| APC | The Acts of the Privy Council of England, ed. J. R. Dasent ( 46 vols., London, 1890- 1964) |
| BIHR | Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research; known from 1987 onwards as Historical Research |
| BL | British Library |
| Birch, Memoirs | Thomas Birch, Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, from the Year 1581 until her Death ( 2 vols., London, 1754) |
| Camden, Annals | William Camden, Annals of Queen Elizabeth, trans. H. Norton ( London, 1635) |
| Chronicle of Edward VI | The Chronicle and Political Papers of Edward VI, ed. W. K. Jordan ( London, 1966) |
| Chronicle of Queen Jane | The Chronicle of Queen Jane, and of two years of Queen Mary, ed. J. G. Nichols, Camden Soc. 48 ( London, 1850) |
| Collins, Letters | Arthur Collins (ed.), Letters and Memorials of State . . . Written and Collected by Sir Henry Sidney ( 2 vols., London, 1746) |
| CSP Dom. | Calendar of State Papers, Domestic |
| CSP Ire. | Calendar of State Papers, Ireland |
| CSP Scot. | Calendar of State Papers, Scotland |
| CSP Span. | Calendar of State Papers, Spanish |
| CSP Ven. | Calendar of State Papers, Venetian |
| Devereux, Letters | W. B. Devereux, Lives and Letters of the Devereux Earls of Essex ( 2 vols., London, 1853) |
| DNB | Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee (eds.), The Dictionary of National Biography ( 63 vols., London, 1885- 1900) |
| EcHR | Economic History Review |
| EHR | English Historical Review |
| Foxe | John Foxe, Acts and Monuments of the English Church (better known as The Book of Martyrs), |