Calendar: Editorial Method

The Estate and Household Accounts of William Worsley Dean of St Paul's Cathedral 1479-1497. Originally published by Shaun Tyas on behalf of Richard III and Yorkist Trust and the London Record Society, Donington, 2004.

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'Calendar: Editorial Method', in The Estate and Household Accounts of William Worsley Dean of St Paul's Cathedral 1479-1497, (Donington, 2004) pp. 41-42. British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/london-record-soc/vol40/pp41-42 [accessed 19 March 2024]

In this section

Part 2: Calendar of the Estate and Household Accounts of Dean William Worsley, 1479–1497

Editorial Method

Calendaring: Translation and Transcription

In this edition, the accounts have been translated and calendared. The aim of the calendaring has been to remove repetitive and formulaic material, and make the text accessible to a modern audience, while retaining some of the original tone and distinctive aspects of the content of the accounts. A sample account (no. 3) has been rendered in full: it is characteristic of the other, abbreviated, documents. Certain sections in other accounts, where they are of particular interest, have also been translated in full. These are distinguished by quotation marks.

Middle English Words

Some of the more unusual or ambiguous Middle English words have been included as in the original accounts and italicised to distinguish them from calendared text. These are interpreted in the Glossary.

Dating

Years generally have been given in the modern form as A.D., except for the account translated in full, where the original (regnal) form has been retained. Term and feast dates have been retained as in the original throughout, and their modern equivalents are given in the Glossary.

Money

Sums of money have been rendered in Arabic numerals and £, s., and d. For the sake of a tidier appearance the denominations have not been italicised. Accounting errors have been noted in footnotes.

Abbreviations and Omissions

Text lost through damage to the MSS has been indicated by […], while blanks left in the text by the original scribe are marked [–]. Where it has been possible to supply missing text, e.g. Christian names, from other sources, the text has been placed in square brackets.

Marginalia

Marginalia that are mere repetitions of parts of the text have been excluded. Marginalia that add new material are included in the footnotes.

Place and Proper Names

The spelling of place names has been modernised. Proper names have been standardised. Brief biographical details of all individuals mentioned in the text may be found in Appendix 2.