The Fine Rolls

Payments for legal rights

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Fine Rolls

The medieval Fine Rolls are a vast collection of historical administrative records from medieval England, primarily covering the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries (ranging from 1199 during the reign of King John to 1485 at the end of Richard III's reign). They record the fines (payments) made to the English Crown by individuals in exchange for various concessions, favours, privileges, or pieces of land.

In the medieval context, a fine was not a punishment for a crime. Instead, it was a voluntary agreement or fee paid to the King to obtain a specific benefit or legal right. If you wanted the King to grant you a favour, approve a transaction, or step into a dispute, you had to pay a fine.

They primarily record (1) Inheritance and Land (Livery of Seisin), payments made by feudal heirs to legally take possession of their inherited lands after the death of a tenant-in-chief; (2) Marriages and Wardships, Fines paid by nobles for the right to marry a wealthy widow, or by individuals purchasing the wardship (and lucrative control) of an underage heir's estate; (3) Exemptions and Privileges, Fees paid to be excused from military service (scutage), to avoid taking on a demanding local office (like becoming a sheriff), or to obtain a royal charter for a local market or fair; and (4) Writs and Legal Access, payments to initiate specific legal proceedings or to have a case heard in the King's court rather than a local manorial court.

They are helpful for (1) Financial Tracking as they served as the primary counting-house record for the Chancery, keeping track of the King's fluctuating, non-customary feudal revenues; (2) Social History, because they record transactions from wealthy barons down to relatively minor local landholders, merchants, and widows. They are an invaluable tool for genealogists and social historians tracking family lineages and land transfers; (3) Political Insights as the rolls illustrate how medieval kings, especially controversial figures like King John, used the granting of favours and the demanding of exorbitant fines as financial extortion and political leverage over their subjects.

Fine Rolls at National Archives, Kew, C60 including grants of wardship and marriage.

The Henry III Fine Rolls Project has transcribed Fine Rolls records between 1216 and 1272. A fine 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.

Index of Fine Rolls

Calendar of Fines, counties of Chester and Flint, Edward I, 1280 to 1307.

Fine Rolls of the reign of King John, 1199 to 1216.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry III, 1216 to 1246.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry III, 1246 to 1272.

Henry III Fine Rolls Project.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward I, 1272 to 1307.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward II, 1307 to 1319.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward II, 1319 to 1327.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward III, 1327 to 1337.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward III, 1337 to 1347.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward III, 1347 to 1356.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward III, 1356 to 1368.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward III, 1368 to 1377 (index missing).

Fine Rolls of the reign of Richard II, 1377 to 1383.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Richard II, 1383 to 1391.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Richard II, 1391 to 1399.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry IV, 1399 to 1405.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry IV, 1405 to 1413.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry V, 1413 to 1422.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry VI, 1422 to 1430.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry VI, 1430 to 1437.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry VI, 1437 to 1445.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry VI, 1445 to 1452.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry VI, 1452 to 1461.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward IV, 1461 to 1471. Not available online.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward IV, Edward V and Richard III, 1471 to 1485. Not available online.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Henry VII, 1485 to 1509.

Fine Rolls of the reign of Edward VI, 1547 to 1553, no index.