English Historical Documents
English Historical Documents is a standard series of publications of source material on English history by the academic publisher Eyre and Spottiswoode, now part of Oxford University Press; some later vols. are published by Routledge The general editor is David C. Douglas, professor of history at the University of Bristol. Publication began in 1953. Each extensive volume (they average 1000 pages) is edited by a major academic authority in the period covered; some are in their second edition. WorldCat shows them present in essentially all academic libraries, both large and small.[1] Sources published in other languages (French, Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Latin) are given in English translation.
They have been widely reviewed, and are considered as the basic set of this material. Each volume consists of a general introduction to the history and the historical sources for the period, an extensive bibliography, and sections (with their exact nature depending on the period) on Narrative sources such as chronicles and newspapers, Legal documents and Legislation, Economic sources, Literary sources, and appendices of maps and genealogies; many vols. contain extensive illustrations.
The series contains
- v. 1. c.500-1042, edited by Dorothy Whitelock. 1st ed. 1955, 2nd ed. 1979 952 p. e-book, 1996
- v. 2. 1042-1189, edited by David C. Douglas and George W. Greenaway. 1st ed. 1953, 2nd ed. 1981, 1083 p.
- v. 3. 1189-1327, edited by Harry Rothwell. 1975, 1032 p. ISBN 978-0-413-23300-4
- v. 4. 1327-1485, edited by Alec R. Myers. 1969, 1236 p. ISBN 978-0-413-23310-3
- v. 5. 1485-1558, edited by C. H. Williams. 1967, 1082 p. OCLC 247046009
- v. 6. 1558-1603 ed. by Ian Archer & Douglas Prince. 2011, 1392p; ISBN 978-0-415-35097-6
- v. 7. 1603-1660 ed. by Barry Coward & Peter Gaunt. 2010, 1408p; ISBN 978-0-415-19909-4
- v. 8. 1660-1714, edited by Andrew Browning. 1953, 996 p. ISBN 978-0-203-19579-6
- v. 9. American colonial documents, to 1776, edited by Merrill Jensen. 1955, 888p. OCLC 9802673
- v. 10. 1714-1783, edited by D. B. Horn and Mary Ransome. 1957, 972 p. OCLC 247046807
- v. 11. 1783-1832, edited by A. Aspinall and E. Anthony Smith. 1959, 992 p. ISBN 978-0-203-19915-2
- v. 12, pt. 1. 1833-1874, edited by George M. Young and W. D. Handcock. 1956, 1017 p. OCLC 33037858
- v. 12, pt. 2. 1874-1914, edited W. D. Handcock. 1977, 725 p. ISBN 978-0-415-14375-2
They are electronically available in various formats, including MyiLibrary, Kindle, and NetLibrary. The volume numbering on the later volumes vary, to take account of the two volumes (1558–1603 and 1603–1660) not originally published. A volume of selections, English historical documents, 1815-1870 in 120 pages was published by Methuen Publishing in 1964, OCLC 62887069.