To link to this database use: https://libraries.indiana.edu/databases/medievalfamilylife
Contains full-color images of the original medieval manuscripts that comprise the Paston, Cely, Plumpton, Stonor, and Armburgh family letter collections, along with full-text searchable transcripts from printed editions.
Additional Information:
Also includes: a chronology, a visual sources gallery, an interactive map, a glossary, family trees and links to other scholarly free to access digital resources for researching the medieval period.
Only five major letter collections exist from fifteenth century England and they are all available digitally via this resource.
The Paston letters have long been a subject of both literary and historical interest and are the largest of the collections and the best known of the five families. Their letters document the life of a gentry family during the War of the Roses. Hundreds of documents and letters exchanged between different family members cover in microcosm the dilemmas of a nation beset by war, disease and legal disputes.
The Celys were a merchant family, and crucial players in the wool trade between England and the Channel ports. This collection covers every aspect of their commercial dealings.
The Stonors were a well-established gentry family in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. These documents cover the longest time period of any of the collections and throw light on both business and domestic issues.
The Plumptons were a dominant northern family. Their documents, which continue right through to the early sixteenth century, reveal a family entangled in the social and economic affairs of the region.
The Armburgh family material is primarily concerned with a dispute over a family inheritance.
Coverage: 1400-1500
Vendor: Adam Matthew
Producer: Adam Matthew
Interlibrary Loan Type: Secure Electronic Transmission Permitted
Simultaneous User Limit: Unlimited simultaneous users