Paston家族文档长期以来一直是文学与历史学者的兴趣所在。这些文档是英国保存至今的第一个个人通信记录，描述了东英吉利在玫瑰战争和黑死病期间的日常生活。此外，本专题还收录了其他四个很有价值的与中世纪家族相关的收藏，这些家族生活在Essex, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire和Warwickshire，时间大约在1400－1490年。
Only five major letter collections exist from fifteenth century England and they are all available online for the first time in this digital resource.
The Paston Family Papers have long been a subject of both literary and historical interest. They are Britain’s first surviving records of private correspondence, describing everyday life in East Anglia during the Wars of the Roses.
In addition, we include four other valuable collections relating to medieval families in Essex, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire and Warwickshire, c1400-1490.
This resource contains full colour images of the original medieval manuscripts that comprise these family letter collections along with full text searchable transcripts from the printed editions.
Period Covered
- 1400-1490
Highlights
- Only five major family letter collections from this period survive and all are included here; Paston Family Papers, Cely Family Papers, Plumpton Correspondence, Stonor Correspondence and Amburgh Family Papers
- Original images are directly linked to full-text transcriptions of all the manuscript material
- Double-keyed secondary sources help to contextualise the material
- Visual content illustrates everyday life in the medieval period
Source Archives
- The British Library, London
- Chetham's Library, Manchester
- The National Archives, UK
- West Yorkshire Archives
Material Types
- The Paston letters have long been a subject of both literary and historical interest and are the largest of the collections and the best known of the five families. Their letters document the life of a gentry family during the War of the Roses. Hundreds of documents and letters exchanged between different family members cover in microcosm the dilemmas of a nation beset by war, disease and legal disputes.
- The Celys were a merchant family, and crucial players in the wool trade between England and the Channel ports. This collection, which covers every aspect of their commercial dealings, will fascinate the economic and social historian.
- The Stonors were a well-established gentry family in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. These documents cover the longest time period of any of the collections and throw light on both business and domestic issues.
- The Plumptons were a dominant northern family. Their documents, which continue right through to the early sixteenth century, reveal a family entangled in the social and economic affairs of the region.
- The Armburgh family material is primarily concerned with a dispute over a family inheritance.
Subjects
- Family Inheritance
- Personal Relationships
- Family Business
- Local Communities