Böcker i Public Record Office: Calendar of Inquisitions Post-Mortem-serien

This volume initiates the completion of the calendars of medieval inquisitions post mortem for the years 1422-85.

This is the second volume in a new series designed to cover the previously-neglected inquisitions post mortem of the fifteenth century between 1422 and 1485. Inquisitions post mortem were compiled with the help of jurors from the area, as a county-by-county record of a deceased individual's land-holdings and associated rights, where the individual held land directly of the crown. It is this explicit connection with land and locality - in terms economic, social, political, and topographical - that makes these documents of comprehensive interest to a broad range of historians and archaeologists. The inclusion of jurors' names and full manorial extents is standard in the new series as is the calendaring of information offered by the associated writs. Analogous documents consist of proofs of age, of particular interest to historians of memory, and assignments of dower.CLAIRE NOBLE is a Research Associate, Faculty of History, University of Cambridge. Academic Director and General Editor: CHRISTINE CARPENTER

A valuable resource on the social and economic life of medieval EnglandInquisitions post mortem are the single most important source for the history of medieval English landed society and are indispensable to social, economic, and political historians of the later middle ages; they were compiled with the help of jurors from the area, as a county-by-county record of a deceased individual's land-holdings and associated rights, where the individual held land directly of the crown. It is this explicit connection with land and locality - in economic, social, political, and topographical terms - that makes these documents of such comprehensive interest. This volume calendars the inquisitions and related documents from the short reigns of Edward V and Richard III, from the protectorate to the battle of Bosworth (1483-1485). It looks at 101 individuals across 181 inquisitions and includes valuable information and detailed returns on the estates of the greater aristocracy, among them Henry Bourchier, earl of Essex and William Lord Hastings [d. 1483], alongside lesser landholders, jurors' names and full manorial extents. The volume incorporates not only inquisitions post mortem but also assignments of dower and a proof of age from across the counties of England and the Marches of Wales. It is especially rich in inquisitions relating to the lands of the royal justices and widowed dowagers and documents how many landholders had conveyed lands to trustees, thus escaping royal wardship and prompting remedial legislation by Richard's parliament. Standard information includes medieval descriptions of towns and villages and the charting of land and its descent at all social levels. The volume also provides comprehensive indexes of jurors, persons, places, and subjects.