First modern edition of a major source of evidence for life in a cathedral immediately prior to the Dissolution. The importance of the Rites of Durham as a description of a monastic cathedral on the eve of the Dissolution has long been recognized. This new edition, the first for over a century, includes an introduction, placing the Rites in the context of the religious tensions of the Reformation and attributing it to the late sixteenth-century Durham antiquary, William Claxton; a new text based on manuscripts not known to previous editors and giving the full range of variants; a detailed commentary explaining the text and testing out its accuracy against other evidence, including traces in the fabric of the cathedral and its precinct; thirty-six plates showing early drawings of the cathedral and its precinct, surviving objects relating to those described in the text; and manuscript illuminations casting light on the descriptions to be found there; and five plans to facilitate understanding of the text.In addition, a series of appendices contains a full edition of the related text which describes the windows of Durham Cathedral and its precinct; the first ever edition of the letters of William Claxton; an edition of the descriptions of the bells and the organs of the cathedral added to the Rites by the Durham antiquary James Mickleton the elder (1638-93); and a detailed analysis of the earliest surviving manuscript of the Rites, which is in the form ofa paper roll. The volume is completed by a comprehensive index.

Impressive... for many readers of these papers their cumulative effect will be very great indeed... Admirable collaborative volume. JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY Specialists explore the influence of twelfth-centuryDurham, in ecclesiastical affairs, Border politics, architecture, art, and religious and literary culture. Impressive... the cumulative effect [of these papers] is very great indeed. JOURNAL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY This study of Anglo-Norman Durham's history, architecture, art, and religious and literary culture covers much ground, including the Cathedral Priory and its relationship to monastic reform; the careers of the prince bishops; studies of the spectacular castle; the relationship between Durham and the Scottish kings; the architecture of the cathedral; and Durham manuscripts and texts, featuring historical compilations and the remarkable Old English poem De situ Dunelmi. Contributors: DONALD MATTHEW, JULIA BARROW, JANET BURTON, MERYL FOSTER,VICTORIA TUDOR, MICHAEL GULLICK, ALAN PIPER, DAVID BATES, MARK PHILPOTT, ERIC CAMBRIDGE, MALCOLM THURLBY, J. PHILIP McALEER, S.A. HARRISON, JOHN CROOK, THOMAS E. RUSSO, E.C. FERNIE, WILLIAM AIRD, J.O. PRESTWICH, G.W.S. BARROW, VALERIE WALL, PAUL DALTON, ALAN YOUNG, HENRY SUMMERSON, MARTIN ALLEN, P.D.A. HARVEY, MARTIN LEYLAND, M.W. THOMPSON, BERNARD MEEHAN, CHRISTOPHER NORTON, ANNE LAWRENCE, DOMINIC MARNER, DAVID HOWLETT

Letters written by a clergyman during the late seventeenth century illuminate the religious turmoil of the period. This book provides an edition of the letters of George Davenport, an Anglican clergyman in the north of England whose adult career covered the period of the Interregnum and the Restoration. Many of the letters are to his former Cambridge tutor, William Sancroft, beginning from 1651 after Sancroft had been expelled from Cambridge, and continuing after the Restoration when Davenport replaced Sancroft as chaplain to John Cosin, bishop of Durham, later becoming Rector of Houghton-le Spring, Durham. They were written to keep Sancroft supplied with information about Durham, where he was a prebendary with license to be non-resident, needing to collect revenues from his living and then torebuild his prebendal house. The earlier letters reveal something about the life of an illegally (since episcopally) ordained young Anglican who, unlike many, did not go into exile but stayed largely in London supported by friends. Davenport eventually became a most conscientious resident parish priest and the letters throw considerable light on the Restoration settlement in the Durham diocese, from the `beautifying' of Houghton church to the catechisingof the people and the collection of tithes from a sometimes tardy flock. Davenport also helped Cosin to Catalogue his famous library and himself gave many manuscripts to it, of which a list is included here as an appendix. The letters are presented here with full introduction and elucidatory notes.

Relations between the laity and the religious in medieval Durham reveal much about lay religion of the time. Although religious life in medieval Durham was ruled by its prince bishop and priory, the laity flourished and played a major role in the affairs of the parish, as Margaret Harvey demonstrates. Using a variety of sources, she provides a complete account of its history from the Conquest to the Dissolution of the priory, with a particular emphasis on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. She shows how the laity interacted vigorously with both bishop and priory, and the relations between them, with the priory providing schools, hospitals, chantries and regular sermons, but also acting as a disciplinary force. On a wider level, she also looks at the whole question of lay religion andwhat can be discovered about it. She finishes by an examination of local reactions to the Reformation.

Title: The Lay of the Minstrel's Daughter. A poem, etc.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY & DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Harvey, Margaret; 1814. 8 . 11642.e.17.

Centered on a study of the early archives of the Venerabile Collegio Inglese in Rome, this book attempts to place in its political, commercial and religious setting the English community that was in Rome between 1362, when the first English hospice for poor people and pilgrims was founded, and 1420. The book also uncovers a notable, although unsuccessful, attempt to forward English participation in commerce with Rome before 1420, revealing important links between the English laity in Rome and the city of London.

Centred on a study of the early archives of the Venerabile Collegio Inglese in Rome, the predecessor of the English College of today, this book is more than a study of the beginnings of English institutions in Rome. It attempts to place the English community there between 1362, when the first English hospice for poor people and pilgrims was founded, and 1420 in its political, commercial and religious setting. It includes a portrait of a group of English merchants, with their wives and widows, as well as members of the papal curia in Rome (from 1376), including a study of Cardinal Adam Easton, a well-known scholar and opponent of John Wycliffe. The book also uncovers a notable although unsuccessful attempt to forward English participation in commerce with Rome before 1420, revealing important links between the English laity in Rome and the city of London.