The author and acclaimed historian of this book, originally published in 1926, was a strong advocate for the use of original source documents in the study of history, maintaining that applying historical criticism to documents, and balancing one document against another was a process of 'the highest educational value'. He compiled this volume with the aim of giving easy access to the more important documents of political history for the period between the Norman Conquest and the Accession of the House of Tudor. All the documents are translated into English from French or Latin and important documents, such as the Magna Carta are given in their entirety. The plan and arrangement of the documents is based on the belief that the political history of the Middle Ages is best understood in the light of social, economic and cultural evolution.