The Later Medieval Inquisitions Post Mortem: Mapping the Medieval Countryside and Rural Society

Essays exploring the potential of the Inquisitions post mortem to shed important new light on the medieval world. The Inquisitions post mortem (IPMs) are a truly wonderful source for many different aspects of late medieval countryside and rural life. They have recently been made digitally accessible and interrogatable by the Mappingthe Medieval Countryside project, and the first fruits of these developments are presented here. The chapters examine IPMs in connection with the landscape and topography of England, in particular markets and fairs and mills;and consider the utility of proofs of age for everyday life on such topics as the Church, retaining, and the wine trade. MICHAEL HICKS is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Winchester. Contributors: Katie A. Clarke, William S. Deller, Paul Dryburgh, Christopher Dyer, Janette Garrett, Michael Hicks, Matthew Holford, Gordon McKelvie, Stephen Mileson, Simon Payling, Matthew Tompkins, Jennifer Ward.

Table of Contents:
Introduction - Michael Hicks Records of an Imperial Administration? IPMs in Scotland and Calais - Gordon McKelvie, Reviews Editor Inquisitions Post Mortem in Medieval Ireland - Paul Dryburgh The Court of the Honour of Clare, 1308-1360: Feudal Incidents and Inquisitions - Jennifer C Ward Landscape, Farming and Society in an English Region: the Inquisitions Post Mortem for the West Midlands, 1250-1509 - Christopher Dyer Beyond the Dots: Mapping Meaning in the Later Medieval Landscape - Stephen Mileson Fairs and Markets in the Inquisitions Post Mortem - Matthew Holford The Structure of the Milling Industry 1427-37 - Matthew Tompkins Proofs of Age 1246 to 1430: their Nature, Veracity and Use as Sources - William Deller What went on in the Medieval Parish Church 1377-1447, with particular reference to Churching - Katie Clarke Retainers, Monks and Wine: Three Insights into Everyday Life - Michael Hicks The Administration and Efficiency of the Inquisitions Post Mortem Process. A Case Study of Northumberland - Janette Garrett Late Medieval Land Disputes and the Manipulation of the Inquisitions Post Mortem - Simon J. Payling

About the Author :
MICHAEL HICKS, the academic director, is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Winchester and author of Richard III: The Self-Made King (Yale, 2019), among many other books and articles. Christopher Dyer is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Leicester. He has written, edited, co-authored and co-edited many books, including William Dugdale, Historian, 1605-1686: His Life, his Writings and His County (Boydell, 2009). GORDON McKELVIE is Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Winchester. MICHAEL HICKS, the academic director, is Emeritus Professor of Medieval History at the University of Winchester and author of Richard III: The Self-Made King (Yale, 2019), among many other books and articles. PAUL DRYBURGH is Principal Records Specialist (Medieval) at The National Archives, UK.

Review :
It is a joy to see these documents, so long the preserve of antiquaries, used to illuminate the lives not of their subjects but of the people among whom they lived.... [It] looks set to transform the way we think about and use inquisitions post mortem and proofs of age.