English Historical Documents


English Historical Documents is a series of publications of source material on English history by the academic publisher Eyre and Spottiswoode, now part of Oxford University Press. Some later volumes were published by Routledge. The original general editor was David C. Douglas, professor of history at the University of Bristol. Publication began in 1953. Each volume ran to around 1000 pages, and was edited by one or more major academic authorities in the period covered; some volumes are now in their second edition. WorldCat shows them present in virtually all academic libraries, both large and small. Sources published in other languages are given in English translation.
The volumes have been widely reviewed, and are considered as a basic standard resource. Each chronological volume consists of a general introduction to the history and the historical sources for the period, an extensive bibliography, and sections on narrative sources such as chronicles and newspapers, legal documents and legislation, economic sources, literary sources, and appendices of maps and genealogies. Many volumes contain illustrations.
The series contains:
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 not originally published. A volume of selections, English Historical Documents, 1815–1870, in 120 pages, was published by Methuen Publishing in 1964, OCLC 62887069.