Riley, Henry Thomas., Chronica Monasterii S. Albani. (London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, (Rolls Series, No. 28), 12 vols., 1863-1876). View Source Online

Text name(s): Historia Anglicana, chronica et annales regnatibus Henrico tertio et Edwardo primo, Gesta abatum Monasterii sancti Ablani, Annales Monasterii S. Albani, Registra quorundam abatum monasterii S. Albani, Ypodigma Neustriae

Number of pages of primary source text: 0

Medieval Author(s): Amundesham, Johannes Rishanger, William Trokelowe, John de Walsingham, Thomas

Dates: 1259 - 1476

Archival Reference: Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; BL Cottonian MSS

Original Language(s): Latin; Anglo-Norman;

Translation: Original language included.

Translation Comments:

Geopolitical Region(s): England; France; Scotland;

County/Region: Hertfordshire; St. Ablans; Sopwell

Apparatus: Index Glossary Appendices Facsimile Introduction

Comments:

This publication contains seven works composed by monks at the Monastery of St. Ablans in Hertfordshire.

The first two volumes are Thomas Walsingham’s “Historia Anglicana” which covers the years 1272-1422. The author, Walsingham was a monk at St. Albans. The portion of the chronicle prior to 1377 is primarily a compilation of the work of prior authors. The portion pertaining to the years 1377-1422 seems to be a contemporary composition and gives valuable information about John Wyclif (the founder of the Lollards, a heretical sect in England) and about Wat Tyler’s Revolt, also known as the Peasant’s Revolt, in 1381. This volume also includes portions written in Anglo-Norman in the years 1291-92 (see especially pp. 259-61 and 274-357).

The third volume contains several texts. First is the Chronicle of William Rishanger (referred to in older texts as the “Continuation of Matthew of Paris”). Although it was probably derived from the same text as Walsingham’s “Historia Anglicana,” it has information about the reign of Edward I that is not available in any other text. The next texts in this volume are the “Annales Regni Scotiae” and the “Annales Angliae et Scotae,” which give information about the rival claimants for the Scottish throne. These are followed by Rishanger’s “Gesta Edwardi Primi,” which may have been composed in Rishanger’s capacity as royal hagiographer. The volume ends with three related fragments. Although some scholars believe that all the texts edited in this volume were written by Rishanger, Henry Thomas Riley objects to crediting him with the “Annales Regni Scotiae.”

The fourth volume contains the Chronicle of John de Trokelowe, another monk of St. Albans, written some time after 1229. Trokelowe witnessed of many of the events he writes about and was the one of Walsingham’s sources for his “Historia Anglicana.”

The next three volumes contain the “Gesta Abbatum Monasterii Sancti Albani.” The beginning of the work was composed by an anonymous writer and is largely based on Matthew of Paris. The sections pertaining to the years 1308-1381 were written by Thomas Walsingham and the final portion (continuing to the year 1401) was written by another anonymous monk. The chronicle is primarily concerned with the history of the Abbey of St. Albans but it also contains information about the Peasant’s Rebellion (1381) and relates details about the hospital of St. Julian and the customs of the nuns of St. Mary of Sopwell.

The eighth and ninth volumes are also concerned with the history of the monastery. They were written by a monk named Johanne Amundesham and cover the years 1421-1435.

The penultimate volumes are the Registers of John Whethamstede, the abbot at St. Albans from 1459-1464. The register was probably compiled by another monk after the abbot’s death. The editor has included several letters that were written by Whethamstede during his first abbacy (1421-40). A text recounting the lives of later abbots is also appended to the text.

The last volume is a transcript of the Memorials of Normandy, written by Thomas Walshingham and dedicated to Henry V in 1419. This book gives a history of Normandy and England and is notable for its testimony against the Lollards.


This entry was compiled with reference to Stephen H. Silver “Index to the Rolls Series” http://www.the-orb.net/rolls.html

For more information about the specific contributions and biases of English chroniclers see: Antonia Gransden, “Historical Writing in England, c. 550 to c.1307” (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1974).

This text is also available online through the Medieval and Modern Thought Text Digitization Project, see: http://standish.stanford.edu/bin/search/advanced/process?sort=title&browse=1&clauseMapped28creatorBrowse29=Trokelowe2C+John+de2C+fl.+1330.

Introduction Summary:

Each volume has its own extensive introduction describing the text that has been edited and the authorship of each work.

Cataloger: SES, rj