Cornish Wills 1342-1540 (Paperback)

Wills are invaluable records of life in the past. They bring us close to people's attitudes to death, religion, charity, and family relationships, as well as mentioning property such as land, livestock, clothes, jewels and furniture. This edition gathers together all the 122 Cornish wills of personal property that are known to exist up to the year 1540, plus extracts from a further 66 that refer to Cornwall. They are revealing about saints' cults, guilds,education, ships, mining, genealogy, and church buildings and furnishings. They also illustrate the importance of emigration from Cornwall - especially to Exeter, Oxford, and London. All the wills are presented in modern English in complete form, and an Introduction describes how they were administered and what they contain.