Bibliography
Primary Sources: History
This bibliography contains a variety of printed historical sources in Anglo-Norman dating from the late eleventh to mid-fifteenth centuries. All entries, except Chronicles, are annotated. The bibliography is by no means complete, so we welcome any additions that readers may wish to send us.
Click on a heading to see listings of each type of source.
Chronicles
and Historical Literature (compiled by R. Slitt)
(slitt@fordham.edu)
Legal
Records (compiled by M. Kowaleski) (kowaleski@fordham.edu)
Maritime
Records (compiled by M. Kowaleski)
Town Records
(compiled by M. Kowaleski)
Letters and Administrative
Records (compiled by M. Kowaleski)
Chronicles and Historical Literature
An Anglo-Norman Brut (Royal 13.A.xxi), ed. Alexander Bell. Oxford: Anglo-Norman Text Society, 1969
The Anglo-Norman Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle of William de Briane, ed. Ian Short. Oxford: Anglo-Norman Text Society, 1973
The Anonimalle Chronicle; written in the fourteenth century in northern England. There are several modern editions:
- The Anonimalle Chronicle, 1307 to 1334, from Brotherton Collection MS 29, ed. Wendy R. Childs and John Taylor. Leeds: Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1991. Anglo-Norman with facing-page translation in English.
- The Anonimalle Chronicle, 1333-1381 from a MS written at St. Mary's Abbey, York, and now in the possession of Lt.-Col. Sir William Ingleby, Bart., ed. V.H. Galbraith. Manchester: The University Press, 1927. Anglo-Norman only.
The Crusade and Death of Richard I, ed. R.C. Johnston. Oxford: Anglo-Norman Text Society, 1961
Fouke le Fitz Waryn, ed. E.J. Hathaway, P.T. Ricketts, C.A. Robson, and A.D. Wilshere. Oxford: Basil Blackwell/Anglo-Norman Text Society, 1975
Gaimar, Geoffrey, L’Estoire des Engleis, ed. Alexander Bell. Oxford: Anglo-Norman Text Society, 1960
Geste des Engleis en Yrlande: A New Edition of the Chronicle Formerly Known as the Song of Dermot and the Earl, trans. and ed. Evelyn Mullally. Dublin: Four Courts, 2002
Grey, Thomas, Scalacronica: The Reigns of Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III, trans. Right Hon. Sir Herbert Maxwell. Glasgow: J. Maclehose and Sons, 1907
Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal, ed. Paul Meyer, 3 vols. Paris: Librairie Renouard, 1891. There is an Anglo-Norman Text Society edition in progress; until its publication, this is the definitive edition.
Jordan Fantosme’s Chronicle, ed., trans., and notes by R.C. Johnston. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981
Pierre de Langtoft: Le Règne d’Edouard I, ed. Jean-Claude Thiolier. Créteil: Université de Paris, 1999
Wace, Roman de Brut: A History of the English: Text and Translation, ed. and trans. Judith Weiss. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 1999
Wace, Roman de Rou, trans. Glyn S. Burgess; with the text of Anthony Holden, and notes by Glyn S. Burgess and Elisabeth van Houts. St. Helier: Société Jersiaise, 2002
Baildon, William Paley, ed. Select
Cases in Chancery A.D. 1364 to 1471. Selden Society, 10, 1896.
TEXT PAGES: 128. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: Yes,
facing page. RECORD AUTHORITY: Central Govt-Courts. RECORD TYPE: Chancery
Petitions. DATES COVERED: 1364-1471. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, Ancient Petitions
(SC8/3 and others).
COMMENTS: Petitions (bills) addressed to Chancellor asking for a remedy
(a writ) to help the complainant bring a defendant to court. The procedure
includes the bill and writ; by the 1440s, it also includes the written
answer of the defendant. The bills are almost always in French until
the reign of Henry V when English becomes the norm. The petitions
cover a wide array of problems, including mercantile reprisals, piracy,
a surgeon’s incompetence,, and suits against foreigners. Extensive
Introduction (xi-xlvi) explains the procedures involved. Part I (1-101)
contains early Chancery petitions from 1383 to 1412. Part II (103-58)
contains selected petitions, most in French. There is also a Glossary
and Index.
Keen, M. H. and Mark Warner, eds. “Morley
vs Montagu (1399): A Case in the Court of Chivalry,” in Camden
Miscellany XXXIV. Camden 5th series, 10, 1997, pp. 141-95.
TEXT PAGES: 26. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: No.
RECORD AUTHORITY: Central Govt-Court of Chivalry. RECORD TYPE: Court
Roll. DATES COVERED: 1399. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, State Papers Misc. 9/10.
COMMENTS: Records the appeal (charge) of treason brought by Thomas
Lord Morley against John Montagu, Early of Salisbury, who was accused
of betraying the Duke of Gloucester to Richard II. The text is from
a 17C transcript. The Introduction (pp. 141-68) sets the case and
the procedures of this court in context.
Leadam, I. S. and J. F. Baldwin, eds.
Select Cases before the King’s Council 1243-1482. Selden
Society, 35, 1918. TEXT PAGES: ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman
and Latin. TRANSLATION: Yes, facing page. RECORD AUTHORITY: Central
Govt-Courts. RECORD TYPE: Petitions to the King’s Council. DATES
COVERED: 1243-1482. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, Ancient Petitions and
COMMENTS: Extensive Introduction covers procedure before the King’s
Council and discusses many cases in depth. The text includes the original
petitions to the Council (almost always in French), the answers of
the defendants (in French), the advice of the Council (also in French),
and the examination of parties involved (often in Latin). The cases
include a dispute between Yarmouth and Lowestoft over the right to
collect tolls from ships.
Marsden, Reginald G., ed. Select
Pleas in the Court of Admiralty. Vol. I. Selden Society, 6, 1894.
TEXT PAGES: 17. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman, Latin, and ME. TRANSLATION:
Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Central Govt.—Admiralty. RECORD TYPE:
Court Rolls. DATES COVERED: ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, C47/18/10.
COMMENTS: Extensive Introduction (pp. xi-lxxxxvii) traces the development
of the Admiralty court and its powers. The earliest case records the
testimony in Anglo-Norman and court proceedings in Latin; “Sampson
v. Curteys” (pp. 1-17, with translations on pp. 149-65).
Year Books for the Reign of Edward
I. 20-22 and 30-35 Edward I. ed. Alfred J. Horwood.
5 vols. London: Rolls Series, 1866-79. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman.
TRANSLATION: No? RECORD AUTHORITY: Law Courts. RECORD TYPE: Legal
notes. DATES COVERED: 1346-48, 1356-61.
COMMENTS: The Year Books are notes on cases heard before the Court
of Common Bench (and, on occasion, the Eyre Courts) from 1292 to 1535.
Written in dialogue form and highly abbreviated, they were composed
to provide instruction to lawyers by showing different arguments and
legal points. After c. 1363, the court arguments were more often conducted
in English so the Anglo-Norman used in the Year Books tends to deteriorate.
Cases usually begin with the action or writ beginning the suit, a
brief discussion of the case, and then a verbatim or paraphrased account
of the lawyers’ arguments and the Justices’ responses
Year Books for the Reign of Edward
II. London, Selden Society, 1903-in progress.
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: Yes, facing page. RECORD
AUTHORITY: Law Courts. RECORD TYPE: Legal notes. DATES COVERED: 1307-1341.
COMMENTS: The Year Books are notes on cases heard before the Court
of Common Bench (and, on occasion, the Eyre Courts) from 1292 to 1535.
Written in dialogue form and highly abbreviated, they were composed
to provide instruction to lawyers by showing different arguments and
legal points. After c. 1363, the court arguments were more often conducted
in English so the Anglo-Norman used in the Year Books tends to deteriorate.
Cases usually begin with the action or writ beginning the suit, a
brief discussion of the case, and then a verbatim or paraphrased account
of the lawyers’ arguments and the Justices’ responses.
All the Selden Society volumes contain Introductions to the material.
The volumes include:
- Bolland, W. C., ed. Year Books 5-8 Edward II. 7 vols. Selden Society, 31, 33, 36, 37, 39, 41, 43, 1915-26.
- Cam, Helen M., ed. The Eyre of London, 14 Edward II. 2 vols. Selden Society, 85, 86, 1968-69.
- Collas, J. P., ed. Year Book of 12 Edward II. Easter and Trinity 1319. Selden Society, 25,
- Collas, J.P., W. Holdsworth and T.F.T. Plucknett, eds. Year Book 11-12 Edward II. 4 vols. Selden Society, 61, 65, 70, 81, 1942-64.
- Legge, M.D. and W. Holdsworth, eds. Year Book 10 Edward II. 2 vols. Selden Society, 52, 55, 1934-35. The Introduction to vols. 52 and 54 discuss the Anglo-Norman used in the Year Books.
- Maitland, F. W., ed. Year Books 1-4 Edward II. Selden Society, vols. 17, 19, 20, 22, 1903-07. Introduction of vol. 17 provides a good introduction to the genre, including historical and linguistic background.
- Maitland, F. W., L. Harcourt and W. C. Bolland, eds. Year Book of the Eyre of Kent, 6 and 7 Edward II. Selden Society, 24, 25, 1909-1912.
- Stoljar, S. J. and L.J. Downer, eds. Year Books of Edward II, 14 Edward II Michaelmas 1320. Selden Society, 104, 1988.
- Turner, G. J. and W. C. Bolland, eds. Year Book 4, 5, 9 Edward II. 4 vols. Selden Society, 26, 42, 45, 63, 1911, 1925, 1928, 1944.
- Vinagradoff, P. and L. Ehrlich, eds. Year Book 6 Edward II. 2 vols. Selden Soicety, 34, 38, 1917-21.
Year Books for the Reign of Edward
III. London, Rolls Series, 1883, 1885-1911.
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: No.? RECORD AUTHORITY:
Law Courts. RECORD TYPE: Legal notes. DATES COVERED: 1337-46.
COMMENTS: The Introductions to Pike’s volumes are among the
best in providing commentary and analysis on the Year Books, which
are notes on cases heard before the Court of Common Bench (and, on
occasion, the Eyre Courts) from 1292 to 1535. Written in dialogue
form and highly abbreviated, they were composed to provide instruction
to lawyers by showing different arguments and legal points. After
c. 1363, the court arguments were more often conducted in English
so the Anglo-Norman used in the Year Books tends to deteriorate. Cases
usually begin with the action or writ beginning the suit, a brief
discussion of the case, and then a verbatim or paraphrased account
of the lawyers’ arguments and the Justices’ responses.
Volumes published by the Rolls Series are:
- Horwood, Alfred J., ed. Year Books, 11-12 Edward III. 1 vol. London, 1883.
- Pike, L. O., ed. Year Books, 12-20 Edward III. 14 vols. London, 1885-1911.
Year Books of the Reign of Richard
II. London and Cambridge, MA, Ames Foundation, 1914 -in progress.
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: Yes, facing page. RECORD
AUTHORITY: Law Courts. RECORD TYPE: Legal notes. DATES COVERED: 1378-88.
COMMENTS: The Year Books are notes on cases heard before the Court
of Common Bench (and, on occasion, the Eyre Courts) from 1292 to 1535.
Written in dialogue form and highly abbreviated, they were composed
to provide instruction to lawyers by showing different arguments and
legal points. After c. 1363, the court arguments were more often conducted
in English so the Anglo-Norman used in the Year Books tends to deteriorate.
Cases usually begin with the action or writ beginning the suit, a
brief discussion of the case, and then a verbatim or paraphrased account
of the lawyers’ arguments and the Justices’ responses.
All volumes contain Introductions to the material. Other Year Books
of the reign of Richard II also published by the Ames Foundation include:
- Arnold, M. S., ed. Year Books of Richard II, 1378-1379, Cambridge, MA, 1975.
- Deiser, G., ed. Year Books of Richard II. 12 Richard II. Cambridge, MA, 1914. Introduction examines Year Book mss of Richard’s reign, their arrangement and origin.
- Hector, L.C. and M. Hager, eds. Year Books of Richard II, 8-10 Richard II. Cambridge, MA, 1987.
- Plucknett, T.F.T., ed. Year Books of Richard II: 13 Richard II 1389-90. London, 1929.
- Thornley, Isobel D., ed. Year Books of Richard II. 11 Richard II, 1387-88. London, 1937.
Year Books of the Reigns of Henry
V, Henry VI, Edward IV and Henry VI. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE:
Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: Yes, facing page. RECORD AUTHORITY: Law
Courts. RECORD TYPE: Legal notes. DATES COVERED: 1421-22 and 1470.
COMMENTS: The Year Books are notes on cases heard before the Court
of Common Bench (and, on occasion, the Eyre Courts) from 1292 to 1535.
Written in dialogue form and highly abbreviated, they were composed
to provide instruction to lawyers by showing different arguments and
legal points. After c. 1363, the court arguments were more often conducted
in English so the Anglo-Norman used in the Year Books tends to deteriorate.
Cases usually begin with the action or writ beginning the suit, a
brief discussion of the case, and then a verbatim or paraphrased account
of the lawyers’ arguments and the Justices’ responses.
- Rogers, Ralph V., ed. Year Book 9-10 Henry V (1421-2). Privately printed, 1948.
- Williams, C. H., ed. Year Book 1 Henry VI (1422). Selden Society. 1, 1933.
- Neilson, Nellie, ed. Year Book 10 Edward IV and 49 Henry VI (1470). Selden Society, 47, 1931.
Foster, Brian, ed. The Local Port
Book of Southampton 1435-36. Southampton Record Series, 7, 1963.
TEXT PAGES: 126. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: E:glish
with facing AN. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Customs Accounts.
RECORD NAME: Local Port Accounts of Southampton. DATES COVERED: 1435-1436.
ARCHIVAL REF: Southampton R.O., S.C. 5/4, item 3
COMMENTS: Introduction (7 pp) with comments on the manuscript and
its author, the language of the accounts, and trade. The text is divided
into four: the Common Book (non-Italian trade), Alien Book (the Italian
trade); summary account and audit (pp. 120-3), and two indentures
certifying the receipt of funds by the town bailiff (pp. 124-7). There
is also a Bibliography (pp. 128-9),Glossary/index of Commodities (pp.
130-34) and Gender Index (names and places, pp. 135-40).
Gras, Norman S. B., “A List of
Local Customs Due in the Port of Ipswich (?) c. 1303,” in The
Early English Customs System: A Documentary Study of the Institutional
and Economic History of the Customs from the Thirteenth to the Sixteenth
Century. Cambridge: Harvard Economic Studies, vol. 18, 1918,
pp. 159-63. TEXT PAGES: 5 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman
and Latin. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE:
List of Tolls due at Port. DATES COVERED: c. 1303. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO,
E122/157/12.
COMMENTS: The list is written in an alternating mix of Latin and Anglo-Norman.
It consists mainly of the customs due on different types of commodities.
There is a similar local port customs list written in Anglo-Norman
for Sandwich (in William Boys, Collections for an History of Sandwich
in Kent with Notices of the Other Cinque Ports, etc. (Canterbury,
1792, pp. 435-40).
Gras, Norman S. B., “Account
of the Custom Collected on Wool, Woolfells, and Hides Exported from
Hull, 1275-1276,” in The Early English Customs System: A
Documentary Study of the Institutional and Economic History of the
Customs from the Thirteenth to the Sixteenth Century. Cambridge:
Harvard Economic Studies, vol. 18, 1918, pp. 224-44. TEXT
PAGES: 20. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD
AUTHORITY: Central Govt. RECORD TYPE: Port Customs Accounts. DATES
COVERED: 1275-76. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, E122/55/1.
COMMENTS: Most of the national port customs accounts were recorded
in Latin, but on occasion some were in Anglo-Norman, particularly
for the period from 1275 to c. 1347. Gras’ Index also serves
as a type of glossary since he gives an English translation for most
of the commodities listed.
Marsden, Reginald G., ed. Select
Pleas in the Court of Admiralty. Vol. I. Selden Society, 6, 1894.
TEXT PAGES: 17. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman, Latin, and
ME. TRANSLATION: Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Central Govt.—Admiralty.
RECORD TYPE: Court Rolls. DATES COVERED: ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, C47/18/10.
COMMENTS: Extensive Introduction (pp. xi-lxxxxvii) traces the development
of the Admiralty court and its powers. The earliest case records the
testimony in Anglo-Norman and court proceedings in Latin; “Sampson
v. Curteys” (pp. 1-17, with translations on pp. 149-65).
Moore, Alan. "A Barge of Edward
III," Mariner's Mirror, 6 (1920): 229-42. TEXT
PAGES:c.5. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: partial English.
RECORD AUTHORITY: Central Govt-Military. RECORD TYPE: Inventory of
Ship. DATES COVERED: 1373. ARCHIVAL REF: London Guildhall, Letter
Book G, f. 304.
COMMENTS: Inventory of barge provided by city of London to serve the
king, called the Paul of London. Translated in H. T. Riley, ed., Memorials
of London and London Life in the XIIIth, XIVth and XVth Centuries
(1868), but without translating or explaining many of the technical
terms, which Moore does provide. Inventory transcribed, but interspersed
with author's comments.
Scott, E. and Gilliodts van Severen,
L., eds. "Inquisition on Prizes Taken by English Corsairs in
Flanders, 1403-15" in Le Cotton Ms. Galba B.I. Documents
pour servir à l'histoire des relations entre l'Angleterre et
la Flandre e 1341 à 1473. Brussels, 1896. TEXT
PAGES: 31. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD
AUTHORITY: Central Govt-Maritime. RECORD TYPE: Inquisition. RECORD
NAME: Inquisition on prizes taken by corsairs in Flanders. Dates Covered:
1403-1410. ARCHIVAL REF: BL Cotton Ms. Galba B.I.
COMMENTS: Includes depositions of many Flemish merchants and mariners,
and names English offenders or their home ports. This is an Appendix
(pp 477-508) of larger work that includes letters (mostly temp. Hen.
IV) concerning treaties with other countries, instructions to and
and responses from English deputies and ambassadors (especially those
in Flanders), petitions from English merchants abroad, and letters
between the king, council, and foreign nobles.
Studer, Paul, ed. “The Rolls
of Oleron,” in The Oak Book of Southampton of c. A.D. 1300.
2 vols. Southampton Record Society, 10 (1910), 11 (1911),
pp. 54-103. See also Supplement to The Oak Book of Southampton…
vol. 12 (1911). TEXT PAGES: 49. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: AN &
Latin & ME. TRANSLATION: Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD
TYPE: Custumal and Register. RECORD NAME: Rolls of Oleron; Guild Merchant
Ordinances; etc… DATES COVERED: c 1230-1300. ARCHIVAL REF: Southampton
Rec. Off. Audit House.
COMMENTS: The Oak Book of Southampton gathers together various customs
and laws practiced in Southampton. Vol. II contains the 14C-Anglo-Norman
copy of the maritime laws called the Rolls of Oleron, printed with
translation and extensive notes on the language. For corrections on
dating of Laws of Oleron used by Studer, see also D. Burwash, English
Merchant Shipping 1460-1540 (Toronto, 1954), 171-6. See Supplement
vol. of The Oak Book for Notes on the Anglo-French Dialect of Southampton,
Glossary, and Indices.
Studer, Paul, ed. The Port Books
of Southampton, 1427-1430 [sic]. Southampton Record Society,
15, 1913. TEXT PAGES: 119. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman.
TRANSLATION: Only first 13 pages. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD
TYPE: Customs Account. RECORD NAME: Local Port Customs Account of
Robt. Florys, Water-Blf and Rcvr of Southampton. DATES COVERED: 1426-30.
ARCHIVAL REF: Southampton Rec. Office.
COMMENTS: Studer mistakenly dated 1426/7 account as 1427/8. Account
for 1426/7 (is divided into part one covreing northern trade and part
twoc overing Mediterranean trade, and is printed in full. Only selections
from the account for 1429/30 are printed. Introduction (pp. v-xxviii)
discusses the ms and its author, the rise of the port of Southampton
and its trade. Appendix contains tables summarizing imports and exports
(121-42). Glossary (143-60); Index of Ports and Boats and Index of
Persons (161-79)
Twiss, Travers, ed. "The Black
Book of the Admiralty," in Monumenta Juridica. The Black
Book of the Admiralty. Vol. I. Rolls Series, 1871 (vol. I of
4 vols.). TEXT PAGES: 472. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: AN & Latin
& ME. TRANSLATION: Yes-facing page-mostly AN. RECORD AUTHORITY:
Central Govt-Maritime. RECORD TYPE: Register & Customary Laws.
RECORD NAME: Black Book of the Admiralty, and the Laws of Oleron.
DATES COVERED: c1300-16C. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO HC12/1 (rediscovered 1870s).
COMMENTS: The Black Book is a procedural manual, written c. 1450 (but
containing much earlier material) for the lord high admiral that includes
a compilation of maritime laws, customs, and court decisions. It was
lost by 1808 so Twiss reconstructed it from later transcripts and
related sources. But it was rediscovered by the time vol. 4 was printed,
although Twiss makes little of this fact, and prints corrections to
his reconstruction in vol. IV (pp. 132-44) without any comment. The
Laws of Oleron were maritime customs established by the early 14c
that governed maritime disputes in England and most parts of northern
Europe. Vol. I contains: Introduction (ix-xciii) on mss consulted,
comments on selections, and table of subjects; the Black Book including
the Laws of Oleron (88-131, in AN); Inquisition taken at Queenborough
in 1375 on customs of the admiralty (132-77, in AN); Treatise on procedure
in admiralty court (178-220, in Latin); Articles of inquiry in admiralty
court (221-45, in Latin); Documents connected with Admiralty of John
Holland, 1443-6 (246-81, Latin and AN); Statues and ordinances of
war (282-99, probably a ME translation of Latin version temp Hen.
V) (ME version on pp. 459-72); Order of battle in the court of chivalry
(300-44, in AN, but not part of original Black Book). The Appendix
contains Documents connected with Admiralty of Th. Beaufort from 1407-26
(347-94, in Latin); Fees and profits pertaining to office of Admiral
(396-411, in AN); Extracts from Statutes of the Realm on Admiralty
jurisdiction (412-19, in AN); Ordinances of Philip de Valois (1338)
for expedition to conquer England (420-29, in AN); Ordinance (1373)
of Charles V on jurisdiction of French admiralty (430-58, in AN).
Index (pp. 475-91).
Twiss, Travers, ed. "The Laws
of Oleron,” in Monumenta Juridica. The Black Book of the
Admiralty. Vol. I. Rolls Series, 1871 (vol. I of 4 vols.), pp.
88-13. TEXT PAGES: 31. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION:
Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Customary Law. RECORD TYPE: Maritime Customary
Law. DATES COVERED: early 14C. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO.
COMMENTS: The Laws of Oleron were maritime customs established by
the early 14c that governed maritime disputes in England and most
parts of northern Europe. The text includes an extensive Introduction
(ix-xciii) on mss consulted, comments on selections, and table of
subjects in the Black Book of the Admiralty, which contains a copy
of the Laws of Oleron (pp. 88-131), as well as an Inquisition taken
at Queenborough in 1375 on customs of the admiralty (pp. 132-77, in
AN). The edition is supplied with copious notes on mss variants and
on the translation. See also the entry on T. Twiss, “The Black
Book of the Admiralty” and Paul Studer, “The Rolls of
Oleron” in this Bibliography.
Bateson, Mary, ed., Borough Customs.
2 vols. Selden Society, 24 (1904) and
TEXT PAGES: 527. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman, Latin & ME.
TRANSLATION: Yes.
RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Custumal. DATES COVERED: late
12C-16C.
COMMENTS: Text organized thematically, with each ordinance/custom
printed in original language (many in AN) and then translated. Extensive
introduction: vol. I, pp. ix-lix. Covers custumals as a source (with
a list of all extant custumals she examined). Text covers type of
court action (Crime and Tort: arrest, mainprise, appeal, judgements,
punishments, trespasses), court procedure (summons, pledges, attachment
and distress, essoins, wager of law, debt, contract); real and mixed
actions (disseisin, fresh force, waste, landlord and tenant). Intro
to vol. II pp. xv-xlvi covers process and execution, contract, alienation
and inheritance, husband and wife, rights in land, minority, seignorial
claims, wills and intestacy, and borough courts. Appendix on sursise
of rent (clvii-clix). Text covers borough courts (pleading, borough
officers), seignorial and family law (land, chattels, feudal dues,
husband and wife), inheritance, wardship, merchant law, ecclesiastical
relations. List of rarer words: 215-16; Index to Custumals, pp. 217-20.
Index of matters, 221-
Bickley, Francis B., ed. The Little
Red Book of Bristol. 2 vols. Bristol: W. C. Hemmons, 1900.
TEXT PAGES: ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman, Latin, and ME. TRANSLATION:
Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Register. DATES COVERED:
ARCHIVAL REF:
COMMENTS: Includes a wide variety of documents including ordinances
on trade (many in Ango-Norman), the guild ordinances, the collection
of town revenues, the duties of civic officials, and copies of letters
received by and sent to other towns, lords, and the king.
Foster, Brian, ed. The Local Port
Book of Southampton 1435-36. Southampton Record Series, 7, 1963.
TEXT PAGES: 126. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: English
with facing AN. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Customs Accounts.
RECORD NAME: Local Port Accounts of Southampton. DATES COVERED: 1435-1436.
ARCHIVAL REF: Southampton R.O., S.C. 5/4, item 3.
COMMENTS: Introduction (7 pp) with comments on the manuscript and
its author, the language of the accounts, and trade. The text is divided
into four: the Common Book (non-Italian trade), Alien Book (the Italian
trade); summary account and audit (pp. 120-3), and two indentures
certifying the receipt of funds by the town bailiff (pp. 124-7). There
is also a Bibliography (pp. 128-9),Glossary/index of Commodities (pp.
130-34) and Gender Index (names and places, pp. 135-40).
Furley, J. S. The Ancient Usages
of the City of Winchester from the Anglo-French Version preserved
in Winchester College. Oxford, 1927. TEXT PAGES: ORIGINAL
LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough.
RECORD TYPE: Custumal. DATES COVERED: composed c. late 13C. ARCHIVAL
REF: Winchester College.
COMMENTS: First printed by Edw. Smirke in The Archaeological Journal,
vol. 9, pp. 69-89. A Middle English translation made in the early
years of Henry VI is printed in Toulim Smith, ed., English Gilds,
EETS, o.s. 40, 1870, pp. 349-69. The ordinances relate to the civic
government, trade, and please concerning land.
Gilbert, J. T., ed. “The Customs
of Dublin,” in Historical and Municipal Documents of Ireland,
1172-1320. London, 1870. TEXT PAGES: ORIGINAL LANGUAGE:
Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE:
Custumal. DATES COVERED: surviving ms composed in early 14C, but at
least parts of the custumal probably date to before 1229. ARCHIVAL
REF: Dublin Chain Book, ff. 6-26.
COMMENTS: Gilbert prints the text without commentary, but gives a
brief abstract of the contents in his Calendar of Dublin Records,
pp. 224-32. Some clauses also translated in Bateson’s Borough
Customs. The custumal’s contents cover the duties of civic officials,
court procedures, sanitation and safety in the town, debts, inheritance,
mercantile dealings and many other issues.
Gras, Norman S. B., “A List of
Local Customs Due in the Port of Ipswich (?) c. 1303,” in The
Early English Customs System: A Documentary Study of the Institutional
and Economic History of the Customs from the Thirteenth to the Sixteenth
Century. Cambridge: Harvard Economic Studies, vol. 18, 1918,
pp. 159-63. TEXT PAGES: 5 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman
and Latin. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE:
List of Tolls due at Port. DATES COVERED: c. 1303. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO,
E122/157/12.
COMMENTS: The list is written in an alternating mix of Latin and Anglo-Norman.
It consists mainly of the customs due on different types of commodities.
There is a similar local port customs list written in Anglo-Norman
for Sandwich (in William Boys, Collections for an History of Sandwich
in Kent with Notices of the Other Cinque Ports, etc. (Canterbury,
1792, pp. 435-40).
Murray, Katharine M. E., ed. “The
Customs of Romney,” in The Register of Daniel Rough, Common
Clerk of Romney, 1352-1380. Kent Archaeological Society Records
Branch, 16, 1945. TEXT PAGES: 27. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman
and Latin. TRANSLATION: Yes, made in 1564, attached to back of volume.
RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Custumal . DATES COVERED:
early 14C.
COMMENTS: The beginning section is missing, but the remaining ordinances
(most in Anglo-Norman) cover the responsibilities of the Jurats (the
chief town officials), customs concerning trade, the freemen, inheritance,
pledges, debts, crimes, and local taxes. The custumal also contains
many clauses regarding the peculiar privileges of Romney as a Cinque
Ports town. The editor also provides extensive notes comparing Romney’s
custumal to that of other Cinque Ports towns.
Murray, Katharine M. E., ed. The
Register of Daniel Rough, Common Clerk of Romney, 1352-1380.
Kent Archaeological Society Records Branch, 16, 1945. TEXT
PAGES: 298. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman and Latin. TRANSLATION:
No, but English abstracts given. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD
TYPE: Register . DATES COVERED: early 14C-15C, but esp. 1352-80.
COMMENTS: The register contains the AN custumal (see the Bibliography
entry above), as well as various letters and petitions sent by or
received by the town of New Romney concerning their position as a
Cinque Ports town, toll disputes with other towns, protests and inquests
about Romney men elected to office at a local manor, inquest on vintners,
letters testifying to good conduct of visitors, instructions to tax
collectors, letters to foreign port towns regarding ships captured
at sea, petitions about military service, , and articles for an inquest
by a justice of trailbaston. About half of the documents are in Latin,
particularly those for the fifteenth-century additions. Index of Places
and Names.
Riley, Henry Thomas, ed. "Liber
albus," in Munimenta Gildhallae Londoniensis: Liber albus,
Liber custumarum, et Liber Custumarum. Vol. I. Rolls Series,
no. 12, 3 vols. in 4, 1859-62.
TEXT PAGES: 738. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman & Latin. TRANSLATION:
English with AN selections. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE:
Custumal. RECORD NAME: Liber albus. DATES COVERED: up to1419. ARCHIVAL
REF: London Guildhall.
COMMENTS: Compilation of civic records, including oaths, fees, and
duties of civic officials; procedures, writs, and pleas in city's
courts; city charters, ordinances, and trade regulations; customs
regarding inheritance, dower, freedom admission, and immorality; misc.
letters and other documents. Compiled c. 1419 by John Carpenter, the
Common Clerk. Vol. I: Introduction (i-cxii); Summary of contents of
Liber albus (cxii-cxxxi).. Vol. III (1862) includes translations of
Anglo-Norman passages (pp. 3-286) vol. III, along with glossaries
of Anglo-Norman and Early English (289-372) and Medieval Latin words
375-407). Appendices contain extracts from the 'Assisa Panis' from
21 Edw I-16 Henry VI; and extracts from the Liber Memrandum, temp.
Edw. II. Glossary to appendices; Index of Festivals; and General Index
(479-520) and Index to Appendices. // Translation of the whole in
H. T. Riley, ed., Liber Albus: The White Book of the City of London
compiled 1419 (London, 1861). Some passages also translated in H.
T. Riley, ed., Memorials of London and Lodon Life, 1276-1419 (London,
1868). See also, William Kellaway, “John Carpenter’s Liber
Albus’, Guildhall Studies in London History, 3 (1978): 67-84.
Riley, Henry Thomas, ed. "Liber
custumarum," in Munimenta Gildhallae Londoniensis: Liber
albus, Liber custumarum, et Liber Custumarum. Vol. II-Part I.
Rolls Series, no. 12, 3 vols. In 4, 1859-62. TEXT PAGES:
490. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman & Latin. TRANSLATION: English
selections. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Custumal. RECORD
NAME: Liber custumarum DATES COVERED: early 14c. ARCHIVAL REF: London
Guildhall.
COMMENTS: Compilation of civic records, including many city charters,
ordinances, and correspondence; royal writs and proclamations; provisions
to collect taxes; trade and guild regulations; and records regarding
duties of civic officials, city revenues, courts, assizes, disputes
with other authorities, and various court cases. Vol. II, Part I contains
extracts from the Liber Custumarum. Portions now missing (some found
in BL Cottonian Ms Claudius D. II (ff. 1-135, 266-77). Introduction
(pp. ix-cxvi); Summary of Contents (cxvii-cxlvii). Text. Vol. II,
Part II (1860) continues pagination with text to p 490. English translation
of selected passages (pp. 517-623). Appendix I (pp.491-503): List
of omitted portions: most are printed in Statutes of the Realm (1810),
T. Rymer's Foedera (1816-25), and Thorpe's Ancient Laws and Institutes
of England (1840). Appendix II: Charter of Wm the Conqueror to London.
Appendix III (pp. 505-16): Contents of BL Claudius ms that are in
Liber custumarum and Liber Legum Regum 'Antiquorum' (pp. 624-92).
Glossary of Anglo-Norman, Saxon, and Early English Words (693-780);
Glossary of Medieval Latin (781-838); Glossarial Index of Festivals
and Dates (841-44); Index 9847-96).// See also N. R. Ker, "Liber
custumarum and other manuscripts formerly at Guildhall,” Guildhall
Miscellany, I, no. 3 (1954): 37-45.
Riley, Henry Thomas, ed. "Liber
memorandum," in Munimenta Gildhallae Londoniensis: Liber
albus, Liber custumarum, et Liber Custumarum. Vol. III. Rolls
Series, no. 12, 3 vols. In 4, 1859-62. TEXT PAGES: 26 ORIGINAL
LANGUAGE: Latin. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD
TYPE: Register. RECORD NAME: Liber memorandum. DATES COVERED: 1100-1298.
COMMENTS: Extracts printed in Vol. III of series, pp. 430-56. Includes
charters, trade and guild regulations; list of port customs at Queenhithe;
list of early English words used in charters. Compiled c. 1298
Schopp, J. W., ed. The Anglo-Norman
Custumal of Exeter. History of Exeter Research Group, no. 2.
Oxford, 1925. TEXT PAGES: 15. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman.
TRANSLATION: Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Custumal
DATES COVERED: composed c. 1240. ARCHIVAL REF: Devon R.O., Misc. Roll
2.
COMMENTS: Introduction by Schopp and R. C. Easterling (pp. 5-23) discusses
the language of the custumal, the manuscript, and the contents of
the custumal. Appendix I (pp. 41-50); Appendix II notes clauses cited
by M. Bateson in her Borough Customs; Appendix V is a Glossary. There
is also an Index. The custumal describes local customary law regarding
trade, civic officials, town dues, court procedure, and tolls on goods
brought into town for sale. The volume also includes facsimiles of
all folios.
Studer, Paul, ed. The Oak Book
of Southampton. 3 vols. Southampton Record Society, 10 (1910),
11 (1911), 12 (1911); vol. 12 contains The Supplement to The Oak
Book of Southampton. TEXT PAGES: 304. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE:
Anglo-Norman & Latin & ME. TRANSLATION: Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY:
Borough. RECORD TYPE: Custumal and Register. RECORD NAME: Rolls of
Oleron; Guild Merchant Ordinances; etc… DATES COVERED: c 1230-1300.
ARCHIVAL REF: Southampton Rec. Off. S.C. 2/1/1/.
COMMENTS: Vol. I Intro (pp. v-xliii) discusses the guild merchant.
Text of vol. 1 covers towns obligated to pay toll at Southampton (4-21),
ordinances of guild merchant (22-81). Appendices print material from
other Audit House mss; Appendix A gives translations of guild ordinances
made in 1473 and 1770 (85-115). Appendix B prints 'modern' guild ordinances
in use from 15c-19c (116-50) and Appendix C reproduces laws of mayoraly
in 1473 (151-60). Vol. II Intro (pp. v-lxxi) discusses tolls, customs
and trade at Southampton; assize of bread; rolls of Oleron (including
their AN language). Text covers customs (in AN) charged at Southampton
c. 1300 (2-17); agreement (in AN) with Salisbury on customs (18-27),
assize of bread (28-37); dispute with Bp of Winchester (38-53); laws
of Oleron (54-103), charter of Hospitallers (104-117), murage grant,
dispute with justices of the county, fragment of accounts from late
14c, concord with Portsmouth (dated 1239), and Inquiry on bounds of
town in 1253. Supplement contains notes on the Anglo-Norman dialect
of Southampton (1-50); Glossary of AN (51-118), Index of Persons (129-34),
Places (135-9), and Subject Matter (140-55). For corrections on dating
of Laws of Oleron used by Studer, see also D. Burwash, English Merchant
Shipping 1460-1540 (Toronto, 1954), 171-6. See also the entries for
“The Laws of Oleron” and “The Anglo-French Ordinances
of Southampton” in this bibliography.
Studer, Paul, ed. “The Anglo-French
Ordinances of the Ancient Guild Merchant of Southampton,” in
The Oak Book of Southampton. Southampton Record Society,
10, 1910. TEXT PAGES: 81. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman.
TRANSLATION: Yes. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough. RECORD TYPE: Custumal.
DATES COVERED: composed c. 1300. ARCHIVAL REF: Southampton R.O., Oak
Book of Southampton, S.C.2/1/1.
COMMENTS: The ordinances cover aspects of the gild merchant (i.e.,
the elite merchants of the town whose membership entitled them to
trading privileges, the right to elect and serve as civic officials,
and privileges in the local courts. The ordinances also include a
list of boroughs free of toll in Southampton. Appendix A contains
English translations of the ordinances made in 1473 and 1770. Text
also published by Charles Gross, The Gild Merchant, vol. II (Oxford,
1890), 213-31, who drew on the transcription in Edward Smirke in The
Archaeological Journal 16 (1859), 283-96, 351-2. A translation is
in Davies, History of Southampton, 139-51.
Twiss, Travers, ed. "The Domesday
of Ipswich," in Monumenta Juridica. The Black Book of the
Admiralty. Vol. II. Appendix-Part I.. Rolls Series, 1873. Vol.
II of 4 vols. TEXT PAGES: 207. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman
& ME. TRANSLATION: Yes-in Middle English. RECORD AUTHORITY: Borough.
RECORD TYPE: Custumal. RECORD NAME: The Domesday of Ipswich. Dates
Covered: c 1200-1460s. ARCHIVAL REF: BL Add MS. 25,012 (AN), 25,011
(ME).
COMMENTS: Contains Introduction (pp. vii-lxxxvii) on custumals of
boroughs in England and N. France, esp. Ipswich; shows similarities
between charters of la Rochelle (on maritime customs) and the Laws
of Oleron (which are the customary laws, dating from c. 1300, that
governed all maritime disputes in England and most of northern Europe).
Also discusses other collections of maritime laws in medieval Europe,
theories on origins of Laws of Oleron, and much else. Text includes
Table of contents (1-13) and customs of Ispwich, which cover all aspects
of town life. Remaining part of the volume print the Customs of Oleron
and Judgements of the Sea (210-397); the Etablissements (Laws) of
the Commune of Royan (in France) (406-29); later additions to the
Rolls of Oleron on shipmasters, merchants, and mariners (432-81, in
AN). Index (485-500). Note also the Glossary of Anglo-Norman and Gascon
Words in Vol. IV, pp. 147-97.
Letters and Administrative Records
Foedera, conventions, litterae, et cujuscumque generic acta publica inter reges Angliae et alios quosvis imperatores, reges, pontifices, principes, vel communitates (1101-1654).
- 1st edition: ed. T. Rymer. 20 vols. London, 1704-35. vols. 16-17 ed. Robert Sanderson.
- 2nd edition ed. George Holmes, 17 vols. London: Tonson, 1727-9.
- 3rd edition 10 vols. The Hague, 1739-45.
- New edition (1069-1383) by Adam Clarke,
Frederick Holbrook and John Caley. 4 vols. in 7 parts. London, Record
Commission, 1816-69 (vol. 4 printed in 1833, published in 1869.)
This edition includes many municipal charters. Although incomplete,
this is considered the best edition. TEXT PAGES: thousands. ORIGINAL
LANGUAGE: Latin, Anglo-Norman, and English. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD
AUTHORITY: Central Govt-Diplomacy. RECORD TYPE: DATES COVERED: 1101-1654.
COMMENTS: Contains a wide variety of diplomatic and official documents regarding England’s relations with other countries, rulers, and religious leaders. Many relate to military and naval campaigns, appointment of various officials, piracy, mercantile reprisals, and a whole host of other issues. Extracted from official documents (e.g., close rolls, patent rolls, fine rolls), diplomatic correspondence, treatises, and charters. Many are in Anglo-Norman. This was a great national work funded at public expense. Rymer was appointed editor in 1693. For description of all the editions, an index, and chronological abstract of editions, see Syllabus of Documents in Rymer’s ‘Foedera’ by T. D. Hardy, 3 vols. (London: HMSO, 1869-85). See also the Introduction printed as pp. 1-xii of vol. I of Foedera (Record Commission, 1816).
Anglo-Norman Letters and Petitions, from All Souls MS.
182, ed. M. Dominica Legge. Oxford: Anglo-Norman
Text Society, 1941. TEXT PAGES: 469. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman.
TRANSLATION: No. RECORD AUTHORITY: Central Govt. RECORD TYPE: Letter.
DATES COVERED: c.1390-1412. ARCHIVAL REF: All Souls MS. 182.
COMMENTS: Includes 412 items to and from various government and ecclesiastical
officials. There is a wide variety of documents: official treaties
between monarchs, writs of summons, safe-passages, political messages,
and personal letters between family members. Many of the letters are
anonymous. There is also a glossary of AN terms.
Scott, E. and Gilliodts van Severen,
L., eds. Le Cotton Ms. Galba B.I. Documents pour servir à
l'histoire des relations entre l'Angleterre et la Flandre e 1341 à
1473. Brussels, 1896. TEXT PAGES: c520. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE:
Anglo-Norman & Latin. TRANSLATION: No. RECORD AUTHORITY: Central
Govt-For Affairs. RECORD TYPE: Register of Letters. DATES COVERED:
1341-1473. ARCHIVAL REF: BL Cotton Ms. Galba B.I.
COMMENTS: Includes 188 items, 54 previously published in Royal and
Historical Letters During the Reign of Henry the Fourth. Most documents
are letters concerning treaties with other countries, instructions
to and and responses from English deputies and ambassadors (especially
those in Flanders), petitions from English merchants abroad, and letters
between the king, council, and foreign nobles. Most letters date from
1404 to 1405. Most in Anglo-Norman, some in Latin, and one in ME.
Appendix contains extracts from English account rolls of expenses
in France to show payments for delivery of letters or rewards to messengers.
Appendix also contains an inquisition on prizes taken by corsairs
in Flanders, 1403-15, with depositions by many Flemish merchants and
mariners (pp. 477-508), and 'conferences' of Bruges, 1364-76.
C. M. Woolgar, ed. “Wardrobe
Account for Sir John Mauduyt, 29 September 1312-c. May 1314,”
in Household Accounts from Medieval England, Part 2. British
Academy Records of Social and Economic History, n.s., XVIII. Oxford,
1993, pp. 585-88. TEXT PAGES: 3. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman.
TRANSLATION: No. RECORD AUTHORITY: Seigneurial. RECORD TYPE: Accounts—Household.
DATES COVERED: 1314-14. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, E101/506/19.
COMMENTS: Expenditure by Sir John and his wife, including cloth for
livery, wages for household staff, payments to minstrels. Also a short
section of receipts.
C. M. Woolgar, ed. “Supporting
Documents for the Account of the Treasurer of William de Montagu,
second Earl of Salisbury,” in Household Accounts from Medieval
England, Part 2. British Academy Records of Social and Economic
History, n.s., XVIII. Oxford, 1993, pp. 588-91. TEXT PAGES:
3. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION :No. RECORD AUTHORITY:
Seigneurial. RECORD TYPE: Accounts—Household. DATES COVERED:
1367-68. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, E101/509/11.
COMMENTS: Used at the audit of the household account, these documents
list payments for wages, debts, and legal services.
C. M. Woolgar, ed. “Account of
the Wardrobe and Household Expenses for the Houseold of Edmund Mortimer,
Earl of March, 1413-1414,” in Household Accounts from Medieval
England, Part 2. British Academy Records of Social and Economic
History, n.s., XVIII. Oxford, 1993, pp. 592-88-91. TEXT PAGES:
3. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Anglo-Norman. TRANSLATION :No. RECORD AUTHORITY:
Seigneurial. RECORD TYPE: Accounts—Household. DATES COVERED:
1367-68. ARCHIVAL REF: PRO, E101/509/11.
COMMENTS: Used at the audit of the household account, these documents
list payments for wages, debts, and legal services.