Percy, Joyce W., ed., York Memorandum Book (Surtees Society 186)
Text name(s):
Number of pages of primary source text: 295
Author(s):
Dates: 1371 - 1596
Archival Reference: York, Archives and Local History, York Memorandum Book (B/Y)
Original Language(s):
- Anglo-Norman
- Latin
Translation:
- Original language included.
Translation Comments:
Geopolitical Region(s):
- England
County/Region: York
Record Types:
- Law - Local Ordinances
- Custumal
- Court Roll
Subject Headings:
- Government
- Economy - Crafts and Industry
- Economy - Guilds and Labor
- Economy - Trade
- Towns / Cities
- Law - Secular
- Law - Crime
- Material Culture: Food, Clothing, Household
- Peasants
- Piety - Lay
Apparatus:
- Index
- Bibliography
- Introduction
Comments:
A bibliography follows the introduction. Manuscript B/Y of the York Memorandum Book contains various laws, customs, and legal disputes having taken place in the city of York between the late 14th and late 16th centuries. These include trade regulations, definitions of property boundaries, and processes for electing officials, among other things. The pages are reproduced according to the order of the folios in the manuscript, though these are not always ordered according to chronology or subject grouping: for example, a 1456 treatise on ironmongers might be followed by 1421 statutes from the court of Henry V. Footnotes provide additional information or archival data for some of the entries. An index of people and places, and another of subjects, follows the text. Volume 3 of 3 edited by the Surtees Society.
Introduction Summary:
Percy begins by giving some information about the manuscript itself and its preservation history. She then explains the relationship between this manuscript, B/Y, and A/Y, on which the previous York Memorandum Book editions published by the Surtees Society was based. She then briefly mentions what types of documents are contained within the book. She also provides 2 pages on her editorial process.
Cataloger: AM
