A SOURCE BOOK OF
LONDON HISTORY
 
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES
TO 1800

If the study of History is to be made really valuable fromeither the recreative or the educational point of view, it isnecessary to have frequent recourse to original sources andcontemporary writings; they introduce a certain quality ofreality and vividness, a kind of historical atmosphere, whichis most essential to a true appreciation of the subject. Thisfact is now generally recognised, and many collections ofsources are available for the student of English History. Inthis volume will be found a selection of passages, generallyfrom contemporary sources, relating to the history of London.It is quite impossible, of course, in a small book to do justiceto every aspect of the subject; and it has seemed best to givespecial prominence to those events which concern the City asa whole, its growth, its corporate life, and its connection withnational affairs.

Besides a vast mass of general contemporary literature, alarge number of the most important and interesting documentsdealing with London history have already been printed; butall this material is very scattered, and frequently rather inaccessibleto the general reader. The Histories by Maitlandand Noorthouck, published in the eighteenth century, containtranslations of charters and other documents; Riley's"Memorials" is invaluable for the fourteenth century; andmany useful suggestions have been derived from Besant's"Survey of London."

The spelling of the extracts has generally been modernised,vibut in a few cases the original text has been exactlyfollowed.

It is hoped that the chronological arrangement of thepassages, the care which has been taken in selecting them soas to illustrate events or circumstances of definite importancein the history of the City, and the introductory remarks attachedto each extract, will save this volume from being merely acollection of historical scraps, and will enable it to be of realuse to all who are interested in the story of London.