R.M. Thomson

William of Malmesbury's Regesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings) is one of the great histories of England, and one of the most important historical works of the European Middle Ages. Although its focus is national, its scope encompasses most of Western Europe and beyond, providing a full-scale account of the First Crusade. Apart from its formidable learning, it is characterized by narrative skill and entertainment value - with topics including unpowered flight and Henry I's zoo. This edition in the Oxford Medieval Texts series is the first modern translation and edition. A full historical introduction is supplied in Volume II.

Gesta Pontificum Anglorum (History of the English Bishops) is one of the most important medieval texts written c. 1125 by one of England's key historians of the period, William, Monk of Malmesbury. It is a is a vivid narrative on the English Church, its bishoprics and monasteries, from c.600 to William's contemporary era. Conceived as a companion piece to his Gesta Regum Anglorum, this historical work was a unique enterprise, and the result is a substantial book, elegantly written, full of original information, and characterized by intelligent interpretation and judgement. This second volume by R. M. Thomson contains an introduction and detailed commentary to accompany the Latin text and translation of the work, appearing in Volume I. The introduction presents and analyzes the reasons behind the work - its structure, its main sources and programme of research, and its influence and significance. The commentary, linked to the Latin text, discusses problems and questions revealed by the work, and illustrations appear throughout.

William of Malmesbury's Regesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings) is one of the great histories of England, and one of the most important historical works of the European Middle Ages. Volume II of the Oxford Medieval Texts edition provides a full historical introduction, a detailed textual commentary, and an extensive bibliography. It forms the essential complement to the text and translation which appeared in Volume I.

The library at Hereford Cathedral is famous as one of the few surviving `chained libraries'; but the contents of the books secured to the seventeenth century presses are less well known. There are 227 western manuscripts, of which about half have been at the cathedral since before the Reformation. They range in date from the eighth to the fifteenth century, and include finely-illustrated patristic books of the twelfth century, a large collection of Oxford University legal textbooks, and books of civil and canon law from the end of the thirteenth century. Over half the volumes survive in largely intact medieval bindings. The catalogue, begun by the late Sir Roger Mynors and completed by Professor Thomson, reflects the particular strengths of the collection. The many glossed books are described using a particularly effective system devised by Sir Roger Mynors. An introductory essay by Michael Gullick describes the medieval bindings, and the plates cover not only illumination and bindings, but medieval pressmarks and ownership inscriptions, as well as examples of scripts.

The abbey of Bury St Edmunds, shrine of St Edmund, was one of the greatest monasteries in medieval England, richly endowed with estates and widely known for its intellectual and artistic life. The surviving manuscripts from its library have been well catalogued, but its extensive archives, which are now to be found scattered on libraries throughout England, with an important group in the United States, have never been properly listed. Dr Thomson provides not only a valuable tool for the researcher, but also, in his introduction, discusses the way in which such an archive was formed, maintained and used. He applies principles familiar to students of medieval libraries, but which have rarely been used in connection with medieval records, to show how the archive worked in practice. Although the 1335 items listed are primarily of local interest, the book as a whole will be valuable to all those interested in the administrative and economic life of medieval monasteries.