William Of Nangis

Guillaume de Nangis (died 1300), also known as William of Nangis, was a French chronicler.

William was a monk in the Abbey of St.-Denis to the north of Paris. About 1285 he was placed in charge of the abbey library as ''custos cartarum'', and he died in June or July 1300. Having doubtless done some work on the Latin manuscripts on which the ''Grandes Chroniques de France'' are based, William wrote a long ''Chronicon'', dealing with the history of the world from the creation until 1300. For the period before 1113 this work merely repeats that of Sigebert of Gembloux and others; but after this date it contains some new and valuable material. The chronicle had later continuations by other authors, though the so-called "second continuation", by Jean de Venette, which takes events up to 1368, was not a continuation of the ''Chronicon'' but rather an independent chronicle that happened to be bound into the same manuscript as the Nangis chronicle.

William's other writings are: ''Gesta Ludovici IX''; ''Gesta Philippi III, sive Audacis''; ''Chronicon abbreviatum regum Francorum''; and a French translation of the same work written for the laity. Making use of the large store of manuscripts at Saint Denis, William was a compiler rather than an author, and with the exception of the latter part of the ''Chronicon'' his writings do not add materially to our knowledge of the time. In his ''Gesta Ludovici IX'' he included a letter from Sempad the Constable to Henry I of Cyprus. Among his major sources for the reign of Louis IX was the lost Latin chronicle of Primat of Saint-Denis.Spiegel.

Both his chronicles, however, became very popular and found several continuators, Jean de Joinville being among those who made use of the ''Chronicon''. This work from 1113 to 1300, with continuations to 1368, has been edited by H. Géraud for the ''Société de l'histoire de France'' (Paris, 1843), and practically all William's writings are found in the twentieth volume of Martin Bouquet's ''Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France'' (Paris, 1738–1876). A French translation of the ''Chronicon'' is in Guizot's ''Collection des mémoires relatifs à l'histoire de France'' (Paris, 1823–1835).

Notes

References

*August Potthast, ''Bibliotheca historica'' (Berlin, 1896).
* Auguste Molinier, ''Les sources de l'histoire de France, tome III'' (Paris, 1903).
* Gabrielle M. Spiegel, ''The chronicle tradition of Saint-Denis'' (Brookline and Leiden, 1978), pp. 98–108.

External links

* Guillaume de Nangis (ed. H. Géraud, 1843), ''Chronicon''
volume 1
(including the ''Chronicon'', an introduction in French, and part of a continuation up to 1368) an
2
(including the rest of the continuation)
* Guillaume de Nangis, ''Chronique''
online Guizot's 1825 edition
published by J.L.J. Brière, on Gallica
Or: contemporary electronic edition after Guizot's, on Wikisource

Online volume 20
of Martin Bouquet's ''Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France'' on Gallica

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guillaume De Nangis
French chroniclers
13th-century French historians
French Benedictines
1300 deaths
Philip IV of France
Year of birth unknown