Rolls Series

The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages (Latin: Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the Rolls Series, is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources published as 99 works in 253 volumes between 1858 and 1911.Alongside Romilly and Stevenson, another key figure in shaping the direction of the project in its early years was Thomas Duffus Hardy, who served as Deputy Keeper of the Public Records from 1861 to 1878.Initial sales figures for each volume generally reached something over 200 copies: this left considerable surplus stock, and so in the 1880s William Hardy, as Deputy Keeper, introduced the practice of presenting free copies to reputable public and university libraries, with a label inserted stating that "in the event of the Library being broken up", the volume should be returned to the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office.One of the final works in the series was the 13th-century legal compilation known as the Red Book of the Exchequer, edited by Hubert Hall of the Public Record Office and published in three volumes in 1897.Chronicles published in the series included the edition of the Chronica Majora of Matthew Paris by H. R. Luard; the chronicles of Roger of Hoveden, Benedict of Peterborough, Ralph de Diceto, Walter of Coventry, and others, edited by William Stubbs; the works of Giraldus Cambrensis by J. S. Brewer; and the Materials for the History of St Thomas Becket by James Craigie Robertson.In the series as proposed, "preference was to be given in the first instance to such materials as were most scarce and valuable", each chronicle was to be edited as if the editor were engaged on an editio princeps, and a brief account was to be provided in a suitable preface of the life and times of the author as well as a description of the manuscripts used.
First page of the statement of intent published as a preamble to all Rolls Series volumes, dated December 1857
Standard presentation label, in this case in a volume donated to University College, London , reserving the right of the Stationery Office to reclaim the volume in the event of the library being broken up
chronicleshagiographicalarchivalMaster of the RollsCourt of ChanceryPublic Record OfficeJohn RomillyMonumenta Historica BritannicaHenry PetrieJoseph StevensonThomas Duffus HardyHistoria Ecclesie AbbendonensisAbingdon AbbeyF. C. HingestonJohn CapgraveWilliam StubbsH. R. LuardH. T. RileyUniversity College, LondonWilliam HardyHer Majesty's Stationery OfficeHenry Maxwell LyteRed Book of the ExchequerJ. H. RoundF. W. MaitlandYear BookEdward IIIChronica MajoraMatthew ParisRoger of HovedenBenedict of PeterboroughRalph de DicetoWalter of CoventryGiraldus CambrensisJ. S. BrewerJames Craigie RobertsonWhitley StokesIcelandic sagasGuðbrandur VigfússonG.W. DasentRobert of GloucesterRobert of BrunnePierre de LangtoftRoger BaconAlexander NeckamYear BooksEdward IBlack Book of the AdmiraltyBractonSt DunstanEdward the ConfessorHugh of LincolnThomas BecketWilfrideditio princepsScribal abbreviationsOld FrenchOld EnglishGaelicOld NorseoctavoMillwood, New YorkRecord CommissionText publication societyKnighton's ChroniconRound, J. H.Historical ResearchKnowles, M.D.public domainCatholic EncyclopediaAugust PotthastHathiTrustGoogle BooksWikisourceCambridge University PressWorldCat