Heralds being sworn, declared that the Pedigree had been deduced out of Records and ancient Books in the Heralds' Office; but the Court would not allow that for evidence, without shelving the Records and Books from whence it had been extracted; and afterwards they produced an ancient Book ending in the year 1582, which was allowed for evidence, and confirmed the Pedigree.—King against Foster, Sir Thomas Jones's Reports, fo. 224.
From all which it may be reasonably concluded, that although the works of those great men are highly beneficial to consult in the first instance, yet, where there is a possibility of producing the original Record, the Court always requires the best evidence that the nature of the Case will admit, and therefore it is highly necessary that all Gentlemen of the Law should be able to read them in their original state.
In order to attain this end, and to avoid the prolixity and inconvenience that must attend the giving separate Tables or Plates for the Contractions of each particular Hand, I have pitched upon the Court-Hand and its Contractions, as the best and most difficult of the Old Law-Hands; a perfect knowledge of which will, with a little application, soon gain absolute dominion over the rest.
The 1st and 2nd Plates contain large Court-Hand Alphabets, with some Contractions; and in Plates 3rd and 4th will be found the Chancery-Hand, and small Court-Hand Alphabets, with specimens of both. The Alphabetical Contractions of the Court-Hand will be found in Plates 5th, 6th, and 7th; and Christian names, as they have been usually contracted, in Plates 8th and 9th; and such words as were commonly contracted in old Charters, &c, Plates 10 to 15 inclusive. The counties of England and Wales, and also the Bishops of England, in the manner they are usually written in old Records, in Plates 16th and 17th. And, lastly, a General Alphabet, with Specimens of very ancient Charters, Deeds, &c, Plates 18, 19, and 20. All which are collected from Manuscripts in my own possession, and theContractions
