Adam of Usk

Adam of Usk(Welsh:Adda o Frynbuga,c. 1352–1430) was a Welsh priest,canonist,and late medieval historian andchronicler.His writings were hostile to KingRichard II of England.

Patronage

Born atUskin what is nowMonmouthshire(Sir Fynwy), south-eastWales,Adam received the patronage ofEdmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March,who inherited the Lordship of Usk (Brynbuga) through his wife Philippa. Mortimer encouraged and enabled Adam to eventually study atOxford,where he obtained his doctorate and becameextraordinariusinCanon law.

Adam settled at theUniversity of Oxfordas a teacher of law. Here by his own admission he was involved in armed struggle in 1388 and 1389 between the Northerners and the Southerners, which included the Welsh.

Adam left Oxford and practised his profession for seven years as an advocate in the archiepiscopal court ofCanterbury,1390–1397, sitting on the Parliament of 1397. In 1399 he accompanied theArchbishopandBolingbroke's army on the march fromBristoltoChester.These experiences and the connection withThomas Arundelshaped his views thereafter. He was hostile in his chronicle to Richard II, was a member of the commission appointed to find secure legal grounds for his deposition, and met with the King during his captivity in theTower of London.

Adam was rewarded for his part in Richard II's surrender, imprisonment and fall by being granted thelivingofKemsingandSeal,and later made aprebendin the church ofBangor.These nicely supplemented his professional legal income and status. However one living, his title to the prebend of Llandygwydd inCardiganshiregiven under the college of Abergwili, was contested by one Walter Jakes, alias Ampney, who had obtained it by exchange in 1399. The two were in anaffray,inWestminster,in November 1400, which resulted in charges being brought against Adam and his company for highway robbery. The outcome is unknown, however it did not immediately limit his legal activities, as he continued as a lawyer.

Adam was strongly devoted toSaint Teilo(associated withLlandaff Cathedral) and to SaintThomas of India,whose cult had been vitalised byDominicanmissions in Asia.

Rome

However, Adam forfeited the King's favour and was either effectively banished or chose to leave England for Rome in February 1402 with the sanction of the Crown, having begged for the King's pardon for the Westminster misdeed, which pardon was granted in January 1403. There Adam realised he could impress other influential people. Once in Rome he metPope Boniface IXandPope Innocent VII,both of whom were sufficiently impressed to offer him English bishoprics in 1404. He was later successively nominated to the sees ofHerefordandSt David's,but was unable to obtain possession of either.Antipope Benedict XIIIalso nominated him to Llandaff.

Events outside his influence or control took over. The rebellion ofOwain Glyndŵrwas enveloping Wales and focusing attention from England. In the summer of 1405 riots swept Rome, driving the Pope from the city in August, stranding Adam and leaving him far from home, separated from patronage and exacerbated by Adam's own dangerous illness, suffered probably as a result. Adam left Rome in June 1406, making his way toBruges.Here he attended closely to events in Wales and England and again developed his legal work, in France andFlandersthis time. He listened to the plans ofHenry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland,to overthrowKing Henry IV,but adroitly avoided any implication, involvement or commitment to either side.

In 1408 Adam was ready to return to Wales, landed atBarmouth,and hoped to secure the Lordship of Powis, then held by Edward Cherleton – whose first wife's dower had included the Lordship of Usk. Adam lived under Cherleton's protection for some years at this period, as a poor Chaplain atWelshpool.

Legacy

In March 1411 Adam was granted a royal pardon, which should have signalled his return to influence. However, in 1414 Thomas Arundel died and a major patron's influence was removed. Adam spent the rest of his life and career in relative obscurity. In 1423 he was the incumbent ofSt Cybi's Church, Llangybi, Monmouthshire,near his birthplace.He died in 1430 and was buried in the priory church atUsk,where his epitaph, composed in Welshcywyddmetre, can still be seen. His will, also preserved, includes bequests toLlandaff Cathedraland to friaries in Newport and Cardiff as well as to individual persons bearing Welsh names. He makes a legacy to his executor and one to a relative, one Edward ab Adam, quite a telling gift: Adam's own copy ofRanulf Higden'sPolychronicon,maybe his own inspiration as a young boy. With it he must have left the material that formed his chronicle to 1421, which twenty years later was put in manuscript form.

This chronicle is his major legacy, providing contemporary detail on events in Wales, England and abroad and an insight into the life of an educated man moving through important spheres of influence at the time. He met Kings and Popes, chronicled thePeasants' Revolt(the chronicle opens with a description ofJack Straw) and the Byzantine EmperorManuel II Palaiologos's Christmas visit to Richard II, lived in various cities and towns, but was often on the move. Observant of phenomena from his youth, Adam is struck by the beauty ofLake Lucerneand the quality ofBeaune wine,but draws a pessimistic conclusion about the night-time behaviour of Rome's canine population. He offered a useful interpretation of the history of his times. The chronicle throws particular light on theOwain Glyndŵrrevolt. The interest of the content is generally far superior to the Latinity of the work.

The Chronicle survives in a single manuscript. At some point, the final quire of the manuscript became separated from the manuscript. This was discovered in 1885 atBelvoir Castle,where it remains. The main manuscript is in theBritish Library(Add. MS 10104).

His Latinchronicleof English history from 1377 to 1421 was edited and translated byEdward Maunde Thompsonfor the Royal Society of Literature, asChronicon Adæ de Usk.

See also

• Gerald of Wales
• Geoffrey of Monmouth

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Adam of Usk".Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.

Further reading

• Steven Justice,Adam Usk's Secret(2015)

External links

• "Adam of Usk".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.