Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139 is a northern English manuscript compiled in ''c''. 1170. Apart from preliminary additions (i + ii), it contains two separate volumes, comprising 180 folios in total. The original first volume has 165 folios in twenty gatherings, about half of which are occupied by the historical compilation ''

Historia regum The ''Historia Regum'' ("History of the Kings") is a historical compilation attributed to Symeon of Durham, which presents material going from the death of Bede until 1129. It survives only in one manuscript compiled in Yorkshire in the mid-to-lat ...

'', which runs from f. 51v to 129v. In the sixteenth century, the codex was bequeathed by

Matthew Parker Matthew Parker (6 August 1504 – 17 May 1575) was an English bishop. He was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England from 1559 until his death in 1575. He was also an influential theologian and arguably the co-founder (with a p ...

to the

Parker Library The Parker Library is a library within Corpus Christi College, Cambridge which contains rare books and manuscripts. It is known throughout the world due to its invaluable collection of over 600 manuscripts, particularly medieval texts, the ...

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

, where it is held to this day.

{, class="table" , width="7%", , width="10%", folios , width="83%", description , - , , i–ii , Preliminary matter , - , 1 , 1r–16v , ''Historia omnimoda'' (“

Universal history A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...

”) , - , 2 , 17r–25v , Extracts from

Regino of Prüm Regino of Prüm or of Prum ( la, Regino Prumiensis, german: Regino von Prüm; died 915 AD) was a Benedictine monk, who served as abbot of Prüm (892–99) and later of Saint Martin's at Trier, and chronicler, whose ''Chronicon'' is an important s ...

's ''Chronicon'' , - , 3 , 36r–46r ,

Richard of Hexham Richard of Hexham (fl. 1141) was an English chronicler. He became prior of Hexham about 1141, and died between 1155 and 1167. He wrote ''Brevis Annotatio'', a short history of the church of Hexham from 674 to 1138, for which he borrowed from Bede ...

, ''De gestis regis Stephani et de bello Standardii'' , - , 4 , 46r–48v , Chronicle from Adam to Emperor Henry V , - , 5 , 48v–50r , Letter to Hugh, Dean of York, ''De archiepiscopis Eboraci'', ascribed to

Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (died after 1129) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon entered the Benedictine monastery at Jarrow as a youth. It moved to Durham in 1074, and he was professed in 1085 or ...

. , - , 6 , 50r–51v , ''

De obsessione Dunelmi ''De obsessione Dunelmi'' ("On the siege of Durham"), is an historical work written in the north of England during the Anglo-Norman period, almost certainly at Durham, and probably in either the late 11th- or early 12th-century. Provenance The ...

et de Probitate Ucthredi Comitis''. , - , 7 , 51v–129v , ''

''. , - , 8 , 129v–147r , ''Historia Johannis prioris Haugustaldensis Ecclesie xxv annorum'', a continuation of ''Historia regum'' by John, prior of Hexham. , - , 9 , 132r , Erased rubric and sketch of comet , - , 10 , 132v ,

Serlo of Wilton Serlo of Wilton ( 1105–1181) was a 12th-century English poet, a friend of Walter Map and known to Gerald of Wales.Gerald of Wales, '' Speculum Ecclesiae'' 2.33. He studied and taught at the University of Paris. He became a Cluniac and then a Ci ...

's poem on the Battle of the Standard. , - , 11 , 133r–v , Poem on death of

Somerled Somerled (died 1164), known in Middle Irish as Somairle, Somhairle, and Somhairlidh, and in Old Norse as Sumarliði , was a mid-12th-century Norse-Gaelic lord who, through marital alliance and military conquest, rose in prominence to create the ...

, by the Glasgow clerk William , - , 12 , 133v–138r ,

Ailred of Rievaulx Aelred of Rievaulx ( la, Aelredus Riaevallensis); also Ailred, Ælred, and Æthelred; (1110 – 12 January 1167) was an English Cistercian monk, abbot of Rievaulx from 1147 until his death, and known as a writer. He is regarded by Anglicans an ...

, '' Relatio de Standardo'', treatise on the Battle of the Standard. , - , 8 , 138r–147r , ''Historia Johannis'' resumes. , - , 13 , 147r–149v ,

, '' De Sanctimoniali de Wattun'' , - , 14 , 150r–152v , Account of St Mary's Abbey at York , - , 15 , 152v , Item, e.g. on foundation of

Fountains A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

in 1132. , - , 16 , 153r–158r , Letter by

Thurstan :''This page is about Thurstan of Bayeux (1070 – 1140) who became Archbishop of York. Thurstan of Caen became the first Norman Abbot of Glastonbury in circa 1077.'' Thurstan or Turstin of Bayeux ( – 6 February 1140) was a medie ...

, archbishop of York, to

William of Corbeil William de Corbeil or William of Corbeil (21 November 1136) was a medieval Archbishop of Canterbury. Very little is known of William's early life or his family, except that he was born at Corbeil, south of Paris, and that he had two brothers. ...

, archbishop of Canterbury. , - , 17–20 , 158r–161v , Extracts from

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a ...

's ''Gesta regum''. , - , 21 , 162r , Fragmentary saga about King

Ælla of Northumbria Ælla (or Ælle or Aelle, fl. 866; died 21 March 867) was King of Northumbria, a kingdom in medieval England, during the middle of the 9th century. Sources on Northumbrian history in this period are limited, and so Ælla's ancestry is not known and ...

and his relation with the wife of merchant Ærnulf. , - , 22 , 165r–v , ''De eo quod Eboracensis Ecclesia nullum dominium super Scottos habere debet''. , - , 23 , 165v , Story about a clerk interrogating the spirit of

Malcolm IV of Scotland Malcolm IV ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Eanric, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 11419 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest ...

(d. 1165) , - , , 166–80 , Second volume: ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British (Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Bri ...

'' (incl.

Frankish Table of Nations The Frankish Table of Nations (german: fränkische Völkertafel) is a brief early medieval genealogical text in Latin giving the supposed relationship between thirteen nations descended from three brothers. The nations are the Ostrogoths, Visigot ...

), ''Life ''of St

Gildas Gildas ( Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recount ...

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Further reading