212 A REGISTER OF THE ABBEY OF MILTON. 



THE REGISTER OF MILTON ABBEY. 

 NOTE BY THE TRANSLATOR. 



The Latin text here given is a transcript of a portion of a MS. 

 in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, "MS. James No. 23," 

 pp. 46-52, which contains iyth century extracts, made by or on 

 behalf of Richard James (A.D. 1592-1638) from an earlier 

 manuscript, said by the copyist to have been in the Exchequer, 

 and by Dugdale and Hutchins to have been in the King's 

 Remembrancer's office there. It is not now known where the 

 Exchequer document is, nor what was its history, but internal 

 evidence shows that it could not be earlier than the reign of 

 Edward III. ; and it seems to be accepted that all the earlier 

 charters and muniments were destroyed by fire, with the Abbey, 

 in the reign of Edward II. 



The MS. itself is not satisfactory ; it is badly written and 

 appears to contain many inaccuracies, but, in the absence of the 

 original, it is not possible to say w r hether these are due to the 

 1 4th century scribe or to the iyth century copyist; some have 

 been corrected by another hand. The transcript has been 

 furnished to me, but I have made a partial collation with the 

 MS. on some doubtful points. This transcript comprises the 

 first ten entries, which follow the heading, " Registrum Abbatiae 

 de Middetone " : and the transcriber has added a summary of 

 the other entries which precede the next prominent heading 

 in the MS., " Registrum Abbatiae de Malmesburia in cista 

 Scaccarii," with the note that these certainly do not relate 

 to Milton, though they may be in the Milton cartulary. 

 It is doubtful, however, whether these or even all the 

 first ten come from the Milton document. Between the 7th 

 and 8th there intervenes another similar heading, not so 

 conspicuously set out, namely, "Registrum prioratus sanctae 

 Marias in Coventria, ibidem;" this looks like the beginning of 

 extracts from another cartulary St. Mary's, Coventry also in 



