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Edward Grim (died 1189) was a monk from
Edward Grim (died 1189) was a monk from Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
who visited Canterbury Cathedral on Tuesday 29 December 1170 when 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 ...
was murdered. He researched and published a book, ''Vita S. Thomae'' (Life of St. Thomas) in about 1180, which is today known chiefly for a short section in which he gave an eyewitness account of the events in the cathedral.
On the day of the murder, Grim was with Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Grim stood by Becket during Becket's altercation with the knights. Grim attempted to protect Becket from their attack until, his own arm being nearly cut off by a stroke aimed at the primate, he fell to the ground. He was able to crawl away to the altar where the archbishop's other clerks had hidden, and escaped with his life.
His ''Vita S. Thomas'' cannot have been completed earlier than 1174 as it contains an account of the penance of Henry II; another passage seems to show that it was written not later than 1177 (Materials, ii. 448–9; cf. Magnusson, pref. to Thomas Saga, ii. lxxxii). As it would seem that Grim did not meet Becket until a few days before the latter's death, his information concerning the primate's life must be considered second-hand apart from the last scenes to which he was an eye-witness. A large part of his narrative closely resembles that of the French poet Garnier (or Guernes) de Pont-Sainte-Maxence, who completed his own work in 1175. Whether Grim copied Garnier or Garnier copied Grim is not certain, but the former is most likely. Grim was dead before Herbert of Bosham
Herbert of Bosham was a twelfth-century English biographer of Thomas Becket who held a foremost place among the scholars in Thomas's household. His dates of birth and death are unknown, but he was active from 1162 until 1189.
Early life
He was pro ...
finished his work on St. Thomas, i.e. by 1186, or at latest 1189.
See also
*William Fitzstephen
William Fitzstephen (also William fitz Stephen), (died c. 1191) was a cleric and administrator in the service of Thomas Becket. In the 1170s he wrote a long biography of Thomas Becket – the ''Vita Sancti Thomae'' (Life of St. Thomas).
Fitzsteph ...
References
*External links
* '' Life of Thomas Becket'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Grim, Edward Clerks English biographers People from Cambridge 12th-century births Year of death unknown