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Robert of Torigni (also known as Roburtus de Monte) (c. 1110–1186) was a Norman
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 ...
,
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
,
abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...
and twelfth century
chronicle
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 ...
r.
Religious life
Robert was born at Torigni-sur-Vire, Normandy c. 1110 most probably to an aristocratic family but his family name was abandoned when he entered
Bec Abbey
Bec Abbey, formally the Abbey of Our Lady of Bec (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec), is a Benedictine monastic foundation in the Eure ''département'', in the Bec valley midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay. It is located in Le Bec Hello ...
in 1128.
[''The Chronicles of Robert de Monte'', ed. Joseph Stevenson (Llanerch Publishers, 1991), p. 6] In 1149 Robert of Torigni became the prior of Bec replacing
Roger de Bailleul
Roger de Bailleul (; died 25 September 1179) was a medieval Benedictine monk, Bec Abbey, abbot of Bec, and List of Archbishops of Canterbury, archbishop-elect of Canterbury.
Roger was born in Lombardy, but according to the Gallia Christiana he wa ...
who had by that time become abbot. In 1154 Robert became the abbot of
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France.
The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...
in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. In November 1158 Robert hosted the kings
Louis VII of France
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
and
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
at Mont Saint-Michel. Three years later Robert de Torigni, along with
Achard of St. Victor
Achard of Saint Victor ( 1100 – 29 March 1171) was a canon regular and abbot of the Abbey of St. Victor, Paris, and later Bishop of Avranches.
Life
Achard is thought to have been born in England and educated in France, based on evidence from an ...
, Bishop of Avranches, stood as sponsors (godfathers) to
Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was introd ...
, born to
Henry II of England
Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...
and
Queen Eleanor at
Domfront in 1161. In 1163 he was in Rome.
[''The Church Historians of England'', Vol. IV, Part II, ed. Joseph Stevenson (Seeleys, London, 1856), p. x] He was also known to have visited England representing Mont Saint-Michel.
In June 1186 Robert died and was buried in the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of the chapel at Mont Saint-Michel under a simple grave marker. In 1876 a lead disc was found in his coffin bearing his epitaph. The translation reads: "Here lies Robert Torigni, abbot of this place, who ruled the monastery 32 years, and lived 80 years".
Character
Robert developed a reputation as being a pious monk, an accomplished diplomat, a skilled organizer
[''The Messenger'', Vol. VIII, Fifth Series/Vol XLIV of the whole series (The Messenger, New York City, 19050, P. 477] and a great lover and collector of books. Under Robert de Torigni Mont Saint-Michel became a great center of learning with sixty monks producing copious manuscripts and a library collection so vast it was called the ''Cité des Livres'' (City of Books). Robert himself was called "The Great Librarian of the Mont".
Robert's principal interest was not so much in man's path to salvation, or in the moral lessons of history; it was in what he called "chronography" (organizing historical events in chronological order). He made no attempts to interpret history but wrote plainly "without a trace of romance in his soul."
[ Margaret Gibson, 'History at Bec in the twelfth century, ''The Writing of History in the Middle Ages; Essays Presented to Richard William Southern'', Ed. R.H.C. Davis, J.M. Wallace-Hadrill (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1981), p. 176]
The 19th century English archivist
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, ...
said Torigni was not always correct in his chronology and made errors even in matters in Normandy of which he should have known better, yet he was always honest and truthful and his mistakes did not greatly affect the overall value of his chronicle. Modern writers too have pointed out errors in his work;
[Elisabeth Van Houts in her article ('Robert of Torigni as Genealogist', ''Studies in Medieval History presented to R. Allen Brown'', Boydell Press, 1989, p. 222) suggests that not all the mistakes in Robert de Torigni's Chronicles are his own, that a few are attributable to modern historians who have difficulty with his narrative style genealogies.] and where he has given confusing or conflicting accounts. Then
Delisle wrote that it was through Robert's affection for Henry II that he made almost no mention in his chronicle of the death of
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...
or Henry II's involvement.
His works
He is best known as the last of the three contributors to the ''
Gesta Normannorum Ducum
''Gesta Normannorum Ducum'' (''Deeds of the Norman Dukes'') is a chronicle originally created by the monk William of Jumièges just before 1060. In 1070 William I had William of Jumièges extend the work to detail his rights to the throne of Engl ...
'' (Deeds of the Norman dukes), a
chronicle
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 ...
originally written by
William of Jumièges
William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 - died after 1070) (french: Guillaume de Jumièges) was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only ...
, appended to by
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 ...
and lastly Robert de Torigni, who brought the history up to the time of Henry I. Robert relied more on Orderic's work than that of William of Jumièges and added information regarding the reign of
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
, a history of Bec, and a volume on Henry I. Another source he used was
Henry of Huntingdon's ''Historia Anglorum''.
[''Henry, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum'', ed. Diana Greenway (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996), p. lxi] Henry, the Archdeacon of Huntingdon, had visited Bec in 1139 and during his stay there provided Robert with much of the information regarding the reign of Henry I which Robert used in his own chronicles.
Robert, in turn, introduced Henry to a new work by
Geoffrey of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiograph ...
, the ''
Historia Regum Britanniae
''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. I ...
'', a copy of which first reached Bec about 1138.
John Bale
John Bale (21 November 1495 – November 1563) was an English churchman, historian and controversialist, and Bishop of Ossory in Ireland. He wrote the oldest known historical verse drama in English (on the subject of King John), and developed ...
, the sixteenth-century English churchman and historian, in his ''Index Britanniae Scriptorum'', identified Robert as the author of two Arthurian romances, based in part on the author's initialing his work with the letter "R". These were ''
De Ortu Waluuanii
''De Ortu Waluuanii Nepotis Arturi'' ( en, The Rise of Gawain, Nephew of Arthur) is an anonymous Medieval Latin chivalric romance dating to the 12th or 13th century. It describes the birth, boyhood deeds, and early adventures of King Arthur's nephe ...
'' and ''Historia Meriadoci'', but this identification remains controversial and is doubted by some authorities.
[Dr. James Bruce analyzed the writing style of these two romances compared to the writings of Robert de Torigni. His opinion was they did not match, and also pointed out how Bale made the mistake of attributing these romances to Robert based on an incorrect assumption. Additional evidence shows these romances to be the products of thirteenth century writers, not twelfth. See: ''Two Arthurian Romances of the XIIIth Century in Latin Prose'', ed. J. Douglas Bruce (Johns Hopkins Press, 1913), pp. x-xv, sub: "II. Bale's ascription of the romances to Robert de Torigni". Also see: Mildred Leake Day, ''Latin Arthurian literature'' (Cambridge: Brewer, 2005), pp. 3–11 for more discussion.]
Notes
References
External links
Robert de Torigni's "Chronicles" (in Latin)Robert de Torigni's "Chronicles" (in English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torigni, Robert of
1110s births
1186 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
12th-century French historians
12th-century Normans
French chroniclers
12th-century Latin writers