THE Account of the Executors of Thomas de Bitton, Bishop of
Exeter, which forms a portion of this volume, was discovered in
1867 by Mr. Stuart Moore among the archives of the city of
Exeter, when he was employed in arranging those very interesting
treasures. Happening to see it, I at once thought it deserved to
be made public, and I wrote to my friend the late Mr. Bruce about
it, and he soon informed me that the Council of the Camden Society
would admit it amongst their issues if I would undertake the
editorship.

Finding that the document contained a number of words of very
obscure and doubtful meaning, I wrote to my friend the late Arch-
deacon Hale asking him to work it up, as he would have more
ready access to Lexicons of all sorts than I could have in the
country. He most kindly assented, telling me at the same time
that he had lately found a very similar document of nearly the
same date among the archives of S. Paul's; viz. the Account of
the Executors of Richard de Gravesend, Bishop of London, who
died 1303, six years before Bishop Bitton, This roll is twenty-six
feet in length, written on one side. He thought the two would
make a most interesting volume, and, upon bringing the matter
before the Council of the Society, the proposal was accepted with
great pleasure, and we were left to carry out the publication.