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Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores, or The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, usually referred to as the 'Rolls Series', was an ambitious project first proposed to the British Treasury in 1857 by Sir John Romilly, the Master of the Rolls, and quickly approved for public funding. Its purpose was to publish historical source material covering the period from the arrival of the Romans to the reign of Henry VIII, 'without mutilation or abridgement', starting with the 'most scarce and valuable' texts. A 'correct text' of each work would be established by collating 'the best manuscripts', and information was to be included in every case about the manuscripts used, the life and times of the author, and the work's 'historical credibility', but there would be no additional annotation. The first books were published in 1858, and by the time it was completed in 1896 the series contained 105 titles and 253 volumes. Although many of the works have since been re-edited by modern scholars, the enterprise as a whole stands as a testament to the Victorian revival of interest in the middle ages.

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253 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Rolls

Page 13 of 13

Eulogium (historiarum sive temporis): Chronicon ab orbe condito usque ad Annum Domini M.CCC.LXVI.
  • A monacho quodam Malmesburiensi exaratum
  • Volume 1
  • Edited by F. S. Haydon
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1858
  • The Eulogium is a world history from the Creation to 1366. The majority of the work is taken from earlier writers, many of whom are named. For the period 1356–66 the writer, probably Thomas, a monk of Malmesbury, provides an insight into the attitudes and opinions of his own time, and also into the historical sources available to a member of a large religious house. The work was obviously well regarded, as it survives in several manuscripts, two of which were continued by unknown authors, one to 1413 and one to 1490; these continuations are also included in this three-volume edition by Frank Scott Haydon (1822–87). Volume 1, published in 1858, contains the author's preface, and the first three books, covering the period from the Creation to Christ, the history of the popes, and ancient history.

The Black Book of the Admiralty
  • With an Appendix
  • Volume 1
  • Edited by Travers Twiss
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1871
  • The Black Book of the Admiralty is a late medieval Old French manuscript containing a variety of documents relating to the administrative and legal responsibilities of the office of the lord high admiral, with later additions relating to the court of chivalry and the laws of war. The edition of this manuscript produced by Sir Travers Twiss (1809–97) between 1871 and 1876 filled only part of one of four volumes. The remaining content ranges from the late thirteenth-century borough custumal of Ipswich and other later medieval general custumals from south-west France, to a variety of different codes of maritime law also from south-west France, Catalonia, southern Italy, the Baltic and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. Volume 1 contains the text of the Black Book, along with other materials relating to the office of admiral and to the admiralty court from late medieval France and England, as well as two late medieval English ordinances of war.

Annales Monastici
  • Volume 4, Annales Monasterii de Oseneia (AD 1016–1347). Chronicon vulgo dictum Chronicon Thomae Wykes (AD 1066–1289). Annales Prioratus de Wigornia (AD 1–1377)
  • Edited by Henry Richards Luard
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1869
  • Originally published in 1864–9, and still a standard reference work, this five-volume collection contains editions of key source texts for medieval English history, focusing mainly on the thirteenth century. Compiled in monasteries over many years, they record local, national and international events in chronological order, sometimes surprisingly briefly and at other times in great detail. The coverage includes aristocratic marriages and deaths, royal visits, conflicts and power struggles, appointments and acquisitions, astronomical observations, natural disasters, crimes and punishments. The editor, Henry Richards Luard (1825–91), an influential Cambridge clergyman and University Administrator, provided introductions to the Latin texts, and sidenotes in English indicating their content. Volume 4 (1869) contains the Annals of Osney (in Oxford) for 1016–1347, the closely related Chronicle ascribed to Thomas Wykes, covering 1066–1289, and the Annals of Worcester Priory, copied in the early fourteenth century from various sources, and containing additions to 1377.

Letters and Papers Illustrative of the Wars of the English in France
  • During the Reign of Henry the Sixth, King of England
  • Volume 1
  • Edited by Joseph Stevenson
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1861
  • This two-volume compilation contains the texts of documents in Latin, Middle French and Middle English (with translations and abstracts) concerning the later phases of the Hundred Years' War, focusing on the period 1423–50. Published between 1861 and 1864, it was edited by Joseph Stevenson (1807–95), a Northumbrian archivist and clergyman who had been instrumental in persuading the British government to sponsor the Rolls Series project. Stevenson transcribed and translated material from archival sources in France and England, including the Registers of the Grants issued by the English government in France from 1420 to 1433 and the Privy Seal collection. The introduction to Volume 1 outlines the political instability and shifting alliances that underlay the hostilities, and the subjects of the texts range from court matters and diplomacy to finance and military logistics. This primary source material reveals fascinating details about a pivotal period in European history.

Eulogium (historiarum sive temporis): Chronicon ab orbe condito usque ad Annum Domini M.CCC.LXVI.
  • A monacho quodam Malmesburiensi exaratum
  • Volume 3
  • Edited by F. S. Haydon
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1863
  • The Eulogium is a world history from the Creation to 1366. The majority of the work is taken from earlier writers, many of whom are named. For the period 1356–66 the writer, probably Thomas, a monk of Malmesbury, provides an insight into the attitudes and opinions of his own time, and also into the historical sources available to a member of a large religious house. The work was obviously well regarded, as it survives in several manuscripts, two of which were continued by unknown authors, one to 1413 and one to 1490; these continuations are also included in this three-volume edition by Frank Scott Haydon (1822–87). Volume 3, published in 1863, contains the second half of Book 5, covering the period from the Saxons to the fourteenth century, together with the Kalendary Chronicle to 1364, the genealogies of the kings of England, the continuation to 1413, and an index.

Chronica magistri Rogeri de Houedene
  • Volume 3
  • Roger of Hoveden
  • Edited by William Stubbs
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1870
  • Roger of Hoveden's Chronica was begun around 1192 and covers English history from 732 to 1201, when it is assumed he died. The work is largely an annotated compilation of various other chronicles, including the Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis (also reissued in this series). This was formerly attributed to Benedict of Peterborough, which was the view taken by William Stubbs (1825–1901) when he edited this work for the Rolls Series in 1868–71. Since the twentieth century, however, Hoveden has been recognised as the author. As a clerk to Henry II until 1189, and later as a diplomat during the Third Crusade, he was ideally placed to gain first-hand knowledge and also documents, which he provides here in full. Volume 3 (1189–92) again reworks the Gesta, with revisions for its new context. There are details relating to the Third Crusade and Hugh de Puiset, Bishop of Durham.

Political Poems and Songs Relating to English History, Composed during the Period from the Accession of Edward III to that of Richard III
  • Volume 2
  • Edited by Thomas Wright
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1861
  • Veering between unprecedented military successes and the violent downfalls of kings, the period between the accession of Edward III and the death of Edward IV was a rich subject for contemporary political writers. This two-volume collection of poems and tracts was first compiled by Thomas Wright as part of the Rolls Series, commissioned to edit and publish publicly owned manuscript texts. First published in 1861 and including forty-four pieces in English, French and Latin, Volume 2 covers the turbulent years between Henry IV and Edward IV. It features poems by Gower, an account of the battle of Agincourt, and Chaucer's apocryphal 'Jack Upland' with 'The Reply of Friar Daw'. Also included are translations of the French poems, and a thorough, contextualising introduction. A fascinating example of Victorian scholarship and its expectations of readers, this set represents an interesting resource for students of English literature and history.

Annales Monastici
  • Volume 1, Annales de Margan (AD 1066–1232). Annales de Theokesberia (AD 1066–1263). Annales de Burton (AD 1004–1263)
  • Edited by Henry Richards Luard
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1864
  • Originally published in 1864–9, and still a standard reference work, this five-volume collection contains editions of key source texts for medieval English history, focusing mainly on the thirteenth century. Compiled in monasteries over many years, they record local, national and international events in chronological order, sometimes surprisingly briefly and at other times in great detail. The coverage includes aristocratic marriages and deaths, royal visits, appointments and acquisitions, astronomical observations, conflicts and power struggles, natural disasters, crimes, 'diabolick appearances' and excommunications. The editor, Henry Richards Luard (1825–91), an influential Cambridge clergyman and university administrator, provided introductions to the Latin texts, and sidenotes in English indicating their content. Volume 1 (1864) contains the Annals of Margan (Glamorganshire) for 1066–1232, Tewkesbury (Gloucestershire) for 1066–1263 and Burton-on-Trent (Staffordshire) for 1004–1263. As was usual, the earlier parts of each text closely follow older sources.

Annales Monastici
  • Volume 2, Annales Monasterii de Wintonia (AD 519–1277). Annales Monasterii de Waverlei (AD 1–1291)
  • Edited by Henry Richards Luard
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1865
  • Originally published in 1864–9, and still a standard reference work, this five-volume collection contains editions of key source texts for medieval English history, focusing mainly on the thirteenth century. Compiled in monasteries over many years, they record local, national and international events in chronological order, sometimes surprisingly briefly and at other times in great detail. The coverage includes aristocratic marriages and deaths, royal visits, conflicts and power struggles, appointments and acquisitions, astronomical observations, natural disasters, crimes and punishments. The editor, Henry Richards Luard (1825–91), an influential Cambridge clergyman and University Administrator, provided introductions to the Latin texts, and sidenotes in English indicating their content. Volume 2 (1865) contains the annals of Winchester (Hampshire), covering 519–1277, and those of the Cistercian Abbey of Waverley (Surrey), founded in 1128, which run from 1 CE to 1291. As was usual, the earlier parts of each text closely follow older sources.

Recueil des chroniques et anchiennes istories de la Grant Bretaigne, à present nommé Engleterre
  • Volume 3, From AD 1422 to AD 1431
  • Jean de Wavrin
  • Edited by William Hardy
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1879
  • Part of the Rolls Series of publications of historical documents, this five-volume collection, originally compiled in the fifteenth century, is the first history of England of this magnitude, spanning almost two millennia. It is the work of French knight Jean de Wavrin (c.1400–c.1473), a chronicler under Philip the Good and Charles the Bold, Dukes of Burgundy. Wavrin participated in several military expeditions, including some under the English banner, and was keen to keep the kingdom as an ally. The editor, archivist and antiquarian Sir William Hardy (1807–87), points out that Wavrin selected the best-known oral and written materials and added his own first-hand observations to tell a fascinating story with a profusion of details. Volume 3, published in 1879, begins with the death of Henry V and ends with the trial of Joan of Arc.

Chronica Johannis de Oxenedes
  • Johannes de Oxenedes
  • Edited by Henry Ellis
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1859
  • Written c.1290, this chronicle follows the pattern of similar texts in recording historical events through using earlier sources; but, by adapting and editing what he chose to include, the author produced a unique work. He is able to provide greater depth and detail to the descriptions of events closer to his own time, yet the text finishes abruptly in a passage concerning the contemporary theologian Robert of Winchelsea. Published in the Rolls Series in 1859, the work was edited by Henry Ellis (1777–1869), the librarian of the British Museum. Topics covered in the chronicle include Henry II's crowning of his eldest son as 'Henry III', and their joint rule until the latter rebelled against his father; the 'extreme cruelty with which the Jews were treated in England'; and 'an occurrence which continued … to our own time, namely, the inundation of Westminster Hall by the River Thames'.

Eulogium (historiarum sive temporis): Chronicon ab orbe condito usque ad Annum Domini M.CCC.LXVI.
  • A monacho quodam Malmesburiensi exaratum
  • Volume 2
  • Edited by F. S. Haydon
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    15 November 2012
    First published in:
    1860
  • The Eulogium is a world history from the Creation to 1366. The majority of the work is taken from earlier writers, many of whom are named. For the period 1356–66 the writer, probably Thomas, a monk of Malmesbury, provides an insight into the attitudes and opinions of his own time, and also into the historical sources available to a member of a large religious house. The work was obviously well regarded, as it survives in several manuscripts, two of which were continued by unknown authors, one to 1413 and one to 1490; these continuations are also included in this three-volume edition by Frank Scott Haydon (1822–87). Volume 2, published in 1860, contains Book 4 and half of Book 5. The former outlines world geography while the latter deals with early British history, from the first settlement to King Arthur and the Saxon migrations.

Fasciculi Zizaniorum Magistri Johannis Wyclif cum Tritico
  • Ascribed to Thomas Netter of Walden
  • Edited by Walter Waddington Shirley
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    28 October 2010
    First published in:
    1858
  • Having obtained a first class degree in mathematics from Wadham College, Oxford, Walter Waddingham Shirley (1828–66) taught mathematics there before turning his attention to ecclesiastical history. Shirley earned a reputation amongst his contemporaries as an objective researcher with a clear writing style, and he was considered one of the ablest of the new Oxford historians. The Fasciculi, first published in 1858, is a collection of documents relating to John Wycliffe and his followers. The earliest texts reproduced in this volume are three partial determinations against Wycliffe dating from the fourteenth century. The latest document dates from the trial in 1428 of the Lollard William White. Shirley successfully proved in his introduction that the documents, originally attributed to the Carmelite friar Thomas Netter of Walden, were compiled after Netter's death. Shirley also argued that Wycliffe was originally a constitutional rather than a theological reformer, which provoked criticism from reviewers.

Page 13 of 13