Largely unpublished hitherto, the materials contained in The Records of Convocation have been drawn from a variety of sources. They make available, for the first time, the fullest possible account of the convocations which stood at the very heart of the nation's life throughout most of the medieval and early modern period. The Records of Convocation contain the minutes of clergy synods, the legislation passed by them, tax assessments imposed by the king on the clergy, and accounts of the great debates about religious reformation and reform.

The core of this edition relates to the convocations of the Church of England, beginning in 1313. Ten volumes are devoted to the province of Canterbury, containing all the records surviving from 1313 until the revival of convocation by the Victorians after over a century's suspension in 1852. Scholars will find the materials for the period 1489-1666 of particular interest, as the original records were burnt in the great fire of London and have been reconstructed from copies and allusions found elsewhere.

In addition, this series makes available in print for the first time the records of the convocation of the Church of Ireland, covering the period from 1101, when the first reforming synod in Ireland is recorded, to its disestablishment in 1869. There are also two volumes of records of the Manx convocation. These volumes cover the period from 1229 to the present day, but they are of particular interest for the eighteenth century, where they provide a remarkably full and detailed account of a vigorous period of ecclesiastical reform.

Records of Convocation provides a modern, critical and comprehensive edition of the surviving records of one of the key institutions of English (and Irish) society, rivalled in importance for much of medieval and early modern period only by parliament. It will form an essential part of the collections of any major research library.