3. PREPARING THE INTRODUCTION

The purpose of an introduction to a record society volume is plainly to provide useful information to enable readers to get all possible benefit from the sources we have taken the trouble to publish. Readers will want to be assured that we have provided material in a sound, reliable and acceptable fashion which can be trusted and cited without recourse to original manuscripts. They will also value advice relating to contextual matters, problems entailed in the material, and technical points such as definitions of terms, use of language, etc. It would be valuable to provide some comment on standard ways in which historians have made use of the material, but it is important not to get drawn into highly contentious debates. The editor is providing a technical service in making material available for others to use; in order to do that job properly it is vital that full attention is paid to the problems entailed in the sources, rather than getting drawn into problems entailed in their use by historians.

Editors should consider carefully what they are providing for readers, while also noting what they are not doing. It is important to provide clear answers to the following questions which might occur to readers:

• What are we doing? - what documents are we reproducing? How did they originate and where are they now to be found?
• Why are we doing this? - why is the record society bothering with these particular documents? What makes them so worthwhile, so interesting? What makes our presentation of the material helpful / justifiable?
• How are we doing the job? - how best can we explain our chosen structure and plan of attack? What approaches have we considered and rejected? What makes our structure / chosen way of dealing with the sources appropriate?
• What are our sources? - what exactly do we need to tell the reader to ensure that they fully understand the nature of the material we are giving them - its strengths and its weaknesses?
• What problems does the material pose for historians? - this connects with the point above, for readers will want to know technical difficulties, but may also want advice on potential uses, some of which may carry more problems than others.
• What key hypotheses have generally been drawn from past use of this material? - this line is sometimes ignored by those who edit records for fear of being drawn into historiographical minefields. On the other hand, the critical editor who has tried to draw problems and pitfalls in the evidence to the attention of readers may also be considered ‘honour-bound’ to provide some thoughts on past and potential use of the type of material in question. Such thoughts will buttress ideas already presented concerning why the material is worthy of publication.

Consider the merits of adopting an ‘active voice’ in answering the questions above when writing the introduction. This may help to avoid falling into the trap of simply providing ‘background’ information in an implicit, vague attempt to address the concerns of readers. As you construct sections of the introduction, always keep in mind the nagging question: ‘how will this help the reader?’. What do people need to know to help them to make best use of the sources you have provided? Look back over paragraphs and consider carefully how they really assist the reader. Are you sure that you are keeping a tight focus and that the relevance of what you are writing will be immediately apparent to the reader? Think carefully - much as a teacher has to do - about the best order in which to give material to your readers.

It is imperative to provide full details of editorial practice in order to give the reader confidence in your transcription, translation, and selection of material in full or part. This is most obvious when you have adopted an approach which provides full transcriptions of material in some sections, while constructing varying forms of digest in other sections. Remember to comment on all aspects of your editorial work from tables, illustrations and diagrams which you may provide, to footnoting conventions, common abbreviations, etc. It may be helpful to provide a glossary of technical, obscure terms; likewise a critical bibliography.

An introduction is not a free-standing, separate essay on topics related to the printed material; it should serve as a tool to enable readers to make good use of the text. It follows from this point that a good introduction endeavours to make use of material in the text in order to bring that material to life. General points being made in the introduction should always be clinched by reference to the specific material being published. This applies when talking about source problems as well as when discussing more obvious matters of content.

Finally, you might find it useful to consider carefully what you are not doing with the text and introduction, partly because this will sharpen your focus on what you are doing, but also because it may provide you with thoughts for obvious points which you might otherwise neglect to comment upon. It may make you think about common assumptions which readers may bring to reading the text, assumptions which you may wish partly to dispel. Always take the precaution of getting a variety of people to read your drafts, for nothing is ever as obvious as it seems!

Andrew Foster