William of Malmesbury

William of Malmesbury(Latin:Willelmus Malmesbiriensis;c. 1095– c. 1143) was the foremostEnglish historian of the 12th century.He has been ranked among the most talented English historians sinceBede.Modern historianC. Warren Hollisterdescribed him as "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature ofclassical,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. "

Stained-glass window showing William, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in 1928 in memory of Rev. Canon C. D. H. McMillan, vicar of Malmesbury from 1907 to 1919

William was born about 1095 or 1096inWiltshire,England. His father wasNormanand his mother English.He spent his whole life in England and his adult life as amonkatMalmesbury Abbeyin Wiltshire.

Biography

Though the education William received at Malmesbury Abbey included a smattering oflogicandphysics,moral philosophyand 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 William 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 ofEnglish historymodelled on theHistoria ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum(Ecclesiastical History of the English People) ofBede.William's obvious respect for Bede is apparent even within the preface of hisGesta Regum Anglorum,where he professes his admiration for the man.

In fulfilment of this idea, William completed in 1125hisGesta Regum Anglorum( "Deeds of the English Kings" ), consciously patterned onBede,which spanned from AD 449 to 1120. He later edited and expanded it up to the year 1127, releasing a revision dedicated toRobert, Earl of Gloucester.This "second edition" of theGesta Regum,"disclosing in his second thoughts the mellowing of age",is now considered one of the great histories of England.

William wrote ofWilliam the ConquerorinHistoria Anglorum:

He was of just stature, extraordinarycorpulence, fierce countenance; his forehead was bare of hair; of such great strength of arm that it was often a matter of surprise, that no one was able to draw his bow, which himself could bend when his horse was in full gallop; he was majestic whether sitting or standing, although the protuberance of his belly deformed his royal person; of excellent health so that he was never confined with any dangerous disorder, except at the last; so given to the pleasures of the chase, that as I have before said, ejecting the inhabitants, he let a space of many miles grow desolate that, when at liberty from other avocations, he might there pursue his pleasures. His anxiety for money is the only thing on which he can deservedly be blamed. This he sought all opportunities of scraping together, he cared not how; he would say and do some things and indeed almost anything, unbecoming to such great majesty, where the hope of money allured him. I have here no excuse whatever to offer, unless it be, as one has said, that of necessity he must fear many, whom many fear.

Malmesbury Abbeyin Wiltshire, completed in 1180; it remains in use as the parish church ofMalmesbury.

William's first edition of the book was followed by theGesta 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-workingAldhelm,abbot of Malmesbury, William travelled widely inEngland.He stayed atGlastonbury Abbeyfor a time, composingOn the Antiquity of the Glastonbury Churchfor his friend, the abbotHenry of Bloiswho was also the Bishop of Winchester. (Among the first works to mentionSSFaganandDeruvian,its present form is notably marred by anachronistic forgeries and additions.)

At a point before the onset ofthe Anarchyin 1139, William made the beneficial acquaintance ofRoger, Bishop of Salisbury,who possessedMalmesbury Castle.Such a beneficial local connection, combined with the positive reception of William'sGesta 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 ofWinchesterin 1141, in which the clergy declared for theEmpress Matilda.

Beginning about 1140, William continued his chronicles with theHistoria Novella,or "modern history", a three-book chronicle that ran from 1128 to 1142, including important accounts of the Anarchy ofKing 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, includingJohn 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 onWulfstan, 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.

William's descriptions of religious communities, even though they "resort to thehagiographic",especially aboutBenedictineconvents such asShaftesbury,Nunnaminster,andWilton,give insights into the lives of nuns in England during the central Middle Ages. He observed their practices, which included their obedience to their leaders' directives, their care for and veneration ofrelics,their organization and participation in their practices of prayer and intercessions on the behalf of those in and out of their communities, and their reputations among the laity and their peers in other religious communities. His extensive travels throughout England also allowed him to compare the communities he studied and to accurately assess these communities' "size, wealth, vibrancy, and rigour".According to medieval scholar and historian Katie Ann-Marie Bugyis, "He was clearly impressed by the practices of the women's monasteries he visited. By his telling, their sanctity and zeal equaled, if not surpassed, those of their male counterparts".

Works

• (Willielmi Monachi Malmesburiensis): De Gestis Regum Anglorum, Libri V; Historiae Novellae, Libri II; De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum, Libri IIII., inRerum 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,Patrologia Latinavol. 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,2007.ISBN0-19-820770-0
• 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.ISBN0-19-922661-X
• 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.ISBN0-19-820678-X
• 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,ISBN0-19-820709-3
• William of Malmesbury: Historia Novella(The Contemporary History), Edited by Edmund King, Translated by K. R. Potter, Oxford University Press, 1999.ISBN0-19-820192-3
• 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 [Gesta Pontificum Anglorum],Translated by David Preest, Boydell Press, 2002.ISBN0-85115-884-6
• De antiquitate Glastoniensis ecclesiae(63–1126 AD) (The Ancient Church of Glastonbury).
• William of Malmesbury (2011).Liber super explanationem Lamentationum Ieremiae prophetae.CCCM. Vol. 244. Michael Winterbottom, Rodney M. Thomson (eds.). Turnhout: Brepols.ISBN978-2503540870.Translation:William of Malmesbury (2013).On Lamentations.Corpus Christianorum in Translation. Vol. 13. Michael Winterbottom (trans.). Turnhout: Brepols.ISBN9782503548494.

Unprinted extant works

Among these are:

• Miracles of the Virgin
• Liber super explanationem lamentationum Yeremiae prophetae
• An abridgment ofAmalarius'De divinis officiis
• De dictis et factis memorabilibus philosophorum
• Anepitomeof theHistoriaof Haymo of Fleury and some other works, historical and legal
• Lives of the English Saints

The manuscripts of these works are to be found some in theBritish Library,some in theBodleian Library.

Lost works

• AVita Sancti PatriciiandMiracle Sancti Benigniare mentioned in the prologue to the book on Glastonbury
• A metrical life of St Ælfgyfu is quoted in theGesta pontificum
• Chronica tribus libellisare mentioned in the prologue to theHistoria novella,and a fragment of them is apparently preserved in the British LibraryLansdowne manuscripts436.
• John Lelandgave extracts from anItinerarium Johannis abbatis,describing the journey of Abbot of Malmesbury John toRomein 1140 (Leland,Collectanea,iii. 272).

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Davis, Henry William Carless(1911). "William of Malmesbury".InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 675–676.

Further reading

• Rodney M. Thomson,William of Malmesbury,Boydell & Brewer,2003.ISBN1-84383-030-2
• 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

• Works by William of MalmesburyatProject Gutenberg
• Lewis E 247 Gesta regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings); Historia regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain) at OPenn
• Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries:William of MalmesburyfromThe 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"
• Battle of Hastings, 1066,excerpts.
• Account of the Battle of Lincoln in 1141,excerpts.
• Historia Novella,excerpts.
• Texts on Wikisource:
  • William of Malmesbury 'On the Antiquity of Glastonbury'byJoseph Armitage Robinson
  • "William of Malmesbury".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  • Cousin, John William(1910), "William of Malmesbury",A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature,London: J. M. Dent & Sons – viaWikisource
  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."William of Malmesbury".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.