Medieval Studies in Microform to 1500

• State Papers
• Ecclesiastical and Legal Records
• Other Church Documents
• Legal Records
• Cartularies
• Local Histories (London)
• Local Histories (Provinces)
• Chronicles and Documents (Cambridge University Library)
• Chronicles and Documents (British Library)
• Other

Ancient Correspondence, 1175-1538: PRO Class SCI. 2 parts on 26 reels. [Film A 532] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [INDEX Film A 532]. This materials is described in detail in: List of Ancient Correspondence of the Chancery and Exchequer Preserved in the Public Record Office. rev. ed. London, 1968 [Br Doc 40.7 (15) F]; and, Index to Ancient Correspondence of the Chancery and the Exchequer. London, 1969, 2 v. [Br Doc 40.8 (15) F]. This is a comprehensive index of persons and places contained in the PRO Class SCI. Spanning the reigns of King John to King Henry VII, the collection includes the correspondence of kings, bishops, Popes, noblemen, royal servants, and Lord Chancellors. Some topics covered are diplomatic relations between Britian and France; the political struggles between king and barons; ecclesiastical elections; the siege of castles; and trade. HOLLIS Record

Episcopal Registers

Canterbury, Eng. (Province). Archbishop. Registers of the Archbishops of Canterbury in Lambeth Palace Library, 13th-17th Centuries. 20 reels. [Film A 151] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [INDEX Film A 151] Description of contents and index of reels. These registers consist of documents issued by or directly concerning the Archbishops in their capacities as ordinary, metropolitan, and until the Reformation, papal legates.

Church Authority and Power in Medieval and Early Modern Britian: The Episcopal Registers, 1215-1650. [Film A 458] HOLLIS Record

Part 1: Archbishops of York, 1215-1650. 22 reels.
Part 2. Bishops of Lincoln, 1209-1663. 20 reels.
Part 3: Bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, 1295-1632; Carlisle, 1293-1656; Chester, 1541-1652; Durham, 1283-1672. 12 reels.
Part 4: Bishops of Salisbury, 1297-1689. 10 reels.
Part 5: Bishops of London, 1304-1660. 9 reels.
Part 6: Registers of Christ, Church Cathedral, Priory, Canterbury, 1284-1661. 22 reels.
Part 7: Bishops of Ely, 1337-1619; Oxford, 1592-1663; Wales. 1389-1705. 8 reels.
Part 8: Bishops of Chichester, 1396-1675; Gloucester, 1541-1681; Rochester. 1319-1683. 8 reels.
Part 9: Bishops of Worcester, 1268-1650.

Guide: [INDEX Film A 458]. In addition to the reel guide, a complete list of the contents of each reels is given at the beginning of the first reel. Scholars are also referred to DDavidM. Smith: Guide to the Bishops' Register of England and Wales: A Survey from the Middle Ages to the Abolition of the Episcopacy in 1646. London, 1981. [INDEX Film A 458.1] [WID-LC CD 1068.A S64x] This is a basic record of church activities: visitations, inquisitions, division of tithes, administration of the clergy's estates, royal and papal decrees, activity of Churh courts.

Glastonbury Abbey. Glastonbury Abbey Documents. 30 reels. [Film A 616] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [Index Film A 616] Court and compotus rolls, dating from the 13th to the 16th century, housed at Longleat.

Ecclesiastical Authority in England: Church Court Records, c. 1400 - C. 1600. [Film A 566] HOLLIS Record

Series 1: Church court records of Ely.
Part 1: Instance act books and court papers, 1374-1640. 19 reels.
Part 2: Office act books and formularies, 1469-1639. 13 reels.

Series 2: Detection books, 1538-1700; excommunication papers, 1612-1665; churchwarden's presentments, 1573-1698, and other papers. 19 reels. In progress.

Guide: [INDEX Film A 566] These manuscripts provide the working records of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction and illustrate such issues as the morality of the laity and their religious behavior; marriage and illegitimacy; wills and the administration of intestates; church patronage and revenue. HOLLIS Record

London (England). Court of Hustings. Hustings Rolls of Deeds and Wills, 1252-1485. 214 rolls on 30 reels.

Guide: The Hustings Rolls contain transcripts of deed of title read, and of testaments proved in the Court of Hustings, which was the principal court of medieval London. This collection presents the contents of the surviving 214 rolls and is organized as follows:

Reels 1-24: Rolls 1-214 (1252-1485).
Reels 25-27: Index of names and places (5 volumes).
Reels 28-29: Calendar of deed and wills (6 volumes).
Reel 30: Roll 239a: Numerus cartarum.
Roll 41b: Alphabetical index of testators Henry III-Edward III.
Roll 42c: Headings of deed and wills 25 January 1363 - 4 March 1461.

These documents reveal the workings of the court and allow one to trace the history of individual properties, and of the streets, markets and other features of London.

Inner Temple, London. Library Manuscripts and Early Printed Works, the Petyt, Barrington Collections, etc., 12th - 20th centuries. 248 reels. [Film A 239] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [INDEX Film A 239] Catalogue of manuscripts in the Library of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, edited by J. Conway Davies. London, 1972. 3 v. The microfilm set follows the catalogue directly.

List of contents of the microfilm: INDEX Film A 239.1

The medieval items in this large and varied collection include cartularies from the Augustinian Priory of Dunstable (c. 1331) and from the Cathedral Church of Salisbury; statues, legal tracts; yearbooks from the reigns of Edward I (Michaelmas Term 26-7 (1297) and Edward III.

Tamworth (Staffordshire). Tamworth Court Rolls, 1284 - 1584. 327 rolls on 80 color fiche. [Microfiche W 3066] HOLLIS Record

Guides: [INDEX Microfiche W 3066.1] Index by reign and by fiche. [INDEX Microfiche W 3066.2] Introduction (by Robin Studd).

This collection documents the activities of three courts at Tamworth: the View of Frankpledge or Great Court of Tamworth (Magna Curia); the Portmanmoot or Little Court (Curia parva); and the Piepowder Court. The Great Court dealt with offenses which were not regarded as serious enough to place before the King's courts and fell short of felony: theft, assault, offenses against the peace, and violations of acceptable trading practices; trespass. The Little Court dealt with personal pleas of trespass, land transactions and general common suits. The primary function of the Piepowder Court was to provide travelling merchants with quick and binding judgements on grievances they might raise. The records illustrate the emergence of Tamworth from a manorial concern to a self-governing urban community.

Trinity College Cambridge: The Medieval Manuscript Collection. Section 1: Law. 19 reels. [Film A 357] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [INDEX Film A 357; B 3674.34.5] Reel guide and concordance to M. R. James's The Western Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. Cambridge, 1900-1904. 4v.

The law manuscripts cover a wide range of cononical, ecclesiastical and civil law texts, including Anglo-Saxon law terms. Also included is a Decreta pontificium of the 12th centiry from Christ Church, Canterbury, which contains a letter of Pope Alexander to Langfranc.

 Property and Privilege in Medieval and Early Modern England and Wales: Cartularies and Other Registers, ca. 1000 - ca. 1600. [Film A 572] HOLLIS Record

Series 1: Cartularies from the British Library, London.
Part 1: Arundel - Cotton. 16 reels.
Part 2: Cotton Otho - Cotton Roll. 14 reels.
Part 3: Egerton - Lansdowne. 20 reels.
Part 4: Royal - Add. Roll.
In progress.

Guides: For a general survey, see G. R. C. Davis: Medieval Cartularies of Great Britain. London, 1958. The cartularies in the British Library account for about half of all the cartularies to be found in public ownership. These are described in: [INDEX A 572; Br 58.12]. Index to the Charters and Rolls in the Department of Manuscripts, British Museum, edited by H. J. Ellis and P. B. Bickley. London, 1910-1912. 2 v. (Also known as the Index locorum.) and calendared in: Calendars of Charters and Rolls in the Manuscript Collections of the British Library. 18 reels. (See item no. 2 of this guide.) The cartularies include title deeds, charters of privilege and other documents kept by medieval landowners as evidence of their rights. They illustrate the power of monasteries and ecclesiastical landowners, and the growth and influence of the great noble families.

Historical Gazetteer of London Before the Great Fire. General editor, Derek Keene. [Microfiche W 3040] HOLLIS Record. Part 1: Cheapside. 50 microfiche in a binder with a printed introduction and 3 printed maps. In progress.

Guide: [INDEX Microfiche W 3040] This is not a set of primary source materials but rather a group of minutely detailed histories based on records kept by religious houses, livery companies, parishes and other property holders from 1200 to 1666. The gazetteers are arranged parish by parish and include maps, reconstruction plans of all the houses, churches and other properties. The primary sources used to compile the gazetteers are listed in: A Survey of Documentary Sources for Property Holding in London Before the Great Fire by Derek Keene and Vanessa Harding. London, 1985. Extensive use has been made of the deeds and wills enrolled in the Court of Hustings described in item no. 36 below. [Br 4305.30 (22)] HOLLIS Record

London (England). Court of Hustings. Hustings Rolls of Deed and Wills, 1252-1485. 214 rolls on 30 reels. [Film A 678] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [*]
The Hustings Rolls contain transcripts of deeds of title read, and of testaments proved in the Court of Hustings, which was the principal court of medieval London. This collection presents the contents of the surviving 214 rolls and is organized as follows:

Reels 1-24 Rolls 1-214 (1252-1485)
Reels 25-27 Index of names and places (5 volumes)
Reels 28-29 Calendar of deeds and wills (6 volumes)
Reel 30 Roll 239a: Numerus cartarum.
Roll 41b: Alphabetical index of testators Henry III-Edward III.
Roll 42c: Readings of deeds and wills 25 January 1363 - 4 March 1461.

These documents allow one to trace the history of individual properties, and of the streets, markets and other features of London. The deeds regularly specify parishes, street names, and the names of abutting tenements and frequently give measurements and other details of the property.

Trade and Politics in the City of London: Livery Company Records, c. 1350 - c. 1800. Series 1: Records of the Drapers Company. Records of the Mercers Company. In progress.

The role of the livery companies was central to the increasing economic dominance of the City of London between the 14th and the 17th centuries. These records trace the development of numerous trades and crafts as well as provide detailed social and biographical information about the inhabitants of the City and the religious and educational works in which the livery companies were involved. The collection includes records of the charitable foundatios, schools, almshouses and hospitals instituted or funded by the companies.

The Manor in Medieval England: A Record of Economic and Social Life. Series 1: Records of Durham Cathedral Priory, 1235-1700. [*]

Records of an English Village: Earls Colne, 1400-1750. 113 fiche. [Microfiche W 1917] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [INDEX Microfiche W 1917]. The Essex Village of Earls Colne is the most fully documented village in England. Surviving records include a good series of manorial records, account books, a diary and an early 16th century map. The transcribed documents (numbering 7,000 pages) are divided into three sections: the Church, the State, the Estate, each of which is accompanied by a printed guide. In addition, there are five indexes: date (chronological listing); name; subject; land; place.

Tamworth (Staffordshire). Tamworth Court Rolls, 1284-1584. 327 rolls on 80 color fiche. [Microfiche W 3066] HOLLIS Record

Guides: [INDEX Microfiche W 3066.1]. Index by reign and by fiche. [INDEX Microfiche W 3066.2]. Introduction by Robin Studd.
This collection documents the activities of three courts at Tamworth: the View of Frankpledge or Creat Court of Tamworth (Magna curia); the Portmanmoot or Little Court (Curia parva); and the Piedpowder Court. The records illustrate the emergence of Tamworth from a manorial concern to a self-governing community and shed light on the effectiveness of the rule of law and local government. (See also the description of this collection in item no. 31.)

All Cambridge University Library manuscripts are described in:

A Catalog of the Manuscripts Preserved in the Library of the University of Cambridge. Cambridge, 1856-1867. 6 v. reprinted Munich, 1980. [INDEX Film A 519.1] [WID-LC Z 921.C18x 1980] HOLLIS Record

See also:

Robinson, P. R. Catalog of the Dated and Datable Manuscripts c. 737-1600 in Cambridge Libraries. Cambridge, 1988. 2. v. [*]

The Early and Central Middle Ages, c. 650 - c. 1200. [Film A 592] HOLLIS Record

Part 1: Manuscripts from Section A (MSS Dd-Gg). 10 reels.
Part 2: Manuscripts from Section B (MSS Hh-Mm), Additional Manuscripts and the Ely Charter of 974. 15 reels.

Guide: Contents and full description of each manuscript are given of the first reels of each part.

This collection includes 15 Cambridge University items listed in Ker's Catalogue of Manuscripts Containing Anglo-Saxon as well as 25 Cambridge University items listed in Gneuss's Manuscripts Written or Owned in England Before 1200." Major authors represented are: Aelfric, Aldhelm, Bede, Wulfstan, Gerald of Wales.

Chronicles and Documents of Medieval England, c. 1150 - c. 1500, from Cambridge University Library. [Film A 570] HOLLIS Record

Part 1: MSS Dd-Gg. 18 reels.
Part 2: MSS Hh-Oo and Add. 21 reels.

Guide: [INDEX Film A 570] HOLLIS Record list of contents by reel.
This large and varied collection includes warrants from Richard II to his Chancellor; documents dealing with Church lands, manorial estates and appointments; the Black Book of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, 12th - 15th century (Mm IV 19); a cartulary of the Priory of St. Grefory at Canterbury (L1 II 15); a formulary from the Monastery of St. Albans (Ee IV 20). The chronicles include various examples of Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of Britian; a brief sketch of the kings of England from William I to Richard I; a history of the Dukes of Normandy, La geste de France.

Cotton Collection

 Medieval Literary and Historical Manuscripts in the Cotton Collection, c. 1150- c. 1450. [Film A 587] HOLLIS Record

Part 1: Cotton Julius - Cotton Tiberius.
Part 2: Cotton Caligula - Cotton Claudius.
Part 3: Cotton Nero - Cotton Otho.
Part 4: Cotton Vitellus.
Part 5: Cotton Vespasian.
Part 6: Cotton Titus.
Part 7: Cotton Domitian - Cotton Appendix.
In progress.

Guides: [INDEX Film A 587] reel guide. There is also an index on reel 1 of each part. [INDEX Film A 587.1]. The manuscript are described in A Catalog of the Manuscripts in the Cottonian Library Deposited in the British Museum. Hildesheim, 1974 (reprint of the 1802 edition).

Text of chronicles include those of Henry of Huntingdon (Vespasian A.xviii); William of Malmesbury (Claudius A.v); Ralph Coggeshall (Vespasian D.x); Robert Langtoft (Julius A.v); Adam Murimuth (Claudius E.viii); Thomas Walsingham (Claudius E.iv).

Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). The Collection of Mediaeval and Renaissance Mss. at Trinity College, Dublin. Section III: Waldensian and Icelandic, 1400-1782. 58 items on 12 reels. [Film A 569.3] HOLLIS Record

Guide: [INDEX Film A 569.3]These manuscripts are in Icelandic, Latin and Provencal. Those relating to the Waldensians or in the Waldensian dialect are Trinity College Dublin Mss. 258-267; those relating to Iceland or in Icelandic are Trinity College Dublin Mss. 989-1037. These are described briefly in T. K. Abbott's Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin (1900). [B 3676.6.5] HOLLIS Record