"The proctors' accounts of St Werburgh's are unique in that no similar body of material has survived for any other Irish parish. These lay sources reveal the workings of a parochial community, enabling comparisons to be made with contemporary parochial communities elsewhere in Europe. They also reveal a high level of lay participation in the religious life of the parish. The post-Reformation accounts belong chiefly to the Elizabethan period, indicating the extent to which earlier medieval practices had disappeared, at least from 1570 onwards. Together they add to our knowledge of the context of the religious upheavals in 16th-century Ireland."--Publisher's description.