Illuminated History Books in the Anglo-Norman World, 1066-1272

Description

During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, texts about the recent and more distant past were produced in remarkable numbers in the lands controlled by the kings of England. This may be seen, in part, as a response to changing social and political circumstances in the wake of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. The names of many of the twelfth and thirteenth-century historians are well known, and they include Orderic Vitalis, William of Malmesbury, John of Worcester, Henry of Huntingdon, Gerald of Wales, and Matthew Paris. Yet the manuscripts in which these works survive are also evidence for the involvement of many other people in the production of history, as patrons, scribes, and artists. Illuminated History Books in the Anglo-Norman World focuses on history books of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to examine what they reveal about the creation, circulation, and reception of history in this period. In particular, this research concentrates on illuminated manuscripts. These volumes represent an additional investment of time, labour, and resources, and combinations of text and imagery shed light on engagements with the past as manuscripts were copied at specific times and places. Imagery could be used to reproduce the features of older sources, but it was also used to call attention to particular elements of a text, and to impose frameworks onto the past. As a result, Illuminated History Books in the Anglo-Norman World has the potential to change the way in which we see the medieval past and its historians. Cover Illuminated History Books in the Anglo-Norman World, 1066–1272 Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations Maps Genealogical Tables Introduction 1: Making Histories in Normandy, 1066–1204 PATRONS AND AUTHORS AUTHORS AND SCRIBES ARTISTS 2: Text and Image: Shaping History in England, 1066–1272 THE WORCESTER CHRONICLE THE BATTLE OF THE STANDARD AND HENRY OF HUNTINGDON GERALD OF WALES RALPH DICETO MATTHEW PARIS MATTHEW PARIS’ LEGACY 3: Documents, Documentation, and the Making of History Books DOMESDAY BOOKS CHARTERS AND CARTULARIES DOCUMENTS AND NARRATIVES IN THE WORK OF MATTHEW PARIS 4: Charting History Conclusion APPENDIX: Ralph Diceto, De diversis auctoribus quo tempore scripserint Bibliography EDITIONS OF MEDIEVAL TEXTS SECONDARY SOURCES Index of Manuscripts General Index