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Journal of Medieval History

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Propaganda in English medieval historiography

Antonia Gransden

To cite this article: Antonia Gransden (1975): Propaganda in English medieval historiography, Journal of Medieval
History, 1:4, 363-381

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 o#cial histories numerous. Therefore it seems that
government propaganda was not congenial to most
chroniclers in England, an impression conjrmed by
the fact that it only left a sign$cant mark on the
chronicles in exceptional circumstances, for instance
at times of political crisis. Moreover, the chronicles
containing it were by foreigners and/or were written
edieval when continental inJuence was particularly strong at
court. The historiographical genre most characteristic
of medieval England was the monastic chronicle,
istori with its strong local attachments and generally
independent attitude to the central government.

Antonia Gransden
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Governments and local institutions used

propaganda to disseminate their views and
rally support in the middle ages as they do in
the present day. Their means of propaganda
were both verbal and written. Propaganda
Propaganda occurs sporadically in the chronicles of may occur for example in official records, in
medieval England, mainly in oficial histories (that directives to subordinates - and in chronicles.
is those commissioned by authority) and quasi- Propagandist chronicles fall into two main
oficial ones (those not actual@ commissioned but groups, official histories and quasi-official
representing the authority’s point of view). It histories. An official history can be defined as
rangesfrom mere eulogy toforceful argument which one commissioned by a person exercising
may even involve deliberate misrepresentation. In authority, to represent the point of view of his
monastic chronicles the propaganda is generally on office. In the middle ages besides justifying the
behalf of the monastery itself, and is rarely that of acts of the authority, it may well be written in
the central government; in fact such chronicles tend a eulogistic style. Some histories are auth-
to be critical of king and government. Government oritative and may also be eulogistic, but have
propaganda oc :urs nr.qrefrequently in chronicles by no specific evidence ofcommission: such works
other groups of- writers, notably secular clerks. are classed below as probably official.
Although very few non-monastic chronicles were A number of works express the official pain;
uctually commissioned by the king (the only in- of view and are eulogistic, but were either
disputable examples belong to the reign of Edward definitely not or probably I:,tJt commissioned
IV), a few aye quasi-o$icial, written probably to by the authority con:crned, PosLibiy they
attract patrona,Te and/or in c. literary,mode, especially reflect spontaneous love of or admiration for
that of romance literature, which tended to favour the person or the place. Alternatively, or in
the king. addition, they may belong to a literary genre
Clearly government-spansored hjtory established ofwhich eulogy is an esse:J.tial part, and at lfzast
no continuous tradition in England, comparable to some were written to attract favour from a
that, for exc.m.ple, in France. Nor were quasi- patron (for example, the king) and so to help

Journal of Medieval History 1 (1975), 363-382. 0 North-Holland Publishing Company. 363

 the author’s career: these histories have much In medieval England government-spon-
in common with official histories and may be sored official histories,, and even quasi-offi-
termed quasi-official. It should also be noted cial histories, were rare. Much commoner
that propaganda issued by an outside auth- were oflicial histories of local institutions,
ority may occur as an isolated passage in a usually monasteries. These, as the more
chronicle which in other respects does not characteristic group, will be discussed first.
reflect the vie,ws of that authority; possibly the
author inserted the propaganda fortuitously, Local histories produced by monasteries range
or because he approved of it, or because the from those intended merely to reinforce the
outside authority tflld him to. monks’ love of their own home, through those
It should be noted that the term propa- written with an eye to the pilgrim trade and to
ganda can have only a very limited appli- the house’s general reputation, to those with a
cation for most of the middle ages, because it justificatory purpose in relation to a legal
could not dissemir,ate a view widely ; until at dispute. Some explicitly state that the author
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earliest the late fourteenth century it would wrote in obedience to a command from his
initially have reached only a small circle of monastic superior;4 others contain no such
men. “‘he intentions of an ofhcial history statement, but their contents indicate that
produced in a monastery were partly to they too were commis#sioned.
gratify corporate pride and to improve the An example of a history intended primarily
es/witde corps, intentions accentuated by the for the author’s own community is the chron-
presence of propaganda. Through well-in- icle of Ramsey abbey written soon after the
formed monks the community’s point of view accession of Henry II. It has no evidence as to
might influence others, for example pilgrims who commissioned it, but its official nature is
who, persuaded of the ancient Christian suggested by the eulogistic tone and by the
tradition of the place, would give more gen- theme. The author praises Ramsey in fulsome
erously. If the monastery’s rights were in terms: he describes the marshes in which the
dispute, propaganda in its official history abbey was situated, the lakes with abundant
would serve as a reinforcement against op- fish and waterfowl, the islands with woody
ponentr,. Government-sponsored history was glades, fruit trees, rich arable and pastures
probably intended to please the king and his which in the spring were so bright with
circle. But it would also inform the clerical flowers that they looked as if they were the
elite, and it might be hoped that through this work of an artist - and of all the islands of the
influential group tjne propaganda would fens Ramsey was the most fertile (Macray
reach awider audience.1 Often the first impact 1886:7-l 1). The chronicle, however, is more
would have ‘been on those who already ac- than a eulogy: it is also a record. The author’s
cepted the government point of view, but declared purpose was to establish the abbey’s
ultimately the propagianda might increase the right to its estates, its titles to which had been
loynlty of the king’s subjects and even rally threatened during the anarchy of Stephen’s
support abroad.2 With the spread of literacy reign (Macray 1886:4). The chronicle has
in the fifteenh century the lumber of people copies of the abbey’s early charters, so that if
whom propaganda could reach at first hand anarchy ever recurred, there would be no
increased. 3 doubt what it owned.

364
 Probably the Ramsey chronicler intended Winchester, who had a close connec’ion with
his work to be used primarily for reference Giastonbury abbey, ruling it together with his
within the abbey. On the other hand the bishopric from 1126 until his death in 117 4
History of the church of Durham written by a (Hearne 1727: 1; Robinson 1921:3, 4). Hc
monk of Durham, prcbably Symeon, at the wrote to meet ::he challenge to the abbey’s
command of his superiors in about 1100 reputation presented by Osbern, the hagi-
(Arnold 1882:3), must have been intended to ographer of Christ Church, Canterbury, who
have a wider influence. In the generation after had recently asserted that Dunstan was the
the Norman Conquest the monks of St first abbot of Glastonbury (Stubbs 1874:92).
Cuthbert’s were concerned for their pros- To defend Glastonbury’s reputation as a holy
perity which had been impaired by the politi- place of great antiquity, William proved, by
cal insecurity and the military devastations in sound historical research, that the abbey’s
the north. Moreover, they feared that their history stretched back well into the seventh
powers of recupera tion would be undermined century. Lamentably, to further substantiate
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by any diminution in the reputation of their his conclusions, he inserted one or two forged
house as the heir to an ancient and holy charters (Hearne 1727 :61-2, 73-5, 78-82;
tradition (Gr ansden 1974a:ll.5,116-20). Sawyer 1968: nos. 257, 499, 783). Un-
Therefore, one purpose of the History was doubtedly the monks of Glastonbury wel-
without doubt to attract the generosity of comed the De antiquitate in their anxiety to
pilgrims and to deter potential depredators. It preserve their pilgrim trade. However the
demonstrates the continuity of that tradition revenue from pilgrims became even more im-
before and after the Norman Conquest, em- perative in 1184 when a serious fire in the
phasising the abiding power of St Cuthbert to abbey necessitated expenditure on rebuilding.
protect his community,5 and stressing, even Soon afterwards the monks enveloped the
at the expense of Xstorical accuracy, the an- early history of Glastonbury in legend: they
cient associations of its treasures - for instance inserted into the De antiquitate the story of
by ‘proving’ that its precious gospel book (the Joseph of Arimathea’s visit and much other
Lindisfarne Gospels) had travelled with St legendary material, and the forged ‘charter of
Cuthbert’s body on the evacuation of St Patrick’, all designed to show that Glaston-
Lindisfarne in 793 (Kendrick 1960 :2 l-3). bury was the most holy place in England
The post-Conquest monastery had of course (Robinson 1921:3-25).
dnly been founded i;l 1183, but the History At the furthest extreme is a tract written
purports to link it with the pre-Conquest during the quarrel between Herbert Losinga
secular community, by the assertion that some bishop of Thetford and the abbey of Bury St
of the monks descended from the very bearers Edmunds, when the bishop tried to move his
ofSt Cuthbert’scoffin (Arnold 1882:97-80). see to Wury in the early twelfth century. (The
The propagandist purpose of the History of abbey successfully resisted the attempt on
the church qf Durham led to thle distortion of legal grounds.) The tract was by one of
historical fact. In William of Malmesbury’s Losinga’s party and its purpose was to rein-
De antiquitate Glastoniensis ecclesiae it led to force his claim (V. H. Galbraith 1925 :222-B).
more extensive falsification. William dedi- It is a pike justijicative, a fighting document,
cated the work to Henry of Blois, bishop of presenting the bishop’s case. The historical

365
 falsification in it is all pervasive. It contains a the English people had expected” (Whitelock
fabricated history of Bury St Edmunds design- 1961:89). And as late as the end of the four-
cd to prove that, contrary to the monks’ teenth century Thomas Walsingham, the
contention, the place had once been the seat of St Albans’ chronicler, was censuring Richard
a bishop. It suppresses the very existence of II who, led astray by evil counsellors, betrayed
St Edmund the king and martyr, the abbey’s his subjects’ interests (Thompson 1874:354;
patron, and states that the abbey grew out Riley 1864:149,152).
of a secular cathedral founded by Felix bishop The monastic vocation itself supplied the
of the East Angles from about 630 to 647. This chroniclers with weapons of criticism. Ideas of
cathedral was dedicated to St Mary: King democratic control existed in the monasteries
Cnut made the secular community attached and religious orders,’ and these could be
tothecathedral intoapriory, and KingHarold applied by analogy to the central government.
elev;rted it into an abbey. Infact, ofcourse,the Already in the late twelfth century Gervase of
pre-Conquest history of the abbey, founded Canterbury had r&oted that the division of
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by King Cnut in honour of St Edmund, is well property between The convent and archbishop
authenticated and there is no evidence sup- should only be varied “by common counsel,
porting the assertion th.at Bishop Felix had not by presumption or tyranny” (Stubbs
previously establishcd his see on the site. 1879 :43), and remarked with satisfaction that
when Archbishop Theobald had appbinted a
The same local attachment, the same esprit de prior of Christ Church, he did this with the
corps, which permeates the local histories, convent’s consent (Stubbs 1879:48, 141). He
moulded th? general histories composed in also emphasised that the convent clung to its
monasteries. These too were probably often charters to secure its rights against the arch-
commissioned by a monastic superior.6 One of bishop (Stubbs 1879 :467, 470-l). Gervase’s
the chroniclers’ purposes was to represent the continuator writes of the baronial opposition
abbey in a favourable light against the back- to King John in analogous terms. He states
ground of national history. Writing in strong- that in 1204 preparations for the defence of
holds of local privilege, chrcniclers tend to be England against French invasion were made
critical of, even hostile to, the king and govern- “with the assent of the king and of all the
ment. Particularly .In the thirteenth century magnates” (Stubbs 1880:96), and that in
iheir houses were engaged in a bitter struggle 120#5“all the magnates...compelled the king
against the expar: iing claims of the king and to swear that he would preserve, with their
his government ,and of the papacy). How- counsel, the laws of England” (Stubbs 1880:
ever, sometimes they rase above local con- 97-8).
siderations and identified with *.he interests of The thirteenth-century Waverlcy chron-
the people of the realm. Already the author of icler reflects the consultative and rcpresenta-
the Anglo-Saxon chrowdclein the early eleventh tive element in the Cistercian order. He notes
century criticized King Ethelred for the loss that a decision was made at Wavcrley (in
of the English fleet, deploring the damage 1263) “by the counsel of the seniors of the
done to the national cause: “thus the toil of house” (Luard 1865 :354), and records that in
all the nation was lightly brought to nought - 1256 the English Cistercians ltefused Henry
no better than this was the victory which all III’s financial demands without licence of the

366
 general chapter and “the consent of all the history for propaganda He made extensive
abbots” (Luard 1865 :348-g). Th< chronicler use of it to support his claim to the overlord-
was an ardent partizan of the barons in their ship of Scotland (Stones 1969:11-21). Pre-
conflict with Henry III, who, he claims, had paratory to hearing the claims of the com-
either perverted or quashed the ancient laws petitors to the throne of Scotland at Norham
and c&toms of the realm, acting as if by in 1291, h;_ ,*rrote to the monasteries in-
‘?yrannical will” (Luard 1865 :351)) .s structing the monks to search their chronicles
Of all the thirteenth-century writers, for evidence of his right, and his clerks used the
Matthew Paris most consistently and elo- material supplied to concoct a historical justi-
quently abused the king and his ministers and fication for his claim, which was cited in the
officials. He considered that all consti- course of the trial Edward must have hoped
tutional problems would be solved if the that this piece of propaganda would stir the
privileges of every group of society, as defined enthusiasm of his own supporters and perhaps
by custom and charter, were observed, and even help persuade the Scats of his right. It
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their obligations fulfilled. He saw the monas- formed part of the official record of the pro-
tery as a microcosm ofthe kingdom. Just as the ceedings (F&era, 1: 762-84) :u-rd was also used
abbot, the head of the monastery, should take to disseminate Edward’s case further afield;
the advice of the senior monks and observe the it appears in the letter which Edward address-
precepts of the Rule, so the king should take ed to Pope Boniface VIII in 1301 (Stones
the magnates’ advice and observe the custom- 1965: no. 30). And in order to spread the
ary and written limitations on the exercise of knowledge throughout England of his over-
his authority.9 lordship of Scotland, Edward sent copies of
the competitors’ letter:, of submission to his
Despite the fact that monastic chronicles in judgment to various monasteries, where, in
general have an independent attitude to the accordance with the king’s instrucions, they
central government, on occasion traces of were copied into their chronicles (fcr example
government propaganda can be found in Howlett 1885:576-8; Gransden 1!,64:100-3;
them. The earliest examples are the Anglo- compare Palgrave 183 7 : xcvi-xc. vii ; Bain
Norman chronicles written in the geroration 1884: nos. 503-4).
after the Norman Conquest. Eadmer, William Similarly some chronicles of the early
of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis give the fifteenth century bear the impri.nt of royal
Norman justification for the Conquest, that propaganda, Henry IV’s clerks compiled an
Edward the Confessor had promised the account of the deposition of Richard II, the
succession to Duke William, and that Harold so-called “record and process”, tc justify his
had sworn to uphold the agreement (Rule coup. This official record, which was entered
1884:7; Stubbs 1889:279-80; Chibnall 1969; on the parliament roll (Rotuli Parliamentorum,
xxiv, 134-6, 1702,369). Their acceptance of 3 :416-32)) gives the articles condemning the
the official version was apparently voluntary, last years of Richard’s rule and purports to
Fut in later instances chroniclers included describe the deposition itself, representing it as
government propaganda in response to an a voluntary abdication? Copies of it were
order. sent to important monasteries, where the
Edward I was well aware of the value of chroniclers incorporated extracts into their

367
 works (Hearne 1729: 157-61; compare Stow itselFto its feet and stood, with no assistance,
1973:71-Z; Haydon 1863:582-4; Riley for the space of time it takes to say the Lord’s
l&66:252-82). The chroniclers also seem to Prayer” (Riley 1866 :2 1G--8). Similarly Wal-
have had access to Lancastrian propaganda singham’s moving account of the arrest of the
tracts, written in favour of the Lords Ap- duhe of Gloucester* (Riley 1866 :203-.-6) may
pellant;ll these tracts are now lost and their well be part of z~ Lancastrian propaganda
previous existence can only be inferred from tract. If it is, the concluding part of the same
what appear to be extralzts fkom them in the tract is probably preserved in the Evesham
chronicles. chronicle, which has a gruesome description
The historical work of Thomas Walsingham of Gloucester’s murder, written. in similar
may be cited as an example of the possible highly coloured prose (Hearne 1729 : 161-Z).
effects of the 1399 revolution on a monastic Furthermore, it is possible that the dramatic
chronicler. Walsingham began his great work, passages relating to Thomas Arlindel, arch-
the Chronica major-a, during the reign of Rich- bishop of Canterbury, in the Eul’o$um
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ard II ; he bitterly criticised the government, historlarum (Hayclon 1863 :3 7 l-2, 3 76-4) also
particularly Henry Bolingbroke’s. father, John derived from a Lancsstr~an source. The story
of Gaunt. He stopped writ:ing the Chronica of St Thomas’s holyoil,discovered by Richard
during his period ofoffice as prior of Wymond- II in the Tower and used by Archbishop
ham from 1394 until late in 1396 or early in Arundel to anoint Henry IV, a clear example
1397. After Richard’s deposition he, again of Lancastrian propaganda, may have formed
resident at St Albans, revised the Chronica, part of the same work (it occurs both in the
modifying the criticism of John of Gaunt Eulogium and in Walsingham) (Haydon 1863 :
(Galbraith 1932 :24-5). He also added a 380; Ril(ey 1866:297-300) .14
hostile accotint of Richard II’s last years,12 for
which he made use not only ofthe “record and Only one monastic chron& has any claim to
process” hu,. also apparently of Lancastrian be regarded as an official history. This is a
prc paj;anda tracts. version, with continuation, of the Flows
For example Walsingham borrowed from his%-iarum written in Westminster Abbey. The
the “record and pror.ess” his statement that copy of Matthew Pa,ris’s Flows which went to
ard pert.* II&$ Parliament in 1398 to Westminster from St Albans in 1265 was
egate its powers and that he had entries on continued there to 1306. F arly in the four-
the rolls altered and deleted [Wiley 1866:222, teenth century a revised version of the chron-
263-4; Rotuli Parlianvntorum,, 3 ~418 no. 25; icle to 1306 (the so-called “Merton Flares)
compare Edwards 1925 :62 l-5) .I3 I-Iis account was produced, and later the monk Robert cf
of the earl of Arundel’s {execution at Richard’s Reading added a further continuation covcr-
command in 1394 seems to be from a propa- ing Edward II’s reign. The tone and thcmc
ganda tract. It depicts the earl as if he were a of the revised rersion and of Robert of Read-
saint, giving alms to the poor as he was led ing’s continuation suggest the possibility that
the place of execution, forgiving and kissing they were government-sponsored, a view
e executioner and testing the blade of the which receives some confirmation from the
sword. He was beheaded at one blow, “but”, excellent series of pictures of the coronations
writes Walsingham, “his1 headless trunk raised of the kings of England from William the

368
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 16:28 02 May 2013

Figure 1. The coronation of Henry III (left) and Edward I (right) from the ‘Merton’ version of the Flares
/LS?OY~ZYU~.
Eton College MS. 123, ~OS. 19d,23j.

P
Conqueror to Edward I (see Figure 1 and ravours the king, the 1307 to 1327 continu-
Gransden 1974b;472-92). ation vilifies him. The virulence of Robert of
The revised version of the FZoresmay well Reading’s tone can only be explained in the
have been written to please Edward I or at his context of the coup by Queen Isabel and
command, or perhaps for Edward II at his Roger Mortimer; it must have been written to
adcession to commemorate his father’s justify the depF)sition of Edward II. Qn the
achievements. Although it is a history of the one hand Robert denigrates Edward II al-
world starting at the creation, becoming in most hysterically, and on the other he praises
fact P history of England, it concentrates Isabel and Mortimer and justifies their acts.
particularly on Edward I’s reign. At least one e uses biblical references to lend weight
of its aims was to praise King Edward for his to his prose in the same way as the previous
victories over the Scats ant1 to vindicate author, even comparing Mortimer with St
his claim to overlordship. Bebides including Peter (Luard 1890:217). Edward was “para-
the letters of submission of the competitors for lysed by sloth, and won disgrace, not fame”‘;
the throne of Scotland (Luard 1890 : 74, n. 7)) he was a coward in battle, fleeing terrified
it hss fulsome eulogy of Edward’s military from the Scats in 1322, “spurring on his horse,
prowess in prose embellished with biblical trembling and defenseless”; and so he lost the
referen.ccs to emphasise his @rsona as the honour and prestige won by his far-famed
Lord’s anointed (for example Luard 1890: ant castors (Luard 1890 : 192-3, 2 10). Queen
316-20). . Isakdel, who had always worked for the peace
In the same degree as the revised Flares of t1.e realm, had suffered bad treatment at Eis

369
 hands. Edward had cruelly ‘deprived her of house of Wessex in general and of Alfred him-
her household and put her from his bed : “Oh ! self in particular, with especial emphasis on
the insane stupidity ofthe king, condemned by military triumphs.
God and man; he should not love his own in- The Chronicle demonstrates the antiquity of
famy and illicit bed, full of sin, and should the West Saxon dynasty by giving two ge-
never have banished, from his side his noble nealogies of the royal family, one going bat
consortand her gentle wifely embraces, in con- to Noah and the other to Adam, in glorious
tempt of her noble birth.” (Luard 1890:229). unbroken line (Whitelock 1961:14, 44: com-
The chronicle ends with Edward’s ‘voluntary pare Chadwick 1924:56ff, 252-83; F. M.
abdication. The king is represented as saying : Stenton 1925 :23, n. 3). It exaggerates the par-t
“I greatly lament that I have so utterly failed played by Cerdic and Cynric, the founders of
my people, but I could be no other than I am; the dynasty, in the original conquest of
I am delighted that rn,~ son, who has been Wessex (?Vhitelock 1961: 1 l-1 2) ,16and under-
accepted by all the people, should succeed emphasises the successes of the rivals or’ the
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me on the t-none.” l,Luard 1890 :235) West Saxon kin.gs, the kings oCMercia.17 Thus
We probably have, therefore, in this version the Chronicle?establishe!, King Alfred’s ancient
of the FZ0re.san official history of two reigns. royal lineage which entitled him to lead the
For thisbriefperiod the monksofWestminster, English. It records his victories over the Danes,
a foundation under royal patronage and close and when it was continued under his son and
to the seat of government, apparently sup- heir, Edward the Elder, its official character
plied the kings of England with a chronicle survived. The continuator rewrote part of the
compar+le to the Grandes chroniques written by account of Alfred’s reign to give greater kudos
the monks of St Denis for the kings of France. to Edward. References to Alfred’s activity as
However, this version of the Flares stands army commander against the Danes in 893 are
alone : no other chronicle of undisputed reduced : Edward emerges as hero ; it was he in
monastic origin relects the official viewpoint whom the English soldiers “rejoiced, being set
with sufficient strt.ngth and consistancy to free from care, like sheep brought to the pas-
justify its classiffica:jon as an official, or even a tures by the help of the shepherd” (Campbell
quasi-ofFicia1, history. For other possible ex- 1962 :xxviii-xxix, 49).
amples of such histories we must turn to the Copies of the Alfredian Chronicle were
works of non-monastic writers, notably distributed to various monasteries apparently
secular clerks. in the late ninth century, there to be preserved
and kept up to date. But although the mon-
The earliest surviving example of a history asteries received continuations for the years
which may well be official is the Alfredian 894 to 924,925 to 97!?, and 983 to 1018 from
version of the Anglo-Saxon chronicle. Its author some central source (see Plummer 1899:
is unknown but he is unlikely to have been a xxxviii-cxxii ; Campbell 1938 : l-7,34-5), the
monk, or ar: least one resident in a monastery, Chronicle gradually lost its official character
and he wa Drobably connected with the court and became localized, until by the time of the
of King Alfred.l-5 The propagandist ele. tent in Norman Conquest it had acquired the in-
the Chrmicle suggests that he was commissioned dependent outlook which was to become
by Alfred to record the achievements of the characteristic of the monastic chronicles of

370
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 16:28 02 May 2013

Figure 2. Frontisibiece of the Encom-

ium Emmae regitrae. The author pre-
sents the book to Queen Emma,
who is accompanied by her sons Har-
thacnut and Edward. BL Add. MS.
33241, f. Iv.

the po.;t-Conquest period. the Danes and his cultural reforms, perhaps at
The Anglo-Saxons had another type of the king’s command (Campbell 1962 :xxxiii) .
historiography closely associated with the Another royal, biography, possibly also com-
court; royal biography. The Life of King missioned, was of Alfred’s grandson, Athel-
A&d himself was written by Asser, bishop of star-r, praising his heroism as a warrior.
Sherborne, to celebrate Alfred’s victories over The two remaining royal biographies

371
 written in the Anglo-Saxon period were com- ture began to influence historical wr-rting, and
missioned by queens: Queen Emma com- histories were written in Anglo-Norman verse
missioned a Life of her hushland King Cnut in the form of chansons de geste. Romance lent
(the Encomium Emmae reginae,, see Figure 2), itself to royal eulogy: a king, like any other
and Queen Edith one of her husband Edward lord, could be praised as a hero of chivalry.
the Confessor. All four royal biographies are Moreover, the romance writer loved to
in eulogistic vein and exaggerate the virtues of describe scenes of war, and the king as com-
their subjects, and the last two contain pro- mander of the army might well attract his
paganda which distorts historical truth: for attention. In addition the authors who wrote
example the Encomium disguises the fact that histories in the romance style were secular
Cnct was Emma’s second h,usband, the first clerks, a class susceptible to pressure from
being Cnut’s enemy King Ethelred (Camp- patrons. Such a clerk might holIe to win
kJd 1949 : xlvi) ; and the j!@ of King Edward promotion in his career through thz influence
claims that the king had the saintly virtue of of his patron - in some instances the king.
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chastit;r, probably in order to gloss over his The first history to be written iu England
failure to provide an heir to the English throne in the romance style in Anglo-Norman verse
- his childlessness exposed him to the criticism was the Estoire des Engleis by Geoffrey Gaimar,
that he was not blessed by God (Barlow 1962: a clerk of Caen, who wrote shortly before
lxxv-lxxviii) . 1140. It is the only known twelfth-centur)
However, the pr’opaganda in these royal work to give a favourable account of William
biographies cannot have been aimed at a wide Rufus - “a wise and courteous man”, and
audience. They were proba’bly intended pri- “Never was a king so well loved ncr honoured
marily for the court circle and can have had by his folk” (Bell 1960: 185, 187). Gaimar’s
little vogue outside it. This view is corrobor- history was follo\Jed by others in the same
ated by their w yak manuscript traditions. style, Jordan F:Lntosme’s Chronique de la
The Lzfe gf Xi’ng X+ed s;;rvived the Conquest guerre entre les Prylois et ZesEcossois, concc rning
in one orperhaps t x-o ma,mscripts (noncisnow the war of I 173-4 between Englanti and
extant) .ls Athelstan’s Life is known only from Scotland,20 Ambroise’s Estoire de la Guerre
the passages copied by William of Malmes- Saime (printed Paris 1897) and the Histoire de
bury into his Gesta iregum Stubbs 1889:144- Guillaume le Markhal, a Life of Willia:n the
52 @.nim ; compare Campbell 1938 :45, n. 1, Marshal earl of Pembroke (died in 12 19)
49 and n. 5). The Encomium k known from only (printed, Meyer 1891-1901). All three works
one medieval manuscript, albeit an autograph eulogize their heroes, but in only one,
(Campbell 1949:xi-xiii; Figure 2), and the Ambroise’s Histoire, is the hero the king.21
Li&z ofKing Edward also from one manuscript, Ambroise put Richard I in the centre of the
of about 1100 (Barlow 1962 :lxxix-lxxxi) . Nor stage; Richard was lavish in hospitality and
were these works much used by later medieval generous to his followers, and above all he was
writers,*9 and this rather tenuous tradition of brave (for example Par:is 189’7: 17,30,? 10).
royal biography did not survive the Norman The Estoire or its source22 formed the basis of
Conquest. the account in Latin prose, in six books, of the
Third Crusade, the Itinerarium peregrinorum et
In the post-CQnques& period romance litcra- gesta regis Ricardi, by Richard, canon of the

372
 Augustinian priory of Holy Trinity in London tertii, and the anonymous Gesk Henrici quinti.
(printed, Stubbs 1864). The relevant section When Duke William conquered England it
comprises Books 2-6 (Book 1 concerns the crus- was necessary to establish that he had legal
ade but without especial reference to King justification for his seizure of the crown. The
Richard). This part belongs to another histo- consequent propaganda is clearly reflected in
riographical genre which was introduced into a number of the historical works of the
England after the Norman Conquest, that of period,24 but particularly in the Gesta GuiZZeZmi
tile Gesta regum. A variety of works were so by William of Poitiers, archdeacon of Lisieux
entitled, for example William of Malmes- and once a chaplain of Duke William.zs The
bury’s Gesta regum, an account ofthe successive centre piece of the argument proving Duke
kings of England, whom. he treats critically William’s right to the throne was that Harold,
rather than eulogistically. Another is the when shi;->wrecked in Normandy, had sol-
Gesta Henrici II which goes under the name of emnly sworn to Duke William that he,
Benedict of Peterborough (printed, Stubbs William, should succeed to the English throne
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1867)) but was probably by Roger of Howden, on the death of Edward the Confessor.
a clerk in rBya1 service (D.M. Stenton 1953: Harold subsequently broke his oath, seizing
574-82 ; cdmparc Stubbs 1867a :liii-lv) . In the throne itself, and thus became a perjuror
form it resembles a monastic chronicle, but, (Foreville 1952 : 146, 182). William of Poitiers
being the work of a royal clerk, it reflects the reinforced his argument by demonstrating
outlook of the central government and has that William was a good man, a great ruler
numerous copies of official documents - as and a brave warrior (he gives graphic exam-
does the chronicle indisputedly by Roger of ples of his prowess), while Harold was a bad
Howden (printed, Stubbs 1868-7 1). But most one, a usurper and a tyrant (for example
typical of the genre are Gesta regum written Foreville 1952 : 114, 180,204,224,230).
under the influence of romance literature: Robert of Avesbury, registrar to the arch-
because they subsume chivalric values they bishop of Canterbury,‘6 wrote the Dl! gestis
tend to treat kings as heroes.23 mirabiZibus regis Edwardi tertii, which is virtually
Romance histories and the ron .ance-type a military history, to praise E&ard HI in
Gesta regum eulogize the king particularly as a chivalric terms and JTustify his wars against
military leader, and they favour warfare - they Scotland and France. He demonstrates Ed-
can to some extent be regarded as propaganda ward III’s rigk Lt to overlordship of Scctland
in favour of war in general. In some instances with a flashback composed “from ancient
their object w as more specific ; both Ambroise’s chronicles” recapitulating .4nglo-Scottish re-
Estoire and the Itinerarium were partly written lations from the time of Brutu!: :o the coro-
to stimulate crusading fervour. Furthermore, nationofRobert Bruce (Thompson 1889 :286-
if the king’s right to his conquest was in 96). He concentrates especially on the war
question, a Pesta regum might contain propa- with France, describing the English victories
ganda to the point of misrepr~:sentation: three one after another, culminating in the triumph
examples of such works survil e from medieval at Poitiers. He justifies Edward’s claim to the
England, William of Poitier ‘s Gesta GuiZZeZmi crown of France by right of inheritance and
ducis Jl’brmannorum et regis An&iorum, Robert of asserts that it had been violently acquired by
Avesbury’s & gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi Philip of Valois (Thompson 1889 :302-3) ?

373
 He praises Edward as magnificent, generous monstrates that God was on the side of the
and merciful, always ready to spare a caprive English. He stresses Henry’s piety - his
or make a just peace. Above all Edward was assiduity in attending church services, his
brave. His heroism is illustrated, for example, religious foundations (for example Williams
by the dramatic account of the battle near 1850:7, 41, 47, 49, 72, 90-2, 107). And he
Calais in 1350, when he and the Black Prince represents Henry’s victories, notably at
fought to save the town from a surprise attack Harfleur and Agincourt, as proof of God’s
by the French. King Edward, with hardly favour (Williams 1850:47, 59,73--5). The fact
thirty men-at-arms and a few archers, became that the same arguments occur, though ex-
separated from the rest of his army. Seeing pressed more briefly, on the Rolls of Parlia-
this, the French prepared to attack: “Then the ment proves that. they were the official ones
king, situated in such great danger, did not (Rotuli Parliamentorum, 4:62,94, 106, 116).
lose heaft, but like a seasoned and great- Although these three Gesta regum praise the
hearted warrior, drew his sword shouting kin,g, reflect his policy and justify his acts,
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“Ah! Eciward, Saint George! Ah! Edward, there is no evidence tha: they were com-
Saint Geor!;e !” The French were so non- missioned. In view of l.he fact that they were
plussed with astonishment that reinforcements by secular cle& (who were no doubt anxious
had time to rush to Eclward’s help (ThornpEon <or promotion) . a.nd written in the chivalric
18893410). (node, it would be rash to conclude that they
The last propagandist (%sta written as a are official rather than quasi-official histories.
result of war to be discussed is the Gesia it is not until the Wars of the Roses that there
Henrici qyinti by an unidentified chaplain f,f s certain evidences ofofficial history written by
Henry 1’. It has been described by a recent royal servants. By this time the well-to-do
scholar its “an outstanding piece of propa- laity were literate, and the two parties in the
ganda, designed toJ Jstify the king’s character civil war often appealed for support by the use
and policy” (Roskell and Taylor 197 1:428). Its of bills and newsle tters (Armstrong 1948 :43 l-
main object was to stimulate support, in- 3). An elaborate example of a propagandist
cluding f’,lancial support, for the Hundred newsletter is The manner and guiding of the Earl
Years’ W ‘ir preparatory to its renewal in 14 i 7, of Warwick at Angers from the 15th day of July to
by persu ..ding Henry’s subjects of his l )wn the 4th dcy of August, which Warwick and the
worth an 1 the justice of his cause.28 In ad- duke of Clarence addressed to the “discreet
dition such a work might increase his prestige and true commons of F viand”. The letter
abroad.29 The Gesta emphasises that Henry justifies Warwick’s and Claren\*e’s change of
had a 1egii;imate hereditary right to the ter- side and details their alliarre with Queen
ritories he claimed in France. He had tried Margaret (Ellis 182 7 : 13:!-9) .
to orbtain recognition of this by negotiation, At least two h,istorical works were written
but lbecause of the duplicity of the French the (both in English:) specifically to support the
peace talks had failed (Williams 1850:80,83). Yorkist cause. The iirst is the account of the
Therefore Henry was forced to have recourse Lincolnshire rebellion of 1479. Thi!; covers the
to the sword: “ We make war so that we may period of three weeks from Zdwat d IV’s de-
have peace, because the end of war is peace” parture from London on 6 March until his
Rot&i Parliamentorun?, 4 :94). The -vriter de- arrival at York :after the suppression of the

374
 revolt. It must have been written by someone (Thomson 1971: 84). Edward IV sent a copy
closely connected with the royal adminis- of the short version, with a covering letter to
tration, because the author had access to the burgesses of Bruges; a fine contemporary
documents preserved there, both official and copy of his letter, and the text of thework it-
otherwise, to which he refers (for example self, with illuminations is preserved at Ghent
Nichols 1847 :6, 10, 13). Its purpose was to (Figure 3) .30 He also sent a copy to Charles
implicate the duke of Clarence and the earl of the Bold, duke of Burgundy.31
Warwick in the revolt (Kingsford 1913:173-
4). The other tract written in the Yorkist cause The evidence shows that in general the kings
was the History of the Arrival of Edward IV in of England did not com,mission historical
England and thejnal recovery of his kingdom from works as vehicles of propaganda. The Anglo-
Henry VI, which gives a full account of Ed- Saxon chronicle and the ‘Merton’ version of the
ward’s return to England, in 147 1, from his J’lores historiarum may well be oficial histories,
landing at Ravenspur to his victory at Tew- but the only indisputable examples belong to
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kesbury, and was written, as it itselfstates, “by the reign of Edward IV.
a servant of the king’s, that presently saw in Clearly there was in England no traditionof
effect a great part of his exploits, and the official historiography comparable to that in
residue knew by true relation of them that France, where from the twelfth to the fifteenth
were present at every time” (Bruce 1838: 1) . century the kings commissioned the monks of
Although the Arrival is principally a factual St Denis to write an official chronicle, the
and accurate military history (King Edward’s Grandes chroniques, to praise them and justify
success was propaganda enough), its Yorkist their acts (printed, Vial-d 1920-53). Nor was
bias is evident. For example, in its account of there anything in England to correspond to
the battle of Tewkesbury, it alludes only the abundance of ‘memorials’ and propa-
briefly to the death of Edward prince of ganda tracts produced in France in the four-
Wales, who was killed in suspicious circum- teenth and fifteenth centuries in support of the
stances, and to the brutal executions which policy of the kiiig or of that of the opposing
followed the battle, and attributes Henry VI’s faction (Hay 1962 ; Lewis 1965). The lack of
death without comment to “pure displeasure such a tradition is the more surprising because
and melancholy” (Bruce 1838:38; compare t host continental neighbours with which
Kingsford 1913:173). Enp!and was most closely associated, Nor-
The Arrival is an official history in the strict ma2dy and Anjou, both 1-.adofficial histories:
sense of the term. One of its purposes was to already in the late tenth century the duke of
inform Edwar I IV’s friends abroad of his re- Novmandy commissiont.d one,32 and the
adeption. Twc versions in French, a long and official history of the ccunts of Anjou, the
a short one, ga ,ned currency on the continent Gevta consulum Andegavorun,, W;LSbegun in 1107
(Thomson 197 3 :ts4-93). The long version was and continued throughout the twelfth century
copied by the F lemish chronicler Jean Waurin (printed, Marchegay anti Salmon 1856,
into his Recur eil des cronicques d’Engleterre 1871).
(DuPont 1863:96-147), and the short one was Examples of quasi-official histories written
probably used my the French writer, Thomas by secular CIarks in search of patronage and in
Basin, for his h: story of the reign of Louis XI a literary rr9de which tended to favour the

375
Downloaded by [Monash University Library] at 16:28 02 May 2013
 king, are slightly more numerous, and there Normandy, while the courts of Edward I and
are a few examples of monastic chronicles Edward II were much influenced 1,~ French
which included, sometimes at the king’s order, culture. (Edward I’s mother, Eleanor, was
go\-ernmcnt propaganda. French; his scccbnd wife LTargaret was the
The evidence forces the conclusion that sister of Philip IV; and Edward II’s queen,
chronic’es containing government propa- Isabel, was the sister of Philip the Fair). The
ganda were atypical of the historiographical cultural influence of France was considerable
tradition of medieval England. All the cx- throughout the Hundred Years’ War, and was
amplcs cite of which propaganda is a strengthened at court hy the marriage of
marked feature were written in exceptional Richard II to Isabel, daughter of Charles VI,
circumstances; the monar4y resorted to by Henry V’s marriage to another of Charles’s
da to obtain morA reinforcement at daughters, Catherine, and by Henry W’s
times of crisis -- when it was thrc*atcncd bj marriage to hlargarct 0fAnjou.
encmics at home (during the Dal&h in\.asions It must he concluded that the strength of*
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or the Wars ofthc Roses), or was expanding its the historictgra?hy of medie\A England lay
claims ahroad (in Scotland or in France), OI in the mon4stcries; the great names, William
when the king himself had gained the tlrrone of Malm&ury, Matthew Paris and Thomas
lly force (as did William the Conqueror, Ed- Kalsingham, are all of monks. There the
ward III and Henry IV). chroniclers, with the partial exception ofthosc
hloreo\*cr, the impression that government at Wstminstcr, writing in conditions ofcom-
propaganda was not congenial tc the English parati1.c independence, could to some cxtcnt
chronicler is strengthened by t IC fact that all resist external pressure: and produce works
the works cited wcrc written citilcr by forcign- free from the o~rall imprint of go\*crnrncnt
crs or when foi-sign influence was particularly propaganda.
strong at court. Asscr was a Welshn-fan, and
the biographers of Cnu t and Edward tllc Con-
fessor wcrc Flemish. \2’illiam of Poiticrs was
;l Norman, as were the ‘romance’ historians, tes
GaimarJordan and Ambroisc. (The romanccb I ‘l’he 13ridlington chronicle rc’(:ords t;lat in 13%
mode itself was imported from tile continent.) the archbishop of York ordercAdIllassCsand processions
King Alficd’s court was cosmopolitan -- ;\sscr throughout his I>rovillcefor the success of Edward I I I’s
l’rcnch camI~aig:n ,* ,Stuhbs 188:1:137. A recent schol<u
modcllcd his work on Einhard’s L;Je 01’ has Lvrittcn of l%l\rard II I’s propaganda during the
UU&V.YUJ,~~P (Schiitt 1957 :2W-20), and the Scottish war: “national consciousness.. .was nourished
-Iu&-Sn.ro~r &onirle may well liar hccn in- by royal propaganda. Although the king’s ad\*isors
lacked some of th: modern media of propagancla the)
flucr~~t~l by the Frankish i2nnals (\t’alla~- had little to learn by \vay of technique. Letters to thv
Hadrill l!V10:2 12 -3). ‘i’hc LiJe of’AI?lg :ith- clergy, public proclamations. and t hv prcaml~les to
elstff~~czas written ~mder Viking influcncc it.rit after kvrit c-on\-eyed the tidings of \fictoric*s and
aroused fear of.. .invasion, [and 1 inflanr nd English
(Gransdt*n 19743 :5-k 5). ‘I‘hc~Norman Con- hearts \vrith tales of Scottish treasons. falsvhooris. and
quest l~roirght England intoc~loscI,c~lation with atrocities”; Nicholson 19G3:ti.

Figure 3. ‘l’he battle of Barnet, from the l:rcnch version of the. Hidmy qf thP :1rrird (?f‘ Edwad II’ in EII~INTI~ nkich
Edward IV sent to the burgesses of Bruges. Ghent, University Library AIS. 236.
 2 The H&tory of th Arrival of EdwardlV was certain- section of Walsinqham’s Chronica majora from the end of
ly written at least partlv for a foreign audience (see the annal for 1396 to that for 1399 was written after
p. 375), and possibly the Gesta Hen&i quinti was also Bolingbroke’s coup, which is indicated by Walsing-
(p. 374). ham’s use (not mentioned by Professor Galbraith) in
3 For the means used by the parties during the the annal for 1397 of the “record and process” (see
Wars of the Roses to rally support see pp. 374-5, and below) : Professor Galbraith demonstrates that
note 9. Walsingham stopped writing the Chronica majora when
4 For example the Ely chronicle (Blake 1962 :63) prior of Wymondham, but leaves the date when he
and the History of the church of Durham (see p. 375, and resumed writing it after his return to St Albans an open
OfHer 1958:6-g). question. V. H. Galbraith 1932: 25; and 1937: xi-
2 See for example the vengeance visited by St lviii passim.
Cuthbert on ;a man who stole from his shrine and on a 13 For other examples of passages in Walsingham’s
tax collector who tried to tax his patrimony; Arnold narrative for 1397 derived from the “record and pro-
1882 :96-7,107. cess” see Riley 1866:225,264 = Rotuli Parliamentorum,
6 The passage in the chronicle of St Swithin’s, Win- 3 :4 19, no. 27 ; Riley 1866 :226,265 = Rotuli Parliamen-
chester, which describes how items of news should be torum, 3:419, no. 28; Riley 1866:236-7,271-2 = Rotuli
collected on separate leaves of parchment attached to Parliamentorum, 3:420, no. 44; Riley 1866:239,270 =
the end of the monastery’s chronicle, states that at the Rotuli Parliame?ztorum, 3 :420, no. 41. Professor Gal-
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end of lthe year someone should be ordered to compile braith does not mention Walsingham’s probable use of
from them the account of that year, which was to be Lancastrian propaganda tracts. It may also be noted
added to the chronicle : Luard 1869 :355 ; compare that some Lancastriaul handout may well be the source
Gransden 1974a :3 19 and n. 7,320. of the account of thr parliament held at Westminster in
7 The Rule of St enedict, 3.12, 13, stipulates: Si September, 1397, in the Evesham chronicle and in the
qua vero minora agenda sunt in monasterii utilitatibus, chronicle of Adam of Usk. This is suggested by the close
seniorurn tantum utatur consilio, sicut scriptum est: similarity between the relevant passages in both works;
Omnia fat cum consilio et post factum non penitueris. see Hearne 1729 : 13 l-42 ; Thompson 1904 :9- 17.
Nevert neless, the main emphasis of the Rule is on the 14 Pt is pointed o;lt by Professor Sandquist that the
supreme power of the abbot under God. For attempts story of tht. holy oil never became ‘official’ Lancastrian
by the monks of Bury St Edmunds and elsewhere to gain propagancla; Sa-ldquist 1969 :339-40.
some control in the late twelfth and early thirteenth 15 The view that King Alfred commissioned the
century see Gransden 1975 :25-39. The representative Chronicle was held by Plummer ( 1899 :civ), and has
principle existed in tile Cistercian order in so far as the more recently beer; adopted by Professor R. H. C. Davis
general chapter wi i attended by the heads of all (1971:173-7). It does not vitiate F.M. Stenton’s
houses; see Knowlt:j 1963:2 13-4. This feature was hypothesis (1925 : 15-24) that the author was a west-
adopted for the coxzl;.itutions of most of the other new country man - Alfred employed scholars from many
orders. For rhe elective anlrl representative elements in places. The possibility should also be noted that the
the Dominican constitution see G. R. Galbraith 1925 :5 Mercian Register, which covers the years from 902 to
and pa-km. 924 (Whitelock 196 1 :xiv, 59-68)) was an official history
s As rha passage ti very like one in the annal for of Mercia.
52 I5 (Luard 1865 :282),, the chronicler must have had 16 Archaeological evidence indicates that most of
King Johninmind; conpareHolt 1965:98. the earliest settlements were in the upper Thames
9 For Matthew Paris’s political views see Gransden valley; see Myres 196.4 : 1 l- 12 and notes. However,
1974a:371-4. Worthy Park, just north of Winchester, has a burial
10 For the “record and process” and its use by ground of the sixth and early seventh centuries; see
chro&clers as a source for the deposition see Clarke and Myres 1969:112-13 andn. 2.
Galbraith 1930 : 125-55 ; Richardson 1937 :40-2 ; Wil- 17 These are not given in the list of Bretwaldas
kinson 1939:2 19. Richard II had himself tampered under the year 829 (Whitelock 196 1:40- 1) . The Chron-
with the roll of the Shrewsbury parliament in 1398; see icle also suppresses all reference to the early settlement
Edwards 1925 :32 l-33. For examples of propaganda by the Jutes with is mentioned by Bede (Historia eccle-
on the Rolls of Parliament in the fifteenth century see siastica, 1.15) and Asser (Stevenson 1959 :4; compare
Lander 1967:17-28&.&z, 19,n. 77. Myres P969 : 13 and notes).
Jl For a surviving example of a propaganda tract 18 The only medieval manuscript of Asser’s Life (of
written earlier for the Appellants see McKisack 1926 : about 1000) to survive into modern times is now BL
I-27. Cotton MS. Otho A xii, and it was almost totally
t2 Profmr Galbraith, who concentrates on the destroyed in the 173 1 fire in the Cottonian library; see
textual evidence, does not specifically state that the Stevenson 1959 :xii, xxxii-li. P. Hunter Blair, however,
 postulates the existence of another manuscript of it, of 28 Theargument, which permeates the whole work,
about 900, which was US& by the Durham historian is clearly stated in the speech by Henr) Beaufort, bishop
after the Conquest ; Blair 1963 : 99- 104,116. of Winchester, opening the parliament at Westminster
19 Of the three works, Asser’s Life of King Alfed was in March 1416,which is given at greater length in the
the best known. It was used by Florence of Worcester, Gesta (Williams 1850:73-5) than on the Rolls of
the annalist of St Neots, and Gerald of Wales; Steven- Parliament (Rotuli Parliamentorum, 4 :94).
son 1959 :lv-lviii, lxiii-lxiv. It was also used directly 29 For the suggestions that the Gesta may have been
by the Durhamchroniclerand Williamof Malmesbury, intended to provide moral reinforcement for the Eng-
not indirectly as suggested bs Stevenson ( 1959:lviii- lish delegation at the Council of Constance see Roskell
1ix);seeBlair 1963:99-104,115; Whitelock 1969:91-3. and Taylor 1972 :22 7-40.
It was used indirectly by a numbe:: of other medieval 30 Ghent, University Library MS. 236, fos. 1-12~.
writers (see Stevenson 1959 :lxiv-? cv), and may have For an English translationsee Jerningham 1827 : 1 l-23,
been used by the encomiast and ny the author of the and for a modern French rendering, Gilts 1849.
Life of King Edward; Campbell 194.9 :xxxv-xxxvii, and 31 Paris BN MS. francais 3887, fos. 114-I 6v;
Gransden 1974a : 60-6 1 and notes. The Encomium seems printed Dupout 1847 :28 l-9 1.
to have had no currency (there is no evidence that it Dudo of St Quentin’s De moribus f t actis primorum
was even used by the author of the Life of King Ed- cormanniae ducum (Lair 1865).
ward; see Barlow 1962 :xxiv). The L@ of King Edward
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was used by William of Malmesbury and by the

tWestminster writers Osbert of Clare and Sulcard ; Bar-
low 1962 :xXx-xli. Literature
20 Fantosm&s references to Henry I I are incidental
to the main theme, but he does compare him with Armstrong, C. A. J. 1948. Some examples of the distri-
Moses and Charlemagne, and claims that no-one in bution andEpeedof news in Englandat the timeofthe
history or fiction excelled him in bravery: Howlett Wars of the Roses. In: Studies in medieval history
1886:2 12. presented to F. M. Powicke, 429-54. Oxford.
21 Another good example of history in the romance Arnold, T. (ed.) 1882. Historia Dunelmensis ecclesiae.
style with the king as hero, is John Barbour’s Bruce. Bar- Symeonis monachi opera omnia, 1:3-135. RS.
bour wrote under the patronage of Robert II and re- London.
ceived two pensions from the king shortly after he had Arnold, T. (ed.) 1885. Historia regum. Symeonis
completed the Bruce (in 1376) ; see Mackenzie 1909 : monachi opera omnia, 2 : l-283. RS. London.
xvii. This suggests the possibility that Barbour wrote at Bain, J. (ed.) 1884. Calendar of documents relating to
the command of Robert II. For Barbour’s chivalric Scotland, 2.1272-1307. Edinburgh.
values see Kliman 1973 :477-508 Barlow, F. (ed.) 1962. The life of King Edward. Nel-
22 For a summary of the views of various scholars on son’s medieval texts. London.
the question of a common archetype behind the Estoire Bell, A. (ed.) 1960. L’eseoire des engleis, 14 16. Anglc-
and the Itinerarium see Mayer 1962 : 107-5 1. In places Norman text society. London.
the Itinerarium is even more eulogistic of Richard than Blair, P. H. 1963. Some observations on the Historia
the Estoire; for examples of eulogistic passages in it but regum attributed to Symeon of Durham. In: Ceic
not in the Estoire see Gransden 1!)“4a:241, notes 17 l-3, and Saxon, N.K. Chadwick(ed.), 63-118. Cam-
179. bridge.
23 An example of a Gesta regum which praises the Blake, E. 0. (cd.) 1962. Liber Eliensis. Camden Socie-
king, in this case Stephen, although he is not central to ty, third series, 92. London.
the work, is the Gesta Stephani. See 1?otter 1955:3,14,32, Bruce, J. (ed.) 1838. Historie of the Arrival of Edward
58. For further examples of GestQregum see below. IV. Camden Society. London.
24 Notably in William of Jumiege’s Cesta Norman- Campbell, A. (ed.) 1938. The battle of Brunanburh.
norum ducum (Marx 19 14), tie Carmen de Hastingae London.
proelio (Morton and Muntz 19; 2), William of Poitiers Campbell, A. (ed.) 1949. Encomium Emmae reginae.
(see bejaw), and in the Bayeux tapestry (Stenton 1965) l
Camden Society, third series, 72. London.
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