Viewing posts from October, 2012

CIPM XVIII.416 and the Exchequer series of IPMs

Posted by: mholford in Featured inquisition, Law and administration 11 years, 7 months ago

Many IPMs survive in multiple copies: one in the Chancery series of inquisitions, and one, sometimes more, in the Exchequer series. The early history of the Exchequer archive is currently obscure, but by the late fourteenth century its workings are reasonably clear. A copy of the Chancery IPM was provided to the Exchequer and was used to check the accuracy of the escheator's account. After audit the account and any related inquisitions and writs were filed together. (Sometimes the inquisitions and writs were physically attached to the account.) Those included not only IPMs but inquisitions, often ex officio, concerning other aspects of the escheators' responsibilities such as the alienation of lands without royal licence.

Unpublished inquisitions: Robert Shardelowe, knight, 1400

Posted by: mholford in Unpublished inquisitions 11 years, 8 months ago

The process of enhancing the IPMs for Henry IV's reign (to be described more fully in a future post) has brought to light a small number of inquisitions omitted from the printed calendars. Some of these inquisitions seem to have been added to the manuscript files after the printed calendars were completed. Some are exchequer IPMs that have not been correctly identified. Others are out of chronological sequence; they may have been scheduled for publication in future volumes but later omitted. These inquisitions will be added to the online text at this site as it becomes available, but we have also decided to make this unpublished material available immediately on the project blog, where the inquisitions will appear over the coming weeks and months. Editorial principles are based on CIPM xxii-xxvi.