ARIS & PHILLIPS CLASSICALTEXTS WILLIAM OF NEWBURGH The History of English Affairs Book II edited with an Introduction, Translation and Commentary by P.G. Walsh & †M.J. Kennedy Aris & Phillips is an imprint of Oxbow Books 10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW © P.G. Walsh and †M.J. Kennedy 2007. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including photocopying without prior permission of the publishers in writing. ISBN 978-0-85668-474-6 Paperback ISBN 978-0-85668-473-9 Hardback ACIPrecord for this book is available from the British Library Printed in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Eastbourne FOR MARGARET Contents Foreword......................................................................................................vi Abbreviations..............................................................................................vii Introduction...................................................................................................1 Text and Translation....................................................................................14 Commentary..............................................................................................159 Index.........................................................................................................205 Foreword Following the favourable reception accorded to Book I, Michael Kennedy and I decided to cooperate again in an edition of Book II. This book is especially attractive, since it incorporates the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, the capture of the king of Scots at Alnwick, and the first subjugation of Ireland by the English, all events which cast long shadows over the history of these islands. The book also documents the career of Nicholas Breakspear, the only Englishman to become the Pope of Rome. As in the preparation of Book I, Michael and I worked together on the translation, gratefully acknowledging help from an earlier version by Joseph Stevenson (London 1856; reissue, Felinfach 1996). As a specialist of the period and a leading authority on William of Newburgh, Michael agreed to write the historical entries in the Commentary, and to provide the Introduction. He had completed a draft of the first fifteen chapters when, in the spring of 2004, he sustained a tragic fall at his home, as a result of which he died. After initial hesitation, I decided to round off the work by revising and completing the Commentary, and writing the Introduction. Specialists will have no difficulty in spotting deficiencies. The value of the edition thus lies primarily in the provision of an accessible text and translation, the appearance of which is intended as a tribute to Michael’s fine scholarship. I wish to express my gratitude to Professor Chris Collard for his careful scrutiny of the proofs and his valuable suggestions for improvement, and to Mya Padget for her expert supervision of the volume through the Press. The dedication to Michael’s widow, Margaret, is a salutation to her courage and to a special friendship. P.G.W. vi Abbreviations ACW Ancient Christian Writers (Mahwah, N.J.) Anderson A.O. Anderson, Early Sources for Scottish History (2 vols., Edinburgh 1922) Appleby J.T. Appleby, Henry II (London 1962) Barlow F. Barlow, Thomas Becket (Oxford 1986) Battle Chronicle of Battle Abbey, ed. E. Searle (Oxford 1978) Boso Vita Alexandri III, tr. G.M. Ellis (Oxford 1974) Boussard J. Boussard, La comté d’Anjou sous Henri Plantagenet et ses fils, 1158–1204 (Paris 1938) BS Brut y Saesson, edd. O. Jones – E. Williams – W.O. Pughe (Denby 1870) BT Brut y Tywysogion, ed. J. Williams (RS 1860) C&S Councils and Synods, edd. D. Whitelock – M. Brett – C.N.L. Brooke (Oxford 1981) CL Classical Latin Cronne H.A. Cronne, The Reign of Stephen, 1135–1154 (London 1970) CSHR Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II, and Richard I (4 vols., RS 1884–9) DACL Dictionnaire d’archéologie chrétienne et de liturgie (Paris 1907–33) DNB Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford 2004) Du Cange Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infinae Latinitatis (1678) Dunbabin J. Dunbabin, France in the Making, 843–1180 (Oxford 2000) EHD English Historical Documents 1042–11892, edd. D.C. Douglas – G.W. Greenway (Oxford 1981) EHR English Historical Review Ellis See Boso above EYC Early Yorkshire Charters, edd. W. Farrer – C.T. Clay (12 vols., Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 1914–65) Eyton R.W. Eyton, Court, Household, and Itinerary of King Henry II (Dorchester 1878) GA Gesta Abbatum Monasterii S. Albani, ed. H.T. Riley (3 vols., RS 1867–9) GC The Historical Works of Gervase of Canterbury, ed. W. Stubbs (RS 1887–9) GR William of Malmesbury, De gestis regum Anglorum, ed. W. Stubbs (RS 1879) GS Gesta Stephani, edd. K.R. Potter – R.H.C. Davis (Oxford 1976) GW Gerald of Wales, The Description of Wales, tr. L. Thorpe (Harmondsworth 1978) HGL C. Devic – J. Yaissete, Histoire générale de Languedoc (2 vols., Toulouse 1875) HH Henry of Huntingdon, Historia Anglorum, ed. T. Arnold (RS 1879) vii HRB Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historia regum Britanniae, tr. L. Thorpe (Harmondsworth 1966) JS The Letters of John of Salisbury, tr. W.L. Millor – H.E. Butler – C.N.L. Brooke (2 vols., Oxford 1955–79) Kelly J.N.D. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (Oxford 1986) LP Liber Pontificalis, ed. L. Duchesne (Rome 1886–92) Martin F.X. Martin, in Medieval Ireland 1169–1534 (Oxford 1987) chs. 2–3 Materials Materials for the History of Thomas à Becket, edd. J.C. Robertson – J.B. Sheppard (6 vols., RS 1875–85) Mierow Otto of Freising, The Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa, tr. C.C. Mierow (N.Y. 1953) ML Medieval Latin MGH Monumenta Germaniae Historica Morris C. Morris, The Papal Monarchy: the Western Church from 1050 to 1250 (Oxford 1989) MP Matthew Paris, Historia Anglorum, ed. F. Madden (3 vols., RS 1866–9) Munz P. Munz, Frederick Barbarossa (London 1969) NCE New Catholic Encyclopedia (14 vols., N.Y. 1962) N.T. New Testament ODCC3 Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edn., edd. F.L. Cross – E.A. Livingstone (1997) OLD Oxford Latin Dictionary, ed. P.G.W. Glare (1982) OV The Ecclesiastical History of Ordericus Vitalis, ed. M.M. Chibnall (6 vols., Oxford 1968–80) Partner Nancy F. Partner, Serious Entertainments: the Writing of History in Twelfth-century England (Chicago 1977) PL Patrologiae series latina, ed. J.P. Migne (Paris 1844–64) RD Ralph of Diceto, Opera historica, ed. W. Stubbs (2 vols., RS 1876) RH Roger of Howden, Chronica and Gesta, ed. W. Stubbs (4 vols., RS 1876) Robinson J.A. Robinson, The Abbot's House at Westminster (Cambridge 1911) RS Rolls Series RT The Chronicle of Robert of Torigni (CSHR vol. 4) Runciman S. Runciman, A History of the Crusades (3 vols., Harmondsworth 1963) SD Symeonis Monachi Opera omnia, ed. T. Arnold (2 vols., RS 1882–5) Somerville R. Somerville, Pope Alexander III and The Council of Tours 1163 (Berkeley 1977) TLL Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (Leipzig–Stuttgart 1900–) VCH Victoria History of the Counties of England Warren W.L. Warren, Henry II (London 1973) WT William of Tyre, Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum, tr. E.A. Babcock – A.C. Krey (2 vols., N.Y. 1976) viii Introduction I William of Newburgh, born in 1136 near Bridlington in Yorkshire, received his early education at Newburgh Priory, one of the numerous houses established by the Augustinian Canons in twelfth-century England. Though one scholar has argued that he married in his twenties and became a landowner in Oxfordshire before returning to Newburgh after 1180, this speculative thesis has gained little support. More probably, he entered religious life at Newburgh directly after his early education. The Augustinian Canons followed the Rule of St Augustine, which allowed considerable flexibility to individual houses in their monastic routine, and gave ample scope for scholarly activity.1 We have no knowledge of William’s activities or movements during the first decades of his religious life, other than the sparse indications which appear in his writings. Presumably, he played an active role in the spiritual and academic formation of young entrants to the Priory school. He must also have made his mark beyond the bounds of the Priory as a student of scripture and of English history, though apart from a few sermons, his only published works known to us are a commentary on The Song of Songs, and The History of English Affairs. But the fact that the first was commissioned by Abbot Roger of Byland (the Cistercian house two miles from Newburgh Priory) and the second was composed at the suggestion of Ernald, Abbot of Rievaulx, indicates that he was a scholar of at least local eminence.2 The five books of The History of English Affairs were written in a relatively short period between 1196 and 1198, which itself suggests that he had already mastered much of the source-material before putting pen to paper. After a summary account of the first three Norman kings, he devoted the greater part of Book I to the reign of Stephen (1135–54), Books II and III to the extensive rule of Henry II, and Books IV and V to the years of Richard 1 (1189–99). It is legitimate to assume that he intended to complete his history with the death of Richard in April 1199, since each of the first four books concludes at such a significant juncture with appropriate closing remarks, whereas Book V ends abruptly at an 1 See M.J.K.’s Introduction to our edition of Book I, 2ff. 2 For WN’s commentary on The Song of Songs commissioned by Abbot Roger, see J.C. Gorman, ‘William of Newburgh’s Explanatio sacri epithalamii in Matrem Sponsi’, Spicilegium Friburgense 6 (1960). For abbot Ernald’s request, see the prefatory letter to Book I in our edition of the book.