Liber Memorandorum Ecclesie de Bernewelle

Description

The Priory of St Giles and St Andrew, Barnwell, was among the earliest English communities of Augustinian Canons, founded by the Sheriff of Cambridge in 1092. Although little survives of its physical remains, the Liber Memorandorum, edited in 1907 by J. W. Clark, is a significant source for both Cambridge and Augustinian history. Although often referred to as a cartulary, its contents are more wide ranging than just a collection of legal documents. It includes a history of the foundation, and many items concerning the relations between Barnwell and the surrounding area, including disputes with the University. The text was compiled around 1296 from earlier records, although the calendar contains later obituaries. The edition includes a valuable explanation of the documents' legal content by the leading legal historian F. W. Maitland, and is an important resource for researchers in medieval legal or church history, as well as that of the Cambridge area.