William Of Malmesbury

Originally written in elegant Latin, this paperback takes the translation from the original hardcover to produce an attractive edition for the student or general reader. It retains the introduction, notes and appendices while presenting the text in a modern English version as elegant and engaging as the original. Written around 1135 by the Benedictine monk, historian and scholar William of Malmesbury (d. 1143), The Miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary belongs in the first wave of collected miracles of the Virgin, produced by EnglishBenedictine monks in the 1120s and '30s. Only two copies of William's work survive in anything like its complete form, and only one of them represents the finished product. But many of the stories were also transmitted separately,in groups or individually; the systematic use of this evidence is a feature of this new text. Originally written in elegant Latin, this paperback takes the translation from the original hardcover to produce an attractive edition for the student or general reader. It retains the introduction, notes and appendices - important to understand William's quotations and echoes from ancient authors - while presenting the text in a modern English version as elegant and engaging as the original. Anyone wishing to compare the original and this translation may refer to the hardcover which remains available (9781783270163).

The Miracles of the Virgin Mary, written c. 1135 by the Benedictine monk and historian William of Malmesbury (d. 1143), is an important document in the history of Marian devotion in medieval Europe. This is the first title in the new series Boydell Medieval Texts, which will provide scholarly editions of major works with facing translation. Written c. 1135 by the Benedictine monk, historian and scholar William ofMalmesbury (d. 1143), The Miracles of the Blessed Virgin Mary is of interest on several counts. It belongs in the first wave of collected miracles of the Virgin, produced by English Benedictine monks in the 1120s and '30s. These collections were to be influential across Europe and through the rest of the medieval period. Only two copies of William's work survive in anything like its complete form, and only one of them represents the finished product. But many of the stories were also transmitted separately, in groups or individually; the systematic use of this evidence is a feature of this new text. The work is written in elegant Latin and embellished with William's customary erudition, including frequent quotations and echoes from (sometimes unusual) ancient authors. His instinct as a historian is to the fore, as he tries to establish historical context and credibility for his stories. Above all, the scope of the collection is surprisingly international, including stories drawn from all around the Mediterranean. This is an important document in the history of Marian devotion in medieval Europe. In his long Prologue (which enjoyed some independent circulation), William argues strongly for the Virgin's Immaculate Conception and bodily Assumption, doctrines still not generally accepted in western Europe at the time. With the appearance of this book all of William of Malmesbury's major works are available in modern editions and translations. A paperback edition of the translation alone is also available (9781783271962).

The Historia Novella is a key source for the succession dispute between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda which brought England to civil war in the twelfth century. William of Malmesbury was the doyen of the historians of his day. His account of the main events of the years 1126 to 1142, to some of which he was an eyewitness, is sympathetic to the empress's cause, but not uncritical of her. Edmund King offers a complete revision of K. R. Potter's edition of 1955, retaining only the translation, which has been amended in places. Not only is this a new edition but it offers a new text, arguing that what have earlier been seen as William of Malmesbury's final revisions are not from his hand. Rather they seem to come from somewhere in the circle of Robert of Gloucester, the empress's half-brother, to whom the work is dedicated. In this way the work raises important questions concerning the transmission of medieval texts.

Consciously modelling himself on the Venerable Bede, William of Malmesbury (c.1090–c.1142) was one of the most learned of all the medieval chroniclers. In this second volume of a two-volume set, published between 1887 and 1889, editor William Stubbs (1825–1901) presents the last three books of William's Gesta regum anglorum ('Deeds of the English Kings'), which are concerned with post-Conquest events up to the reign of Henry I. Although William's reliance on contemporary chroniclers makes these books less independently valuable, they nonetheless contain much interesting material drawn from the author's own experience. The Gesta is followed by the Historia novella ('Modern History'), a later work in annalistic form - covering events from 1128 to 1142, including the 'anarchy' of King Stephen's reign - which seems to have been unrevised and unfinished before William's death. Stubbs' substantial preface provides a detailed critique of the literary and historical value of William's Latin writings.

Consciously modelling himself on the Venerable Bede, William of Malmesbury (c.1090–c.1142) was one of the most learned of all the medieval chroniclers. His monumental Gesta regum anglorum ('Deeds of the English Kings') is a model of historical scholarship, written in engaging, fluid Latin. It was first completed around 1125, but was later revised and extended. The first two books of the Gesta are an impressive demonstration of William's extensive bibliographic and antiquarian knowledge. In this first volume of a two-volume set, originally published between 1887 and 1889, editor William Stubbs (1825–1901) presents these first two books, which narrate events from the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons to the Battle of Hastings. Stubbs' own lengthy preface is a detailed examination of William's life and work, which sets his historical writings in the context of his time and credits him as the first truly systematic historian since Bede.

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.

First modern English translation of important source for English church history from Augustine's arrival in Canterbury in 597 down to the 1120s. William was born c.1095 not far from Malmesbury in Wiltshire; he entered the monastery at Malmesbury as a boy, and stayed there as a monk for the rest of his life, writing works which were to win him lasting fame as a historian. His Deeds of the Bishops of England chronicles the activities of the bishops in all the dioceses of England from Augustine's arrival in Canterbury in 597 down to the 1120s when the work was being written; in addition to bishops and cathedrals, William also includes saints who were not bishops, and religious houses other than cathedrals. For the period after Bede's death in 730, it is the most important single source for English church history, and indeed, together with William's other great achievement, the Deeds of the Kings of England, for the history of England. Much of the material William retells in his own style, and with considerable narrative skill, from earlier sources available to him in the monastic library. But he also travelled widely in England, and the organisation of the Deeds reflects a clear chronological and topographical order, from Canterbury and Rochester to London, East Anglia and Wessex, north to York, Lindisfarne and Durham, thence to Mercia, and finally, "returning home after a long journey", to his own abbey of Malmesbury and St Aldhelm.