidance through the maze of medieval probate

jurisdiction and the survival and location of the extant records:

J.S.W. Gibson, Wills and Where to Find Them (Chichester, 1974)

A.J. Camp, Wills and their Whereabouts (London, 1974)

A number of repositories have all or some of their will indexes on line now.
For York indexes (including all peculiar jurisdictions and all medieval wills to
1500) go to www.origins.net. Another particularly useful collection is that of
the Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills on line via the National Archives
website (for which see above) – these cover particularly wealthy testators
from the southern province and some from the northern province as well.

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 42

Philippa Hoskin, Borthwick Institute 43