there are no parish records from that period so nearly all info will have been gleaned from land holdings - these generally pass in the male line (and even then the date of change might well be several years after the death) - the earliest such records date 1490's though 1511/15 is generally counted as start
Prior to this are the occasional sightings in eg Garrison Roll of 1428 but there will be little to connect forward - earliest wills are generally c.1600

The Christians are well studied - eg 'Yesterdays behind the door' + the american connection