John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
and
chronicler who worked at
Worcester Priory. He is usually held to be the author of the ''Chronicon ex chronicis''.
''Chronicon ex chronicis''
The ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' is a world wide history which begins with the
creation
Creation may refer to:
Religion
*''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing
* Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it
* Creationism, the belief tha ...
and ends in 1140. The chronological framework of the ''Chronicon'' was presented by the chronicle of
Marianus Scotus (d. 1082). A great deal of additional material, particularly relating to English history, was grafted onto it.
Authorship
The greater part of the work, up to 1117 or 1118, was formerly attributed to the man
Florence of Worcester on the basis of the entry for his death under the annal of 1118, which credits his skill and industry for making the chronicle such a prominent work. In this view, the other Worcester monk, John, merely wrote the final part of the work. However, there are two main objections against the ascription to Florence. First, there is no change of style in the ''Chronicon'' after Florence's death, and second, certain sections before 1118 rely to some extent on the ''Historia novorum'' of
Eadmer of Canterbury
Eadmer or Edmer ( – ) was an English historian, theologian, and ecclesiastic. He is known for being a contemporary biographer of his archbishop and companion, Saint Anselm, in his ''Vita Anselmi'', and for his ''Historia novorum in ...
, which was completed sometime in 1121 – 1124.
[Gransden, ''Historical Writing'', p. 144.]
The prevalent view today is that John of Worcester was the principal author and compiler. He is explicitly named as the author of two entries for 1128 and 1138, and two manuscripts (CCC MS 157 and the ''chronicula'') were written in his hand. He was seen working on it at the behest of
Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, when the Anglo-Norman chronicler
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...
visited Worcester:
:
Manuscripts
The ''Chronicon'' survives in five manuscripts (and a fragment on a single leaf):
*MS 157 (Oxford,
Corpus Christi College). The principal manuscript, working copy used by John.
*MS 502 (Dublin,
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
).
*MS 42 (
Lambeth Palace Library
Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament, on the opposite ...
).
*MS Bodley 297 (Oxford,
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
).
*MS 92 (Cambridge,
Corpus Christi College).
In addition, there is the ''chronicula'', a minor chronicle based on the ''Chronicon'' proper: MS 503 (Dublin,
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
), written by John up to 1123.
Sources for English history
For the body of material dealing with early English history, John is believed to have used a number of sources, some of which are now lost:
*unknown version(s) of the ''
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...
'', possibly in Latin translation. John may have shared a lost source with
William of Malmesbury, whose ''Gesta regum anglorum'' includes similar material not found in other works.
*
Bede
Bede ( ; ang, Bǣda , ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable ( la, Beda Venerabilis), was an English monk at the monastery of St Peter and its companion monastery of St Paul in the Kingdom o ...
, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' (up to 731)
*
Asser, ''Vita Ælfredi''
*Hagiographical works on tenth/eleventh-century saints
**''Lives'' of
St Dunstan
Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life i ...
by author 'B',
Adelard and
Osbern
**
Byrhtferth, ''Life'' of
St. Oswald
**
Osbern of Canterbury
Osbern ( 1050 – c. 1095) was a Benedictine monk, hagiographer and musician, precentor of Christ Church, Canterbury. He is sometimes confused with Osbert de Clare, alias Osbern de Westminster. He is known as "the monk Osbern" or just "Monk Osbern" ...
, ''Life'' of
St Ælfheah
*
Eadmer
Eadmer or Edmer ( – ) was an English historian, theologian, and ecclesiastic. He is known for being a contemporary biographer of his archbishop and companion, Saint Anselm, in his ''Vita Anselmi'', and for his ''Historia novorum in ...
of Canterbury, ''Historia novorum'' (1066–1122)
*accounts by contemporaries and local knowledge.
''Chronicon ex chronicis'': editions and translations
*Darlington, Reginald R. and P. McGurk (eds.), P. McGurk and Jennifer Bray (trs.). ''The Chronicle of John of Worcester: The Annals from 450–1066''. Vol 2. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford: 1995.
*McGurk, P. (ed. and tr.). ''The Chronicle of John of Worcester: The Annals from 1067 to 1140 with The Gloucester Interpolations and The Continuation to 1141''. Vol 3. OMT. Oxford, 1998.
*Thorpe, Benjamin (ed.). ''Florentii Wigorniensis monachi chronicon ex chronicis''. 2 vols. London, 1848-9
Download available from Google Books*Stevenson, J. (tr.). ''Church Historians of England''. 8 vols: vol. 2.1. London, 1855. 171–372.
*Forester, Thomas (tr.). ''The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester''. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854. Available from Google Books.
*Weaver, J. R. H., ed. (1908) ''The Chronicle of John of Worcester, 1118–1140: being the continuation of the 'Chronicon ex chronicis' of Florence of Worcester''. Oxford: Clarendon Pres
Edition on Archive.org
References
Further reading
*Brett, Martin. "John of Worcester and his contemporaries." In ''The Writing of History in the Middle Ages: Essays Presented to R.W. Southern'', ed. by R.H.C. Davis and J.M. Wallace Hadrill. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. 101-26.
*Brett, Martin, "John, monk of Worcester." In ''The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England'', ed. Michael Lapidge, et al. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.
*Gransden, Antonia. ''Historical writing in England c. 550 to 1307''. Vol 1. London, 1974. 143–8.
*O'Donnell, Thomas. "Identities in Community: Literary Culture and Memory at Worcester." In ''Constructing History Across the Norman Conquest: Worcester, c.1050-c.1150'', ed. by Francesca Tinti and D. A. Woodman. York: York Medieval Press, 2022. 31-60.
*Orderic Vitalis, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'', ed. and tr.
Marjorie Chibnall, ''The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis''. 6 volumes. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford, 1968–1980. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:John of Worcester
1140s deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain
12th-century English historians
English Christian monks
English chroniclers
Writers from Worcester, England
English male non-fiction writers
12th-century Latin writers
12th-century English writers
12th-century astronomers