Mediaeval Inscriptions: The Epigraphy of the County of Oxfordshire (Oxfordshire Record Society, 77)

Catalogue of the mediaeval inscriptions encountered in a range of media, and illuminating the social, religious, and economic history of communities in the past.


Mediaeval inscriptions were made by donors to commemorate people, and they enable modern reader to find out about the lives of individuals and communities in the past in detail that would not otherwise be possible: their family origins, education, professional achievements, political connections and service. The subsequent history of inscriptions - survival, loss, or relocation - is sometimes evidence of the resilience of local communities but it may reveal the turbulent history of the buildings for which the inscriptions were intended.


The careful drawings and notes of antiquaries are testament to their belief in the value of preserving what they saw. Assembled here, we have a rich record of the artistic culture of the county in the mediaeval period. Each entry includes the type of artefact, the dimensions where known, the materials and type of lettering, a description, the text of the inscription (and a translation of non-English text), a commentary and references to previous notices. There is a scholarly introduction to the context of the inscriptions, a selection of illustrations, a map to help with location of parishes, and a series of indices to facilitate use of the catalogue.

This volume completes Oxfordshire Record Society's publication of a two-part, comprehensive catalogue of Oxfordshire's mediaeval epigraphy. The first volume, published in 2020, covered the inscriptions of the city and university of Oxford.

ELIZABETH GEMMILL is an Associate Professor in History in the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Kellogg College. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Her research interests are in later medieval social, economic, and ecclesiastical history.

The late JEROME BERTRAM was the leading authority of his generation on monumental brasses, indents and incised slabs; he was especially interested in epigraphy and had an impressive publication record on the topic. He died in 2019.