Ricketts, Peter, ed., Three Anglo-Norman Chronicles (Manchester: Anglo-Norman Text Society)
Text name(s): Chronicle of Wigmore Abbey; Delapré Chronicle; Delapre Chronicle; Scottish Chronicle
Number of pages of primary source text: 31
Author(s):
Dates: 1078 - 1296
Archival Reference: Chicago, University of Chicago Library 224, ff. 1v-5r; Oxford, MS Oxford Bodleian Dugdale 18, ff. 27b-29b; Oxford, MS Oxford Bodleian Rawl. D 329, ff. 123a-130a
Original Language(s):
- Anglo-Norman
Translation:
- Original language included.
Translation Comments:
Geopolitical Region(s):
- British Isles
- Scotland
- England
County/Region: Wigmore; Delapré; Herefordshire; Northamptonshire
Record Types:
- Chronicle, Annals
Subject Headings:
- Nobility / Gentry
- Monasticism
- Clergy - Monks, Nuns, Friars
- Clergy - Priests, Bishops, Canons
- Government
Apparatus:
- Bibliography
- Introduction
Comments:
The Anglo-Norman Chronicle of Wigmore Abbey (pp. 5-19) mostly concerns the history of this religious house, beginning with its foundation in 1172, though the last quarter of the narrative is devoted to Ralph de Mortimer’s reconciliation with his father’s benefactions to the abbey.
The Delapré Chronicle ( pp. 20-27) was written in the early 13th century for the Cluniac nuns at Delapré, who were patronized by the earls of Huntington, and attempts to prove that the earldom belonged to the king of Scotland, not the king of England, since John Le Scot (d. 1237), the last male of the line, died without issue.
The Scottish Chronicle (pp. 28-36) deals with the claim that the Scottish king held his lands as a vassal of the English king, arguing in favor of the English case, surveying the history of Scotland from Brutus’ arrival in England all the way up to 1296. It is largely based on the letter of Edward I to Boniface VIII but also includes information from contemporary accounts of kings and the aristocracy.
Introduction Summary:
Ricketts provides separate introductions for each of the three texts published herein (4 pp. total). Each describes the chronicle in question briefly, providing some historical background on the religious houses which are the subject of each text and some of the key noblemen mentioned in conjunction with the houses. He also details the current state of the manuscripts in which these documents can be found as well as the history of their transmission, is known. Following each introduction is followed by a short bibliography relating to the individual texts.
Cataloger: AM
