In the fourteenth century, Boston was not only the outport for the major city of Lincoln, but was also one of the largest and wealthiest English towns in its own right. Yet, because the townsmen of medieval Boston lacked formal powers of self-government, there is no surviving local borough archive for the period before its incorporation in 1545, which means that the town has been relatively neglected by historians.
Given this lack of a local archive, the port’s Exchequer customs accounts now constitute one of the main sources for the history of medieval Boston. However, very few of these accounts have yet appeared in print even though they offer fascinating insights into Boston’s trade with Scandinavia, the Baltic, the Low Countries and Gascony. They also provide important information about the merchants involved in overseas trade and about the work of the officials who administered the customs system.
This volume provides an English calendar of all of the surviving accounts of the port's customs and subsidy collectors from Richard II's reign (a time when Boston was still one of the leading ports in England) along with all the surviving counter-rolls compiled by the customs controllers as a check on the honesty of the collectors. In addition, it gives translations of a number of other documents preserved in the National Archives relating to Boston during this period which offer important information on the crown's regulation of overseas trade and the workings of the port's customs administration.
Given this lack of a local archive, the port’s Exchequer customs accounts now constitute one of the main sources for the history of medieval Boston. However, very few of these accounts have yet appeared in print even though they offer fascinating insights into Boston’s trade with Scandinavia, the Baltic, the Low Countries and Gascony. They also provide important information about the merchants involved in overseas trade and about the work of the officials who administered the customs system.
This volume provides an English calendar of all of the surviving accounts of the port's customs and subsidy collectors from Richard II's reign (a time when Boston was still one of the leading ports in England) along with all the surviving counter-rolls compiled by the customs controllers as a check on the honesty of the collectors. In addition, it gives translations of a number of other documents preserved in the National Archives relating to Boston during this period which offer important information on the crown's regulation of overseas trade and the workings of the port's customs administration.
Volume 93 The Overseas Trade of Boston in the Reign of Richard II
Editor S.H. Rigby, Professor of Medieval Social and Economic History, University of Manchester
Publication Date 2005
Size 235 x 155 mm
Language English
Facing the title page Dedication: To Rosalind
Publisher A Lincoln Record Society publication published by the Boydell Press an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 3DF and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
Website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
Typesetter Pru Harrison, Hacheson, Suffolk
Printer Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham, Wiltshire
Printed on acid-free paper
ISBN 0 901503 74 6
Content Contents, 1 page
Preface, 2 pages
Editorial Note, 3 pages
Abbreviations, 1 page
List of Documents, 2 pages
Introduction, 24 pages
The Text, 215 pages
Appendix I Samples of the Latin Text of the Documents, 4 pages
Appendix II The Boston Customs Collectors and Controllers in the Reign of Richard II, 2 pages
Appendix III Biographies of Boston Customs Collectors Appointed During the Reign of Richard II, 35 pages
Glossary of Weights and Measures and Glossary and Index of Imports and Exports, 25 pages
Index of Persons, 18 pages
Index of Places, 2 pages
Dust jacket blurb In the fourteenth century, Boston was not only the outport for the major city of Lincoln, but was also one of the largest and wealthiest English towns in its own right. Yet, because the townsmen of medieval Boston lacked formal powers of self-government, there is no surviving local borough archive for the period before its incorporation in 1545, which means that the town has been relatively neglected by historians.
Given this lack of a local archive, the port’s Exchequer customs accounts now constitute one of the main sources for the history of medieval Boston. However, very few of these accounts have yet appeared in print even though they offer fascinating insights into Boston’s trade with Scandinavia, the Baltic, the Low Countries and Gascony. They also provide important information about the merchants involved in overseas trade and about the work of the officials who administered the customs system.
This volume provides an English calendar of all of the surviving accounts of the port's customs and subsidy collectors from Richard II's reign (a time when Boston was still one of the leading ports in England) along with all the surviving counter-rolls compiled by the customs controllers as a check on the honesty of the collectors. In addition, it gives translations of a number of other documents preserved in the National Archives relating to Boston during this period which offer important information on the crown's regulation of overseas trade and the workings of the port's customs administration.
Reviews Will inevitably attract the attention of those who appreciate the importance of Boston's trade in the fourteenth century. On closer acquaintance they will find more than local detail to interest them. Those studying the equivalent customs accounts of other ports in this period should be urged to read Rigby's comments closely. URBAN HISTORY
An excellent edition of a valuable medieval resource for one of England's foremost medieval ports. JOURNAL OF MARITME RESEARCH
Editor S.H. Rigby, Professor of Medieval Social and Economic History, University of Manchester
Publication Date 2005
Size 235 x 155 mm
Language English
Facing the title page Dedication: To Rosalind
Publisher A Lincoln Record Society publication published by the Boydell Press an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP12 3DF and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
Website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
Typesetter Pru Harrison, Hacheson, Suffolk
Printer Antony Rowe Ltd., Chippenham, Wiltshire
Printed on acid-free paper
ISBN 0 901503 74 6
Content Contents, 1 page
Preface, 2 pages
Editorial Note, 3 pages
Abbreviations, 1 page
List of Documents, 2 pages
Introduction, 24 pages
The Text, 215 pages
Appendix I Samples of the Latin Text of the Documents, 4 pages
Appendix II The Boston Customs Collectors and Controllers in the Reign of Richard II, 2 pages
Appendix III Biographies of Boston Customs Collectors Appointed During the Reign of Richard II, 35 pages
Glossary of Weights and Measures and Glossary and Index of Imports and Exports, 25 pages
Index of Persons, 18 pages
Index of Places, 2 pages
Dust jacket blurb In the fourteenth century, Boston was not only the outport for the major city of Lincoln, but was also one of the largest and wealthiest English towns in its own right. Yet, because the townsmen of medieval Boston lacked formal powers of self-government, there is no surviving local borough archive for the period before its incorporation in 1545, which means that the town has been relatively neglected by historians.
Given this lack of a local archive, the port’s Exchequer customs accounts now constitute one of the main sources for the history of medieval Boston. However, very few of these accounts have yet appeared in print even though they offer fascinating insights into Boston’s trade with Scandinavia, the Baltic, the Low Countries and Gascony. They also provide important information about the merchants involved in overseas trade and about the work of the officials who administered the customs system.
This volume provides an English calendar of all of the surviving accounts of the port's customs and subsidy collectors from Richard II's reign (a time when Boston was still one of the leading ports in England) along with all the surviving counter-rolls compiled by the customs controllers as a check on the honesty of the collectors. In addition, it gives translations of a number of other documents preserved in the National Archives relating to Boston during this period which offer important information on the crown's regulation of overseas trade and the workings of the port's customs administration.
Reviews Will inevitably attract the attention of those who appreciate the importance of Boston's trade in the fourteenth century. On closer acquaintance they will find more than local detail to interest them. Those studying the equivalent customs accounts of other ports in this period should be urged to read Rigby's comments closely. URBAN HISTORY
An excellent edition of a valuable medieval resource for one of England's foremost medieval ports. JOURNAL OF MARITME RESEARCH