Gilbert of Penn (Staffordshire) and His Will of 1260

ABSTRACT Although historians have become increasingly cautious in the interpretation of their contents as historical sources, wills remain an attractive entrée to many aspects of medieval life and society. However, such documents are rare before the later fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and therefore the survival of a testament dating to September 1260, from Lower Penn in Staffordshire, is worthy of wider notice. The nature and context of the document and the bequests made by Gilbert of Penn are discussed and what the will reveals of Gilbert and his world considered.