Although Catterick himself was continually absent fom his diocese, a full register was kept of the activities of his vicar-general. Catterick's register is the first from this diocese to be printed by the Canterbury and York Society.

Among the most important rights of the archbishop of Canterbury wasthe administration of vacant sees upon the death or translation ofa bishop. Morton's register is remarkable for the proportion of itsfolios which are filled by sede vacantematerial.

The 235 folios of John Waltham's register contain letters, dispensations and letters dimissory, institutions; parochial visitations, and judicial acta. Five of the calendar's seven appendices supply additional related matter. As well as expediting routine business, the bishop is seen resolving, with royal support, a longstanding dispute with his chapter, resisting metropolitical visitation, using canon law to excuse his failure to levy papal taxes and statute law to safeguard patronage from papal provisions, and uncovering details about Lollard masses. It is of some interest that the clerks...

The many commands which the crown addressed to bishops represent a rich source of information about the history of government, law, and lay society, as well as about the church itself. The writs collected in this volume touch on many aspects of life in the later fourteenth century, including tax gathering, political upheaval, property disputes, Lollardy, and foreign warfare. The bishop is seen swearing in local officials, setting up commissions of enquiry, organising the attendance of the clergy in parliament, and consulting episcopal archives to answer queries from the lay courts. It also...