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 gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of
classical,
patristic, and earlier medieval times as well as in the writings of his own contemporaries. Indeed William may well have been the most learned man in twelfth-century Western Europe."
William was born about 1095 or 1096 in
Wiltshire. His father was
Norman and his mother English. He spent his whole life in England and his adult life as a
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 dedic ...
at
Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England.
Biography
Though the education William received at Malmesbury Abbey included a smattering of
logic
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from prem ...
and
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...
,
moral philosophy
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...
and history were the subjects to which he devoted the most attention. The earliest fact which he records of his career is that he assisted Abbot Godfrey (1081–1105) in collecting a library for the use of the community, and the evidence shows that Malmesbury had first-hand knowledge of at least four hundred works by two hundred-odd authors. During the course of his studies, he amassed a collection of medieval histories, which inspired in him the idea for a popular account of
English history modelled on the ''
Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum'' (''Ecclesiastical History of the English People'') of
Bede. William's obvious respect for Bede is apparent even within the preface of his ''
Gesta Regum Anglorum
The ''Gesta Regum Anglorum'' ( Latin for "Deeds of the Kings of the English"), originally titled ("On the Deeds of the Kings of the English") and also anglicized as or , is an early-12th-century history of the kings of England by William of Ma ...
'',
where he professes his admiration for the man.
In fulfilment of this idea, William completed in 1125 his ''
Gesta Regum Anglorum
The ''Gesta Regum Anglorum'' ( Latin for "Deeds of the Kings of the English"), originally titled ("On the Deeds of the Kings of the English") and also anglicized as or , is an early-12th-century history of the kings of England by William of Ma ...
'' ("Deeds of the English Kings"), consciously patterned on
Bede, which spanned from AD 449 to 1120. He later edited and expanded it up to the year 1127, releasing a revision dedicated to
Robert, Earl of Gloucester. This "second edition" of the ''
Gesta Regum'', "disclosing in his second thoughts the mellowing of age", is now considered one of the great histories of England.
William wrote 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 Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
in ''Historia Anglorum'':
William's first edition of the book was followed by the ''
Gesta Pontificum Anglorum'' (''Deeds of the English Bishops'') in 1125. For this vivid descriptive history of abbeys and bishoprics, dwelling upon the lives of the English prelates saints, notably the learned wonder-working
Aldhelm, abbot of Malmesbury, William travelled widely in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. He stayed at
Glastonbury Abbey for a time, composing ''On the Antiquity of the Glastonbury Church'' for his friend, the abbot
Henry of Blois who was also the Bishop of Winchester. (Among the first works to mention
SS Fagan and
Deruvian, its present form is notably marred by anachronistic forgeries and additions.)
At a point before the onset of
Anarchy in 1139, William made the beneficial acquaintance of
Roger, Bishop of Salisbury
Roger of Salisbury (died 1139), was a Normans, Norman medieval bishop of Salisbury and the seventh Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper of Norman England, England.
Life
Roger was originally priest of a small chapel near Caen in Duchy of Normandy, Norm ...
, who possessed
Malmesbury Castle. Such a beneficial local connection, combined with the positive reception of William's ''
Gesta Regum'', led to an offer of the position of abbot of Malmesbury in 1140, which William declined, preferring his duties as a librarian and scholar. His one public appearance was made at the council of
Winchester in 1141, in which the clergy declared for the
Empress Matilda.
Beginning about 1140, William continued his chronicles with the ''Historia Novella'', or "modern history", a three-book chronicle that ran from 1128 to 1142, including important accounts of
the Anarchy of
King Stephen's reign. This work breaks off with an unfulfilled promise that it would be continued: presumably William died before he could redeem his pledge. William also wrote a history of his abbey and several saints' lives.
Significance
William is considered by many, including
John Milton, to be one of the best English historians of his time, and remains known for strong documentation and his clear, engaging writing style. A strong Latin stylist, he shows literary and historiographical instincts which are, for his time, remarkably sound. He is an authority of considerable value from 1066 onwards;
many telling anecdotes and shrewd judgments on persons and events can be gleaned from his pages. Some scholars criticise him for his atypical annalistic form, calling his chronology less than satisfactory and his arrangement of material careless. Much of William's work on
Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, is thought to derive from a first-hand account from Coleman, a contemporary of Wulfstan. William merely translated the document from Old English into Latin. William's works are still considered invaluable and, despite these shortcomings, he remains one of the most celebrated English chroniclers of the twelfth century.
Works
* (Willielmi Monachi Malmesburiensis): De Gestis Regum Anglorum, Libri V; Historiae Novellae, Libri II; De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum, Libri IIII., in ''Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores Post Bedam Praecipui, ex vetustissimis codicibus manuscriptis nunc primum in lucem editi'' (G. Bishop, R Nuberie & R. Barker Typographij Regii, London 1596)
digitizeded.
Migne
Jacques Paul Migne (; 25 October 1800 – 24 October 1875) was a French priest who published inexpensive and widely distributed editions of theological works, encyclopedias, and the texts of the Church Fathers, with the goal of providing a ...
, ''
Patrologia Latina'' vol. 179.
* ''William of Malmesbury: Gesta pontificum Anglorum'' (Deeds of the English Bishops), Vol. I, Edited and Translated by M. Winterbottom and R.M. Thomson,
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
, 2007.
*''William of Malmesbury: Gesta pontificum Anglorum'' (Deeds of the English Bishops), Vol. II: General Introduction and Commentary, by R. M. Thomson, Oxford University Press, 2007.
* ''William of Malmesbury: Gesta regum Anglorum'' (Deeds of the Kings of the English), Vol. I, Edited and Translated by R. A. B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, Oxford University Press, 1998.
* ''William of Malmesbury: Gesta regum Anglorum'' (Deeds of the Kings of the English), Vol. II: General Introduction and Commentary, by M. Winterbottom and R. M. Thomson, Oxford University Press, 2002,
* ''William of Malmesbury: Historia Novella'' (The Contemporary History), Edited by Edmund King, Translated by K. R. Potter, Oxford University Press, 1999.
* ''William of Malmesbury'', ''Chronicle of the Kings of England'', translated by Rev. John Sharpe, edited by J. A. Giles, London: George Bell and Sons, 1904.
* ''William of Malmesbury: The Deeds of the Bishops of England
esta Pontificum Anglorum', Translated by David Preest, Boydell Press, 2002.
* ''De antiquitate Glastoniensis ecclesiae'' (63–1126 AD) (The Ancient Church of Glastonbury).
* Translation:
Unprinted extant works
Among these are:
* ''Miracles of the Virgin''
* ''Liber super explanationem lamentationum Yeremiae prophetae''
* An abridgment of
Amalarius Amalarius (''c''. 775–''c''. 850) was a Frankish prelate and courtier, temporary bishop of Trier (812–13) and Lyon (835–38), and an accomplished liturgist. He was close to Charlemagne and a partisan of his successor, Louis the Pious, throughou ...
' ''De divinis officiis''
* ''De dictis et factis memorabilibus philosophorum''
* An ''
epitome'' of the ''Historia'' of Haymo of Fleury and some other works, historical and legal
* ''Lives of the English Saints''
The manuscripts of these works are to be found partly in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, partly in the
Bodleian Library.
Lost works
* A ''Vita Sancti Patricii'' and ''Miracle Sancti Benigni'' are mentioned in the prologue to the book on Glastonbury
* A metrical life of St Ælfgyfu is quoted in the ''Gesta pontificum''
* ''Chronica tribus libellis'' are mentioned in the prologue to the ''Historia novella'', and a fragment of them is apparently preserved in the British Museum
Lansdowne manuscripts
The Lansdowne manuscripts are a significant named collection of the British Library, based on the collection of William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne. The purchase of the collection by the British Museum was in 1807.''Dictionary of National Biog ...
436.
*
John Leland gave extracts from an ''Itineraries Johannis abbatis'', describing the journey of Abbot of Malmesbury John to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
in 1140 (Leland, ''Collectanea'', iii. 272).
Notes
References
*
Further reading
* Rodney M. Thomson, ''William of Malmesbury'',
Boydell & Brewer, 2003.
* Kirsten A. Fenton, ''Gender, Nation and Conquest in the Works of William of Malmesbury'' (Woodbridge, Boydell, 2008) (Gender in the Middle Ages).
* ''Discovering William of Malmesbury'', edited by Rodney Thomson, Emily Dolmans, and Emily A. Winkler (Woodbridge: Boydell & Brewer, 2017)
External links
*
Lewis E 247 Gesta regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings); Historia regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) at OPennfrom ''
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'', Volume I, 1907–21.
Full text of "William of Malmesbury's Chronicle of the kings of England. From the earliest period to the reign of King Stephen" excerpts.
excerpts.
excerpts.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:William of Malmesbury
12th-century English historians
English chroniclers
English Christian monks
11th-century births
1143 deaths
Norman conquest of England
Writers from Malmesbury
Malmesbury Abbey
English–Latin translators
12th-century Latin writers