Writing History in the Anglo-Norman World: Manuscripts, Makers and Readers, c.1066–c.1250

Description

History was a subject popular with authors and readers in the Anglo-Norman world. The volume and richness of historical writing in the lands controlled by the kings of England, particularly from the twelfth century, has long attracted the attention of historians and literary scholars, whilst editions of works by such writers as Orderic Vitalis, John of Worcester, Symeon of Durham, William of Malmesbury, Gerald of Wales, Roger of Howden, and Matthew Paris has made them well known. Yet the easy availability of modern editions obscures both the creation and circulation of histories in the Middle Ages.This collection of essays returns to the processes involved in writing history, and in particular to the medieval manuscript sources in which the works of such historians survive. It explores the motivations of those writing about the past in the Middle Ages, and the evidence provided by manuscripts for the circumstances in which copies were made. It also addresses the selection of material for copying, combinations of text and imagery, and the demand for copies of particular works, shedding new light on how and why history was being read, reproduced, discussed, adapted, and written.Laura Cleaver is the Ussher Lecturer in Medieval Art, Trinity College Dublin; Andrea Worm is an Assistant Professor at the Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Karl-Franzens-Universität, Graz. Contributors: Stephen Church, Kathryn Gerry, Anne Lawrence-Mathers, Laura Pani, Charles C. Rozier, Gleb Schmidt, Laura Slater, Michael Staunton, Caoimhe Whelan Frontmatter pp i-iv Contents pp v-vi List of Illustrations pp vii-x Acknowledgements pp xi-xi List of Abbreviations pp xii-xii Introduction pp 1-6 By Laura Cleaver, Andrea Worm 1 - Did the Purpose of History Change in England in the Twelfth Century? pp 7-28 By Michael Staunton 2 - England's Place within Salvation History: An Extended Version of Peter of Poitiers' Compendium Historiae in London, British Library, Cotton MS Faustina B VII pp 29-52 By Andrea Worm 3 - Computus and Chronology in Anglo-Norman England pp 53-68 By Anne Lawrence-Mathers 4 - A Saint Petersburg Manuscript of the Excerptio Roberti Herefordensis de Chronica Mariani Scotti pp 69-92 By Gleb Schmidt 5 - Autograph History Books in the Twelfth Century pp 93-112 By Laura Cleaver 6 - Paul the Deacon's Historia Langobardorum in Anglo-Norman England pp 113-132 By Laura Pani 7 - Durham Cathedral Priory and its Library of History, c. 1090–c. 1150 pp 133-148 By Charles C. Rozier 8 - King John's Books and the Interdict in England and Wales pp 149-166 By Stephen Church 9 - Artistic Patronage and the Early Anglo-Norman Abbots of St Albans pp 167-188 By Kathryn Gerry 10 - Matthew Paris, Cecilia de Sanford and the Early Readership of the Vie de Seint Auban pp 189-212 By Laura Slater 11 - New Readers, Old History: Gerald of Wales and the Anglo-Norman Invasion of Ireland pp 213-232 By Caoimhe Whelan Bibliography pp 233-262 Index of Manuscripts pp 263-266 General Index pp 267-270 Writing History in the Middle Ages pp 271-271