Annales Monastici (Paperback)

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 5 (1869) contains a thorough index for the entire work, and a fascinating glossary of agricultural, technical, legal and financial terms, such as 'coket' (the 'second sort' of white bread), 'clausik' (a disease in sheep), 'reragia' (arrears) or 'fitwite' (a fine for fighting).