Meet your ancestors in their local setting in manorial records, which recount the activities of the manor and its courts. The manorial system was a framework for your ancestors’ lives for hundreds of years, enduring into the 20th century in some rural areas. Manorial records can be used to locate ancestors within community and to set them in their social and economic context. Over the five weeks of this course you examine the place of the manor in the legal and social system, the records created by the manor, and changes that occurred through the centuries. You will read court rolls, look at court books and learn about property transactions, surveys, maps, accounts and wills that may not be recorded elsewhere. Manorial court records offer genealogists a glimpse of local justice being dispensed and a chance to hear the voices of ancestors in the verbatim reports of court sessions. The early records, written in Latin, are described, and guidance will be given on how to search and interpret these early documents. The course concludes with explanations of links to contemporary resources to help further your family history researches.
Instructor: Liz Carter
Each lesson includes exercises and activities and a minimum of 1 one-hour chat session per week. See How the Courses Work.
Relevant Countries: England and Wales