The Fifteenth–Century Inquisitions Post Mortem – A Companion

The Inquisitions Post Mortem (IPMs) at the National Archives have been described as the single most important source for the study of landed society in later medieval England. Inquisitions were local enquiries into the lands heldby people of some status, in order to discover whatever income and rights were due to the crown on their death, and provide details both of the lands themselves and whoever held them. This book explores in detail for the first time the potential of IPMs as sources for economic, social and political history over the long fifteenth century, the period covered by this Companion. It looks at how they were made, how they were used, and their "accuracy",and develops our understanding of a source that is too often taken for granted; it answers questions such as what they sought to do, how they were compiled, and how reliable they are, while also exploring how they can best be usedfor economic, demographic, place-name, estate and other kinds of study.

Michael Hicks is Professor of Medieval History, University of Winchester.

Contributors: Michael Hicks, Christine Carpenter, Kate Parkin, Christopher Dyer, Matthew Holford, Margaret Yates, L.R. Poos, J. Oeppen, R.M. Smith, Sean Cunningham, Claire Noble, Matthew Holford, Oliver Padel.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Michael Hicks
Crossing Generations: Dower, Jointure and Courtesy - Michael Hicks
The Lesser Landowners and the Inquisitions Post Mortem - Christine Carpenter
Tales of Idiots, Signifying Something: Evidence of Process in the Inquisitions Post Mortem - Kate Parkin
The Value of Fifteenth-Century Inquisitions Post Mortem for Economic and Social History - Christopher Dyer
'Notoriously Unreliable': The Valuations and Extents - Matthew Holford
The Descriptions of Land found in the Inquisitions Post Mortem and Feet of Fines. A Case Study of Berkshire - Margaret Yates
Correcting Josiah Russell's Measurements of Late Medieval Mortality using Inquisitions Post Mortem -
A Great Historical Enterprise: The Public Record Office and the Making of the Calendars of Inquisitions Post Mortem - Sean Cunningham
Writs and the Inquisitions Post Mortem: How the Crown managed the System - Claire Noble
'Thrifty Men of the Country'? The Jurors and their Role - Matthew Holford
Place-names and Calendaring Practices - Oliver J. Padel

Michael Hicks is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Winchester. He is an historian of Late medieval England, especially the nobility and the Wars of the Roses. Other academic interests are the Late medieval English church, especially chantries, and English regional and local history. He devised and directed the project on English inland trade.