Probate records are a key source for historians of the early modern period, and can be used to shed light upon a wide range of economic, social and demographic issues. They survive in considerable quantity for most regions of the country and the parishes and settlements that lay within them. Twenty-five years ago their exploitation had hardly begun: now they are used regularly by both professional and family historians. Given this, it is surprising that there is still no single volume that discusses probate evidence in its various forms, and When Death Do Us Part is designed to fill that gap in the literature. Part One describes the legal context that generated these records and discusses the uses and potential for historical study of the three principal sources:wills, inventories and accounts. It is extended in the appendices by selected acts concerning probate from various ecclesiastical Canons and Acts of Parliament and through transcriptions of sample probate documents. Part Two contains four very different approaches to the study of wills and two explorations of the potential of probate accounts. Part Three is devoted to probate inventories, including three case studies demonstrating their potential when employed alongside other sources and two further chapters that concentrate upon their language.

The seventeen essays contained in this volume provide a unique insight into the probate records of early modern England. With its emphasis upon method, approach and interpretation, demonstrated through both general discussions and a range of case studies, this book will be of value to a wide audience, including historians experienced in the use of these sources as well as those new to them. Its readership will therefore encompass academics and students in universities and colleges, as well as local and family historians enagaged in the investigation of particular communities.