The Black Book of the Admiralty
With an Appendix
The Black Book of the Admiralty 4 Volume Set Series

The Black Book of the Admiralty is a late medieval Old French manuscript containing a variety of documents relating to the administrative and legal responsibilities of the office of the lord high admiral, with later additions relating to the court of chivalry and the laws of war. The edition of this manuscript produced by Sir Travers Twiss (1809?97) between 1871 and 1876 filled only part of one of four volumes. The remaining content ranges from the late thirteenth-century borough custumal of Ipswich and other later medieval general custumals from south-west France, to a variety of different codes of maritime law also from south-west France, Catalonia, southern Italy, the Baltic and the crusader kingdom of Jerusalem. Volume 1 contains the text of the Black Book, along with other materials relating to the office of admiral and to the admiralty court from late medieval France and England, as well as two late medieval English ordinances of war.

Introduction; List of manuscripts; Table of subjects; Old rules for the Lord Admiral; Instructions for the Lord Admiral in time of war; Rules and orders about admiralty matters; Laws of Oleron; Inquisition of Queenborow; Ordo judiciorum; De officio admiralitatis; Admiralty of John Holland, Duke of Exeter; Ordinances of war; Wager of battle; De materia duelli; Appendix: admiralty of Sir Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter; Ordinance of Philippe de Valois for the expedition against England; Ordinance of Charles V on the jurisdiction of the admiral; Rights and privileges of the admirals of France; Ordinances of war.