John of Hexham (c. 1160 – 1209) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

chronicler A chronicle ( la, chronica, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and lo ...

, known to us merely as the author of a work called the ''Historia XXV. annorum'', which continues the ''

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 ...

'' attributed 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 ...

, and contains an account of English events from 1130 to 1153. From the title, as given in the only manuscript, we learn John's name and the fact that he was prior of

Hexham Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...

. It must have been between 1160 and 1209 that he held this position; but the date at which he lived and wrote cannot be more accurately determined. Up to the year 1139 he follows closely the history written by his predecessor, Prior Richard; thenceforward he is an independent though not a very valuable authority. He is best informed as to the events of the north country; his want of care, when he ventures farther afield, may be illustrated by the fact that he places in 1145 King Stephen's siege of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, which really occurred in 1142. Even for northern affairs his chronology is faulty; from 1140 onwards his dates are uniformly one year too late. Prior Richard is not the only author to whom John is indebted; he incorporates in the annal of 1138 two other narratives of the Battle of the Standard, one in verse by the monk

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 ...

,Jan Öberg (ed.). ''Serlon de Wilton: Poèmes latins''. Stockholm, 1965. another in prose by Abbot

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; and also a poem, by a

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

clerk, on the 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 ...

. The one manuscript of John's chronicle is a late 12th-century copy;

Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 139 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 folio ...

. The best edition is that of Thomas Arnold in ''Symeonis monachi opera'', vol. 2 (

Rolls Series ''The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages'' ( la, Rerum Britannicarum medii aevi scriptores), widely known as the is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources publish ...

, 1885). There is an English translation in

Joseph Stevenson Joseph Stevenson (27 November 1806 – 8 February 1895) was an English Catholic priest, archivist and editor of historical texts. Early life Joseph Stevenson was born on 27 November 1806 in Berwick-on-Tweed, the eldest son of Robert Stevenson, ...

's ''Church Historians of England'', vol. 4 (London, 1856).

References

* {{Short description, 12th and 13th-century monk and chronicler 1160s births 1209 deaths 12th-century English historians English Christian monks English chroniclers Writers from Hexham English male non-fiction writers