A number of surviving sources shed considerable
light on the administration and organisation of Fountains and its
estates in the later Middle Ages, particularly during John
Greenwell’s
abbacy. Less is known about the spiritual well-being of the monks
and the nature of their devotions. Still, details regarding the
provisioning of the abbey, building and repair work, the nature
of the abbot’s duties and the abbey’s servants can
reveal much about daily life at this time. The main sources for
this period are the Bursar’s Book, an extensive record of
purchases and payments from 1456-9, and ‘Thomas
Swinton’s
Memorandum Book’, which documents his dealings as a chief
official (obedientiary) of the abbey with the servants and tenants
of Fountains. It covers the years 1446-58, and lists expenses,
receipts, rents and debts. In addition, there is a fifteenth-century
stock book, and what is known as the ‘President’s Book’,
a chronicle of the abbots of Fountains, setting out their dates
of office, place of burial, and occasional remarks.