Calendar of Coroners' Bolls of the City of London, 1300-
1378. Edited by Reginald R. Sharpe. (R. Clay and Sons.) —This interesting repertory of social life in mediaeval London is printed by order of the Corporation under the direction of the Library Committee, and is edited in scholarly fashion by the Records Clerk. The nine Rolls here calendared reveal the seamy side of City life in the fourteenth century, "One cannot help remarking how quickly, in those days, a word was followed by a blow from some lethal weapon. It was common for two men to be apparently on friendly terms, when suddenly a quarrel would break ont, and one would deal the other a blow with a sword or a knife which sooner or later caused his death." The chapter of accidents is also very instructive ; many people were crushed by carts in the narrow streets—the traffic problem is no new one.
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