Cartularium Monasterii de Rameseia

Cartularium Monasterii de Rameseia Synopsis

Ramsey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, was founded in 969 and rapidly became of one the richest and most important Benedictine houses in the country. It was famous for its school and library, and a thriving market town grew up around it, despite its isolated position in the Fens. The cartulary contains a range of legal, financial and ecclesiastical documents dating from 974 to 1436, although the greater part was compiled in the fourteenth century.

It is particularly important for the study of manorial and economic history (and the abbey's twelfth-century chronicle is also reissued in this series). This three-volume edition was published between 1884 and 1893. Volume 1 contains the first 229 documents, although they are not arranged chronologically.

The editors have also included material from other sources where relevant. Most items are in Latin, although there are some in Norman French and Anglo-Saxon. English side-notes to the text are provided throughout.