Medieval and early modern family history sources

1. Difficulties

Before 1538, when parish registers began, births, baptisms, marriages, deaths and burials were not officially recorded, although notes may have been kept by the priest. However, many other series of records of use for family history start well before 1538, and continue long after. In general they contain information about wealthier landowning members of society, so most ordinary people are less well documented. Information about such people's lives does exist, but it often occurs in records created for quite other purposes.

Medieval records are generally much more difficult to use than those from the sixteenth century and later. They are usually in a highly abbreviated form of Latin. English starts to become more common in informal documents in the late fifteenth century, but Latin was used in formal records until 1733 (except during the Interregnum). The handwriting and letter-forms are very different from those of the present day alphabet. The terminology and contemporary meanings of words may be difficult to understand.

The use of surnames became widespread by about 1300, but there was no consistency in spelling. Surnames were not always used, nor invariably passed from parent to child. Different surnames for the same individual could be used in different contexts. Even a fairly distinctive surname may be difficult to trace.

Two invaluable books for tackling the problems presented by the language, palaeography (handwriting) and diplomatic (the form of documents) of medieval records are Latin for Local History, by E Gooder and Latin for Local and Family Historians: A Beginner's Guide, by D Stuart. Two useful and inexpensive guides to working with these records are Examples of English Handwriting 1150-1750 by HEP Grieve and A Latin Glossary for Family and Local Historians, by J Morris. A useful tip, if you have a Latin document that you cannot understand, is to look at a similar one from the 1650s, when they were all written in English. As the format of official records is common form, you may be able to use the English version to predict the likely whereabouts of crucial information in Latin documents. The National Archives online in-depth learning guides can also help you learn basic Latin skills. See the Beginners' Latin and Palaeography guides.

Many of the surviving records come from the Exchequer, Chancery and the law courts, or relate to land law: to fully understand them, you do need to be prepared to do some reading. Try A Guide to English Historical Records, by A Macfarlane; and English Local Administration in the Middle Ages, by H M Jewell.

2. Possibilities

Many medieval records have been published, or have detailed lists and indexes, and it is best to start with these: it is possible to go a long way using published works. Most of these are available in The National Archives. Records for a particular county, which have been published by a county records society, can be seen in the Library. Try Texts and Calendars, an Analytical Guide to Serial Publications, by ELC Mullins, and Texts and Calendars ll: an Analytical Guide to Serial Publications 1957-1982, by the same author . The List and Index Society is also responsible for printing many otherwise unpublished lists and indexes from The National Archives and other archives in the United Kingdom, which you may find helpful. The National Archives has a full hodling of the List and Index Society Standard Series and the Special Series. Those which cover the whole country, including published Calendars of many National Archives record series, are in the Map and Large Document Room.

Because so many medieval documents are large, the Map and Large Document Room is the best place to use if you are looking at early records. Ask at the desk if you need advice: there should be someone with medieval knowledge available to give you general guidance. They will not be able to translate for you, nor to read documents on your behalf, although they can help with the odd word or two. You would need to employ an independent researcher if you find you cannot cope with the original documents.

Possible sources for genealogical information fall into two kinds: those where information is arranged or has been indexed by name, and those where the arrangement is by place. Where you start depends on what you know already. There are detailed research guides on most of the following sources.

3. Records to search by name

Wills are one of the most useful of the sources accessible by name, often giving considerable family detail. The National Archives has medieval and early modern wills proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury from 1384, in PROB 11, and grants of letters of administration from 1559 onwards, in PROB 6, relating to personal estates of people who died without leaving a valid will. The PCC was the chief of more than 300 church courts in England and Wales, and during the Interregnum between 1653 and 1660 it functioned as the only probate court. There are published personal name indexes available, from which you will see references to people from all over the country, dying at sea or abroad, leaving at least some property in the south of England or in Wales. See the research guide Wills and probate records for more information. Prerogative Court of Canterbury wills from PROB 11 are also available to access on the internet via DocumentsOnline, They have been fully indexed, and can be searched by name, place, occupation and date. Access is free onsite at The National Archives.

Inquisitions post mortem are another fruitful source for people of some social status, holding land directly from the Crown as tenants in chief. These disclose the name, age and relationship to the deceased of the next heir on the death of the landowner, the date of which is also given. They continue up to the 1640s, and are written in Latin. Many have been published by local record societies, as well as in the Calendars of Inquisitions Post Mortem. Consult Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry lll - Charles l: Landholders and Their Heirs. For information on records about Crown wardship of male heirs under 21 and female heiresses under 14, their lands and the right to arrange their marriages read the research guide Court of Wards and Liveries: land inheritance 1540-1645.

Up until the late 1500s, it is easy to check documents issued from, or inspected in, the royal Chancery and recorded on parchment rolls, as most have been translated from Latin, published in summary form in Calendars and indexed. Although largely concerned with people of sufficient status to have direct dealings with central government, they do contain many references to other people as well. The most important are the Patent Rolls (C 66) which contain, for example, grants of land, licences to alienate property held from the Crown by tenure in chief, and grants of wardship; the Close Rolls (C 54) which record, amongst other things, enrolments of private deeds and other useful information such as writs of livery and seisin; the Fine Rolls (C 60), which include grants of wardship and marriage and writs of livery of seisin; and the Charter Rolls (C 53) which contain grants of property in the presence of witnesses. The Patent and Close Rolls continue into the twentieth century, but after the late and early 1500s, respectively, have not been published.

Fine rolls, C 60/8-C60/69 covering the period, 1216-1272, are available as facsimile images and searchable English translations at Henry III fine rolls as part of a free resource at King's College, London.

The registers of the King's (Privy) Council (not all of which are in The National Archives) have also been published and indexed. Because it is easy to do, it may be worth checking these if you have a person you wish to know more about. The medieval council registers have been published as Privy Council Proceedings, 1386-1542. The registers of the later Privy Council in PC 2 have been published as Acts of the Privy Council of England, 1542-1631. They continue after 1631, but have not been published. There is no guarantee that a person came to the attention of the council, but you may find something of interest. For more information read our research guide Privy Council registers from 1540.

Other possible sources that are easy to use, and may perhaps contain something of interest, start in the early sixteenth century and continue till the mid eighteenth century. From 1509, large numbers of letters and papers survive relating to the government of the country, known as the State Papers (see the SP series description. These have been published (in brief) as Letters and Papers .. of Henry VIII, and the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1547-1704, and are very well indexed. It may be worth checking the indexes on the off-chance that someone you are researching is mentioned. There are similar series for Scotland, Ireland, and for colonial and foreign affairs: see the bibliography. The Calendar of State Papers Domestic, for the period 1509 to 1603, can be searched using State Papers Online and British History Online, available on the public computers at The National Archives.

For more information about State Papers see the research guides:

• State Papers: Letters and Papers of Henry Vlll
• State Papers Domestic: Edward Vl-Charles l 1547-1649
• State Papers Domestic: Commonwealth 1642-1660
• State Papers Domestic: Charles ll-Anne 1660-1714
• State Papers Ireland 1509-1782
• America and West Indies: Calendar of State Papers Colonial 1574-1739
• American and West Indian Colonies before 1782

You may also wish to look among the records of the economic life of the nation, in the various series of Calendars of Treasury Books and Papers, 1557-1745, which are also well indexed. See the research guide Treasury Board: letters and papers 1557-1920 for more information.

Apart from those deeds enrolled on the Close Rolls, The National Archives has deeds which came into the crown's hands when it acquired property through purchase, forfeiture or other forms of escheat, or were produced as evidence in law suits. Some of The National Archives extensive holdings of medieval deeds have been calendared and indexed, but there is no cumulative index, and it can be a lengthy job to look through all the lists. Although there was no compulsory registration of title to land, some owners enrolled their entitlements to estates with a court of law, usually Chancery. You may also find conveyances of freehold estates by deeds of bargain and sale enrolled on the Close Rolls in C 54 after 1535. There are initial indexes to names of grantors and grantees on open access. For more information read our research guide Land conveyances: enrolment of deeds and registration of title. For details about lands confiscated by the Crown, and Crown and Church lands sequestered, granted, sold or leased to new owners, look at our research guide Crown, church and royalist lands 1642-1660.

Law suits can be very informative, particularly the proceedings by English bill in the Courts of Chancery, Exchequer, Requests and Star Chamber. These are written in English: there are a very few indexes, but you may have to look through lists at length, as only some of these finding-aids have been computerised. Some of the records of these courts are partly indexed by the Bernau Index, at the Society of Genealogists. Chancery, from c1380, tends to cover disputes over wills, marriage settlements, landed estates and other matters. Exchequer, from c1558, has a bias towards economic disputes - manorial customs, mills, weirs, common lands, tithes, etc. It seems also to have taken over disputes about land sold at the Dissolution of the Monasteries from the Court of Augmentations, which has its own set of fascinating cases. For 'poor men's causes', try the records of the Court of Requests, from Henry VII-1642. These contain cases concerning the title and ownership of property, dower, and jointure and marriage contracts, allegedly of poor men against mighty suitors. The Court of Star Chamber, Henry VII-1641, was concerned with the enforcement of law and order. There are many cases about the goods of suicides. For more information see the research guides:

• Chancery proceedings: equity suits before 1558
• Chancery Masters' and other exhibits
• Equity proceedings in the Court of Exchequer
• Dissolution of the monasteries
• Court of Requests 1485-1642
• Court of Star Chamber 1485-1642

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, people holding public office were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the Crown and to the Protestant succession. Records naming subscribers to the various oaths, and certificates showing that they had taken the Anglican Sacraments, can be found in various series. They are listed by the places or counties where they lived. See the research guide Oath rolls and sacrament certificates after 1660 for more information.

4. Records to search by place

To use the other types of records, those arranged by place, you need to have some idea of where your ancestors lived. If you have this, then it is possible to trace fairly humble people through manorial records. These were the records kept by or on behalf of the lords of manors, who acted both as agrarian landlords and as local judicial and administrative authorities. Manor court rolls recorded, amongst other things, land transactions within the manor, minor lawsuits between tenants, and minor breaches of the peace. It is sometimes possible to trace the inheritance of a peasant back through several generations. Rentals and surveys also name the tenants of the manor and describe their individual holdings. Ministers' and receivers' accounts were the accounts rendered by officials responsible for the revenues of manors and other estates. Like rentals and surveys, they also include the names of tenants.

The National Archives holds a considerable number of manorial documents, mostly from those manors which formed part of the crown lands. Many manorial documents are held in archives outside The National Archives: to discover whether there are any surviving records for a particular manor, consult the online Manorial Documents Register. The website lists the availble counties. The remainder of the counties are availble on microfilm at The National Archives. See the research guides Manor and other local court rolls, 13th century to1922, and Manorial records for more information.

For land transfer, try the feet of fines (CP 25/1 and CP 25/2 ). These are the records of fictitious law suits entered into to evade conveyancing restrictions, and they run from 1190 to 1833. A foot of fine was the bottom copy of a series of three or more copies of a final agreement between two parties. Until the 14th century, those made in the central common law court appear in the records of the Court of Common Pleas and Court of King's Bench. From then on, they were made in the Court of Common Pleas only. Other fines can be found in the palatinate jurisdictions. The fines are arranged by county, and many have been published. Others can only be found by using manuscript "indexes" at The National Archives. See the Research Guide Land conveyances: feet of fines 1182-1833 for more information.

Muster rolls can be a valuable source of information, recording the names of able-bodied men liable for service in the militia. They do not list all men, only those between the ages of 16 and 60 years of age. Their principal value lies in the fact that they can establish the parish of a named male. In some cases it is possible from the valuation made of a man's lands and goods, to gain an indication of the status of the family. Unfortunately, there is no separate list of muster rolls which can be found in many different series in The National Archives, as well as elsewhere. You will need to look at J Gibson and A Dell, Tudor and Stuart Muster Rolls. For more information see the research guides:

• Armed forces: medieval and early modern soldiers
• Civil War soldiers 1642-1660
• British Army: officers' records 1660-1913
• Armed forces: Tudor and Stuart militia muster rolls

Taxation records can also be useful in tracing rich and poor, although the very poor were usually exempt. The series of Subsidy Rolls (E 179) includes the surviving assessments and returns made for many different taxes from the 12th to the 17th century. The best known are probably the hearth tax returns which cover the years 1662-1674, providing the name of the householder and number of hearths for which he was responsible. There are even exemption certificates for paupers. A number of county volumes of liable householders have been published by the British Record Society in association with Roehampton Institute. A list of the whereabouts of Hearth Tax returns can be found in J S W Gibson, The Hearth Tax Returns, other later Stuart Tax Lists, and the Association Oath Rolls. There are records of many other taxes which can also be extremely useful. The terms of each tax are given in M Jurkowski, C Smith and D Crook, Lay Taxes in England and Wales, 1188-1688. You can find out National Archives references to the surviving tax lists for many places in series E 179 from our online database. The database does not yet cover every county. See the research guides, Taxation records before 1689 and Hearth tax 1662-1689 for more information.

The 1332 subsidy, for example, was the first for which assessments survive on any scale, although its catchment was primarily confined to prosperous householders. The poll tax returns of 1378-1380, which theoretically covered all male adults except the itinerant and the very poor, often give occupations and the relationships between members of the household. The subsidies of 1532-1535, again covered extensively the householders of middling and higher status. The lists are arranged by county, and the description of each document indicates the area covered (usually by hundred or wapentake rather than parish or manor) and whether or not the names of assessed individuals are given).

There are many pedigrees on the Early Plea and Essoin Rolls (KB 26), the Coram Rege Rolls (KB 27) and the De Banco Rolls (CP 40): see G Wrottesley, Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls. You may also find useful the copious extracts, mainly from the De Banco Rolls and similar legal records, made by General Plantagenet-Harrison in the late nineteenth century. There are several volumes, all hand-written with indexes, which are on the whole reliable (now PRO 66/3). His main interests were in Yorkshire, and in all pedigrees, but you should be cautious in trusting to the accuracy of the latter.

5. Published works: records

Acts of the Privy Council of England, 1542-1631 (London, 1890-1964)

Calendar of Charter Rolls, 1226-1516 (London, 1903-1927)

Calendar of Close Rolls, 1227-1509 (London, 1892-1963)

Calendar of Fine Rolls, 1272-1509 (London, 1911-1963)

Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1216-1509, 1547-1582 (London, 1891-1986) (for 1509-1547, see Letters and Papers .. of Henry VIII) [Series is being continued in typescript drafts by the List and Index Society.]

Calendar of Inquisitions Miscellaneous, Henry III to Henry VII (London, 1916-1968)

Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry III to Henry V, and Henry VII (London, 1898-1995; Woodbridge, 2002)

Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, 1513-1738 (London, 1860-1969), Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, North America and West Indies, 1574-1739 (CDROM, Routledge, 2000)

Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1547-1704 (London, 1856-1998)

Calendar of State Papers, Foreign, 1558-1589 (London, 1858-1950)

List and Analysis of State Papers Foreign, 1589-96 (London, 1964-2000)

Calendar of State Papers, Ireland, 1509-1670 (London, 1875-1910)

Calendar of State Papers relating to Scotland, 1547-1603 (London, 1898-1969)

Calendar of Treasury Books, 1660-1718 (London, 1904-1961)

Calendar of Treasury Papers, 1557-1728 (London, 1868-1889)

Calendar of Treasury Books and Papers, 1729-1745 (London, 1898-1903)

Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds preserved in the National Archives (London, 1890-1915)

Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry V-Richard III (List and Index Society, vol. 268-269, 1998)

Letters and Papers ... of Henry VIII (London, 1864-1932)

Privy Council Proceedings, 1386-1542 (London, 1834-1837)

6. Published works: guides

W S B Buck, Examples of Handwriting 1550-1650 (Society of Genealogists, 1996)

C R Cheney, rev. by M Jones, A Handbook of Dates for students of British history (Cambridge, rev. edn 2000)

J Cornwall, Reading Old Title Deeds (Federation of Family History Societies, 2nd edn 1997)

M Ellis, Using Manorial Records (Public Record Office, 1997)

C C Fenwick, ed., The Poll Taxes of 1377, 1379 and 1381, Part l: Bedfordshire-Leicestershire, Part ll: Lincolnshire-Westmorland (British Academy, 1998 and 2001)

P Franklin, Some Medieval Records for Family Historians (FFHS, 1994)

R E F Garrett, Chancery and other Legal Proceedings (Shalfleet Manor, 1968)

J S W Gibson, Hearth Tax Returns, other later Stuart Tax Lists, and the Association Oath Rolls (FFHS, 1996)

J Gibson and A Dell, Tudor and Stuart Muster Rolls (FFHS, 1991)

E A Gooder, Latin for Local History (London, 2nd edn 1978)

HEP Grieve, Examples of English Handwriting, 1150-1750 (Essex Record Office, 1956, 5th impression 1981)

J Guy, The Court of Star Chamber and its Records to the reign of Elizabeth I (Public Record Office, 1985)

P D A Harvey, Manorial Records (British Records Association, rev. edn 1999)

R W Hoyle, Tudor Taxation Records: A Guide for Users (Public Record Office, 1994)

H M Jewell, English Local Administration in the Middle Ages (David & Charles, 1972)

M Jurkowski, C Smith and D Crook, Lay Taxes in England and Wales, 1188-1688 (PRO, 1998)

A Macfarlane, A Guide to English Historical Records (Cambridge, 1983)

E McLaughlin, Simple Latin for Family Historians (FFHS, Revised Edition, 1991)

J Morris, A Latin Glossary for Family and Local Historians (FFHS, 1989)

E L C Mullins, Texts and Calendars, an Analytical Guide to Serial Publications (Royal Historical Society, 1958, reprinted 1978)

E L C Mullins, Texts and Calendars ll: an Analytical Guide to Serial Publications 1957-1982 (Royal Historical Society, 1983)

J F Preston and L Yeandle, English Handwriting 1400-1650 (Binghamton, USA, 1992)

H Sharp, How to Use the Bernau Index (Society of Genealogists, 1996)

D Stuart, Latin for Local and Family Historians: A Beginner's Guide (London, 1995)

J Titford, 'Pre-Parish Register Genealogy: English Sources in the Public Record Office', in K A Johnson and M R Sainty, ed., Genealogical Research Directory 1998 (Sydney, 1998)

G Wrottesley, Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls, 1200-1500 (London, c.1906)

M L Zell, 'Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Wills as Historical Sources', Archives, vol. XIV (1979), pp. 75-80