This book is a continuation of The Heads of Religious Houses: England and Wales 940–1216, edited by Knowles, Brooke and London (1972), continuing the lists from 1216 to 1377, arranged by religious order. An introduction examines critically the sources on which they are based.

An original reinterpretation of the legal aspects of feudalism, and the important distinction between citizens and non-citizens.

Fresh approaches to how premodern women were viewed in legal terms, demonstrating how this varied from country to country and across the centuries.