It’s amazing how things seem to line up at times in fun and amusing ways. This summer, I’ve been lucky enough to visit the Bristol Renaissance Faire three times. The Faire is located on the Wisconsin/Illinois border and runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I know some of the people who work in the cast as court members and the more I’ve heard about each person’s character, the more I’m interested the history surrounding it. English renaissance was an era that I was never required to study, so I am quite clueless. The closest I had come was my Spanish history and a few of the marital alliances mentioned. The best way, it was explained to me, to get an idea of the Elizabethan time period and the specific era the Faire takes place, was to watch the movie Elizabeth or read The Other Boylen Girl. Taking this a step further, I started with Phillipa Gregory’s first book in the series, The Constant Princess.
The characters that the actors play at the Faire are historically accurate, they research their characters, their titles and lives. Each person must know their own rank with their fellow actors and respond with the proper deference or allowance. Nobility titles, names and dates are all historically accurate. Even costuming is as historically accurate as possible. I wondered where they were able to find their information.
Accidentally, I came upon a wonderful source. While searching for a place I could access an article database for articles to study for Certified Archivist, searching Sir Hilary Jenkinson revealed his works at the Newberry Library. I feel that we (those in the archival profession) see him as a theorist, but looking at his books, his theories come from practical experience. He compiled lists of lords and nobles of England from their records. He organized and published the records. Titles of his works include:
- Surrey apprenticeships from the registers in the Public Record Office, 1711-1731.
- Lambeth churchwardens’ accounts, 1504-1645 and vestry book, 1610.
- Here may a young man see how he should speak subtly in court.
- Guide to seals in the Public Record office.
- The records of the English African companies
Many of these are books, but some are articles. It is somewhat exhilarating when leisure activities, like listening to The Constant Princess while I drive to work, and my professional activities click together.
Looking at what Sir Hilary Jenkinson did with his time as an archivist makes me wonder where I will end up and what I will do with the collections I find. Will I be able to muster the time, stamina and tenacity to compile dozens of books for future patrons decades to come?
Does anyone have examples they have come across of institutions or individuals publishing their archival records for ease of research? Or something similar, barring internet and electronic venues?
Tags: Constant Princess, Phillipa Gregory, Renaissance, Sir Hilary Jenkinson
Rachel,
Thanks for finding this. Totally awesome in archival history.
Listen, saw you had a password protected page. Can I get the password for it?
At the Rio Grande Historical Collections at NMSU where I work, one of my colleagues published two volumes collected from a massive microfilm collection of colonial Mexican archdiocesal records. I’ve been here for three years and still am wondering how I could do something similar.
I was not able to obtain these files and publications that Sir Hilary Jenkinson authored. The biggest lesson that I can take from finding these should be a wake up call to some of us in the archival education world. Jenkinson was not just about theory; he used archival materials to compile and publish comprehensible documents to aid others who followed after him. Perhaps he subscribed to a particular format for a finding aide, perhaps he let the materials available dictate the format of the starting point of the search process. It seems that he taught about archival organization from his own experiences in order to make it more efficient.
If there were records of interest to myself, I would start with what has come before me, in order to get an idea of where to go with a project such as you wish to undertake. I would look at the published work of the colleague and see how it was organized, if you’re comfortable, I would invite them for a professional conversation about their book writing experience. Would you be using the same records? Would you be discussing similar topics? If so, you may want to also bring this to light with your colleague. It would be helpful to avoid feelings of “copycat-ing” an idea or possible accusations of plagiarism. If you’re looking at some completely different collection, asking about how one would go about starting the organizational process of writing a book from archival documents would be a good way to go.
I know this may not be the help you were looking for, I have not published any volumes. I wish you the best of luck.
In the spirit of archives,
Rachel Pieper
Why do you credit Sir Hilary Jenkinson with the Lambeth churchwardens’ accounts, 1504-1645? He did write a Prefatory Note but the work should properly be ascribed to Charles E S Drew, who worked at the Public Record Office in London and who died in 1952, not long after publication.
I have the handwritten note that Sir Hilary sent to Charles Drew when the work was published:
“Dear Drew
Congratulations on the appearance, at long last, of the final part of Lambeth. You have put me, and a whole lot of more important people, under a big obligation: the Subject Index is at once a triumph and a most useful precedent.
Now we must try to get one or two decent reviews.
Yours
HJ”
24.2.51
The Middle Sort of People in Provincial England, 1600-1750 by H.R. French (published 2007) correctly credits Charles Drew with Lambeth so I find it intriguing that you don’t.
I was just searching the records in a database through a library. As I did not have the proper credentials to enter the particular institution and examine the records myself, I could only infer from the bibliographic record.