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One of the most important features of this new edition of Henry III’s Fine Rolls is the multi-faceted index or, better said, series of indexes. The advantage of the electronic mark-up is that we have been able to produce a more sophisticated search facility that will respond to a larger variety of research questions than its traditional counterpart. In essence, however, it does not deviate greatly from a normal book index and the indexes of Persons, Places and Subjects in the print volumes have been generated from these electronic versions.

1. The Index of Persons

1.1. The Basics

Every entity that has been identified as a person is listed here in alphabetical sequence by surname, and people with the same surname are listed then in alphabetical sequence by Christian name. An exception, however, has been made for members of the royal family (kings, queens, and their children) who are listed under their Christian names, so Richard, earl of Cornwall, Henry III’s brother, is indexed under ‘Richard’. After the names the entry numbers are listed, preceded by the regnal year of the relevant roll. Thus 4/20 is a reference to entry number 20 in the roll for the fourth year of King Henry (1219–1220). Any variant spelling of a non-toponymic surname is entered in round brackets after the main person heading. Individuals with the same name have been separated, where possible, by assigning to them the county in which they appear in the rolls or a year (floruit) during which we know they operated or died. These are, as is standard practice, indicated by the abbreviation ‘d.’ as follows: ‘Basset, Thomas (d. 1220)’. Often, as in the case of the William Brewers or two William de Cantilupe, the scribes helpfully use the epithet junior or senior, which makes identification more straightforward. It is not, however, always possible to distinguish clearly between individuals with the same name. Take, for example, William Basset, for whom we have nine entries in the first eight regnal years. The index to the collection of Basset family charters lists over a dozen contemporaneous men with that name, making it impossible to differentiate practically between them. ¹ Equally as importantly, caution has sometimes been exercised in identifying individuals. Ralph Monachus, for example, who gave the king half a mark in December 1220 for a writ of pone against Robert of Newburgh, concerning the suits which Robert exacted from him in Winfrith hundred, could be Ralph, abbot of Bindon, to whom, as another entry in the Fine Rolls shows, the same Robert sold his lands and fees of Winfrith. ² But, without further corroboration this cannot be stated with certainty, and so they are left as two separate individuals. On the other hand, we have supplied the names of heads of religious houses, where they have been identified, ³ rather than simply indexing them under the impersonal “X, abbot/prior of”, as is usually found in the rolls.

1.2. Roles

Under the main person heading for many individuals are three main groups of cross-references. The first of these delineate any ‘role’ the rolls assign to them, be it an occupation or a specific administrative or judicial position to which they have been appointed. If there is more than one role assigned to any one individual, these are listed in the order in which they appear in the translation (making it possible to track an individual’s career more easily) and the entries in which that role is mentioned are placed only alongside that particular sub-heading. In general the indexes contain no information which is not in the rolls, but, as a help to the user, the entry headings for those who are earls and countesses, those who hold episcopal or archiepiscopal office, and those who hold the chief offices of state (justiciar, chancellor, and treasurer of the Exchequer) state, with dates, their tenure of these positions, for example ‘Burgh, Hubert de, justiciar of England (1215–1232)’, ‘Mandeville, William de, earl of Essex (1217–1227)’. ⁴

1.2.1. Comital family names

Together with this special treatment of important individuals, it is also worth stressing that members of high-ranking, generally comital, families are indexed under their family name not the place from where they take their title, so ‘Clare, Gilbert de, earl of Gloucester’ rather than,

‘Gloucester (Glouc’) [Gloucestershire],

Gilbert de Clare, earl’.

But, there are cross-references only in the index of persons to such individuals from the place from which an individual takes his or title, so:

‘Winchester (Wint’, Winton’) [Hampshire],

Earl of, see Quincy (1207–1219)’.

In the cases where a family name is not known or given, the affected individuals are indexed in the index of persons under the place from which they take their title, so ‘Dunbar, Patrick Earl of’.

1.2.2. Unnamed individuals identified by a role

In a handful of instances in the Fine Rolls persons are identified by only a Christian name or, less frequently, a single initial and the role they fulfilled – ‘A. archdeacon of Shrewsbury’, ‘H. chancellor of St. Paul’s’, etc. In these cases it has often been necessary to list them in the index of persons under the place in which they performed this particular role, so, for example, ‘Shrewsbury (Salop’) [Shropshire], A. archdeacon of’. This holds good for laymen and ecclesiastics alike.

1.3. Relationships

Below roles are listed the blood and/or marital relationships in which an individual is explicitly said to have been involved. These are arranged in the order in which they occur in the rolls with the entry numbers specifically associated with a particular relationship being listed alongside. An important element of expressed relationships is that concerning persons known only by their Christian name and their relationship to another – ’John, son and heir of Ralph de Fay’, ‘Sigerida, wife of Richard son of Acer’. Here, we cannot assume that the relation’s surname applies to them, so we do not index John as ‘John de Fay’, even though later in life he might be known by that name. Instead, it has been decided to index them under their relation’s surname but to separate them from the entries concerning that relation. For example:

‘Fay, John son and heir of Ralph de, 7/106, 117-18’

‘Fay, Ralph de, 7/106, 117-18’

This is important for heirs but is of particular relevance for women for whom we have no surname but at least two expressed relationships, such as Margaret, the daughter and heiress of William of Winwick, who married Michael of Carleton. ⁵ Here, and in cases like Agnes of Bassingham, widow of Robert of Bassingham and later wife of William fitz Warin, we have chosen to index women and/or heirs by their first occurrence in the rolls. Agnes, therefore, is indexed under ‘Bassingham’ rather than ‘fitz Warin’, as she is first encountered as ‘Agnes of Bassingham’. To make this increasingly complex set of relationships workable full cross-references from the senior relation to the junior are employed.

1.4. Writs

The final set of information for people listed by sub-heading provides references to writs witnessed by, authorised by, or witnessed in the presence of, the individual concerned.

1.5. Jews

In common with other calendar indexes concerned with this period, Jews are grouped together under the heading ‘Jews’, being figuratively placed in a ghetto as they were in reality, rather than being indexed under their individual surnames. ⁶ Cross-references to the named individuals occur in the main body of the index where they would appear alphabetically.

1.6. Archbishops, Bishops and Heads of Religious Houses

The surnames of archbishops and bishops and the names of heads of religious houses, where they have been identified by the editors, ⁷ are supplied in the index although they frequently do not appear in the rolls where the impersonal ‘X, abbot/prior of’ is common. But, while archbishops and bishops are indexed under their surnames, heads of religious houses are generally indexed under their institution, although with a cross-reference from the surname in the case of those heads who have a subsequent career outside that institution, such as an abbot who later becomes a bishop. Monks and officials of a religious house are likewise indexed under their house.

1.7. Sheriffs

Sheriffs, where unidentified by any personal name, are indexed under the county concerned in the persons index. Named sheriffs are indexed under their personal names in the persons index in the normal way. A list of the named sheriffs for each county may be found under the county concerned in the index of persons.

1.8. Alternative names

As set out in the ‘Technical Introduction’, all indexes are produced electronically. Each person has his or her own identifier and corresponding index entry which will hold good throughout the reign and in all years in which that individual appears. So, even on those occasions where a person is identified by a different name in the calendar text of a later year than the one in which he or she makes his or her first appearance, the index entry will remain that by which he or she was first identified. For example, ‘Margaret, daughter of Warin fitz Gerold’, is identified by her relationship to her father and is indexed accordingly – ‘fitz Gerold, Margaret daughter of Warin’. This remains her index entry despite the fact that she is frequently identified subsequently as ‘Margaret de Redvers’. Nevertheless, to retain the different names by which an individual identified themself, we now list all alternative names under the main entry by which they an individual is identified. In this case we have:

‘fitz Gerold, Margaret daughter of Warin, (entry numbers)

as Margaret de Redvers, (entry numbers)’

There is then a cross-reference from ‘Redvers, Margaret de’ to ‘fitz Gerold, Margaret’.

1.9. The Originalia Rolls

All people, places and subjects in originalia roll entries that are not recorded in the corresponding fine roll, whether in modifications to the fine roll text in or wholly new entries, are indexed under the fine roll entry number in which they occur. No special numbering system for originalia roll entries, even for those which stand for fine rolls, is being used. So, for example, the first entry in the originalia roll for 1236–37, Henry’s twenty-first regnal year (E 371/4), appears in the index as 21/1. In the case of marginal annotations, occurrences of persons, places or subjects in the index will be found in the set of ‘originalia’ footnotes following the numeric fine roll footnotes in the text of the translation.

2. The Index of Places

2.1. The Basics

Every entity that has been identified by the editors as a place is listed here in alphabetical sequence. The entry numbers in which they appear are then listed beside their name in numeric, roll order. Identifiable places are indexed as far as possible by their modern form and are associated both with variant spellings found in the Fine Rolls, which are rendered in round brackets, and with the medieval county (England), province (Ireland) or département (France) in which they were situated, rendered in square brackets: ‘Lincoln (Linc’, Lincoln’, Nicole) [Lincolnshire]’. In the online edition, users will be able to search English places not only by themselves but also by the other administrative units, the parish and/or hundred or wapentake, in which they were situated. If one were interested in the history of Dunham on Trent in Nottinghamshire, for example, all entries in which that parish is mentioned in the Fine Rolls can be found in the index as normal, but if one were interested in the wapentake of Bassetlaw in which Dunham lies, or even in the whole county of Nottinghamshire, a search would bring up all entries in which other places within either the same wapentake or the whole county are mentioned, even if neither the wapentake nor the county are mentioned in the text of such entries. The process of identification has been guided by the modern sources of reference but all positive associations are the responsibility of the editors. ⁸

2.2. Unidentified places

A great deal of caution has been exercised, however, and many places must remain unidentified, either because the variant given cannot be positively associated with any modern place or because there are numerous places with the same name in the county in question. This is indicated in the index. Where we know the county for an unidentified place this is specified within square brackets as above – ‘Sutton (Sutton’) [unidentified, Lincolnshire]’. ‘Sutton’ is probably the most obvious example, of which there are twelve in the first eight rolls and of which only a couple can be identified, some not to a county – ‘Sutton [unidentified]’.

2.3. City, borough, manor, villate, vill

Descriptions of a place, and sub-divisions within it, as given in the rolls have all been retained in the index, for example, city, borough, manor, villate, vill, all of which might be employed in the case of places such as Lincoln and Nottingham.

2.4. Variants

The differing scribal renderings of places have been retained in the index and are cross-referenced to the modern place name, although an individual variant cannot be tied to the entry in which it occurs: the county of ‘Wiltshire’, for example, is rendered as ‘Wiltes’’, ‘Wiltesir’’, and ‘Wyletesir’’. On the other hand, the original documents can be viewed and variants scrutinised on the Fine Rolls Project website.

2.5. Toponymic surname variants

There are no persons in the index of places and places that occur in the Fine Rolls only as toponymic surnames are not listed in the index of places. Where a place name is given in the Fine Rolls both as a toponymic surname and as a reference to the actual place, it is listed in both the persons and places indexes. There may be a distinction in the form in which the place is listed in these indexes, if the standard toponymic surname form of a given place name differs from its modern form. For example, ‘Burgh’, as in Hubert de Burgh and so on, is given as ‘Burgh next Aylsham’, the place from which he takes his surname, in the places index, but only if the place itself is actually indicated in the entry, not if it is only a toponym.

2.6. Place of witness

As noted in the section concerning the index of persons above, there are many royal letters which are witnessed or authorised in the Fine Rolls. Together with the person who witnessed the writ, the place of witness is frequently supplied. We have now been able to indicate this in the index (under ‘letters attested at’) and so tie these instances to the relevant place of witness and group these entries in a sub-section to mirror those in the index of persons.

2.7. The Originalia Rolls

All people, places and subjects in originalia roll entries that are not recorded in the corresponding fine roll, whether in modifications to the fine roll text in or wholly new entries, are indexed under the fine roll entry number in which they occur. No special numbering system for originalia roll entries, even for those which stand for fine rolls, is being used. So, for example, the first entry in the originalia roll for 1236–37, Henry’s twenty-first regnal year (E 371/4), appears in the index as 21/1. In the case of marginal annotations, occurrences of persons, places or subjects in the index will be found in the set of ‘originalia’ footnotes following the numeric fine roll footnotes in the text of the translation.

3. The Index of Subjects

3.1. The Basics

Every entity that has been identified as a subject is listed here in alphabetical sequence. The entry numbers in which they appear are then listed beside their name in numeric, roll order. In essence, this is a simple, flat index which is largely self-explanatory; many entries do, though, have a number of sub-headings. Relationships between subjects are expressed in two main ways. Firstly, cross-references link subjects that are patently associated in the Fine Rolls by ‘See also’. The broad subject ‘Debts’, for example, is related to: ‘Jews’ in that numerous debts are specified as pertaining to the Jewish money-lenders; to ‘Mainprise’ because several individuals promise to answer the king for the debt of another in order to secure his release from captivity; to ‘Pardon’ due to the handful of debts pardoned by the king; and to ‘Quitclaims’ as the king occasionally quitclaimed, or remitted, debts owing to him. Secondly, related main subjects are grouped under broad, thematic headings, such as ‘Justice and Judicial Administration’ or ‘Towns, Trade and Manufacture’. Thus under ‘Justice and Judicial Administration’, we have ‘see Assizes, Amercements, Appeals (of felony)’ and so on. No entry numbers, however, are listed under these headings as they act as a reference to the type of material users might expect to find in the Fine Rolls. The reverse references have also now been added. So, under ‘Assizes’ or ‘Amercements’, for instance, we can see with which thematic entries that subject is associated, allowing better searching across related topics.

3.1.1. The Originalia Rolls

All people, places and subjects in originalia roll entries that are not recorded in the corresponding fine roll, whether in modifications to the fine roll text in or wholly new entries, are indexed under the fine roll entry number in which they occur. No special numbering system for originalia roll entries, even for those which stand for fine rolls, is being used. So, for example, the first entry in the originalia roll for 1236–37, Henry’s twenty-first regnal year (E 371/4), appears in the index as 21/1. In the new indexes from volume III onwards we are indexing subject elements of the originalia roll calendar in more detail to enable users to locate information contained in those rolls more easily, including: additiional information found therein (marginal comments, correction of information, different or new dates or places of witness, general comments); entries cancelled therein; and entries recording the delivery of the Originalia Rolls into the Exchequer). They are indexed under ‘Exchequer > rolls > Originalia Rolls’.

4. Associations

4.1. Associated people, places and subjects

Although the indexes in the electronic edition are structured in traditional book format, there is one major difference between them and the print indexes – searchability. Under every main, individual heading in each electronic index are listed the people, places and subjects with which that individual person, place or subject is associated in the Fine Rolls. For example, under ‘Monmouth, John of’ it is possible to see that he is associated with the people ‘Ralph Avenel’, ‘Agnes of Bassingham’, ‘William Crassus’, ‘Thomas of Erdington’, ‘William de Neville’, and ‘William fitz Warin’, the places ‘Bicknor Castle’, the ‘Forest of Dean’, and the ‘New Forest’, and a variety of subjects including ‘Pledges’ and ‘Respite of Debts’. In due course, it is intended to link these lists directly to the relevant references, but at the moment to find them it is necessary to do a search which combines the person with the place or subject in order to identify the entry in which the two are found together. Performing a simple search will identify all entries in which two people, for instance, appear in the same entry, but they may not be closely associated. By employing this system of association, we can specifically link opponents in law cases, joint debtors, and groups of commissioners, or ownership of, or disputes concerning, lands, and fines to have a market or fair or to purchase a writ.