Orderic Vitalis (1075 – c. 1142) was an English chronicler who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and England. Events Revolt of the Earls. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Sutoku of Japan Emperor Konoe ascends to the throne of Japan Henry the Lion becomes Duke of Saxony Births Muin ad-Din Hasan, Indian Muslim saint Farid ad-Din Attar, Sufi mystic poet Deaths April 21 - Pierre Abélard, French scholastic philosopher (b. ... English historians in the Middle Ages is an overview of the history of English historians and their works in the Middle Ages. ... Generally a chronicle (Latin chronica) is historical account of facts and events in chronological order. ... Mont Saint Michel is a historic pilgrimage site and a symbol of Normandy Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the UK Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population - Total (mid-2004) - Density Ranked 1st UK 50. ...

He was the eldest son of a French priest, Odeler of Orleans, who had entered the service of Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and had received from his patron a chapel in that city. When Orderic was five, his parents sent him from an English priest, Siward by name, who kept a school in the church of SS Peter and Paul at Shrewsbury. At the age of 11 he was entered as a novice in the Norman monastery of St Evroul en Ouche, which Earl Roger had formerly persecuted but, in his later years, was loading with gifts. The parents paid thirty marks for their son's admission; and he expresses the conviction that they imposed this exile upon him from an earnest desire for his welfare. Odeler's respect for the monastic profession is attested by his own retirement, a few years later, into a religious house which Earl Roger had founded at his persuasion. But the young Orderic felt for some time, as he tells us, like Joseph in a strange land. He did not know a word of French when he reached Normandy; his book, though written many years later, shows that he never lost his English cast of mind or his attachment to the country of his birth. Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (d. ... Map sources for Shrewsbury at grid reference SJ4912 Porthill Bridge crossing the Severn at Shrewsbury Shrewsburys Old Market Hall and The Square Market Street, behind the Old Market Hall, with the Music Hall on the left Shrewsbury (pronounced either /ˈʃɹuːzbɹiː/ or /ˈʃɹəʊzbɹiː/) is a town of...

His monastic superiors rechristened him Vitalis (after a member of the legendary Theban Legion) because they found a difficulty in pronouncing his baptismal name. But, in the title of his great chronicle he prefixes the old to the new name and proudly adds the epithet Angligena. For the ancient capital of Boeotia, see Thebes, Greece. ...

His cloistered life was uneventful. He became a deacon in 1093, a priest in 1107. He left his cloister on several occasions, and speaks of having visited Croyland, Worcester, Cambrai (1105) and Cluny (1132). But he turned his attention at an early date to literature, and for many years he appears to have spent his summers in the scriptorium. Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... // Events Donald III of Scotland comes to the throne of Scotland. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... Events William Warelwast becomes Bishop of Exeter. ... Trinity Bridge, Crowland Crowland (modern usage) or Croyland (medieval era name) is a town in Lincolnshire, England, positioned between Peterborough and Spalding, with two major sites of historical interest. ... The city of Worcester (pronounced Wuh-ster) is the county town of Worcestershire in England; the river Severn runs through the middle, with the citys large Worcester Cathedral overlooking the river. ... Cambrai (Dutch: Kamerijk) is a French city and commune, in the Nord département, of which it is a sous_préfecture. ... Cluny nowadays The town of Cluny or Clugny lies in the modern-day département of Saône-et-Loire in the région of France, near Mâcon. ... A Scriptorium was a room or building, usually within a Christian monastery where, during medieval times, manuscripts were written. ...

His superiors (at some time between 1099 and 1122) ordered him to write the history of St Evroul. The work, the Historia Ecclesiatica (Ecclesiastical History), grew under his hands until it became a general history of his own age. St Evroul was a house of wealth and distinction. War-worn knights chose it as a resting-place of their last years. It was constantly entertaining visitors from southern Italy, where it had planted colonies of monks, and from England, where it had extensive possessions. Thus Orderic, though he witnessed no great events, was often well-informed about them. In spite of a cumbrous and affected style, he is a vivid narrator; and his character sketches are admirable as summaries of current estimates. His narrative is badly arranged and full of unexpected digressions. But he gives us much invaluable information for which we should search the more methodical chroniclers in vain. He throws a flood of light upon the manners and ideas of his own age; he sometimes comments with surprising shrewdness upon the broader aspects and tendencies of history. His narrative breaks off in the middle of 1141, though he added some finishing touches in 1142. He tells us that he was then old and infirm. Probably he did not long survive the completion of his great work.

The Historia Ecclestiastica falls into three sections:

1- Books i and ii, which are historically valueless, give the history of Christianity from the birth of Christ. After 855 this becomes a bare catalogue of popes, ending with the name of Innocent I. These books were added, as an afterthought, to the original scheme; they were composed in the years 1136?1141. History Main article: History of Christianity See also: Timeline of Christianity The history of Christianity is difficult to extricate from that of the European West (and several other culture-regions) in general. ... Christ is the English representation of the Greek word Χριστός (transliterated as Khristós), which means anointed. ... Events Louis II succeeds Lothar as western emperor. ... The pope is the Catholic Bishop and patriarch of Rome, and leader of the Catholic Church. ... Saint Innocent I, pope (402 - 417), was, according to his biographer in the Liber Pontificalis, the son of a man called Innocent of Albano; but according to his contemporary Jerome, his father was Pope Anastasius I, whom he was called by the unanimous voice of the clergy and laity to...

2- Books iii through vi form a history of St Evroul, the original nucleus of the work. Planned before 1122, they were mainly composed in the years 1123?1131. The fourth and fifth books contain long digressions on the deeds of William the Conqueror in Normandy and England. Before 1067 these are of little value, being chiefly derived from two extant sources: William of Jumieges' Historia Normannorum and William of Poitiers' Gesta Guilelmi. For the years 1067?1071 Orderic follows the last portion of the Gesta Guillemi, and is therefore of the first importance. From 1071 he begins to be an independent authority. But his notices of political events in this part of his work are far less copious than in the later books. William I ( 1027 – September 9, 1087), was King of England from 1066 to 1087. ... William of Poitiers (c. ...

3- Books vii through xiii, where ecclesiastical affairs are relegated to the background. In this section, after sketching the history of France under the Carolingians and early Capets, Orderic takes up the events of his own times, starting from about 1082. He has much to say concerning the empire, the papacy, the Normans in Sicily and Apulia, the First Crusade (for which he follows Fulcher of Chartres and Baudri of Bourgueil). But his chief interest is in the histories of Duke Robert of Normandy, William Rufus and Henry I of England. He continues his work, in the form of annals, up to the defeat and capture of Stephen of England at Lincoln in 1141. The Carolingians were a dynasty of rulers that eventually controlled the Frankish realm and its successors from the 8th to the 10th century, officially taking over the kingdom from the Merovingian dynasty in 751. ... The direct Capetian Dynasty followed the Carolingian rulers of France from 987 to 1328. ... Events England - The Rochester Cathedral was completed Europe - The German Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor besieges Rome and gains entry, a synod is agreed upon by the Romans to rule on the dispute between Henry and Pope Gregory VII Styria - Ottokar II succeeds his brother Adalbero (died 1086 or 1087... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... Apulia (official Italian name: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. ... The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II to regain control of the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Christian Holy Land from Muslims. ... Fulcher of Chartres (born around 1059 in or near Chartres) was a chronicler of the First Crusade. ... Baldric, Balderic or Baudry of Dol (c. ... Robert II (called Curthose for his short squat appearance) (c. ... William II (called Rufus, perhaps because of his red-faced appearance, or maybe his bloody reign) (c. ... Henry I of England (c. ... Stephen (1096 – October 25, 1154), the last Norman King of England, reigned from 1135 to 1154, when he was succeeded by his cousin Henry II, the first of the Angevin or Plantagenet Kings. ... Lincoln (pronounced Lin-kun) is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England, a bridging point over the River Witham that flows to Boston. ...

Sources

• Marjorie Chibnall (translator), The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis, 6 volumes, Oxford Medieval Texts, 1968-1980, ISBN 0198202202
• The Battle of Bremule excerpts translated by Majorie Chibnall.
• On Henry I excerpts translated by David Burr.

External links

• Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries: Orderic Vitalis from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Volume I, 1907–21.

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. ... Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...