Medieval Gascon Rolls To Go Online

From the National Archives, UK
February 2009

Important unpublished records of the Hundred Years War are to be made available online in an innovative new project led by the University of Oxford and assisted by The National Archives.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council has awarded almost £750,000 to the Universities of Oxford and Liverpool to digitise and edit the Gascon Rolls. These consist of 113 unpublished manuscripts which cover the era 1317 to 1468.

The rolls, currently held at The National Archives, comprise administrative records relating to English rule in medieval Gascony. These include writs and grants, but also contain enrolments of diplomatic and official material.

The project, led by Dr Malcolm Vale (University of Oxford) and Mr Paul Booth (University of Liverpool), will result in both a searchable online version and a printed edition of the Gascon Rolls. The aim is to make this rich but underused resource on England's long and turbulent history with France, including that of the notorious Hundred Years War (1337-1453), more accessible to a wider audience.

'This research project aims to make available the most important unpublished documentary source for that war, its prelude, course and aftermath so we can arrive at a better understanding of how and why relations between the two countries deteriorated, leading to a century-long conflict,' Dr Malcolm Vale of St John's College, Oxford said on the launch of the project.
The project is expected to last three years, and will also be assisted by King's College London and the Ranulf Higden Society.