Thomas Appleby was an Augustinian canon of Carlisle cathedral before his elevation to the bishopric. Pope Urban V, who had reserved the see, initially squashed Appleby's election but appointed him as bishop by papal provision. Consecrated at Avignon on 18 June 1363, his episcopate turned out to be the longest of any bishop of Carlisle, and he ruled the border diocese for well over thirty years before his death in 1395. His register gives ample evidence of his careful administration of the diocese and also reveals his political involvement as a warden of the west march, frequently involved in negotiations with the Scots.
The publication of this volume completes the set of the surviving medieval episcopal registers of Carlisle undertaken by Professor Robin Storey.