Palma sive non pulvere: Archbishops’ Registers and the medieval genealogist

by Gary Brannan[1]

Abstract

Genealogical studies in the medieval period have tended to concentrate on a discrete number of established source materials, often national in nature. Archbishops’ Registers - surviving from 1215 and at their peak during the period - have hitherto been a little-used resource for the medieval genealogist, chiefly due to the combination of a relatively small number of published editions and their scattered and, at times, patchy survival. This article seeks to redress this, partly via highlighting the results of an innovative digitisation and indexing project, and by considering the benefits - and potential pitfalls - of using them in medieval genealogical research.

Based on a talk given by the author at the FMG Annual Meeting, Oxford, August 2018, entitled “Archbishops' Registers for family history: 'indigesta moles' or an undiscovered country”.