These are the Latin wills from the first surviving register of wills proved in the court of the Archdeacon of Bedford, ABP/R 1, of which those in English were edited by Mr. A. F. Cirket and published in vol. xxxvii of this series in 1957, where there will be found a full account of the register’s format and history. In this edition of the Latin wills the same editorial policy has been followed as in vol. xxxvii. Place-names have been modernised, and most Christian names abbreviated. A slight change from the previous volume is that the church dedication is sometimes given—always when it differs from that generally used today, taking this as the one in the official Diocesan Year Book. The text also notes if no dedication is given at all. A further difference is that the wills in this volume are numbered, and the number is used for all references and for the index. After the number comes the name of the testator in full, the place of residence, or if this is not given, the place of burial in square brackets, and then the dates when the will was made and proved. Year dates from January to 24th March have been modernised. After this in round brackets is the folio of the register.

The testator’s instructions for his burial are given only if he is to be buried elsewhere than in the parish churchyard, and then come his spiritual legacies, i.e. his mortuary or principal (the customary gift to the incumbent from the estate of a dead parishioner), bequests for tithes unpaid, gifts for churches or clergy, bequests for masses or obits, and then other charitable gifts except to roads or bridges.

Bequests of property and personalia come next, followed by any donation to the upkeep of roads or bridges, which are separated from the other charitable bequests for ease of reference. Lastly come the names of executors, overseer and witnesses.

Four wills have been transcribed in full to show the form of the originals, nos. 25, 104, 157 and 166. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are as the clerk wrote them, but capital letters have been made consistent.