Descriptive Catalogue of Materials Relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland to the End of the Reign of Henry VII

Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy (1804-78) was Deputy Keeper of the Public Record Office. He was closely involved with the Rolls Series of publications of medieval manuscripts in public ownership, of which this catalogue (consisting of three volumes in four parts) forms part. His stated aim was to list 'all the known sources, printed or unprinted, of English history'. Each item is located and described and where Hardy has examined the original, the first and last lines are given. Where known, the author's life is briefly outlined. The documents range from the classical period to 1327; a fourth volume, left uncompleted at Hardy's death, was to have continued the catalogue to 1509. Modern palaeography, and more recent archival discoveries, owe much to Victorian scholars like Hardy and official projects like the Rolls Series, which marks an important stage in the history of the preservation and classification of the nation's heritage.