Compotus Rolls of the Priory of Worcester: a window into medieval monastery finances
Learn how a great Worcester house tracked income, expenses, and daily life in numbers. This edition presents a dense, real record from the 14th and 15th centuries, showing how clerics, sacristans, and officers managed land, rent, and services.
The material offers a concrete sense of work across a formal administrative year. It highlights the roles of the sacrist, subcellar, pitancer, and others as they handle items from grain and bread to clothing, tools, and building repairs. Readers will see a financial world where receipts, rents, and expenditures are itemized and totaled line by line.
- Direct excerpts of account headings and totals reveal how money moved through the priory’s day-to-day life.
- Names, places, and specific goods illustrate the scope of monastic administration across villages and manors.
- Evidence of seasonal cycles, such as harvests, feasting, and repairs, alongside long-term property management.
- An index-style glimpse into medieval accounting terms and practices used in a major religious house.
Ideal for readers of medieval history, ecclesiastical administration, and historical finance, this edition helps you read a complex archival record with clarity and care.