Paul Dryburgh & Sarah Rees Jones 
The Church and Northern English Society in the Fourteenth Century 
the Archbishops of York and their Records

Essays offering insights into the ecclesiastical, political, cultural and social history in the north of England during the fourteenth century through an exploration of the administrative archives of archbishops.



The period between 1304 and 1405 was one of tension and conflict in the north of England, culminating in a northern rebellion against the king, for which the then archbishop of York was executed for treason. The essays collected here explore the extensive administrative archives of the archbishops during this period. This is one of the largest but least exploited collections of medieval church records to survive in Europe, and is now dispersed across a number of institutions including The National Archives (London) and the Borthwick Institute for Archives (York). They examine the form and functions of the archbishops’ registers and other archives, and use them to shed light on the ecclesiastical, political, cultural and social history of this turbulent period. The core focus is on the north of England and its relationship with royal government. Particular subjects addressed include the sources of tension and opportunity rooted in the prosecution of war with Scotland, the creation of networks of clerical administrators in royal government, and the impact of those networks on local society and royal affairs. Other topics include the wide-ranging spiritual and temporal responsibilities of the archbishops, their housing and landscapes, and the role of women within the church.

Table of Content

List of Illustrations

List of Contributors

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations


Map: The Ecclesiastical Province of York, c. 1304-1405


Introduction – Paul Dryburgh and Sarah Rees Jones

1. The Administrative Records of the Archbishops of York, 1304-1405 –
Sarah Rees Jones

2. The Archbishops of York and the Government of Fourteenth-Century England –
Paul Dryburgh

3. Support or Scourge? Archbishop William Melton and the Tradition of Loyal Opposition to the English Crown, 1317-1340 – †
W. Mark Ormrod

4. Beyond the Border: The Influence of York Clerks in the Two Edwards’ Scottish Administrations, 1332-1357 –
Jenny M. Mc Hugh

5. Responding to Royal Requirements: Clerical Taxation in the Province of York 1304-1405 –
Rosemary C. E. Hayes

6. Ad insolenciam ipsius rebellis salubrius reprimendam: William Thorntoft, the Abbey of Rufford and Significations of Excommunication in the Northern Province –
Jonathan Mackman

7. Blood, Sex and Holy Water: Reconciling Churches and Churchyards in the Medieval Diocese of York –
Katherine Harvey

8. Structuring Episcopal Authority: Palaces and Residences of the Archbishop of York –
Stefania Merlo Perring

9. Medieval Parks of the Archbishops of York –
John S. Lee

10. Northern Ways? Pilgrimage, Politics and Piety in the Fourteenth-Century Administrative Records of the Archdiocese of York –
John Jenkins

11. Underexplored Sources for Gender History: New Approaches to the Fourteenth-Century York Archbishops’ Registers –
Marianne Wilson

12. Joan of Leeds and Other Apostate Nuns in the Province of York, 1300-1350 –
Helen Watt


Select Bibliography

Index

About the author

SARAH REES JONES is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the University of York, UK.