Volume 1

Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric Chronica monasterii S. Albani. This account of the achievements of its abbots was compiled and enlarged by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394, and wrote several other historical works. It appeared in three volumes between 1867 and 1869. The early part of the Gesta reworks earlier accounts, including that by Matthew Paris (d.1259), but the section covering 1308-93 was composed by Walsingham himself and is an important primary source for fourteenth-century English history. Volume 1 covers the period from the foundation of the abbey by King Offa in 793 to 1290. The Latin text (with English side-notes) includes references to the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and to the Fourth Lateran Council.

Volume 1

Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works from or about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric 'Chronica monasterii S. Albani'. This two-volume edition of the 'History of England' by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394, appeared in 1863-4. Riley followed a fifteenth-century manuscript, Arundel M.S. VII, but the appendix to Volume 2 supplies additional material from an earlier manuscript, Brit. Mus. Reg. 13. E. IX. Modern scholars argue that this work, with several others previously published separately, belongs to a larger Chronica majora overseen by Walsingham, and that its complicated manuscript tradition reveals Thomas' changing opinions of Richard II and John of Gaunt. For over a century Riley's edition was acknowledged as authoritative for the central period 1377-92. The text appears in Latin, with English side-notes.

Volume 2

Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric 'Chronica monasterii S. Albani'. This account of the achievements of its abbots was compiled and enlarged by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394, and wrote several other historical works. It appeared in three volumes between 1867 and 1869. The early part of the Gesta reworks earlier accounts including that by Matthew Paris (d.1259), but the section covering 1308-93 was composed by Walsingham himself and is an important primary source for fourteenth-century English history. Volume 2, covering 1290-1349, records events that include a fire in the abbot's chamber and a visit to the papal court. The main text is in Latin, with English side-notes, but a rule for nuns appears in Anglo-Norman.

Volume 2

Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works from or about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric 'Chronica monasterii S. Albani'. This two-volume edition of the 'History of England' by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394, appeared in 1863-4. Riley followed a fifteenth-century manuscript, Arundel M.S. VII, but the appendix to Volume 2 supplies additional material from an earlier manuscript, Brit. Mus. Reg. 13. E. IX. Modern scholars argue that this work, with several others previously published separately, belongs to a larger Chronica majora overseen by Walsingham, and that its complicated manuscript tradition reveals Thomas' changing opinions of Richard II and John of Gaunt. For over a century Riley's edition was acknowledged as authoritative for the central period 1377-92. The text appears in Latin, with English side-notes.

Volume 3

Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric 'Chronica monasterii S. Albani'. This account of the achievements of its abbots was compiled and enlarged by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394, and wrote several other historical works. It appeared in three volumes between 1867 and 1869. The early part of the Gesta reworks earlier accounts including that by Matthew Paris (d.1259), but the section covering 1308-93 was composed by Walsingham himself and is an important primary source for fourteenth-century English history. Volume 3 covers Thomas's own lifetime, from 1349 onwards, and includes an anonymous continuation to 1411. The main text is in Latin, with English side-notes. There are several passages in Anglo-Norman, for which a full English translation is provided.

Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric 'Chronica monasterii S. Albani'. This account of the achievements of its abbots was compiled and enlarged by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394, and wrote several other historical works. It appeared in three volumes between 1867 and 1869, with English side-notes to the Latin text. The early part of the Gesta reworks earlier accounts, including that by Matthew Paris (d. 1259), but the section covering 1308-93 was composed by Walsingham himself and is an important primary source for fourteenth-century English history. Volume 1 covers the time from the abbey's foundation in 793 to 1290. Volume 2 focuses on the period from 1290 to 1349, and Volume 3 covers Thomas's own lifetime, up to 1393.

Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works from or about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric 'Chronica Monasterii S. Albani'. This two-volume edition of the 'History of England' by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394, appeared in 1863-4. Riley followed a fifteenth-century manuscript, Arundel M.S. VII, but the appendix to Volume 2 supplies additional material from an earlier manuscript, Brit. Mus. Reg. 13. E. IX. Modern scholars argue that this work, with several others previously published separately, belongs to a larger Chronica majora overseen by Walsingham, and that its complicated manuscript tradition reveals Thomas' changing opinions of Richard II and John of Gaunt. For over a century Riley's edition was acknowledged as authoritative for the central period 1377-92. The text appears in Latin, with English side-notes.

Ypodigma Neustriae

by Thomas Walsingham

Published 15 November 2012
Between 1863 and 1876, the Rolls Series published several works from or about the abbey of St Albans, edited by Henry Thomas Riley (1816-78) under the rubric 'Chronica Monasterii S. Albani', several of them by Thomas Walsingham (c.1340-c.1422), who supervised the scriptorium at St Albans until 1394 and wrote in Latin on subjects including history, classics and music. This edition of Thomas' last historical work appeared in 1876. A digest of mainly English history from the ninth century to 1419, it contains a dedication to Henry V that emphasises his dynasty's Norman origins and his recent reconquest of Normandy, the 'Neustria' of the title. It contains records of sea and land battles, conspiracies and heresies, weather events and comets, and fascinating details including the appearance of a dolphin in the Thames in 1392 and a state visit to England by the Emperor of Constantinople.