The Paston family papers provide an incomparable picture of life in fifteenth-century England, and richly illustrate the resources of the language at an important period. They have long been consulted by historians and other students of the fifteenth century for their information about social history and politics, both within East Anglia and also nationally. The authoritative edition of Parts 1 and 2 by Professor Norman Davis was published by the Clarendon Press in
1971 (Part 1) and 1976 (Part 2), and was reissued with corrections by EETS in 2004. Part 3, edited by Dr Richard Beadle and Professor Colin Richmond, completes the series planned by Professor Davis before his death. It contains the remaining texts with indexes to all three parts.