Some years ago I made a study of the earldom of Hereford in the twelfth century. The material for this consisted principally of a collection of some three hundred charters: some were issued by the earls of Hereford and other members of their family, some by their tenants, others by the crown and by leading ecclesiastics, notably the bishops of Worcester and Hereford. My impression then was that this formed an interesting collection of charters, comparable with some of the collections which have been made from the North of England, though much more modest in scale and interest. Perhaps as much as half of this material was already available in print, and the cost of printing prohibited what might otherwise have been advantageous, the publication of all the texts in full. The core of these charters was made up of charters issued by the earls of Hereford and their family, and it is this group of charters, issued by three generations of the Gloucester family, which is now published here. Those already available in print have been listed, but not reprinted. Those hitherto unpublished have been printed in full. Charters nos 1–58 were issued by Earl Miles or his son Earl Roger. Nos 59–124 were issued by other members of the family: four were issued by Walter of Gloucester the constable, father of Earl Miles; five were issued by Cecily, wife of Earl Roger; the remainder were issued by the surviving sons of Earl Miles, Walter, Henry and Mahel, each of whom succeeded to the family's estates between 1155 and 1165, and by their sisters, Margaret de Bohun and Lucy fitz Herbert.

Of the surviving sources for the internal history of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 1260s, the collection of materials on the regency (bailliage) disputes of 1264 (or 1265 or 1266) and 1268 is among the most important. It helps explain the rise to power of Hugh of Antioch-Lusignan (King Hugh III of Cyprus) and also sheds much light on contemporary legal concepts and procedures.

The newsletters and their historical context  1

What were the issues at stake between Smith and his opponents?  8

Catholics and English politics in the 1630s  18

Conclusion  36

LOLLARDS OF COVENTRY 1486–1522

• Acknowledgements 5

• Abbreviations 6

• Introduction 9

• Editorial Note 34

• Private Indentures for Life Service in Peace and War 1278–1476

• Index

Sir Cheney Culpeper (1611–1663) was a lawyer and gentleman from the north Kentish Weald. Yet he never rose to prominence in the legal profession. Nor did he take up public office either as an MP or as a diplomat – although he occasionally entertained the possibilities of both. Such aspirations would not have been surprising in someone who was the eldest son of a family which enjoyed connections to the wheels of power in Stuart England. He expected to inherit a considerable portion of the family's not inconsiderable estates – which included Leeds Castle. Yet he was, at a critical juncture, in effect disinherited by his father. Although a committed Parliamentarian, Culpeper did not play a major part either in county or national politics during the Civil War and the Interregnum. His career was, in worldly terms, hardly a success: if success alone were the criterion to justify the publication of his letters over three hundred years later, this volume would not see the light of day.

The equestrian effigy parallels in size and design that found in a number of contemporary magnate seals. The ‘leaping’ posture of the galloping horse is reminiscent of the first seal of Earl William de Mandeville of Essex, also, one assumes, a design of the later 1160s, though here the rider's sword arm is tighter to his body and the sinuous curve of the trunk resembles more the ‘third’ seal of King Stephen of England. This was a design that would colonize the equestrian seals of the next decade. There is a partial legend on the one surviving impression (no. 6): + sigill[vm] . . .

It is a commonplace that contemporary descriptions of England depend for their historical value largely on the personalities of their authors, and the major claim of the following document for publication lies less in any exclusive information that it may contain than in the point of view from which it is written. Wilson himself was scarcely an important person, but the circumstances of his life bred in him habits of thought that make his comments on society more illuminating than those of worthier and ablermen.

• List of Abbreviations viii

• Introduction 1

• I. Paget's Political Career 1

• II. Paget's Letters 3

• III. Editorial Procedure 9

• Text 11

• Appendices 135

The fame of Thomas Sherley, the eldest of the three sons of Sir Thomas Sherley of Wiston, Sussex, has been almost entirely overshadowed by that of his brothers Anthony and Robert.

Introduction 182

The manuscript 182

The author 183

The content of the manuscript 188

Politics and the Vita Mariae 192

Editorial procedure and acknowledgements 195

Text 196

Translation 244

Notes to the text 294

Lup. much […] past mastur pole I have desyryd wyth you movyd therto by the frenchyp & famylyaryte, wych of youth growyng betwyx us, ys now so by vertue <encresyd &> confyrmyd, that nature hathe not so sure a band & knot, to coupul & joyne any hartys togyddur in true love & amyte, wherfor I am ryght glad mastur pole that I have <now at thys tyme> here found you both as me semyth at convenyent leser to commyn & talke *<Octavus> & also in thys place of Bysham, where as the image & memory of your old aunceturys <of grete nobylyte> schal as I trust styr & morre your <hart &> mynd to *<I pray you< the <same> purpos that I wold <now & long have desyryd to commyn unto you>, p <troth hyt ys that leyser here as you say lakkyth non> * <Illegible> but what ys that gud mastur lup. that you seme so ernystely to wyl, Hyt apperyth to be <by your begynyng> some grete mater <& weyghty>, .Lup troth hyt ys a grete mater in dede & <as to me hyt semyth> touchyng the hole ordur of your lyfe <mastur pole>, & schortly to schow you <wythout long cyrcumstance>, thus hyt ys. I have much & many tymys marvelyd <resonyng> wyth my selfe, why <you mastur pole> aftur so many yerys spent in quyet studys of letturys <& lernyng>, & <aftur> such experyence of the manerys of man <, taken> in dyvers partyss beyond the see, have not <before thys> settylyd your selfe, […] applyd your mynd to the handelyng of the materys of the commyn wele <here in our owne natyon to the intent> that, <bothe> your frendys & cuntrey myght now at the last *receyve & take some frute of your <long> studys <wherin you have spent your hole youth as I […] ever toke hyt to the same purpos & end>, you know ryght wel <mastur pole> that to thys al men are borne >& of nature brought forth, to commyn such gyftys as be to them gyven, ychone to the profyt of other, in perfayt cyvylyte>, & not to lyve to theyr owne plesure & […] wyth […] regard of the wele of theyr cuntrey <forgettyng al justyce & equyte.>

Blair Worden first showed me these letters, and then became the most patient and perspicacious of editors. I am very grateful to him. Dr William Tighe might have edited these letters himself, for he discovered them too, but he ceded the edition to me. I am greatly indebted to him not only for this generosity, but also for his kindness in sending me information about Richard Scudamore.