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.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin, Middle English.
Translation: None
Record Type: Legislation, Charter/Deed, Letter, Petition.
Record Authority: Central Government.
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).
Allen, S. J. and Amt, Emilie, eds., “Letter of Stephen of Blois” in The Crusades: A Reader. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 58-61, 2010.
Text Pages: 4.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman.
Translation: Anglo-Norman to English.
Record Type: Letter.
Dates Covered: 1098.
Comments: This letter is an account of the Siege of Antioch by one of the principle leaders of the First Crusade, Stephen of Blois. Written in March of 1098 to his wife, Countess Adela of Blois, this letter takes place near the end of the First Crusade. He offers a summary of crusade since the capture of Nicaea and then describes in-depth account of the skirmishes between the Franks and the Turks outside the walls of Antioch. Though the letter is fairly short, it offers an interesting look into a myriad of topics including siege warfare, diplomacy between the Franks and the Fatimid Caliphate, relations between crusaders and those back at home, and the anxieties crusaders, or at least Stephen, faced. In one of the more interesting details of the letter, Stephen claims that he was created sole leader of the crusade, although this is not true. Near the end of his account, Stephen mentions that this letter was actually written by his chaplain, Alexander, and that he only dictated it.
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: None.
Record Authority: Central Government.
Record Type: Letter.
Dates Covered: 1390-1412.
Archival Reference: 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.
Carpenter, Christine, ed., Kingsford’s Stonor Letters and Papers 1290-1483. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Text Pages: 330.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Household Account Roll, Charter/Deed, Contract, Inventory, Letter, Petition, Will.
Dates Covered: 1290 – 1483.
Comments: This is a reissue of Charles Lethbridge Kingsford’s edition of the Stonor letters and papers, first published in 1919. There is a new preface, an introduction to the new edition, and Kingsford’s introduction with its appendix. The first forty texts are in Latin or Anglo-Norman, with English becoming more prevalent after. Most of the documents begin with a modern note about their content or condition. Other materials include a map of area around Stonor, family trees, a facsimile of a letter by William Goldwyn, an index of persons and another of places, a general index, and supplementary papers.
Carpenter, Christine, The Armburgh Papers. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 1998.
Text Pages: 139.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin, Middle English.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Account Roll, Letter, Verse.
Dates Covered: 1443 – 1452.
Comments: The papers include not only documentation of a lawsuit involving the Armburgh family but also love poetry and literary, highly personal letters. The introduction explains the nature of the disputed inheritances of Roos (in Hertfordshire and Essex), Brokhole (Hertfordshire), and Mancetter (Warwickshire). Since the documents address a single dispute over a period of time, they offer important details about the law and the gentry’s interactions with it. There is also information about the state of the roll and the scribal hands.
Crawford, Anne, ed., Letters of Medieval Women. Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire, Sutton Publishing, 2002.
Text Pages: 223.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin, Middle English, Old French.
Translation: Translated to English.
Record Type: Letter.
Dates Covered: 1217 – 1504.
Comments: This volume gathers letters composed by women between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries in order to provide the user with a view into the lives of various medieval women, including nuns, queens, noblewomen, and gentry women. More specific introductions are provided at the beginning of each chapter. Chapters are organized by addressee, and the letters are then placed in chronological order. This is an excellent teaching tool and resource for undergraduates. The language is clear, modern, and accessible, and the breadth of women’s experiences is impressive. A bibliography (255-256) and index (257-262) are included.
Lodge, Eleanor and Robert Somerville, eds., John of Gaunt’s Register, 1379-1383 (vol. 1 and 2). London: Camden Society, Third Series, v. 56 and 57, 1937.
Text Pages: 412.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Letter, Cartulary, Charter/Deed, Account Roll, Taxes, Contract.
Dates Covered: 1370 – 1408.
Archival Reference: TNA, Duchy of Lancs. Misc. Books 14.
Comments: John of Gaunt (1340-1399), the first duke of Lancaster, was the third surviving son of king Edward III of England. He is most commonly remembered for the influence he exercised over the English throne during the minority of his nephew Richard II and for siring the Lancastrian kings. The manuscript reproduced here contains copies made by the clerks of the Lancastrian Chancery of documents that passed under the Duke’s Privy Seal and other administrative documents. These copies were not always accurate; dates in particular were often falsified. The register is, nevertheless, of value to historians, particularly those who are interested in studying the financial and administrative organization of the Lancastrian estates. The estates of the duchy were so extensive and so widely spread that for this reason alone the register would be of varied interest. Their administration was of necessity so complicated that we get an organization rivaling in its completeness the royal government. Several documents also deal with wardship, marriage and military service. Appendix I (pp. 413-6) offers a collation of the enrolment with original documents in London, PROP.L.3/1 and also includes the text of two writs in Anglo-Norman not enrolled in the register. Appendix II (pp. 417-8) in an addendum in the register that follows the treaty transcribed as entry no. 1199. Appendix III (pp.419-20) is a glossary of French terms not in Godefroy’s Lexique or in his Dictionnaire.
Midgley, L. Margaret, ed., Ministers’ Accounts of the Earldom of Cornwall 1296-1297. London: Butler & Tanner Ltd. (Camden Society, Third Series, vols. 66, 68), 1942-1945.
Text Pages: 278.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Bailiff/Reeve Account Roll.
Dates Covered: 1296 – 1297.
Archival Reference: TNA.
Comments: These volumes contain the accounts of the revenues from the lands and liberties held by Edmund, earl of Cornwall, during the year ending on Michaelmas (September 29), 1297. They are of interest for anyone concerned with economic history, agriculture, mining, genealogy or accounting.
Perroy, Eduard, ed., The Diplomatic Correspondence of Richard II. Camden 3rd Series, 48. London: Offices of the Royal Historical Society, 1933.
Text Pages: 281.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin, Middle English.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Letter, Petition.
Dates Covered: 1379 – 1400.
Archival Reference: Edinburgh MS Laing 351; Cambridge University Library MS Dd.III.53.
Comments: True to its title, this volume contains the diplomatic correspondence of Richard II — 252 letters sent during his reign, most edited for the first time. The letters include petitions to popes Urban VI and Boniface IX as well as diplomatic correspondence with political leaders throughout the British Isles and Europe.
Recueil des lettres anglo-françaises (1265-1399), ed. F. J. Tanquerey. Paris, 1916.
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: 520.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin.
Translation: None.
Record Authority: Central Government.
Record Type: Register of Letters.
Dates Covered: 1341-1473
Archival Reference: 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.
Stapleton, Thomas. Plumpton Correspondence. London: John Bowyer Nichols and Son for the Camden Society, 1839.
Text Pages: 258.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin, Middle English.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Charter/Deed, Letter, Will.
Dates Covered: 1460 – 1552.
Comments: The Plumptons were a minor aristocratic family living in northern England, where they were clients of the dukes of Northumberland. The Plumpton Correspondence consists of about 250 letters that survived because of inheritance disagreements between Sir William Plumpton’s (d. 1405) heirs, they were transcribed in the seventeenth century into the Plumpton Cartulary, a collection of almost 1000 items relating to the history of the family. This edition has historical and biographical notices, immediately after the introduction, that give detailed background on the family and excerpts legal documents, including wills and deeds in Latin and Anglo-Norman. There is also the family’s pedigree chart, addenda and corrigenda, a general index, and an index of places and persons.
Stevenson, Joseph, ed., Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Wars of the English in France during the Reign of Henry the Sixth, King of England. Vol. II (in 2 parts). London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts. Rolls Series, no 22, vol.II., 1864.
Text Pages: 824.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin, Middle English, Old French.
Translation: Anglo-Norman and Old French to English.
Record Type: Chronicle/Annals, Account Roll, Letter, Petition, Taxes.
Dates Covered: 1423 – 1461.
Comments: Contains a wide variety of sources that illustrate the reign of King Henry VI of England, particularly relations with France and his rival, King Charles VII of France. Each document has an English heading, but is given in the original language; those in French are translated into English. There are two volumes in the series; a chronological list of all the documents in both, along with references to their original sources, is in vol. II, part 2, pp. 521-96 (following the annals of William Worcester; see above for pagination); an Index of names and places in both volumes is on pp. 599-639. The documents in Vol. II are divided into four: letters and papers in French sources (pp. 1-376); supplementary letters and sources from English sources (pp. 377-517); William of Worcester’s ‘Collections concerning the Wars of the English in France and Normandy’ (pp. [521-742]) in Anglo-Norman, with an English translation; and William of Worcester’s ‘Annales Rerum Anglicarum’ (pp. [743-93]) in Latin (see the separate entry in the OMSB on these last two sections). The sources in Vols. I and II vary widely and include: account rolls of expenses incurred in running the king’s household as well as his military efforts abroad; appointments of administrative and military officials; safe-conducts for messengers and diplomats; royal orders to pay salaries of knights, soldiers, and garrisons; petitions from nobles seeking to raise money to pay their ransoms; letters regarding diplomatic efforts; accounts of the Scottish troops serving the French; lists of the nobles and knights at particular battles; correspondence with the pope regarding royal marriages and divorce; accounts of the successes and failures of sieges and military expeditions to Flanders, Brabant, and Normandy; reports of the activities of royal ministers, particularly the dukes of Beford and Gloucester, as well as English allies, such as the duke of Burgundy; minutes from meetings of the Parliament of Paris; revenues from English possessions in France; and many other types of documents.
Williams, George, ed., Memorials of the Reign of King Henry VI. Official Correspondence of Thomas Bekynton, Secretary to King Henry VI., and Bishop of Bath and Wells. London: Longmans and Co., 2 vols. Rolls Series, No. 56, 1872.
Text Pages: 469.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Letter.
Dates Covered: 1397 – 1449.
Archival Reference: Lambeth Library ccxi; Cotton MS. Tiv. B. vi.; Cotton MS. Tib. B. xii.; Ashmole MS. 789; New College MS.
Comments: This volume contains the letters written by and sent to Thomas Bekynton, the Secretary to king Henry VI (1422-61, 1470-71) and bishop of Bath and Wells. The manuscript from which they were derived was probably compiled under the direction of the bishop and is, therefore, likely to be accurate. While the editor has preserved the original organization of the letters, he has also prefaced the volume with a calendar of documents arranged chronologically and summarizes each letter in English. Although the letters concern many matters, they are particularly illustrative of foreign relations (the bishop had served as an envoy to France) and of the domestic conditions in England during Henry’s reign. Of note to scholars of Anglo-Norman are documents written in French in Bekynton’s journal to Bordeaux (vol. 2, pp. 177-248).
Woolgar, C.M., ed. “Account of the Wardrobe and Household Expenses for the Household 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.
Text Pages: 3.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman.
Translation: None.
Record Authority: Seigneurial.
Record Type: Household Accounts.
Dates Covered: 1367-68.
Archival Reference: TNA, E101/509/11.
Comments: Used at the audit of the household account, these documents list payments for wages, debts, and legal services.
Woolgar, C. M., ed., “Diet account for part of the household of a great lord coming to Parliament at London, March 1300. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Text Pages: 2.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman, Latin.
Translation: None.
Record Type: Household Accounts.
Dates Covered: 1300.
Archival Reference: Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Archives Ga 9/1
Comments: The brief introduction details the account that records John Roges and Henry de Middleton’ and the household of an unidentified lord. The account is very substantial, its expenditure averaging more than 1 each day. This account seems to be a subsidiary account to the primary household diet account. It was written on a single membrane by two hands; it was begun by a first hand with additions by a second in an idiosyncratic form of Anglo-Norman French.
Woolgar, C.M., 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.
Text Pages: 3.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman.
Translation: None.
Record Authority: Seigneurial.
Record Type: Household Accounts.
Dates Covered: 1367-68.
Archival Reference: TNA, E101/509/11.
Comments: Used at the audit of the household account, these documents list payments for wages, debts, and legal services.
Woolgar, C.M., 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.
Text Pages: 3.
Original Language: Anglo-Norman.
Translation: None.
Record Authority: Seigneurial.
Record Type: Household Accounts.
Dates Covered: 1314.
Archival Reference: TNA, 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.