Register of John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury 1486-1500: III: Norwich Diocese Sede Vacante, 1499

This volume, which completes the edition of Cardinal Morton's register, deals exclusively with the administration of the diocese of Norwich during the vacancy of 1499, and represents one of the most complete records of the governance of any English diocese over a short period. The original Latin text is here presented in the form of a full English calendar; the contents include a detailed financial account, 140 wills presented for probate, judgements in the consistory court at Norwich and the record of a visitation of the parishes of Suffolk. The wills provide valuable insights into the religious motivation of East Anglians at the end of the middle ages, while the visitation returns and court judgements reveal much about the conduct of clergy and laity. This is thus a valuable source not only for the religious and social history of late medieval East Anglia, but also for the condition of the church in England thirty years before the Henrician Reformation.