The ''Plumpton Correspondence'' is a rare collection of 250 letters and writings from 1461 to 1552 that have survived to the modern day. The writings contains day-to-day writings of
William Plumpton
Sir William Plumpton (1404 – 15 October 1480) was a 15th-century English aristocrat, landowner and administrator. He is also known for his surviving letters, the ''Plumpton Correspondence''.
Biography
He was the grandson of Sir William Plumpt ...
and his family, revealing the daily lives of a medieval family of knightly status who held estates in the
Knaresborough
Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate.
History
Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...
area of
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
.
The writings captured a time of decline in the military function of knighthood as well as the fortunes of the family during the
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses (1455–1487), known at the time and for more than a century after as the Civil Wars, were a series of civil wars fought over control of the English throne in the mid-to-late fifteenth century. These wars were fought bet ...
, the letters also include numerous correspondence with lawyers on the complexities of the 15th and 16th century legal process. It is of particular value to social historians due to its subject matter.
It was preserved in a manuscript book of copies which passed into the hands of
Christopher Towneley by about 1650, and remained among the Towneley manuscripts. It was edited for the
Camden Society
The Camden Society was a text publication society founded in London in 1838 to publish early historical and literary materials, both unpublished manuscripts and new editions of rare printed books. It was named after the 16th-century antiquary an ...
by
Thomas Stapleton in 1838–1839 (under two volumes. The letters illustrated by the editor by extracts from a manuscript in the same collection, the ''Coucher Book'' of Sir Edward Plumpton.
See also
* ''
The Paston Letters''
*
Stonor Letters
The Stonor Letters are one of the significant collections of 15th century correspondence that have survived. These series of documents, though not the earliest private letters known in English, has more number and variety in terms of interest, alon ...
References
Further reading
* Joan Kirby (1996). ''The Plumpton Letters and Papers''. Google Books.
* Plumpton, Edward; Stapleton, Thomas (1839). ''
Plumpton Correspondence. A Series of Letters, Chiefly Domestick, Written in the Reigns of Edward IV. Richard III. Henry VII. and Henry VIII''. PIMS - University of Toronto. London, Printed for the Camden society
External links
{{Commonscatinline
Wars of the Roses
Medieval letter collections
15th century in England
16th century in England
Medieval historical texts
15th-century documents
16th-century documents