Medieval Genealogy

I taught a class on medieval genealogy at the Pennsic War in Pennsic 2012 and 2013.  The following are my class notes for teaching the class:

Introduction

This class will focus on genealogical research into the medieval period--- not what research was done in period, but what you can research back to this period about your family.  I hope after this class, you will be inspired to search records that tie you to your medieval ancestors, and you will conduct accurate research.
Basics of Genealogy

Take my first class, take a class through various sources, including local Genealogical societies, libraries, and the National Genealogical Society (NGS) which offers courses.

Standards of genealogy --  Do responsible research, verify what you find-not just copy it, do a reasonably exhaustive search, cite sources and document.

The Lure of Genealogy for SCAdians

Persona development ---  We can’t link our persona to historical or “real” people, but as we develop persona stories, it can lead us to think about our own genetic family’s link to the medieval period.

The Challenge of Medieval Genealogy

·         Naming practices - when did people start using surnames in the country in which I am researching? Generally not before the 1300s and early 1400s. Nobles had several names, titles, making them even harder to trace.  Surnames and variations  changed too; inherited surnames simply didn't exist in the early period. You're actually going to have the most success where a surname is based on a place name, as opposed to those based on nicknames, occupations, or even topographical features.

·         Limited records -   The best records are church records but---when do parish registers start? (this is key for research of the lower classes v. landed  classes.)  English only go back to 1538.

Look also at –probate records, tax lists, population lists, court, land and manorial records    Other countries may have more: For instance - Earliest Catholic church records in Czech lands-1441, a book of christenings for Horni  Jiretin. Some records have great-grandparents, and even great-great grandparents listed for the baby. [Since teaching this class, the Czech Republic has digitized and made available on the Internet, church records books.]

·         Overseas sources

For those who cannot travel, for instance, to examine the Archives in Austria, or Czechoslovakia, or Brazil - access to these records can be hampered.  Fortunately some of these records are available through other sources, noted later.

·         Language barriers---many records in German, French, Latin, Hungarian etc.

·         Non-democratic countries and restricted access

This applies to countries in the Arab lands, some Communist held lands, though after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this has eased.  Prior to that, records from Germany were vitally off-limits. Some access to Russia is still difficult.

·         Lots of phony “I can trace my family back to Thor or Adam” trees on the Internet.  --- These became very popular in the 1950’s and still persist to this day.  Its very difficult to trace lineage before 1538 in England, for instance, let alone go back to Biblical times, and the existence of Thor as a historical figure has yet to be proven, let alone his descendants.

 Valid sources

Fortunately, there are a variety of legitimate sources that can be used to research your family into the medieval period.

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) sources

These provide access to church and civil records, due to the fact teams of people have been sent out by the Church to catalogue, photograph various records. These are readily available through the Church’s Family Research Centers.

Look for local Research Centers. There are several nearby including Monaca, Cranberry, Youngstown
ALSO search their files for information on your family. BUT beware copying someone else’s work and assuming its valid. In the past, LDS accepted any information people wanted to load into its files. So there’s a lot of undocumented, erroneous information included in their database. Most of these files have been disabled on their server. Verify whatever you find.

The last few years, the LDS has had a huge team of volunteers indexing records and adding them to their databases. These include censuses, birth and marriage records, probate records, etc. AND it is FREE! There website can be accessed here.

• LDS Medieval Families Unit

This unit researched pedigrees of royal families, but also accepts inquiries and controls what information can be submitted to the Temple for recording, to limit errors and misinformation that is so common with medieval genealogy.  Their research is based on sources such as Cockaynes Compete Peerage and Complete Baronage (and more---see below listing)  

LDS Family History Library

Plus see their Medieval/Nobility Biographical Index (MNB) for 13,000 additional sources.

If you are fortunate enough to be able to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, you can visit their Family History Library which has one of the world's most extensive collection of genealogical materials. Information about the Library can be found here.

• Ancestry.com

Not free, but comprehensive.  Search over 30,000 records (they quote 10 billion records but this includes the individual names, etc) from the comfort of your home, through your own computer. I normally despise BIG BUSINESS, and Ancestry is that, gobbling up all the smaller players in the industry like rootsweb, genealogy.com, etc. But all the records are in one place, easily searchable.  And when you get good at searching, you will find lots of things.

Of value to medieval genealogy, is their 4,000+ records from Europe, esp. good for those unable to travel.  You have to pay extra for their World Subscription but it includes:

for United kingdom some of the oldest include:  Kent, England Tyler Index to Wills,  1460-1882, London England, Poor Law Records, 1517-1973

for Ireland:  Ireland, Burial Index, 1600-1927

in Germany--various genealogies and military records

in France--Upper Berry France--births, deaths, marriages as far back as 1561, various armorials, genealogies, etc.

Other sources or resources

·         Quaker Sources --- excellent record keeping.  In this country visit Swarthmore College, or access William Hinshaw’s Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, 1750-1930.  You can search additional records in specific countries.

Quaker record

·         Internet libraries - some have online collections, including Medieval texts, English medieval genealogies, Modern works, such as  History and Local history, Modern biographies, Peerages and other compilations.

·         There are various societies and organizations regarding English genealogy. Many such societies can be found listed here.
 

·         Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (Their website is located here. One of the pages includes listings for the major noble families which ruled Europe.  N. Africa, West Asia, 5-15th C.  The Index is by land ruled (country) and also contains a section on Doomsday People. (Go to this page.)

·         ProGenealogists  - This is the professional branch at Ancestry.  Even if you are not interested in for hire service, they still have information on medieval genealogy/instruction on their site which can be found here.. This site includes Medieval British Isles Families--a guide.

·         Cyndi's List has pages of links including:  Medieval General Resources such as: Doomsday Book Online; Libraries, Archives and Museums; Medieval records; and Mailing Lists--Germany, Ireland, Plantagenet, Rootsweb, Viking, UK etc.  The website can be accessed here.

From some of the above sources---look for specific records for England:

·         Manor Court Rolls -- The manor was the main unit of land in medieval times, and that makes manorial records especially valuable.  But only around 4% of all manorial records still exist. These detail the passing of land from one tenant to another, surveys, disputes which were common, appointment of local officials, such as the reeve, listing of freeman and serfs. Listed in the National Register of Archives, held in the National Archives.(England) Also in regional and local archives, and even in private hands.

Pipe Roll

·          Pipe Rolls -- also known as Great Rolls, are financial records from the 12th century up to 1833. These include payments and debts owed to the Crown, and may include your ancestors. [Since teaching this class, some of these records are available online:
For instance, you can read The Pipe Roll of the Bishopric of Winchester, for the years 1208-1209 in modern English here and for the years  1158-1159 here.  A research guide for reading the Pipe Rolls from the National Archive can be found here.]

·         Patent Rolls –Patents unsealed, from the Chancery court, covering a varying range of topics, from grants to for the right to use land.  ublished copies are in many larger English libraries, covering the period 1216-1587.

·         Close Rolls -sealed -- personal legal records, such as will, deeds, leases and even changes of name. Those from 1205-1903 are in the National Archives, and published.

·         Fine Rolls -- payment to receive privileges, such as inheriting land or a royal pardon. Some go back to 1120, and running until 1649.  Persons with money or aristocrats.  Most of these rolls have been published.

·         Hundreds Rolls  -- official enquiries into the rights and properties of the Crown, and nobles , some list tenants in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Leicestershire, Oxfordshire Suffolk and Warwickshire. 



Rolls or records

·         Curia Regis Rolls -- cases heard before the King's Bench and the Court of Common Pleas and contains many pedigrees. Available in the National Archives 1195-1242, and 1273-1875.

·         Poll tax records, are in the National Archives. Also published in three volumes by Oxford University Press, with counties listed alphabetically.  

·         Look also for common law records and deeds (the latter can be found in local legal records collections)

·         Heraldry can be helpful for aristocrats and nobility.  See the College of Arms. (The non-SCA one!)

·         Check records of different guilds, or the registers of Inns of Court or the old universities.

Additional sources

·         Medieval and early modern texts can be found through this site. 

·         Northamptonshire Tax Assessments can be found here.

·         Abstracts of Feet of Fines: "In the late 12th century, a procedure evolved for ending a legal action by agreement between the parties. The agreement was known as a final concord (or fine). Originally this was a means of resolving genuine disputes, but by the middle of the 13th century the fine had become a popular way of conveying freehold property...."  This comes from the website includes discusses the availability of these records from 1309-1509.

·         The Victoria History of the Counties of England (Victoria County History, or VCH for short)Project contains over 200 volumes of history of the various counties of England.  A website linking to the project can be found here.  A related website, accessible here deals with older county histories and has a Brief Guide to Medieval England Genealogy. The authors suggest looking for public records such as the Doomsday, land taxes and surveys, Inquisition post mortems (these deal with handling inheritance of land following deaths, not Inquisition of the Church as might be assumed, 1240-1660), chancery rolls, wills, and sheriff records (which go back as far as the 12th-13th centuries).

·         Peerage websites and sources, such as The Peerage.com which can be found here may contain relatives.

 Various forum groups -- There are various message groups to share information or post questions to other researchers. These include the following:

·         GEN-MEDIEVAL/soc.genealogy.medieval  -  GEN-MEDIEVAL and soc.genealogy.medieval are companion groups dedicated to the discussion of medieval genealogy. The sites have searchable archives, and forums. Like so many Rootsweb resources, this forum has been purchased by Ancestry. To access the site, go here. 

·         Genealogy Wise---The National Institute for Genealogical Studies--- a forum for medieval English genealogy can be found here.

There is also a Genealogy.com forum for medieval genealogy which can be found here.

Resources List  -- These sites have been recommended by other medieval genealogy researchers:
·         Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 17th ed. (London: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1952. LC Pine, ed.) and Burke's Peerage, Barontage & Knightage, 10th ed., 3 vol (Wilmington, DE, Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, Charles Mosley, ed)

·         Faris, David. Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2000. (FHL book 973 D2fp.)

·         Weis, Frederick Lewis and Arthur Adams. The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215. 5th ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1999. (FHL book 973 D2aa.)

·         Weis, Frederick Lewis and Walter Lee Sheppard. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America before 1700. 7 ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1992. (FHL book 974 D2w)

·         Roberts, Gary Boyd. “Immigrants to New England for Whom Royal Descent has been proved, Virtually proved, Improved, or Disproved since about 1960: A Bibliographical Survey” in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 141: April 1987, pp.92-109. (FHL book 974 B2ne)

·         Roberts, Gary Boyd.  Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to American Colonies, 2008

·         Beauregard, Denis. Genealogy of the French in North America

·         Isenburg, Wilhelm Karl. Europäische Stammtafeln. (European Genealogy Tables) 5 vols. Marburg: J.A. Stargardt, 1953-1978. (Available through the LDS Library - FHL book 940 D5f; film 0251160, 0599240 item 2, 0599166 item 2, 0824133 item 2, 0896838 item1.)

·         Schwennicke, Detlev. Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge (European Genealogy Tables: Genealogy Tables for a History of the European States, New Edition). 17 vols. Marburg: Verlag von J.A. Stargardt, 1978-. (FHL book Q 940 D5es new ser; FHL film 1810094 item 7, 1183710 items 16-17.)

ProGenealogists also recognized the following sources: The Scot's Peerage, Brydes' Collins Peerage,  Lodges Irish Peerage, Members of Parliament, Sander's English Baronies, Visitation of England and Wales, Visitation of Ireland,  Bartrums Welsh Genealogies,  Dwnn's Visitation of Wales, Anslesey and Carnarvonshire,  and Golden Grove Manuscript Collection. 

Conclusion

While researching your family back into the medieval period can be challenging, there are resources available to assist you in your search. Sources are increasingly becoming available through the Internet as records are being digitized and posted to various websites.  I myself was pleasantly surprised last year to find that the records of my family namesake, the Wieners, had been made available online through the State Regional Archives Trebon of the Czech Republic. Parish registers (Church books) are viewable and can be copied for personal use. This database can be found here. Through the use of this site, I was able to conclusively connect my Wiener line to ancestors who lived in the Middle Ages. 

Good luck in your research and I invite you to join the Facebook page for SCA Genealogists to share your stories and research experiences.  The page can be accessed here.