Pages

▼

09 April, 2013

Edward II's chamber account of 1325/1326

For no particular reason except that I completely and utterly love it, here are some pictures of the last journal of Edward II's chamber, which covers the period from July 1325 to October 1326 and is now held  in the Society of Antiquaries of London.  The journal is written in French and lists the expenses out of Edward's chamber; they give a remarkably illuminating perspective on his life, as I've detailed in previous blog posts here, here, here and here.













at

11 comments:

  1. Christy K RobinsonTuesday, 9 April 2013 at 16:15:00 BST

    It's interesting to look at the edits, corrections, strike-outs, etc. because it humanizes the accountant or scribe. And just think, Edward probably at least glanced over, if not read, these very pages. Maybe HE suggested the changes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kathryn WarnerTuesday, 9 April 2013 at 16:17:00 BST

    Exactly, Christy! I love all the different handwriting in it, the errors and so on, and Edward must surely have seen it often and maybe touched it himself!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnerjeTuesday, 9 April 2013 at 19:13:00 BST

    Ah, a post on your fav thing to do - scrutinise Edward II's chamber accounts. Did you get actual access yourself? or do you have to write begging letters to the Queen?:> Seriously, would anyone be allowed access if they gave a valid reason? or are they all on-line?

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnerjeTuesday, 9 April 2013 at 19:15:00 BST

    are those actually your fingers on them?! If so, how did you manage it?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kathryn WarnerTuesday, 9 April 2013 at 19:16:00 BST

    Anerje, I contacted the chief librarian of the Society - a lovely man - in advance to ask if we (Jules and I) could see the document, and the day we'd like to come. I think if you do the same, explaining why you'd like to see it, it should be totally fine! Jules and I spent all day with it, and it was absolutely amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kathryn WarnerTuesday, 9 April 2013 at 19:17:00 BST

    And yes, those are my fingers or Jules' :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Katarzyna Ogrodnik-FujcikWednesday, 10 April 2013 at 16:39:00 BST

    Kathryn (and Jules), lucky you!
    I wish the chamber account of Henry the Young King survived so that I could take the simillar photo, with my fingers immortalized on it :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnerjeThursday, 11 April 2013 at 10:55:00 BST

    How amazing that you got to handle those precious documents! It must havebeen a very special day for you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. CarlaSaturday, 13 April 2013 at 19:03:00 BST

    How amazing that you got to see and touch the original document! I thought access would be almost impossible.

    It must give you a shivery sort of thrill to touch a document and think that Edward himself might have handled it; perhaps to imagine yourself as the clerk and Edward leaning over your shoulder :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kathryn WarnerSaturday, 13 April 2013 at 19:06:00 BST

    Ah, you all understand how wonderful it was and how I felt ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Paula LoftingSaturday, 20 April 2013 at 10:27:00 BST

    What an amazing opportunity! I bet you had fun, the both of you! thanks so much for sharing this wonderful insight!

    ReplyDelete