NOTE ON THE TESTA DE NEVILL 
For the sake of convenience the familiar name 
of ‘Testa de Nevill’ is retained for the following 
collection of documents, though only a few have 
been transcribed from that compilation. ‘The 
origin of each document will be recognized by 
its official description at the Public Record Office. 
The recent discovery of the original certificates, 
officially known as Knights’ Fees 5, m. 1, m. 2, is 
of the greatest interest. The first membrane con- 
tains the roll of King’s wards, and the second is 
the return of the sheriff's inquest of 1212. Had 
there been any disposition to doubt the historical 
value of the inquests embodied in the ‘Testa de 
Nevill, any attempt of this sort has been for ever 
foiled by the discovery of the original certificates 
handed into the exchequer. Their authenticity is 
unassailable. These certificates are printed here 
for the first time. The last document is taken 
from the Red Book of the Exchequer, an edition 
of which has been printed by the Master of the 
Rolls. Special transcripts of all the documents 
included in this collection have been made for 
the purpose of this history. The text of the 
‘Testa de Nevill’ edited for the Record Com- 
mission has not been used for this translation. 
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