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1. Between Magna Carta and the Parliamentary State: The fine rolls of King Henry III 1216–1272 and the project

A fine in the reign of King Henry III (1216–1272) was an agreement to pay the king a sum of money for a specified concession. The rolls on which the fines were recorded provide the earliest systematic evidence of what people and institutions across society wanted from the king and he was prepared to give. They open a large window onto the politics, government, economy and society of England in the hinge period between the establishment of Magna Carta at the start of Henry’s reign and the parliamentary state which was emerging at its end. This Project, which was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council between April 2005 and December 2011, makes the rolls freely available to a wide audience. In addition the Fine of the Month feature, published between December 2005 and December 2012, provides 85 essays commenting on the historical interest of the rolls. Additions to this series will still be accepted.

Although the project has now finished, users of the website are still invited to follow and contribute to the Fine Rolls blog which continues to run.

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1.Fine of the Month Civil disobedience: the citizens and archbishop of Dublin during Hugh de Lacy’s Irish rebellion, 1223-4 by Daniel Brown Read this essay [PDF]. The winner of the Fine of the Month Competition for 2012 is Christopher Tilley for his article 'The Chenduits in the Fine Rolls - A Gentry Family in the Reign of Henry III.'

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