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Death, burial, and the commemoration of the dead have been much studied by historians in recent years, but far less has been done to make available the sources on which these studies are based. This book sets out to fill the gap with an anthology of the rich and varied evidence that survives from the medieval city of Exeter.
It begins with a history of burial practices in the city: where people were buried and why. This is followed by an edition of theonly remaining local burial list, relating to the hospital of St John, and by a register of all the 650 people known to have had a funeral or burial in Exeter between 1050 and 1540 with details of dates and places.
The second part of the book deals with wills and executors. It prints the eighteen earliest Exeter wills (1244-1349), and two rare documents drawn up by executors: the inventory of a prosperous widow's possessions (1324) and the impressive, hitherto unedited, executors' accounts of Andrew Kilkenny, dean of Exeter (1302-15). A list of all the surviving Exeter wills up to 1540 (over 700 complete or in part) is also provided.
The final section centres on how the deadwere remembered. This contains over a dozen obituary records naming men and women and the dates of their deaths, ranging from the eleventh to the sixteenth centuries. The records include some remarkably early lists of members of guilds in the neighbourhood of Exeter, dating from about the year 1100; the obituary list of the Exeter guild of Kalendars in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries; the oldest specimens of the cathedral's 'obit accounts' from 1305-7; a document establishing a chantry in 1305; and several 'obit calendars' from Exeter Cathedral.
Altogether the volume contains 2 registers of names and 36 documents, nearly all of which are making their first appearance in print. All the documents have been translated into modern English, and they are eminently suitable for use by undergraduates and postgraduates as well as for academic research. There are full introductions to each of the three sections, three maps, eight pages of photographs, a glossary, bibliography, and index.
About the author
David Lepine, Nicholas Orme
