INVENTORY:







bristolcustoms1474database.xlsx



bristolcustoms1474intro.pdf







APPLICATIONS:







Requires an application capable of opening an EXCEL file to open the database.



Requires an application capable of opening a pdf file to read the Introduction.







DATABASE COLUMN HEADINGS:







These are the standard column headings used in the 'Bristol Customs Accounts' project. 


In some cases a column may not be included in an individual spreadsheet. 


For instance, if the original manuscript from which the spreadsheet was compiled is a roll, 


the Doc fo. column will not be included but Doc m. will appear. 


If, for whatever reason, there is insufficient information to populate any cell within a column,

then that cell will record 'Not Entered' or 'Unknown' (in text columns) or

zero (in number and date columns).






Entry: An editorially assigned number for the entry to indicate the order in which it appears 


in the original manuscript.




Port of Account: Place for which the account is being made (e.g. Bristol or Bristol: Creeks).


This column is included only in the small number of spreadsheets that include sub-accounts 


for small havens under the jurisdiction of the Head Port of Bristol. 





Ship Type: The type of vessel if the customs officer listed it. This is given in the original Latin 


for a vessel (e.g. navis, navicula, batella), since the terms do not have exact modern equivalents.


Broadly speaking, a 'navis' was a great ship of >150 tons burden, a 'navicula' a smaller ship of 


c.35-150 tons, while 'batella' were boats of <35 tons.  In a few cases forms of land transport are 


indicated. These have been translated into English (e.g. horse, cart).







Name: Name of the vessel (e.g. Matthew, Mare Redclyf, John Euaungelyst, Dolfyn). Spelling given 

as it appears in the manuscript. Since this varies, the same vessel may be listed at different times 

by variant spellings (e.g. Mighell, Myghell, Michel, Myhell).  Multiple vessels may also be called by 

the same name; or the second part of a specific name omitted (e.g. the Petre Grafton is also

described as the Petur, skippered by the same shipmaster). 







Port: The vessel's home port, which is usually where its owners came from (e.g. Bristol, 


Bordeaux, San Sebastian). The spelling is as listed in the account (e.g. Bristoll, Bristow).







Modern name: The modern spelling of the port, as recorded in The Times Atlas.






Country: The modern country the port lies in (e.g. England, Wales, Portugal).







Master 1st: The first name of the shipmaster, as translated from the nominative form of the Latin 


(e.g. Egidio becomes Egidius becomes Giles). Where the translation is uncertain, the name is left 


in its original form.







Master Surname: The surname of the master. This follows the original spelling as it appears in the 


manuscript. Since this varies, the same person may be listed at different times by variant spellings 


(e.g. Smythe, Smyth, Smithe).







Destination: The place the ship was recorded as sailing to (in the case of outbound ships), 



or sailing from (in the case of inbound ships). The destination can be a specific port (e.g. Luxbon), 



a region (e.g. Andolosia), or a country (e.g Hibernia). Spelling given as it appears in the manuscript.







Destination modern: The modern spelling of the listed destination (e.g. Lisbon, Andalucia, Ireland).







Country of destination: The modern country in which the destination is located (e.g. France).







Date: The date of entry or exit of the vessel as recorded by the customs officers in their book.



This is not necessarily the same day the vessel physically arrived or departed the port.







Merchant 1st: First name of the merchant, as translated into English from the nominative form of the 


Latin (e.g. Johanne becomes Johannes becomes John). Where the translation is uncertain, it is left in 


its original form.





Merchant Surname: The surname of the merchant. This follows the original spelling as it appears in 


the manuscript. Since this varies, the same person may be listed at different times by variant spellings 


(e.g. Broune, Browne, Brown, or Vaghan, Vaughan, Waghan).



Attorney 1st: First name of a merchant acting as an attorney (factor) on behalf of another merchant or 

merchants. The name is translated from the nominative form of the Latin (e.g. Dionisium becomes Dionisius 

becomes Dennis). This column is used only in the spreadsheet for 1465/6, where it is commonly applicable 

because of arrangements made by the Crown for the repayment of a loan.



Attorney Surname: The surname of the attorney. This follows the original spelling as it appears in 


the manuscript. In the few instances in which more than one merchant is cited by name in the Merchant Surname

column, but the attorney is acting only for a single merchant, the Attorney Surname is followed by the full 

name of the merchant for whom he is acting, both surnames taking in the form used in the manuscript

(e.g. Tye, attorney Robert Baron).  This column is used only in the spreadsheet for 1465/6, where it is 

commonly applicable because of arrangements made by the Crown for the repayment of a loan.  In other

years the occasional use of an attorney is remarked by a comment attached to a Merchant Surname cell.







Origin: The origin of the merchant as recorded in abbreviated form by the customs officer. This was usually 


'Ind' (Indigenus: a denizen subject of the English Crown),'Alien' (Alienigenus: a foreigner), 


or 'Hans' (Hanse: Hansard, someone from the Hanseatic League). The point of recording this information was 


that the different categories of merchant paid different customs duties.







Quantity: The quantity of units of the particular type of commodity shipped.







Unit: The type of unit referred to (e.g. barrel, ton, piece).







Commodity: The type of merchandise shipped, translated from the nominative of the Latin (e.g. vini becomes 
vinum becomes wine; casei becomes caseus becomes cheese).  Pannus sine grano (cloth without grain, i.e. not 
dyed with kermes), is rendered throughout as 'cloth of assize'.







£: The assigned value of the merchandise in pounds sterling.







s.: The assigned value of the merchandise in shillings.  This is additional to the entry in the £ column.







d.: The assigned value the merchandise in pence. This is additional to the entries in the £ and s. columns.







f.: The assigned value of the merchandise in farthings. Additional to the entries in the previous 


three currency columns. So, if an item was valued at £2 6s. 8d. 1f., this information will be recorded


across the four columns.







Mod. £: The assigned value of the merchandise rendered into modern decimal format (e.g £5 5s. becomes £5.25).


There were 20s. to the pound, 12d. to the shilling and 4f. to the penny. So, £1 = 960f. Expressed in English, 


the formula used to convert the value into the decimal pounds is: 


(pounds x 960) + (shilling x 48) + (pence x 4) + (farthings) / 960







Doc fo.: The folio number within the manuscript where the entry appears.





Doc m.: The membrane number within the manuscript where the entry appears.







Doc. Ref: The document reference of the manuscript, as held by The National Archives, London.  


Sometimes known (USA) as call number.



COMMENTS:



Comments may provide further information on the contents of any one cell.  When using EXCEL, they are 

indicated by a red triangle in the top right-hand corner of the cell, and appear on mouse hover.