Red Book of the Exchequer facts for kids

The Red Book of the Exchequer (also known as Liber Rubeus) is a very old collection of important papers. It was put together in the 1200s for the English government's money department, called the Exchequer. This book contains many official records and notes that were used as examples for future decisions.

People kept adding new information to the book all the way up to the 1700s. Today, you can find it at The National Archives in Kew, London. It's called the "Red Book" because of its red leather cover. This helps tell it apart from another similar book, the Black Book of the Exchequer.

A historian named J. Horace Round once said in 1898 that the Red Book was almost as important as the famous Domesday Book. He noted that it had been a key record for over 600 years. Government officials valued it for its examples, and historians loved it for its huge amount of information about places and families. Many generations of students have studied its well-used pages.

What's Inside the Red Book?

The first part of the Red Book was put together around 1230. This was done by Alexander of Swerford, who was a senior clerk at the Exchequer. He later became a Baron of the Exchequer, a high-ranking official. Even after Alexander's time, new entries were added to the book for centuries. People continued to write in it until the 1700s.

The Red Book holds almost 300 different records and texts. These include many types of documents:

• Important agreements like Charters.
• Laws passed by the government, known as Statutes.
• Court records called Placita.
• Private agreements and rules.
• Letters and official messages.
• Historical writings like Chronicles or Annals.
• Writings about religion, science, or law.
• Descriptions of places (Topographies).
• Family histories (Genealogies).
• Surveys and financial reports.
• Examples for future cases.
• Even some jokes!

Some of the famous texts found in the Red Book include:

• The Cartae Baronum from 1166, which was a survey of how land was held.
• The Leges Henrici Primi, an early collection of laws from the time of King Henry I.
• The Constitutio domus regis, a guide from about 1136 on how the royal household was run.
• The Dialogus de Scaccario, a detailed guide from the late 1100s about how the Exchequer worked.
• The Book of Fees from around 1302.
• A 1300s guide about the Royal Mint, where coins were made.
• Old financial records called pipe rolls from the 1100s.
• Deeds and grants from William the Conqueror and Henry I.
• A copy of the famous Magna Carta.
• Records about serjeanties, which were special services owed to the king.
• The official oaths taken by Exchequer officers and the king's advisors.

How the Book Looks

The Red Book is a very thick book. It's a folio volume, which means its pages are large. It has 345 pages made of parchment, which is a type of animal skin used for writing. The book is about 13.5 inches (34 cm) long, 9.5 inches (24 cm) wide, and 3.5 inches (8.9 cm) deep.

Sadly, some parts of the book are now hard to read. This happened because of past attempts to make faded writing clearer. People used a chemical called gallic acid, which ended up making some pages unreadable.

Where the Book Was Kept

Even though the Red Book started in the Exchequer, it sometimes moved around. In the Middle Ages, it was occasionally kept with the royal Wardrobe office. This meant it traveled with the king's household.

Later, in the early modern period, it was kept by the King's (or Queen's) Remembrancer. This official stored it in a strong iron chest. The book was often carried into the Court of King's Bench. This was done to show that the Exchequer had special rights. It meant the Court of Exchequer could hear cases involving its own officers or accountants.

In the 1600s and 1700s, many historians and scholars learned about the Red Book. It was often mentioned in the works of famous writers like William Dugdale and Thomas Madox.

In 1870, the Red Book was moved to the care of the Master of the Rolls. It was then placed in the Public Record Office. Today, it is kept at The National Archives in Kew, London. Its official reference code is E 164/2.

When the Book Was Published

A detailed description of the Red Book's contents was first published in 1838 by Joseph Hunter.

Later, in 1897, a full edition of the book was published in three volumes. This was part of a government-funded series called the Rolls Series. The editor was Hubert Hall from the Public Record Office. Hall reorganized the book's contents to make them easier to understand. He also left out some parts that were already published elsewhere or that he didn't have space for.