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Interet Medieval Sourcebook

Selected Sources: England

Contents

• Arthuriana
• Anglo-Saxon Britain
  • General
  • The Saxon Invasions
  • The Age of Bede
  • The Age of Alfred
  • Law and Government
  • Later Anglo-Saxon England
  • Ango-Saxon Literature
• Norman England
  • The Conquest 1066
  • William I: Administration & the Domesday Book
  • William II
  • Henry I and the Norman Regnum
• Angevin England
  • Henry II
    • The Man and His Family
    • Thomas Becket
    • Wars
    • Administration and The Origins of Common Law
  • Richard I Lionheart
  • England under Angevin Rule
• Parliamentary Origins in England
  • Common Law: A Law of Real Property
  • The Barons Revolt and Magna Carta
  • The Struggle of Henry III and His Barons
  • Parliament Coalesces
• Later Medieval England
  • Government
  • Henry III
  • Edward I
  • Legal Texts
    • Select Pleas
  • Yorkists and Lancastrians
  • The Tudor Victory

• WEB For Arthurian texts, not collected here, see the Camelot Project and especially the Camelot Project Author Menu for beautifully presented, introduced, and annotated texts of:
  • The Alliterative Morte Arthure
  • Annales Cambriae (Annals of Wales), Arthurian References in (c. 960-980)
  • The Avowyng of Arthur
  • The Awntyrs off Arthur
  • The Carle of Carlisle
  • Culwch and Olwen (translated by Lady Charlotte Guest as Kilhwch and Olwen)
  • The Greene Knight
  • The Jeaste of Sir Gawain
  • King Arthur and King Cornwall
  • The Knightly Tale of Gologras and Gawain
  • Lancelot of the Laik
  • The Marriage of Sir Gawain
  • Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle
  • Sir Perceval of Galles
  • Sir Tristrem
  • Stanzaic Morte Arthur
  • The Turke and Sir Gawain
  • The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle
  • A selection of post medieval-Arthurian literature [Tennyson, Emerson, Swinbourne and so on.]

• General
  • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Translation: J. Ingram, [At OMACL, text 17].
• The Saxon Invasions
  • Gildas (c.504-570): The Ruin of Britain, c. 540.
  • Gildas (c.504-570): Works, full text
  • Caradoc of Llancarfan: The Life of Gildas,1130-1150.
  • Nennius: History of the Britons, 8th cent, on King Arthur.
  • Nennius: Historia Brittonum, 8th century, full text
  • Gerald of Wales: The Discovery of the Tomb of King Arthur, from On the Instruction of a Prince (De Instructione Principis), c. 1223
  • The Annales Cambriae (The Annals of Wales) 447-954 [At this Site]
• The Age of Bede
  • Bede (673-735): Ecclesiastical History of England: Book I
  • Bede (673-735): Ecclesiastical History of England: Book II
  • Bede (673-735): Ecclesiastical History of England: Book IV
  • Bede (673-735): The Explanation of the Apocalypse
  • Willibald: The Life of St. Boniface
  • The Correspondence of St. Boniface
• The Age of Alfred
  • Abbo of Fleury: The Martyrdom of St. Edmund, King of East Anglia, 870, trans. Kenneth Cultler
  • [Geary 16.4] The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle on Alfred the Great. See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Alfred the Great
  • [Geary 16.3] Asser: Life of King Alfred. The full text translation: J.A. Giles is available. [At OMACL]
  • [Geary 16.1] Alfred and Guthrum's Peace.
  • William of Malmesbury, d. 1143?: Chronicle of the  Kings of England: The Anglo-Saxon Kings [At this Site]
• Law and Government
  • [Geary 14, 16.1] Laws of Ethelbert, Alfred: Dooms, both copyrighted, but see next item
  • Laws of Alfred and Ine [In Anglo Saxon] [At Labryinth]
  • Anglo Saxon Dooms, 560-975, In English. These include:
    • The Laws of Æthelberht, King of Kent 560-616 A.D.
    • The Laws of Kings Hlothhære and Eadric 673-686 A.D.
    • The Laws of King Wihtræd 690-725 A.D.
    • The Laws of King Alfred 871-901 A.D.
    • The Laws of King Edward the Elder, 901-924 A.D.
    • The Laws of Alfred, Guthrum, and Edward the Elder
    • The North People's Law
    • Mercian Law
    • The Laws of King Athelstan 924-939 A.D.
    • The Laws of King Edmund I 939-946 A.D.
    • The Laws of King Edgar 959-975 A.D.
• Later Anglo-Saxon England
  • Æthelwulf, King of Wessex: Grant of a Tenth of Public Land, 854
  • Edgar, King of the English: Grant of Exemption from Taxation to Glastonbury, 965
  • Canute the Great: Granting of Fiefs, 1028
  • Canute, King of the English: Inheritance in Case of Intestacy, c. 1016-1035
  • Canute, King of the English: On Heriots and Reliefs, c. 1016-1035
  • The Chronicle of Ethelwerd.
  • St. Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester: Sermo Lupi ad Anglos, c. 1014, full text, in Latin and English. [Requires Frames], [At Rochester].
    The sermon of the Wolf to the English, when the Danes were greatly persecuting them, which was in the year 1014 after the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Anglo-Saxon Literature
  • Beowulf, 8th century, trans Francis Gummere [HTML, here]
  • Beowulf, c. 1100 [At Lone Star]
    Beowulf is the oldest surviving epic in English literature - and it survives in only one manuscript. This copy survived both the wholesale destruction of religious artifacts during the
    dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII and a disastrous fire which destroyed the library of Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1571-1631). The poem still bears the scars of the fire, visible at the upper left corner of the manuscript. This is a modern verse trasnlation by  David
    Breeden.
  • Anglo-Saxon Charms, trans. Karen Jolly [At Univ. Hawaii].

• William of Newburgh: History, full text
• The Conquest, 1066
  • William of Malmesbury: The Battle of Hastings, 1066, excerpts.
  • Laws of William the Conqueror, and in text form. See also Catholic Encyclopedia: William the Conqueror.
  • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Assessment of William I.
• William I: Administration and the Domesday Book
  • The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: The Domesday Book, 1086.
  • The Domesday Book: Instructions and Example, (1086). See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Domesday Book.
• William II Rufus
  • Peter of Blois: William Rufus and Henry I [1070-1117?].
• Henry I and the Norman Regnum
  • Orderic Vitalis: Ecclesiastical History [1075-1141], excerpts on Henry I.
  • The "Laws of Henry I": The Murder Fine
  • Henry I: Charter of Liberties, 1100.
  • Henry I, King of England: Grant of Tax Liberties to London, 1133
  • Robert Palmer: Law and Courts Before Common Law [At Univ. Houston]
    Texts, plus discussion, with case examples.
• Stephen
  • [Tierney 56.1] Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: on Stephen, copyrighted?
  • Henry of Huntingdon: Chronicle [c.1080-1160] - on King Stephen's reign.

• Henry II
• The Man and His Family
  • Peter of Blois: Letter 154, to Queen Eleanor, 1173, trans. M. Markowski [M-Markow@wcslc.edu].
  • Peter of Blois: Description of Henry II [Letter no. 66: to Walter, archbishop of Palermo, 1177)] 
  • Roger of Hoveden: The Revolt of 1173-74, from The Chronicle
  • Roger of Hoveden: The Revolt and Death of the Young King, 1183, from The Chronicle
  • Gerald of Wales: On Henry II and his sons, from The Topography of Ireland, Chapters 49-50
  • Gerald of Wales: Death of King Henry II and comments on the Angevin Family, from De Instructione Principis (On the Instruction of a Prince) 
  • Roger of Hoveden: The Last Days and Death of Henry II, 1189, from The Chronicle
  • The Chronicle of "Benedict of Peterborough": The Death of King Henry II, 1189 
  • Gerald of Wales (1146-1225): The Death of King Henry II, from the Life of Archbishop Geoffrey of York
• Thomas Becket
  • WEB Thomas Becket Page
    Scott McLetchie's web site with collected texts associated with Becket, and a visual tour of Canterbury cathedral.
  • Roger of Hoveden: The Chronicle: On the Disputes between Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and King Henry II of England, early 13th c.
    All the material from this chronicle relevant to the Becket matter; Roger quotes many letters written by those closely involved in the dispute, including Thomas himself.
  • [Tierney 56.2] William of Newburgh: on Henry II, copyrighted? See next item
  • William of Newburgh: Becket and Henry, selections from Book II of his History, c. 1200
    Three chapters concerning Becket's career, the murder, and Henry II's penance at the tomb in 1174.
  • Gervase of Canterbury, d. 1205: Thomas Becket's Life, from History of the Archbishops of Canterbury
    A precis of Thomas' career taken from Gervase's History of the Archbishops of Canterbury
  • Gervase of Canterbury, d. 1205: Thomas Becket's Death
    Description of the martyrdom from the same work.
  • Edward Grim: The Murder of Becket, Dec. 29, 1170 from Vita S. Thomae, Cantuariensis Archepiscopi et Martyris trans. Dawn Marie Hayes [dms0603@is2.nyu.edu]. See also Catholic Encyclopedia: Thomas Becket.
  • The Chronicle of "Benedict of Peterborough": The Murder of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, 29 December 1170
• Wars
  • Gerald of Wales (1146-1225): The Conquest of Ireland, Book I, Chapter 46: Description of Henry II, king of the English.
• Administration and The Origins of Common Law
  • England: The Collection of Scutage, 1159-1195
  • Henry II: The Constitutions of Clarendon, 1164.
  • Henry II: The Assize of Clarendon, 1166.
  • Henry II: Inquest of Sheriffs, 1170.
  • [Geary 50] The Huntingdonshire Eyre, 1286, copyrighted
• Richard I Lionheart
  • Roger of Hoveden: Order of Coronation of Richard I, 1189.
  • Richard I of England: Charter by Which Many Liberties are Granted and Confirmed to the Jews, 22 March, 1190
  • English Jewry is Organised: The Ordinances of the Jews, 1194
  • King John of England and the Jews: Charters, c.1201
• England under Angevin Rule
  • The Charter of St. Patrick, 13th century [At Britannia]
    A fake document, attributed to St. Patrick but actually concocted by the monks of Glastonbury Abbey to prove their primacy over the neighboring See of Bath and Wells.
  • Chronicle of the Abbey of St. Edmunds (1173-1202), (c.1156-d.1202(?)).
  • The Abbey of St. Edmund’s and the Jews, 1173-1182
  • Gerald of Wales (1146-1225): The Discovery of the Tomb of King Arthur, from On the Instruction of a Prince (De Instructione Principis), c. 1223
  • Susan Carroll-rk [Mistress Nicolaa de Bracton]: A Statistical Survey of Given Names in Essex Co., England, 1182-1272 [At Geocities]
    A well-research article by an SCA member.

• Common Law: A Law of Real Property
  • See the Medieval Sourcebook: Medieval Legal History page
  • F. W. Maitland: The Forms of Action at Common Law, 1909
  • Robert Palmer: Origins of Common Law. [At Houston]
    This informative discussion contains, embedded, the following documents:
    • The Treaty of Winchester: Between Stephen and Henry [II], (1153)
    • The Writ of Right (from Glanvill, 12.3)
    • The Assize of Northampton, cc. 4-5 (1176)
    • The Assize of Novel Disseisin [the earliest example of the writ of NOVEL DISSEISIN we have; it comes from Glanvill, 13.33 (circa 1188)]
  • Select English Writs
    Texts in Latin and English of the most important early writs.
  • Robert Palmer: The Law in 1188: Glanvill. [At Houston]
    Contains substantial excerpts from the law book known as Glanvill
  • Robert Palmer: Rules of Law. [At Houston]
    Page down this page for text of rules of law such as Utrum and Darein presentment.
  • [Tierney 70] Assizes: Novel Disseisin and Utrum, copyrighted
    See above.
  • [Geary 48] Dialogue of the Exchequer, 1180s. [Full text of Book First, titles of Book Second]
  • The Pipe Roll of the Bishopric of Winchester, 1208-1209
    Pipe roll records are among the most detail of all medieval sources, and show both the development of the English administrative system, as well as types and scale of economic activity.
  • Bracton: De Legibus Et Consuetudinibus Angliæ (On the Laws and Customs of England), in English and Latin, attributed to Henry of Bratton, c. 1210-1268), Full Text. [At Harvard]
• The Barons' Revolt and Magna Carta
  • King John of England: Fees for Use of the Great Seal, 1199
  • King John of England: Royal Licenses to Export and Import, 1205-1206
  • King John of England: Prisage on Wine, 1205
  • [Geary 49.1] Articles of the Barons, Jun 15, 1215, copyrighted
  • [Tierney 71, Geary 49.2] Magna Carta, 1215, A Magna Carta in plain text is also available, as is a British Library modern translation.
  • Roger of Wendover: Runneymede 1215 from Flowers of Hisory.
  • John I: Concession Of England To The Pope. A.D. 1213,.
  • [Geary 49.3] Innocent III: Declaration that Magna Carta is Null and Void, Aug 24, 1215, copyrighted
  • [Geary 49.4] Magna Carta, 1216, (a revised version), copyrighted
• The Struggle of Henry III and His Barons
  • Henry III of England: Complaints of Heavy Taxation, 1230 Matthew of Westminster: Simon de Montfort's Rebellion, 1265.
• Parliament Coalesces
  • [Tierney 72.1-3] Summons of a Bishop, a Baron, and the Commons to Parliament 1295.
  • [Tierney 72.4] Edward I: Confirmation of the Charters, 1297.
  • [Tierney 73] Edward II: Coronation Oath, 1308.
  • Thomas Walsingham: The Good Parliament of 1376, from Chronicon Angliae
  • The Manner and Form of the Coronation of the Kings and Queens of England, 1385 - 1460. [At Chronique]

• Government
  • texts
• Henry III
  • Henry III: Documents of the Church of Salisbury in the Early 13th Century,   trans. Richard Barton
• Edward I
  • The Register of Roger Martival, Bishop of Salisbury, 1315-1330,  trans. Richard Barton
    Texts from the Register of Roger Martivall, Bishop of Salisbury. The last one, in particular, is of interest, as it is concerned with criminous clerks and clerical status.
• Legal Texts
  • Statuta Armorum (The Statutes of Arms), c. 1260
  • The Assizes of Bread, Beer, & Lucrum Pistoris
  • Statuta de Forstallariis (Statute of Forestallers), c. 1300
  • Judicium Pillorie (The Judgment of the Pillory)
  • Statuta de Mercatoribus (Statutes of Merchants), 11 Edw. I (1283) & 13 Edw. I (1285)
  • Edward I: Edward I: Statute of Quia Emptores, 1290.
  • Edward I: Statute of Mortmain, 1279.
  • Edward I: Confirmatio Cartarum, November 5, 1297, (Confirmation of Henry III's version of the Magna Carta). [At Britannia.com]
  • Robert Palmer: Statutes of Edward I [At Univ. Houston].
    Texts, plus discussion, with case examples.
  • Robert Palmer: The Equity Courts. [At Univ. Houston]
    Texts, plus discussion, with case examples.
  • Orders for the English Fleet, 1326. [At Hillsdale]
  • Ordinance of Laborers, 1349.
  • Statute of Laborers, 1351.
  • Titulus Regius, 1484   [At R3]
    The Act of Parliament settling the crown on Richard III.
  • Various Select Pleas
    These documents illustrate the development of the English legal system.
    • Select Pleas of the Crown, 1200-1225 - Cornish Eyre.
    • Select Pleas in Manorial and Other Seignorial Courts, Reigns of Henry III and Edward III - Manor of Brightwaltham.
    • Select Pleas of the Crown, 1200-1225 - Lincolnshire Eyre.
    • Select Pleas of the Crown, 1200-1225 - Northamptonshire Eyre.
    • Select Pleas of the Crown, 1200-1225 - Bedfordshire Eyre.
    • Select Pleas of the Crown, 1200-1225 - Staffordshire Eyre.
    • Select Pleas of the Crown, 1200-1225 - Shropshire Eyre.
    • Select Pleas in Manorial and Other Seignorial Courts, Reigns of Henry III and Edward I - Manors of the Abbey of Bec, A.D. 1247.
    • Select Pleas in Manorial and Other Seignorial Courts, Reigns of Henry III and Edward I - Manors of the Abbey of Bec, A.D. 1248.
    • Select Pleas in Manorial and Other Seignorial Courts, Reigns of Henry III and Edward I - Manors of the Abbey of Bec, A.D. 1249.
    • Select Pleas in Manorial and Other Seignorial Courts, Reigns of Henry III and Edward I - Manors of the Abbey of Bec, A.D. 1275.
    • Select Pleas in Manorial and Other Seignorial Courts, Reigns of Henry III and Edward I - Manors of the Abbey of Bec, A.D. 1280.
  • Court Rolls of The Manor of Wakefield, 1274-1297
• Public Violence
  • Jean Froissart: The English Peasant Revolt, 1381, from Chronicles [At Nipissing].
  • Jack Cade: Proclamation of Grievances, 1450
  • The Second Battle of St. Albans, 1461. [At Hillsdale]
  • Invasion of Northern England, 1463. [At Hillsdale]
  • Siege of Bamborough, 1464. [At Hillsdale]
  • The Battle of Barnet, 1471. [At Hillsdale]
  • The Battle of Tewkesbury, 1471. [At Hillsdale]
  • Equipment List of the HMS Mary Rose, 1514. [At Hillsdale]
• Yorkists and Lancastrians
  • Sir Jean Froissart: John of Gaunt in Portugal, 1385
  • For Wycliff and Lollards see Reformation page
  • WEB Sources on Richard III and The Yorkist Dynasty  [At Richard III Society.]
  • Medieval sources are linked to directly from here, but the site contains many more early modern and modern discussions of the Richard III controversy.
  • Anonymous: Croyland Chronicle  [At R3]
    A portion of the Second Continuation, and the full text of the Third and Fourth Continuations. Covers all entries for the period 1453-1486. Important primary source for the study of the Wars of the Roses and especially the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.
  • Anonymous: History of the Arrival of Edward IV. in England and the Final Recovery of His Kingdoms from Henry VI  [At R3]
    Yorkist propaganda in one of its earlier manifestations. 
    • Part I: Introduction, with Footnotes and Transcriber's Notes on Textual Adaptation 
    • Part II: Landing through the Reconciliation with Clarence 
    • Part III: Confrontation at Coventry through the Battle of Barnet 
    • Part IV: The Coming of Queen Margaret through the Battle of Tewkesbury 
    • Part V: The Aftermath of Tewkesbury through the Surrender of the Bastard of Fauconberg 
    • Part VI: Endnotes 
  • Thomas More: The History of King Richard the Third.
  • Nicolas, Nicholas Harris: The Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York: The Wardrobe Accounts of Edward IV [At R3]
    Nicolas's introductory memoirs of Yorkist royalty, with commentary on the Ricardian controversies of the time; the privy purse expenses of Elizabeth of York. To come: the Wardrobe Accounts. A lengthy series of documents, consisting of 24 interlinked files.
  • Plantagenet, Richard: The Statutes Ordained by Richard Duke of Gloucester, for the College of Middleham, July 4, 1478.   [At R3]
  • Titulus Regius, 1484   [At R3]
    The Act of Parliament settling the crown on Richard III.
  • Polydore Vergil: Anglica Historia, Books 23-25.
    History of the deposition of Edward V and the reign of Richard III by humanist historian Polydore Vergil. One of the classic traditionalist sources.
  • Horace Walpole: Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III, 1768.
  • John Warkworth, DD.: A Chronicle of the First Thirteen Years of the Reign of King Edward the Fourth.   [At R3]
    Contemporary chronicle with Lancastrian leanings.
• The Tudor Victory
  • Anonymous: The Ballad of Bosworth Field [At R3]
    Sixteenth-century poem, thought to be written by an eye-witness to the battle, with exhaustive list of Richard III's supporters.