TOUT, THOMAS FREDERICK. Chapters in the administrative history of mediaeval England. (Publications of the University of Manchester) 2v ea *$7 (*12s) Longmans 354
20–14380
“Mr Tout’s magnum opus had its origin in a mood of almost casual curiosity, awakened ten years ago by the essay of a young French scholar upon the use or ‘diplomatic’ of the small seals which the English kings used in their correspondence—the privy seal, the secret seal, the signet. A desire to clear up a few obscure points in English diplomatic of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries led him to explore the untouched treasures of the public record office. The next step was a reconstruction of the royal household—in particular, of its administrative offices, the chamber and wardrobe, and of their instruments, the small seals. Hence the sub-title of the work——‘The wardrobe, the chamber, and the small seals.’ To a scholar with Mr Tout’s wide knowledge of European history in the later middle ages such an inquiry was full of suggestion; and so his book reached its present form—a survey of English administration, almost a revision of English political and constitutional history, from the Norman conquest to the death of Richard II.”—Ath
“A most valuable feature of Professor Tout’s book will be found in the luminous exposition of sources and authorities as set forth in a descriptive chapter on documentary material. With clearness and originality there is apt to be excessive positiveness. In points of controversy the author occasionally falls into the temptation of exaggeration by over-stating an opposing view in order the more sharply to challenge it.” J. F. Baldwin
+ − Am Hist R 26:78 O ’20 1200w
“In these days of specialism Professor Tout has never forgotten the more spacious period of scholarship. He is still under its influence. And this is why, to a book packed with new material and highly technical in character, he has been able to give the quality of fine and significant history. Limited in range though it is, this book is not unworthy of a place beside the ‘Constitutional history of England.’” F. M. P.
+ Ath p174 Ag 6 ’20 2150w
“This is the most important contribution to the study of English history that has been made in many a year. At every point it breaks new ground; and at every point it shows an amplitude of knowledge and a depth of research which put Professor Tout among the most eminent scholars of this generation.” H. J. Laski
+ Nation 111:sup666 D 8 ’20 1000w