A New Document Relating to the Life of Robert Thornton

Abstract

This article presents and contextualizes a newly discovered document about the life of Robert Thornton, who compiled one of the most important collections of Middle English romances (Lincoln Cathedral Library MS 91). This document is the record of a plea before the Court of Chancery in which Thornton is accused by a relative of failing to hand over the evidence concerning the ownership of some contested manors in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The document adds to our currently limited knowledge of Thornton’s life. Furthermore, it contributes to our understanding of Thornton as a typical member of the middling gentry in Yorkshire.