Lollards of Coventry, 1486–1522. Edited and translated by Shannon McSheffrey and Norman Tanner. Camden Fifth Series, 23. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Pp. x + 361. $70.

Scholars interested in the history of heresy or, more broadly, religious dissent in late medieval England now have at hand an excellent new edition of documents related to the persecution of heresy in the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield. The editors of this volume collect a variety of materials: selections from the register of bishops John Hales and Geoffrey Blyth, Blyth's Lichfield courtbook, portions of Blyth's records of visitation (conducted between 1515 and 1525), excerpts from John Foxe's Acts and Monuments, and passages from the Coventry civic annals. These are all sources relevant to the study of Wycliffism at the cusp of early modernity, but it can be remarked that it is especially rare for a courtbook of trial proceedings to survive. I would hazard to say that publishing this item alone would have been enough of a scholarly contribution, as the text reveals the extent to which the prosecution of heresy is an imperfect, even if deliberative, process involving the gathering of diverse evidence, from neighborly testimony to the possession of vernacular books that are deemed unorthodox by virtue of both their medium and the social status of their owners. But as it stands, we get more here—a wealth of material intelligibly arranged and edited.

Andrew Cole
University of Georgia