Manuscript 62: Abstract from a book of household accounts of an unknown English Lord, March 1605 to February 1606
Title
Manuscript 62: Abstract from a book of household accounts of an unknown English Lord, March 1605 to February 1606
Date
17th Century, probably 1606
Description
A Brief abstract out of all the accounts of his Lordships expenses, taken for one whole year, March 1605 to February 1606, a large folio sheet. This document gives the total amounts spent for the year of bread, beer, wine, wages, etc.; also stable expense. Among ‘extraordinary payments’ occurs the entry ‘Money lent to Sr Al: Percy’, for buildings, furniture, land purchased, oxen bought, etc.
Extent
40 x 30.2 cm
Physical Form
Manuscript
Type of Resource
Still Image
Note
Accession number: 857857
A summary of the household expenses of a noble in the reign of James I. The document is written in the private hand of a steward as distinguished from the more formal court hand found in legal documents.
Paper leaf with watermark. The watermark is hard to see and resembles two classical pillars flanking a cluster of grapes and some indiscernable words. The sheet has been folded. On the back of the sheet are printed by a modern device the number 857857 (upside down along the top margin) and along the right margin "Mar 8 '39 Allen", indicating the bookseller who sold it and the date.
This script is hard to read and contains many abbreviations. The text is arranged in columns with totals for subcategories entered in the columns to the right. The numbers are all roman numerals. It appears that the roman numerals were used to score, so that later changes in the accounts were reflected by the addition of further scores and later added and replaced by the proper roman numeral for the larger amount. On the back three large summary categories are indicated with numbers and amounts all using the arabic numeral system.
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