Some Sessions of the Peace in Lincolnshire, 1381-1396, Volume I

The three Lincolnshire peace rolls for the reign of Richard II printed in this volume and in Volume 56 were discovered, as were the Edward III rolls published in Volume 30, by Professor B.H. Putnam. The preservation of these rolls is undoubtedly due to the visit of the King’s Bench to Lincoln in Easter term, 1396. When the bench came into a county all lesser judicial agencies were suspended and their unfinished business brought before a superior court. Undoubtedly the peace rolls were carried back to London with the records of the bench and so preserved. These rolls contain much material that will be of value to legal and economic historians as well as to local historians and to those interested in genealogy.
Adapted from the Preface and the Introduction.