Stained glass window showing William, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in 1928 in memory of Rev. Canon C. D. H. McMillan, Vicar of Malmesbury from 1907 to 1919.

A view of Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England. The Abbey was completed in 1180 AD, and remains in use as the parish church of Malmesbury.

William of Malmesbury (c. 1080/1095–c. 1143), English historian of the 12th century, was born about the year 1080/1095, in Wiltshire. His father was Norman and mother English. He spent his whole life in England with his best working years as a monk at Malmesbury Abbey. Download high resolution version (498x1347, 232 KB) Stained glass window showing William, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in 1928 in memory of Rev. ... Download high resolution version (498x1347, 232 KB) Stained glass window showing William, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in 1928 in memory of Rev. ... Download high resolution version (1500x1042, 436 KB) A view of Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England. ... Download high resolution version (1500x1042, 436 KB) A view of Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England. ... Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, was originally founded in the 10th century by secular canons, but soon came under Benedictine rule. ... A bridge over the river Avon at Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: 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 (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... Events William I of England, in a letter, reminds the Bishop of Rome that the King of England owes him no allegiance. ... Events The county of Portugal is established for the second time. ... Events Celestine II is elected pope. ... English historians in the Middle Ages is an overview of the history of English historians and their works in the Middle Ages. ... Events William I of England, in a letter, reminds the Bishop of Rome that the King of England owes him no allegiance. ... Events The county of Portugal is established for the second time. ... A bridge over the river Avon at Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire Wiltshire (abbreviated Wilts) is a large southern English county. ... Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: 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 (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831 377/km² Religion... A Roman Catholic monk A monk is a person who practices monasticism, adopting a strict religious and ascetic lifestyle, usually in community with others following the same path. ... Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, was originally founded in the 10th century by secular canons, but soon came under Benedictine rule. ...

Biography

The education William received at Malmesbury Abbey included a smattering of logic and physics; but moral philosophy and history, especially the latter, were the subjects to which he devoted most attention. He made a collection of medieval histories, and produced a popular account of English history, modelled on the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People) of Bede. The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (in English: Ecclesiastical History of the English People) is a work in Latin by the Venerable Bede on the history of the Christian church in England, and of England generally. ... Depiction of Bede from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493 Bede (Latin Beda), also known as Saint Bede or, more commonly, the Venerable Bede (c. ...

In fulfilment of this idea, William produced about 1120 the Gesta regum anglorum (Deeds of the English kings (449-1127)), now considered by modern scholars to be one of the great histories of England. It was followed by the Gesta pontificum anglorum (Deeds of the English Bishops) in 1125. Subsequently William wrote on theological subjects. A revision of the Gesta regum anglorum was dedicated to Earl Robert of Gloucester in 1127. Events Welcher of Malvern creates a system of measurement for the earth using degrees, minutes, and seconds of latitude and longitude. ... Robert of Gloucester also frequently refers to Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (~1090 - October 31, 1147) Robert of Gloucester wrote a chronicle of British, English, and Norman history sometime in the mid or late thirteenth century. ...

William also formed an acquaintance with Bishop Roger of Salisbury, who had a castle at Malmesbury. It may have been due to these friends that he was offered the abbacy of Malmesbury in 1140, but he preferred to remain a scholar. His one public appearance was made at the council of Winchester in 1141, in which the clergy declared for the empress Matilda. About this date he wrote Historia Novella (New History (1128-1142)), giving an account of events since 1125, including important accounts of the anarchy of King Stephen's reign. This work breaks off abruptly at the end of 1142, with an unfulfilled promise that it will be continued. Presumably William died before he could redeem his pledge. Roger (d. ... Events Henry Jasomirgott was made count palatine of the Rhine. ... Empress Maud (1102 – September 10, 1167) is the title by which Matilda, daughter and dispossessed heir of King Henry I of England and his wife Maud of Scotland (herself daughter of Malcolm III Canmore and St. ... The Anarchy in English history commonly names the period of civil war and unsettled government that occurred during the reign (1135–1154) of King Stephen of England. ... 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. ... 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. ...

Significance

He is considered to be one of the best English historian of his time, Milton’s opinion, that "both for style and judgment" William is "by far the best writer of all" the twelfth century chroniclers. A strong Latin stylist, he shows literary and historiographical instincts which are, for his time, remarkably sound. He is an authority of considerable value from 1066 onwards; many telling anecdotes and many shrewd judgments on persons and events can be gleaned from his pages. Milton is the name for a number of places: In the United States of America: Milton, Delaware Milton, Florida Milton, Illinois Milton, Indiana Milton, Iowa Milton, Kentucky Milton, Maine Milton, Massachusetts Milton, New Hampshire Milton (town), New York (in Saratoga County) Milton, Ulster County, New York Milton, North Carolina Milton...

Bibliography

• William of Malmesbury: Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings), Vol I, Edited and Translated by R. A. B. Mynors, Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 019820678X
• William of Malmesbury: Gesta Regum Anglorum (Deeds of the English Kings), Volume II: General Introduction and Commentary, R. M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0198206828
• William of Malmesbury: Saints' Lives, Edited by M. Winterbottom and R. M. Thomson, Oxford University Press, 2002, ISBN 0198207093
• William of Malmesbury: Historia Novella (The Contemporary History), Edited by Edmund King, translated by K. R. Potter, Oxford University Press, 1999, ISBN 0198201923
• William of Malmesbury, Chronicle of the Kings of England, Translation by Rev. John Sharpe, 1815. J.A. Giles, editor. London: George Bell and Sons, 1904.
• William of Malmesbury: The Deeds of the Bishops of England [Gesta Pontificum Anglorum], Translated by David Preest, 2002, ISBN 0851158846
• Rodney M Thomson, William of Malmesbury, ISBN 1843830302

External links

• Latin Chroniclers from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Centuries: William of Malmesbury (http://www.bartleby.com/211/0906.html) from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, Volume I, 1907–21.
• Deeds of the English Kings (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/malmsbury-chronicle1.html), excerpts.
• Battle of Hastings, 1066 (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1066malmesbury.html), excerpts.
• Account of the Battle of Lincoln in 1142 (http://www.deremilitari.org/RESOURCES/SOURCES/lincoln3.htm), excerpts.
• Historia Novella (http://www.csun.edu/~sk36711/WWW/engl443/malmesbury.html), excerpts.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. ... 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. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...