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THE BOOK OF PRESTS OF THE KING'S WARDROBE FOR 1294-5. Presented to Sir John Goronwy Edwards. General Editor, E. B. Fryde. Oxford, 1962. Pp. lix + 266. The product of improved methods of household accounting evolved possibly between 1290 and 1295 during Walter Langton's keepership of the king's 'wardrobe', this Book of Prests-the first extant record of its kind-will be welcomed by all students of English administrative history. In a short introduction Dr. Edmund Fryde with characteristic acumen unravels the diplomatic affinities and technical significance of the record. But in simple terms prests were advances of expenses and wages paid to officers, squires, and other members of the royal household, for which the recipients were later required to render account. Items included in this type of record were drawn from a variety of other household accounts, two of which, The Enrolled Account of Walter Langton for 23 Ed. I and The Account of John Sandale for the Army of Montgomery in the Welsh War 23 Ed. I, are printed as Appendices A and B in the present volume. Of greater general interest is the fact that the entries recorded in this document cover one of the most critical years-the twenty-third-in the reign of Edward I. Between November 1294 and November 1295 the king was obliged to suspend carefully prepared action against France in order to face renewed rebellion and a third exhaustive military campaign in Wales. The Welsh interest of the Book of Prests, containing as it does many of the major as well as minor items of expenditure incurred by the 'wardrobe' during the war in Wales, will therefore be self-evident. Considerable use has already been made of this evidence (as well as that of the Appendices) by Sir Goronwy Edwards in several important articles, notably 'The Battle of Maes Madog and the Welsh Campaign of 1294-95' which appeared in E.H.R. as far back as 1924.1 It was therefore a happily inspired thought which led a small group of Sir Goronwy's former pupils to collaborate in editing a record on which one of his pioneer writings was based and to which he has returned more than once in the course of the intervening years. As those who will have occasion to use it will soon realize, there is much more to learn from and about this unique text than it has been possible for the general editor and his collaborator to indicate in the introductory sections. No tribute therefore could be more appropriate to a scholar whose greatest delight has always been in the challenge presented by the tantalizing and obscure in the medieval administrative and legal record. A glance at the list of Sir Goronwy's publications appended to this finely produced volume will serve to remind students of Welsh history of their indebtedness to this loyal son of Flintshire who has passed 1 See also 'The Site of the Battle of Meismeidoc'. E.H.R., XLVI (1931); 'Edward I's Castle Building in Wales', Proc. Brit. Acad., XXXIII (1950); 'Madog ap Llywelyn, the Welsh leader in 1294-5', B.B.C.S., XIII (1950).