Royal Responsibility in Anglo-Norman Historical Writing

Description

It has long been established that the crisis of 1066 generated a florescence of historical writing in the first half of the twelfth century. Emily A. Winkler presents a new perspective on previously unqueried matters, investigating how historians' individual motivations and assumptions produced changes in the kind of history written across the Conquest. She argues that responses to the Danish Conquest of 1016 and the Norman Conquest of 1066 changed dramatically within two generations of the latter conquest. Repeated conquest could signal repeated failures and sin across the orders of society, yet early twelfth-century historians in England not only extract English kings and people from a history of failure, but also establish English kingship as a worthy office on a European scale. Royal Responsibility in Anglo-Norman Historical Writing illuminates the consistent historical agendas of four historians: William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, John of Worcester, and Geffrei Gaimar. In their narratives of England's eleventh-century history, these twelfth-century historians expanded their approach to historical explanation to include individual responsibility and accountability within a framework of providential history. In this regard, they made substantial departures from their sources. These historians share a view of royal responsibility independent both of their sources (primarily the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) and of any political agenda that placed English and Norman allegiances in opposition. Although the accounts diverge widely in the interpretation of character, all four are concerned more with the effectiveness of England's kings than with the legitimacy of their origins. Their new, shared view of royal responsibility represents a distinct phenomenon in England's twelfth-century historiography. Cover Royal Responsibility in Anglo-Norman Historical Writing Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents List of Abbreviations Key Dates-Kings of England in the Eleventh Century Genealogies Part I: Structures of Historiography And Royal Responsibility 1: Introduction On the Distribution of Responsibility Storylines of English History in the Twelfth Century William of Malmesbury: Invasion, Explanation, and Responsibility Henry of Huntingdon: Conquest and Tragedy John of Worcester: Crafting a new History GeffreI Gaimar: Every Noble´s England Structure of the Book 2: The Foundations of Conditional Kingship A Prelude to Kingship Cicero: Moral and Causal Responsibility Biblical Precedents for Kingship: The Original Invasion Narratives Carolingian Models Mirrors for Princes: Reflection and Reality Invasion, Explanation, and Rule in the Carolingian World Penance, Punishment, and the Contingency of Rule 3: Invasion, Explanation, and Responsibility in Anglo-Saxon England England´s Eleventh Century: A Guide to the Narrative Anglo-Saxon Precedents: Kingship, Invasion, and Explanation Invasion and Explanation in Early Insular Writing Responsibility in the Reign of King Alfred Ideals and the Distribution of Responsibility Late Anglo-Saxon England: Penance and Collective Sin Responsibilities Distributed Sources for Eleventh-Century England The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: Background The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the Danish Invasions Comparing Eleventh-Century Accounts of Both Conquests Providence, Responsibility, and Collective Sin in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Part II: Twelfth-Century England 4: Within the Providential Plan Explanation, Reason, and Responsibility William of Malmesbury: Individual Responsibility Henry of Huntingdon: Tragedy and Agency Royal Responsibility Within the Divine Plan 5: The Challenge to Providence: John and Gaimar The Disappearance of the Long-Term Cause John of Worcester: Patterns in Chaos King Edward as a Defender of England: A Case Study in Causation and the Redistribution of Responsibility Responsibility and Redemption Geffrei Gaimar and the Absence of Providence Intention and Loyalty Part III: Royal Responsibility and the English 6: Conditional Kingship: Expanding the Nature of the Succession William of Malmesbury: English Change and English Constancy Henry of Huntingdon: Humanity and Individual Will John of Worcester: Æthelings and Initiative Resolution and Reconciliation Three English Kings: Edward, Harold, and William I Geffrei Gaimar: Continuity of Office Concluding the Succession 7: Conditional Kingship: Expectations for Kings Cnut: the Character of an English King William I: the Distinction of English Kingship Critiques of A King: the Role of Faults WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY ON KING EDWARD: A COUNTERPOINT OF CONDITIONAL KINGSHIP On Being English Kings 8: Redeeming the English Past Redistributing Responsibility: Reasons and Rationales Diminishing the Consequences of Conquest Redistributing Responsibility: Rewriting the Resistance John and Gaimar on the English Defence: Intention, Influence, and Autonomy The English and their King: Mutual Loyalty Confidence in the English Gaimar´s Harold: A Hero, but not a King Henry: Sympathy for the English Redemption and Reality 9: Conclusions: Conquest and Rulership Within and Without the Providential Plan Patterns of Historical Writing The Nature of English Kingship and the New English Past Re-Thinking England in the Eleventh Century The Paradoxes of Distributing Responsibility Royal Responsibility and Redeeming History Bibliography 1. Printed Primary Sources 2. Secondary Sources Index