Bøger i Cambridge Library Collection - Rolls serien

Thomas of Elmham (1364-1427?) was treasurer of St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, when he compiled this work, which he called the Speculum Augustinianum, around 1414. He planned to give a complete history of the Abbey, and the chronological table covers the period from 597 to 1414, but the main text ends in 806, with a collection of documentary sources from the period 1066 to 1191 appended. His failure to complete the work was probably due to his appointment as Prior of the Cluniac House at Lenton in Nottinghamshire. Elmham made great use of documentary sources in the Abbey's famous library, reproducing and editing original charters, as well as using the work of earlier historians of the House, though, unfortunately, many of the sources he uses were forgeries or corrupt transcripts, produced to support the Abbey's claims to royal and ecclesiastical privileges. This edition by Charles Hardwick was published in 1858.

John Capgrave (1393-1464) was the Prior of Bishop's Lynn, and the most learned Augustinian friar of his time. Although he was the author of forty-one scholarly works, only twelve survive. This work was dedicated to King Henry VI and chronicles the lives of other great Henries, including six emperors of Germany and six kings of England (including the dedicatee himself). Largely compilations of other sources, his extensive accounts demonstrate the breadth of the scholarship for which he was known. This annotated edition was commissioned as part of the Rolls Series, a project designed, in an early campaign for ease of access to scholarly material, to put more historical sources into print. Edited by F. C. Hingeston and first published in 1858, it includes Capgrave's full Latin text and a glossary, thorough biographical notes, and chapter-by-chapter summaries, offering a useful resource for students of medieval history.

Published as part of the Rolls Series in 1861, these collected letters date mainly from 1235-53, when, as bishop of Lincoln, their author presided over the largest diocese in England. Both a scientist and a theologian, Robert Grosseteste (c.1170-1253) boasts what the medieval historian R. W. Southern describes as 'a rarely paralleled breadth of intellectual interests'. His letters are invaluably illustrative of the social conditions of the time. He writes heatedly and earnestly on such topics as the laws concerning illegitimacy, the condition of the Jews and the liberties of the Church, with a violence of opinion that was 'balanced, indeed prompted, by a deep concern for the souls of ordinary people'. Henry Richards Luard (1825-91) puts Grosseteste's writing into context in his preface, while useful summaries of each letter in the contents list, and commentary provided in the side-notes, make the Latin text accessible to modern readers.

Bartholomaeus de Cotton, the Cellarer of Norwich Cathedral Priory, died in 1321/2. His most important work is the Historia Anglicana, written in 1292, with a few later additions. Book I, the history of Britain, taken from Geoffrey of Monmouth, was omitted by H. R. Luard from this 1859 edition. Book II, the history of England, is divided into two sections, from 455 to 1066, and from 1066 to the end of the thirteenth century. The work is most valuable for the period after 1264, as one of Cotton's sources, an anonymous Norwich chronicle, contains material not found elsewhere, and he also quotes from ecclesiastical and royal documents. Book III gives the history of the bishops and archbishops of England, mostly taken from other sources but with some useful material relating to the Diocese of Norwich. A glossary is provided.

Edited by the clergyman and historian James Francis Dimock (1810-76) and published in 1864, this life of the twelfth-century St Hugh, bishop of Lincoln, by his chaplain Adam of Eynsham, is presented in the original Latin. Completed before 1220, after Hugh's death in 1200, this is a detailed portrait of the Carthusian monk, scholar and bishop, by a trusted companion, resulting in an unusually personal and lifelike depiction of Hugh's character. It is one of the last and fullest examples of hagiography from the high middle ages, and is of great interest to historians as Hugh lived through the reigns of three English kings and was personally involved in many important events. As well as reporting the day-to-day activities of a medieval bishop, the text also contains original material on the foundation of the Carthusian house at Witham, tales of marvels and miracles, and notices of public affairs.

Thomas Wright (1810-77) was a highly prolific scholar of Old and Middle English and archaeology, although some of his work, particularly that on prehistory, was contentious. The present work, which he edited and published in 1863, comprises two texts by Alexander Neckam (1157-1217). The son of Richard I's foster mother, Neckam was a respected teacher and prolific scholar who became abbot of Cirencester. The larger of these texts, De naturis rerum, consists of a scientific manual followed by a theological treatise, a commentary on Ecclesiastes. Neckam later produced an abbreviated verse form of this, the second text found here. The first part of each text is a compendium of all the scientific knowledge of western Europe and England in the twelfth century, which Neckam aimed to treat morally as well as factually. In producing this edition, Wright has included the Latin marginal annotations, possibly by Neckam himself, found in his manuscript exemplars.

Published as part of the Rolls Series, this genealogy is attributed to Peter of Ickham (d.1295), a chronicler and Benedictine monk better known for his Latin chronicle of the Kings of England. It is mainly an Anglo-Norman version of extracts by well-known historians such as Geoffrey of Monmouth, Florence of Worcester, and Ralph de Diceto. The editor, vicar and librarian John Glover (c.1823-84), published the original text in 1865 together with his own facing-page translation into contemporary English. Glover's scholarship, as well as instances of semi-Saxonised French, will interest philologists and history students alike. The genealogy begins with Britain's colonisation by the legendary Brutus and covers the history of Saxon and Norman kings. It ends with a portrait of the life and reign of Edward II.

Roger of Hoveden's Chronica was begun around 1192 and covers English history from 732 to 1201, when it is assumed he died. The work is largely an annotated compilation of various other chronicles, including the Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis (also reissued in this series). This was formerly attributed to Benedict of Peterborough, which was the view taken by William Stubbs (1825-1901) when he edited this work for the Rolls Series in 1868-71. Since the twentieth century, however, Hoveden has been recognised as the author. As a clerk to Henry II until 1189, and later as a diplomat during the Third Crusade, he was ideally placed to gain first-hand knowledge and also documents, which he provides here in full. Volume 1 (to 1148) comprises copies of chronicles attributed to Symeon of Durham and Henry of Huntington, and draws on the Historia Saxonum sive Anglorum post obitum Bedae.

Roger of Hoveden's Chronica was begun around 1192 and covers English history from 732 to 1201, when it is assumed he died. The work is largely an annotated compilation of various other chronicles, including the Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis (also reissued in this series). This was formerly attributed to Benedict of Peterborough, which was the view taken by William Stubbs (1825-1901) when he edited this work for the Rolls Series in 1868-71. Since the twentieth century, however, Hoveden has been recognised as the author. As a clerk to Henry II until 1189, and later as a diplomat during the Third Crusade, he was ideally placed to gain first-hand knowledge and also documents, which he provides here in full. In Volume 2 (1148-89), Hoveden edits and amalgamates other chronicles, including his own Gesta, adding further annotations and a collection of letters relating to the Becket controversy.

Roger of Hoveden's Chronica was begun around 1192 and covers English history from 732 to 1201, when it is assumed he died. The work is largely an annotated compilation of various other chronicles, including the Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis (also reissued in this series). This was formerly attributed to Benedict of Peterborough, which was the view taken by William Stubbs (1825-1901) when he edited this work for the Rolls Series in 1868-71. Since the twentieth century, however, Hoveden has been recognised as the author. As a clerk to Henry II until 1189, and later as a diplomat during the Third Crusade, he was ideally placed to gain first-hand knowledge and also documents, which he provides here in full. Volume 3 (1189-92) again reworks the Gesta, with revisions for its new context. There are details relating to the Third Crusade and Hugh de Puiset, Bishop of Durham.

Roger of Hoveden's Chronica was begun around 1192 and covers English history from 732 to 1201, when it is assumed he died. The work is largely an annotated compilation of various other chronicles, including the Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti Abbatis (also reissued in this series). This was formerly attributed to Benedict of Peterborough, which was the view taken by William Stubbs (1825-1901) when he edited this work for the Rolls Series in 1868-71. Since the twentieth century, however, Hoveden has been recognised as the author. As a clerk to Henry II until 1189, and later as a diplomat during the Third Crusade, he was ideally placed to gain first-hand knowledge and also documents, which he provides here in full. Volume 4 (1192-1201) comprises public documents and original work by Hoveden, particularly relating to the north of England, where he was based.

William of Malmesbury (c.1090-c.1142) was a prolific historian and a trustworthy chronicler, described by Professor R. M. Thomson as 'the most learned European of his day' and 'England's greatest national and local historian since Bede'. A Benedictine monk, he spent his adult life at Malmesbury Abbey, where he assisted the Abbot in founding the library, and devoted his time to writing. The Latin text presented here, originally published in 1870 as part of the Rolls Series, is based on the manuscript at Magdalen College, Oxford. It is described with confidence by N. E. S. A. Hamilton as 'no other than Malmesbury's own autograph' - a claim which the editor backs up in his comprehensive preface. Revised and added to over a period of ten years following its completion in around 1125, this early ecclesiastical history of England is as much a historical record as a primary source in its own right.

Henry of Huntingdon (c.1088-c.1157) wrote his comprehensive Latin chronicle of English history at the behest of the bishop of Lincoln, who asked him to provide a narrative from the earliest English kings right up to their own day. Henry's fondness for anecdotes - including the story of King Cnut attempting to hold back the tide - adds charm to his account. Although the work was originally completed by 1130, Henry continued to add to his magnum opus for many years, producing a version that concluded with the death of King Stephen and the accession of Henry II in 1154. This is the version edited for the Rolls Series in 1879 by Thomas Arnold (1823-1900), whose scholarly introduction describes the various different versions of the text, lists the extant manuscripts, and surveys Henry's sources. The text is accompanied by side-notes in English as well as appendices, a glossary and an index.

A monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, and the closest companion of St Anselm, Eadmer (c.1060-c.1126) witnessed the archbishop's disputes with William II and Henry I and accompanied him twice into exile. This edition of Anselm's biography, which Eadmer began to write during those years of exile, was published by the Rolls Series in 1884. With English side-notes to the main Latin text, it includes the Historia novorum, remarkable for its use of direct speech in relating the life of Anselm and his controversial relations with the monarchy. The Vita is a record of his private conversations, to which Eadmer attached a series of posthumous miracles. Eadmer was ordered to destroy the manuscripts by Anselm around 1100, but fortunately he retained his notes. The work is the best contemporary life of the saint, but also offers a history of Canterbury and a zealous defence of Anglo-Saxon tradition.

These two Latin chronicles are principally concerned with the events of the mid-fourteenth century, and are particularly interesting for their accounts of the French campaigns of Edward III in the 1340s and 1350s. The chronicle of Adam Murimuth (c.1275-1347), which the writer designed to be a continuation of earlier works, begins in 1303 and extends to 1347. Although it is meagre at first, its latter parts are much fuller as Murimuth was able to draw on contemporary accounts. The chronicle of the deeds of Edward III by Robert of Avesbury (d.1359) is a military history of his reign up to the year 1356. It makes use of important documents that are not reproduced elsewhere. Published in 1889, this edition by Edward Maunde Thompson (1840-1929) includes an introduction providing historical background and relating what little is known of each chronicler. The Latin texts are accompanied by English side-notes.

Published in two volumes for the Rolls Series between 1888 and 1889, this is the oldest surviving metrical chronicle in vernacular French. It was written by the Anglo-Norman poet and historian Geoffrei Gaimar (fl.1136-7), who lived in England at a time when French was still used among the aristocracy. The text is largely based on the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and also draws on various French, English and Latin sources. Gaimar's unique perspective breaks with the tradition of religious chronicles by offering the first secular account of the history of England. Edited by archivist and antiquary Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy (1804-78) and Charles Trice Martin (1842-1914), Volume 2 is a translation of the original text into modern English. It covers the period from the arrival of Cerdic in 495 to the death of Henry I and includes the story of Havelok the Dane.