A detailed study of the King's Hall, Cambridge, from its foundation in
the early fourteenth century until its dissolution in 1546. It is based
largely on the 26 extant volumes of the King's Hall accounts which form
one of the most remarkable sequences of medieval collegiate records in
Europe. The rich profusion of the material has made it possible to
reconstruct the economic, constitutional and business organisation of a
medieval academic society, thereby providing for the college that same
kind of exhaustive treatment which has been lavished upon other
categories of medieval institutions. Dr Cobban discusses the vital
contribution made by the King's Hall to the evolution of the University
of Cambridge and shows how the interpretation of medieval Cambridge
history has to be considerably modified. He demonstrates the important
formative influence of the King's Hall in shaping the course of English
collegiate development and the ways in which this College was finely
attuned to the new educational trends of the age.