John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an Englishmonk andchronicler who worked atWorcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of theChronicon ex Chronicis.
John of Worcester's principal work was theChronicon ex Chronicis (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") orChronicle of Chronicles (Chronica Chronicarum), also known as John of Worcester's Chronicle or Florence of Worcester's Chronicle. TheChronicon ex Chronicis is a world history which begins with theCreation and ends in 1140. The chronological framework of theChronicon was presented by the chronicle ofMarianus Scotus (d. 1082). A great deal of additional material, particularly relating to English history, was grafted onto it.
The greater part of the work, up to 1117 or 1118, was formerly attributed toFlorence of Worcester on the basis of the entry for his death under the year 1118, which credits his skill and industry for making the chronicle such a prominent work.[1] In this view, the other Worcester monk, John, merely wrote the final part of the work. However, there are two main objections against the ascription to Florence. First, there is no change of style in theChronicon after Florence's death, and second, certain sections before 1118 rely to some extent on theHistoria Novorum ("History of New Things") ofEadmer of Canterbury, which was completed sometime in the period 1121–1124.[2]
The prevalent view today is that John of Worcester was the principal author and compiler. He is explicitly named as the author of two entries for 1128 and 1138, and two manuscripts (CCC MS 157 and theChronicula) were written in his hand. He was seen working on it at the behest ofWulfstan, bishop of Worcester, when the Anglo-Norman chroniclerOrderic Vitalis visited Worcester:
Ioannes Wigornensis a puero monachus, natione Anglicus, moribus et eruditione uenerandus, in his quæ Mariani Scotti cronicis adiecit, de rege Guillelmo et de rebus quæ sub eo uel sub filiis eius Guillelmo Rufo et Henrico usque hodie contigerunt honeste deprompsit. [...]Quem prosecutus Iohannes acta fere centum annorum contexuit, iussuque uenerabilis Wlfstani pontificis et monachi supradictis cronicis inseruit in quibus multa de Romanis et Francis et Alemannis aliisque gentibus quæ agnouit [...].
"John, an Englishman by birth who entered the monastery of Worcester as a boy and won great repute for his learning and piety, continued the chronicle ofMarianus Scotus and carefully recorded the events ofWilliam's reign and of his sonsWilliam Rufus and Henry up to the present. [...] John, at the command of the venerableWulfstan bishop and monk [d. 1095], added to these chronicles [i.e. of Marianus Scotus] events of about a hundred years, by inserting a brief and valuable summary of many deeds of the Romans and Franks, Germans and other peoples whom he knew [...]."[3]
For the body of material dealing with early English history, John is believed to have used a number of sources, some of which are now lost:
unknown version(s) of theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, possibly in Latin translation. John may have shared a lost source withWilliam of Malmesbury, whoseGesta Regum Anglorum ("Deeds of the Kings of the English") includes similar material not found in other works.
Bede,Historia Ecclesiastica ("Ecclesiastical History") up to 731
Darlington, Reginald R. and P. McGurk (eds.), P. McGurk and Jennifer Bray (trs.).The Chronicle of John of Worcester: The Annals from 450–1066. Vol 2. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford: 1995.
McGurk, P. (ed. and tr.).The Chronicle of John of Worcester: The Annals from 1067 to 1140 with the Gloucester Interpolations and the Continuation to 1141. Vol 3. OMT. Oxford, 1998.
Weaver, J. R. H., ed. (1908)The Chronicle of John of Worcester, 1118–1140: being the continuation of the Chronicon ex Chronicisof Florence of Worcester. Oxford: Clarendon PressEdition on Archive.org
Brett, Martin. "John of Worcester and his contemporaries." InThe Writing of History in the Middle Ages: Essays Presented to R.W. Southern, ed. by R.H.C. Davis and J.M. Wallace Hadrill. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. 101-26.
Brett, Martin, "John, monk of Worcester." InThe Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge, et al. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999.ISBN0-631-22492-0
Gransden, Antonia.Historical writing in England c. 550 to 1307. Vol 1. London, 1974. 143–8.
O'Donnell, Thomas. "Identities in Community: Literary Culture and Memory at Worcester." InConstructing History Across the Norman Conquest: Worcester, c.1050-c.1150, ed. by Francesca Tinti and D. A. Woodman. York: York Medieval Press, 2022. 31–60.
Orderic Vitalis,Historia Ecclesiastica, ed. and tr.Marjorie Chibnall,The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis. 6 volumes. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford, 1968–1980.ISBN0-19-820220-2.
